Sesquiterpene Lactones with Dual Inhibitory Activity against the Trypanosoma brucei Pteridine Reductase 1 and Dihydrofolate Reductase

The parasite Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei) is responsible for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and the cattle disease “Nagana” which to this day cause severe medical and socio-economic issues for the affected areas in Africa. So far, most of the available treatment options are accompanied by harmful side effects and are constantly challenged by newly emerging drug resistances. Since trypanosomatids are auxotrophic for folate, their pteridine metabolism provides a promising target for an innovative chemotherapeutic treatment. They are equipped with a unique corresponding enzyme system consisting of the bifunctional dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (TbDHFR-TS) and the pteridine reductase 1 (TbPTR1). Previously, gene knockout experiments with PTR1 null mutants have underlined the importance of these enzymes for parasite survival. In a search for new chemical entities with a dual inhibitory activity against the TbPTR1 and TbDHFR, a multi-step in silico procedure was employed to pre-select promising candidates against the targeted enzymes from a natural product database. Among others, the sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) cynaropicrin and cnicin were identified as in silico hits. Consequently, an in-house database of 118 STLs was submitted to an in silico screening yielding 29 further virtual hits. Ten STLs were subsequently tested against the target enzymes in vitro in a spectrophotometric inhibition assay. Five compounds displayed an inhibition over 50% against TbPTR1 as well as three compounds against TbDHFR. Cynaropicrin turned out to be the most interesting hit since it inhibited both TbPTR1 and TbDHFR, reaching IC50 values of 12.4 µM and 7.1 µM, respectively.

Emergence of Besnoitia besnoiti in Belgium

Bovine besnoitiosis is a cattle disease caused by a protozoan parasite called Besnoitia besnoiti. It is of serious economic concern to the cattle industry and also compromises animal welfare. For several years, it has been considered an emerging disease in some countries and regions located in the north of Europe far away from the known endemic areas in the south. This study describes the situation in the southern part of Belgium, where the parasite was recently introduced through imports of animals coming from departments of France where the disease was present. It details the detection of clinical cases as well as disease transmission features related to contacts during grazing and sales of infected cattle. A tracking and monitoring system was quickly set up and detected twelve outbreaks. Several cattle were controlled, but the lack of appropriate regulations weakens disease-management efforts. Hopefully, this predictable and silent introduction triggers the awareness of decision-makers about the need for an appropriate prevention and control policy, law enforcement, and the implementation of necessary measures to avoid bovine besnoitiosis becoming endemic in Belgium or other non-endemic countries. In addition, more proactive surveillance is required from authorities through threat analysis in the context of the risk of emergence or re-emergence of infectious animal diseases.

Review: Vaccines and Vaccination against Lumpy Skin Disease

The geographical distribution of lumpy skin disease (LSD), an economically important cattle disease caused by a capripoxvirus, has reached an unprecedented extent. Vaccination is the only way to prevent the spread of the infection in endemic and newly affected regions. Yet, in the event of an outbreak, selection of the best vaccine is a major challenge for veterinary authorities and farmers. Decision makers need sound scientific information to support their decisions and subsequent actions. The available vaccine products vary in terms of quality, efficacy, safety, side effects, and price. The pros and cons of different types of live attenuated and inactivated vaccines, vaccination strategies, and associated risks are discussed. Seroconversion, which typically follows vaccination, places specific demands on the tools and methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of the LSD vaccination campaigns in the field. We aimed to give a comprehensive update on available vaccines and vaccination against LSD, to better prepare affected and at-risk countries to control LSD and ensure the safe trade of cattle.

Biochemical and physicochemical indicators of the quality of milk and meat obtained from cows with brucellosis

Background and Aim: Brucellosis is a disease occurring worldwide. Although it is mainly a cattle disease, it is extremely dangerous for humans. Milk and meat can be contaminated with Brucella. The present study aims to examine the biochemical and physicochemical indicators of the quality of milk and meat obtained from cows positively reacting to brucellosis in comparison with healthy animals. Materials and Methods: Two groups of cattle meat samples (four muscles from different parts of the carcass) were obtained during slaughter at a specialized meat processing plant, and milk samples were examined from healthy animals (10 cows) and from cows positively responding to brucellosis (10 cows). For the milk samples, federal standards (GOST 32915- 2014 and GOST 25179-2014) and an atomic absorption spectrometer "Kvant-Z ETA" were used. To evaluate the chemical composition of the meat, the "Clover" apparatus and a tissue grinder (SM-3) were used. Results: In the meat of cows that positively responded to brucellosis, compared with that of healthy animals, the amount of dry matter decreased by 1.2 times, amino ammonia nitrogen by 1.01 times, proteins by 1.2 times, fat by 1.28 times, volatile fatty acids by 1.09 times, tryptophan by 1.25 times, oxyproline by 1.14 times, and protein quality indicator by 1.21 times. Conclusion: Despite the severity of brucellosis in cattle, the biochemical and physicochemical indicators of the quality of milk and meat obtained from the healthy and contaminated animals vary, although insignificantly.

