Cows and pigs are great livestock, but they can also make you really sick

Cows and pigs are great livestock, but they can also make you really sick.Sometimes in this world, it’s the little things that can cause the most problems. Really, really little things. This is especially true for anyone working around or with livestock in Maine, according to Dr. Anne Lichtenwalner, director of the University of Maine Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and associate professor of animal and veterinary science. Some farm animals can actually “share” parasites with their human companions. “There are actually just a handful of parasites that I worry about,” Lichtenwalner said. “These are critters that are parasites that can live inside you and tend not to be fatal, but that can cause some ugly surprises.” The two most common zoonotic parasites — those that can transfer from animals to humans — in Maine are Ascaris suum and Cryptosporidium. “You are protected by your innate and acquired immune system,”

How to detect foot and mouth disease with simple environmental sampling.

How to detect foot and mouth disease with simple environmental sampling. Simple sampling method eases identification of foot and mouth disease outbreaks.

Sampling the environment is an effective way to detect foot and mouth disease, according to a paper published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. 

 The sampling method, swabbing environmental surfaces where livestock are kept, can be easily performed and can detect viral genetic material that can persist in the environment well beyond the time when livestock cease manifesting clinical signs of disease.

 Unlike taking clinical samples, those taking samples need not be able to recognize clinical signs of foot and mouth disease. Thus, smallholder farmers in developing countries could take the samples in lieu of veterinarians. 

 Foot and mouth disease is caused by a member of the genus, Aphthovirus. It causes blisters in the mouths and on the feet of cattle, goats, pigs, and other cloven-hoofed mammals. The virus contains a single strand of RNA that encodes its genome.

 Humans are not susceptible to foot and mouth, and the disease generally doesn't kill animals. However, it can greatly reduce milk and meat production, creating a hardship for smallholder farmers. 

 Foot and mouth disease can also have a major impact on a national economy. 

In foot and mouth disease-free countries, an incursion of foot and mouth disease can cause significant losses due to imposed grade restrictions and subsequent control measures required to eradicate the disease.

RESEARCH : Cattle, sheep and goats may transmit leptospirosis to humans in Tanzania.

RESEARCH : Cattle, sheep and goats may transmit leptospirosis to humans in Tanzania. Cattle, sheep and goats may transmit leptospirosis to humans in Tanzania. Leptospirosis, which affects more than one million people worldwide each year, is known to be transmitted to humans from a wide range of animals. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have discovered that more than 7 percent of the cattle and 1 percent of sheep and goats in local slaughterhouses in northern Tanzania are infected with Leptospira bacteria. RESEARCH : Cattle, sheep and goats may transmit leptospirosis to humans in Tanzania. Leptospirosis is a disease caused by infection with bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans, the disease can range in severity from mild to severe disease leading to kidney damage, liver failure, or death. The disease is most common in tropical environments, but occurs worldwide, particularly in people who work outdoors or with animals. Acute leptospirosis is an important cause of febrile disease in Tanzania, where little is known about the most common sources of infection in humans. In the new work conducted in northern Tanzania, Kathryn Allan, of the University of Glasgow, UK, and colleagues tested rodents, cattle, goats and sheep for Leptospira infection.

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome control in Asia.

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome control in Asia. Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) continues to be one of the most economically devastating viral diseases affecting pig farms in major swine producing countries in Asia. Recent data from Japan showed a reduction of 53.7g per day on ADG and an increase of 2.2% in post-weaning mortalities in PRRS positive farms as compared to the production performance of PRRS negative farms. However, although many farms are infected, the clinical impact of PRRS infection varies. Different factors lead to such variability in the clinical presentation including the strain infecting the herd, the type of production (single site farrow-to-finish vs multi-site systems), the season (weather), the presence of co-infections prior to PRRS introduction, the pig density in the immediate locality of the farm and the way the farm manages their replacement breeders. Effective control programs focus on addressing the predisposing factors through management changes and on ensuring herd immunity is well established. Different approaches have been done to stabilise herd immunity to PRRS including exposing the sow herd to infected animals or live virus and doing whole herd vaccination. However, although vaccination is increasingly used in Asia to reduce the impact of PRRS, the results have been variable. Many factors may have contributed to the differences in efficacy of vaccines, but the major difference is PRRS vaccine strain used in the final formulation and its ability to provide effective cross protection against the predominant field PRRS strains.

Exposure to pig farms and manure fertilizers associated with MRSA infections.

