Bangladesh Agricultural University Campus Research Articles

Isolation and characterization of sheep salmonellae in and around Bangladesh Agricultural University campus

The study was carried out for isolation of Salmonella spp. and their characterization from sheep during the period from November 2006 to May 2007. For this study a total number of 63 rectal swab samples of sheep were collected. Out of 63 samples, 9 samples were identified as positive for Salmonella and each positive sample was treated as one isolate. All the Salmonella isolates revealed the same morphological, cultural and biochemical characteristics. In the stab culture on TSI agar slant, all of the isolated Salmonella isolates produced acid (yellow) and gas in the butt, the production of hydrogen sulfide gas in both butt and slant, and the alkaline (red) reaction in the slant. For the slide agglutination test, Salmonella agglutinating antiserum (poly ‘O' and poly ‘H') was used which agglutinated all the isolates and thereby identified the organism as Salmonella. The pathogenicity of the isolates was studied in mice and it revealed that the isolates were pathogenic. After isolation of Salmonella, eight commonly used antibiotics were used for the antibiogram study of isolated Salmonella. Among the isolates, 77.78% were highly sensitive and 22.22% were moderately sensitive to ciprofloxacin and spiramycin, 66.67% were highly sensitive and 33.33% were moderately sensitive to gentamicin. 55.56% were moderately sensitive and 44.44% were less sensitive to oxytetracycline and streptomycin, 33.33% were moderately sensitive and 66.67% were less sensitive to amoxycillin, 11.11% were moderately sensitive, 33.33% were less sensitive and 66.67% were resistant to sulphamethoxazole, 11.11% were less sensitive and 88.89% were resistant to penicillin-G.  From the results it may be concluded that the prevalence of Salmonella organisms in sheep of this country is remarkable and isolated Salmonella spp. are pathogenic for laboratory animals and highly sensitive to ciprofloxacin, spiramycin and gentamicin. From the results it also may be concluded that slide agglutination test can be used for the rapid detection of Salmonella organism. Key words: isolation, characterization, pathogenicity, antibiogram study DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v6i1.1346 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2008). 6 (1): 75-78

Helminth parasites of the digestive system of sheep in Mymensingh, Bangladesh

Helminth parasites of the digestive system of sheep in Mymensingh, Bangladesh were studied during the period January to December, 2004. For this, the digestive system were collected from sheep slaughtered at slaughter houses of Mymensingh town and the Bangladesh Agricultural University Campus and were subjected to routine examination for the collection of helminth parasites. A total of 150 sheep were examined of which 142 (94.67%) were positive for one/more species of helminth parasites, among them six species belonged to trematodes, namely, Fasciola gigantica, Schistosoma indicum, Paramphistomum cervi, Cotylophoron cotylophorum, Grastrothylax crumenifer and Homalogaster paloniae, two species belonged to cestodes, namely, Moniezia expansa and Moniezia benedeni and three species belonged to nematodes, namely Haemonchus contortus, Oesophagostomum columbianum and Trichuris ovis. Relatively higher occurrence was recorded in winter season (100%) followed by rainy (96%) and summer (88.57%). In relation to age, the occurrence of helminth parasites in younger ( < 1 year) and in old (≥2 years) sheep was 100% but in young (≥1-2 years) was 76.09%. In relation to sex, the occurrence of helminth parasites was 100% in female and 78.57% in male sheep. Key words: Helminth, digestive system, sheep DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v4i2.1294 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2006). 4 (2): 117-122

Evaluation of sanitary quality of goat meat obtained from slaughter yards and meat stalls at late market hours

The microbiological investigation was conducted to determine the level of contamination of goat meat processed by butchers in slaughter yards and meat stalls and also at different body regions such as neck, brisket and thigh during the peroid of July to November 2007 in the Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh, Bangladesh. A total number of 36 meat samples were collected equally from three slaughter yards and meat stalls namely Koshaibari, Mymensingh town and BAU campus, each containing 12 samples. Out of these 12 samples, four samples from brisket region, four samples from neck region, and four samples from thigh region were taken. After collection, bacteriological analysis of the samples were performed to asses the selected microbial attributes such as TVC, TCC and TSC in goat meat cuts of different sources by using Plate Count (PC) agar, MacConkey (MC) agar and Staphylococcal Media (SM-110) medium to find out the sanitary quality of goat meat. The mean values of TVC on slaughter yards and meat stalls were log 6.03 and log 6.53 respectively, whereas the TCC showed log 4.85 and log 3.82 respectively and that of TSC were 3.31 and 3.82 respectively. The mean values of TVC in brisket, neck and thigh regions of slaughter yards were log 6.11, log 6.01, log 6.31 and in meat stalls were log 6.48, log 6.30, log 6.84 respectively, whereas the TCC values of slaughter yards showed log 4.77, log 4.36, log 5.12 and meat stalls log 4.94, log 4.68, log 5.42 respectively. In case of TSC values, the mean values were log 3.83, log 3.07, log 4.06 and log 3.96, log 3.37, log 4.22 respectively. The result demonstrates the fact that the unhygienic and poor sanitary conditions under which the meat and meat products are handled and processed are not acceptable from sanitary point of view. The statistical analysis showed that TVC and TCC obtained from meat samples of different markets and different regions of the carcass exhibited regional variation significantly (P < 0.01), whereas TSC did not present any remarkable regional variation. A significant correlation in TVC and TCC was found (P < 0.01) and similar correlation was also recorded in TCC and TSC (P < 0.01), but it is interesting to note that there was no significant correlation in between TVC and TSC. Key words: Goat meat, TVC, TCC, TSC, sanitary quality. DOI = 10.3329/bjvm.v6i1.1343 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2008). 6 (1): 87-92

Physical and microbial qualities of raw milk collected from Bangladesh Agricultural University dairy farm and the surrounding villages

The present study was undertaken with the aim of investigating the physical parameters (e.g. organoleptic and specific gravity of raw milk) and also to study the microbiological quality of raw milk (total viable count, Coliform count and Staphylococcal count) from different villages and Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) Dairy Farm of Mymensingh District of Bangladesh, during the period from July to November 2007. A total number of 100 raw milk samples were collected at morning and evening from BAU dairy farm and surrounding four villages of BAU campus. The organoleptic and bacteriological qualities of each sample were analyzed. The organoleptic examination included taste panel score to assess consumer's acceptance and the bacteriological analysis comprised enumeration of total viable count (TVC), total colifrom count (TCC) and total staphylococcal count (TSC) for the determination of sanitary quality. The organoleptic quality of the milk samples is more or less same except the Churkhai milk samples which had flat taste (in 16% milk sample). The average values of TVC/ml were log 5.920, 5.934, 6.007, 6.075 and 6.127 for BAU Dairy Farm, Boira, Shutiakhali, Churkahai and Paglabazar respectively; coliform count were log 2.501, 2.522, 2.550, 2.620 and 2.619 respectively; staphylococcal count were log 2.832, 2.812, 2.866, 2.931 and 2.988 respectively. So, it may be concluded that the raw milk samples of BAU Dairy Farm were superior to others collected from the selected villages which may be due to maintaining better hygienic condition. Key words: Raw milk, physical and microbial quality  doi: 10.3329/bjvm.v6i2.2339 Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2008). 6 (2): 217-221