Animal Health Assessment Research Articles

MPE-HRNetL: A Lightweight High-Resolution Network for Multispecies Animal Pose Estimation

Animal pose estimation is crucial for animal health assessment, species protection, and behavior analysis. It is an inevitable and unstoppable trend to apply deep learning to animal pose estimation. In many practical application scenarios, pose estimation models must be deployed on edge devices with limited resource. Therefore, it is essential to strike a balance between model complexity and accuracy. To address this issue, we propose a lightweight network model, i.e., MPE-HRNet.L, by improving Lite-HRNet. The improvements are threefold. Firstly, we improve Spatial Pyramid Pooling-Fast and apply it and the improved version to different branches. Secondly, we construct a feature extraction module based on a mixed pooling module and a dual spatial and channel attention mechanism, and take the feature extraction module as the basic module of MPE-HRNet.L. Thirdly, we introduce a feature enhancement stage to enhance important features. The experimental results on the AP-10K dataset and the Animal Pose dataset verify the effectiveness and efficiency of MPE-HRNet.L.

HEMATOLOGIC AND PLASMA BIOCHEMICAL REFERENCE VALUES FOR CAPTIVE LEOPARD SHARKS (TRIAKIS SEMIFASCIATA).

Leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) are temperate, Eastern Pacific elasmobranchs popular in public aquariums. Blood analysis is commonly used for assessing animal health, yet reference values have not been established for this species. This study analyzed T. semifasciata population data to characterize blood reference values for a collection of T. semifasciata housed at a public aquarium. Twenty-one captive leopard sharks were sampled. Blood was collected during annual health examinations from sedated animals. After collection, blood samples were anticoagulated with lithium heparin, and hematocrit and plasma biochemistry values were analyzed. The minimum-maximum ranges were hematocrit 11-31%, buffy coat 1-2%, glucose 4.94-9.38 mM/L, sodium 244-272 mM/L, potassium 3.7-5.5 mM/L, chloride 214-246 mM/L, aspartate aminotransferase 5-31 U/L, creatine kinase 36-1,136 U/L, calcium 3.65-3.95 mM/L, phosphorus 1.13-2.23 mM/L, total protein 21-38 g/L, and total CO2 12-18 mM/L. The values identified will contribute to a better understanding of captive leopard shark physiology and to improved veterinary care for captive leopard sharks. Further research can examine the validity of machines like the Vetscan VS2, which will expand the resources available to care professionals.

Monitoring activity index and behaviors of cage-free hens with advanced deep learning technologies

Chickens’ behaviors and activities are important information for managing animal health and welfare in commercial poultry houses. In this study, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) models were developed to monitor the chicken activity index. A dataset consisting of 1,500 top-view images was utilized to construct tracking models, with 900 images allocated for training, 300 for validation, and 300 for testing. Six different CNN models were developed, based on YOLOv5, YOLOv8, ByteTrack, DeepSORT, and StrongSORT. The final results demonstrated that the combination of YOLOv8 and DeepSORT exhibited the highest performance, achieving a Multi-Object Tracking Accuracy (MOTA) of 94%. Further application of the optimal model could facilitate the detection of abnormal behaviors such as smothering and piling, and enabled the quantification of flock activity into three levels (low, medium, and high) to evaluate footpad health states in the flock. This research underscores the application of deep learning in monitoring poultry activity index for assessing animal health and welfare.

Optimizing Cattle Behavior Analysis in Precision Livestock Farming: Integrating YOLOv7-E6E with AutoAugment and GridMask to Enhance Detection Accuracy

Recently, the growing demand for meat has increased interest in precision livestock farming (PLF), wherein monitoring livestock behavior is crucial for assessing animal health. We introduce a novel cattle behavior detection model that leverages data from 2D RGB cameras. It primarily employs you only look once (YOLO)v7-E6E, which is a real-time object detection framework renowned for its efficiency across various applications. Notably, the proposed model enhances network performance without incurring additional inference costs. We primarily focused on performance enhancement and evaluation of the model by integrating AutoAugment and GridMask to augment the original dataset. AutoAugment, a reinforcement learning algorithm, was employed to determine the most effective data augmentation policy. Concurrently, we applied GridMask, a novel data augmentation technique that systematically eliminates square regions in a grid pattern to improve model robustness. Our results revealed that when trained on the original dataset, the model achieved a mean average precision (mAP) of 88.2%, which increased by 2.9% after applying AutoAugment. The performance was further improved by combining AutoAugment and GridMask, resulting in a notable 4.8% increase in the mAP, thereby achieving a final mAP of 93.0%. This demonstrates the efficacy of these augmentation strategies in improving cattle behavior detection for PLF.