Exposure to pig farms and manure fertilizers associated with MRSA infections.Researchers have found an association between living in proximity to high-density livestock production and community-acquired infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA. Researchers from Geisinger's Henry Hood Center for Health Research and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found an association between living in proximity to high-density livestock production and community-acquired infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Their analysis concluded that approximately 11 percent of community-acquired MRSA and soft tissue infections in the study population could be attributed to crop fields fertilized with swine manure. The study examine the association between high-density livestock operations and manure-applied crop fields and MRSA infections in the community.

Rise of ampicillin resistance began years before human use.

The rise of ampicillin resistance began years before human use,and likely triggered by overuse of penicillin s in agriculture in the 1950s. Bacteria that can pass on genes resistant to ampicillin, one of the most commonly used antibiotics today, emerged several years before the widespread use of this antibiotic in humans, according to new research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Low doses of penicillin routinely fed to livestock in the 1950s in North America and Europe may have encouraged antibiotic-resistant bacteria to evolve and spread, report scientists. Bacteria that can pass on genes resistant to ampicillin, one of the most commonly used antibiotics today, emerged several years before the widespread use of this antibiotic in humans, according to new research. Molecular analysis of historical samples of Salmonella by researchers at the Institut Pasteur (Paris, France) suggests that the ampicillin resistance gene (blaTEM-1) emerged in humans in the 1950s, several years before the antibiotic was released onto the pharmaceutical market. The findings also indicate that a possible cause was the common practice of adding low doses of penicillin to animal feed in the 1950s and 60s. The study comes just weeks after WHO called for the end to routine antibiotic use to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy farm animals.

Nandi farmers using ‘Kangara’ to treat foot and mouth disease.

Nandi farmers using ‘Kangara’ to treat foot and mouth disease.Nandi farmers have devised a new way to control the deadly foot and mouth diseases (FMD) in their livestock by using ‘kangara’, a mixture of molasses and maize flour from which chang’aa, a traditional home-brewed spirit; popular in Kenya is distilled. 

The kangara is fed to cows, goats or sheep with the virus and within four days, the livestock is cured. see

Cassava in the Livestock Feed Industry.

Cassava in the Livestock Feed Industry. Cassava called Manihot esculenta, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize. 

Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils and Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, while Thailand is the largest exporter of dried cassava. Cassava can be processed into various products such as garri,tapioca, cake,bread and flakes for human consumption,but the peels can be processed and fed to animals. 

 Cassava is used in most tropical areas for feeding pigs, cattle, sheep and poultry. The dried peel of cassava roots are fed to sheep and goats, and raw or boiled roots are mixed into a mash with protein concentrates such as maize, sorghum, groundnut, or oil palm kernel meal and mineral salts for livestock feeding. Research has shown that cassava provides good quality carbohydrate, which may be substituted for maize or barley and that cassava rations are especially suitable for swine, dairy cattle, and poultry. 

 Cassava cannot be used as the main feed stuff because of its deficiency in protein and vitamins, but must be supplemented with other feeds that are rich in the required elements. The composition of a compounded ration varies depending on the specie of the animal such as cattle, pigs, or poultry and the kind of production which includes dairy, meat, or eggs. 

Oil cakes are the main ingredients in the feed for cattle, while feed grains are the most important for pigs and poultry. more

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels into animal feed.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels into animal feed. Cassava called Manihot esculenta, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. 

Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils and Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, while Thailand is the largest exporter of dried cassava. 

 Cassava can be processed into various products such as garri,tapioca, cake,bread and flakes for human consumption,but the peels can be processed and fed to animals. Cassava peels,used to be an environmental nuisance,because farmers and processors just left heaps on the floor to decompose or they burn them because they did not know how to process or preserve the peels until intervention of CGIAR.

 CGIAR scientists developed a low-tech way of transforming wet cassava peels into high quality, safe and hygienic feed ingredients within eight hours, producing one tonne of high quality cassava peel (HQCP) mash from three tonnes of wet peels. The processing of the peels into feed has a high potential because Africa’s estimated 50 million tonnes of cassava peel waste per year could generate at least 15 million tonnes of HQCP, thus providing alternative animal feed that are cheap ,easily accessible and with a capacity of creating a $2 billion a year industry on the continent.

. The cassava peels can be fed to both ruminants,fish and monogastrics,making it an ideal feed source,locally produced to reduce cost and boost productivity. The processing of the peels depend on the target animals. 

 The cassava peels processing is as follows; 1) peels must be clean and fresh. 2) sorted to remove tubers or big sized lumps/cuts. 3) pour the peels in a grater,and grate 3 times.4) put in sacks stacked on one another in an hydraulic press to dewater the peels. 5) 24hrs later the cassava peel cake is ready and can be fed to cattle, sheep,goat and pigs.

