Castration refers to induced sterility via physical, chemical, or hormonal methods. Chemical castration is an efficient and reliable technique in contrast to other sterilization procedures as it is less painful to physical methods and cost‑effective to hormonal methods. Azadirachta indica (neem), is a charismatic plant as its leaves possess anti-inflammatory, anti‑microbial, and anti-androgenic chattels. To abate the escalating human population in South Asia, neem oil and neem leaf extract have been effectively used as a contraceptive agent. The key determinant of the current study was to evaluate Neem as a chemical sterilizing agent, (either necrotic or apoptotic), in dogs injected intratesticular in comparison to a hypertonic saline solution. Pre- and post-injection testicular width size and blood samples for serum testosterone levels were collected on alternative days. Results disclosed substantial changes in testicular width size, histopathological profile, and serum testosterone level. A non-significant (P > 0.05) pre-injection testicular width readings in contrast to a significant increase (P < 0.05) three days post-injection was noted in all the competitive groups. The mean values recorded for testicular width size at the end of the trial study via neem leaf extract, 30% HSS and, control groups were 27.7362 ± 2.3315mm, 30.9594 ± 4.6861mm, and 24.5023 ± 2.5387mm, respectively. A declining trend, regarding serum testosterone level being statistically significant (P < 0.05) was recorded in treated groups (A, B) in contrast to the control group (C) as the values were 1.5357 ± 0.7819ng, 1.2669 ± 0.9095ng, and 2.4517 ± 0.1827ng in groups A, B, and C, respectively. Histopathological findings advocated the presence of apoptotic bodies in the neem treated group whereas the presence of degenerated interstitial cells, necrosed seminiferous tubules, damaged germinal epithelium, and ceased spermatogenesis was also studied in both competitive groups. Thus, the apoptotic effect and anti-inflammatory property of neem leaf extract resulted in less painful castration and verified Azadirachta indica as a better substitute for chemical castration in contrast to hypertonic saline solution.

In Brazil, dogs and cats have free access in public areas in some cities, such as squares, parks and beaches, despite restrictive laws for their permanence in these places. Animals infected with intestinal parasites contaminate the environment through their feces. The present study aimed to verify the occurrence of helminth eggs, oocysts and protozoan cysts in stool samples from three beaches in Greater Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, from March 2017 to April 2018. Stool samples were processed by the Willis-Mollay flotation technique and the Hoffman sedimentation technique. The percentage of 47.65% of positive samples for helminths or protozoa was found on the southern beaches of Florianópolis island, with an occurrence of 52.78% at Morro das Pedras Beach and 42.86% at Campeche Beach. At Pinheira beach, in Palhoça, 56.66% of the samples were contaminated with one or more zoonotic parasites. In this study, the most prevalent parasites on the three beaches analyzed were hookworms and Trichuris vulpis, followed by Giardia spp. and Cystoisospora spp. Samples containing Toxocara spp. eggs were collected at Pinheira beach. It is concluded that the contamination of the beaches in the present study constitutes a public health problem, considering the possibility of zoonoses transmission. The importance of implementing sanitary programs for the control of parasites in dogs and cats is emphasized, as well as awareness and education programs, in order to reduce environmental contamination in public places.

Abstract

The research objective was to determine the beef cattle business development strategy in increasing the economic value of farmers in Sukabumi Regency. The research was conducted in Ciracap District, Sukabumi Regency, West Java in 2020. The research used survey methods and interviews with 65 farmers and 9 extension workers from BPP Sukabumi Regency. Primary data and secondary data were analyzed using statistical analysis, economic analysis and Swot analysis descriptively and quantitatively. The results showed that the farmers' average land ownership was 1.57 ha/farmer. The farmer profit is IDR. 250.548.975 /year, the value of R/C is 1.14. The related variable (dependent) which affects farmer profit and business efficiency of beef cattle has an effect on the 95% confidence level. Swot analysis of internal and external factors in the development of beef cattle business showed the strengths of the working area of the Sukabumi Regency BPP including available labor, agricultural land area, grazing land, the number of cows being raised and the support of government institutions, private companies and other institutions as  well as  livestock market opportunities wide open. The weaknesses are  limited land resources, business capital, increased feed prices and the price of beef cattle that were controlled by middlemen. It is suggested that strategies to increase beef cattle population and economic value of the farmers are by optimizing the function of empty land as grazing land and forage cultivation. Business cooperation, marketing networks and guaranteed beef cattle prices are pivotal in order to take advantage of relatively unfulfilled market opportunities.

The negative effect of consuming unhealthy snacks is foodborne illness caused by food and drinks that have been contaminated with germs. This problems need a serius intervention especially education for the school children to develop understanding of the importance of healthy, safe and nutritious snacks. It was reported that 73% of elementary school students have low knowledge and 81% have low attitude towards healthy snacks. Amongst efforts to educate children on healthy snacks is the audio-visual media. This study is conducted to investigate the effectiveness of animated video and power point as learning media towards the perception of healthy snacks on elementary school students in Indonesia. The design is quasi experiment with control group, with the sample of grade 5s' elementary school students. Data were collected using questionnaires developed from health belief model and intervention is given in the form of health education using animated video media. The results show that there are perception differences in susceptibility (P=0.0001), seriousness (P=0.0001), benefits (P=0.0001), and obstacles (P=0.0001) related to healthy snacks before and after education with animated video. Based on that, it is expected to the schools and parents to give attention to the quality of the snacks by educating and providing the children with healthy snack options.

