Development of computational models for the purpose of conducting individual livestock and premises traceback investigations utilizing National Animal Identification System-compliant data

Many of the efforts surrounding the development of the National Animal Identification System have encompassed the identification of livestock production and handling premises as well as individuals or herds of animals, whereas little effort has been directed toward the ultimate goal of animal traceback within 48 h. A mock data set representative of the Colorado cattle population was created for modeling of cattle traceability. Using this data set, algorithms were developed to complete rapid and accurate traceback and traceforward of animals or premises or both. On July 19, 2005, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, conducted a test exercise pertaining to homeland security. The exercise team randomly identified animal number 926,583 (of the 2 million total animals) as a potentially infected animal of interest and requested a traceback of this animal. Traceback was accomplished in 215 s, and 540 primary coresident animals were identified. However, due to animal movements, the number of coresidents (animals exposed, directly or indirectly, to the animal of interest) expanded with coresidency level (level 1 = direct contact; level 2 = direct contact with an animal that had direct contact with the animal of interest; level 3 = direct contact with an animal that had contact with an animal that had direct contact with the animal of interest, etc.) to more than 1.2 million coresidents at level 4, and more than 90% of all animals identified as a coresident at some level. In addition to the coresidency results, the premises containing the coresidents were identified and sorted by the number of coresidents. Because of animal movement, all 19,391 premises included in the data set had coresidents at some level. This exercise demonstrated the capability of the developed algorithms to complete rapid traceback and the complexity of the resulting animal traceback output.     

International trade in livestock and livestock products: the need for a commodity-based approach

International animal health standards designed to facilitate safe trade in livestock and livestock products are set by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and documented in the OIE's Terrestrial Animal Health Code. A core principle of the Code is the need for countries to eradicate important transboundary animal diseases (TADs) to reduce the risk of exporting disease to trading partners. International food safety standards are set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, administered jointly by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The goal of global eradication of most TADs is unachievable for the foreseeable future, other than in the case of rinderpest, and this prevents many countries, especially developing nations, from engaging in international trade under WTO rules. This paper proposes an alternative, commodity-based approach to the formulation of international animal health and food safety standards, based on the fact that different commodities pose very different risks when it comes to the spread of human and animal pathogens. Therefore, the risk mitigation strategies required are equally commodity-dependent. The authors conclude that more focused commodity standards would improve access to international markets for all countries, especially those in the developing world. For this objective to be realised, credible and independent certification is required.     

Globalization, international trade and animal health: the new roles of OIE

In order for countries and their stakeholders to maximize the benefits of globalization they must become familiar with, and must adhere to, the rights and obligations set out by the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). For the purpose of trade in animals and animal products, they must also adhere to the standards, guidelines and recommendations established by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Countries are also encouraged to participate in this standard setting process of the OIE. Only after implementing these requirements and after strengthening the veterinary infrastructures and their surveillance and monitoring systems, will countries be able to fully benefit from these new international trade rules.     

中国畜禽品种资源网络数据库系统的构建

在规范化《中国畜禽品种志》和重新调查搜集到的大量畜禽种质资源信息后,利用TBF全文信息非结构数据库,构建了“中国畜禽品种资源网络数据库”,并通过Internet以http：／／www．cdad-is．org．cn／网址发布。在网站内系统提供了包括全文检索、组合检索、二次检索、字段检索和多库检索等功能,并指出了本网络数据库的今后发展目标是如何获取我国畜禽品种资源的动态信息,以及实现资源信息从内容管理到知识管理的逐步过渡。     

猪链球菌2型分离株的生物学特性试验

对从济南某猪场急性死亡的病例中分离得到的阳性球菌进行了形态学观察、生化试验、PCR鉴定及序列测定,药敏试验结果显示该分离菌的形态、培养特性及生化特性符合链球菌2型的特点。PCR扩增出现长度为675bp的目的条带,其核苷酸序列与Genebank中猪链球菌2型参考菌株的同源性高达98%～100%。药敏试验表明该分离菌株对复方新诺明、氨苄西林、恩诺沙星、青霉素、万古霉素、阿莫西林高度敏感。动物致病性试验表明能100%致死小白鼠。     

Monte Carlo simulation of animal-product violations incurred by air passengers at an international airport in Taiwan

Our aim was to evaluate the inspection of arriving passengers for the illegal transport of animal products through the international airport into Taiwan. Passenger-violation data were retrieved from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) in Taiwan. Monte Carlo simulations with 5000 iterations were applied to estimate the predicted violation numbers considering factors such as passenger's nationality/ethnicity, sex, and monthly statistics of violations. The results showed that Chinese-related passengers and passengers from South East Asian countries have a relatively higher potential risk for incurring violations during the period from Christmas to Chinese Lunar New Year. Most monthly estimated violation risks are significantly higher than observed violation risks in 2001 and 2002, except April, July, and August. Due to the low sensitivity of the current detection system (reflected by the higher estimated violation risks and a two-fold detection increase after the implementation of an inspection service using detector dogs), we recommend additional preventive measures be taken.     

