sheds light on how fiber reduces risk of lung diseases,further reinforcing the need to include more vegetables,fruits,nuts,oatmeal and other fiber rich sources to our menu.
The benefits of fiber-rich meals also has the same results in animals, incorporating vegetables,oatmeal and fruits into their meal has been known to reduce risk of cancer, constipation and as a treatment protocol for diabetic patients and also prevention of diabetes in animals.
The world is faced with the issue of drug-resistance, super bugs and antibiotic residue in animal-by-products,forcing producers to look critically at methods of production and handling of products to resolve these issues. 
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Rats have been linked to the spread of a lot of disease ,some are fatal while others can be treated.The best way to stay safe is by rodent control.The health risk posed by rats affects man, poultry,dogs and some other animals.
Diseases occur as a result of interaction between hosts, agent and environment.Rats are no different from all other carriers,in this sense hence environment influences the infection and risk/rate of exposure. Living in a dirty,unkempt environment increases the chances of infection and consequent spread of infection.Rats are know to thrive where there is food and water, and most rats can eat anything.
Living in close quarters with dogs, poultry and horses increases risk of infection.Living in highly populated environment surrounded by filth also poses risk of infection.Rats find their way to food industry and food processing plants posing a risk of food contamination from source.
Rats are everywhere causing diseases by contamination through urine,feces, hair,and feet. Rats basically transfer these disease agents by contamination of feed,food,water,toys and clothing.The best way to avoid any disease is by proper pest control and maintenance of clean environment.The following are steps to keeps rats out;1) Use of rat traps 2) keep houses/farms rodent proof; by removing unfinished food, cover bins and keep them far away from homes. 3) rat adhesive boards 4) baits 5)proper waste management. 6) rat-proof your doors,windows in farms,homes and factory.
Rats cause food wastage resulting in economic losses,when a food is contaminated by urine or feces,throw away immediately. If you suspect your pets toy is contaminated with rat urine throw away,same with clothing or any other contaminated material.
Stay safe # avoid rat bites # dont eat rats # keep environment clean.
Bacteria that can cause serious heart disease in humans are being spread by rat fleas, sparking concern that the infections could become a bigger problem in humans. Research published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology suggests that brown rats may be carrying the bacteria.
Since the early 1990s, more than 20 species of Bartonella bacteria have been discovered. They are considered to be emerging zoonotic pathogens, because they can cause serious illness in humans worldwide from heart disease to infection of the spleen and nervous system.
"A new species called Bartonella rochalimae was recently discovered in a patient with an enlarged spleen who had travelled to South America," said Professor Chao-Chin Chang from the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. "This event raised concern that it could be a newly emerged zoonotic pathogen. Therefore, we decided to investigate further to understand if rodents living close to human environment could carry this bacteria."
Scientists have found that rodents carry several pathogenic species of Bartonella, such as B. elizabethae, which can cause endocarditis and B. grahamii, which was found to cause neuroretinitis in humans. Although scientists are unsure about the main route of transmission, these infections are most likely to be spread by fleas. Ctenophthalmus nobilis, a flea that lives on bank voles, was shown to transmit different species of Bartonella bacteria. These pathogens have also been found in fleas that live on gerbils, cotton rats and brown rats.
The scientists analysed bacteria found in Rattus norvegicus in Taiwan. The brown rat is also the most common rat in Europe, When the DNA of the bacteria was analyzed, it was discovered that a strain that is most closely related to B. rochalimae, which has been isolated recently from a human infection in the United States.
The researchers took samples from 58 rodents, including 53 brown rats, 2 mice (Mus musculus) and 3 black rats (Rattus rattus). 6 of the rodents were found to be carrying Bartonella bacteria; 5 of these were brown rats. Four of the rodents were carrying B. elizabethae, which can cause heart disease in humans, and one of the black rats was found to be harbouring B. tribocorum. However, the scientists noticed one strain that had not been identified in rodents previously. The strain was finally shown to be close to B. rochalimae.
These results raise concerns about the existence of other reservoirs and vectors for this emerging infection.
Source; journal of medical microbiology.
--the most common cause of ratbite fever.The disease can have mortality as high as 13%, if left untreated. Fortunately, the woman underwent 4 weeks of antibiotics. After 5 days, her rash and fever disappeared, and the joint pain in her pelvis improved over the following weeks. She made a full recovery.
Story source ; Science daily.
Rats can absorb disease agents from their local environment and spread them, according to a University of British Colombia new study. The results also indicate that the threat rats pose to the health of poultry and humans has been underestimated.
