Frequent use of colistin-based drug treatment to eliminate extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> in backyard chicken farms in Thai Binh Province,Vietnam

Reports of livestock infections with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-E) are increasing. Based on interviews conducted over a 6-month period, we found that veterinarians in the Vietnamese province of Thai Binh prefer to prescribe colistin-based drugs (CBD) in chicken farms. We aimed to clarify whether CBD use selects for strains of colistin-resistant ESBL-E. With the cooperation of seven local households, we detected ESBL-E in chickens’ feces after treating chickens with CBD. Phylogenetic groupings and the presence of CTX-M/AmpC genes were determined, and the multi-antibiotic susceptibility of isolates was analyzed. Our results showed that ESBL-E presented in seven chickens’ feces from two households. Seventy-two percent of ESBL-E isolates harbored CTX-M9 and the phylogenetic group A; the colistin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of all isolated ESBL-E ranged from 0.064 to 1 μg mL^?1. Moreover, ESBL-E isolates were used to experimentally select for colistin resistance, and the effect of commercial CBD on ESBL-E was investigated. The results showed that an ESBL-E strain with a colistin MIC of 4 μg mL^?1 was able to grow in media with CBD. Although CBD treatment was effective, in vitro experiments demonstrated that ESBL-E can easily acquire colistin resistance. Therefore, restrictions on colistin use are necessary to prevent the emergence of colistin-resistant bacteria.     

Erythema multiforme associated with zonisamide in a dog

This report describes a dog that developed erythema multiforme in temporal association with administration of the sulphonamide‐based anticonvulsant drug zonisamide. Similar adverse drug reactions have been associated with sulphonamide antimicrobial drugs. Caution should be exercised when prescribing this medication for dogs with known hypersensitivity to sulphonamides.     

Effect of herbicides with different modes of action on physiological and cellular traits of Anabaena fertilissima

Cyanobacteria are important components of the lowland rice ecosystem. Therefore, it is important to examine the effect of herbicides (commonly used against weeds of rice crop) on the performance of cyanobacteria. We studied the toxic effects of three herbicides often used in rice field, viz. propanil, pretilachlor and glyphosate, on the performance traits of Anabaena fertilissima C.B. Rao. Pretilachlor [0–40 active ingredient (ai) mg/L] and glyphosate (0–80 ai mg/L) exhibited toxicity to A. fertilissima at higher doses than propanil (0–1.5 mg/L). Propanil had severe damaging effects on cellular characteristics of A. fertilissima when compared to pretilachlor or glyphosate. Propanil treatment of A. fertilissima resulted in the leakage of protoplast from the heterocyst due to the breakage of the plasma membrane and surrounding wall. Our study shows that photosystem II herbicides such as propanil could have deleterious effects on phototrophic (cyanobacterial) communities, which are an integral part of the rice ecosystem.     

Ethnoveterinary health management practices using medicinal plants in South Asia – a review

Animal rearing is the major occupation of most population of South Asian countries. Due to lack of resources and limited approach to modern medicine, most of the livestock raisers prefer to use plant-based traditional medicine also referred to as ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM). Indeed, the use of medicinal plants in South Asia dates back to several centuries with documented evidences. However, there is currently a dearth of documentation and compilation of use of medicinal plants for animal diseases in this part of the world. This review aims to provide an up-to-date compilation of common medicinal plants used for the treatment and/or management of common animal diseases in South Asian countries. Extensive literature search was conducted online and relevant data was retrieved from well-known scientific databases. A total of 276 plants belonging to 95 families have been documented to be in common use for managing 14 different categories of animal diseases. Solanaceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, and Leguminosae were most common plant families in terms of their plant species used for EVM. Gastric diseases were commonly reported and accounted for 72 species of plants used for its treatment followed by the miscellaneous disorders category and skin diseases comprising of 65 and 39 plant species respectively. Herbs accounted for 46% of the total plant species, followed by trees (33%), and shrubs (18%). The EVM were applied through different routes of administration; oral administration accounted for 72% followed by topical application 27%, while burning of plant parts to create smoke around animals to repel insects was less common (1%). It is anticipated that the present review will stimulate further ethnoveterinary research among livestock disease management practices in South Asia.     

