Heiko Nathues
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Heiko is a Senior Research Fellow and a member of the Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health Group in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. His current research focuses on Enzootic Pneumonia in pigs. The project “Advanced statistical analysis of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infections in pigs” is part of the Marie-Curie-Actions of the European Commission’s Framework Programme.
Biography
Heiko graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany, in 2004 with a Degree in Veterinary Medicine. He worked as a veterinary practitioner in a private practice specialised in pigs and poultry, before he went on to complete a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at the Field Station for Epidemiology in Bakum, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany, in 2007. Following this, he completed a PhD in porcine health management and population medicine at the same university. In 2008 he became a Lecturer in Pig Medicine and in the same year was promoted to civil servant status.
From 2004 onwards, Heiko joined a residency programme of the European College of Porcine Health Management (ECPHM). He completed his specialisation in 2008 and was the first Diplomate of the ECPHM certified by examination. In 2010, he became a member of the Education and Examination Committee of the same college and a member of the founding group of the European Association of Porcine Health Management (EAPHM). Heiko achieved his national certification as pig specialist in 2011 (FTA Schwein, Veterinary Chamber of Lower Saxony).
Heiko joined the Royal Veterinary College in 2011 as a Senior Research Fellow.
Research
Heiko’s research has been widespread and varied, but with special emphasis on infectious diseases in pigs. Recent projects were focused on:
- Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC)
- particularly M. hyo & PRRSV
- epidemiology
- diagnosis
- control
- prevention
- Infectious enteric diseases
- particularly Brachyspira and Lawsonia
- Reproductive failure
- Use & Interpretation of production data
- Vaccination against boar taint
Combining his own research interests and the services of his former institute, he has investigated the occurrence of enteric pathogens in porcine faeces by molecular biological methods, published the results in peer-review journals and finalized these studies by writing his doctoral thesis about the same topic. In parallel, he has started further projects focussing on respiratory diseases in pigs. Since there was always a clear central theme in this on-going research, especially on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, he was able to assemble several studies to a PhD thesis.
Beside his own research projects, Heiko has acquired and was supervisor / collaborator of various other projects. The significance and topicality of the own research is evidenced by numerous peer-review publications, various invited talks and several other occasions of presenting the results to the scientific community, veterinary students, practitioners, farmers, politicians and other people involved in pig production and porcine health management.
After changing his working environment from veterinary practice to the university in 2004, he established a laboratory for molecular biology at the Field Station for Epidemiology in Bakum, which was not existent before. When leaving this employer, he was the director of this division, which operated with four employees, examined approximately 45,000 samples per year and was fully accredited according to ISO 17025:2005 standards. Heiko also established and was leading a working area for genetic engineering that enabled the division to provide state of the art diagnostics, especially in terms of quality assurance and compliance with international standards in PCR diagnostics.
Heiko was/is holding different positions and functions in field studies and trials that were ordered by the pharmaceutical industry. He acted as field veterinarian, study investigator and as animal protection officer. As a team leader, he had to supervise tasks like designing, conducting, monitoring, recording, auditing, analysing and reporting trials conform to GCP and GLP standards.
He was a member of committees organizing international conferences in Vechta (International Society of Animal Hygiene, ISAH) and Hannover (European Symposium on Porcine Health Management, ESPHM)
Current funding: approximately £200k for the research programme on Enzootic Pneumonia.
Past funding: approximately £360k for various projects, including projects on “Diversity of PRRSV isolates”, “E-learning / Herd Health Management”, “E-learning / Digital Media”, “M. hyopneumoniae in nursery pigs”, “M. hyopneumoniae in suckling pigs”, “Optimizing PCR tests”, “Optimizing routine diagnostics”, “PCV2 vaccination”, “Quantification of L. intracellularis” and “Vaccination against boar taint”
Selected Publications
BEILAGE, E. G., LEHNER, S., MEEMKEN, D. & NATHUES, H. (2008a) Efficacy of vaccination against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in pigs from vaccinated and non-vaccinated sows. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 36, 399-406
BEILAGE, E. G., LEHNER, S. & NATHUES, H. (2008b) Study on the kinetics of antibodies against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in sows at time of parturition. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 36, 298-302
BEILAGE, E. G., LILLIE, K., IGELBRINK, R., HOFERER, M., FIEBIG, K., NATHUES, H. & GREISER-WILKE, I. (2008c) Effect of natural exposure to vaccine-derived north American genotype PRRS virus on the serological response in Naive pigs. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 55, 140-143
BEILAGE, E. G. & NATHUES, H. (2010) Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) Basics, Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Control. Praktische Tierarzt 91, 14-19
BEILAGE, E. G., NATHUES, H. & HEWICKER-TRAUTWEIN, M. (2008d) Differentiation between pneumonic lung lesions and technical artefacts during scoring of lungs from pigs at the abattoir. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 36, 258-262
