A five year old Large White Yorkshire sow gave birth to a conjoined cephalothoracopagus, which was stillborn.

The present study was undertaken to understand the present status of adoption of TANUVAS SMART mineral mixture, viz, complete adoption, partial adoption, discontinuance and rejection and its perceived attributes, namely, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability and trialability using the schedule developed for the purpose and the economic impact. Partial budgeting was done to assess the economic impact of adopting TANUVAS SMART mineral mixture. Personal cosmopolite and personal localite communication channels had contributed majorly to the awareness of the dairy farmers followed by mass media. Majority of the dairy farmers (78%) discontinued the adoption of the innovation. Sixty six per cent of them had medium level of adoption behaviour followed by high (28%) and low (6%) level of adoption behavior. The reasons attributable were that the technology was perceived relatively less advantageous and not observable. However, it was perceived as highly compatible, less complex and trialable. Net income of the dairy farmers had increased by Rs. 2,216.80 per dairy animal per lactation due to the adoption of TANUVAS SMART Mineral Mixture. The status of adoption of TANUVAS SMART Mineral Mixture, its adoption behaviour and change in net income were found to be significantly associated with land holding, area under fodder cultivation, dairy animal possession, extension agency contact and mass media exposure of the dairy farmers.

Many plants are being used as food additives and also as traditional medicine because of their preservative and curative effects. Various phytochemicals from medicinal plants like polyphenols, flavonoids, and Vitamin C serve as lead compounds in drug design and discovery. These active compounds are used as an alternative medicine to treat diseases like cancer, cardiovascular, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Plant extracts can positively affect the red cell membrane and many plants have serious adverse effects, which include induction of haemolytic anaemia. Therefore, many of the commonly used plants need to be evaluated for their potential haemolytic activity and it represents an important starting point in this regard. The haemolytic activity of any compound is the ultimate indicator of general cytotoxicity towards normal healthy cells. Methanolic extract of both Cleome gynandra plant (Stinkweed) and Annona squamosa (Custard apple) seeds were prepared. The haemolytic assay was conducted to check the haemolytic activity of both extracts as well as their combination. The study revealed that Cleome gynandra plant extract had the least haemolytic activity followed by Annona squamosa seed extract and a combination of both extracts. But the haemolytic activity increases when the concentration of all extract increases.

The study was conducted to document the incidence and nature of oestrus like signs and follicular biometry during the lunar and peri-lunar days in crossbred cattle. Crossbred cattle (n = 678) which were reported to be with oestrus like signs on lunar days (full moon day and new moon day) and peri-lunar days were subjected for the investigation. Only 60.6 per cent of the animals during the study period were in actual oestrus. The remaining animals (39.4%) were found to be in various reproductive statuses viz., pregnancy (17.7%), mid-cycle oestrum (6.9%) and without any oestrus characteristics (14.8 %). The diameter of the dominant follicle in cattle with oestrus signs during lunar days (10.4 ± 0.2 mm) was significantly (P < 0.05) smaller than cattle in actual oestrus during normal days (12.2 ± 0.5 mm). Exhibition of oestrous signs with smaller follicular diameter indicated the probable chances of lunar influence on the follicular dynamics, steroidogenesis and reproductive characters in cattle. 

Lice infestation is one of the major problems to the duck farming, causing irritation that lead to lowered feed intake, retarded growth, reduced weight gain and decreased egg production. The present communication deals with occurrence of different species of lice in a desi duck from Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu. A farmer from Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu brought five dead two year old native ducks for necropsy at Dept. of Veterinary Pathology, Veterinary College and research Institute, Orathanadu, Tamil Nadu. External examination of ducks revealed presence of 13 lice specimen in one bird. They were examined and identified as Trinoton querquedulae (n= 8), Anatoecus dentatus (n= 4) and Anaticola crassicornis (n= 1) morphologically. This study is the first to establish the presence of mixed lice infestation in native ducks from Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu and also first repot of Trinoton querquedulae in ducks from India.

Uterine prolapse in cats of twelve clinical cases brought to the Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital with a history of cats queened recently, severe straining, anorexia, pyrexia and round red swollen edematous mass protruding through the vulva were used for the present study. Based on the clinical examination, the cases were diagnosed as uterine prolapse either unilateral or bilateral horns. Ovariohysterectomy (n=6) was performed in six delayed cases and manual reduction (n=6) was done in six fresh cases. Cats that underwent surgery recovered uneventfully after one week of postoperative management. Manually reduced cases also recovered after one week of medical management. 

