National Dog Day: Could your rescue dog have rabies?.

While the zika virus poses worrisome human health concerns, another potential health problem is brewing that threatens both humans and domesticated animals --the importing of foreign dogs for adoption. Many people are unaware that the U.S. has become something of a favored nation for countries looking to export their rescue dogs due to several reasons. First, Americans are big-hearted, and when seeking dogs many chose animals made available through rescues. Second, there’s a readymade market here – Americans love canines and own an estimated 80 million dogs.Lastly, import rules on dogs can be easily flouted, allowing foreign exporters to send us their sick animals. The vast majority of imported rescue dogs are not tracked in the United States – either upon arrival or after they enter rescue channels. Patti Strand, founder and national director of the National Animal Interest Alliance, a non-profit that studies shelter trends and the importation of rescue dogs, estimates that close to one million rescue dogs are imported annually from regions not known for stellar canine health and safety standards. They include dogs from Puerto Rico, Turkey, several countries in the Middle East and as far away as China and Korea. That compares to about 8 million dogs annually acquired as pets in the U.S.All of this underscores that without improved oversight of pet rescue organizations, there’s no way of definitively identifying how many foreign rescue dogs are put up for adoption here. These foreign rescues may be well-intentioned, but they are courting disaster. While it is often a challenge to gather information on an abandoned dog here in the U.S., it is even harder for a dog that originated overseas. Information may be missing, poorly translated or unreliable. Challenges are especially serious when it comes to health and safety. Animals from other countries are not subject to the health and welfare laws of the U.S. and may arrive carrying serious and infectious canine diseases. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although importation laws require all dogs to be examined by a licensed veterinarian, foreign paperwork is hard to verify and is commonly invalid or forged. Continue

One health.

Animal and human sectors work together to protecthealth and ensure foodsafety and security. This is how #veterinarians play an integral part of the OneHealth concept: see

Poultry companies need to balance consumer preferences with flock health, welfare and food safety.

. The same people asking for more animal welfare are also asking us to take antibiotics out of poultry production,” lamented Suzanne Dougherty, DVM, a consulting poultry veterinarian based in Alabama, in a recent interview with Poultry Health Today. She noted that veterinarians take very seriously their oath to do what’s best for the animal, which increasingly presents ethical and welfare dilemmas when dealing with sick birds in an antibiotic-free (ABF) program. “We need to consider what’s going to be best for the bird before we just throw all of the antibiotics out,” Dougherty said. “For veterinarians it’s a very difficult ethical issue — it goes against what’s best for the bird.” In some cases, the best treatment option for the bird is an antibiotic to help prevent suffering and even minimize mortality. “At times it is a critical animal-welfare option to have antibiotics available for treatment of the bird,” she said. Antibiotic-free, raised without antibiotics and no antibiotics ever are just a sampling of the claims being used in poultry production and marketing today — and they all say something a little different. For instance, some systems allow the use of ionophores or animal-only antibiotics while others are not using any antibiotics.“Flocks can be raised successfully in an ABF system, but sometimes flocks get sick — just like you or your kids,” she said, adding that veterinarians “should try to explain to consumers why this is an important topic.” Some growers in ABF systems have the option to treat sick birds and sell them through the conventional market following withdrawal times while others have limited options. But regardless of the production system, all growers feel the pressure, she insisted. They want to do the right thing for their birds while meeting the needs of their customers and consumers. Intestinal health is the key to successful ABF production. If the intestinal tract is happy, the bird is productive. When the balance of the bird’s intestinal health becomes disrupted, more opportunistic bacteria often proliferate — Salmonella being the major concern. “We’re all striving to maintain our progress in food safety,” she said. “Sometimes we need to use antibiotics to treat the disease and help keep the animal healthy enough to prevent Salmonella from becoming a problem.” “

AGRIBUSINESS: Litter management.

Litter management using litter amendments which play a crucial role in controlling ammonia. Amendments that decrease litter pH increase ammonia suppression.This can be done solely or as an adjunct to windrowing. The first step in reconditioning litter is de-caking or removing wet material primarily below drinkers. Amendments are then applied on top of the litter these create unfavorable conditions for the bacteria and enzymes that contribute to ammonia formation and production to thrive. Litter amendments form a pH barrier on top of the litter preventing or slowing the formation of ammonia (NH3+). Acidifiers are most commonly used, binding the volatile ammonia (NH3+) with an acid to form the nonvolatile ammonium salt (NH4+).

Windrowing litter can reduce pressure from poultry viruses, insects and bacteria.

Poultry producers looking to improve litter quality and flock health should consider windrowing — a practice that not only works to control ammonia in the reconditioned litter but also reduces pathogen and insect pressure. Windrowing involves raking or rolling the litter into even rows. The moisture present in the rows increases litter temperature, which releases ammonia while reducing pathogens including bacteria, viruses and pests. Producers interested in windrowing should begin incorporating it into their litter-management program during moderate or warm weather, according to Casey Ritz, PhD, poultry-waste management, University of Georgia. Ammonia levels will likely increase following the windrowing process, requiring the use of a litter treatment. The intense heat generated by windrowing inhibits microbial and viral growth while allowing the floor to dry between rows of piled litter. The windrow also traps insects, which can make insecticide treatments more effective. It is critical for windrowed litter to reach a temperature of at least 130° F (54° C) for 3 to 4 days to effectively reduce pathogen levels, the specialist said. Ritz also stressed that the windrow process requires 12 to 14 days of downtime between flocks. He also emphasized the need for time to heat the windrows, treat litter for ammonia and pests, and then level the material allowing it to cool and dry before the next chick placement. He shared these 10 additional tips for effective windrowing: 1)Schedule a minimum of 12 to 14 days of downtime between flocks. 2)Start with a litter depth of 3 to 6 inches.3)Form windrows within 2 days after bird catch. 4)Maintain a temperature in windrow of 130° F or higher for 3 to 4 days to ensure that pathogens are killed. 5) Turn windrows every 3 to 4 days (2 to 3 turns is optimal). 6) Shift entire windrow when turning to allow the floors to dry.7) Level material at least 4 days before chick placement to decrease litter temperature, litter moisture and ammonia levels. 8) Apply litter amendment to control release of ammonia.9) Utilize moderate weather conditions primarily in spring, summer, fall. 10)ventilate during windrow process to decrease ammonia levels. “Windrowing is not for everyone,” Ritz insisted, “but it can provide economic benefits to many average and below-average producing flocks through improved feed conversion and weight gain and reduced mortality.” Poultry producers need to evaluate the time, equipment and labor costs associated with windrowing before committing to the system. contributed by poultry health.

E. coli in broilers: Its costly impact on condemnations and mortality.

Early feeding, housing affect broiler response to immune challenges.

A study in Netherlands from Wageningen University, shows that early feeding after hatch and housing type can affect the response of broilers to immune challenges later in life.In the study, broiler chicks received feed and water either immediately after hatch or after a 72-hour delay, and were reared either on the floor or in a cage system. At 4 weeks of age, researchers challenged the chicks intratracheally with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide/Human Serum Albumin (HUSA) — a non-infectious lung challenge — or a placebo. They then measured antibody titers up to 14 days after the challenge. Chicks with delayed access to feed and water and that were housed on the floor had the highest antibody titers against HUSA, and showed the strongest sickness response and poorest performance in response to the challenge. The findings indicate that chicks with delayed access to feed might be more sensitive to an environment with higher antigenic pressure, thus early feeding and housing should be taken into account when striving for a balance between disease resistance and performance in poultry.