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The US is bracing itself for more avian influenza heartache following confirmation of a previously unseen strain of highly pathogenic H7N8 striking a commercial turkey farm in southern Indiana.The outbreak, which has prompted the culling of about 60,000 birds, is different than the one that caused more than 200 outbreaks in US poultry last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).An Indiana State veterinarian confirmed that the strain was unique to Indiana and the nation and isn't related to the strains that struck the upper Midwest last year or to an outbreak last May in a backyard flock in north-eastern Indiana.Indiana is the nation's fourth-largest turkey producer, the third-biggest egg producer, and first in duck production. The state's poultry industry is worth $2.5 billion.
story source;CIDRAP
Rats are carriers of both the spirochete bacteria responsible for Leptospirosis in man and animals and also the Lassa fever virus which affects man. The rat spread both infection by contamination with urine, when rats urine contaminate food and water, they spread these diseases. The consumption of rats have also been fingered in the spread of Lassa fever. The signs of Lassa infection occurs 1-3 weeks after exposure to the virus. The signs could be mild or severe and these are 1) slight fever 2) general malaise 3) weakness 4) headache. The severe signs include 1) bleeding/hemorrhaging in gums, eyes and nose. 2) respiratory distress 3)repeated vomiting 4) facial swelling 5) pain in chest ,back, abdomen and neck.
Lassa fever infection also show neurological signs such as tremors, encephalitis and deafness. The treatment is supportive therapy of fluids and vitamins and Ribavirin, an antiviral drug. The prognosis is hinged on early treatment. Death usually occurs within 2 weeks after onset of symptoms.
The major form of prevention is pest control; ensure your house, farms and factories are rodent proof. The proper disposal of waste is advised, remove all unfinished food and store food material on rodent-proof containers. Regular de-ratization in premises is advised. Do not eat rats.
Stay safe # kill rats don’t eat them
Leptospirosis a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be similar to other diseases and some infected persons, however, may have mild to severe symptoms. Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis,liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.
The risk of infection with Leptospirosis is high with people close to animals such as dogs, cattle, horses, and pigs. These animals get infected when they are exposed to urine of infected rats, or have contact with contaminated drinking water or swimming/paddling through water inhabited by rats or contaminated by rat’s urine. When these animals are infected, they may show no signs of the disease. Infected animals may continue to excrete the bacteria into the environment continuously or every once in a while for a few months up to several years.
Humans can become infected through; 1) Contact with urine (or other body fluids, except saliva) from infected animals. 2) Contact with water, soil, or food contaminated with the urine of infected animals. 3) The bacteria can enter the body through skin or mucous membranes of eyes, nose and mouth, especially if the skin is broken from a cut or scratch. 4) Drinking contaminated water can also cause infection. Outbreaks of Leptospirosis are caused by exposure to contaminated water, such as floodwaters and person to person transmission is rare.
Leptospirosis occurs worldwide, but is most common in temperate or tropical climates. It is an occupational hazard for many people who work outdoors or with animals, such as: Farmers, Mine workers, Sewer workers, Slaughterhouse workers,(abattoir),Veterinarians and animal handlers, Fish farmers, and Dairy farmers. The time between a person's exposure to a contaminated source and becoming sick is 2 days to 4 weeks. Illness usually begins abruptly with fever and other symptoms. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS; In humans, Leptospirosis can cause mild or severe signs this include; 1) High fever 2) Headache 3) Chills 4) Muscle aches. The Severe signs include; 1) Vomiting 2) Jaundice (yellow skin and eyes) 3) Red eyes 4) Abdominal pain 5) Diarrhea and 6)Rash.
Research by scientists at Oxford University has found that by using a camera system to analyse the 'optical flow' of chickens, at-risk flocks can be detected when the birds are only seven to 10 days old - much earlier than is usually possible with conventional on-farm sampling methods.Despite efforts to improve bio security, Campylobacter - which can reach humans through raw or undercooked chicken - has so far been persistently difficult to eliminate from the food chain. This new early warning system has the potential to transform the way Campylobacter is controlled, benefiting producers, consumers and the birds themselves.
Source ;Royal society B/ POULTRY SITE.
story source; poultry site.
story source; Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
Credit: Eiri Ono/Kyoto University.
Kyoto University researchers have found that fish oil transforms fat-storage cells into fat-burning cells, which may reduce weight gain in middle age. Fish oil activates receptors in the digestive tract, fires the sympathetic nervous system, and induces storage cells to metabolize fat.