High livestock prices not stopping upgrades as abattoir targets overseas markets.

High livestock prices not stopping upgrades as abattoir targets overseas markets. High livestock prices are forcing down the number of animals being processed by abattoirs. In Victoria's north-west, one facility is reporting a 30 to 40 per cent reduction in the number of sheep and cattle it is processing. 

 Woodward Foods produces many of the livestock it slaughters — sometimes half the animals going through a facility originate from the family business's farms. But with high prices for livestock, keeping up the supply is a challenge. Despite the downturn, the business's Swan Hill Abattoirs is working to upgrade its facility and undertaking what it describes as a cultural change in its workforce. 

 General manager Mick Bird said the facility had undergone a rebrand and was selling meat into domestic and overseas markets, promoting the company's paddock to plate story. He said current conditions were a challenge, but branching into foreign markets such as the United Arab Emirates, USA and China should enable the business to keep improving. more

Mobile veterinary services: the Uber vets.

Mobile veterinary services is an investment opportunity that is relatively "untapped" in developing countries,but already shaping the health curve of pets in developed countries. The potential of this service can be tapped into at various points; 1)the service could be dedicated to just routine treatments/checkup ,2)vaccinations 3) grooming parlor 4)surgery 5) wellness 6)diagnostics and 7) type of practice,maybe large animals or small animals. 

 The advantage of this is the access to veterinary services in remote areas and also to those who are too busy to get their pets regularly. The mobile train will move from district to district,zone to zones and coast to coast. 

The growing population of those with livestock and pets without adequate veterinary care is alarming and unless a system is worked out,the incidence of diseases will increase. When livestock is not monitored or treated we run a risk of not only diseases but also economic losses as the potential of such flock cannot be realized. see 

 This is how a veterinarian is using this mobile service, Dr Fletcher operates the wellness on wheelz. Wellness on Wheelz’s numerous trucks travel all around South Texas, making rounds from San Antonio to Rio Grande City every weekend. The Rio Grande Valley’s local truck visited McAllen on Saturday for the second time this month, treating about 100 pets. 

 Dogs and cats of all breeds and ages panted around their owners in the hot Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market parking lot, waiting their turn. Meanwhile Dr. Kenneth C. Fletcher, the truck’s veterinarian, administered shot after shot. “One of the things we like the public to understand before they get here is that we’re not here to treat any illness or condition,” he said during a brief break. “We’re just for wellness, primary care, vaccination. And we do limited testing, like testing for heartworms. That can save a dog’s life.” Many of the services offered by Wellness on Wheelz are intended to keep a pet on track to a healthy life. 

De-worming and rabies vaccines are among those medications, while rattlesnake vaccines and microchips are offered as well. Something that Fletcher said is unique to the mobile vet business is “Zeutering,” in which male dogs are sterilized with an injection instead of surgery.“That’s one of the services we offer, too, that you can’t find anywhere, actually,” he said. “You’ve got to come here.” Affordability and access are two big reasons for the creation of the mobile service, Fletcher said.“It’s very convenient and inexpensive because there’s no examination fee,” he said. “It’s much faster and better customer service, actually.”more

Feeding cattle with garlic reduces methane emission.

. Cattle produce a lot of methane which is a green house gas,thus contributing to global warming. The feeding pattern of the cattle results in series of burps/flatus generating a lot of methane,which in turn causes climatic changes. A school of thought suggests cutting down on beef production or totally stop the production,but the benefits of the cattle cannot be ignored and since there are no acceptable substitutes other options must be proposed.. The vegan group advocates more converts,but many people are unwillingly to rock the boat. The livestock industry accounts for over 15% of the total greenhouse emissions,even higher than that of the transport sector,thus adjustments must be made in livestock sector. These approaches will involve improved genetic selection through breeding, modification of dietary composition, rumen microbial manipulation and vaccines against the methanogenic bacteria that generate the methane in these animals and various other techniques. It is possible that among the approaches or with a combination of approaches there might be a way to reduce the global burden of methane emissions from livestock. The changes in nutrition and feed play a vital role on methane production by ruminants thus manipulating the diet of these animals to reduce absolute methane emissions is the key to reduce these emissions.There has been various modifications to feed/feeding pattern by various feed companies all with varying degrees of success such as DSM, a Dutch science firm, developed a powder that can be added to feed and inhibits the production of methane in the cow’s rumen. According to findings published in the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from DSM and Penn State University studied the effect of the supplement on 48 dairy cows over the course of 12 weeks and found promising results. They observed that cows whose feed contained the powder produced 30 percent less methane and gained weight compared to cows who ate typical diets and milk production was not changed. Feed intervention has also been done by German researchers who created a methane-reducing pill, and scientists in Wales found that cows who consumed garlic produced 50 percent less gas although the impact of garlic-based diet on the taste of milk or meat is largely unknown . Feed supplements,additives ,changes in diet and management of herd could hold answer to this climatic change without compromising the protein source and major source of milk and milk products in man.

