Management of gastrointestinal nematode parasites on sheep farms in New Zealand

AIM: To report current farmer opinions and farming practices relating to control of gastrointestinal nematodes and anthelmintic resistance on sheep farms in New Zealand.

METHODS: An interview-based cross-sectional study of grazing management and anthelmintic useage was conducted by veterinarians on 80 randomly selected sheep farms in New Zealand.

RESULTS: Useable data were returned by 74/80 (92%) farmers who participated in the study. However, despite contacting 400 farmers the target sample size of 100 farms was not reached. The results indicated that only 31% of farms had previously tested for drench resistance, that effective quarantine-drenching of imported stock was not always carried out, and that farmers were more likely to integrate cattle than ewes into their grazing management of lambs. Furthermore, the number of drenches given to lambs had changed little in 25 years. The use of faecal egg counting by farmers has increased.

CONCLUSIONS: Dependence on anthelmintics continues to be high on sheep farms in New Zealand. Whilst the number of drench treatments has changed little, there is more widespread use of persistent or long-acting treatments. Farmers need to be encouraged to monitor the resistance status of nematode populations on their farms and use this information to develop strategies aimed at maintaining susceptible alleles within the parasite populations and conserving the efficacy of existing drug families.     

In vitro fermentation characteristics of selected oligosaccharides by swine fecal microflora

The objective of this study was to quantify the fermentation characteristics of oligosaccharides present in feed ingredients or isolated for dietary supplementation. Substrates studied included short-chain fructooligosaccharides, medium-chain fructooligosaccharides, long-chain fructooligosaccharides, raffinose, stachyose, soy solubles, granular and liquid forms of transgalactooligosaccharides, glucooligosaccharides, mannanoligosaccharides, and xylooligosaccharides. Three healthy pigs that had never received antibiotics served as sources of fecal inoculum. Each substrate was fermented in vitro; samples were taken at 0, 2, 4, 8, and 12 h, and pH change and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and gas production determined. Gas production at 12 h did not differ (P > 0.05) among all fructooligosaccharides, transgalactooligosaccharides, soy solubles, and xylooligosaccharides. Raffinose, stachyose, and raffinose + stachyose fermentation resulted in the greatest (P < 0.05) gas production at 12 h of all substrates tested. The rate of gas production was greatest (P < 0.05) for stachyose and least (P < 0.05) for glucooligosaccharides and mannanoligosaccharides. Substrate did not affect (P > 0.05) time to attain maximal rate of gas production. The pH at 12 h for all fructooligosaccharides and xylooligosaccharides did not differ (P > 0.05). The pH values at 12 h for raffinose, stachyose, and raffinose + stachyose were highest (P < 0.05) compared with all other substrates. Total SCFA production at 12 h was similar for all fructooligosaccharides and transgalactooligosaccharides, glucooligosaccharides, and soy solubles. Total SCFA production was greatest (P < 0.05) for xylooligosaccharides, stachyose, and raffinose + stachyose, and least (P < 0.05) for mannanoligosaccharides and raffinose. Stachyose fermentation resulted in the greatest (P < 0.05) rate and earliest time to attain maximal rate of SCFA production. All oligosaccharides studied were readily fermentable but varied in amount and type of SCFA produced. Fermentation of the pure forms of oligosaccharides contained in soy solubles resulted in greater gas production and higher pH compared with soy solubles. The oligosaccharides in the soy solubles matrix seemed to behave differently than their pure counterparts. The high rates of fermentation of most oligosaccharides tested indicate that they may serve as fermentable carbohydrate sources in the terminal small intestine or large intestine of swine.     

Corn hybrid affects in vitro and in vivo measures of nutrient digestibility in dogs