Preliminary study of urine analysis in pregnant cows: insights for improved herd management

ABSTRACT This study aimed to establish a standard urine profile for pregnant cows, commonly seen patients in veterinary clinics. Urine samples from 15 pregnant cows (6 Belgian Blue and 9 Holstein) of various ages were analysed, all showing no clinical signs of urinary tract disease. Samples were collected during preventive check-ups, either by spontaneous micturition or catheterisation. Macroscopic evaluation and urine dipstick tests revealed a mean pH of 8.17 ± 0.49. Moderate glycosuria and proteinuria were detected in two animals. No urobilinogen, ketone bodies, haemoglobin, or traces of blood were found. Laboratory urinalysis provided values (with 95% confidence intervals): osmolarity 493–1110.00 mOsm/l, sodium 52.00–122.00 mmol/l, calcium 1.28–3.98 mmol/l, potassium 76–144.00 mmol/l, magnesium 5.00–8.00 mmol/l, chlorine 40.00–80.00 mmol/l, protein 35.00–104.00 mg/l, glucose 0.40–1.27 mmol/l, creatinine 34.00–76.00 mmol/l, and urea 681.00–2086 mmol/l. These findings present the initial descriptive values of urine biochemical parameters in pregnant cows, emphasising their significance in assessing animal health. This research underscores its relevance by providing fundamental insights into animal health, offering a pathway to enhance agricultural sustainability and address food security, echoing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 8 and 12.

Distance examination of livestock with drones - an effective method for assessing health and welfare.

Distance examination is an important part of veterinary investigation into ruminant herd health and welfare. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) explored the use of drones to conduct assessments of the health and welfare status of sheep and cattle. Three methods of distance examination were compared comprising observations; from a vehicle, a "micro" category drone and a "very small" category drone. The disturbance and behavioural reactions caused by the methods were compared. Assessments of adverse health and welfare conditions by each method were compared to observations made at yarding. The preferred method was the use of the very small drone which had the best sensitivity for detection of conditions potentially associated with adverse health or welfare and the best optics at a distance that did not disturb the animals. The optics of the very small drone enabled distance examination without disturbance in both cattle and sheep. Cattle were more sensitive to the presence of the drones than sheep. The micro drone was unable to approach cattle close enough to allow undisturbed distance examination. All methods had similar specificity, however, sensitivity varied markedly. The very small drone had the best sensitivity 86% which was statistically greater than the micro drone (44%, P = 0.05) and better than the vehicle observations, which had sensitivity of 77% (not statistically significant). The selection of an appropriate drone model is essential for accurate distance examination. Distance examination of livestock with drones of suitable optic quality and resolution represents an effective method for assessing animal health and welfare.

On-Farm Methane Mitigation and Animal Health Assessment of a Commercially Available Tannin Supplement in Organic Dairy Heifers.

The objective of this experiment was to demonstrate the effectiveness of a commercially available tannin product (Silvafeed® ByPro, 70% tannic acid) as an enteric methane (CH4) mitigation and preventative animal health strategy in Holstein heifers (BW = 219 ± 17 kg; 9 mo), reared under organic production system requirements. Twenty heifers were randomly assigned to one of four commercial tannin supplementation treatments as follows: 0% (0 g/hd/d; CON), 0.075% (~5 g/hd/d; LOW), 0.15% (~10 g/hd/d; MED), and 0.30% (~21 g/hd/d; HIG) of dry matter intake (DMI). Heifers received their treatment in individual animal feeding stanchions and were fed a basal total mixed ration (TMR) through four SmartFeed Pro intake measurement bunk systems (C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, SD, USA) for 45 d. An automatic head chamber system (AHCS; i.e., GreenFeed, C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, SD, USA) was used to continuously evaluate enteric CH4 production. No effect was observed among the treatments for CH4 emissions (p ≥ 0.55), animal performance (p ≥ 0.38), or oxidative stress biomarker concentration (p ≥ 0.55). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) concentrations exhibited a linear response to increasing tannin dose (p = 0.003), indicating a potential tannin effect on the antioxidant status of dairy heifers. This observation may encourage future tannin research relating to animal health, which may be of particular interest to organic dairy systems. The results of this study suggest that tannin supplementation at 0%, 0.075%, 0.15%, and 0.30% of DMI, did not alter CH4 emissions, animal performance, or oxidative stress biomarker concentration in organic Holstein heifers when assessed under an on-farm research approach. Further, the results of this study affirm the challenges associated with on-farm research and the development of climate-smart strategies that are capable of mitigating climate impacts in less controlled environments under standard working conditions.

