Suppression of sheep and goat lymphocyte proliferation by sheep, goat, and sheep x goat hybrid trophoblast tissue cultures.

Immunosuppressive activity of conditioned medium from cultured ovine, caprine, and hybrid trophoblast tissue was examined. Conceptuses were obtained from naturally mated donor ewes and does at d 20 of gestation and trophoblast tissue was cultured for 24 h in medium supplemented with 15% calf serum and 1% antibiotic/antimycotic. Conditioned medium was added to pokeweed mitogen-stimulated sheep and goat lymphocyte cultures. Quantification of [3H]thymidine uptake by cells was used to measure lymphocyte proliferation. Ovine, caprine, and hybrid conditioned medium effectively suppressed sheep and goat lymphocyte proliferation (P less than .01). There were no differences (P greater than .05) between the immunosuppressive activity of the three tissue types on either sheep or goat lymphocytes. For all treatment groups, sheep lymphocytes were suppressed more than goat lymphocytes (P less than .05). These results indicate that, at d 20 of gestation, sheep x goat hybrid trophoblast tissue is capable of suppressing pokeweed mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation.     

Routine sheep and goat procedures

Techniques involved in handling, restraint, sampling, identification, teat examination, and condition scoring are described. Procedures involved in foot trimming, docking, castrating, dosing, dehorning, descenting, dewattling, and giving injections are discussed. Care of the newborn is described.     

Anthelmintic resistance in sheep and goat farms on Peninsular Malaysia.

The faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) was conducted on 39 sheep farms and 9 goat farms located in Peninsular Malaysia. The anthelmintic groups used in these tests were the benzimidazoles, levamisole, the benzimidazole/levamisole combination, macrocyclic lactones and closantel. Results indicated that the prevalence of resistance to the benzimidazole group was high, with approximately 50% of the sheep farms and 75% of the goat farms having resistant nematode parasite populations present. Resistance to levamisole, closantel and ivermectin was also detected. Differentiation of the infective larvae derived from faecal cultures indicated that by far the most predominant parasite species was Haemonchus contortus.     

Ventilation of sheep and goat barns

Good ventilation is an important part of any livestock housing system. It may be accomplished by either natural or mechanical means. Generally, except for buildings that must be kept at warm, nonfluctuating temperatures, naturally ventilated cold housing is satisfactory for sheep and goats provided it is dry and draft-free in pen and resting areas, and air exchange is taking place at a rate high enough to remove moisture, gases, and airborne disease organisms from the building. Understanding the importance of site location, building orientation, and principles of ventilation design increases the likelihood of successful barn ventilation.     

牛羊赤羽病

赤羽病是由吸血昆虫进行传播的一种虫媒性病毒病 ,常导致牛羊繁殖障碍及新生胎儿发生关节弯曲和积水性无脑症 ,因而对牛羊危害较大。该病毒于 1 959年在日本群马县赤羽村首次被分离到。我国 1 998年首次分离并鉴定了该病毒 ,目前已证实我国至少有 1 3个省市地区有本病的流行。本文从病原、流行病学、致病机理、诊断与防治等方面对该病进行了综述 ,以期为该病的防制和研究提供可参考资料。     

Seroepidemiological survey of maedi-visna virus infection in sheep and goat flocks in Quebec.

Maedi-visna, a chronic viral disease of adult sheep characterized by progressive dyspnoea or neurological manifestations, was first recognized and described clinically in Canada in 1970. Seroepidemiological study was conducted in sheep and goats in various areas of Quebec. Sera of 10% of the animals of selected flocks were collected and specific antibodies against maedi-visna virus were tested by a modified direct complement fixation test. Results show seropositive rate of 67.6% for Sherbrooke sheep; of 40.5, 41.1 and 47.1% for Quebec, Saint-Hyacinthe and Nicolet sheep respectively and only 29.2 and 20.0% positive sera in l'Assomption and Rimouski animals. Prevalence rate of positive goats varied according to geographic areas (0 to 36.8%). Statistical analysis of various factors, e.g. age, breed, mode of raising, origin and size of flock showed no relation between these factors and the geographic areas. But, some clinical problems in the sheep flocks such as cough, rapid breathing, mortality and abortion were associated with high infection rate (greater than or equal to 50%) to maedi-visna virus. In goats, no correlation was demonstrated between these clinical signs and serological results. Our results suggest that it is important to consider this disease in an adequate program of preventive medicine in Quebec.