Feature Selection and K-nearest Neighbor for Diagnosis Cow Disease

The large number of cattle population that exists can increase the potential for developing cow disease. Lack of knowledge about various kinds of cattle diseases and their handling solutions is one of the causes of decreasing cow productivity. The aim of this research is to classify cattle disease quickly and accurately to assist cattle breeders in accelerating detection and handling of cattle disease. This study uses K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) classification method with the F-Score feature selection. The KNN method is used for disease classification based on the distance between training data and test data, while F-Score feature selection is used to reduce the attribute dimensions in order to obtain the relevant attributes. The data set used was data on cattle disease in Madura with a total of 350 data consisting of 21 features and 7 classes. Data were broken down using K-fold Cross Validation using k = 5. Based on the test results, the best accuracy was obtained with the number of features = 18 and KNN (k = 3) which resulted in an accuracy of 94.28571, a recall of 0.942857 and a precision of 0.942857.

A locus conferring tolerance to Theileria infection in African cattle

East Coast fever, a tick-borne cattle disease caused by the Theileria parva parasite, is among the biggest natural killers of cattle in East Africa, leading to over 1 million deaths annually. Here we report on the genetic analysis of a cohort of Boran cattle demonstrating heritable tolerance to infection by T. parva (h2 = 0.65, s.e. 0.57). Through a linkage analysis we identify a 6 Mb genomic region on Bos taurus chromosome 15 that is significantly associated with survival outcome following T. parva exposure. Testing this locus in an independent cohort of animals replicates this association with survival following T. parva infection. A stop gained polymorphism in this region was found to be highly associated with survival across both related and unrelated animals, with only one of the 20 homozygote carriers (T/T) of this change succumbing to the disease in contrast to 44 out of 97 animals homozygote for the reference allele (C/C). Consequently, we present a genetic locus linked to tolerance of one of Africa's most important cattle diseases, raising the promise of marker-assisted selection for cattle that are less susceptible to infection by T. parva.

Cattle Disease Diagnosis Expert System in Bandes Village, Ainaro District

Most of the people in the Bandes village of Ainaro district work as breeders. Cows that are raised are beef cattle. One of the obstacles that exist in Bandes Village is the existence of a few veterinarians in Bandes Village. This research discusses an expert system for diagnosing diseases in cattle, which functions to help determine the disease that is being suffered by cattle, this system will display the results of the diagnosis in the form of the name of the disease, a description of the disease solution and its prevention. In this study there were 4 diseases studied and 7 symptoms. From the 4 disease data, isolation of the problem area, target decision and dependency diagram is made. After that the formation of IF – THEN rules, after the rules are made, the backward chaining process is made. So as to produce a solution to overcome disease in cattle. In program testing is done by comparing the results of the system with experts. In the trials that have been carried out, the results obtained are appropriate or the accuracy of the data and facts obtained from experts on cattle. So based on the results of tests that have been carried out on the system as much as 4 data, the accuracy value obtained is 100% accurate which shows that the expert system is functioning properly in accordance with the expert's diagnosis

Penerapan Metode Forward-Backward Chaining pada Sistem Pakar Pencegahan dan Pengobatan Penyakit Sapi

Increasing the population of cattle in Aek Nagali village, especially in hamlet V, really helps the economy of the community, the health of the livestock raised by breeders is important for the animals themselves. It is difficult for veterinarians in Aek Nagali village so that it is the custom of people in the village where when their cows are sick and dying they are immediately slaughtered and the meat is traded. Even though this does not mean that the cow is suitable for consumption or not because there is a cow disease that can be transmitted to humans when eating beef. The purpose of this research is to build an expert system-based system that can provide an overview or decision. The method used is Forward Chaining and Backward Chaining in diagnosing cow disease. The discussion is focused on applying Forward Chaining and Backward Chaining rules and applying them to the system. From the results of research, the backward and forward methods provide information on how to prevent and treat cattle disease so that breeders can know what steps to take.

Outbreak investigation of lumpy skin disease in dairy farms at Barishal, Bangladesh

Lumpy skin disease is explained as a significant cattle disease affecting cattle of many parts of the world. An outbreak was experienced in different parts of Bangladesh including Barishal for the first time in the last quarter of 2019. This investigation was carried out to know the outbreak scenario of the disease in southern part of Bangladesh. A total of 726 cattle were included in this study covering 50 dairy farms of Barishal region from September 2019 to December 2019. Morbidity rate was found 21% (CI: 18-24%) and mortality was 1% (CI: 1-2%) in the outbreak area. Young animals (24%) and pregnant animals (70%) were significantly more susceptible compared to aged animals (17%) and non-pregnant animals (15%), respectively. Moreover, male and crossbred cattle were slightly more prone to the infection in comparison to their counterparts. About 45% of the affected animals showed nodular and remaining 55% had edematous lesions. Almost 90% of the affected animals were treated with NSAID followed by antibiotics, antihistaminic, steroid drugs and antiviral drugs where only 20% of the affected animals were treated by authorized veterinary personnel. This was the first epidemiological investigation in the mentioned outbreak area which may serve as a baseline for LSD research in the location needed for developing effective control strategy.