Corn is a commonly used ingredient in dry pet foods because there is a stable supply and it is a relatively inexpensive source of nutrients. Corn hybrids are available that are higher in CP and amylose and lower in phytate concentration than conventional hybrids. Approximately 500 mg of high-protein (HP), high-protein, low-phytate (HPLP), and high-amylose (HA) corn were compared with conventional (CONV) corn and amylomaize starch (AM) in triplicate and exposed to pepsin/hydrochloric acid and pancreatin to simulate hydrolytic digestion. Substrate remaining after this was used to determine in vitro colonic fermentation. Organic matter disappearances as a result of hydrolytic digestion were >80% for CONV, HP, and HPLP, whereas HA (60.7%) and AM (43.7%) were lower (P < 0.05). Total digestion (TD) values after hydrolytic digestion and 8 h of fermentation using canine fecal inoculum were greater (P < 0.05) for CONV, HP, and HPLP vs. HA and AM. The residue left after hydrolytic digestion of all substrates was poorly fermented. Five ileal-cannulated dogs were fed each corn hybrid at approximately 31% of the diet in a 5 x5 Latin square design. Dogs fed diets containing HP corn had higher (P < 0.05) ileal OM digestibility (70.3%) and tended (P < 0.10) to have higher DM digestibility (64.6%). Ileal starch digestibilities were lower (P < 0.05) for dogs fed HA (64.0%) and AM (63.0%). Ileal digestibilities of essential (71.2%), nonessential (67.4%), and total (69.0%) AA tended to be higher (P < 0.10) for HP diets compared with CONV (66.4, 62.4, and 64.0%, respectively). Total-tract DM, OM, CP, and GE digestibilities (77, 82, 77, and 84%, on average, respectively) were higher (P < 0.05) for dogs fed CONV, HP, and HPLP than for those fed AM (66.9, 71.6, 72.6, and 76.5%) and HA (60.6, 65.7, 69.7, and 71.5%). Total-tract fat digestibilities were lower (P < 0.05) for dogs fed HA diets (86.6%) than for all other treatments (91.0%, on average). Total-tract starch digestibilities were higher (P < 0.05) for dogs fed CONV, HP, and HPLP (98%, on average) compared with HA (72.8%) and AM (76.5%). No differences were detected among treatments in fecal bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, or Clostridium perfringens concentrations. The experiments demonstrated that HP and HPLP corn had hydrolytic digestion and fermentation characteristics similar to those of CONV corn, whereas HA resulted in similar responses to AM, a well-established resistant starch ingredient.     

Some aspects of the epidemiology of equine salmonellosis

A survey of 2 horse populations was done to detect the number of asymptomatic faecal excretors of Salmonella sp. 1201 faecal samples from 250 horses hospitalised at the University of Sydney were cultured. Three serotypes, S. typhimurium (4 horses), S. anatum (2) and S. tennessee (1) were isolated from 7 horses (2.8%). None was detected in 75 mares similarly examined at a thoroughbred stud farm. In retrospect, S. typhimurium was also the most common (70%) of the 19 serotypes recovered from 171 horses with clinical salmonellosis seen at Camden, 1969 to 1986. Forty cases occurring since 1983 were reviewed in detail; the mortality rate was high (60%) and an increased proportion was due to S. bovis-morbificans. Five horses developed salmonellosis while hospitalised and it was usually impossible to be certain whether these cases developed from the carrier state into overt disease or resulted from infections acquired in hospital.     

A survey of neurological diseases in horses

SUMMARY: Case records of 450 horses with signs of neurological disease are reviewed. One hundred and nineteen horses with neurological disease due to trauma were examined, of which 60 were due to spinal cord trauma, 47 to brain or cranial nerve trauma and 12 to peripheral nerve trauma. Cervical vertebral fractures/trauma were the most common injury. Basisphenold/basloccipital bone fractures were the most common form of cranial trauma and facial nerve paralysis the most common cranial nerve injury. Eighty-nine horses with neurological disease due to malformation were examined. Cervical vertebral malformation occurred in 83 horses and congenital defects in 6 foals. Neurological disease due to inflammation or infection occurred in 30 horses. The most common disease of this type was meningitis, which occurred in 11 horses and foals. Neoplasms in the CNS caused neurological disease in 8 horses. The final category was miscellaneous neurological disease, which was diagnosed in 204 horses. Diseases in this category included neonatal (28 cases), toxic/metabolic (27 cases), idiopathic (133 cases), degenerative (3 cases) and other neurological diseases (13 cases). The most common condition was idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia (116 cases).
Where possible, diagnosis relied on a thorough neurological examination with use of ancillary tests in selected cases including rhinolaryngoscopy, radiography, myelography, ophthalmoscopy and cerebrospinal fluid analysis when indicated. In many cases necropsy and histopathological confirmation or diagnosis was necessary.     

Estimation of the proportion of bacterial nitrogen in canine feces using diaminopimelic acid as an internal bacterial marker

