Brucellosis — a reply

Extract

Madam:- I appreciate the opportunity to comment on Mr Wallace's letter concerning the possible risks of disastrous results consequent upon too early withdrawal of vaccination with Brucella abortus Strain 19. He is certainly not alone in expressing this concern.     

COnfusion reigns — a reply

Extract

Madam:– Thank you for the opportunity to reply to the letter from Dr. Wiessing.     

Salmonellosis in sheep and zinc oxide dosing–a reply from massey university

Extract

Madam:– We are surprised that Messrs Smith and Towers misinterpreted our letter on salmonellosis in ram hoggets following prophylactic zinc dosing as a criticism of their actions or of their research and publication record. In fact, they echo our caution in stating that the results of drenching sheep with a fortnight's accumulated dose of zinc oxide have been presented and discussed as preliminary and that "no final recommendations will be made until optional dose rates and safety factors have been assessed."     

Coccidiosis in sheep—A review

Extract

Coccidiosis has long been recognized III Europe and the United States as a disease of some importance. As an introduction to the papers that follow in this issue, the authors considered that it would be profitable to review some of the overseas literature dealing with coccidiosis in sheep.     

First confirmation of rabies in Zamfara State,Nigeria—in a sheep

Tropical Animal Health and Production -     

Oestrogenic mycotoxin zearalenone and the pasture fungus Fusarium culorum — a reply

Madam:—I refer to R. T. Gallagher's short communication on the “Oestrogenic Mycotoxin Zearalenone and the pasture fungus Fusarium culmorum” (N.Z. vet. J. 33: 37–8).     

Winter Scours' in sheep — An oibsolete term

We recently published a paper⁽¹⁾ documenting the success of head-only electrical stunning in red deer (Cervus elaphus). This work has now been extended to fallow deer (Dama dama) to determine whether there are differences between this species and red deer in terms of behavioural responses and effectiveness of electrical stunning.     

Eperythrozoon ovis — A blood parasite of sheep

Eleven goats given dog-derived Sarcocystis sporocysts, showed illness from day 18. Doses of 5 × 10⁶ sporocysts caused a progressive temperature rise, with peaks at 6,11 and 18 days. Necropsy at 18 and 19 days revealed multiple petechiation and schizogony in endothelial cells. In goats given smaller doses, Hb, PCV and TP levels fell from day 17. IFAT titres rose from day 28.     

Salmonella Brandenburg — emergence of a variant strain on a sheep farm in the South Island of New Zealand

AIM: To compare the rectal and I/V administration of tramadol in dogs, to assess both its pharmacokinetic properties and absolute bioavailability.

METHODS: After rectal administration via suppositories and I/V injection of tramadol (4 mg/kg), the concentration of tramadol and its main metabolites, O-desmethyl-tramadol (M1), N-desmethyl-tramadol (M2) and N,O-didesmethyl-tramadol (M5), were determined in plasma, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A balanced cross-over study was used, involving six male Beagle dogs.

RESULTS: Plasma concentrations after rectal and I/V administration were fitted on the basis of mono- and bi-compartmental models, respectively. Following rectal administration tramadol was detected from 5 minutes up to 10 hours, in lesser amounts than M5 and M2, while M1 was detected in negligible amounts. Following I/V administration tramadol was detected up to 10 hours, M2 and M5 were detected at similar concentrations, and M1 was present at low concentrations. The area under the curve (AUC) of the three metabolites did not differ significantly after either route of administration of tramadol. The absolute bioavailability of tramadol via rectal administration was 10 (SD 4)%.

CONCLUSIONS: After rectal administration of tramadol suppositories, absorption of the active ingredient was rapid, but its metabolism quickly transformed the parent drug to high levels of M2 and M5.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In the dog, rectal pharmaceutical formulation of tramadol would have a different pharmacokinetic behaviour than in humans.     

Correction to: First confirmation of rabies in Zamfara State,Nigeria—in a sheep

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Unfortunately the Abstract was missing in the original version of this article. The Abstract is published below.     

Do traditional sheep breeders perform conscious selection? An example from a participatory breeding program of Morada Nova sheep

The implementation of sustainable breeding programs requires genetic breeding strategies that are appropriate for the reality production systems. It is also essential that the choice of animal selection criteria be based on breeders’ knowledge and objectives. This work is an ethno-zootechnical study of the Morada Nova sheep breed and its crossbreeds. The goals of this study were to register and analyze indigenous breeders’ knowledge and practices regarding animal selection criteria and to generate technical information to support a participatory breeding program of the breed. This study was conducted in the Morada Nova municipality in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were evaluated using two groups of individuals, purebred Morada Nova sheep breeders (RMN, n = 13) and breeders of Morada Nova crossbreeds (MMN, n = 48). Interview questions were used to identify local selection criteria adopted by each group in the choice of animals for breeding. Data from the interviews were submitted to frequency distribution analysis and the Shapiro-Wilk test to verify their distribution. Later, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the two groups of farmers based on that information, in addition to multivariate statistical analysis and evaluation of Smith salience index. Breeders in the RMN group used selection criteria related to breed standards, such as pelage color. In contrast, breeders of the MMN group used criteria related to productivity, such as body conformation and milk production. Breeders should be engaged in the development of breeding programs, and it is important to consider their preferences and objectives when evaluating breeding animals.