Lung sounds in cattle, horses, sheep and goats

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of pulmonary auscultation for the clinician. It suggests a clarification and simplification of the terminology to be used which would be helpful to veterinary students and allow better communications between veterinarians. The interpretation of these sounds and the relationships to conditions and diseases of the lungs in cattle, horses, sheep and goats are discussed.     

Comparison of pepsinogen forms in cattle, sheep and goats

Different types and subtypes of pepsinogen extracted from bovine, ovine and caprine abomasa were found to differ according to their phosphate content and relative molecular mass (Mr). Bovine pepsinogens had organic phosphate contents ranging from 1.65 to 2.22 mol of phosphate mol-1 of pepsinogen. Ovine pepsinogens were in the range 1.50 to 2.36 and caprine pepsinogens were in the range 1.42 to 2.00. The major types of pepsinogen from each species were different in size. Bovine pepsinogen had an Mr of 39,000, ovine had an Mr of 43,000 and caprine pepsinogen had an Mr of 42,000.     

Toxoplasmosis in sheep,goats and cattle in central Ethiopia

In a seroepidemiological survey using an indirect haemagglutination assay, the prevalence rate of toxoplasmosis in central Ethiopia was 22.9% of 899 sheep, 11.6% of 753 goats and 6.6% of 785 cattle. There were high titres of 1:256 or more which suggest current infections. These results indicate that toxoplasmosis may be an important cause of reproductive wastage in small ruminants. The public health significance of this disease is discussed. Improved hygiene and management could reduce the prevalence of the disease.     

Dynamics of digestion in cattle, sheep, goats and deer

Four experiments were conducted to study factors affecting digestibility of forages in cattle, sheep, goats and white-tailed deer. In a series of digestion trials (Exp. 1), the dry matter digestibility of a moderately high fiber diet was greater in cattle than in deer. Digestibilities of the diet in sheep and goats were intermediate and not different from either extreme. In a second series of trials (Exp. 2), relative organic matter digestibilities were for goats more than sheep more than deer. However, in Exp. 2, intake in goats was very low and digestibility appeared to be positively related to retention time and inversely related to turnover rate. Results of three trials (Exp. 3) suggested that rate of digestion was related more to diet than to the animal species consuming the diet. In grazing animals (Exp. 4), goats digested a smaller percentage of consumed material than either cows or sheep during three of four seasons even though diets were of similar in vitro digestibility. This difference was related to a faster turnover and shorter retention time in goats. These data support the concept that there are species differences in gastrointestinal dynamics which may be which may be important determinants of adaptability to grazing conditions.     

Lysozyme concentrations in the tears of cattle, goats, and sheep

Tear samples were collected from 1 eye of each of 40 cows, 27 sheep, 5 goats, and 5 human beings. Additionally, 10 bovine tear samples were pooled and concentrated. Spectrophotometric assays, using Micrococcus lysodeikticus, were performed on each sample to detect lysozyme activity expressed in hen egg lysozyme (HEL) equivalents. Lysozyme activity was not detected in tears of cows, but 158.8 +/- 159.3 mg of HEL/ml was detected in tears of sheep, 220.7 +/- 37.5 mg of HEL/ml in tears of goats, and 216.3 +/- 86.2 mg of HEL/ml in tears of human beings. In pooled bovine tear samples, lysozyme activity was not detected on plate assay and lysozyme protein was not detected on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, column chromatography, or immunoelectrophoresis with rabbit anti-bovine tear antibodies. On the basis of these observations, we concluded that the basic ocular protective mechanism in bovine tears is not lysozyme. Other anti-bacterial proteins such as lactoferrin, transferrin, complement, or beta-lysin may, therefore, be of primary importance in protecting the bovine eye.     

Pharmacokinetic comparison of six anthelmintics in sheep,goats, and cattle

This study was initiated to determine whether a comparative pharmacokinetic (PK) approach could be used to expand the pool of approved anthelmintics for minor ruminant species. Accordingly, the PK profiles of six anthelmintics (levamisole, albendazole, fenbendazole, moxidectin, doramectin, and ivermectin) in sheep, goats, and cattle were determined. The PK values determined for each anthelmintic included T_max, T_last, C_max, AUC, AUC/dose, and C_max/dose. The results of this study demonstrate that a comparative PK approach does not show commonality in the way these six anthelmintics are individually processed by these three ruminants. While some drugs demonstrated identical PK profiles between sheep and goats, none of these drugs demonstrated PK profiles in sheep and goats comparable to the PK profiles found in cattle. The results from this study suggest drug approval across these three ruminants is not a viable concept. However, the resulting PK profiles for each combination of drug and ruminant species represents a new dataset that can be used to support the US FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine's Minor Use/Minor Species indexing process for drug approvals in minor species such as sheep and goats.     