Clinical characteristics and mode of inheritance of familial focal seizures in Standard Poodles

OBJECTIVE: To determine clinical characteristics and mode of inheritance of seizures in a family of Standard Poodles. DESIGN: Case series. ANIMALS: 90 Standard Poodles descended from the same maternal bloodline (30 with probable idiopathic epilepsy [PIE] and 60 without any history of seizures). PROCEDURES: Researchers contacted owners to determine whether dogs had ever had any seizures and, if so, the nature of any such seizures and any potential underlying causes. Dogs were considered to have PIE if they were between 6 months and 7.5 years old at the time of seizure onset and had no evidence of any underlying cause. To determine the mode of inheritance, segregation analyses were designed to allow the family to be analyzed as a whole, as opposed to as nuclear families. Competing models of inheritance were compared statistically for their ability to explain the data. RESULTS: Of the dogs with PIE, 28 (93%) had focal onset seizures with or without secondary generalization. Median age of onset was 3.7 years; 6 dogs were > 5 years old at the onset of seizures. Segregation analyses strongly suggested that PIE was inherited as a simple recessive autosomal trait with complete or almost complete penetrance. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that in this family of Standard Poodles, PIE was inherited as a simple recessive autosomal trait with complete or almost complete penetrance. Seizures often had focal, as opposed to generalized, onsets, and it was not uncommon for seizures to begin after 5 years of age.     

Village poultry consumption and marketing in relation to gender,religious festivals and market access

This study aimed to examine village poultry consumption and marketing in Ethiopia in relation to gender, socio-cultural events and market access. The main objects of the research were producers, poultry markets, producer-sellers, and intermediary sellers in three locations representing different levels of market access in Tigray. About 3000 farm records were collected over a period of 12 months from 131 producers to obtain quantitative data on sales and consumption. Ninety-three semi-structured interviews with 58 producer-sellers and 35 intermediaries and 12 group discussions with these market actors were conducted to explore organization, price dynamics and socio-cultural aspects of poultry marketing. In total, 928 producer-sellers and 225 intermediaries were monitored monthly to examine participation by gender in poultry marketing. Better market access was associated with a shorter market chain and higher prices for the producers. Female-headed households had smaller poultry sales and consumption per household but sale and consumption per family member were 25% and 66% higher, respectively, than in male-headed households. While women dominated in the producer-sellers group, intermediaries were mainly men. Religious festivals periodically shifted local demand and prices of poultry. To improve the benefit of poultry keeping, poverty-stricken households may profit from better market access through better market information, infrastructure, market group formation and careful planning to match the dynamics in demand.     

不同非洲猪瘟病毒株j5R基因及其编码蛋白的比较

根据非洲猪瘟病毒ＭａｌａｗｉＬＩＬ２０／１株ｊ５Ｒ阅读框Ｃ端抗原决定簇序列制备的合成肽能被不同毒株感染康复猪的免疫血清识别。多聚酶链反应研究表明,９个不同毒株的ｊ５Ｒ基因长度略有差异;蛋白转印杂交试验证明,这种基因长度的差异导致相应蛋白多肽的长度多样性。这些结果进一步证明,长度多样性是非洲猪瘟病毒基因及其编码蛋白较为普遍的特点。     

Knowledge,attitudes and practices towards <Emphasis Type="Italic">cystic echinococcosis</Emphasis> in livestock among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda

