The nematode, Haemonchus contortus, is responsible for major economic losses in the livestock industry. The management of parasites such as H. contortus has been through the use of synthetic parasiticides. This has resulted in the presence of residues in meat and milk, which affects food safety. The development of resistance to available anthelmintics coupled with their high cost has further complicated matters. This has led to the investigation of alternative methods to manage nematodes, including the use of plants and plant extracts as a potential source of novel anthelmintics. Acetone extracts were prepared from 15 South African plant species and their anthelmintic activity determined using the egg hatch assay (EHA). The leaf extract of Cleome gynandra had the best inhibitory activity (68% ± 3%) at a concentration of 2.5 mg/mL, followed by the stem extract of Maerua angolensis (65% ± 5%). The extracts had a relatively low toxicity on Vero cells determined by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide) cellular assay.

Clausena anisata is a medicinal plant used traditionally to treat myiasis and as an insect repellent by various communities. We have previously demonstrated the effects of C. anisata extracts on blowfly feeding and development in our laboratory. The impact of C. anisata leaf extracts on populations of different fly species on farms in Mpumalanga, South Africa was investigated in this study under field conditions. Flies were exposed to liver baits treated with acetone leaf extracts of C. anisata (150 mg/mL). Fly numbers and composition on two farms, with and without C. anisata treated liver, were compared during a period of 12 weeks when fly populations were expected to be high. Observations were made on fly behaviour and development, adult sizes and numbers. The flies exposed to liver treated with the leaf extract of C. anisata had a decreased rate of development, prolonged larval period, smaller body sizes and more sluggish behaviour compared to those subjected to the control treatment. No significant differences were, however, found between the numbers and sizes of flies on the treated and on the control farm, which was most likely due to the limited nature of the baiting programme we followed. The effects of C. anisata extracts on blowfly behaviour and development observed in previous laboratory studies were confirmed in this field evaluation. Although the extracts did not have a significant effect on the overall population size in this experiment, we believe that the C. anisata leaf extract could be useful in integrated pest management based on its effect on larval development. In addition, species such as Lucilia cuprina and Chrysomya marginalis seemed to have been repelled by the C. anisata treated liver; as a result, further work should explore this aspect and how it can be used for the protection of animals.

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is an endangered seabird that breeds along the coast of Namibia and South Africa, and disease surveillance was identified as a priority for its conservation. Aiming for the establishment of baseline data on the presence of potential pathogens in this species, a comprehensive health assessment (blood smear examination, haematology, biochemistry and serology) was conducted on samples obtained from 578 African penguins at 11 breeding colonies and a rehabilitation centre. There were 68 penguins that were seropositive for at least one of seven pathogens tested: avian encephalomyelitis virus, avian infectious bronchitis virus, avian reovirus, infectious bursal disease virus, Newcastle disease virus, Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae. All samples were seronegative for avian influenza virus subtypes H5 and H7 and infectious laryngotracheitis virus. The apparent prevalence of Babesia sp. and Borrelia sp. in blood smears was consistent with previous studies. Babesia-infected individuals had a regenerative response of the erythrocytic lineage, an active inflammatory response and hepatic function impairment. These findings indicate that African penguins may be exposed to conservation-significant pathogens in the wild and encourage further studies aiming for the direct detection and/or isolation of these microorganisms.

