Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia – a comprehensive review

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is a serious disease of goats, occasionally sheep and wild ruminants, caused by Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae (Mccp). The disease is characterized by severe serofibrinous pleuropneumonia, very high morbidity (～100%), and mortality (80–100%). CCPP affects goats in more than 40 countries of the world thereby posing a serious threat to goat farming around the globe. The characteristic clinical signs of CCPP are severe respiratory distress associated with sero-mucoid nasal discharge, coughing, dyspnea, pyrexia, pleurodynia, and general malaise. In later stages, severe lobar fibrinous pleuropneumonia, profuse fluid accumulation in pleural cavity, severe congestion of lungs and adhesion formation is observed. Mycoplasmal antigen interactions with host immune system and its role in CCPP pathogenesis are not clearly understood. CCPP is not a zoonotic disease. Diagnosis has overcome cumbersome and lengthy conventional tests involving culture, isolation, and identification by advanced serological (LAT, cELISA) or gene-based amplification of DNA (PCR, RFLP, and hybridization) and sequencing. The latex agglutination test (LAT) is rapid, simple, and better test for field and real-time diagnosis applicable to whole blood or serum and is more sensitive than the CFT and easier than the cELISA. Moreover, the studies on antibiotic sensitivity and exploration of novel antibiotics (fluoroquinolones, macrolides) can help in better therapeutic management besides preventing menace of antibiotic resistance. Re-visiting conventional prophylactic measures focussing on developing novel strain-based or recombinant vaccines using specific antigens (capsular or cellular) should be the most important strategy for controlling the disease worldwide.     

Comparative evaluation of different therapeutic protocols for contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in Himalayan Pashmina goats

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Therapeutic management of contagious caprine pleuroneumonia (CCPP) involves mostly the use of oxytetracycline followed by enrofloxacin and rarely tylosin. In...     

Effects of intravenous butorphanol on cardiopulmonary function in isoflurane-anesthetized alpacas

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of intravenous (IV) butorphanol on the cardiopulmonary system and on the bispectral index (BIS) in isoflurane-anesthetized alpacas. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized, blinded cross-over experimental trial. ANIMALS: Eight healthy, young (3 +/- 1 SD years) adult female alpacas weighing 64 +/- 9 SD kg. METHODS: Alpacas were anesthetized with isoflurane by mask followed by tracheal intubation and maintenance of anesthesia with isoflurane in oxygen and intermittent positive pressure ventilation. Animals were assigned to two treatments, butorphanol (0.1 mg kg(-1), IV) and saline (0.01 mL kg(-1), IV) in a randomized manner allowing a 2-week interval between treatments. Cardiovascular variables included systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary arterial occlusion pressure (PAOP), central venous pressure, cardiac output, and pulmonary temperature (TEMP). Cardiac index, systemic vascular resistance (SVR), and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) were calculated. Bispectral index was also measured. Arterial and mixed venous blood samples were collected for blood gas analysis. All variables were recorded at baseline (time 0) and at 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes following injection and were analyzed by using repeated-measures ANOVA (p < 0.05). PAOP, PVR, and BIS were analyzed by paired t-tests. RESULTS: Butorphanol decreased SVR at all times when compared with the baseline, but no difference was detected between treatments. TEMP decreased with time in both treatments, but they were not different from each other. Other cardiovascular, BIS, and blood gas variables were not different between groups. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We conclude that butorphanol had minimal effects on the cardiovascular system of the alpacas, causing a mild decrease in SVR.     

Patent infection with Setaria digitata in goats in Saudi Arabia.

A survey was carried out on Saudi sheep and goats during 1995, at the Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory, Jeddah, to study Setaria infection in small ruminants in Saudi Arabia. Setaria digitata worms were detected in the abdominal cavity of 5 out of 48 goats (10.4%). Sheep were not found to be infected. All infected goats were adults of 2-4 years of age and originating from the Jeddah, Mecca and Al-Leith areas. Four cases were recorded during January-March and one during August. No lesions due to S. digitata were found in the visceral organs and brains of the infected goats. This is the first record of patent infection with S. digitata in goats.     