Kid mortality indicators based on census data in dairy goat herds in the Netherlands

Optimal young stock rearing benefits animal health and welfare and therefore contributes to a more sustainable herd. In order to be able to evaluate the rearing process, producers need insight into their kid rearing results, preferably based on key indicators. Although mortality is considered a useful parameter to assess animal health and welfare, little is known about the prevalence and factors influencing mortality in dairy goat farming. Calculating kid mortality risks may be further challenged by how and when producers record mortality after birth. This study aimed to develop key kid mortality indicators which can support producers in optimising their rearing system. Census data were available from 395 Dutch dairy goat herds from 2016 until and including 2020. Four mortality indicators were defined: mortality risk of neonatal kids, and mortality rates of postnatal, preweaning, and postweaning kids. Mortality percentages were determined for three subgroups of dairy goat herds depending on the quality of available data i.e. accuracy and completeness of data. The quality of mortality data was classified as good in 39 % (n = 153), fair in 49 % (n = 192), or poor in 13 % (n = 50) of the included herds. For each of the three quality groups, recorded kid mortality for all four mortality indicators was higher in herds with accurate animal registration. Kid mortality was significantly different (p 0.001) between all quality groups. Other factors affecting kid mortality levels included herd size as the 25 % largest herds had lower kid mortality (p = 0.005), and a decreasing trend was associated with the age of dairy kids. This study provided insight into kid mortality in Dutch dairy goat herds and showed that it is possible to monitor kid mortality based on routinely collected data. Nevertheless, data quality should be considered when communicating benchmark values and individual results back to farmers. It is therefore recommended that benchmark values are calculated on data from herds with the highest data quality.

Review of Rat (Rattus norvegicus), Mouse (Mus musculus), Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), and Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Indicators for Welfare Assessment.

The monitoring and assessment of animals is important for their health and welfare. The appropriate selection of multiple, validated, and feasible welfare assessment indicators is required to effectively identify compromises or improvements to animal welfare. Animal welfare indicators can be animal or resource based. Indicators can be collated to form assessment tools (e.g., grimace scales) or animal welfare assessment models (e.g., 5 Domains) and frameworks (e.g., 5 Freedoms). The literature contains a wide variety of indicators, with both types needed for effective animal welfare assessment; however, there is yet to be an ideal constellation of indicators for animal-based welfare assessment in small mammals such as guinea pigs (Cavia Porcellus), mice (Mus musculus), rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and rats (Rattus norvegicus). A systematic review of grey and peer-reviewed literature was performed to determine the types of animal-based welfare indicators available to identify and assess animal health and welfare in these small mammals maintained across a wide variety of conditions. The available indicators were categorised and scored against a selection of criteria, including potential ease of use and costs. This review and analysis aim to provide the basis for further research into animal welfare indicators for these species. Future applications of this work may include improvements to animal welfare assessments or schemes, guiding better management, and implementing future strategies to enable better animal welfare.

Assessment of animal health and production constraints: The case of three districts.