Background: Glanders is a highly contagious and fatal zoonotic reportable antique disease of solipeds caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia mallei. This disease has been eradicated from most of the western developed countries in the 20th century and its occurrence was reduced in endemic developing nations but recent reports on the occurrence of clinical cases and outbreaks of this disease in both the eradicated and endemic countries indicates that it has regained the status of a re-emerging disease in the world. However, the information on the occurrence of B. mallei infection is almost lacking in Bangladesh. Objective: This study was conducted on the sero-surveillance and risk factors of B. mallei infection in indigenous working horses in Bangladesh Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study on the sero-surveillance and risk factors of B. mallei infection was carried out in 125 indigenous horses in the districts of Mymensingh and Tangail during January to August 2019. Individual serum samples were screened using Complement fixation test (CFT) at the OIE and National Reference Laboratory for Glanders, Germany and Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at the National Research Centre on Equines, Haryana, India. Risk factors were identified using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall sero-prevalence of B. mallei infection in indigenous horses was found to be 10.4% (95% CI: 5.9 -17.5). None of the 13 CFT positive sera was positive with ELISA. The odds of B. mallei infection were 6.1 times (95%CI: 1.7-28.9) higher in horses with the history of skin lesion than those without skin lesion. Significantly higher odds of B. mallei infection (odds ratio: 5.8; 95% CI: 1.4-39.7) were observed in horses with the history of parasitic infestation than those without parasitic infestation. Conclusions: The relatively higher prevalence of B. mallei infection observed in this study should be interpreted with caution as all CFT positive samples negative with ELISA indicating some false positive reactions. Further studies are needed to test the accuracy of the serological tests for the detection of B. mallei infection in horses in Bangladesh.

Background: The effective control and eradication of brucellosis can be achieved by rapid and accurate diagnosis and effective vaccination but both have limitations. Therefore, brucellosis research is currently focused on the improvement of the diagnosis and vaccine induced prophylaxis. Moreover, diagnostic tests and immunization have not been thoroughly studied in buffaloes and even not compared with cattle. Therefore, the comparative evaluation of the immunological responses of Brucella vaccinated cattle and buffaloes would be required for both the diagnosis and vaccine induced efficacy. Objectives: The main objective of this study was to compare the humoral immune response (HIR) between cattle and buffalo cows immunized with B. abortus RB51 vaccine by using indirect ELISA Materials and Methods: Each of the three randomly selected B. abortus sero-negative native cows and three buffaloes received 2.0 ml imported commercial B. abortus SRB51 vaccine subcutaneously in the neck region at day 0 and then booster dose at 60 days after first vaccination with similar dose and route. Each of the collected serum samples of both the cattle and buffaloes was tested to detect the antibody status by using commercial indirect ELISA kit. Results: The results showed that the OD value of the serum of cows and buffalos before inoculation of RB51 B. abortus vaccine was 0.088 ± 0.009 and 0.096  0.011 at 0 week and 0.124 ± 0.018 and 0.111  0.010 at 1st week, near about the negative control OD value (0.106). After that, the OD value started to rise from the 2nd week (OD value (0.144 ± 0.023 and 0.1333  0.007) and reached to a peak level at 90 days (OD value 0.376  0.0080 and 0.316  0.219) and then started to decline from 120 days (OD value 0.2963  0.0416 and 0.2863  0.070) to 180 days (OD value 0.1943 0.073 and 0.176 0.172) in cows and buffalos respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests that the RB51 vaccination has induced satisfactory HIR with initial inoculation but significantly higher immune responses with booster immunization which enhancing immunity against both in the cattle and buffaloes. The CMI plays major role in protection against brucellosis needs further investigation in both cattle and buffaloes in Bangladesh.

Background: Brucellosis is a neglected re-emerging important zoonotic disease in the developing world. Most of the research on brucellosis was limited on the sero-epidemiology during the last 50 years and recently molecular techniques have been initiated to study brucellosis in Bangladesh. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine sero-molecular prevalence, identify risk factors and detect Brucella species associated with bovine and human brucellosis in Bangladesh Materials and Methods: Serum and milk samples from 1003 lactating dairy cows of eight military dairy farms and 715 serum samples of dairy farm workers and hospital patients were collected during the 36 months period from 2017 to 2020. All the collected sera and milk samples were tested with four different commercial diagnostic test kits to detect the prevalence of Brucella infection. The four sero-positive milkers sera and milk, and all animal samples collected from aborted cases were tested for Brucella genus-specific RT-PCR and Brucella species-specific DNA (B. abortus and B. melitensis) Multiplex PCR. Conventional PCR and sequencing were also performed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify important risk factors of brucellosis. Results: The overall 2.39% sero-prevalence of Brucella infection was recorded with all the CFT, SAT and ELISA assay and 3.09% with RBT, whereas only 0.20% tested milks samples showed positive with MRT in the lactating dairy cows. The B. abortus DNA was amplified from all of the four RBT positive human serum samples tested. Phylogenetic tree of partial 16S ribosomal RNA sequences of the PCR products was closely matched with B. abortus. Three variables (age, parity and abortion) were found to be significantly associated with B. abortus infection in lactating cows. Conclusions: B. abortus is the causal agent of bovine brucellosis which is identified as the first time as an etiological agent of human brucellosis in occupationally exposed dairy farm workers in Bangladesh. This study could not detect the most important zoonotic B. melitensis DNA either in humans or animal samples, even in any earlier studies and therefore, further studies are required to explore the occurrence of B. melitensis in human and animal population in Bangladesh.