The team explains in Scientific Reports that fish oil activates receptors in the digestive tract, fires the sympathetic nervous system, and induces storage cells to metabolize fat.Fat tissues don't all store fat.The So-called "white" cells store fat in order to maintain energy supply, while "brown" cells metabolize fat to maintain a stable body temperature. Brown cells are abundant in babies but decrease in number with maturity into adulthood. A third type of fat cell -- "beige" cells -- have recently been found in humans and mice, and have shown to function much like brown cells. Beige cells also reduce in number as people approach middle age; without these metabolizing cells, fat continues accumulating for decades without ever being used.
story courtesy;science daily
A Queensland watermelon grower says he sings and talks to his crop to ensure he gets the sweetest fruit, but the tastiest is left in the field.
Grower Anthony Rehbein says he sings to his watermelons to ensure he gets the best fruit. (ABC Rural) Anthony Rehbein will harvest 100 tonne of the fruit per day for an eight week period over summer, and has used social media to allow consumers to follow the life cycle of a watermelon."Everyday since I planted them I talk to them, sing to them, look at them, touch them, make sure there's no stress so no matter what crop you grow you've got to nurture just like kids," he said.Despite the love and attention Mr Rehbein gives it, he said fussy consumers have forced him to leave behind a quarter of his crop, because the melons contain seeds."There's two types (of melon) and you can't grow one without the other," he said."There's a pollinator, which is a seeded watermelon, and then there's a seedless, which is three quarters of your crop.
The bees come in, do their work and cross pollinate so the customer gets seedless watermelons."That's the only way you don't get seeds, is through bee pollination, and using the Red Tigers, which is a fantastic seeded watermelon, and the Royal Armarda, which is our seedless."You've got to have both."But Mr Rehbein still believes the seeded varieties are the better eating fruit.
Mr Rehbein sais the busy harvest is an exciting time on the farm."The pickers go out and pick virtually every daylight hour that we have," he said."They're looking for the blush of the melon, like a slight yellowing or a sunburn on top, which tells you that the internal colour is nice and red and ready to go."They give it a little 'love tap' so that they know that the melon is solid and full inside.
He said the melons hit the Sydney or Melbourne markets within three days of being picked."When it's hot, people like melon and it's a great time of year, we're coming out of winter, great to take to the beach," he said.Read the benefits of watermelon;www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7719362384747421432#editor/target=post;postID=1320249339715928435;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=6;src=postname
Story credit; ABC NEWS.
Two Queensland scientists have been recruited as part of a global project to help develop a tick vaccine for the African cattle industry.The tick may be an enemy of the Australian beef industry, but the situation is even more dire in Africa.The research is part of a global project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to help the overseas cattle producers combat tick infestation.
Researcher Alicja Lew-Tabor said ticks were having a significant impact on domestic beef production in Africa.Unlike Australian producers, African producers generally only supply their domestic market and Dr Lew-Tabor said ticks caused significant problems in meat and milk supply.
"Most of the countries in Africa have cattle of sorts, whether it is for milk or beef production, and most of them would be in regions that are affected by cattle tick and the diseases that they carry," Dr Lew-Tabor said."Ticks are resistant to a lot of the drugs that they use to put on the cattle; they become resistant to them in time."That chemical resistance was the very reason why Dr Lew-Tabor and fellow researcher Manuel Rodriguez-Valle were selected to join the worldwide project.
For five years, they have worked on the development of many vaccine strains which could have potential in Africa.They started with 300 possibilities and have selected 25 vaccines which could be successful in controlling the tick infestation.Dr Rodriguez-Valle said the work was tedious, but the results looked good."We have two candidates that look very interesting [and] we will have results very quickly, at the end of February; we are very confident in them," he said.To control the results, the cattle are kept isolated in pens.The goal is to try to reduce the number of ticks per animal by 70 per cent.
We infect the animals with around 5,000 tick larvae and wait until the ticks drop off each animal, then we collect the tick, weigh it and analyse the reduction in the number of ticks," Dr Rodriguez-Valle said.The vaccines inject antigens into the cattle, creating antibodies to attack the ticks."We got 80 per cent protection in a trial that we did in Brazil but what they [Gates Foundation] has wanted us to do is pull that mixture apart and work out what the most active components are," Dr Lew-Tabor said.The vaccine is expected to be ready to use within five years, and Dr Lew-Tabor said there could be benefits for Australian beef producers too."They will be able to bring the more susceptible breeds into regions where they don't have those breeds," she said.
source; ABC NEWS.