Animal production is an important tool for improving the living standard of humans and is the backbone of Ethiopia's agricultural development. The country is known for its high livestock potential, but it is not well exploited due to various hindering factors. The objective of the study is to assess the key issues related to animal health and production. The evaluation was carried out in three purposively selected districts of East Wollega zone, namely Gidda Ayana, Sibu Sire and Jimma Arjo by using well-designed and structured questionnaire surveys. During the study period, 200, 145 and 165 respondents were sampled from the animal owners in the districts of Gidda Ayana, Sibu Sire and Jimma Arjo, respectively. Of these, about 97.89%, 95.68% and 94.9% practice extensive management in Gidda Ayana, Jimma Arjo and Sibu Sire, respectively. The majority of respondents in Gidda Ayana (98.1%), Jimma Arjo (97.21%) and Sibu Sire (98.9%) use natural pastures. For cattle breeding, uncontrolled natural mating is used in Gidda Ayana (90.79%), Jimma Arjo (86.3%) and Sibu Sire (95.69%). The major constraints of animal health and production were also assessed. Accordingly, a lack of access to adequate animal production and health expert in Gidda Ayana (27.33%), Jimma Arjo (29.36%) and Sibu Sire (31.59%) was recorded, whereas the lack of sustainable and structured modern livestock market was observed in Gidda Ayana (25.94%), Jimma Arjo (21.31%) and Sibu Sire (19.80%). Livestock need improved animal health, management systems and breeding methods. The study revealed key issues related to animal health and production, such as poor management systems and breeding methods, limited coverage of veterinary services and a modern livestock market. Thus, it is indispensable to increase the coverage of veterinary services, animal extension services and alternative sources of animal feed.

Spatial evaluation of animal health care accessibility and veterinary shortage in France

The decrease in the supply of veterinary healthcare in France adversely affects health of food-producing animals. In a One Health perspective, the health of people, animals and their shared environment are interconnected, and adequate supply of veterinary healthcare is required to ensure public health. Prevention of outbreaks and zoonotic diseases that may impact public health mobilizes a set of public policies, including strengthening veterinary workforce. These policies should be informed by quantification of animal health care accessibility, yet this has not been well characterized. The objective was to quantify the accessibility to veterinary healthcare for cattle, swine, and poultry sectors in France. A Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) approach was used to measure the level of accessibility to veterinary clinics. In the cattle sector, the 2SFCA score indicated relatively high accessibility in the north and south of France, but insufficient accessibility elsewhere. In the swine sector, there was high accessibility in the north east and in north of France, medium accessibility in the south west, and insufficient accessibility elsewhere. Finally, in the poultry sector, all regions had insufficient accessibility. Sensitivity analysis examining the effects of a change in spatial accessibility according to various travel time showed that the optimal threshold to compute 2SFCA score in cattle, swine and poultry sectors were respectively, 45, 60 and 60 min. According to a definition of “underserved area” derived from an official decree and the optimal thresholds to compute 2SFCA, the cattle, swine and poultry sector have on average 75.3, 89.9 and 98.3% underserved area, respectively. We provided evidence that the supply of animal health care was not sufficient and we proposed recommendations on how to assess animal health care accessibility, enabling modelling and visualization of the effects of potential public policies aimed at reducing veterinary shortages.

Detecting lymphoproliferative disease virus in wild turkeys using cloacal swabs

AbstractThe monitoring of infectious diseases in wildlife is crucial for assessing animal health, pathogen range expansion, and the risk of spillover to naive species, but may be resource and labor intensive. Lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) is an avian oncogenic retrovirus that was first identified in wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in 2009, though it historically caused mortality in domestic turkeys in Europe and Israel. Subsequent surveys detected a high prevalence and broad distribution throughout the eastern United States, warranting further research on LPDV in wild turkey populations. Current LPDV diagnostics require the collection of tissues, such as bone marrow from dead birds or blood during live capture. In our study, we assessed the sensitivity (true positive) and specificity (true negative) of cloacal swab samples as an alternative LPDV detection method. We compared results from cloacal swab samples with both postmortem detection from bone marrow and antemortem detection from blood, using a multi‐tube PCR approach with 3 replicates. Swab samples collected from live‐captured turkeys had a greater sensitivity (88%) than swabs collected from hunter‐harvested turkeys (31%), whereas specificity was similar for both collection approaches (live‐capture swabs = 75%, n = 85; hunter‐harvest swabs = 80%, n = 54). In live‐captured turkeys, the estimated LPDV prevalence using cloacal swab samples (73%) was not significantly different from the true prevalence determined using coupled blood samples (76%). However, in hunter‐harvested turkeys, the estimated prevalence using cloacal swab samples (28%) was different from the true prevalence estimated using coupled bone marrow samples (72%). In summary, cloacal swab samples can be used to reliably detect LPDV infection in live‐captured wild turkeys but should not be used for LPDV detection in hunter‐harvested wild turkeys.