A 2  month old male German shepherd dog was presented to Veterinary Clinical Complex, Small Animal Surgery Unit of Madras Veterinary College, Chennai with the history of persistent regurgitation for 15 days. Plain and positive contrast radiographic evaluation revealed the dilated oesophagus cranial to the heart and tracheal deviation with constriction at the base of the heart. Surgical correction through resection of persistent ligamentum arteriosum around the oesophagus under general anaesthetic procedure. Post operative plain and contrast radiographic procedure revealed no evidence of barium stasis in the course of oesophagus and complete resolution of regurgitation. Recovery was good and normal feeding habit noticed 14th post operative day.

no abstract available

Cowdria polymorphic gene 1 (cpg1, Erum2510, ERUM_RS01380) has been shown to induce 30% and 100% protection in sheep immunised by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) prime combined with DNA boost and DNA prime combined with protein boost, respectively, against heartwater infection via needle challenge. To localise its antigenic regions for inclusion in a multi-epitope DNA vaccine against heartwater, Erum2510 was cleaved into five overlapping subfragments. These subfragments were expressed individually in an Escherichia coli host expression system and evaluated for their ability to induce proliferative responses, Th1 and Th2 cytokines (interferon gamma [IFN-γ] and interleukin 4 [IL-4]) via enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot), quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and flow cytometry. Recombinant (r)proteins 3 and 4 were shown to induce immunodominant Th1 and Th2 immune responses characterised by the secretion of effector cytokines IFN-γ and IL-4 in addition to differential messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF), IL-2, IL-1, IL-18, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Thirty-seven overlapping synthetic peptides (16 mer) spanning the lengths of these immunodominant rproteins were synthesised and assayed. A peptide pool comprising p9 and p10 derived from rprotein 3 induced a Th1-biased immune response. A peptide pool comprising p28 and p29 derived from rprotein 4 induced a mixed Th1 and Th2 immune response characterised by secretion of IFN-γ and differential mRNA expression of IL-1, IL-2, IL-10, IL-12, iNOS, TGF, TNF and GM-CSF. Only one of the peptides (p29) induced secretion of IL-4. Phenotypic analysis showed significant activation of cluster of differentiation 8+ (CD8+), cluster of differentiation 4+ (CD4+) and B+ lymphocyte populations. Findings suggest that Erum2510 rproteins and synthetic peptides can induce both cellular and humoral immune responses, thereby implicating their importance in protection against heartwater. Contribution: This study will facilitate the design of an effective multi-epitope DNA vaccine against heartwater that will contribute to control this economically important disease in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

Clinical signs suggestive of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) involved herds of small ruminants, which were described elsewhere in Sudan. Peste des petits ruminants was confirmed using an Immunocapture ELISA (IC-ELISA) assay in samples of infected and dead animals in areas of outbreaks. Therefore, to update information regarding the current situation and for assessment of the serological prevalence of PPR in small ruminants mingled at Central and Western Sudan during 2018–2019, 368 sera were collected from sheep (325 sera) and goats (43 sera) with different ages and breeds. These sera included 186 sera (173 sheep and 13 goats) from White Nile State and 182 sera (152 sheep and 30 goats) from Kordofan States. Competitive ELISA demonstrated higher prevalence of PPRV antibodies of 88.9%, 90.7% and 88.6% in both sheep and goats, goats, and sheep sera, respectively. Moreover, 100%, 94.7% and 78.5% seroprevalence values were demonstrated in South Kordofan, North Kordofan and White Nile States. The higher seroprevalence values detected in sera of unvaccinated sheep and goats indicated the wide exposure of these animals to PPRV and presence of protection following PPR viral infection. The findings of the study indicated that PPR is endemic in the surveyed areas of Sudan. Contribution: The study will contribute effectively to the global eradication programme of PPR organised by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). To completely eliminate PPR from Sudan by 2030, local efforts should be directed towards effectively and wholly vaccinating small ruminants using PPRV vaccine especially in routes of seasonal animal’s movement and shared grazing areas.