A farmer explains the benefits of raising turkeys for profit;Ms Leadoux would not have it any other way, although she got involved because of her husband.
Ms Leadoux produces about 6,000 turkeys throughout the year, with preparation for Christmas starting more than 12 months ahead of the festive season.However, she said demand for turkey throughout the year had resulted in huge increases in demand."We are struggling to keep up," she said."We have worked pretty hard to establish a market throughout the year, which means we are producing turkey more often. We are continually knocking back orders at this time of the year, and big orders, like 400 birds."Ms Leadoux said the potential for further increases in demand was "absolutely huge""People have traditionally seen turkey as a festive fare, a speciality meat," she said.
"People have been amazed at the variety. When we first started going down to the market, people would walk past the stand. We started taste-testing the product, and getting them to try it."Now it's just phenomenal. The potential of this business is absolutely huge."
The profit potential is phenomenal, an aspect of the value chain that is a goldmine.
# turkey # poultry # profit # market.
story source;ABC NEWS.
( courtesy ;internet).
Most tuna farming in Japan involves catching young tuna in the wild and cultivating them in coastal reserves – a practice that experts believe has contributed to plummeting populations of small fish. Kinki University, however, prides itself on a method it calls “complete cultivation”, in which the fish are artificially raised from egg to adulthood before the larvae are then used to start a new cycle.
Experts involved in the project say they still have a long way to go before they can farm enough tuna to meet demand. The survival rate for newly hatched fry is low, and rearing tuna in captivity requires vast areas of coastal water.
Shigeru Miyashita, of the university’s fisheries laboratory, said the rate at which researchers had successfully raised bluefin from egg to adult – without using any fish caught in the wild – had improved over the years. “Through the complete aqua-farming of bluefin tuna, we hope to help ensure the stability of the world’s marine resources,” Miyashita said. “But to make 10,000 tonnes of farmed adult tuna you need 1.6m fry. The other problem is space. Wild Pacific bluefin have the whole ocean to swim in, but we have to raise them in a confined area.
The university’s project received a boost at the end of last year when it joined forces with Toyota Tsusho, the trading arm of the Japanese carmaker, to begin the mass farming of bluefin tuna hatchlings at a site in Goto, south-western Japan.
We started this project because we were concerned about the future of the bluefin tuna. Japanese people love tuna – we now want to encourage them to eat ours instead of the wild variety.”
story excerpts from the Guardian.
Pirate fishing vessels plundering fish from the world’s marine reserves, such as the one around Ascension Island announced on the weekend, can now be watched, tracked and brought to justice using satellite technology.Despite a proliferation of huge, publicly lauded marine reserves, actually stopping fishing in many remote areas has previously been almost impossible. Fishing vessels are required to carry a transponder that tracks their movements and allows authorities to monitor their behaviour. But illegal fishers simply switch off the machine, disappearing from the system.
A UK-funded initiative, developed by Satellite Applications Catapult (SAC) and the Pew Charitable Trusts, uses satellite radars to track these “dark targets”. Now, instead of blindly patrolling vast areas of ocean, coastguard vessels use the satellite intelligence to target their search.
Bradley Soule, senior fisheries analyst for SAC. Satellite radar has traditionally been used by the military and law enforcement agencies. But the cost has dropped dramatically, opening up the data for private companies to use.“It is definitely a big deal,” he said. “[The global satellite tracking] gives a sense of the scope ... It is a wide-ranging problem.” Roughly one in every five fish landed around the world is caught illegally.
Story source ;http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/04/how-satellite-technology-is-helping-to-fight-illegal-fishing
Jessica Cox proved...YOU DON'T NEED 'WINGS' TO FLY...the first pilot with no arms..I salute her!!
The use of internet in our everyday life not only makes our work easy but its also a point of access for food safety.
from world poultry.
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Feeding yoghurt to suckling piglets, starting the day after birth improves the piglets’ feed intake in the first weeks of life. This results in higher weaning weights and higher growth rates after weaning. Also, the sows lose less weight during lactation and gain more weight during the following gestation.
Large litters put a strain on the lactating sow, leading to impaired growth rate of her offspring. Sustaining a high level of milk production requires a lot of energy. With large litters, sows are unable to nurse their litters sufficiently to reach piglets’ genetic growth potential. Large litters often contain small piglets and it is a challenge to provide these small piglets with enough nutrients to increase survival rates, and reach adequate weaning weights and growth rates after weaning. A key factor to obtain healthy sows and piglets is a high feed intake of piglets in the suckling period.
