Agricultural Fairs Research Articles

Efficacy in Pigs of Inactivated and Live Attenuated Influenza Virus Vaccines against Infection and Transmission of an Emerging H3N2 Similar to the 2011-2012 H3N2v

Vaccines provide a primary means to limit disease but may not be effective at blocking infection and pathogen transmission. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of commercial inactivated swine influenza A virus (IAV) vaccines and experimental live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) vaccines against infection with H3N2 virus and subsequent indirect transmission to naive pigs. The H3N2 virus evaluated was similar to the H3N2v detected in humans during 2011-2012, which was associated with swine contact at agricultural fairs. One commercial vaccine provided partial protection measured by reduced nasal shedding; however, indirect contacts became infected, indicating that the reduction in nasal shedding did not prevent aerosol transmission. One LAIV vaccine provided complete protection, and none of the indirect-contact pigs became infected. Clinical disease was not observed in any group, including nonvaccinated animals, a consistent observation in pigs infected with contemporary reassortant H3N2 swine viruses. Serum hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers against the challenge virus were not predictive of efficacy; titers following vaccination with a LAIV that provided sterilizing immunity were below the level considered protective, yet titers in a commercial vaccine group that was not protected were above that level. While vaccination with currently approved commercial inactivated products did not fully prevent transmission, certain vaccines may provide a benefit by limitating shedding, transmission, and zoonotic spillover of antigenically similar H3N2 viruses at agriculture fairs when administered appropriately and used in conjunction with additional control measures.

Environmental Salmonella in Agricultural Fair Poultry Exhibits in Colorado

Salmonella enterica is a common zoonotic pathogen in humans. Transmission typically occurs through consumption of contaminated food products or contact with infected animals, including poultry or their environment. The objective of this study was to estimate the frequency of Salmonella contamination in the environment in poultry exhibits at agricultural fairs. Samples were collected from cages, feed, floors and tables in the exhibit and cultured for Salmonella. At least one environmental sample was positive for Salmonella in 10 of 11 fairs (91%), and Salmonella was isolated from 28 of 55 environmental samples (50.9%). Eleven different serotypes were detected. Results of this study demonstrate that environmental surfaces at agricultural fairs can be contaminated with Salmonella and could potentially serve as a route of transmission to bird owners and the general public. Poultry owners and the general public should be educated about the risks of Salmonella infection from the poultry exhibit environment. Agricultural fairs should consider instituting policies and practices to improve hygiene and mitigate the risk of zoonotic salmonellosis.

Antigenic characterization of H3N2 influenza A viruses from Ohio agricultural fairs.

The demonstrated link between the emergence of H3N2 variant (H3N2v) influenza A viruses (IAVs) and swine exposure at agricultural fairs has raised concerns about the human health risk posed by IAV-infected swine. Understanding the antigenic profiles of IAVs circulating in pigs at agricultural fairs is critical to developing effective prevention and control strategies. Here, 68 H3N2 IAV isolates recovered from pigs at Ohio fairs (2009 to 2011) were antigenically characterized. These isolates were compared with other H3 IAVs recovered from commercial swine, wild birds, and canines, along with human seasonal and variant H3N2 IAVs. Antigenic cartography demonstrated that H3N2 IAV isolates from Ohio fairs could be divided into two antigenic groups: (i) the 2009 fair isolates and (ii) the 2010 and 2011 fair isolates. These same two antigenic clusters have also been observed in commercial swine populations in recent years. Human H3N2v isolates from 2010 and 2011 are antigenically clustered with swine-origin IAVs from the same time period. The isolates recovered from pigs at fairs did not cross-react with ferret antisera produced against the human seasonal H3N2 IAVs circulating during the past decade, raising the question of the degree of immunity that the human population has to swine-origin H3N2 IAVs. Our results demonstrate that H3N2 IAVs infecting pigs at fairs and H3N2v isolates were antigenically similar to the IAVs circulating in commercial swine, demonstrating that exhibition swine can function as a bridge between commercial swine and the human population.

