The primary objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis (Cfv) and Tritrichomonas foetus in breeding bulls from a sentinel cohort of cow-calf herds in western Canada and to estimate the association between positive test status and non-pregnancy. The final objective was to evaluate the application of these tests when: i) screening bulls in the absence of a recognized problem with reproductive performance, and ii) testing for diagnosis of poor pregnancy rates. The crude apparent bull prevalence for Cfv was 1.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.5% to 2.1%; 8/735] and herd prevalence was 2.6% (95% CI: 0.3% to 9.0%; 2/78). The crude apparent bull prevalence for T. foetus was < 0.001% (95% CI: 0.0% to 0.5%; 0/735) and herd prevalence was < 0.001% (95% CI: 0.0% to 4.6%; 0/78). Cows from herds where at least 1 bull was test positive for Cfv were 2.35 times more likely (95% CI: 1.01% to 5.48%; P = 0.047) to not be pregnant than those with no positive bulls. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of preputial material collected into phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was recommended for screening for T. foetus when the pre-test probability of infection was > 1%. The same test for Cfv was not recommended for screening moderate- and low-risk herds due to the high risk of false positives. Tests for both T. foetus and Cfv can be used to investigate herds with reproductive problems when also ruling out other risk factors. Regardless of the type of test used, however, 3 negative tests are required to rule out infection in high-risk situations.

The aim of this study was to compare nasopharyngeal and esophageal temperature measurements in anesthetized sheep with a range of fresh gas flows (1 to 6 L/min) through the breathing system. Data were compared using a Bland-Altman plot and correlation coefficients, and error measures were calculated. One hundred and ninety-five sets of data were collected from 20 sheep weighing 41 kg (31 to 51.5 kg). The bias (95% limit of agreement), correlation coefficient, and absolute error for nasopharyngeal compared to esophageal temperature were 0.04°C (-0.77°C to 0.85°C), 0.92, and 0.29°C ± 0.29°C, respectively. The percentage of nasopharyngeal readings within 0.5°C of the esophageal temperature was 77.44%. The error did not significantly increase with increasing fresh gas flow. Nasopharyngeal temperature measurement is suitable for estimation of esophageal temperature during general anesthesia of sheep when the fresh gas flow through the breathing system is between 1 and 6 L/min.

Enterotoxaemia (pulpy kidney) is a common bacterial disease of sheep caused by Clostridium perfringens type D epsilon toxin. It has mortality rates of up to 30% in non-vaccinated animals. Current vaccines from whole cell cultures are expensive to manufacture and can induce local inflammatory responses in sheep. They usually have reduced immunogenicity because of the difficulty of standardising the inactivation step in vaccine manufacturing. In the current study, we evaluated the safety and potency of a recombinant plant-made epsilon toxoid protein (r-Etox) as an affordable and safer alternative vaccine for developing countries. Results of injection site reactions, rectal temperature and toxin neutralisation test in single and prime– boost inoculations of mice, guinea pigs and sheep suggest that the product is not toxic to animals and could protect sheep against enterotoxaemia.

A total of 118 sera were collected during 2016 from two groups of dromedaries from Kebili and Medenine governorates in the south of Tunisia. The aim of this study was to provide the first serological investigation of four emerging vector-borne diseases in two groups of dromedaries in Tunisia. Sera were tested by ELISA and serum neutralisation test to identify West Nile virus (WNV), bluetongue virus (BTV), epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). In the first group, the seroprevalence for BTV was 4.6%, while in the second group, it was 25.8% for WNV and 9.7% for BTV. Only serotype 1 was detected for BTV in the two groups. No evidence for circulation of RVF and EHD viruses was revealed. Results indicated that dromedaries can be infected with BTV and WNV, suggesting that this species might play a significant role in the epizootiology of these viral diseases in Tunisia and neighbouring countries.