In order to meet the requirements of young piglets, Dutch animal nutrition company Sloten developed a new sustainable feeding concept, called Nuklospray Yoghurt. The yoghurt is fed in liquid form to suckling piglets, starting the day after birth. To prove that the concept improves the piglets’ feed intake in the first week of life and increases higher weaning weights and a higher growth rate after weaning, a study was performed in LZ Haus Düsse in Germany. The trial was conducted with 92 litters, divided into two groups: from day two after birth 49 litters received the yoghurt and 43 litters were offered another milk replacer. On the first day, 250 ml of the yoghurt (400 g powder per litre) was provided, and 500 ml of the control milk replacer (125 g powder per litre).
The yoghurt was given during three weeks, while the control milk replacer was fed for two weeks. The offered amount of milk replacer during the suckling period increased up to 2.5 litres per litter per day. Piglets were subsequently offered a pre-starter (Milkiwean Granito Premium) in the yoghurt litters and a commercial pre starter in the control groups.
The higher weaning weights and the lower mortality rate in the yoghurt litters were obtained by the higher intake of milk replacer and pre-starter. It shows that the yoghurt initiates early feed intThe improvements in piglet and sow performance with the yoghurt addition include: a higher feed intake of suckling piglets, less piglet mortality, higher weaning weights of litters, and better fertility and condition of sows.
Read details of experiment here;http://www.pigprogress.net/Special-Focus/Piglet-Feeding/Yoghurt-for-stronger-suckling-piglets-and-sows/
Precision Livestock Farming is becoming very popular; many technologically driven companies are zooming into data-
collecting methods. Thus focusing on exact needs of the modern pig will allow producers to meet tomorrow's challenges, says Prof Sandra Edwards.“We cannot hope to improve the performance of today's pigs if we continue to rely on the nutritional, feeding and performance data we collected from (traditional) pigs a long time ago," says veteran UK pig researcher and scientist and chair of agriculture at the University of Newcastle, Prof Sandra Edwards.
She argues that the type of pig that most commercial producers are working with at the moment is completely different to the animals on pig farms even a decade ago, when consumer demands were totally different.A whole new bank of research data reflecting the needs of the modern pig are urgently required to ensure progress by researchers in pig development on the scientific front.
he says research had shown that producers needed to feed sows with arginine and glutamine supplements to help increase the placental quality, which reduced birth weight variation, as well as the number of under-weight piglets born alive.Recent work had also shown that including essential fatty acids such as docosahexanoic acid (DHA), which is found in algae and fish, in sow diets during the last month of their pregnancies led to a significant drop in the number of stillbirths. It also resulted in a longer farrowing duration.
Feeding the sows to get their condition right before they go into the farrowing house and even before that. The pre-mating diet can have a big impact on embryo survival and high plane feeding before mating will help reduce embryo mortality. Sows should not be fed to produce bigger litters, but rather fed to meet the challenges of weaning more top quality piglets successfully.
Read more ;http://www.pigprogress.net/Home/General/2014/1/Health-feed-growth--Nothing-happens-in-isolation-1392863W/?intcmp=related-content
Researchers at the University of Arkansas have identified a species of bacteria that had never before been associated with lameness in broiler chickens, bringing scientists closer to finding a way to prevent infections.
Douglas Rhoads, University Professor of biological sciences and director of the Cell and Molecular Biology interdisciplinary ,used genetic tools and chicken raised on wire flooring to identify staphylococcus agnetis linked to causing lameness in broilers.The bacteria had been associated with inflammation of the mammary gland in cattle but not in the legs of broiler chickens. Lameness causes the chickens to suffer and the diseased birds are not fit for human consumption. Rough estimates are that lameness in the Arkansas poultry industry could cost growers about $20 million a year due the loss of birds.Lameness in broiler chickens is a significant animal welfare and financial issue.
Bob Wideman, professor of poultry science at the U of A, had shown that growing young broilers on wire flooring is a contributing factor to lameness in broiler chickens. This study, which included Wideman, shows that S. agnetis is also a contributing factor for lameness in those chickens, Rhoads said.
Bio security measures such as cleaning, washing with disinfectants and spraying plays a vital role to prevent diseases.Housing,feeding and medication also are factors to consider in the poultry value chain to ensure disease free stock.
pic and portions of story courtesy of world poultry.
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(photo credit; internet)
Read more here;http://newsdaily.com/2015/12/puerto-rico-reports-first-case-of-zika-virus-spread-by-mosquitoes/#yTtRkcB7Hp3vTkif.15
