Effect of supplementation of mustard oil cake on intake,digestibility and microbial protein synthesis of cattle in a straw-based diet in Bangladesh

The objective of this study was to analyse the effects of different levels of rumen-degradable protein (RDP) on intake, digestibility and microbial protein synthesis by supplementing mustard oil cake (MOC) on rice straw-based diet of cattle (Bos indicus) in Bangladesh. A 4 × 4 Latin square design was applied. Four diets having constant energy (7.0 MJ/kg of dry matter (DM)) with varying levels of RDP (M ₀ = 4.1 g/MJ (control), M ₁ = 6.3 g/MJ, M ₂ = 8.3 g/MJ and M ₃ = 12.4 g/MJ of metabolizable energy (ME)) were received by each animal for a period of 28 days. A metabolism trial was conducted for 7 days. Results indicate that with increasing levels of RDP, crude protein (CP) and RDP intake increased significantly (P < 0.01). The significant (P < 0.01) increase in digestibility values are obtained for DM, organic matter, CP and digestible organic matter in the rumen. The digestibility of neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre was also increased significantly (P < 0.05). The total nitrogen (N), ammonia-N and total volatile fatty acids increase significantly (P < 0.01) while the rumen pH increased from M ₀ to M ₂ and decreased thereafter. The efficiency microbial N intake increased significantly (P < 0.01) but showed a curvilinear response with higher RDP level (12.40 g/RDP/MJ ME). This study concludes that supplementation of RDP from MOC enhances the intake, digestibility and microbial protein synthesis which ultimately increases utilization of low-quality feed resources that can be used for developing cost-effective feeding systems on a straw-based diet in tropical regions.     

Characterization of indigenous chicken production systems in Kenya

Indigenous chicken (IC) and their production systems were characterized to understand how the whole system operates for purposes of identifying threats and opportunities for holistic improvement. A survey involving 594 households was conducted in six counties with the highest population of IC in Kenya using structured questionnaires. Data on IC farmers’ management practices were collected and analysed and inbreeding levels calculated based on the effective population size. Indigenous chicken were ranked highest as a source of livestock income by households in medium- to high-potential agricultural areas, but trailed goats in arid and semi-arid areas. The production system practised was mainly low-input and small-scale free range, with mean flock size of 22.40 chickens per household. The mean effective population size was 16.02, translating to high levels of inbreeding (3.12%). Provision for food and cash income were the main reasons for raising IC, whilst high mortality due to diseases, poor nutrition, housing and marketing channels were the major constraints faced by farmers. Management strategies targeting improved healthcare, nutrition and housing require urgent mitigation measures, whilst rural access road network needs to be developed for ease of market accessibility. Sustainable genetic improvement programmes that account for farmers’ multiple objectives, market requirements and the production circumstances should be developed for a full realization of IC productivity.     

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella enterica</Emphasis> serovars isolated from slaughtered cattle in Bahir Dar,Ethiopia

A study was undertaken from October 2006 to March 2007 to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella serovars. Liver, mesenteric lymph nodes, intestinal content, and carcass swab samples (each n?=?186) were collected from 186 apparently healthy slaughtered cattle at Bahir Dar abattoir. Bacteriological analysis was done according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 6579 2002). Isolates were serotyped at Agence Française de Securite Sanitaire des Aliments, Cedex, France. Twenty-eight isolates consisting of Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Haifa, Salmonella Heidelberg, Salmonella Infantis, and Salmonella Mishmarhaemek were identified. Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Newport were most frequently isolated while Salmonella Heidelberg and Salmonella Mishmarhaemek were isolated least. Eleven of the 28 (39.3%) were resistant to one or more of the antimicrobials tested. Resistance was shown to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, gentamycin, norfloxacin, polymyxin-B, streptomycin, tetracycline, and trimethoprim. Four of 11 (36.4%) were multiple antimicrobial resistant. All the isolates tested were susceptible to the antimicrobial effects of gentamycin, norfloxacin, and trimethoprim. Eleven, four, and two isolates of the 28 were resistant to streptomycin, tetracycline, and ampicillin, respectively. All isolates of Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Typhimurium (except one), and Salmonella Mishmarhaemek were susceptible to the tested antimicrobials. One Typhimurium isolate was resistant to chloramphenicol, streptomycin, and tetracycline. Salmonella Haifa was multiply antimicrobial resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, and streptomycin. All isolates of Salmonella Heidelberg were resistant to streptomycin. Results of this study indicated high level of carcass contamination with antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella serovars which could pose public health risk; suggests need for hygienic slaughtering operations and proper cooking of meat before consumption. Further detailed studies involving different abattoirs, animal products, food items, and animals on different settings were recommended in the study area.     