The transmission of diseases between livestock and wildlife can be a hindrance to effective disease control. Maintenance hosts and contact rates should be explored to further understand the transmission dynamics at the wildlife-livestock interface. Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) has been shown to have wildlife maintenance hosts and has been confirmed as present in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in Uganda since the 1960s. The first aim of this study was to explore the spatio-temporal spread of cattle illegally grazing within the QENP recorded by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers in a wildlife crime database. Secondly, we aimed to quantify wildlife-livestock interactions and cattle movements, on the border of QENP, using a longitudinal questionnaire completed by 30 livestock owners. From this database, 426 cattle sightings were recorded within QENP in 8 years. Thirteen (3.1%) of these came within a 300 m–4 week space-time window of a buffalo herd, using the recorded GPS data. Livestock owners reported an average of 1.04 (95% CI 0.97–1.11) sightings of Uganda kob, waterbuck, buffalo or warthog per day over a 3-month period, with a rate of 0.22 (95% CI 0.20–0.25) sightings of buffalo per farmer per day. Reports placed 85.3% of the ungulate sightings and 88.0% of the buffalo sightings as further than 50 m away. Ungulate sightings were more likely to be closer to cattle at the homestead (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1–3.6) compared with the grazing area. Each cattle herd mixed with an average of five other cattle herds at both the communal grazing and watering points on a daily basis. Although wildlife and cattle regularly shared grazing and watering areas, they seldom came into contact close enough for aerosol transmission. Between species infection transmission is therefore likely to be by indirect or non-respiratory routes, which is suspected to be an infrequent mechanism of transmission of BTB. Occasional cross-species spillover of infection is possible, and the interaction of multiple wildlife species needs further investigation. Controlling the interface between wildlife and cattle in a situation where eradication is not being considered may have little impact on BTB disease control in cattle.

Spotted fever group rickettsioses are a group of tick-borne zoonotic diseases caused by intracellular bacteria of the genus Rickettsia. The diseases are widely reported amongst international travellers returning from most sub-Saharan Africa with fever, yet their importance in local populations largely remains unknown. Although this has started to change and recently there have been increasing reports of the diseases in livestock, ticks and humans in Kenya, they have not been investigated in wildlife. We examined the presence, prevalence and species of Rickettsia present in wildlife in two regions of Kenya with a unique human–wildlife–livestock interface. For this purpose, 79 wild animals in Laikipia County and 73 in Maasai Mara National Reserve were sampled. DNA extracted from blood was tested using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the intergenic spacer rpmE-tRNAfMet and the citrate synthase-encoding gene gltA. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 2 of the 79 (2.5%) animals in Laikipia and 4 of the 73 (5.5%) in Maasai Mara. The PCR-positive amplicons of the gltA gene were sequenced to determine the detected Rickettsia species. This revealed Rickettsia sibirica in a Topi (Damaliscus lunatus ssp. jimela). This is the first report of spotted fever group rickettsioses in wildlife and the first to report R. sibirica in Kenya. The finding demonstrates the potential role of wild animals in the circulation of the diseases.

Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a zoonotic disease causing approximately 6% of total human deaths. Its economic losses are not only a reduction of 10-20% in milk production and weight, but also infertility and condemnation of meat. Many serological tests are applied for detection of tuberculosis. ELISA test has the highest sensitivity and specificity than the other serological tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Several forms of new technology were brought into the diagnostic approach to mycobacterial infection. The aim of this work was to detect bovine tuberculosis by application of different serological tests. Tuberculin skin test was applied on 2650 cattle, only 63(2.4%) were positive. Forty eight (76.2%) of the slaughtered positive animals showed visible lesions (VL) while the other 15 (23.8%) had non-visible lesions (NVL). The bacteriological examination of the 63 samples revealed isolation of M. bovis from 47 processed samples (74.6%). The results of the immunoassay test have detected 27 out of the tuberculin positive cattle, while the ELISA has detected 34 out of the positive reactor cattle. It was concluded that immunoassay and ELISA tests act as complementary tests for tuberculin skin test especially in anergic cattle.

