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IntroductionProton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly prescribed drugs. Chronic PPI use has recently been associated with the risk for developing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). It is not known whether the short-term prescription of a PPI can trigger SIBO. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of SIBO and gastrointestinal symptoms after 7 days of PPI use.Materials and MethodsA prospective, pilot, open-label study was conducted on asymptomatic healthy volunteers. The incidence of SIBO was evaluated at the baseline and after administration of 40 mg of pantoprazole once a day for 7 days, through a glucose breath test. In addition, the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms, the number of bowel movements, and the consistency of stools, according to the Bristol scale, were assessed.ResultsThirty-eight healthy subjects (71.1% women, mean age 25.18 ± 6.5 years) were analyzed. The incidence of SIBO after 7 days of PPI administration was 7.8% (95% CI 1.6–21.3%). The patients that developed SIBO had a greater prevalence of bloating (p = 0.0002) and flatulence (p = 0.004) after 7 days of treatment.ConclusionsOur study showed that a short-term 7-day PPI course produced SIBO in 7.8% of healthy subjects. Although, inappropriate use of PPIs should be discouraged, but since more than 90% of subjects who received PPIs for one week did not develop SIBO, the advantages of PPI administration seem to outweigh the disadvantages.

Dysbiosis, a loss of balance between resident bacterial communities and their host, is associated with multiple diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases (nonspecific chronic ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), and digestive functional disorders. Probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotic organisms and, more recently, pharmabiotics, have been shown to modulate the human microbiota. In this review, we provide an overview of the key concepts relating to probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotic organisms, and pharmabiotics, with a focus on available clinical evidence regarding the specific use of a unique pharmabiotic, the strain Lactobacillus acidophilus LB (Lactobacillus boucardii), for the management of gastrointestinal disorders. Since it does not contain living organisms, the administration of L. acidophilus LB is effective and safe as an adjuvant in the treatment of acute diarrhea, chronic diarrhea, and antibiotic-associated diarrhea, even in the presence of immunosuppression.

The AGRI committee of the European Parliament requested EFSA to assess the welfare of rabbits farmed in different production systems, including organic production, and to update its 2005 scientific opinion about the health and welfare of rabbits kept for meat production. Considering reproducing does, kits and growing rabbits, this scientific opinion focusses on six different housing systems, namely conventional cages, structurally enriched cages, elevated pens, floor pens, outdoor/partially outdoor systems and organic systems. To compare the level of welfare in the different housing systems and rabbit categories, welfare impact scores for 20 welfare consequences identified from the literature were calculated, taking their occurrence, duration and severity into account. Based on the overall welfare impact score (sum of scores for the single welfare consequences), obtained via a 2‐step expert knowledge elicitation process, the welfare of reproducing does is likely (certainty 66–90%) to be lower in conventional cages compared to the five other housing systems. In addition, it is likely to extremely likely (certainty 66–99%) that the welfare of kits is lower in outdoor systems compared to the other systems and that the welfare is higher in elevated pens than in the other systems. Finally, it is likely to extremely likely (certainty 66–99%) that the welfare of growing rabbits is lower in conventional cages compared to the other systems and that the welfare is higher in elevated pens than in the other systems. Ranking of the welfare consequences allowed an analysis of the main welfare consequences within each system and rabbit category. It was concluded that for reproducing does, as well as growing rabbits, welfare consequences related to behavioural restrictions were more prominent in conventional cages, elevated pens and enriched cages, whereas those related to health problems were more important in floor pens, outdoor and organic systems. Housing in organic rabbit farming is diverse, which can result in different welfare consequences, but the overall welfare impact scores suggest that welfare in organic systems is generally good.