Use of staggered panels in sampling designs to increase the efficiency of estimating the number of incident cases of diseases in food animal populations

Sampling herds in staggered panels is proposed as a way to increase the precision of estimates of the number of incident cases of diseases in food animal populations. A components of variance model is offered as a parsimonious alternative to the somewhat intractable model underlying staggered-panel sampling. Evaluation of these methods using California National Animal Health Monitoring System data showed a gain in efficiency with staggered panel for seven of the eight diseases studied with little loss in efficiency for the eighth condition. The components of variance model was able to predict the gain in efficiency.     

Effects of increasing lysine on carcass composition and cutting yields of immunologically castrated male pigs

The objective of this experiment was to determine if increasing lysine in the diets of immunologically castrated (IC) male pigs would increase percentage fat free lean and carcass cutting yields when compared with physical castrates. The anti-gonadotropin-releasing factor (GnRF) immunological product (Improvest, Pfizer Animal Health) is used worldwide to immunologically castrate entire male pigs to control boar taint and take advantage of the inherent ability of the entire male to deposit more muscle, less fat, and grow more efficiently than physically castrated males. The immunization process essentially allows the pig to grow as an entire male pig for most of its life and then removes any boar odor (boar taint) before slaughter. Reported lean meat advantages may also provide economic benefits to the domestic meat industry. Approximately 1,200 male pigs [physical castrates, IC males, and entire males] were each assigned to 1 of 4 diet programs which differed in lysine content. In each case, lysine was fed in a conventional step-down program that culminated with the following concentrations in the late finishing diet: physical castrates fed low lysine (0.7%), IC fed low lysine (0.7%), IC fed low/medium lysine (0.8%), IC fed medium/high lysine (0.9%), IC fed high lysine (1.0%), and entire males fed high lysine (1.0%). At 25 wk of age (5 wk post-second injection), pigs were individually weighed and the 2 pigs (n=96) in each pen closest to the median pig BW were selected and slaughtered. The right side of each carcass was dissected into soft tissue, skin, and bone. Proximate composition was determined on the soft tissue to determine percentage fat-free lean. The left side of each carcass was weighed and initially fabricated into ham, loin, belly, and whole shoulder. Each primal piece was weighed again and further fabricated into respective subprimal cuts. Immunological castration did not change (P>0.05) shear force values or ultimate pH when compared with either physical castrates or entire males. Marbling appeared to decrease as dietary lysine was increased among IC males. As expected, IC males had a greater (P<0.05) percentage fat-free lean than physical castrates but less (P<0.05) than entire males. Immunologically castrated males fed diets with medium/high and high lysine had greater (P<0.05) lean cutting yields and carcass cutting yields than physical castrates. Lean cutting yield and carcass cutting yields appeared to increase as dietary lysine was increased among IC males. Overall, immunological castration improved carcass cutability, increased percentage fat free lean, and had no effect on pork quality when compared with physical castrates.     

Technical note: stearidonic acid metabolism by mixed ruminal microorganisms in vitro

Dietary supplementation of stearidonic acid (SDA; 18:4n-3) has been considered a possible strategy to increase n-3 unsaturated fatty acid content in ruminant products; however, little is known about its metabolism in the rumen. In vitro batch incubations were carried out with bovine ruminal digesta to investigate the metabolism of SDA and its biohydrogenation products. Incubation mixtures (4.5 mL) that contained 0 (control), 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, or 1.50 mg of SDA supplemented to 33 mg (DM basis) of commercial total mixed ration based on corn silage, for dairy cows, were incubated for 72 h at 39°C. The content of most fatty acids in whole freeze-dried cultures was affected by SDA supplementation. Branched-chain fatty acids decreased linearly (P < 0.01), and odd-chain fatty acids decreased quadratically (P < 0.01), particularly from 1.00 mg of SDA and above, whereas most C18 fatty acids increased linearly or quadratically (P ≤ 0.04). Stearidonic acid concentrations at 72 h of incubation were very small (<0.6% of total fatty acids and ≤0.9% of added SDA) in all treatments. The apparent biohydrogenation of SDA was extensive, but it was not affected by SDA concentration (P > 0.05). Biohydrogenation followed a pattern similar to that of other C18 unsaturated fatty acids up to 1.00 mg of SDA. Stearic acid (18:0) and vaccenic acid (18:1 trans-11) were the major fatty acids formed, with the latter increasing 9-fold in the 1.00 mg of SDA treatment. At greater inclusion rates, 18:0 and 18:1 trans isomers decreased (P ≤ 0.03), accompanied by increases in unidentified 18:3 and 18:4 isomers (P = 0.02), suggesting that the biohydrogenation pathway was inhibited. The present results clearly indicate that SDA was metabolized extensively, with numerous 18:4 and 18:3 products formed en route to further conversion to 18:2, 18:1 isomers, and 18:0.     