Influenza A (H3N2) Variant Virus-Related Hospitalizations—Ohio, 2012

Since July 2012, 305 cases of infection with influenza A (H3N2) variant (H3N2v) virus containing the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 M gene have occurred in multiple U.S. states, primarily associated with swine exposure at agricultural fairs. In Ohio, from July 28 to September 25, 2012, a total of 106 confirmed H3N2v cases were identified through enhanced surveillance. Whereas most H3N2v patients experienced mild, self-limited influenza-like illness (ILI), 11 of the Ohio patients were hospitalized, representing 69% of all H3N2v hospitalizations in the United States. Of these hospitalized H3N2v patients, six were at increased risk for influenza complications because of age or underlying medical conditions, including the only H3N2v-associated fatality reported in the United States to date. This report summarizes the epidemiology and clinical features of the 11 hospitalized H3N2v patients in Ohio. These findings reinforce the recommendation for persons at high risk for influenza complications to avoid swine exposure at agricultural fairs this fall. In addition, persons not at high risk for influenza complications who wish to reduce their risk for infection with influenza viruses circulating among pigs also should avoid swine and swine barns at agricultural fairs this fall.

Subclinical Influenza Virus A Infections in Pigs Exhibited at Agricultural Fairs, Ohio, USA, 2009–2011

Agricultural fairs are associated with bidirectional, interspecies transmission of influenza virus A between humans and pigs. We examined pigs exhibited at agricultural fairs in Ohio during 2009-2011 for signs of influenza-like illness and collected nasal swab specimens from a representative subset of these animals. Influenza virus A was recovered from pigs at 12/53 (22.6%) fairs during the 3-year sampling period. Pigs at 10/12 (83.3%) fairs from which influenza virus A was recovered did not show signs of influenza-like illness. Hemagglutinin, neuraminidase, and matrix gene combinations of the isolates were consistent with influenza virus A concurrently circulating among swine herds in the United States. Subclinical influenza virus A infections in pigs at agricultural fairs may pose a risk to human health and create challenges for passive surveillance programs for influenza virus A in swine herds.

Outbreak of Influenza A (H3N2) Variant Virus Infection among Attendees of an Agricultural Fair, Pennsylvania, USA, 2011

During August 2011, influenza A (H3N2) variant [A(H3N2)v] virus infection developed in a child who attended an agricultural fair in Pennsylvania, USA; the virus resulted from reassortment of a swine influenza virus with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. We interviewed fair attendees and conducted a retrospective cohort study among members of an agricultural club who attended the fair. Probable and confirmed cases of A(H3N2)v virus infection were defined by serology and genomic sequencing results, respectively. We identified 82 suspected, 4 probable, and 3 confirmed case-patients who attended the fair. Among 127 cohort study members, the risk for suspected case status increased as swine exposure increased from none (4%; referent) to visiting swine exhibits (8%; relative risk 2.1; 95% CI 0.2-53.4) to touching swine (16%; relative risk 4.4; 95% CI 0.8-116.3). Fairs may be venues for zoonotic transmission of viruses with epidemic potential; thus, health officials should investigate respiratory illness outbreaks associated with agricultural events.

Two Hundred Hectares of Good Business: Brazilian Agriculture in a Themed Space*

.Geographers have recognized that trade fairs and other temporary spaces function as centers of knowledge, but we have a weak understanding of how fairs are themed spaces, similar to parades, festivals, and built environments, that produce cultural and political meanings. In this article we analyze the morphology, iconography, and performance of a large agricultural fair in Brazil, the Bahia Farm Show, which produces a regional identity of highly productive, leading‐edge, and globally competitive agriculture in a former economic backwater. We discuss the production of themes in terms of power relations, cultural processes, relations with nature, and sociotechnological norms for agriculture. Omissions from the Farm Show indicate tension and accommodation between elites at different geographical scales. Brazil's high‐input, high‐output agriculture relies in part on the meanings that events such as agricultural fairs sustain and reproduce.

