Veterinary Medicine International最新文献

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence and potential risk factors of camel brucellosis and to assess public health awareness of the disease in the selected kebele of Arero District, Borena Zone, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 313 blood samples were collected from selected camels using a systematic random sampling technique. The serum samples underwent initial screening for brucellosis using the rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), with further confirmation through the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent Assay (i-ELISA). The overall seroprevalence of camel brucellosis was 7.66% using RBPT and 2.24% using i-ELISA. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed significant associations; female camels (OR = 30.16, p=0.05) and mixing camels with other animal species (OR = 0.019, p=0.001 by i-ELISA) were significantly linked to camel seropositivity for Brucella infection. Assessment of public health perception and awareness from 227 owners indicated limited awareness; most respondents lacked knowledge about brucellosis (94.27%), 82.82% were unaware of raw meat risks, 94.27% did not know about brucellosis being zoonotic, and 18.94% consumed raw milk with blood. The majority (94.71%) practiced bare-handed calving, with 93.39% handling abortion materials, rarely isolating infected camels. The study found a moderate prevalence of brucellosis among camels in the study areas. Lack of implemented control strategies, combined with local pastoral practices, could potentially contribute to disease spread. Therefore, there should be continuous efforts of the disease control strategy at the animal level, community awareness creation, separation of infected camels from health heard, and avoiding mixing a camel with other animal species.

Background and Aim: Marijuana poisoning in canines is still considered a taboo topic. Poisoning in pets is becoming increasingly common, in many cases resulting in severe clinical signs, such as ataxia, urinary incontinence, mydriasis, depression, and hyperesthesia. Colombia does not have any reliable test for the diagnosis of exposure to cannabis in animals, and it is not an obligation to report this kind of poisoning to the authorities. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine the frequency of cases compatible with tetrahydrocannabinoid (THC) poisoning in canines in the Aburrá valley (Antioquia-Colombia), 2023-2024. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Aburrá valley (Antioquia-Colombia) from 2023 to 2024. Veterinary centers that were allowed to participate were visited, and the clinical records were examined on the canines that were diagnosed positive for marijuana poisoning. We examined the clinical record for different risk factors that could explain the poisoning. A descriptive statistic and a Chi-square test were used to identify risk factors; p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: One hundred and thirteen (113) cases compatible with cannabis poisoning were found in dogs. Puppies, crossbreeds, trim sizes, and canines whose owners have middle or high economic incomes were the most affected. In addition, a relation between the route of possible cannabis poisoning and the severe presentation of clinical signs was found, with ingestion and inhalation being the routes that generated a more pronounced sign. Likewise, a relationship between age and the most probable route of exposure was found, finding that puppies were more related to the ingestion of cannabis products. Conclusion: This is the first article in Colombia that was focused on determining the frequency of possible cannabis poisoning in canines. The dogs that are more susceptible to suffering cannabis poisoning are puppies and small-size dogs that are attended by veterinary medical centers and are in neighborhoods that are recognizable by people who have high salaries.

African swine fever (ASF), caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV), is a highly contagious disease with devastating effects on the global pig industry. This warrants the development of effective control strategies, such as vaccines. However, previously developed inactivated vaccines have proven ineffective, while live-attenuated vaccines carry inherent safety risks. The use of mRNA vaccines eliminates these risks offering a safe, cost-effective, and efficient vaccine strategy against ASFV. In this study, a reverse vaccinology approach was used to design a multiepitope pan-proteomic mRNA vaccine against ASFV. Various bioinformatics tools were employed to predict epitopes for cytotoxic T lymphocytes, helper T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes. A 50S ribosomal L7/L12 protein adjuvant, 5' cap, poly(A) tail, signal peptide, and MHC-I-targeting domain were incorporated into the design using appropriate linkers to increase immunogenicity, stability, and recognition efficiency. The physicochemical properties of the final construct were evaluated, and docking analyses were done with Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 3, 4, and 7 to evaluate binding affinity. A molecular dynamics simulation was then performed to determine binding stability, while immune simulations evaluated host's immune response. Based on 100 ASFV proteomes, six epitopes that induce cytotoxic T-cell responses, five epitopes that induce helper T-cell responses, and four epitopes that induce antibody production were predicted. The designed vaccine construct was found to be nonallergenic, antigenic, and stable when bound to TLR4 while the binding pocket analyses of the vaccine construct to TLR3 and TLR7 indicate high translation efficiency. Immune simulations demonstrated successful induction of immune responses and generation of antigen-specific memory cells. In conclusion, this study introduces an mRNA vaccine construct as a potential disease control strategy against ASF for in vitro confirmation.