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Acidic Calcium Sulfate (Vitoxal) on Growth,Survival, Immune Response and Gut Microbiota of the Pacific White Shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

Dietary acidifiers have been recognized as beneficial in animal production including aquacultural production of fish where they confer such benefits as improved feed utilization, growth, and resistance to bacterial pathogens. If improvements in growth and immune responses by acidifier supplementation can be confirmed in shrimp, then mortalities due to diseases could be minimized, limiting the emergence of disease‐resistant bacterial pathogens as a potential result of antibiotic misuse. With this in mind, a 35‐d feeding trial was conducted to evaluate growth, enteric microbiota populations, and nonspecific immune responses of Litopenaeus vannamei fed diets containing the commercial acidifier Vitoxal, based on acidic calcium sulfate in an indoor temperature‐controlled, recirculating culture system without any natural productivity. Experimental diets were formulated to contain 0 (basal), 0.4, 1.2, 1.6, or 2.0% acidic calcium sulfate (ACS) by weight. Shrimp fed in excess, 15 times a day using automatic feeders. Weight gain and survival among treatments were excellent, but not significantly different (P > 0.05). Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the enteric microbial community of shrimp fed the basal diet differed markedly from those fed the acidifier on the basis of 64.9% similarity coefficient. Shrimp fed the commercial acidifier at 1.2 and 2.0% responded significantly (P < 0.05) better to reduced stress and displayed enhanced immune responses including hemocyte phagocytic capacity, hemolymph protein concentration, hyaline cell counts, and hemolymph glucose, compared with shrimp fed the basal diet. These results point to an enhanced performance in terms of positive shifts in the composition of enteric microbial communities as well as improved immune performance, with no changes in growth or survival.     

An attempt to improve the reproductive efficiency of Nile tilapia brood stock fish

A field study was conducted on brood stock Nile tilapia to increase the propagation. Both sexes were individually stocked into Habas (enclosures) in an earthen pond and fed for 19 days on a basal diet supplemented with different additives at graded levels of each (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g Therigon^®; 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 g Nuvisol Hatch P^®; 20, 40 and 60 mg Gibberellic acid and 700, 900 and 1,100 mg L-carnitine/Kg diet). The obtained results were evaluated, and the best treatment for each sex was chosen for mating. Results indicated that all pretreatments for male and female brood stocks of Nile tilapia positively affected the total count of the offspring produced. Yet, the Haba, in which the females were pretreated with 0.5 g Therigon^®/Kg diet and the males pretreated with 700 mg L-carnitine/Kg diet, gave the highest total count of the offspring comparing with the other Habas. But, because of the high feed cost due to the additives cost, 0.5 g Therigon^®/kg diet as pretreatment for ♀ only (3rd Haba), 2 g Nuvisol Hatch P^®/Kg diet as pretreatment for ♀ only (5th Haba), followed by 0.5 g Therigon^® and 700 mg L-carnitine/Kg diet for ♀ and ♂, respectively (4th Haba), respectively were the best economically.     

Real-time RT-qPCR assay to detect sequences in the Piscine orthoreovirus-1 genome segment S1 associated with heart and skeletal muscle inflammation in Atlantic salmon

During the last decade, Piscine orthoreovirus was identified as the main causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in Atlantic Salmon, Norway. A recent study showed that PRV-1 sequences from salmonid collected in North Atlantic Pacific Coast (NAPC) grouped separately from the Norwegian sequences found in Atlantic Salmon diagnosed with HSMI. Currently, the routine assay used to screen for PRV-1 in NAPC water and worldwide cannot differentiate between the two groups of PRV-1. Therefore, this study aimed at developing a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay to target the PRV-1 genome segments specific for variants associated with HSMI. The assay was optimized and tested against 71 tissue samples collected from different regions including Norway, Chile and both coast of Canada and different hosts farmed Atlantic Salmon, wild Coho Salmon and escaped Atlantic Salmon collected in British Columbia, West Coast of Canada. This assay has the potential to be used for screening salmonids and non-salmonids that may carry PRV-1 potentially causing HSMI.     

