A framework for evaluation of on-farm mastitis diagnostics in Australia

Numerous culture-based diagnostics are available on the Australian and international markets for on-farm detection of bacterial pathogens in milk. Use of such diagnostics may provide an opportunity to improve the prudent use of antimicrobials in udder health management. Farms are low-resource settings in terms of diagnostic microbiology capacity. The World Health Organisation has identified criteria for the evaluation of diagnostic tests in low resource settings based on Accuracy, Sensitivity, Specificity, User-friendliness, being Rapid or Robust, Equipment-free and being Deliverable (ASSURED). Here, we review how those criteria can be interpreted in the context of microbiological diagnosis of mastitis pathogens, and how on-farm diagnostics that are currently available in Australia perform relative to ASSURED criteria. This evaluation identifies multiple trade-offs, both with regard to scientific criteria and with regards to convenience criteria. More importantly, the purpose of testing may differ between farms, and test performance should be evaluated relative to its intended use. The ability of on-farm mastitis diagnostics to inform mastitis treatment decision-making in a timely and cost-effective manner depends not just on test characteristics but also on farm-specific pathogen prevalence, and on the farm enterprise's priorities and the farm manager's potential courses of action. With most assay evaluations to date conducted in professional laboratories, there is a surprising dearth of information on how well any of the diagnostic tests perform on-farm and, indeed, of the on-farm decision-making processes that they aim to inform.     

Genetic analysis of early-maturing maize (Zea Mays L.) inbred lines under stress and nonstress conditions

Early-maturing maize (Zea Mays L.) germplasm developed from diverse sources has the potential for use in developing maize hybrids suitable for increasing maize production in the dry ecologies of eastern Africa. A diallel study was conducted to estimate general combining ability (GCA) of 12 early-maturing maize inbred lines, identify potential single-cross hybrids for use as parents, assess genetic diversity among the inbred lines, and relate genetic distance to specific combining ability (SCA) and hybrid performance. Sixty-six F₁ diallel hybrids were evaluated under optimal and drought stress conditions at four locations in Kenya and Uganda. The parental inbred lines were genotyped using 94 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Additive gene action was more important than nonadditive gene action for inheritance of grain yield (GY) under optimal conditions. However, nonadditive gene effects were more important in the inheritance of GY under drought and across all environments. Inbred lines CKL0722, VL058014, and CZL0724 were among the best with positive GCA effects for GY across both optimal and drought stress conditions. The correlation between SCA and both genetic distance and F₁ GY was significant under both drought stress and across all environments. Inbred lines with desirable GCA effects for GY and other agronomic traits and hybrids with good performance under both optimal and drought stress conditions are potential parents for development of various types of high-yielding, stress-tolerant, and early-maturing hybrids.     

Plants as de-worming agents of livestock in the Nordic countries: historical perspective, popular beliefs and prospects for the future.

Preparations derived from plants were the original therapeutic interventions used by man to control diseases (including parasites), both within humans and livestock. Development of herbal products depended upon local botanical flora with the result that different remedies tended to develop in different parts of the world. Nevertheless, in some instances, the same or related plants were used over wide geographic regions, which also was the result of communication and/or the importation of plant material of high repute. Thus, the Nordic countries have an ancient, rich and diverse history of plant derived anthelmintic medications for human and animal use. Although some of the more commonly used herbal de-wormers were derived from imported plants, or their products, many are from endemic plants or those that thrive in the Scandinavian environment. With the advent of the modern chemotherapeutic era, and the discovery, development and marketing of a seemingly unlimited variety of highly efficacious, safe synthetic chemicals with very wide spectra of activities, herbal remedies virtually disappeared from the consciousness--at least in the Western world. This attitude is now rapidly changing. There is a widespread resurgence in natural product medication, driven by major threats posed by multi-resistant pest, or disease, organisms and the diminishing public perceptions that synthetic chemicals are the panacea to health and disease control. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive account of the depth of historical Nordic information available on herbal de-wormers, with emphasis on livestock and to provide some insights on potentially rewarding areas of "re-discovery" and scientific evaluation in this field.     

Are Endocrine Disrupting Compounds a Threat to Farm Animal Health,Welfare and Productivity?

Contents The sources and characteristics of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are reviewed and discussed with respect to their potential effects on farm animal health, welfare and productivity. The importance of certain properties of these compounds in relation to the expression of their biological effects is addressed together with potential routes of exposure. It is concluded that little is known of factors affecting the tissue concentrations of EDCs in farm animals, the concentrations that are required to perturb physiological function in these species, the effects of prolonged exposure to low doses, the effect of cocktails of EDCs and other pollutants or the responses of specific organs and physiological systems that are affected by EDCs. Much of the available information pertaining to EDCs is derived from epidemiological studies of wildlife species and from laboratory animal studies and while these studies have significant limitations, they are considered to be valuable indicators of potential effects in farm animal species. The results of such studies, together with the small amounts of data from studies of ruminants, indicate that there may be significant effects of exposure to environmental levels of EDCs on farm animal health, even although effects are not generally apparent in practice, at this time.     