Comparative study of milk compositions of cattle,sheep and goats in Nigeria

Variations in the milk composition of Nigerian cattle, sheep and goats (Bunaji, Yankasa and Red Sokoto breeds, respectively), as well as residual phenotypic correlations between the milk constituents, were investigated. Results indicated that sheep and goats differed significantly (P < 0.05) from cattle in all constituents except protein percentage, which averaged 5.43%, 5.43% and 5.49%, respectively. Caprine milk contained the highest percentages of fat (5.80%), total solids (15.37%) and ash (0.77%), and bovine milk contained the least percentages of fat (0.68%) and lactose (1.84%). Overall, the milk compositions of sheep and goats were very similar as they were not statistically different from each other (P > 0.05). Residual phenotypic correlations between the milk constituents revealed highly significant (P < 0.01) and positive relationships between total solids and solids‐not‐fat (0.97 and 0.98 in cattle and sheep, respectively). All other correlations were positive in cattle (ranging from 0.12 to 0.77), except between protein and total solids (?0.44) and protein and solids‐not‐fat (?0.64). Multiple linear regression equations were fitted to predict the percentages of protein and fat. It was demonstrated that the protein percentage could be predicted from total solids and solids‐not‐fat with the highest accuracy of 94%, 86% and 82% in cattle, sheep and goats, respectively. On the other hand, the accuracy of prediction of fat percentage was very low in all the species (R² = 0.01, 0.3 and 0.37 in cattle, sheep and goats, respectively).     

Chiral behaviour of the metabolite albendazole sulphoxide in sheep, goats and cattle

Three sheep, three goats and three cattle were dosed orally with 5.0, 7.5 and 10 mg albendazole kg-1 bodyweight, respectively. Blood samples were taken at intervals for 48 hours after administration. The enantiomeric ratio of the metabolite albendazole sulphoxide (SO.ABZ) was determined by liquid chromatography on chiral stationary phases. At To, the plasma concentration ratio (+)SO.ABZ/(-)SO.ABZ was estimated at 3.0 in sheep, 1.5 in goats and 4.0 in cattle. The proportion of the (+) enantiomer then increased linearly as a function of time during the course of the kinetics. In comparison to the area under the curve for total SO.ABZ, the (+) enantiomer represented 86 per cent in sheep, 80 per cent in goats and 91 per cent in cattle. The specific behaviour of the two enantiomers is probably the result of the enantioselectivity of the flavine adenosine dinucleotide and cytochrome P450 dependent enzymatic systems which are involved in the sulphoxidation and the sulphonation of ABZ.     

Surveys on Coxiella burnetii infections in Swedish cattle,sheep, goats and moose

Background

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Prevalence data in ruminant species are important to support risk assessments regarding public and animal health. The aim was to investigate the presence of or exposure to C. burnetii in cattle, sheep, goats and moose, and to compare two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). National surveys of antibodies against C. burnetii were performed for dairy cattle (n=1537), dairy goats (n=58) and sheep (n=518). Bovine samples consisted of bulk milk, caprine of pooled milk, and ovine of pooled serum. Antibodies were investigated in moose samples (n=99) from three regions. A one-year regional cattle bulk milk survey was performed on the Isle of Gotland (n=119, four occasions). Cattle, sheep and goat samples were analysed with indirect ELISA and moose samples with complement fixation test. For the sheep, goat, and parts of the cattle survey, samples were run in parallel by ELISAs based on antigens from infected ruminants and ticks. Bulk milk samples from the regional cattle survey and vaginal swabs from a subset of the sheep herds (n=80) were analysed for the agent by polymerase chain reaction. Spatial clustering was investigated in the national cattle survey.

Results

The prevalence of antibodies in dairy herds was 8.2% with large regional differences. High risk clusters were identified in the southern regions. The prevalence among dairy herds on the Isle of Gotland varied from 55.9% to 64.6% and 46.4% to 58.9.0% for antibodies and agent, respectively, overall agreement between agent and antibodies was 85.2%. The prevalence of antibodies in sheep was 0.6%, the agent was not detected the vaginal swabs. Antibodies were not detected in goats or moose, although parts of the moose samples were collected in an area with high prevalence in cattle. The overall agreement between the two ELISAs was 90.4%.

Conclusions

The prevalence of antibodies against C. burnetii in dairy cattle in Sweden shows large regional differences. The results suggest that C. burnetii is a rare pathogen among Swedish moose, dairy goat and sheep. ELISAs based on ruminant and tick antigen performed in a similar manner under Swedish conditions.     