Molecular evidence for interspecies transmission of H3N2pM/H3N2v influenza A viruses at an Ohio agricultural fair, July 2012

Evidence accumulating in 2011–2012 indicates that there is significant intra- and inter-species transmission of influenza A viruses at agricultural fairs, which has renewed interest in this unique human/swine interface. Six human cases of influenza A (H3N2) variant (H3N2v) virus infections were epidemiologically linked to swine exposure at fairs in the United States in 2011. In 2012, the number of H3N2v cases in the Midwest had exceeded 300 from early July to September, 2012. Prospective influenza A virus surveillance among pigs at Ohio fairs resulted in the detection of H3N2pM (H3N2 influenza A viruses containing the matrix (M) gene from the influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 virus). These H3N2pM viruses were temporally and spatially linked to several human H3N2v cases. Complete genomic analyses of these H3N2pM isolates demonstrated >99% nucleotide similarity to the H3N2v isolates recovered from human cases. Actions to mitigate the bidirectional interspecies transmission of influenza A virus between people and animals at agricultural fairs may be warranted. Emerging Microbes & Infections (2012) 1, e33; doi:10.1038/emi.2012.33

Prevalence, antibiotic resistance and molecular characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus in pigs at agricultural fairs in the USA

Fairs and petting zoos have been associated with outbreaks of zoonotic disease. Previously, the presence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was documented in commercial pigs; therefore, it was hypothesised that...

Characterization of body biometrics during growth of elite Santa Ines sheep

The objective of this study was to characterize body biometrics of Santa Ines sheep during growth. Data from 4,038 animals, males and females, with ages from four to 36 months, from different herds participating in the National Agricultural Fair in Bahia from 2003 to 2008 were used. The characteristics evaluated were: body weight, average daily gain, body length, thoracic circumference, anterior height and posterior height. The mean values found were compared by the Student-Newman-Keuls test. All characteristics studied showed gradual change with aging, and it is worth-noting that age had positive effect on body weight, body length, thoracic circumference, anterior height and posterior height and negative effect on average daily gain. Average daily gain was reduced by 68.5% from four to 36 months of age, while the mean improvements observed in both sexes in this age range, for body weight, body length, thoracic circumference, anterior height and posterior height were 137.8%, 23.5%, 43.2%, 19.3% and 19.6%, respectively. However, the increments for body weight, body length and thoracic circumference were higher until 12 months of age, when an increase of 72.7%, 14.6% and 24.8% in their respective characteristics was verified. For anterior height and posterior height, the greatest increase occurred up to eight months of age with improvement of 8.4% for both measures. Santa Ines sheep have different growth rates for body measurements; whereas growth in posterior height stabilizes earlier, the thoracic circumference, along with body weight, remains growing for longer time.

A cardiovascular disease risk factor screening program designed to reach rural residents of Maine, USA

