scholarly journals Ovine Paratuberculosis Control in Australia Revisited

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1623
Author(s):  
Peter Windsor ◽  
Richard Whittington
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Extension Programs ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Attitudinal Differences ◽  
Human Food Chain ◽  
Australian Sheep ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

OJD is no longer the serious animal health issue that it was for many Australian rural communities a decade and a half ago. Despite declining OJD prevalence as determined by abattoir surveillance, the disease continues to spread, with OJD extension programs required to continually address the misinformation promulgated by some disaffected producers as new areas have become affected. Improved regional and on-farm biosecurity, including the introduction of a risk-based trading system, may have contributed to improved attitudes to OJD control, although attitudinal differences between OJD endemic areas and where the disease is not well established remain. Declines in on-farm OJD prevalence are almost certainly attributable to the widespread uptake of vaccination programs, although encouraging the ongoing use of vaccination to prevent recrudescence and improved biosecurity when mortalities disappear, remains challenging. Vaccination has provided a robust strategy for managing OJD and contributed significantly to the health of Australian sheep and the lives of producers with affected properties. As vaccination offers a pathway to reduce the risk of MAP infection entering the human food chain from small ruminant products, it should be more widely adopted globally, accompanied by research efforts to improve efficacy and importantly, the safety of vaccination to both operators and livestock.

scholarly journals 305 Awardee Talk: Transferring a culture of biosecurity to the feedmill

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 42-42
Author(s):  
Jason C Woodworth ◽  
Jordan T Gebhardt ◽  
Cassandra K Jones ◽  
Chad B Paulk ◽  
S S Dritz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
African Swine Fever Virus ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Swine Industry ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Abstract A culture of on-farm biosecurity has been established and practiced by modern swine production systems for many years. The value of this has been repeatedly demonstrated through improved animal health and performance based on the prevention of disease introduction to the herd. With the introduction of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) to the US swine industry in 2013, we have learned that feed and feed ingredients can be vectors of disease transmission. Therefore, there is a heightened need to transfer our on-farm biosecurity culture to our feedmills and entire feed supply chain as a way to help prevent disease introduction into swine farms. Feedmills are designed to efficiently and effectively blend feed components into a homogenous batch, and the potential to distribute contaminated feed to multiple farms is significant. While feed and ingredients can be vectors of disease and pathogen transmission, our data continues to show that people are a major risk for pathogen transmission throughout the feed supply chain. Key biosecurity principles such as exclusion, prevention, isolation, mitigation, disinfection, and containment should be adopted and enforced for a strong feedmill biosecurity program. A written feedmill biosecurity plan should be developed and a training program that covers all employees as well as visitors and delivery drivers should be implemented. Continuous risk assessment and environmental monitoring should be utilized to identify new areas of risk and to assess the current status. Unfortunately, feedmills are nearly impossible to completely disinfect and therefore every effort should be made to prevent the introduction of pathogens into the mill. Research that we have conducted with PEDV and African Swine Fever Virus has demonstrated that adopting a culture of biosecurity at the feedmill will reduce risk of disease and pathogen exposure on farms.

scholarly journals On-farm biosecurity in livestock production: farmer behaviour, cultural identities and practices of care

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Maye ◽  
Kin Wing (Ray) Chan
Keyword(s):  
Science Studies ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Agricultural Commodity ◽  
Farmer Behaviour ◽  
Biosecurity Practices ◽  
Farming Industry ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Psychosocial Models ◽  
Farm Biosecurity

Definitions of biosecurity typically include generalised statements about how biosecurity risks on farms should be managed and contained. However, in reality, on-farm biosecurity practices are uneven and transfer differently between social groups, geographical scales and agricultural commodity chains. This paper reviews social science studies that examine on-farm biosecurity for animal health. We first review behavioural and psychosocial models of individual farmer behaviour/decisions. Behavioural approaches are prominent in biosecurity policy but have limitations because of a focus on individual farmer behaviour and intentions. We then review geographical and rural sociological work that emphasises social and cultural structures, contexts and norms that guide disease behaviour. Socio-cultural approaches have the capacity to extend the more commonly applied behavioural approaches and contribute to the better formulation of biosecurity policy and on-farm practice. This includes strengthening our understanding of ‘good farming' identity, tacit knowledge, farmer influence networks, and reformulating biosecurity as localised practices of care. Recognising on-farm biosecurity as practices of biosecure farming care offers a new way of engaging, motivating and encouraging farmers to manage and contain diseases on farm. This is critical given government intentions to devolve biosecurity governance to the farming industry.

scholarly journals High Heritabilities for Antibiotic Usage Show Potential to Breed for Disease Resistance in Finishing Pigs