Bovine tuberculosis in South Darfur State, Sudan: an abattoir study based on microscopy and molecular detection methods

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is a widespread zoonosis in developing countries but has received little attention in many sub-Saharan African countries including Sudan and particularly in some parts such as Darfur states. This study aimed to detect bovine tuberculosis among caseous materials of cattle slaughtered in abattoirs in South Darfur State, Sudan by using microscopic and PCR-based methods. The study was a cross-sectional abattoir-based study which examined a total of 6,680 bovine carcasses for caseous lesions in South Darfur State between 2007 and 2009. Collected specimens were examined for the presence of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) by using microscopic and culture techniques. Isolated mycobacteria were identified by selected conventional cultural and biochemical tests in comparison to a single tube multiplex PCR (m-PCR) assay which detect Mycobacterium bovis-specific 168-bp amplicons. Of the total 6,680 slaughtered cattle examined in South Darfur, 400 (6 %) showed caseations restricted to lymph nodes (86.8 %) or generalized (13.2 %). Bovine tuberculosis was diagnosed in 12 (0.18 %), bovine farcy in 59 (0.88 %), unidentified mycobacteria in 6 (0.09 %), and missed or contaminated cultures in 7 (0.1 %). Out of 18 cultures with nonbranching acid-fast rods, 12 amplified unique 168-bp sequence specific for M. bovis and subsequently confirmed as M. bovis. With the exception of the reference M. tuberculosis strains, none of the remaining AFB amplified the 337-bp amplicon specific for M. tuberculosis. It could be concluded that bovine tuberculosis is prevalent among cattle in South Darfur representing 4.5 % from all slaughtered cattle with caseous lesions. The study sustains microscopy as a useful and accessible technique for detecting AFB. m-PCR assay proved to be valuable for confirmation of BTB and its differentiation from other related mycobacteriosis, notably bovine farcy.     

The impact of phytoestrogen source supplementation on reproductive performance,plasma profile,yolk fatty acids and antioxidative status in aged laying hens

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of flaxseeds and/or fenugreek seeds as a source of phytoestrogens in laying feed on productive performance, egg quality, yolk fatty acids, plasma profile and antioxidative status in aged laying hens. A total of 120 Bovans Brown hens at 65 weeks of age were housed individually in laying cages in an open‐sided building under a 16‐hr light: 8‐hr dark lighting schedule. Hens were randomly divided into four experimental treatments (n = 30 each): (a) control (basal diet without any supplementation); (b) 1 g/kg of flaxseeds; (c) 1 g/kg of fenugreek seeds; and (d) combination of 1 g/kg flaxseeds and 1 g/kg fenugreek seeds from 65 to 71 weeks of age. Hen‐day egg production and egg mass were significantly increased by dietary supplementation of flaxseeds and/or fenugreek seeds, while feed intake was not affected; thus, feed conversion ratio was improved (p < 0.05). Weights of egg, albumen, yolk and shell were increased by the dietary treatments. Shell thickness and yolk colour were improved by supplementation of flaxseeds and/or fenugreek seeds. Yolk crude protein was not significantly affected by treatments; however, crude fat and calcium contents in yolk were increased and egg yolk cholesterol content was decreased. Interestingly, dietary supplementation of flaxseeds, fenugreek seeds and their combination had a significant positive effect on plasma luteinizing hormone, follicle‐stimulating hormone, oestradiol‐17β and triglycerides. Inclusion of flaxseeds and/or fenugreek seeds in the diets enhanced the serum glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities and reduced the malondialdehyde and total cholesterol concentrations in plasma. Dietary supplementation of flaxseeds and/or fenugreek seeds increased α‐linolenic and linoleic acids in egg yolk. It could be concluded that inclusion of mixed sources of phytoestrogens in diets improved laying performance, egg quality, the antioxidative status, hormonal profile and steroidogenesis in aged laying hens.