Researchers evaluate significance of IBV shedding.

Shedding of infectious bronchitis virus into the environment by infected birds isn’t a significant problem if birds are well vaccinated, but it can be a problem for naïve birds, according to researchers at the University of Georgia. The poultry industry routinely vaccinates broilers with multiple serotypes to try and generate cross-protection against different IBV serotypes. Previous work at the university has shown this approach can protect chickens from clinical signs and lesions associated with IBV infection, but that chickens still shed virus into the environment. For this study, researchers wanted to determine whether shedding after challenge with a heterologous (dissimilar) IBV is a problem for birds without proper immunity. They took 40 day-old broilers at industry stocking density in a colony room and vaccinated half of them by eyedrop with IBV Ma5, a Massachusetts IBV serotype, and a Delaware 072 IBV. The rest were left unvaccinated and served as contacts in the room for vaccine transmission. Another group of 20 day-old broilers was housed in isolators and served as unvaccinated controls. At 35 days of age, investigators challenged the directly vaccinated broilers with pathogenic Arkansas serotype IBV. The unvaccinated controls that had been separately housed were then added to the floor. Every 5 days after challenge, researchers evaluated all broilers for viral load and respiratory signs; they also checked five birds from each group for lesions. The directly vaccinated birds were protected from challenge at all time points. Unvaccinated and unchallenged contact birds were also protected from signs and lesions at all time points except at 10 days after challenge. The unvaccinated, unchallenged controls were protected at 5 and 20 days after challenge but not at 10 and 15 days after challenge. Viral loads were detected in all birds at different time points after challenge. Based on this data, the researchers concluded that virus shed into the environment by infected birds isn’t significant if the population is well vaccinated, but it can cause signs and lesions in naïve birds. Contributed by poultry health today

Eheld Urges Students to Choose Science and Agriculture.

A USAID sponsored project referred to as "EHELD" has urged Liberian students wishing to enroll at universities to choose Science and Agriculture as their life-building careers. EHELD gave the encouragement recently at the end of a career selection seminar for 40 Liberian students on the Fendell campus of the University of Liberia.A representative of EHELD at the closing ceremony, Oscar Goodyee, said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer that the program is meant to tutor and persuade high school students wishing to enter university to choose Agriculture and Engineering in their university studies. The program, Mr. Goodyee said, is implemented in collaboration with the University of Liberia and Cuttington University from where faculty staff also came to complement the facilitators' efforts.

Long-term planning key to effective coccidiosis management.

The best way to ensure effective sustainable control of coccidiosis is long term planning,irrespective of the method of production.Today’s broiler farms in antibiotic-free (ABF) production rely heavily on vaccines and synthetic anticoccidials for coccidiosis prevention. Mathis PhD, of Southern Poultry Research, Athens, Georgia, told Poultry Health Today the limited supply of approved in-feed coccidiostats has led to higher vaccine use and has increased likelihood for product shortages in some situations. The vaccines also require careful administration for maximum uptake and efficacy. The keys to controlling coccidiosis in ABF production are planning and management.The shift to ABF has growers switching to vaccines, extending brooder times and incorporating alternative products,. Although some alternative or natural products have shown great potential for managing coccidiosis, he advises producers not to add these new alternative products blindly without understanding the consequences. The reason is that many of these drugs haven’t been thoroughly tested outside laboratory or research settings. Mathis said, pre- and probiotics, saponins and essential oils have shown potential for stimulating the bird’s immune system, controlling Salmonella, improving gut health and nutrient absorption. one of the biggest changes in the alternative products available today is the improved purity and consistent supply

Who really feeds the world?

Vandana Shiva—Indian physicist, researcher, author, anti-globalist and world-renowned advocate for economic, food and gender justice—has written more than 20 books. Her latest, Who Really Feeds the World? The Failures of Agribusiness and the Promise of Agroecology, offers a scathing critique not only of industrial farming, but of the half-truths and outright lies employed to promote it around the world. It also presents us with an alternative. Shiva makes the case that not only is the dominant industrial paradigm not needed to feed the world, it’s doing a tremendous job of destroying it. The planet’s soil, water, biodiversity and human health are being compromised and exploited for profit by a relatively small pack of corporations operating on a worldwide scale: Over the last 20 years, the globalization of food and agricultural systems has been presented as a natural and inevitable phenomenon. However, there is nothing natural about globalization, and in particular, the globalization of food.