BEILAGE, E. G., NATHUES, H., MEEMKEN, D., HARDER, T. C., DOHERR, M. G., GROTHA, I. & GREISER-WILKE, I. (2009) Frequency of PRRS live vaccine virus (European and North American genotype) in vaccinated and non-vaccinated pigs submitted for respiratory tract diagnostics in North-Western Germany. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92, 31-37
BEILLAGE, E. G., OPRIESSNJG, I., BRAKMANN, B., NATHUES, H., FIEBIG, K., GREISER-WILKE, I. & BAUMGARTNER, W. (2007) Infection with the EU genotype of PRRSV as cause of central-nervous disorders in suckling pigs. A case report. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 35, 294-298
FUCHS, T., NATHUES, H., KOEHRMANN, A., ANDREWS, S., BROCK, F., KLEIN, G. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2011) Comparative growth performance of pigs immunised with a gonadotrophin releasing factor vaccine with surgically castrated pigs and entire boars raised under conventionally managed conditions. Berliner Und Munchener Tierarztliche Wochenschrift 124, 22-27
FUCHS, T., NATHUES, H., KOEHRMANN, A., ANDREWS, S., BROCK, F., SUDHAUS, N., KLEIN, G. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2009a) A comparison of the carcase characteristics of pigs immunized with a 'gonadotrophin-releasing factor (GnRF)' vaccine against boar taint with physically castrated pigs. Meat Science 83, 702-705
FUCHS, T., THUN, R., PARVIZI, N., NATHUES, H., KOEHRMANN, A., ANDREWS, S., BROCK, F., KLEIN, G., SUDHAUS, N. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2009b) Effect of a gonadotropin-releasing factor vaccine on follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone concentrations and on the development of testicles and the expression of boar taint in male pigs. Theriogenology 72, 672-680
JARVEOTS, T., SAAR, T., LEPP, E., SUUROJA, T., LINDJARV, R., NATHUES, H., SUTT, S. & PODERSOO, D. (2011) Porcine proliferative enteropathy in Estonian pig herds: histopathology and detection of Lawsonia intracellularis by PCR. Berliner Und Munchener Tierarztliche Wochenschrift 124, 65-70
MOORKAMP, L., NATHUES, H., SPERGSER, J., TEGELER, R. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2008) Detection of respiratory pathogens in porcine lung tissue and lavage fluid. Veterinary Journal 175, 273-275
NATHUES, H. (2006) Predisposition of pigs for PRRSV. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 34, 273-274
NATHUES, H. (2007a) Effects of exogenous ACTH during oestrus in the sow. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 35, 388-389
NATHUES, H. (2007b) Literature survey of the diagnosis of porcine proliferative enteropathy. Berliner Und Munchener Tierarztliche Wochenschrift 120, 499-507
NATHUES, H. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2008) Diagnosis of Lawsonia intracellularis infection in pigs after vaccination or antimicrobial treatment. Deutsche Tierarztliche Wochenschrift 115, 404-409
NATHUES, H. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2009) Diagnostics and control of enzootic pneumonia in swine. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 37, 134-141
NATHUES, H. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2010a) Enzootic Pneumonia in Pigs. Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Control. Praktische Tierarzt 91, 20-+
NATHUES, H. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2010b) Laboratory diagnostics on specimens of pig farms. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 38, 57-64
NATHUES, H. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2010c) Pneumonia in Pig stocks Diagnosis, Epidemiology and Control. Praktische Tierarzt 91, 4-+
NATHUES, H., BOEHNE, I., BEILAGE, T. G., GERHAUSER, I., HEWICKER-TRAUTWEIN, M., WOLF, P., BEILAGE, E. G. & KAMPHUES, J. (2010a) Peracute selenium toxicosis followed by sudden death in growing and finishing pigs. Canadian Veterinary Journal-Revue Veterinaire Canadienne 51, 515-518
NATHUES, H., BOHNE, I., BEILAGE, T. G., GERHAUSER, I., HEWICKER-TRAUTWEIN, M., WOLF, P., KAMPHUES, J. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2010b) Aspects of animal welfare and food safety in case of feed incrimination with selenium in a fattening pig farm. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 38, 84-90
NATHUES, H., HOLTHAUS, K. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2009) Quantification of Lawsonia intracellularis in porcine faeces by real-time PCR. Journal of Applied Microbiology 107, 2009-2016
NATHUES, H., KUBIAK, R., TEGELER, R. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2010c) Occurrence of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infections in suckling and nursery pigs in a region of high pig density. Veterinary Record 166, 194-198
NATHUES, H., OLIVEIRA, C. J. B., WURM, M., BEILAGE, E. G. & GIVISIEZ, P. E. N. (2007) Simultaneous detection of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, brachyspira pilosicoli and Lawsonia intracellularis in porcine faeces and tissue samples by multiplex-PCR. Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series a-Physiology Pathology Clinical Medicine 54, 532-538
NATHUES, H., STRUTZBERG-MINDER, K., KREIENBROCK, L. & GROSSE, B. E. (2006) Chances and limits of serological testing in pig herds in case of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection. Deutsche Tierarztliche Wochenschrift 113, 448-452
NATHUES, H., TEGELER, R., GRUMMER, B. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2011) Retrospective analysis of laboratory examinations focusing on infectious agents in case of reproductive failure in swine herds. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 39, 155-161
PALZER, A., RITZMANN, M., POSCHINGER, K., STASSEN, T., NATHUES, H. & HEINRITZI, K. (2008) Enteritis of fattening pigs with isolation of Brachyspira murdochii. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 36, 257-+
PLANZ, C., NATHUES, H., BRINKMANN, U. & BEILAGE, E. G. (2010) Veterinary practice. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 38, 237-+