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in many countries and a particular burden to rural communities. Hypertension and diabetes are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but screening for them is suboptimal, particularly in rural settings. Thus screening programs targeting rural dwellers may be important. This article reports the findings of a blood pressure (BP) and blood glucose screening program conducted from a mobile van that visited community events including agricultural fairs across Maine, U.S.A. to bring screening to rural Mainers. The study objectives were to determine: (1) if the screening program was successful at reaching rural Mainers; (2) if rural screenees had a different risk of hypertension or diabetes compared with non-rural screenees; and (3) what characteristics of a community event predict that a screening conducted at that event will reach a high fraction of rural residents. The van visited events from 2006-2009 conducting voluntary BP and blood glucose screenings. Results were analyzed by the rurality of the town of residence of the screenees, the rurality of location of the screening event, and the type of screening event (agricultural fair vs other). Systolic BP of 140 mmHg or greater or diastolic BP of 90 mmHg or greater was considered to be hypertension, and systolic BP of 120-139 mmHg or diastolic BP 80-89 mmHg as pre-hypertension. Blood glucose of 140-199 mg/dL was considered to be pre-diabetes and blood glucose of 200 mg/dL or greater as diabetes. Rurality was divided into urban, sub-urban, large rural town, and small rural town/ isolated rural based on Rural Urban Commuting Codes (RUCAs), assigned by zip code. Mean BP and blood glucose values were compared across residence rurality categories by ANOVA, the distribution of screening values into normal/ abnormal categories was compared across residence rurality categories by chi2 test, and the impact of type and rurality of location of screening event on the residence of screenees was assessed with analysis by regression with categorical variables. Over 4 years, 2451 Mainers from 254 towns were screened at 42 events located in 28 towns. Seventy-six percent of screenees lived in rural areas and screenees were more likely to live in rural areas compared with all Maine residents (p < 0.001). Rurality of residence impacted hypertension risk (p = 0.001) but not diabetes risk. Screenees from large rural towns had the highest mean systolic BPs and rural-dwellers had higher hypertension or pre-hypertension risk compared with urban/ sub-urban dwellers. Conducting screenings at agricultural fairs (p = 0.003) and in rural areas (p = 0.001) were independent predictors of attracting more rural screenees. Holding cardiovascular risk factor screenings in locations that are culturally appropriate and geographically convenient for an at-risk population are common approaches; however, their effectiveness is seldom tested. The results show that both the type of event at which the screening is conducted and the rurality of location of that event help attract rural screenees, and that it is possible for a screening program to reach a population significantly more rural than the population of the state and one that has an elevated hypertension risk.

Beliefs, attitudes, and propensity to buy locally produced food

In this study, conducted in Nova Scotia, Canada, we surveyed people at farmers' markets, agricultural fairs, and other agricultural events to investigate the views of people who would likely be trying to incorporate food into their everyday shopping habits. Survey respondents ( N = 2,316) indicated strong positive beliefs, attitudes, and propensity toward buying food. At the same time, however, they reported difficulty identifying whether food was as well as a lack of opportunities to food. The findings build upon the growing body of research surrounding the buy local movement in North America by providing insight into why people want to and potential barriers that prevent stronger markets for food products.

All-terrain vehicle riding among youth: how do they fair?

Purpose Pediatric all-terrain vehicle (ATV) injuries have been increasing annually for more than a decade. The objective of this study was to describe the riding behaviors, helmet use, and crash history of young ATV riders. Methods A 38 question self-administered survey was distributed to a convenience sample of children at 4 agricultural fairs during 2007. A total of 228 surveys were reviewed. Collected data included demographic information, ATV characteristics, helmet use, driving habits, and crash history. Results Survey respondents were predominantly male (71%) with an average age of 13.6 ± 2.0 years. Riding began at a young age (9.2 ± 3.2 years). Few children reported using age-appropriate sized engines (3% < 90 cm 3), and 22% of children rode ATVs with engines more than 300 cm 3. Respondents rode primarily for recreation (94%), and more than a third reported riding without a helmet (40%). More than 70% of children reported riding with passengers, 60% without adult supervision, and nearly half (46%) rode after dark. Less than 5% of riders received any formal ATV riding/safety instruction. Of the respondents, 45% reported being involved in an ATV crash. Those children who reported a crash also rode more powerful ATVs, were more often self-taught, and overall reported higher rates of riding with passengers and without supervision, and riding after dark ( P < .05). Conclusion Dangerous driving behavior among children who ride ATVs is widespread, and current safety recommendations are largely ignored. Renewed efforts are needed to improve safety programs and create policy measures that prevent pediatric ATV crash-related injuries.