This scientific opinion focuses on the welfare of pigs on farm, and is based on literature and expert opinion. All pig categories were assessed: gilts and dry sows, farrowing and lactating sows, suckling piglets, weaners, rearing pigs and boars. The most relevant husbandry systems used in Europe are described. For each system, highly relevant welfare consequences were identified, as well as related animal‐based measures (ABMs), and hazards leading to the welfare consequences. Moreover, measures to prevent or correct the hazards and/or mitigate the welfare consequences are recommended. Recommendations are also provided on quantitative or qualitative criteria to answer specific questions on the welfare of pigs related to tail biting and related to the European Citizen's Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’. For example, the AHAW Panel recommends how to mitigate group stress when dry sows and gilts are grouped immediately after weaning or in early pregnancy. Results of a comparative qualitative assessment suggested that long‐stemmed or long‐cut straw, hay or haylage is the most suitable material for nest‐building. A period of time will be needed for staff and animals to adapt to housing lactating sows and their piglets in farrowing pens (as opposed to crates) before achieving stable welfare outcomes. The panel recommends a minimum available space to the lactating sow to ensure piglet welfare (measured by live‐born piglet mortality). Among the main risk factors for tail biting are space allowance, types of flooring, air quality, health status and diet composition, while weaning age was not associated directly with tail biting in later life. The relationship between the availability of space and growth rate, lying behaviour and tail biting in rearing pigs is quantified and presented. Finally, the panel suggests a set of ABMs to use at slaughter for monitoring on‐farm welfare of cull sows and rearing pigs.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a vector‐borne disease transmitted by a broad spectrum of mosquito species, especially Aedes and Culex genus, to animals (domestic and wild ruminants and camels) and humans. Rift Valley fever is endemic in sub‐Saharan Africa and in the Arabian Peninsula, with periodic epidemics characterised by 5–15 years of inter‐epizootic periods. In the last two decades, RVF was notified in new African regions (e.g. Sahel), RVF epidemics occurred more frequently and low‐level enzootic virus circulation has been demonstrated in livestock in various areas. Recent outbreaks in a French overseas department and some seropositive cases detected in Turkey, Tunisia and Libya raised the attention of the EU for a possible incursion into neighbouring countries. The movement of live animals is the most important pathway for RVF spread from the African endemic areas to North Africa and the Middle East. The movement of infected animals and infected vectors when shipped by flights, containers or road transport is considered as other plausible pathways of introduction into Europe. The overall risk of introduction of RVF into EU through the movement of infected animals is very low in all the EU regions and in all MSs (less than one epidemic every 500 years), given the strict EU animal import policy. The same level of risk of introduction in all the EU regions was estimated also considering the movement of infected vectors, with the highest level for Belgium, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands (one epidemic every 228–700 years), mainly linked to the number of connections by air and sea transports with African RVF infected countries. Although the EU territory does not seem to be directly exposed to an imminent risk of RVFV introduction, the risk of further spread into countries neighbouring the EU and the risks of possible introduction of infected vectors, suggest that EU authorities need to strengthen their surveillance and response capacities, as well as the collaboration with North African and Middle Eastern countries.

This study assessed aversion, stunning effectiveness, and product quality of nitrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) mixtures used for stunning pigs. A total of 1852 slaughter pigs divided into two similar batches was assessed during routine slaughter in a Swedish commercial abattoir using either hypercapnic-hypoxia (20% CO2 and less than 2% O2; 20C2O) or hypercapnia (90% CO2; 90C) gas mixtures. Behavioral indicators of aversion and discomfort were recorded. After exposure, the stunning quality was assessed through brainstem reflexes. After slaughter, the pH and electric conductivity of carcasses were assessed to estimate the incidence of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) pork, and the presence of ecchymosis were inspected. Compared to 90C, pigs exposed to 20C2O showed a later (p < 0.05) onset of behaviors indicative of aversion, and a lower (p < 0.01) incidence of breathlessness. However, unconsciousness (i.e., losing posture) appeared earlier (p < 0.01) in 90C compared to 20C2O. In 90C, all (100%) pigs were adequately stunned, whereas in 20C2O a 7.4% of pigs showed signs of poor stunning, especially when oxygen concentrations were >2% (p < 0.001). The percentage of PSE carcasses was higher (p < 0.01) in 20C2O than 90C. In conclusion, compared to 90C, 20C2O reduced aversion and discomfort but showed lower stun effectiveness, especially when O2 was above 2%, and a slightly poorer pork quality.

This Scientific Opinion addresses a European Commission's mandate on the welfare of dairy cows as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. It includes three assessments carried out based on literature reviews and complemented by expert opinion. Assessment 1 describes the most prevalent housing systems for dairy cows in Europe: tie‐stalls, cubicle housing, open‐bedded systems and systems with access to an outdoor area. Per each system, the scientific opinion describes the distribution in the EU and assesses the main strengths, weaknesses and hazards potentially reducing the welfare of dairy cows. Assessment 2 addresses five welfare consequences as requested in the mandate: locomotory disorders (including lameness), mastitis, restriction of movement and resting problems, inability to perform comfort behaviour and metabolic disorders. Per each welfare consequence, a set of animal‐based measures is suggested, a detailed analysis of the prevalence in different housing systems is provided, and subsequently, a comparison of the housing systems is given. Common and specific system‐related hazards as well as management‐related hazards and respective preventive measures are investigated. Assessment 3 includes an analysis of farm characteristics (e.g. milk yield, herd size) that could be used to classify the level of on‐farm welfare. From the available scientific literature, it was not possible to derive relevant associations between available farm data and cow welfare. Therefore, an approach based on expert knowledge elicitation (EKE) was developed. The EKE resulted in the identification of five farm characteristics (more than one cow per cubicle at maximum stocking density, limited space for cows, inappropriate cubicle size, high on‐farm mortality and farms with less than 2 months access to pasture). If one or more of these farm characteristics are present, it is recommended to conduct an assessment of cow welfare on the farm in question using animal‐based measures for specified welfare consequences.