A cross-sectional study was done from March 2013 to May 2014 to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis among selected pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Uganda. A structured questionnaire was administered to 381 respondents. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to find the relationship between knowledge about CE and factors such as age, sex, and level of education across all regions. The odds ratio and confidence interval were used to determine the difference in responses across regions. It was shown that age above 36 years was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with awareness about CE in livestock. Likewise, uneducated (p < 0.0001) and agro-pastoralists (p = 0.01) were significantly less knowledgeable than the educated and pastoralists across all regions. The overall knowledge towards CE in livestock was low 17.8% (95% CI = 14.0–21.6). Dog ownership was high and they never dewormed their freely roaming dogs. Dogs shared water with livestock. In conclusion, knowledge about CE in livestock was low across all regions. Therefore, public health education and formulation of policies towards its control by the relevant stakeholders should be done. Also, the true prevalence of CE in livestock needs to be done so that the magnitude and its public health significance are elucidated.     

Design and evaluation of primer pairs for efficient detection of avian rotavirus

The use of molecular methods for rotavirus characterisation provides increased sensitivity for typing and allows the identification of putative reassortant strains. Reagents and methods for genotyping the virus need constant modification because of the reassortant nature of the virus. This study was aimed at designing and evaluating new oligonucleotide degenerate primer pairs that provide increased sensitivity and specificity for detecting avian rotavirus. Gene-specific primer pairs were designed by analysing different rotavirus strains isolated during the last decade by downloading them from the GenBank. The alignments were generated using clustal analysis from the BioEdit program. Degenerate nucleotides were included due to the reassortant nature of rotavirus. The consensus sequences were aligned using the BioEdit program and then treated with the Fast PCR software to derive the primers. The derived primer sequences were submitted for a BLAST search to ensure alignment was exclusive to the desired target genes. The designed primers had specific bands and were efficient in detecting rotavirus in faecal samples than previously published primers. Thus, a successful surveillance of rotaviruses requires that primer pairs be updated regularly in order to detect the emergence of novel or “unusual types”, which have occurred by genetic drift causing nucleotide changes at the primer binding sites that result in typing failures. We recommend the use of the proposed primers in molecular surveillance studies for efficient detection of avian rotavirus.     

La Sota vaccination may not protect against virus shedding and the lesions of velogenic Newcastle disease in commercial turkeys

The aim of this project is to study the clinical signs and lesion of velogenic Newcastle disease (vND) in commercial turkeys, and also to find out if La Sota vaccination offered protection against these signs and lesions. The cockerels were included as positive controls. One hundred and twenty turkey poults and cockerels were divided into eight groups as follows: unvaccinated unchallenged turkeys (UUT), unvaccinated challenged turkeys (UCT), vaccinated unchallenged turkeys (VUT), vaccinated challenged turkeys (VCT), and along the same lines, the cockerel groups were UUC, UCC, VUC and vaccinated challenged cockerels (VCC). Vaccination was at 3 weeks of age while challenge was at 6 weeks of age. The unvaccinated turkeys and cockerels (UCT and UCC) showed different degrees of depression, diarrhoea and later paralysis at challenge. Total mortality was 100% in cockerels within 6 days, but 60% in turkeys. Similar but milder clinical signs were found in the VCC with a total mortality of 13.3%. The VCT showed mild drop in feed and water consumption, and no mortality. All the challenged groups had significant (p < 0.05) loss of weight when compared with their controls. Necropsy showed that while the UCC had severe proventricular haemorrhages, intestinal and caecal tonsil ulcers, the UCT had no digestive tract lesion. There was severe atrophy of the lymphoid organs in all the challenged groups. Histopathological sections of the bursa, spleen and thymus in all the challenged groups with special emphasis on the vaccinated and unvaccinated turkeys with mortalities of 0 and 60%, respectively, had very severe necrosis and depletion of the lymphoid tissue. Virus was isolated from the cloacal swabs. The haemagglutination inhibition antibodies were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the challenged groups than the unchallenged. The above observations in the intestinal tracts of UCT are of diagnostic significance while the gross and microscopic lesions in the UCT and VCT show that La Sota vaccination may not protect turkeys against the destruction of the lymphoid organs by vND as earlier reported in chickens. This may lead to immunosuppression and production problems in areas where vND is enzootic.