Bovine papillomaviruses (BPVs) commonly cause sarcoids in equines worldwide. Equine sarcoids (ESs) reduce the working ability of draft animals and produce untoward cosmetic changes in racing and dancing equine. In this study, nine horses and 16 donkeys with sarcoids were presented to Zagazig University Veterinary Clinic, Zagazig, Egypt. Of these, eight horses and six donkeys were found to be infected with BPV. On sequencing, all 14 viruses were found to be BPV1, which were distributed in two clades without specific differentiation among papillomaviruses (PVs) of donkeys, horses, and cattle. Comparison of 135 aa (319-454) of the sequenced L1 gene with reference strains revealed three conservative mutations (D346N, Q398E, and F441Y) and two nonconservative mutations (T348N and K351T). Illumina sequencing revealed that PVs of donkeys and horses were identical and had 98.5% identity with the closest reference sequence (KX907623) of BPV1. In addition, there was high identity among all genes except E5 and L2. The substitution ranged between 0.5% (nt) and 0.89% (aa) in E4 and 5.18% (nt) and 6.81% (aa) in E5. These results indicate that BPV1 is the main cause of ESs in Egypt without marked phylogenetic variation among PVs of cattle, horses, and donkeys.

Equines play a significant role in the economy of the country. Besides their importance, equines face several challenges mainly helminth infections. Of these strongyle parasites are the most common, particularly in the study area. Thus, a cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2022 to July 2022 to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors and to identify the genera of equine strongyle parasites in and around Bishoftu. A total of 364 equines were randomly selected from five different areas and subjected to coprological examination using the floatation technique to detect strongyle-type eggs. A pooled faecal sample was cultured and subjected to modified Baerman techniques to identify the genus of strongyles. The overall prevalence of strongyle parasites was found to be 56.6% with an occurrence rate of 54.7% in horses and (65.2%) in donkeys. According to the present study, the two important genera identified were Strongylus and Cyathostomum. A higher prevalence of strongyle parasites was recorded in poor body condition (64%), adult (59.3%), female (70.7), and Kality (22%). Among the potential risk factors analyzed, the body condition score of the equines was significantly associated with strongyle infection (χ ² = 76.536 and p ≤ 0.001), while sex, species, age, and origins were not significantly associated with the prevalence of infection (χ ² = 2.644 and p = 0.266), (χ ² = 2.404 and p = 0.121), (χ ² = 0.609 and p = 0.435), and (χ ² = 3.205 and p = 0.524), respectively. In conclusion, strongyle parasites pose a major health problem for equines in the study area. They should focus on improving housing, increasing welfare awareness, implementing seasonal deworming, and enhancing the feeding practices of equines.

Working animals provide a critical socioeconomic role for many low-income communities, especially in Ethiopia nearly all draft power for agriculture production is generated from working animals. However, the welfare status of working animals remains worst in the country. Hence, understanding the major welfare problems of working animals is the key to improve their welfare status and to maximize their economic contribution. This systematic literature review encompasses 28 studies published between 2010 and 2024 that address the role of working animals and the factors impinging on their welfare. In this review, PRISMA flow diagram was used for literature inclusion and exclusion. In this review, we provide the role of working animals on improving the livelihood of peoples. According to the review, working animals were used as a direct food source, served as draft power, as income source, and also used for other purposes. This review also indicates low treatment to disease and injury, poor access to feed and water, no freedom from beating and distress, low access to safe shelter, and no freedom to express normal behavior are the major welfare problems in Ethiopia. The review also finds the gaps in animal welfare measurement and data analysis method, which should be examined by future researchers.

Safety and quality of milk and milk products are an increasing concern worldwide. Milk and milk products are major causes of milk-borne diseases due to contamination with microorganisms resulting from a lack of standard milk handling procedures and hygienic practices. Thus, the study aims to investigate the microbial quality and safety of cow milk and milk products and isolate some bacteria in Tigray. Questionnaires were conducted to assess milk handling procedures and hygienic practices. Samples were collected from different sampling points in the summer and winter seasons. Laboratory analyses were conducted using microbiological methods. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the results. The overall mean total bacterial counts were 4.94, 6.02, 6.58, and 6.23 log10 CFU/mL for milk samples collected directly from the udder, milk container, cafeteria, and yogurt, respectively. Total bacterial counts exhibited statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) among different sampling points. The bacterial load in the winter season was significantly higher than in the summer season (p < 0.04). Highly significant differences in coliform counts were observed (p < 0.001) with mean values of 4.29, 5.49, 6.22, and 5.86 log10 CFU/mL for milk samples obtained directly from the udder, milk container, cafeteria, and yogurt, respectively. The averages of spore-forming and psychrotrophic counts were 4.13 and 5.40 log10 CFU/mL, respectively. Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, and Staphylococcus aureus exhibited significant variations at different sampling points. The isolation rates of Salmonella spp., E. coli, and S. aureus were 41.7%, 75%, and 95.8%, respectively. Total bacterial counts and psychrotrophic counts of the butter were 4.34 and 4.38 log10 CFU/g, respectively. Overall, the results indicate that milk and milk products had high levels of contamination because the bacterial loads were significantly higher than standard limits (5 log10 CFU/mL). Therefore, public education and awareness campaigns on good hygienic practices for dairy farmers and cafeteria owners are essential. Implementation of stringent food quality and safety standards, along with effective regulatory measures, is imperative to ensure safeguard consumer health.