Dietary fat and oil is important for many body processes. The present investigation was carried out to determine the concentrations of organochlorine pesticides in butter, olive and corn oil. A total of 125 samples (75 butter, 25 each of olive oil and corn oil) were collected from El Minia Governorate, Egypt. Levels of these compounds were determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The results indicated that 30.4%(38/125), 24.8%(31/125), 21.6%(27/125), 21.6%(27/125), 16.8%(21/125), 14.4%(18/125), 14.4%(18/125), 12.8%(16/125), 9.6%(12/125), 8.8%(11/125), 8%(10/125), 1.6%(2/125) and 0.8%(1/125) of the examined samples were contaminated with Heptachlor, Endrin, Aldrin, Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene(p,p'-DDE), Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane(p,p'-DDD), Gamma hexachlorocyclohexane(Gamma HCH), Heptachlor epoxide, Dieldrin, Endosulfan, methoxychlor, Alpha hexachlorocyclohexane(Alpha HCH), Delta hexachlorocyclohexane(Delta HCH) and Gamma Chlordane, respectively. None of the examined samples revealed the presence of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT) and 11 samples contained organochlorine residues above European Union maximum residue limits (EU MRL)

Development of environmental, safe and protective vaccines against infectious pathogens remains a challenge. In consequence of its high morbidity and mortality rates canine distemper is one of the most important diseases of young dogs. The object of the present study is to develop a selected method for preparation of an inactivated canine distemper vaccine. This method involved exposure of the virus to different concentrations of binary ethyleneimine (BEI), beta propiolactone (ßPL) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Complete virus inactivation was obtained with BEI (0.003M) for 6 hours, ßPL (1/5000) for 4 hours and H2O2 at a concentration of 3% rapidly inactivated a Vero cell adapted canine distemper virus strain within 3 h of exposure without affecting its antigenicity or immunogenicity. The safety, immunogenicity and potency induced in four groups of puppies were evaluated using the three prepared experimental batches of inactivated canine distemper vaccine. These results revealed that no residual infectious virus was detected in H2O2 inactivated CD vaccine that proved to be safe and effective when compared with the same virus harvest that inactivated with the classical inactivating agents as BEI and βPL. Thus, an alternative inactivation method, such as H2O2 is able to maintain the integrity of the virus protein may be essential for improving the potency of inactivated canine distemper virus vaccine produced sufficient of antibodies which measured by serum neutralization test (SNT) and was protected when challenged with virulent CD virus strain. These findings reinforce the idea that H2O2 can replace BEI and βPL as inactivating agents for canine distemper virus to reduce time and cost of inactivation process.

Ice cream is a delicious dairy product commonly consumed during summer in all age groups. Due to its composition, it can harbor many potent pathogens. Most ice creams become contaminated with microbes during production, transit, and preservation. Such contaminated food product can be responsible for food borne infections in children, elderly people and immune-suppressed patients. Therefore, the study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality of street-vended ice creams sold in different areas of Alexandria city, Egypt. One hundred street vended ice cream samples (50 packed and 50 unpacked) randomly collected samples and analyzed for total bacterial count, Enterobacteriaceae count, coliform count, enterococci count and Staphylococcus aureus. The results revealed that the mean value of total viable count, Enterobacteriaceae count, Coliform count, Enterococci count and Staphylococcus aureus in packed and unpacked ice cream samples were 1.9x103±0.3x103, 1.0x106±0.8x106; 2.1x103±0.8x103, 1.9x104±0.8x104; 1.6x103± 0.6x103, 0.8x104±0.6x104; 1.3x103±0.05x103, 7.4x104±5.5x104 and 9.1x102±2.6x102, 0.8x104±0.4x104cfu/ml, respectively. Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Citrobacter sp. could be isolated and identified from the examined packed and unpacked ice cream samples. Serological identification of E.coli showed that the O111: K58: B4 is the most serotype of E.coli isolated from unpacked ice cream samples while O128: K67: B12 is the most prevalent E.coli serotype isolated from packed ice cream samples. It is recommended to launch awareness programs to minimize the contamination of ice cream products.