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 829
Author(s):  
Wim Gorssen ◽  
Dominiek Maes ◽  
Roel Meyermans ◽  
Jürgen Depuydt ◽  
Steven Janssens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Genetic Selection ◽  
Antibiotic Usage ◽  
Finishing Pigs ◽  
Production Traits ◽  
Parenteral Antibiotic ◽  
On Farm

The use of antimicrobials in animal production is under public debate, mainly due to the risk of transfer of resistance to pathogenic bacteria in humans. Therefore, measures have been taken during the last few decades to reduce antibiotic usage in animals, for instance, by national monitoring programmes and by improving animal health management. Although some initiatives exist in molecular genetic selection, quantitative genetic selection of animals towards decreased antibiotic usage is an underexplored area to reduce antibiotic usage. However, this strategy could yield cumulative effects. In this study, we derived new phenotypes from on-farm parenteral antibiotic records from commercially grown crossbred finishing pigs used in the progeny test of Piétrain terminal sires to investigate the heritability of antibiotics usage. Parenteral antibiotic records, production parameters and pedigree records of 2238 full-sib pens from two experimental farms in Belgium between 2014 and 2020 were analysed. Heritability estimates were moderate (18–44%) for phenotypes derived from all antibiotic treatments, and low (1–15%) for phenotypes derived from treatments against respiratory diseases only. Moreover, genetic correlations between these new phenotypes and mortality were low to moderate (0.08–0.60) and no strong adverse genetic correlations with production traits were found. The high heritabilities and favourable genetic correlations suggest these new phenotypes, derived from on-farm antibiotics records, to be promising for inclusion in future pig breeding programs to breed for a decrease in antibiotics usage.

scholarly journals Economic Effects of Biofuel Production on States and Rural Communities

2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe L. Parcell ◽  
Patrick Westhoff
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Local Taxes ◽  
Current Production ◽  
Corn Prices ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Production Industry ◽  
Incentive Payments

This study summarizes research on farm-, local-, regional-, and macro-level economic effects of ethanol production. Given current production levels, the ethanol production industry annually employees approximately 3,500 workers, pays out nearly $132 million in worker salaries, generates over $110 million in local taxes, and takes in some $2 billion in government incentive payments. Projections for a 60 million gallon per year ethanol plant indicate an annual increase in corn usage of 21 million bushels, a one-time capitalization of $75 million, an increase in local corn prices of between $0.06/bushel and $0.12/bushel, a 54 direct and a 210 indirect jobs created, an increase in local tax revenues of $1.2 million, a decrease in federal commodity program outlays of $30 million, and an increase in ethanol production incentives (federal only) of around $30.5 million.

scholarly journals High heritabilities for antibiotic usage show potential to breed for disease resistance in finishing pigs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Gorssen ◽  
Dominiek Maes ◽  
Roel Meyermans ◽  
Jurgen Depuydt ◽  
Steven Janssens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Genetic Selection ◽  
Antibiotic Usage ◽  
Finishing Pigs ◽  
Production Traits ◽  
Parenteral Antibiotic ◽  
On Farm

The use of antimicrobials in animal production is under public debate, mainly due to the risk of transfer of resistance to pathogenic bacteria in humans. Therefore, measures have been taken during the last decades to reduce antibiotic usage in animals, for instance by national monitoring programmes and by improving animal health management. Although some initiatives exist in molecular genetic selection, quantitative genetic selection of animals towards decreased antibiotic usage is an underexplored area to reduce antibiotic usage. However, this strategy could yield cumulative effects. In this study we derived new phenotypes from on-farm parenteral antibiotic records from commercially grown crossbred finishing pigs used in the progeny test of Pietrain terminal sires to investigate the heritability of antibiotics usage. Parenteral antibiotic records, production parameters and pedigree records of 2238 full-sib pens from two experimental farms in Belgium between 2014 and 2020 were analysed. Heritability estimates were moderate (18-44%) for phenotypes derived from all antibiotic treatments, and low (1-15%) for phenotypes derived from treatments against respiratory diseases only. Moreover, genetic correlations between these new phenotypes and mortality were low to moderate (0.08-0.60) and no strong adverse genetic correlations with production traits were found. The high heritabilities and favourable genetic correlations suggest these new phenotypes derived from on-farm antibiotics records to be promising for inclusion in future pig breeding programs to breed for a decrease in antibiotics usage.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Efficacy of Commercial Disinfectants Against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Race 1 and Tropical Race 4 Propagules

Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 721-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. V. Nguyen ◽  
L. T. T. Tran-Nguyen ◽  
C. L. Wright ◽  
P. Trevorrow ◽  
K. Grice
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Oxysporum ◽  
Sodium Hypochlorite ◽  
Active Ingredient ◽  
Panama Disease ◽  
Banana Production ◽  
Race 1 ◽  
Race 4 ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm Biosecurity ◽  
Ammonium Compounds