The Welfare Quality ® (WQ ® ) protocols are broadly implemented for monitoring farm animal welfare and certification purposes. However, they represent a single snapshot in time, demand a significant amount of time for execution, appraise only a subset of the animals, and to achieve high repeatability among assessors, they must be continuously trained. In growing pigs, the dynamic nature of physiological and behavioural changes during the production cycle may affect the consistency of monitoring over time and thus the reliability of the method. Hence, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the temporal variability of principles, criteria and measures of the WQ ® protocol in growing pigs, and the intra-farm (between buildings) variability of selected measures. The full WQ ® protocol was applied every two weeks during the fattening period in two separate buildings of the same farm by the same two trained assessors (seven and eight visits respectively). A descriptive temporal analysis was conducted, and the relation of measures was explored using Spearman’s correlation. Intra-farm variability of selected measures was assessed for each visit using a permutation test for independence. Certain variability in some measures, criteria and principles was observed depending on the timing of the assessment during the growing period. The “good housing” principle was the most fluctuating variable over time, due to the substantial downward trend of the scores of both the “comfort around resting” and “ease of movement” criteria. Although the “good health” principle was the most stable in terms of absolute score, the categorization changed in one assessment in one of the studied buildings. Both “good feeding” and “appropriate behaviour” remained stable in their categorization. More variability was observed at the criteria and measure levels. In terms of intra-farm variability, measures from four conditions were significantly different, in at least one visit, being the “fear of humans” measure the most frequently variable. This study highlighted the possible differences that may arise in WQ ® scoring depending on the time of the assessment during a growing period. The temporal dynamics and intra-farm variability of this protocol outcomes warrant further investigation to improve the reliability of welfare monitoring protocols.

Increasingly, intensive livestock production systems have increased societal concern regarding the current animal welfare standards. We investigated whether individuals in their roles as consumers and citizens believe that the current European regulations regarding animal welfare should be more restrictive. Factors affecting this decision were assessed by analyzing respondents’ understanding of animal welfare-related issues, their subjective and objective knowledge levels, the credibility they assign to different information sources, their perceptions toward the current restrictiveness of animal welfare standards, and their socioeconomic characteristics. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire distributed in eight European Union (EU) countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, and Sweden) with 3860 total responses. The results showed that consumers are more reluctant to adopt more restrictive regulations than respondents in the role of citizens. Respondents from northern European countries (Poland and Sweden) are more likely to support regulations that are more restrictive than the current minimum requirements than respondents from southern countries (Spain and Italy). Women were found to be more concerned with the welfare of pigs and laying hens—lending credibility to the Internet as an information source—and were more likely to support more restrictive animal welfare legislation.

This scientific opinion focuses on the welfare of laying hens, pullets and layer breeders on farm. The most relevant husbandry systems used in Europe are described. For each system, highly relevant welfare consequences were identified, as well as related animal‐based measures (ABMs), and hazards leading to the welfare consequences. Moreover, measures to prevent or correct the hazards and/or mitigate the welfare consequences are recommended. The highly relevant welfare consequences based on severity, duration and frequency of occurrence are bone lesions, group stress, inability to avoid unwanted sexual behaviour, inability to perform comfort behaviour, inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour, isolation stress, predation stress, resting problems, restriction of movement, skin disorders and soft tissue lesions and integument damage. The welfare consequences of non‐cage compared to cage systems for laying hens are described and minimum enclosure characteristics are described for laying hens, pullets and layer breeders. Beak trimming, which causes negative welfare consequences and is conducted to reduce the prevalence and severity of pecking, is described as well as the risks associated with rearing of non‐beak‐trimmed flocks. Alternatives to reduce sharpness of the beak without trimming are suggested. Finally, total mortality, plumage damage, wounds, keel bone fractures and carcass condemnations are the most promising ABMs for collection at slaughterhouses to monitor the level of laying hen welfare on farm. Main recommendations include housing all birds in non‐cage systems with easily accessible, elevated platforms and provision of dry and friable litter and access to a covered veranda. It is further recommended to implement protocols to define welfare trait information to encourage progress in genetic selection, implement measures to prevent injurious pecking, rear pullets with dark brooders and reduce male aggression in layer breeders.