Coronavirus infections in the laboratory rat: degree of cross protection following immunization with a heterologous strain.

One hundred and twenty-one specific pathogen-free male Wistar rats eight to ten weeks of age were used to evaluate the efficacy of Parker's rat coronavirus (PRC) in affording cross protection on subsequent challenge with virulent sialodacryoadenitis (SDA) virus. Sixty-two animals were inoculated intranasally on day 0 and 21 days later with approximately 10(2) median tissue culture infective doses (TCID50) of the tenth passage of PRC replicated in L-2 cells. Animals were selected at random postvaccination to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PRC by histopathology, immunohistochemistry and serology. At three and six months postvaccination (PV), vaccinated and seronegative control rats were inoculated intranasally with approximately 10(3) TCID50 doses of virulent SDA virus. Challenged rats were then killed at 6, 10 and 14 days postchallenge and necropsied. Evaluations were based on lesion indices in lacrimal and salivary glands and respiratory tract, the presence of viral antigen by immunohistochemistry, and antibody response. Lesions were observed in rats killed PV, but in general, they were significantly reduced compared with those present in seronegative animals post-exposure to virulent SDA virus (p < or = 0.05). However, they were still considered to be an unacceptable level for a routine vaccination procedure. Potvaccination antibody titers to rat coronavirus were evident in all animals tested at three or six months prior to challenge with SDA virus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Efficacy of a single dose of an otic ivermectin preparation or selamectin for the treatment of Otodectes cynotis infestation in naturally infected cats

Otodectes cynotis infestation is common in kittens housed in crowded environments like animal shelters. It is unknown how rapidly O cynotis is killed within the first 72h of treatment with currently available products. Kittens ≥4 weeks of age with live O cynotis in both ears (AU) were administered 0.5ml of 0.01% ivermectin otic suspension (Acarexx; Idexx Pharmaceuticals) once, AU or selamectin (Revolution; Pfizer Animal Health) once, on the skin following the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat microscopic examination was performed on individual ears based on a randomization schedule during the 72h after treatment. There was no evidence of toxicity with either drug and administration of 0.01% ivermectin significantly reduced the time to live mite-free status compared to selamectin. Both drugs have an effect against O cynotis as early as 10-12h after administration with an increasing effect over time.     

畜产品质量安全问题及对策

畜产品是十分重要的营养来源,是人类生存的物质基础。近年来,在世界范围内出现了许多畜产品质量安全问题,威胁到人类的安全。从药物残留、农药及重金属残留、加工运输过程污染及质量监督体系不健全4个方面总结了我国畜产品品质安全存在的问题,并提出提高畜产品质量安全的对策。     

Evaluation of an immunofluorescence test on direct smears of conjunctival and urogenital swabs taken from koalas for the detection of Chlamydia psittaci

The Chlamydia-Cel Vet IF Test (CCVIT), a commercially available immunofluorescence test for use on direct smears of clinical specimens, was evaluated in a colony of 43 captive koalas. The test is based on a monoclonal antibody directed against the chlamydial common group specific lipopolysaccharide antigen. Swabs were taken from conjuncitva and penis or urogenital sinus and used for direct smear evaluation and cell culture isolation. Compared with isolation of the organism in cell culture, the CCVIT on direct smears of conjunctival swabs presented a sensitivity of 88%, a specificity of 100%, a positive predictive value (PV+) of 100% and a negative predictive value (PV-) of 97%. The CCVIT on direct smears of urogenital swabs presented a sensitivity of 90%, a specificity of 84%, a PV+ of 86% and a PV- of 89%. The overall sensitivity was 89% (95% confidence interval [CI] of 71% to 97%), the specificity 94% (95% CI of 84% to 98%), the PV+ 89% and the PV- 94%. It was concluded that the CCVIT on direct smears was suitable as a diagnostic screening test for the detection of Chlamydia psittaci in koalas.     