TOXICITY OF OIL EFFLUENT ON OXYGEN UPTAKE, FILTRATION RATE AND GLYCOGEN IN Lamellidens marginalis (BIVALVIA: UNIONIDAE) UNDER LABORATORY CONDITION

Lamellidens marginalis, a freshwater bivalve, was experimentally exposed to 1/4th and 1/10th sublethal concentrations of oil effluent to examine the filtration rate, oxygen uptake, and glycogen level of foot, gill, and digestive gland tissues for healthy assessment for reuse in oil effluent intoxicated aquatic environments. The treated group's oxygen uptake was higher than the control group's by (10.43±3.476 ml oxygen/hr) in 1/4th and (11.37±3.790 ml oxygen/hr) in 1/10th exposures, which peaked at 48 hours and then declined. The concentrations of oil effluent exposure gradually increased and peaked at (205± 68.344 ml oxygen/hr) 72 hours in 1/4th and (172± 57.346 ml oxygen/hr) 42 hours in 1/10th concentrations, followed by a moderate decline trend.When compared to the control of all hours, oil effluent uptake peaked at 84 hours in 1/4th foot tissues (512±170.675 µg g-1);1/10th foot tissues (498±166.014µg g-1); 1/4th gill tissues (516±172.013 µg g-1); 1/10th gill tissues (464±154.69µg g-1) and 1/4th digestive gland tissues (540±180.012 µg g-1); 1/10th digestive gland tissues (522±174.03 µg g-1) of freshwater mussel.Mean glycogen concentrations ranged from 1.934 mg to 3.262 mg/g wet tissue in 1/4th and 2.318 mg to 3.286 mg/g wet tissue in 1/10th of sublethal exposures in foot tissues; 1.705 mg to 3.579 mg/g wet tissue in 1/4th and 2.324 mg to 3.074 mg/g wet tissue in 1/10th of exposures in gill tissues ;1.852 mg to 3.314 mg/g wet tissue in 1/4th and 1.989 mg to 3.364 mg/g wet tissues in 1/10th of exposures in digestive gland tissues. Our study concluded that the freshwater bivalve, L.marginalis can be used as biomarkers for animal health assessment and provide a new opportunity for researching the energetic reserves and health status of freshwater mussels.

Animal safety of a tall fescue endophyte (Epichloë sp.) in a perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) host

ABSTRACT Aims To assess animal health and production in sheep grazing perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) infected with a tall fescue endophyte (Epichloë sp.). Methods Three replicates of pure perennial ryegrass pastures infected with AR501 tall fescue endophyte (AR501 HE), AR1, AR37 or standard endophyte (STD) (all >85% infection) and a low endophyte control (AR501 LE) were grazed by 10 lambs for 7 weeks during late summer/early autumn, 2017. AR501 HE and AR501 LE were in the same tetraploid cultivar and the remaining treatments were in the same diploid cultivar. Lambs were weighed on Days 0, 19, 37 and 48 and assessed for ryegrass staggers on a 0–4 tremor scale nine times from Day 13. On Days 14 and 20, rectal temperatures and respiration rates were measured in lambs grazing AR501 HE, AR501 LE and STD under heat load. Pasture samples from each treatment were taken regularly (8 times) for analysis of known endophyte secondary metabolites. Results Peak mean ryegrass staggers scores for lambs grazing STD and AR37 treatments were 3.9 and 2.7, respectively, indicating environmental conditions were conducive to toxicity. Lambs grazing AR501 HE showed no ryegrass staggers at any date. The liveweight of STD lambs was up to 6.6 kg less than some or all other treatments on Days 19, 34 and 48, but there was no evidence of a difference between the liveweight of AR501 HE lambs and AR501 LE, AR37 or AR1 lambs on any date. Rectal temperatures and respiration rates of STD lambs were higher than AR501 HE lambs by 0.2°C and 26 breaths/minute, respectively. Apart from lower rectal temperature of AR501 HE lambs on Day 14, there was no evidence of differences between the AR501 HE and AR501 LE lambs. N-Formylloline was the only loline present in AR501 HE herbage (350–860 mg/kg). Peramine in AR501 HE herbage (42–77 mg/kg) was greater than that in STD and AR1 herbage on five and seven of the eight sampling dates, respectively. Conclusion Lambs grazing AR501 HE showed no ryegrass staggers, exacerbated heat stress or suppressed liveweight gain compared with lambs grazing AR501 LE in a season when endophyte-induced toxicity was evident in STD and AR37 pastures. This suggests AR501 tall fescue endophyte does not produce toxic concentrations of secondary metabolites. Clinical relevance This study suggests that there are no secondary metabolites produced by the tall fescue AR501 endophyte-perennial ryegrass association which affect animal health or production.