Comparative utilization of warm- and cool-season forages by cattle, sheep and goats

The quality of different classes of forage hay (C3, C4 grasses and legumes) was determined in intake and digestibility trials with mature cattle, sheep and goats. For all nine hays, DM and NDF digestibility by cattle and goats was higher (P less than .05) than by sheep, with no differences due to forage class. Cattle had a higher (P less than .01) DM intake than sheep or goats averaged across forage (92.6 vs 65.8 and 68.6 g/kg BW.75); hay intake was highest on legume, with no difference between C3 and C4 grasses. Mean NDF intake by cattle was greater than by sheep or goats (58.7 vs 39.6 and 42.6 g/kg BW.75); NDF intake for all animal species decreased in the order C4 grass greater than C3 grass greater than legume. Particle passage rates did not differ (P greater than .05) with forage class but were higher (P less than .02) for sheep and goats than for cattle. Prefeeding ruminal DM fill values, determined by emptying, were 10.6, 15.0 and 19.9 g/kg BW1.0 for alfalfa, orchardgrass and switchgrass hays fed to cattle, and 11.2, 11.3 and 16.5 g/kg BW1.0 for the same hays fed to sheep. Estimated turnover times for DM and NDF were shorter (P less than .05) for sheep than for cattle; DM turnover was longer for switchgrass than for alfalfa and orchardgrass, with no forage differences in NDF turnover between these two animal species. Results show that goats were superior to sheep in NDF digestion.     

Application of an electrometric method for measurement of blood cholinesterase activities in sheep, goats and cattle treated with organophosphate insecticides

A modified electrometric cholinesterase method has been described for use in ruminants exposed to organophosphate insecticides. The method was used to measure cholinesterase activities in the plasma and erythrocytes of sheep, goats and cattle treated with organophosphate insecticides under field conditions. The animals were treated topically to control ectoparasites with malathion (0.05%) or diazinon (0.06%). The treated animals did not suffer from adverse effects related to cholinesterase inhibition. However, 2 h after treatments, plasma and erythrocyte cholinesterase activities significantly decreased in sheep by 20% and 39% and in goats by 18% and 30%, respectively, when compared with respective untreated control values. Diazinon did not significantly affect plasma and erythrocyte cholinesterase activities in the cattle. The results suggest that the described electrometric method could be efficiently used for detecting cholinesterase inhibition in ruminants exposed to organophosphate insecticides.     

The incidence of ticks ofBoophilus species on cattle,sheep and goats in Nigeria

Summary A survey of infestation ofBoophilus species on cattle, sheep and goats was undertaken in Nigeria between January and December 1973. Three species were encountered on cattle and of these,B. decoloratus (Koch, 1844) was predominant. The others wereB. geigyi [(Aeschlimann and Morel, 1965)] andB. annulatus [(Say, 1821)=B. congolensis (Minning, 1934)].B. decoloratus andB. annulatus were found in varying numbers in all vegetational zones of Nigeria andB. geigyi was absent in the arid Sudan zone but was the predominant species in the forest zone. While theB. annulatus was almost equally represented during the dry and rainy seasons, theB. decoloratus andB. geigyi were most numerous during the dry season. Very few boophilids were found on sheep and goats. All wereB. decoloratus.

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Resumen Desde Enero hasta Diciembre de 1973, se hizo un reconocimiento en Nigeria sobre la infestación de varias especies deBoophilus en bovinos, ovinos y caprinos. Se encontraron tres en bovinos, con predominio delB. decolaratus (Koch, 1844) La segunda y tercera en su orden fueron elB. geigyi (Aeschlimann y Morel, 1965) y elB. annulatus. [(Say, 1821)=B. congolensis (Mining, 1934)]. ElB. decoloratus y elB. annulatus se encontraron en cantidades variables en todas las zonas con vegetación en Nigeria. ElB. geigyi no se encontró en la zona árida de Sudan, pero fue la especie predominante en la zona forestal. ElB. annulatus estuvo presente durante la sequía y la estación lluviosa. ElB. decoloratus y elB. geigyi fueron más abundantes durante la estación seca. Se encontraron pocosBoophilus en ovejas y cabras. Todos fueronB. decoloratus.

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Résumé Une étude sur l'infestation parBoophilus spp. des bovins, des moutons et des chèvres a été entreprise au Nigéria entre janvier et décembre 1973. Trois espèces ont été recontrées chez les bovins, parmi lesquellesB. decoloratus (Koch, 1844) étrait la plus courante. Les autres étaientB. geigyi (Aeschlimann et Morel, 1965) etB. annulatus [(Say, 1821)=B. congolensis (Mining, 1934)].B. coloratus etB. annulatus ont été trouvées en quantités variables dans toutes les zones de végétation etB. geigyi était absent dans la zone aride du Soudan mais était l'espèce prédominante dans la zone forestière. Tandis queB. annulatus était presque également représenté pendant la saison sèche et la saison des pluies,B. decoloratus etB. geigyi étaient plus nombreux pendant la saison sèche. Très peu deBoophilidae ont été trouvés sur des moutons et les chèvres. Tous étaient desB. decoloratus.