Development, aims and status quo of the EU animal disease law

The development of EC legislation is outlined using swine fever and foot and mouth disease as an example, starting with the possibility of vaccinating against both animal diseases in the 1980s without substantially restricting trade with vaccinated animals or products of these animals, right up to a policy of non-vaccination with the realisation of the single market with significant restrictions on intra-Community trade if the option of an emergency vaccination were to be used.The restrictions associated with emergency vaccination are basically tantamount to a vaccination ban. To that extent, vaccination needs to be taken into consideration as an instrument of animal disease control under the EU animal health legislation currently being discussed, the aim being for vaccinated animals that have tested as virus-free to be able to be marketed without any restrictions. This will, however, only be possible if all stakeholders (EU, member states, World Organisation for Animal Health, industry, consumers) achieve a broad consensus.     

Validation of disease diagnoses reported to the National Animal Health Monitoring System from a large Colorado beef feedlot

Clinical observation and collection of biological specimens from a large beef feedlot (approximately 30,0000 animals) were used to evaluate 6 approaches for validation of a disease reporting system. Data collected during a 12-month period were used to evaluate each approach. A subsample of disease cases reported to the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) was compared with the clinical observations of the investigators. Although the agreement between clinical diagnosis by the NAHMS veterinarian and by feedlot health crews was high, the sensitivity and specificity of specific diagnoses varied from 100 to 18% and from 99 to 76%, respectively, which suggests that regular clinical observations by a veterinarian are needed to validate disease diagnoses reported to NAHMS by producers. Subsampling of a group of cattle by means of paired serologic determination of antibodies to infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus, bovine viral diarrhea virus, bovine respiratory syncytial virus, and parainfluenza-3 virus revealed a high serologic conversion rate to infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, and high levels of preexisting antibody to bovine respiratory syncytial and parainfluenza-3 viruses. It was concluded that the current method of data collection for Colorado feedlots provides an acceptable level of sensitivity and specificity for the program. However, disease events that are not of economic importance to the feedlot operator will be underestimated. If an objective of NAHMS is to develop a base line of animal health conditions, diagnosis of diseases by current methods will be satisfactory. Occasional validation through clinical observations by a veterinarian will suffice to monitor quality of collected data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The occurrence of paranuclear vacuoles in sheep ruminal epithelium treated with distilled water in vitro and from sheep injected with a large quantity of water into the rumen

In the histological preparation taken after animal death, paranuclear vacuoles (PV) in sheep ruminal epithelium were already present in high percentage (7.5-20.3%). With the incubation of the ruminal mucosae in distilled water (10-15 degrees C) up to 120 min, PV occurrence did not alter. With incubation in NaCl solution, however, PV value decreased with time proportional to NaCl concentration (0.5, 0.85 or 1.5%). In the preparation taken by biopsy, on the other hand, PV were rare in ruminal epithelium (less than 0.3%). With the injection of warm water (10-141/animal), however, PV occurrence in the ruminal epithelium was not affected. PV as cytoplasmic processes of the ruminal Langerhans cells are probably formed by the reaction of these cells to environmental changes in the tissue caused by animal death.     

Analysis of variation in growth and spline-based growth models for Marecha and Lassi dromedary camels

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Camel is an important domestic animal that is well adapted to extremely harsh environments. Due to its multi-purpose role, the camel is gaining importance,...     

An evaluation of scrapie surveillance in the United States

Animal health surveillance systems should reflect national disease control priorities and promote the best use of public resources by maximizing effectiveness and efficiency. A surveillance system should be routinely evaluated to assess the degree to which the system accomplishes these goals, fulfills its stated objectives, and meets accepted surveillance standards. In the United States, there are a number of disparate endemic disease surveillance and eradication programs. The National Animal Health Surveillance System is a federal initiative designed to combine animal health surveillance and monitoring activities into a comprehensive and coordinated system. A protocol has been developed to facilitate the evaluation of animal health surveillance systems and investigate opportunities for coordination between the different surveillance and eradication programs. The evaluation protocol was based largely on protocols developed for public health but adapted for the specific needs and goals of animal health surveillance. The evaluation process was designed to identify program strengths and areas for improvement and facilitate the system's adaptability to changing situations. The evaluation protocol was applied to the scrapie surveillance system in the United States; scrapie surveillance was found to be an important part of surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Results from the evaluation of sensitivity, sampling methods and representativeness are presented.     

Physicochemical parameters,fatty acid profile,and sensory attributes of meat from lambs fed with cassava dregs in replacement of corn

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the replacement of corn by cassava dregs (0, 33, 66, and 100%) in the diet of lamb on...