Prevalence of anthelmintic resistance on sheep farms in New Zealand

AIM: To establish the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in parasitic nematodes on sheep farms in New Zealand.

METHODS: A cross-sectional prevalence study was conducted, using a standardised faecal nematode egg count (FEC) reduction (FECR) test (FECRT) for ivermectin, at a full (0.2 mg/kg) and half (0.1 mg/kg) dose rate, and albendazole, levamisole and albendazole-levamisole in combination, on 60 lambs (n=10 per group) on farms selected from throughout New Zealand. Farms that conformed with selection criteria were chosen at random (n=80) or with a history of suspected resistance to macrocy- clic lactone (ML) anthelmintics (n=32). Resistance to an an- thelmintic was inferred when there was <95% reduction in FEC 7-10 days after treatment. Larval cultures were performed for all control groups and for treated groups for which resistance was evident.

RESULTS: Of the farms randomly selected, 36% showed ≥95% FECR for all anthelmintics tested; resistance to ivermectin at 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg liveweight was evident on 36% and 25% of these farms, respectively. Resistance to both ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg) and levamisole was evident on 8/80 (10%) farms, to ivermectin and albendazole on 10/80 (13%) farms, and to iver- mectin, levamisole and albendazole on 6/80 (8%) farms. The prevalence of resistance to a half dose of ivermectin tended to be more prevalent on farms with a history of suspected ML resistance (p=0.06). Resistance to albendazole was seen across all the main parasite genera, and to levamisole in Nematodirus, Ostertagia (= Teladorsagia) and Trichostrongylus species. Resistance to ivermectin was dominated by Ostertagia spp, although Cooperia, Nematodirus and Trichostrongylus species were also implicated.

CONCLUSION: Anthelmintic resistance in parasitic nema-todes of sheep is common in New Zealand. Not only was resistance to albendazole and levamisole common, but resistance to the ML, ivermectin, was at a higher prevalence than expected. Sheep farmers and advisors in New Zealand need to re-evaluate the way they manage parasites, and more research is urgently needed if the steady decline in anthelmintic susceptibility is to be halted.     

Towards sustainable exhibits – application of an inorganic fertilization method in coral reef fish larviculture in an aquarium

Coral reef fish are collected from the wild and exhibited in aquaria worldwide. Some of the fish spawn in captivity; however, the eggs are usually neglected. In this study, we collected the eggs spawned naturally in the exhibit tanks, hatched and cultured them indoor in 2000‐L fibreglass tanks (initial density = 18 000 egg tank^?1). We applied an inorganic fertilization method commonly used in freshwater fish culture in raising these coral reef fish larvae. We maintained inorganic phosphorus concentration at 100 μg P L^?1 and inorganic nitrogen at 700 μg N L^?1 daily in the fertilized group (n = 4), while the control tanks (n = 4) were fed with rotifers (10 ind mL^?1). Chlorophyll a at particle sizes of both 0.45–20 μm and >20 μm, as well as NH₃‐N, NO₃‐N, and PO₄‐P concentrations were significantly higher in the fertilized group than the control. Zooplankton in the size groups of 10–50 μm (mainly flagellates) and 50–100 μm (mainly ciliates) were abundant (about 10~60 ind mL^?1) during 3–7 days in fertilized tanks. The average larval fish survival rate at 21 day after hatch in fertilized group was consistently higher than the control in two trials. The experiments demonstrated that the inorganic fertilization approach can be successfully adapted for coral reef fish culture in an aquarium to achieve sustainable exhibits.     

Subsurface drip irrigation of corn in the United States Mid-South

Although rainfall in the United States Mid-South is sufficient to produce corn (Zea mays L.) without irrigation in most years, timely irrigation has been shown to increase yields. The recent interest in ethanol fuels is expected to lead to increases in US corn production, and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is one possible way to increase application efficiency and thereby reduce water use. The objective of this study was to determine the response of SDI-irrigated corn produced in the US Mid-South. Field studies were conducted at the University of Arkansas Northeast Research and Extension Center at Keiser during the 2002-2004 growing seasons. The soil was mixed, with areas of fine sandy loam, loamy sand, and silty clay. SDI tubing was placed under every row at a depth of approximately 30 cm. Three irrigation levels were compared, with irrigation replacing 100% and 60% of estimated daily water use and no irrigations. The split plot treatment was hybrid, with three hybrids of different relative maturities. Although the 3-year means indicated significantly lower yields for a nonirrigated treatment, no significant differences were observed among the treatments in 2003 or 2004. A large difference was observed in 2002, the year with the least rainfall during the study period, but no difference was detected between the two irrigated treatments in any year. The treatment with the lower water application had the higher irrigation water use efficiency. Although the results of this study suggested that replacing 60% of the estimated daily evapotranspiration with SDI is sufficient for maximum corn yields, additional observations will be needed to determine whether corn production with SDI is feasible in the region and to develop recommendations for farmers choosing to adopt the method. Improved weather forecasting and crop coefficient functions developed specifically for the region should also contribute to more efficient irrigation management.     

