PSVIII-7 Genetic parameters for health traits in dairy calves

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 240-240
Author(s):  
Colin Lynch ◽  
Hinayah Oliviera ◽  
Nienke van Staaveren ◽  
Filippo Miglior ◽  
Flavio S Schenkel ◽  
...  

Abstract Recent issues in the dairy industry related to both animal and public health concerns are leading farmers away from the use of drugs, while placing more focus on animal health and welfare. Public demands are also shifting towards ensuring socially acceptable production practices in terms of good animal health and welfare. Such challenges are moving the focus in dairying from solely financial to a broader set of themes that, once addressed, will enhance the sustainability of dairying and provide a long-term competitive advantage for the Canadian industry. Furthermore, from a production standpoint, calf diseases, such as, diarrhea and respiratory disease (RD) have been associated with decreased first lactation production and growth rate, therefore decreasing an animal’s potential lifetime profitability. As part of a larger project aiming to add calf health traits to genetic evaluations in Canadian dairy cattle, this study provides the groundwork through the estimation of genetic parameters of two calf health traits, diarrhea and RD. Data were provided by Lactanet Canada, and included 20,594 calf records for diarrhea from 741 herds, and 48,927 calf records for RD from 1,412 herds, recorded between 2004 and 2021 across Canada. Total herd records ranged between 1 and 3,860 for RD with an average of 37 records per herd, while for diarrhea records ranged between 1 and 3,724 with an average of 28 records per herd. The results of this study will be used to optimally fit both diarrhea resistance and RD resistance into a novel resiliency index for use in national genetic evaluations in Canada.

Author(s):  
Laura Mitchem ◽  
Henrietta Harrison ◽  
Alex G. Stewart

Fires can cause significant health concerns within local communities impacted by any associated smoke plume. This chapter discusses the potential public health concerns associated with fires, in particular fires at waste-processing installations. Using an example scenario, actions to be undertaken throughout the incident response, from initial acute phase to recovery, are considered, along with health concerns and fears, real or perceived, involvement of asbestos-contaminant material, multi-agency communication mechanisms, and potential issues associated with long-running fires. The multi-agency mechanisms for response are detailed, including the various coordinating groups (strategic, tactical, recovery coordinating groups (SCG, TCG, RCG, respectively), and expert cells (scientific and technical advisor cell, air quality cell (AQC)). Key points to note in the incident response include concerns raised by the local population, typical health effects associated with exposure to a smoke plume, and tools that support the response to the incident and the public health risk assessment.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2221
Author(s):  
Havelah S. M. Carter ◽  
David L. Renaud ◽  
Michael A. Steele ◽  
Amanda J. Fischer-Tlustos ◽  
Joao H. C. Costa

Diarrhea is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in pre-weaned dairy calves and, as such, represents a significant animal health and welfare concern. Furthermore, digestive disease early in life is associated with several long-term consequences such as reduced growth rate and decreased milk yield during the first lactation, thus generating severe economic losses. The majority of diarrheic cases in young calves are treated with antimicrobials; however, it is necessary to develop alternative treatments, as excessive antimicrobial usage can lead to antimicrobial resistance and can negatively impact the gut microflora of a calf. Bovine colostrum is abundant in immune and bioactive factors that improve immune function and development. This rich and natural combination of immunoglobulins, natural antimicrobial factors, growth factors, anti-inflammatories and nutrients may be an attractive alternative to antimicrobials in the treatment of diarrhea in young dairy calves. There is evidence that supports the use of colostrum as an early treatment for diarrhea in young calves. Future research should investigate its therapeutic and economic effectiveness.


Author(s):  
Kunal Parikh ◽  
Tanvi Makadia ◽  
Harshil Patel

Dengue is unquestionably one of the biggest health concerns in India and for many other developing countries. Unfortunately, many people have lost their lives because of it. Every year, approximately 390 million dengue infections occur around the world among which 500,000 people are seriously infected and 25,000 people have died annually. Many factors could cause dengue such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, inadequate public health, and many others. In this paper, we are proposing a method to perform predictive analytics on dengue’s dataset using KNN: a machine-learning algorithm. This analysis would help in the prediction of future cases and we could save the lives of many.


Author(s):  
Diana Hart

All countries are faced with the problem of the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD): implement prevention strategies eff ectively, keep up the momentum with long term benefi ts at the individual and the population level, at the same time tackling hea lth inequalities. Th e aff ordability of therapy and care including innovative therapies is going to be one of the key public health priorities in the years to come. Germany has taken in the prevention and control of NCDs. Germany’s health system has a long history of guaranteeing access to high-quality treatment through universal health care coverage. Th r ough their membership people are entitled to prevention and care services maintaining and restoring their health as well as long term follow-up. Like in many other countries general life expectancy has been increasing steadily in Germany. Currently, the average life expectancy is 83 and 79 years in women and men, respectively. Th e other side of the coin is that population aging is strongly associated with a growing burden of disease from NCDs. Already over 70 percent of all deaths in Germany are caused by four disease entities: cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. Th ese diseases all share four common risk factors: smoking, alcohol abuse, lack of physical activity and overweight. At the same time, more and more people become long term survivors of disease due to improved therapy and care. Th e German Government and public health decision makers are aware of the need for action and have responded by initiating and implementing a wide spectrum of activities. One instrument by strengthening primary prevention is the Prevention Health Care Act. Its overarching aim is to prevent NCDs before they can manifest themselves by strengthening primary prevention and health promotion in diff erent sett ings. One of the main emphasis of the Prevention Health Care Act is the occupational health promotion at the workplace.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-63
Author(s):  
Effrosyni Kotsaga

Background: Marketing of food supplements in Greece in print media has not been examined and this study is the first attempt to provide a comparative statistical analysis. Methods: Lifestyle magazines that were distributed all over Greece and aimed at women and men were collected in the years 2014 and 2016. Five criteria with their subcriteria were developed and were related to the branding of the food supplements; their quality characteristics; the information given about health concerns; photographs of people who promoted food supplements and to claims of their suitability. Results: It seems that in terms of product branding, women’s magazines were more likely to be targeted. Some quality characteristics such as information about the ingredients of food supplements or information about banned substances were more likely to be seen in women’s magazines in 2016. In 2014 and 2016, not all advertisements provided information about health concerns and among those which informed readers about health concerns, differentiation in target audiences was observed. Photographs that showed people promoting food supplements as well as claims of suitability for various categories of consumers, seem to be gendered in 2014 but this trend was not strong enough in 2016. Conclusion: It can be argued that the marketing of food supplements was aggressive and gendered in 2014 and changed in 2016 with better information on public health but had retained some gendered stereotypes.


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