Characterisation of the bacterial and archaeal microbiota in fresh colostrum collected from a single, spring-calving dairy herd

by Sabine Scully, Bernadette Earley, Paul E. Smith, Matthew S. J. Finnie, Catherine McAloon, Frank Buckley, David A. Kenny, Sinéad M. Waters

There is increasing evidence to support the existence of a naturally occurring colostral microbiome, which may influence the development of the gastrointestinal microbiota and immune function of the calf. The objective of this study was to characterize the prokaryotic community of colostrum collected fresh (within 2h parturition) from primi- and multiparous Holstein-Friesian (n = 17) and Jersey (n = 10) cows. Extracted microbial DNA underwent qPCR and Illumina amplicon sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. High throughput amplicon sequencing data was analysed using a variety of R packages. Taxonomy was assigned using the SILVA database (v. 138.1). No effect of breed or parity was observed on alpha (α; Shannon) diversity and community composition. The mean Shannon score was 3.33 (SE 0.14), indicating a diverse community within sample. A total of 681 genus-level amplicon sequence variant (ASV) groups were identified prior to filtering for relative abundance (RA) of >0.05%. Nineteen bacterial genera were identified as core. The predominant bacterial phyla observed were Bacillota, Pseudomonadota, and Actinomycetota. Community membership consisted of common gut commensals, with many members exhibiting diverse metabolic functions. Within the archaeal community, Methanobrevibacter had the highest RA, accounting for 85.99%. No observed differences between breeds suggests that farm origin may be more influential than breed on microbiota composition. The presence of archaea and strict anaerobes highlights the need to investigate the existence of an entero-mammary pathway in cattle. This is the first study jointly characterising bacteria and archaea in colostrum from different breeds from the same dairy herd under pasture-based conditions. The diverse bacterial community observed warrants further investigation into its role in calf health in early life. Specific microbes, like Lachnospiraceae, should be investigated for their potential in the development of probiotics and preventative practices for better calf health.

Impact of a community-based asynchronous review clinic on appointment attendance delays across an eye hospital network in London, UK: an interrupted time series analysis

Objective

To assess the impact of opening a large community-based asynchronous review ophthalmic clinic on attendance delays among patients with stable chronic eye disease attending a London teaching eye hospital network.

Design

Interrupted time-series analysis of routine electronic health records of appointment attendances.

Setting

A large eye hospital network with facilities across London, UK, between June 2018 and April 2023.

Participants

We analysed 69 257 attendances from 39 357 patients, with glaucoma and medical retina accounting for 62% (n=42 982) and 38% (n=26 275) of visits, respectively. Patients over 65 made up 54% (n=37 824) of attendances, while 53% (n=37 014) were from the more deprived half of the population, and 51% (n=35 048) were males.

Intervention

An asynchronous review clinic opened in a shopping centre in London, in autumn 2021, following the COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020.

Main outcome measures

Average attendance delays (days), calculated as the difference between follow-up attendance date and the latest clinically appropriate date determined at the preceding attendance.

Results

Pre-COVID-19, attendance delays for chronic eye disease monitoring were increasing by 0.9 days per week (95% CI, 0.8 to 0.9) on average, worsening to 2.0 days per week (95% CI, 2.0 to 2.0) after the first COVID-19 national lockdown, mid-March 2020. Opening the asynchronous review clinic increased appointment capacity, with delays decreasing on average by 8.1 days per week (95% CI, 8.1 to 8.2) shortly after opening. The rate of decrease slowed to 0.3 days per week (95% CI, 0.3 to 0.3) after 5 months. We found no significant differences in average attendance delays by age, gender or level of deprivation.

Conclusion

The asynchronous review clinic significantly reduced attendance delays across the hospital network, addressing pre-existing backlog for stable chronic eye diseases. The reduction appeared to be maintained after the initial backlog had been cleared.