Responses to graded replacement of urea by maize steep liquor in diets for intensively fed lambs for meat production

Urea is a common ingredient of the diets of intensively fed lambs, but is increasingly required for industrial processes. Maize steep liquor (MSL) is a by-product of maize grain degradation to produce starch that may be a suitable replacement. Fifty growing lambs were fed on equinitrogenous diets in which between 0% and 80% of the urea was replaced by MSL; their growth and metabolism were recorded over 70 days. Increasing replacement of urea by MSL increased feed intake and nutrient digestibilities, leading to increased growth rates, more efficient feed conversion, and increased nitrogen retention. Concentrations of triiodothyroxin, thyroxin, glucose, and methionine were increased by replacement of urea by liquor, and plasma urea was reduced. This study suggests that MSL is a suitable replacement for up to 80% of urea in the diet of rapidly growing lambs.     

Alteration of body composition in rats: effect of organic chromium and L-carnitine

A growth trial was carried out to test the effect of organic, trivalent chromium and L-carnitine on the body composition of growing rats. At the same time, an evaluation of different measurement methods (weight of epididymal fat pad, adipocyte morphometry, total body electrical conductivity) was performed. Outbred Wistar rats of 30 days of age were fed diets of different (0, 10 and 20%) protein level. The diets were supplemented with 4 mg/kg Cr as chromium nicotinate, and 100 mg/kg L-carnitine. The experimental feeding lasted 15 days, after a 5-day-long adjustment period. It was found that Cr addition increased feed intake. Both treatments caused changes in body composition, increasing fat and protein deposition. Organic chromium had no effect at either protein level, while L-carnitine improved the protein retention only at an optimum (20%) protein supply. No statistically significant correlation was found between total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) and body composition, which could be attributed to the great individual differences. A close correlation was found among total body fat percentage, weight of epididymal fat pad and the adipocyte surface. The data suggest that there is an interaction between dietary protein supply and the effect of repartitioning agents.     

Veterinary aspects of ecological monitoring: the natural history of emerging infectious diseases of humans,domestic animals and wildlife

Proliferation of disease pathogens capable of affecting humans, domestic livestock and wildlife increasingly threatens environmental security and biodiversity. Livestock and wild animals in proximity to human beings are often in the chain of transmission and infection. Globalization of industrial livestock production (especially poultry upon which so much of the burgeoning human population depends) often permits transcontinental disease spread. Rapidly expanding (and often illegal) international trade in wild and domestic animals and their products are increasingly involved in the emergence of new diseases that may have the ability to transmit among humans, livestock and wildlife. Rapidly increasing urbanization has led in many places to overcrowded townships that rely on “bushmeat” for sustenance and has contributed to the emergence of virulent zoonotic pathogens. The emergence and proliferation of pathogens are exacerbated by anthropogenic transformation of natural landscapes in order to increase agricultural and livestock production. This paper posits that data gathered by veterinary ecologists should be interpreted and used by other disciplines. The importance of a thorough knowledge of the “natural history” (ecology) of the disease agent and its human, domestic and wild hosts is stressed.     

Genetic immunization with the immunodominant antigen P48 of Mycoplasma agalactiae stimulates a mixed adaptive immune response in BALBc mice

A DNA vaccine against contagious agalactia was developed for the first time, encoding the P48 of Mycoplasma agalactiae. Specific immune responses elicited in BALB/c mice were evaluated. Both total IgG and IgG1 were detected in mice vaccinated with pVAX1/P48. Proliferation of mononuclear cells of the spleen, levels of gamma interferon, interleukin-12, and interleukin-2 mRNAs were enhanced in immunized animals. Results indicate that pVAX1/P48 vaccination induced both T_h1 and T_h2 immune responses. Nucleic acid immunization could be a new strategy against M. agalactiae infections and may be potentially used to develop vaccines for other Mycoplasma diseases.     