Toxic shock syndrome in a horse with Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia

A 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was examined because of clinical signs of pneumonia and shock. Mucous membrane petechiation and ventral edema were observed and considered to be a result of vasculitis. Epidermal necrosis developed on the distal portions of the limbs. The horse had a persistent high fever that was unresponsive to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory treatment, and Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a nasal swab specimen and 2 transtracheal wash fluid samples. Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and supportive treatment resulted in clinical improvement. However, resolution of the pulmonary infection required long-term (42 days) antimicrobial administration. Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from this horse were positive for the toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 gene and were shown to produce toxic shock syndrome toxin-1, the causative factor in toxic shock syndrome in humans. The horse's clinical signs were attributed to toxic shock syndrome secondary to pulmonary S. aureus infection.     

Use of sentinel chickens to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection procedures in noncommercial poultry operations infected with exotic Newcastle disease virus.

The use of sentinel chickens in establishing the negative status of commercial poultry flocks depopulated due to exotic Newcastle disease (END) is considered to be an economically beneficial process. However, the costs and benefits of using sentinel chickens in noncommercial operations are in question. The objective of this study was to use sentinel chickens to evaluate whether adequate cleaning and disinfection coupled with an appropriate time period without susceptible poultry species on the premises would eliminate END virus from a noncommercial poultry operation and preclude the need for placement of sentinels in previously infected operations before declaring them free of virus. Noncommercial poultry operations were selected from the 2002 to 2003 END outbreak database. Operations included in the study had one or more isolations of END virus (ENDV) from cloacal or oropharyngeal swabs of birds on the premises. A total of 546 birds were placed on 53 premises. All sentinel birds sampled after placements were negative by virus detection methods and serologic tests. Results of this study indicate that time and the application of appropriate cleaning and disinfection procedures will adequately mitigate the risk of viable virus persisting in noncommercial poultry operations. In the future, this information may eliminate the need for sentinel bird placement to ensure virus free status of premises before repopulation, thereby decreasing the costs of END eradication.     

A questionnaire survey of the prevalence of scrapie in sheep in Britain

An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire has been used in two independent surveys to try to determine the prevalence of scrapie in the national sheep flock. The disease was recorded in 35 counties in England and Wales. About a third (26.5 and 37.3 percent) of respondents owning 100 or more sheep indicated that they had seen sheep with scrapie in their flocks. The incidences of clinical cases recorded in affected flocks in the two surveys were 0.5 and 1.1 cases/100 ewes/year. At present there is no control over the disposal of these animals. If as has been suggested, an increase in the prevalence of scrapie was a contributory factor in the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, it would seem logical that measures should be introduced to monitor the prevalence and incidence of scrapie and to control the disposal of clinical cases.     

Nutrient cycling in two traditional Central American agroforestry systems

A preliminary nutrient cycling study quantified total and temporal nutrient inputs via litterfall and pruning residues in two agroforestry systems: (1) Coffea arabica (perennial crop)-Erythrina poeppigiana (leguminous shade tree); and (2) C. arabica-E. poeppigiana-Cordia alliodora with emphasis on the effect of the timber tree C. alliodora. The total annual input of litterfall plus pruning residues was similar in both associations. Total annual input from E. poeppigiana was less than half in the association with C. alliodora than without, but the litterfall from this latter species compensated for the loss. Large differences in the total annual nutrient input of K, Ca and Mg was found between associations, but not for N or P. The amount of nutrients recycled by the associated trees reached the recommended level of fertilizer required for coffee production. The inclusion of C. alliodora within the C. arabica-E. poeppigiana association resulted in a more evenly distributed annual nutrient input.     

Utilization of Weather Data in Predicting Bread Loaf Volume by Neural Network Method

The unique ability of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) flour to produce cohesive dough has helped to make it the most widely used cereal crop for bread and other baked food products. Measurement of end‐use qualities, such as loaf volume, is ideally carried out through assessing loaves of bread; however, this is resource intensive. Predictive testing methods are more often utilized to identify wheat genotypes with potentially acceptable loaf volume, although more accurate predictive methods would be beneficial. Our objectives were to study the influence of weather observations on bread loaf volume and flour and dough quality data, to use a neural network (NN) model to predict loaf volume with select input data, and to compare the best multiple regression models identified with their NN counterparts. Weather data collected at 20 days after heading (DAH) showed the highest correlations with bread loaf volume when compared with prior intervals. A NN model containing maximum, minimum, and nighttime temperatures produced the highest coefficient of determination for predicting loaf volume. Our results showed that the NN model explained up to 20% more loaf volume variation than a similar regression model. Weather parameters representing conditions at 20 DAH played a significant role in loaf volume prediction.