Susceptibility to IVM in a field strain of Haemonchus contortus subjected to four treatments in a closed sheep-goat flock in Kenya

Susceptibility to IVM (IVM) of “strain A” Haemonchus contortus which had been exposed to IVM four times over a 2-year period was compared to IVM susceptibility of “strain C” H. contortus which had no prior field exposure to IVM, by in vivo and in vitro methods. In vivo, the percentage reduction in faecal egg counts (FEC) and the total worm counts (TWC) were compared between control animals (lambs and kids) and animals treated with low dose IVM (20 μg/kg). In vitro susceptibility to IVM was evaluated by larval migration inhibition (LMI) after the two strains of H. contortus were exposed to different concentrations of IVM. The dose response, measured as the proportion of larvae inhibited from migrating, was used to estimate LD₅₀. Although differences in response to IVM in the in vivo determinations were not significant, “strain A” H. contortus had a significantly higher LD₅₀ than “strain C” in the LMI assay. Coincident with the conduct of the in vivo experiment, it was observed that “strain A” H. contortus established and survived better than “strain C” in the control lambs.     

Progressive atrophic rhinitis in a medium-scale pig farm in Kiambu, Kenya

Forty-two pigs in a herd of 117 displayed various clinical signs of progressive atrophic rhinitis. The main signs included sneezing, coughing, lachrymation, serous to mucopurulent nasal discharge, and nasal bleeding in 1 pig. Three pigs had lateral deviation of the snout, while 4 had brachygnathia superior with obvious deformation of the face. Four acutely affected weaner pigs appeared weak, while the 7 chronically-affected pigs appeared smaller than their apparently unaffected penmates of the same age. Treatment of the acutely affected pigs with long-acting oxytetracycline at 20 mg/kg body weight intramuscularly, repeated once after 7 days, reduced the severity but did not clear the sneezing from all the pigs. Fifteen pigs were slaughtered 2 months after the clinical diagnosis was made. The carcasses of the chronically affected pigs were about 15% lighter than those of the apparently normal pigs of the same age and from the same pen, which translated to a loss of 921.00 Kenya shillings per pig (US$13.7). Diagnosis of progressive atrophic rhinitis was confirmed by sectioning the snouts of randomly selected slaughtered pigs with obvious deformation of the snout. Sections were made at the level of the 1st/2nd upper premolar tooth. Varying degrees of turbinate atrophy, from mild to complete, were noted. Histopathology of the turbinates revealed metaplasia of nasal epithelium and fibrosis in the lamina propria.     

Comparative Expression Analysis of Gametogenesis‐Associated Genes in Foetal and Adult Bubaline (Bubalus bubalis) Ovaries and Testes

This study was conducted to identify and analyse the expression of gametogenesis‐associated genes and proteins in foetal and adult buffalo gonads of both the sexes. Relative quantification of the genes was determined by qPCR and Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was also performed for various gametogenesis‐associated proteins in foetal and adult gonads of both the sexes. We observed significantly (p < 0.05) increased expression of primordial germ cell‐specific, meiotic as well as genes associated with oocyte maturation and development in foetal ovaries as compared to the adult ones. However, significantly (p < 0.05) increased expression of proteins associated with oocyte maturation like GDF9 and ZP4 was found in adult ovaries, indicating temporal regulation of mRNA translation during oogenesis. Meiotic genes showed significantly (p < 0.05) increased expression in adult testes as compared to foetal testes and ovaries, indicating onset of meiosis at a later stage in spermatogenesis. In general, the expression of primordial germ cell‐associated as well as meiotic genes was higher in adult testes, indicating the increased biological activity in the organ. Immunohistochemistry revealed localized expression of gametogenesis‐associated proteins in ovarian follicles and seminiferous tubules of testes, while the surrounding somatic tissues were devoid of these proteins. The study gives an understanding of the sequential and temporal events of gene expression as well as mRNA translation during male and female gametogenesis. It could also be concluded that follicles and seminiferous tubules are the functional units of the female and male gonads, respectively, and their function could be enhanced by appropriate chemical and genetic intervention of the somatic tissue immediately surrounding them. This assumes importance in the context that buffalo attains sexual maturity at an older age of 2–3 years and have smaller ovaries with lesser number of primordial follicles in comparison with cattle, which is suggested to be the main reason of their poor breeding performance.     

A Chemoautotrophically Based Cave Ecosystem

Microbial mats discovered in a ground-water ecosystem in southern Romania contain chemoautotrophic bacteria that fix inorganic carbon, using hydrogen sulfide as an energy source. Analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes showed that this chemoautotrophic production is the food base for 48 species of cave-adapted terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, 33 of which are endemic to this ecosystem. This is the only cave ecosystem known to be supported by in situ autotrophic production, and it contains the only terrestrial community known to be chemoautotrophically based.