A descriptive study was conducted to identify the different strains of Echinococcus granulosus occurring in livestock in Moroto district, Uganda. Echinococcus cysts from 104 domestic animals, including cattle, sheep, goats and camels, were taken and examined by microscopy, polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism and Sanger DNA sequencing. Echinococcus granulosus genotypes or strains were identified through use of Bioinformatics tools: BioEdit, BLAST and MEGA6. The major finding of this study was the existence of a limited number of E. granulosus genotypes from cattle, goats, sheep and camels. The most predominant genotype was G1 (96.05%), corresponding to the common sheep strain. To a limited extent (3.95%), the study revealed the existence of Echinococcus canadensis G6/7 in three (n = 3) of the E. granulosus–positive samples. No other strains of E. granulosus were identified. It was concluded that the common sheep strain of Echinococcus sensu stricto and G6/7 of E. canadensis were responsible for echinococcal disease in Moroto district, Uganda.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of high metabolizable energy diets with normal or wide metabolizable energy to crude protein ratios (ME:CP) on the performance, carcass characteristics, body composition and blood parameters of broilers fed from 1 to 56 days of age. The chicks were allotted into 7 groups; one control and 6 tested. The birds were fed starter, grower and finisher diets. The control diet was formulated according to the NRC of poultry (1994) and the other six diets contained three different levels of high energy diets (3275, 3350 & 3425 kcal/kg; one level for each two groups). The first three tested groups were pointed for as the ''normal calorie-protein ratio” groups in which the CP increased in relation to the increased ME, keeping the normal NRC ratio. In the second three tested groups, named “wide calorie-protein ratio” groups, the dietary protein was kept at the NRC levels leading to ratios wider than that of the NRC. Results showed that chicks fed high ME diets with normal energy to protein ratio grew faster, and used feed more efficiently than chicks fed the control diets. However, feeding diets with high ME and normal protein NRC-levels slightly improved the weight and feed conversion. The visible fat and fat retained in the body was higher in all tested groups compared to the control. However, the blood parameters had no significant variations among the treatments, except for ALT which had an increased response to increased dietary energy density. In conclusion, increasing the dietary ME level without increasing the crude protein level provided moderately economic returns and lesser improvement in the performance of broilers. However, increasing of dietary ME with normal ME:CP ratio resulted in increased broiler performance and higher economic return.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Ca soap of palm oil fatty acids (CSFA), as a protected fat, on milk composition and the performance of both ewes and lambs. Thirty-three crossbred ewes aged 2-3 years and weighed 41-44 kg were allocated in three unequal groups for A, B &C (10, 12 &11 ewes, respectively). Group A was fed a diet free from protected fat and kept as a control. Group B was fed a diet containing 4 % fat and group C was given a diet containing 8 % fat. The ewes were in the last month of pregnancy and the experiment extended till the end of late lactation (4.5 months). Milk composition was tested, and body change in ewes and nursing lambs was traced. Moreover, the effect of fat addition on dry matter intake of ewes was analyzed. Results revealed a decrease in dry matter intake in the late gestation and an increase in early lactation, with no significant differences in the late lactation. The effect followed the amount of fat added. There was no effect on ewe’s body weight change or lamb’s growth rate from birth to weaning. On milk composition, there was an increase in fat %, higher in group B and total solids%, while percentage of protein was decreased. Concerning fat supplementation, no effect on lactose, urea milk nitrogen, and somatic cell counts was detected. There was a decreased level of solids-not-fat in group B, while group C showed no detectable alterations. In conclusion CSFA supplementation was effective to increase the fat % and yield in milk of sheep especially at the rate of 4% of addition.

Fungal diseases of poultry have become problematic as bacterial and viral diseases. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the prevalence of fungal agents in broiler chickens suffering from respiratory disorders. The prevalence rate of fungal isolation was 53.1% including mycelia fungi (42%) and yeast isolates (11.1%). Mould isolates were identified as Aspergillus fumigatus (21.7%), Aspergillus flavus (8.4%), Aspergillus niger (8.4%), Aspergillus nidulans (1.3%), Cladosporium spp. (0.4%) and Penicillium spp. (1.8%). Concerning yeast isolates, Candida spp. was the most predominant which were identified as C. albicans, C. pseudotropicalis (2.7% each), C. krusei, C. regosa (2.2% each), and C. stellatoidea (0.4%). Moreover, one Cryptococcus sp. was recovered and identified as C. neoformans (0.9%). PCR assay using oligonucleotide primer amplifying a 570 bp fragment based on ITS region gene was conducted on randomly selected 9 isolates including 6 Aspergillus spp. (A. flavus, A. niger, A. fumigates; 2 each) as well as 3 yeast isolates (two isolates of C. albicans and one isolate of C. neoformans). All tested isolates had positive reactions.

Between 2005 and 2006, a cross-sectional survey was carried out in domestic ruminants in agropastoral communities of Serengeti district, Tanzania to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis in domestic–wildlife interface villages. Both the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Competitive Enzyme Linked-immunosorbent Assay (c-ELISA) were used to analyse 82 human and 413 livestock sera from four randomly selected villages located along game reserve areas of Serengeti National Park. Although both cattle (288) and small ruminants (125) were screened, seropositivity was detected only in cattle. The overall seroprevalence based on c-ELISA as a confirmatory test was 5.6%. In cattle both age and sex were not statistically associated with brucellosis seropositivity (P = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.8 and 0.33; 95% CI = 0.6, 3.7, respectively). Overall herd level seropositivity was 46.7% (n = 7), ranging from 25% to 66.7% (n = 4–10). Each village had at least one brucellosis seropositive herd. None of the 82 humans tested with both RBPT and c-ELISA were seropositive. Detecting Brucella infection in cattle in such areas warrants further investigation to establish the circulating strains for eventual appropriate control interventions in domestic animals.

Campylobacteriosis is assumed to be mainly a food-borne disease. Also the importance of milk as a source of human Campylobacter enteritis was confirmed by the European Union summary report on food-borne disease outbreaks. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to detect the prevalence of Campylobacters in milk and milk products. A total of 250 samples (100 milk, 50 Domiati cheese, 50 kareish cheese and 50 ice-cream) were collected from the different collection points in El-Minia and Beni-Suef Governorates. The samples were examined by microbiological culture method, and presumptive isolates were further confirmed by genetic amplification (PCR) using specific primers of hippuricase gene.The overall prevalence of Campylobacter species were 13% in raw milk, 52% in kareish cheese, 18% in Domiati cheese and 6% in ice-cream. PCR amplification of hipO gene of isolated C. jejuni from the milk and milk products samples had been shown identical fingerprints with human isolates at 323bp, which indicates the zoonotic hazards of Campylobacter jejuni in Egypt.