Massachusetts quilts: our common wealth

Massachusetts Quilts: Our Common Wealth. Edited by Lynne Zacek Bassett. Hanover: University Press of New England, 2009. 336 pages $60.00 (hardcover). LynneBassett, with ten other contributors, offers a fascinating study of Massachusetts quilts in the context of history, genealogy, local industry, and textile production in the handsomely presented Massachusetts Quilts: Our Common Wealth. Including only a small percentage of the nearly 6,000 Massachusetts quilts they (and the many members of the Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project) have studied since 1994, a wide range of techniques, fabrics and designs are represented in a thorough and carefully documented historical context. The research findings are divided into three major thematic sections: History, Community, and Memory. Approached much like an exhibition catalogue, introductory essays provide an overview of each of the three divisions and are followed by illustrated examples discussed in detail. Geographical distinctions create the divisions under History and include some of the first extant quilted objects known in Massachusetts: pieced cloth-covered hand screens and petticoats, as well as whole cloth quilts and a quilted palampore dating 1825 to 1850. Quilting gatherings, agricultural fairs, and immigrant and ethnic communities are a few of the themes that organize the section under Community; and Friendship and Signature Quilts provide two of the themes designated Memory. Bassett and her major contributors (each a textile curator, quilt historian, or independent historian) emphasize the historical context for each quilted object (documenting genealogy, researching family stories, referencing dying and textile history, citing relevant economic and industrial circumstances) with their visual description of the textiles, the patchwork or applique pattern and the quilting design of the works. The attentive descriptions of the quilts encourage careful looking on the part of the reader and the contextual history keep these works firmly planted in the history of Massachusetts. The volume's coffee table book format provides room for photographs of the entire quilted object that beautifully illustrate the textural surface of many of the works. Portrait photographs, contemporary images of relevant historic sites, details of some quilts, and line drawings articulating the quilted designs also provide welcome information. However, any non-scholarly connotations associated with the term 'coffee table book' do not apply to Massachusetts Quilts. Family oral histories are challenged and documented as factual or dispelled, references to current quilt history research appears throughout, provenance is carefully documented, collateral objects (e.g. merchants' sample swatch books and family memorabilia) shed greater light on the context of the quilt's creation, and diary entries documenting contemporary quilting activities reveal how quilts and quilting fit into the daily life of eighteenth and nineteenth century women. …

Assessment of measures to prevent disease associated with animals in agricultural fairs—Maine, 2008

Outbreaks of enteric disease associated with animal exhibits have been reported with increasing frequency. Visitors at venues that permit contact with animals can become exposed by direct animal contact or by contact with environmental surfaces. The Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings, issued by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV), provides recommendations to minimize risks associated with animals in public settings. An observational study of Maine agricultural fairs was conducted to determine whether the recommendations provided by the NASPHV were being utilized. Visitors had direct contact with animals that are potential sources of enteric pathogens. Eating and drinking were permitted while interacting with animals and, with the exception of strollers, there were no exclusions on items being brought into the exhibits. Few exhibits provided visitors with educational messages regarding disease risk and prevention measures (3%). There were insufficient handwashing signs (18%) and handwashing stations available at animal exhibits (38%) and midways (20%). None of the venues were designed with 1-way visitor flow. The results from this survey suggest that the recommendations provided by the NASPHV are not being fully implemented at agricultural fairs in Maine.

Observation of Practices at Petting Zoos and the Potential Impact on Zoonotic Disease Transmission

Although petting zoos are common at public events and allow the public to interact with animals, there has been minimal evaluation of practices at petting zoos. Unannounced observation was performed at 36 petting zoos in Ontario, Canada. Observers recorded information, including physical layout, animal species, animal health, types of animal contact permitted, animal sources, hand hygiene facilities, signage, sale of food for human consumption, and hand hygiene compliance. The majority of petting zoos (24 [67%] of 36 petting zoos) were part of temporary events, particularly agricultural fairs (21 [58%] of 36 petting zoos). A variety of animal species were present, including some animals that are considered to be at particularly high risk for disease transmission (neonatal calves and baby chicks). The following items that would come into contact with the mouths of infants and children were carried into the petting zoos: baby bottles (at 17 petting zoos; 50%), pacifiers (at 24 petting zoos; 71%), spill-proofs cups (at 19 petting zoos; 56%), and infant toys (at 22 petting zoos; 65%). Hand hygiene facilities were provided at 34 (94%) of 36 events, and hand hygiene compliance ranged from 0% through 77% (mean compliance [+/-SD], 30.9%+/-22.1%; median compliance, 26.5%). Predictors for increased hand hygiene compliance included the location of a hand hygiene station on an exit route, the presence of hand hygiene reminder signs, and the availability of running water. Numerous deficiencies were encountered. Better education of petting zoo operators and the general public is needed. Provision of hand hygiene stations with running water that are placed near exits is one effective way to encourage compliance.