A bacterial marker can be used to determine the portion of fecal N that is of bacterial origin, as well as the effect of dietary factors on the bacterial N in feces of the dog. Two experiments were conducted to determine the efficacy of diaminopimelic acid (DAPA) and purines as bacterial markers in dogs. In Exp. 1, five adult female dogs were fed the same commercial diet. In Exp. 2, 50 dogs were fed one of four test diets (as-fed basis): a prebiotic-free control or diets containing either 1% chicory, 1% mannanoligosaccharide (MOS), or 1% chicory plus 1% MOS. Fresh feces were collected in both experiments and used to isolate a bacteria-rich sample (BRS) by differential centrifugation. In Exp. 1, the BRS had a N:purine ratio of 0.66 and N:DAPA ratio of 18.9. The CV for the N:purine ratio (20.7%) was much higher than that for the N:DAPA ratio (6.1%), indicating that DAPA resulted in a less variable estimate of fecal bacterial N. Using either marker, approximately 50% of the fecal N was estimated to be of bacterial origin. In Exp. 2, the N:DAPA ratio of the BRS did not differ (P = 0.14) among treatments. The BRS from dogs fed prebiotic-containing diets had treatment averages for N:DAPA ratios ranging from 16.9 to 18.5, whereas BRS from dogs fed the control diet had a ratio of 15.9. Averaged across all dogs, approximately 46% of fecal N was of bacterial origin. When calculating fecal bacterial concentrations using the average N:DAPA ratio for all dogs, little difference existed in the estimation compared with using individual values. The value resulting from use of the average ratio was approximately 13% higher than when using the individual ratios for dogs fed the control diet, which was due to the lower N:DAPA ratio for dogs fed the control diet compared with dogs fed the other treatments. Based on the consistency of the N:DAPA ratio of the BRS, DAPA seems to be a suitable marker for estimation of bacterial N in the feces of dogs.     

Bone Morphogenetic Protein‐6 (BMP‐6) Stimulates the Antrum Formation by the Regulation of its Signalling Pathway in Caprine Pre‐antral Follicles Cultured In Vitro

BMP‐6 has been found to be important to ovarian cells and oocyte, as well as to uterus. Thus, this study investigated the effect of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP‐6) and recombinant follicle‐stimulating hormone (rFSH) alone or in combination on the in vitro culture (IVC) of isolated caprine secondary follicles (Experiment 1) and the mRNA levels for BMP receptors/Smad signalling pathway (BMPR1A, BMPR2, SMAD1, SMAD4, SMAD5, SMAD6, SMAD7 and SMAD8) in vivo and in vitro using BMP‐6 (Experiment 2). Secondary follicles were cultured in αMEM⁺ alone (control medium) or supplemented with BMP‐6 at 1 or 10 ng/ml and rFSH alone or the combination of both BMP‐6 concentrations and rFSH. The results from Experiment 1 showed that the antrum formation rate was higher in the BMP‐6 at 1 ng/ml (p < 0.05) than in MEM. In Experiment 2, the mRNA expression for BMPR2, SMAD1, SMAD5 and SMAD6 was detected in non‐cultured control and after in vitro culture (MEM and 1 ng/ml BMP‐6); while the expression of SMAD7 and SMAD8 mRNA was only detected after IVC, SMAD4 was only detected in the BMP‐6 at 1 ng/ml treatment. In conclusion, the low BMP‐6 concentration positively influenced antrum formation and ensured normal mRNA expression for BMP receptor and Smads after IVC of caprine secondary follicles.     

Effect of LPS on Reproductive System at the Level of the Pituitary of Anestrous Ewes

In our research we focused our attention on the effect of the immune stress induced by bacterial endotoxin–lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG) at the pituitary level. We examined the effect of intravenous (i.v.) LPS injection on luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) release from the anterior pituitary gland (AP) in anestrous ewes. The effect of endotoxin on prolactin and cortisol circulating levels was also determined. We also researched the effect of immune challenge on the previously mentioned pituitary hormones and their receptors genes expression in the AP. Our results demonstrate that i.v. LPS injection decreased the plasma concentration of LH (23%; p < 0.05) and stimulates cortisol (245%; p < 0.05) and prolactin (60%; p < 0.05) release but has no significant effect on the FSH release assayed during 6 h after LPS treatment in comparison with the control levels. The LPS administration affected the genes expression of gonadotropins’β‐subunits, prolactin and their receptors in the AP. Endotoxin injection significantly decreased the LHβ and LH receptor (LHR) gene expression (60%, 64%; p < 0.01 respectively), increased the amount of mRNA encoding FSHβ, FSH receptor (FSHR) (124%, 0.05; 166%, p < 0.01; respectively), prolactin and prolactin receptor (PRLR) (50%, 47%, p < 0.01; respectively). The presented, results suggest that immune stress is a powerful modulator of the HPG axis at the pituitary level. The changes in LH secretion could be an effect of the processes occurring in the hypothalamus. However, the direct effect of immune mediators, prolactin, cortisol and other components of the hypothalamic pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis on the activity of gonadotropes has to be considered as well. Those molecules could affect LH synthesis directly through a modulation at all stages of LHβ secretion as well as indirectly influencing the GnRHR expression and leading to reduced pituitary responsiveness to GnRH stimulation.