Farmer who fought off bear in bloody 3-hour battle shows horrific scars across face.

When a bear approached Jube Valanti Adveppache, he had no idea it would be a lengthy fight for survival against one of nature's killers.A brave farmer fought off a giant bear in a horrific three-hour battle that left him covered in blood with huge scars across his face. Jube Valanti Adveppache had been picking mushrooms in one of his fields in southern India when the bear attacked without warning. The 58-year-old later told wildlife officials and police how the animal, which was believed to be a sloth bear or Melursus ursinus, pounced on him without warning and would not let him go. The bear kept breaking off the attack and then starting again, and the recovering man says it was three hours before it seemed convinced it had killed him. After the attack, he moved off into the forests around Haliyal in Karnataka State. Mr Adveppache told officials he staggered nearly three miles, bleeding heavily, to get back to his village. Hospital officials say he has been transferred from an intensive care unit to another hospital to recover. A medic told local media: "He is out of immediate danger."Horrific photos of Mr Adveppache's injuries reveal horrific scars on the man’s head where the bear mauled him.One eye is closed and swollen, a thick scar from the bear's fearsome claws runs down the side of his nose.His face and his head are covered in other cuts and bruises. Despite their shambolic, sometimes comic appearance, sloth bears are seen as highly dangerous in India.contributed by mirror.co.uk

Bovine tuberculosis diagnosed in Indiana white-tailed deer.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been diagnosed in a white-tailed deer in Franklin County, Ind. This marks the first time the disease (more formally known as Mycobacterium bovis) has been found in a wild animal in Indiana. This finding means significant changes in disease monitoring requirements for cattle owners and deer hunters in the area. Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial disease that affects primarily cattle, but can be transmitted to any warm-blooded animal. TB is difficult to diagnose through clinical signs alone. In the early stages of the disease, clinical signs are not visible. Later, signs may include: emaciation, lethargy, weakness, anorexia, low-grade fever and pneumonia with a chronic, moist cough. Lymph node enlargement may also be present. Cattle owners who notice these signs in their livestock should contact their private veterinarian. Indiana has officially held a bovine tuberculosis-free status since 1984 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under federal guidelines, that status remains. BOAH has found four individual cases of TB in three cattle herds and a cervid farm in this region between 2008 and 2016. The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) has been working with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to test wildlife on a Franklin County cattle farm where TB was diagnosed in April. The 2-year-old doe that tested positive for TB was culled as part of the surveillance effort on the cattle farm. Under federal requirements, finding TB in a free-ranging wild animal means testing of all cattle must expand from 3 miles to 10 miles and surveillance in hunter-harvested deer will intensify. Hunters should take precautions to protect themselves, including wearing gloves when field dressing animals and fully cooking all meat. Deer can be infected without noticeable signs of disease, like the positive 2-year-old doe. contributed by ocj.com

MasterCard saving lives with data.

MasterCard is one of the companies saving lives and making a change in the world by shortening the path between troubled populations and the aid they require.MasterCard is making it easier for charities to get help quickly to the people who really need it, and ensure that donations are actually being used for the stipulated purpose. The MasterCard Aid Network, launched last September, distributes a version of the company’s plastic cards similar to a gift or prepaid card that come loaded with points that can be redeemed at certain merchants for groceries, medicine, shelter and even building materials or business supplies. The chip-enabled system can be deployed in a day or two compared to the weeks required to create and import paper vouchers. The system doesn’t require an Internet connection—a boon in off-the-grid areas where many refugees and disaster victims are concentrated. Still, the transactions enable organizations to collect data on what card recipients redeem, allowing charities to protect against fraudulent use and gather insight into beneficiaries’ needs. Organizations including Save the Children, World Vision and Mercy Corps have distributed cards to more than 75,000 people, from earthquake victims in Nepal to those in war-torn Yemen. MasterCard, which charges the charities fees for the service, says the program is profitable. The United Nations also recently named MasterCard the leader of an initiative to improve the distribution of humanitarian aid in emergencies, with a focus on the data management and privacy aspect. contributed by time.com