Panama disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense has devastated banana production worldwide. This work aimed to determine effective disinfectants against two races of F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense, race 1 and tropical race 4 (TR4), for implementation with on-farm biosecurity procedures against this disease following the outbreak of TR4 in North Queensland in 2015. A total of 32 commercial disinfectants were screened and their activity was assessed after ≤30 s, 5 min, 30 min, and 24 h of contact with an F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense suspension containing 105 chlamydospores/ml without and with soil added (0.05 g/ml). Of the disinfectants tested, the quaternary ammonium compounds containing ≥10% active ingredient were found to be the most effective against both F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense races. These products, when used at a 1:100 dilution, completely inhibited the survival of all F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense propagules across all the contact times regardless of the absence or presence of soil. The bioflavonoid product EvoTech 213 and bleach (10% sodium hypochlorite) used at a 1:10 dilution also eliminated all F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense propagules across all the contact times. None of the detergent-based or miscellaneous products tested were completely effective against both F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense races even used at a 1:10 dilution. Soil decreases the efficacy of disinfectants and therefore must be removed from contaminated items before treatments are applied.

scholarly journals Effects of Enriched Charcoal as Permanent 0.2% Feed-Additive in Standard and Low-Protein Diets of Male Fattening Turkeys: An On-Farm Study

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 541
Author(s):  
Hinz ◽  
Stracke ◽  
Schättler ◽  
Kemper ◽  
Spindler
Keyword(s):  
Animal Health ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Feed Additive ◽  
Standard Diet ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Low Protein ◽  
Protein Reduction ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Experimental Group

Wet litter is the most important cause of footpad dermatitis in poultry, this in turn being a highly relevant animal-related welfare indicator. This field study was subdivided into two experiments. In Experiment 1, the standard diet was supplemented by 0.2% enriched charcoal, being a non-specific absorber and therefore might be promising in reducing faecal moisture. In Experiment 2, the experimental group received a reduced crude protein diet during weeks 6–13, combined with a 0.2% enriched charcoal supplementation. The trials were each conducted with two batches on three farms under on-farm conditions. The animals were observed at 6, 10, 14 and 18 weeks of age to collect data on body weight and different health parameters. The mortality and litter samples were analysed after slaughtering. In Experiment 1, performance and health were not affected despite higher dry matter content of the litter. In Experiment 2, the weight of birds receiving the protein-reduced diet was decreased significantly throughout the experiment. However, the slaughter weight did not differ. The mortality was reduced by 0.5% in the experimental group. Therefore, it was concluded that 0.2% of enriched charcoal is not a valuable feed-additive regarding animal health, while temporary protein reduction might have positive effects.

scholarly journals Mobilising community-based research on zoonotic infections: A case study of longitudinal cohorts in Vietnam

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Saylors ◽  
Tue Ngo Tri ◽  
Toan Tran Khanh ◽  
Kiet Bach Tuan ◽  
Heiman FL Wertheim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Zoonotic Infections ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Domestic Livestock ◽  
Study Sites

We initiated the Vietnam Initiative on Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS) research program to better understand the epidemiology of disease transmission at the human–animal interface in Vietnamese rural communities and to integrate One Health approaches to disease surveillance. We established a longitudinal community cohort study of individuals with occupational exposure to animals, which involves concurrent targeted sampling from domestic livestock species and follow-up monitoring of human clinical cases. The project was implemented by government agencies at the provincial and district levels of the public health and animal health sectors in Vietnam. Engaging with rural communities builds response capacity at the grassroots level, and has improved dialogue between local stakeholders responsible for monitoring human and animal health. Here we describe the process of initiating participatory research and cohort field implementation over the first year in two study sites in Vietnam.Keywords: Vietnam, participatory research, zoonoses, field epidemiology

scholarly journals ‘Clients. Outdoors. Animals.’: retaining vets in UK farm animal practice—thematic analysis of free-text survey responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 184 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine E Adam ◽  
Sarah Baillie ◽  
Jonathan Rushton
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Farm Animal ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Outdoor Work ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Management Issues

Retaining vets in farm practice has been identified as a key strategy to maintain an adequately trained and experienced workforce to provide animal health services for livestock enterprises and government. This qualitative study aimed to explore vets’ experiences of UK farm animal practice and their perceptions of the factors that influenced their career choices. Thematic analysis of free-text survey responses from 187 vets working in farm practice and 141 who had given up farm work identified four main themes: affect (experiences of feeling or emotions), personal life, the job and the bigger picture. Those who stayed in farm practice described satisfaction with their career and enjoyment of physical, outdoor work in rural communities. Choosing to give up farm work was influenced by both personal and professional circumstances and related frequently to management issues in practice. Veterinary businesses also face challenges from the broader agricultural and veterinary sectors that affect their ability to support and retain vets. The findings presented build on previous quantitative analysis of factors associated with retention and demonstrate the complexity of individual vets’ career choices.

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