Vaccination is an important disease prevention and control measure; however, vaccine adoption by livestock farmers in Tanzania is still low. This cross-sectional study examined the challenges to vaccine use faced by livestock owners and animal health professionals (AHPs) in Tanzania. A questionnaire was administered to 216 households that kept small ruminants and poultry and 19 AHPs’ data were collected electronically via the survey platform Qualtrics, and descriptive statistics were performed. Households with poultry reported vaccinating mostly against Newcastle disease (91.7%), fowl pox (48.1%) and Gumboro disease (37.0%), whilst households with small ruminants reported contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (62.2%), sheep and goat pox (17.1%), foot-and-mouth disease (7.3%) and peste des petits ruminants (7.3%). The households’ decision to vaccinate was mostly influenced by knowledge of diseases (82.4%), disease history on the farm (69.4%) and vaccine price (63.4%). Most households (54.6%) experienced challenges when purchasing vaccines, including high vaccine cost (78.0%), long distance from vaccine source (61.0%) and vaccine unavailability (21.2%). The findings suggest that improving the knowledge of livestock owners regarding the priority diseases and the benefits of vaccination, establishing more vaccine suppliers, improving vaccine distribution and access and training AHPs and households on appropriate vaccine storage and handling are necessary to improve vaccine adoption and ensure vaccine quality and effectiveness.

Contagious agalactia of ruminants is an endemic disease caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae in flicting significant losses on farms in deaths and forced slaughter of sick animals, abortions, births of sick young animals, and reduced milk and wool production. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of hydrometeorological conditions on the distribution and forms of contagious agalactia in sheep in Bessarabia, Ukraine.

Kasba virus belongs to the Palyam serogroup of the Orbivirus genus and Reoviridae family. Kasba virus is the causative agent of many reproductive disorders in infected animals, which result in considerable economic losses, mainly in the cattle industry. The epidemiology of Kasba virus infection is poorly defined and remains unclear in South Korea.

Nematodes of the Trichuris genus are commonly reported parasites that can cause trichuriasis in many animals, which leads to inflammation, intestinal bleeding and reductions of productivity in livestock. Knowledge of the prevalence of Trichuris infestation in the Tianshan ovine population and of the nematode species parasitising the population is not exhaustive, and this study aimed to expand the knowledge.

Indigenous sheep are highly adaptable and widely distributed in different regions of Bangladesh. They are famous for their tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, low demand for feed, and disease resistance with minimum or no housing and management facilities. Ample indiscrimi¬nate research reports and case studies on the native sheep of Bangladesh have been published. Nonetheless, a comprehensive review of reproductive and productive performances, as well as their various morphometric physiognomies and climate resilience capabilities, is lacking. This review was designed to explore and summarize the available research reports on indigenous sheep to highlight the gaps and provide an updated database for the future research plan for sustainable native sheep production in Bangladesh. It covers studies on sheep biodiversity, their adaptabil¬ity to the local environment, morphometric features, feeding and nutrition, reproduction and production performances, diseases and health management, and the problems and prospects of sheep farming in Bangladesh. Due to the increased demand for animal protein, especially red meat, the scope of sheep farming increases along with that of other large and small ruminants. The vital constraints of sheep production in Bangladesh include insufficient feed and fodder sup¬ply with its high prices, higher disease occurrence with low or no management practices, kid mortality, and a poor marketing channel with the lower popularity of sheep meat than goat meat. Future research would be a prerequisite to measuring the impact of native sheep on household economies and food security during the year, evaluating the other challenges, and finding out the possible interventions in the fields of nutrition, reproduction, and health management. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2022; 9(4.000): 649-662]

The sheep meat production system contributes to the economy of sheep farmers to a greater extent. Considering the value of sheep meat, several researchers have attempted strategically to study various domains of sheep meat production and its marketing. The research on mutton production was mainly oriented to lean meat and fatty acid profile. Sheep meat marketing research has covered aspects of consumer demand and education. Studies reveal that the industrial meat production system in sheep contributes more water foot print. Researchers have also assessed the greenhouse gas emission of sheep meat production. Sheep carcass quality studies evaluated the effects of gender, production systems, body weight, age, hot and cold carcass. Sheep meat quality studies were majorly focused on the amino acid, fatty acid profiles, and sensory characteristics. Sheep meat flavor was thoroughly researched by a few investigators. The microbial profile of sheep carcass and meat indicated various microbial contaminants in the supply chain. Several antioxidants were used by researchers for improving the quality of meat and meat products. Antimicrobials such as metal oxides and essential oils were evaluated for effective sheep meat preservation. The heavy metal contaminants in sheep were also investigated by a few researchers. Different DNA and radioisotope methods have been explored for species and sex differentiation in sheep meat and meat products. The sheep meat products were assessed by researchers for various technological, nutritional, and sensory characteristics. The economic value of sheep meat by-products was calculated by researchers for their potential importance in the value chain. Parasitic meat borne diseases were found as the common zoonotic problem with sheep meat. The export potential of sheep meat and bottlenecks have also been studied by a few researchers. Overall, the broad dimensions of sheep meat research worldwide has a profound link with the economy of the nations.

Sarcocystis spp. is cyst forming protozoa that contains more than 200 species and belong to the phylum Apicomplexa. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in buffalo and sheep carcasses slaughtered in Egypt macroscopically and microscopically. For this purpose, a total of 400 buffalo and sheep carcasses were examined at Tanta abattoir, Egypt for the detection of Sarcocystis spp. from July 2020 to June 2021. The results revealed that the prevalence of macroscopic sarcocysts was 26.5% in slaughtered buffaloes and 0% in slaughtered sheep, while the prevalence of microscopic sarcocysts was 56% in slaughtered buffaloes and 80.5% in slaughtered sheep. The prevalence of sarcocysts in old buffaloes and sheep was higher than in young buffaloes and sheep. The most affected organs with microscopic sarcocysts were the oesophagus followed by the tongue, masseter muscle, skeletal muscles and finally heart. The obtained results confirmed that the examined buffaloes and sheep are infected with Sarcocystis species due to the abundance of final hosts, especially dogs and cats that encourage the spreading of infection by this protozoan parasite. Therefore, efficient cooking of buffalo meat is highly recommended before serving to humans.