Mechanisms and Contextual Factors Affecting the Implementation of Animal Health Surveillance in Tanzania: A Process Evaluation.

A strong animal health surveillance system is an essential determinant of the health of animal and human population. To ensure its functionality and performance, it needs to be evaluated regularly. Therefore, a process evaluation was conducted in this study to assess animal health surveillance processes, mechanisms and the contextual factors which facilitate or hinder uptake, implementation and sustainability of the system in Tanzania. A mixed-method study design was used to evaluate the national animal health surveillance system guided by a framework for process evaluation of complex interventions developed by Moore and others. The system was assessed against standard guidelines and procedures using the following attributes: fidelity, adherence, exposure, satisfaction, participation rate, recruitment and context. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a cross-sectional survey, key informant interviews, document review, site visits and non-participant observation. Data from questionnaires were downloaded, cleaned and analyzed in Microsoft™ Excel. Qualitative data were analyzed following deductive thematic and content analysis methods. Fidelity attribute showed that case identification is mainly based on clinical signs due to limited laboratory services for confirmation. Data collection was not well-coordinated and there were multiple disparate reporting channels. Adherence in terms of the proportion of reports submitted per month was only 61% of the target. District-level animal health officials spent an average of 60% of their weekly time on surveillance-related activities, but only 12% of them were satisfied with the surveillance system. Their dissatisfaction was caused by large area coverage with little to no facilitation, poor communication, and lack of a supporting system. The cost of surveillance data was found to be 1.4 times higher than the annual surveillance budget. The timeliness of the system ranged between 0 and 153 days from the observation date (median = 2 days, mean = 6 days). The study pointed out some deviations in animal health surveillance processes from the standard guidelines and their implication on the system's performance. The system could be improved by developing a user-friendly unified reporting system, the active involvement of subnational level animal health officials, optimization of data sources and an increase in the horizon of the financing mechanism.

Haematological and biochemical reference intervals for wild green turtles (Chelonia mydas): a Bayesian approach for small sample sizes.

Animal health is directly linked to population viability, which may be impacted by anthropogenic disturbances and diseases. Reference intervals (RIs) for haematology and blood biochemistry are essential tools for the assessment of animal health. However, establishing and interpreting robust RIs for threatened species is often challenged by small sample sizes. Bayesian predictive modelling is well suited to sample size limitations, accounting for individual variation and interactions between influencing variables. We aimed to derive baseline RIs for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) across two foraging aggregations in North Queensland, Australia, using Bayesian generalized linear mixed-effects models (n = 97). The predicted RIs were contained within previously published values and had narrower credible intervals. Most analytes did not vary significantly with foraging ground (76%, 22/29), body mass (86%, 25/29) or curved carapace length (83%, 24/29). Length and body mass effects were found for eosinophils, heterophil:lymphocyte ratio, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate transaminase and urea. Significant differences between foraging grounds were found for albumin, cholesterol, potassium, total protein, triglycerides, uric acid and calcium:phosphorus ratio. We provide derived RIs for foraging green turtles, which will be helpful in future population health assessments and conservation efforts. Future RI studies on threatened species would benefit from adapting established veterinary and biomedical standards.

Host Identity and Geographic Location Significantly Affect Gastrointestinal Microbial Richness and Diversity in Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) under Human Care.