Sheep and goat influence the socioeconomic sustainability of rural communities in tropical countries, but parasitic diseases and Cysticercus tenuicollis in particular are responsible for their low productivity. The occurrence of Cysticercus tenuicollis in most affected regions of the world has been associated to the presence of stray dogs in the grazing area, which play vital roles in the life cycle of the parasite and poor disposal of contaminated and seized offal, organs, and carcasses. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the epidemiology of Cysticercus tenuicollis infection in sheep and goats in the tropics between 2010 and 2022 through the analysis of published qualitative and quantitative data on prevalence, risk factors, organ distribution, and interventions. The review showed that goats are more susceptible to Cysticercus tenuicollis than sheep in the tropics, and the prevalence rates based on meat inspection range from 0.45% to 56.8% in sheep and 4.83% to 72.38% in goats. More adult (2.9% to 83.17%) and female (0.96% to 71.42%) were infected than young (2.7% to 61.79%) and male (2.3% to 72.53%) animals. Higher infection rates were reported among animals in highland (7.99% to 73.61%) compared to animals in lowlands (4.70% to 69.69%). Overall, Cysticercus tenuicollis were observed on the abdominal visceral organs but predominantly on the omentum and liver, and affected animals were significantly higher during wet seasons. The review highlights the implementation of the One Health approach to improve understanding of the epidemiology, roles of different hosts, and environmental health in relation to the prevention and control of Cysticercus tenuicollis in the tropics.

The African grasscutter (AGC) (Thryonomys swinderianus) is the second largest rodent in sub-Saharan Africa. It is bred for its organoleptic and culinary properties but also serves as a research model. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between age-related changes in brain weight, brain volume, and spatial and nonspatial memory performance in the AGC. A total of forty-two (42) captive-derived AGCs were divided into seven age groups: 6 neonates (6 days), 6 juveniles (1 month), 6 pubertals (3 months), 6 subadults (8 months), 6 young adults (2 years), 6 middle adults (4 years), and 6 old adults (5 years). The subjects were given a series of tests to assess their spatial memory (location test) and their nonspatial memory (object recognition test). Brain samples were then collected using basic neuroanatomical techniques. The weight and volume of the brain samples were determined and their encephalization quotient (EQ) was also calculated. The results showed that spatial and nonspatial memory in AGC develops into adulthood and then declines with age. Mean brain weight increased from neonates to mid-adulthood (5.20 ± 0.31 g-11.76 ± 0.23 g) and decreased in older AGC (11.75 ± 0.22 g). In contrast, the mean weight of the olfactory bulb (OB) increased from neonates to young adults (0.28 ± 0.02 g-0.80 ± 0.03 g) and the cerebellum increased from neonates to older (0.59 ± 0 0.01 g-1.86 ± 0.06 g). Finally, the EQ decreased with age (0.73 ± 0.05-0.29 ± 0.01). Mean brain volume increased with age from neonates to young adult (5 mL-11.25 mL). Conversely, the mean volume of the OB and cerebellum increases from neonates to older age (0.33 ± 0.03 mL-0.95 ± 0.04 mL). This study shows that spatial and nonspatial memory declines during the aging process in AGC. Neonates and juveniles have higher cognitive abilities than adults and older AGC. The weight of the brain, OB, and cerebellum increases from neonates to adult and decreases slightly from middle to old adults. However, the volume of the OB and cerebellum increases with age.

The rise in antimicrobial resistance is a vital concern, and various factors, such as the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, have contributed to its development and spread. Livestock farmers, veterinarians, and pharmacies are key prescribers of antibiotics for disease prevention, control, and treatment of ruminant animals. A qualitative study in the Sumbawa District examined their awareness, attitudes, and practices concerning antibiotic use, residues, and resistance, underscoring their vital role in tackling this challenge. The study utilized nine key informant interviews, sixteen in-depth interviews, a single focus group discussion, and on-farm observations using semistructured formats and thematic analysis to identify and explore themes. This revealed a common practice of antibiotic self-medication among ruminant farmers in the Sumbawa Regency, driven by limited knowledge and leading to medicine store purchases based on advice from veterinary paraprofessionals or for unregulated self-treatment. Factors contributing to antibiotic misuse include trust in veterinary paraprofessionals, economic limitations, lack of targeted antiresistance programs, and insufficient regulation of antibiotic sales. Enhancing veterinary paraprofessionals' awareness of their ethical duties, launching educational programs for actors, providing financial support for these initiatives, and strict enforcement of regulations by the local government are strategies that could collectively promote responsible antibiotic use and stewardship.