Anthelmintic usage on the performance of the Agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) reared intensively in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies

Anthelmintic drugs have been used strategically in livestock reared in the tropics. These drugs have been used in the treatment of endoparasitism which have resulted in an increase in the animals’ performance. The agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) is a neo-tropical rodent with the potential for domestication and has been farmed intensively in Trinidad. However, the objective of this research was to investigate the effect of anthelmintic use of the growth performance of the agouti. In searching the literature, it was found that this type of study on the agouti has not been done. In this experiment fourteen weaned agoutis weighing 1kg were divided into two groups randomly. The first group (T1) was not given any anthelmintic treatment but the second group (T2) was treated with Endovet Ces® subcutaneously every three months. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the two groups in the carcass weight, weight gain, dressing percentage (hot and cold), heart, lungs, skin, head and feet. However, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was seen between groups in the weight of liver and pluck. To the authors knowledge this is the first time that carcass parameters has been presented in literature. The live weight of the animals at the end of the experiment ranged from 2.4 kg to 2.6 kg and animals had a dressing percentage of 57% to 55%. The results are suggestive that the use of anthelmintic drugs in agoutis reared intensively had no significant effect on weight gain and dressing percentage.

Teaching of Veterinary Parasitology to University students in Trinidad, West Indies; are our local wildlife species neglected?

Parasites of veterinary importance have been heavily focused on domesticated livestock that was introduced into the neo-tropics. The text used in the teaching parasitology to veterinary students in Trinidad has only investigated the parasites of domesticated species. In the reviewed veterinary parasitology text no mention was made on the parasites that affect wild neo-tropical animals. Information on wild neo-tropical animals had to be sourced from texts on the management of wild life animals in the Neotropics. The texts that were reviewed in this document spanned from the mid-1950s to 2020. The information presented in this review reveals the exhaustive work done on the parasites of domesticated species but also revealed little information on neo-tropical animals with the potential for domestication. In conclusion, this review reveals the gap of information that is missing from parasitology texts used in the teaching of veterinary students. In the future these parasitology texts can be revised to include chapters on the parasites of neo-tropical animals with the potential for domestication. At present students that graduate from the veterinary parasitology course has little information on the parasites of animals which are present in their ‘backyards’.

Effects of mixtures containing chlordecone and a dechlorinated by-product on hydra regeneration capacity: use of experimental design to evaluate the toxicity risk associated with remediation programs in long-lasting polluted areas

Chlordecone (CLD), an obsolete insecticide, used in the French West Indies between 1972 and 1993, is persistent in the environment but can be dechlorinated either chemically or under the action of microorganisms. Therefore, if soil remediation programs based on these processes are implemented in areas still contaminated today, those will see their concentrations of dechlorinated derivatives increase and these compounds will be also found in freshwater by streaming, leaching and erosion processes. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate, at environmental concentrations, the toxic effects of mixtures of chlordecone and a three-chlorine substituted byproduct. A hydra clone, which has been confirmed to be Hydra vulgaris Pallas, 1766 has been retained for bioassays where the toxicity has been evaluated by regeneration capacity during exposure. Exposure to mixtures is complex to investigate by classical methods, therefore, an experimental design associated to a mathematical model has been used to predict the effects of all the mixtures and to detect the toxic influence of each compound. The predictive model is discussed regarding the stochastic “endocrine disruptor effect” of CLD. At probable environmental concentrations of the compounds in the mixture, results show that impairment of regeneration capacity is explained mostly by the presence of CLD in the mixtures and support the implementation of remediation programs aimed at dechlorination of this persistent organochlorine pesticide.

In Grenada, West Indies, What Is the Degree of Bat-human Interaction in Households and Is It Associated to Arboviral Disease?

Background: Bats are reservoirs for several zoonotic pathogens, making human-bat interactions particularly concerning. Recent studies documented that Grenadian bats can be infected with Zika, dengue and Chikungunya viruses and Leptospira bacteria among other pathogens. The objective of this study was to estimate the number of homes in Grenada that have a bat infestation, and to determine whether there is a correlation between the number of bat infested homes with the type of roofing or the presence of arbovirus infections of human inhabitants. Methods: An institutional review board (IRB) approved questionnaire delivered through a semi-structured interview was administered at the central bus stop in St. George, Grenada to recruit participants from all six parishes and the island of Carriacou. Results determined the percentage of individuals that had bat roosts in their households, whether this was of concern to them, whether they had taken any steps to keep bats out of their residence, and whether they had confirmed or suspected cases of dengue, Zika or Chikungunya virus infections. Information on the type of roofing and presence of window screens were also documented. Bat type (fruit vs insect eating bats) was attempted by guano description. Results: Results from 210 individual responses provided data showing all six parishes were represented although not equally. Having bats at the household was not associated with parish of residence, roof type or presence or absence of window screens. The results showed 60% of homes in Grenada are bat-infested and 51% of people self-reported recent arbovirus infection; but no correlation between the two. Also, no correlation to a specific type of roof or type of bat was found.Conclusions: A statistically significant number of inhabitants had attempted to remove bats from their homes, indicating that bats are perceived as pest to homes in Grenada, and justifying further research into relocating bats through the use of construction changes, awareness, and the creation of bat houses.

A Caribbean Visionary and His Literary Collection, Karlene Saundria Nelson

The voices of West Indian writers in the 1950s changed the landscape for Literature emerging out of the West Indies. These powerful literary voices were a means of creating and recording a facet of West Indian history and cultural heritage. West Indian writers wrote their stories through their own eyes. John Hearne was one of the most eloquent voices among them. He became a known voice in the West Indian literary world, using his recognition to facilitate the indigenous West Indian Literature genre’s development. He was also a prominent Jamaican political and social commentator. The John Hearne archive not only produced an important historical picture of the development of the West Indian Literature genre, but West Indian political history, and changes in the cultural and social fabric of the West Indian society, with special emphasis on Jamaica. This paper aims to present this archive as a fundamental body of primary resources for historical research.