The Social Construction of a Sense of Place

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the meanings recreationists tenting at an agricultural fair associated with the settings in which their fair experience occurred. Using a symbolic interactionist framework, our analysis of data collected through onsite observation and using photo-elicitation guided interviews illustrated that informants' place meanings were the product of interactive processes involving the individual, their social world and the physical setting. These interactions elicited meanings tied to place that were largely independent of the physical attributes that defined the setting. Most significant were specific place experiences shared with family and close friends. The importance attached to these relationships and experiences were embedded in the spatial contexts that encapsulated informants' fair experience. Findings from this investigation shed light on the social construction of place meaning within a built environment.

“Fitter Families for Future Firesides”: Florence Sherbon and Popular Eugenics

In the 1920s, eugenicists adapted public health contests to create "Fitter Family for Future Firesides" contests. Designed by Mary T. Watts and Dr. Florence Sherbon, these contests were deliberately staged at agricultural fairs. These contests encouraged families to re-imagine their histories as pedigrees subject to scientific analysis and control, while appealing to a deeply rooted sense of nostalgia for the rural family as the nation became increasingly urban, as rural children left farms, and as the culture of the Roaring Twenties challenged "traditional values". As such, the fitter family contests fused nostalgia for the farm family with a modernist promise of scientific control.

Caracterização morfométrica de ovinos da raça Santa Inês criados nas microrregiões de Teresina e Campo Maior, Piauí

Objetivou-se com esta pesquisa caracterizar fenotipicamente (peso e morfometria corporal) a conformação zootécnica de ovinos Santa Inês, machos e fêmeas de diferentes idades, criados em Teresina e Campo Maior, Piauí. Foram utilizados dados de pesos e de medidas corporais de 1.113 animais criados a campo e de 824 animais que participaram de exposição em feira agropecuária de Teresina. As características estudadas, comparadas pelo teste de Student-Newman-Keuls, foram: peso do animal, altura na cernelha e na garupa, comprimento corporal e de garupa, perímetro torácico e dois índices indicadores de capacidade corporal do animal. O efeito do manejo mostrou-se uma importante fonte de variação nas características avaliadas e o dimorfismo sexual foi mais acentuado nos animais mais velhos. O peso corporal foi mais influenciado pelos efeitos considerados nas análises que as demais medidas morfométricas. O índice que relaciona o peso ao comprimento corporal evidenciou que a tendência de acúmulo de gordura nos machos adultos é maior que nas fêmeas. O peso e as medidas morfométricas avaliadas apresentaram-se positivamente correlacionados, indicando a possibilidade de respostas correlacionadas se utilizados em programa de seleção da raça.

A trans-national machine on the world stage: representing McCormick's reaper through world's fairs, 1851–1902

The McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. displayed its harvesting machinery at world fairs and agricultural fairs, using these events to build respectability for its machines and in support of sales and advertising claims. Records of the company reveal the firm's competitive behaviour at these fairs and their associated field trials for agricultural machinery. Analysis of company advertisements, catalogues, and correspondence on fairs and field trials reveals the way McCormick used these events, the extent and nature of international competition, and the nature of the world stage for industrial competition. Cyrus Hall McCormick, founder of the company, learning from his Crystal Palace success of 1851 and his even earlier experience with fairs in the USA, represented his reaper as a global product, made in America and internationally successful. Indeed, at the fairs McCormick's machines were embroiled in internecine warfare among an international brotherhood of manufacturers in pursuit of common goals and using a common repertoire of tactics, if not identical machines. This is because ‘American harvesting machines’ were a trans-national phenomenon. The paper concludes that globalisation was occurring in harvesting machinery and suggests that problems emerge from considering international competition in this industry as a contest among distinct national economies.