Lack of a type-2 glycosyltransferase in the fish pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum determines pleiotropic changes and loss of virulence

Flavobacterium psychrophilum is an important fish pathogen, responsible for Cold Water Disease, with a significant economic impact on salmonid farms worldwide. In spite of this, little is known about the bacterial physiology and pathogenesis mechanisms, maybe because it is difficult to manipulate, being considered a fastidious microorganism. Mutants obtained using a Tn4351 transposon were screened in order to identify those with alteration in colony morphology, colony spreading and extracellular proteolytic activity, amongst other phenotypes. A F. psychrophilum mutant lacking gliding motility showed interruption of the FP1638 locus that encodes a putative type-2 glycosyltransferase (from here on referred to as fpgA gene, Flavobacterium psychrophilum glycosyltransferase). Additionally, the mutant also showed a decrease in the extracellular proteolytic activity as a consequence of down regulation in the fpgA mutant background of the fpp2-fpp1 operon promoter, responsible for the major extracellular proteolytic activity of the bacterium. The protein glycosylation profile of the parental strain showed the presence of a 22 kDa glycosylated protein which is lost in the mutant. Complementation with the fpgA gene led to the recovery of the wild-type phenotype. LD₅₀ experiments in the rainbow trout infection model show that the mutant was highly attenuated. The pleiotropic phenotype of the mutant demonstrated the importance of this glycosyltranferase in the physiology and virulence of the bacterium. Moreover, the fpgA mutant strain could be considered a good candidate for the design of an attenuated vaccine.     

Pseudorabies virus infection in mink: a host-specific pathogenesis

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an alphaherpesvirus that causes a neurological disease in many wild and domestic animals. The neuropathology elicited by PRV is quite consistent regardless of the host with the only exception of mink, in which it is characterized by a vasculopathy rather than by an encephalitis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the underlying pathogenic mechanism(s) of PRV infection in mink by using immunohistochemistry and laser capture microdissection (LCM) on material from naturally and experimentally infected animals. The inflammatory reaction induced by PRV was minimal or absent not only in the nervous system, where we identified a low number of macrophages and a few T lymphocytes, but also in the primary replication site, the oropharyngeal mucosa; however, the number of PRV-infected cells detected by immunohistochemistry was extremely high both in the peripheral mucosa and in the nervous tissue. On the other hand, the vascular pathology included parenchymal hemorrhages of various degrees and, in specific cortical areas of the brain, fibrinoid degeneration of the capillary walls. Detection of viral antigens by immunohistochemistry revealed infection of endothelial cells of capillaries situated both in the oropharyngeal mucosa and in the brain stem; the presence of PRV DNA in vessels was further demonstrated by PCR performed on LCM samples of brain capillaries. These results can be interpreted as supporting the idea that the different pathology of the disease in mink may be the consequence of an increased endotheliotropism of PRV in this species. Infection of the vessel wall may then lead to vascular pathology and impairment in endothelial cell function, resulting in a weak immune response to infection.     

Effects of the opioid remifentanil on the arrhythmogenicity of epinephrine in halothane-anesthetized dogs

Opioids may exert a protective effect against ventricular arrhythmias via a vagally mediated mechanism. This study evaluated the effects of the opioid remifentanil on arrhythmogenicity of epinephrine during halothane anesthesia. Eight dogs were assigned to 2 treatments in a randomized crossover design, with 1-week intervals between treatments. Anesthesia was maintained with 1.3% end-tidal halothane in oxygen and mechanical ventilation to maintain eucapnia. A constant rate infusion of remifentanil (0.72 microg/kg/min) was administered throughout the study in the experimental treatment, while control animals received physiologic saline as placebo. The arrhythmogenic dose of epinephrine (ADE), defined as 4 premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) within 15 s, was determined by administering progressively increasing infusion rates of epinephrine (2.5, 5.0, and 10 microg/kg/min), allowing 20 min intervals between each infusion rate. In both treatments, epinephrine infusions induced bradyarrhythmias and atrioventricular conduction disturbances, which were followed by escape beats and PVCs. In the remifentanil treatment, mean +/- s ADE values (11.3 +/- 4.9 microg/kg) did not differ from values observed in control animals (9.9 +/- 6.1 microg/kg). On the basis of the ADE model for assessing the arrhythmogenity of drugs during halothane anesthesia, the present study did not demonstrate a protective effect of remifentanil (0.72 microg/kg/min) against ventricular arrhythmias in dogs.