Simple SummarySince the advent of microbiome research, this field has seen an explosion of both techniques and subfields. Researchers have aimed not only to classify microbiome membership and diversity among varying hosts, but to also identify and understand new and novel microbial lineages. This wealth of knowledge continues to grow, and with it the potential to use microbiome databases as diagnostic tools. This diagnostic application is of great importance and interest in zoological settings, as it may provide a non-invasive assessment of animal health. However, before this tool can be utilized in zoos, more data are needed to assess the extent of microbial variation characteristics to each host species to know what may be problematic versus normal. The aim of this research was to characterize variation of the microbiome at the individual level within managed populations of western lowland gorillas in three zoological institutions.The last few decades have seen an outpouring of gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome studies across diverse host species. Studies have ranged from assessments of GI microbial richness and diversity to classification of novel microbial lineages. Assessments of the “normal” state of the GI microbiome composition across multiple host species has gained increasing importance for distinguishing healthy versus diseased states. This study aimed to determine baselines and trends over time to establish “typical” patterns of GI microbial richness and diversity, as well as inter-individual variation, in three populations of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) under human care at three zoological institutions in North America. Fecal samples were collected from 19 western lowland gorillas every two weeks for seven months (n = 248). Host identity and host institution significantly affected GI microbiome community composition (p < 0.05), although host identity had the most consistent and significant effect on richness (p = 0.03) and Shannon diversity (p = 0.004) across institutions. Significant changes in microbial abundance over time were observed only at Denver Zoo (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that individuality contributes to most of the observed GI microbiome variation in the study populations. Our results also showed no significant changes in any individual’s microbial richness or Shannon diversity during the 7-month study period. While some microbial taxa (Prevotella, Prevotellaceae and Ruminococcaceae) were detected in all gorillas at varying levels, determining individual baselines for microbial composition comparisons may be the most useful diagnostic tool for optimizing non-human primate health under human care.

Body temperatures of Manis pentadactyla and Manis javanica

Body temperature is an important parameter for assessing animal health and physiological function. An iButton thermometer was used to measure the body temperatures of three Chinese pangolins (Manis pentadacyla) and three Sunda pangolins (M. javanica). The body temperature of Chinese pangolins was 33.2 ± 0.95°C (30.6–34.2°C, n = 3) and that of Sunda pangolins was 32.8 ± 0.48°C (31.7–34.2°C, n = 3). The daily variation in body temperature was 1.0–2.9°C in three Chinese pangolins and 1.2–1.9°C in three Sunda pangolins. The body temperature of Sunda pangolins tended to rise at night, with the highest body temperatures occurring mostly at night. This study provides valuable body temperature data for Chinese and Sunda pangolins and lays the foundation for future research on their mechanisms of body temperature regulation.

Analytical and Early Detection System of Infectious Diseases and Animal Health Status in Kuwait.

This study aimed at the development of an analytic web-based system for the assessment of animal health in Kuwait. The data sources were based on the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) repository with data gathered for the period (2005–2020). An on-line web-based system using TABLEAU Creator was developed for monitoring and surveillance of animal disease outbreaks. Five animal diseases were identified in Kuwait; namely, HPAI, FMD, glanders, LSD and MERS-CoV. The highest numbers of outbreaks were recorded for HPAI, followed by FMD. Examples of spatio-temporal visualizations of the web based mappings are presented and include disease cases, number of outbreaks and farm locations, among other features. The web-based system can serve as a monitoring tool to easily display the status of animal health in Kuwait. It can also serve to quickly identify and track disease outbreaks and monitor the spread patterns of new or emerging animal diseases between neighboring countries.

Investigation of some trace elements and hematological and biochemical parameters in the blood of emaciated Omani goats.

Background and Aim:The analysis of hematological and biochemical parameters is widely used in assessing animal health status. Limited information is available on trace element levels and their association with hematological and biochemical parameters in Omani goats suffering from emaciation. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine the levels of some trace elements in emaciated Omani goats and their relationship with hematological and biochemical parameters.Materials and Methods:Goats suffering from emaciation and muscular dystrophy (n=18) were compared with healthy goats (n=12). Venous blood samples for the hematological, biochemical, and trace element analysis were collected from the jugular vein.Results:Emaciated goats showed significantly lower white blood cell, lymphocyte, and red blood cell counts than the healthy goats. In contrast, the percentages of monocytes and eosinophils were higher in emaciated goats than in healthy ones. In addition, emaciated goats showed higher levels of biochemical parameters alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, and total bilirubin but lower levels of albumin than the healthy goats. The results of trace element analysis revealed lower concentrations of zinc, iron, and selenium in serum from emaciated goats than in serum from healthy goats.Conclusion:This study identified significant differences in the serum levels of some trace elements and hematological and biochemical parameters between healthy and emaciated Omani goats. The identified differences represent valuable diagnostic biomarkers for the evaluation of the health status of Omani goats.