VETERINARIANS AND BIOSECURITY PROTOCOLS.

Veterinarians are often exposed to diseases that could be fatal, and this exposure has also been linked to further spread of infectious agents to other farms.The safety protocol for the vet and animals must be ensured for safety.


Bio security protocols are very important,and to this end training of vets and para-vets on these protocols are necessary.

 Diseases are emerging every time and others evolving, safety is necessary as more and more exposure cases are known and so many unreported and a lot more undiagnosed.


The health status of the vets are important just as that of the animals.Food animals ,companion animals and wildlife all poise a threat; safety is the watch word.

 Training on biosecurity protocols, use of latest disinfectants must be periodical and livestock owners should also know basic safety protocol.

Vets up-skill to prepare for future animal infectious disease emergencies in a bid to better manage future outbreaks of animal disease like avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease and Hendra virus, veterinarians convened in Canberra for a hands-on training exercise.

 "Part of the training is to condition people to what actually happens, so it doesn't take them by surprise," he said. Dr Will Andrew"It gives them assurance of their procedure and that takes the pressure off people.

"Vets were presented with a host of disinfectant and quarantine protocols."If you go and visit a property and you don't carry out some of these procedures you run the risk, particularly as a vet, when you visit the next property of taking that disease with you," Dr Andrew said.

AGRIBUSINESS: INDISCRIMINATE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IN FARM ANIMALS AFFECTING KIDS.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) argues that unnecessary use of antibiotics in livestock is fueling drug-resistant, life-threatening infections in humans, particularly young children. . As reported before, the vast majority of antibiotics used in the US go to agriculture and aquaculture—about 80 percent of total tonnage, to be exact. Those drugs are often given to livestock to fatten them up or prevent future illness. Such doses of drugs, many of which have crossovers in human medicine, can spur drug-resistant microbes that may make their way off the farm and spread to food or share their drug-resistant genes with other microbes, the AAP noted. More than 2 million people in the US catch drug-resistant infections each year, resulting in 23,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency does not report how many of those infections and deaths are in children. However, previous research has found that the incidence of some types of drug-resistant infections are increasing in children nationwide. Additionally, the AAP notes that the CDC’s data on foodborne disease incidence shows that kids under 5 years of age are often most at risk. In particular, the AAP’s technical report notes that common foodborne drug-resistant infections in kids include those caused by Salmonella, Campylobacter and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Kids may be exposed to farm-borne drug-resistant microbes from contact with livestock, food, and environmental sources, such as surfaces in homes and supermarkets.The AAP recommends that livestock producers only give antibiotics to animals when they are sick.Read more here; http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/11/pediatricians-say-farm-use-of-antibiotics-harm ofs-children/

ZEOLITES FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT IN DIARY FARM.

• Waste management is an important issue in livestock, with each producer looking for a better way to manage waste. The biogas has been implemented in some farms now the use of Zeolites is another option. Dean Swagger is a dairy man, with a dairy herd of approximately 4,000 head, handling manure in a way that is friendly both to his neighbors and the environment is a key priority. That’s why he has partnered with Mario de Haro-Marti, University of Idaho Extension educator in Gooding County to test different methods for handling dairy waste. De Haro-Marti specializes in dairy and livestock environmental education.One the new methods that shows promise is a zeolite filter to remove ammonia and odor from a dairy manure flush system’s pit. Swagger Dairy has a mix of flushed free stalls and open lots. The collection pit receiving the flush water was capped during the summer of 2015. Gases were collected using a fan with variable frequency drive connected to floats and then passed through a self-contained pressurized zeolite filter. Zeolites are highly absorbent porous minerals, composed largely of silica and aluminum. They are useful for their ability to capture and hold a variety of undesirable materials, much like a sponge absorbs water. Zeolites have long been used in water filtration systems or in aquariums. Preliminary results from three replicated on-farm trials showed that the ammonia levels were reduced from 53 to 92 percent in 2015. Odor emissions were also reduced by 45 percent. The project was funded through a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant. Based on those results and what he observed during the trial period, Swagger believes the zeolite filter worked but he’s not convinced it’s a solution for everyone. Read more here;http://magicvalley.com/business/agriculture/research-shows-new-options-for-manure-management/article_4f7f55cd-0648-5ca9-ad77-cf80feb8d125.html