Livestock Owners Research Articles

A Geographical analysis for mine distribution and its impact on natural pasture in Sulaymaniyah government.

Mine is identified as a part of war and intimidating weapon for people. It is a war weapon which is used for the purpose of disserving both physical and material damages. It is the most effective and the cheapest weapon which is designed to be placed under a material or under the ground near the surface of the natural pastures that are not useful for the purpose of cultivating and farming due to some natural factors such as (topography, climate, soil, etc.) of the lands which covered with forests and grasslands because of the diversity of the places, the types and the variability of the seasons which grow up without any human efforts. The lands that are the main sources of the best, healthiest, and cheapest kinds of fodders and algae for all domestic and wild animals. Natural pastures are also renewable resources that have influence on all the aspects of geographical, environmental, economic, social, etc. of each regions. The study attempts to show the distribution of minefields in Sulaymaniyah province, the history of mines in the study area, and their effects on natural pastures in the Sulaymaniyah province. Some factors in the study area cause an increase in mines; the study attempts to show the distribution of minefields in the Sulaymaniyah province to protect people, tourists, and livestock owners in the border region in particular. In the study, inductive, regional, and analytical methods are used. The study consists of three main parts: the first is about the site and situation of Sulaymaniyah province; the second is about the types of mines and the distribution of minefields in the Kurdistan region and Sulaymaniyah province. The last part is about the effect of mines on the natural pastures in the study area, with a conclusion and suggestion to reduce the impacts of mines on the natural pastures and their people in Sulaymaniyah province in general. At the end of the study, some results were obtained, such as: Sulaymaniyah province has the highest rate of landmines, which is about %64 of all landmines included in the Kurdistan region, and about %84 of landmines in Sulaymaniyah province are located in districts that have borders with Iran, because of the Iraq-Iran war. In the study area, minefields have an impact of about %4.11 on natural pastures, and about %64.43 of the livestock wealth in Sulaymaniyah province depends on natural pastures.

APPRAISAL OF LIVESTOCK FARMING SYSTEM IN PERIURBAN AREAS OF FAISALABAD-PUNJAB

Local governments in big cities of the Punjab (Pakistan) have moved animals out of cities in order to avoid severe difficulties of congestion, hygiene, safety and traffic. This move resulted in development of dairy colonies in the peri-urban areas of big urban centers. Peri-urban dairy colonies provide an important link between peripheries of big cities and urban centers through provision of milk and meat. This important peri-urban production system needs to be studied in detail in terms of collecting basic data about its economic viability, ascertaining major constraints and suggesting policy options for its improvement. Keeping the above in view, the present research investigated peri-urban dairy production system in third largest city of Pakistan i.e., Faisalabad during the year 2021. About sixty respondents from seven different peripheries of Faisalabad were chosen purposively and interviewed. The data collected from peri-urban milk producers was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentages, averages, mean values and cross-tabulation. The study revealed that net income from livestock farming on overall basis was Rs.1108 per day while net income on farm size categories wise were Rs. 170, Rs. 910 and Rs. 2005 for small, medium and large livestock owners respectively. Major proportion of farmers (about 38 percent) from all three categories consider ed costly inputs as a major issue in peri-urban livestock farming followed by poor veterinary services (about 16 percent). Peri-urban dairy production system needs improvement in the form of various key factors such as proper feeding, availability of quality veterinary services, improved marketing of milk etc.

Association between Livestock Ownership and Malaria Incidence in South-Central Ethiopia: A Cohort Study.

Zooprophylaxis is one of the possible environmental vector control strategies for malaria prevention. However, its effect on reducing malaria transmission has been questionable, requiring a detailed understanding of contextual factors. This study aims to evaluate the effect of keeping livestock on malaria incidence in south-central Ethiopia. A cohort of 34,548 people in a total of 6,071 households was followed for 121 weeks from October 2014 to January 2017. Baseline data were collected, including livestock ownership. Weekly home visits were done to actively search for malaria cases, and passive case detection was also carried out. Malaria was diagnosed with rapid diagnostic tests. Log binomial and parametric regression survival-time models were used to estimate effect measures. A total of 27,471 residents had complete follow-ups, and the majority (87.5%) lived in households owning livestock, including cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens. The overall incidence risk of malaria was 3.7%, and there was a 24% reduction in the risk of malaria among livestock owners. The total cohort contributed to 71,861.62 person-years of observation. The incidence rate of malaria was 14.7 cases per 1,000 person-years. There was a 17% reduction in the rate of malaria among livestock owners. Meanwhile, the protective effect of livestock ownership increased as the number of livestock or the livestock-to-human ratio increased. In conclusion, livestock owners had less malaria. In a setup where domestication of livestock is a common practice and the predominant malaria vector tends to feed more on livestock than humans, zooprophylaxis remains a promising strategy for malaria prevention.

An assessment of awareness and practicing status regarding personal and animal hygiene among livestock farmers in semiurban areas of Barisal district, Bangladesh

The knowledge gap of livestock farmers on proper farm hygiene practices is one of the major concerns in Bangladesh. Therefore, the study was performed to assess the awareness and practicing status regarding personal and animal hygiene among livestock farmers in selected semi-urban areas of Barisal district, Bangladesh. A total of 202 farmers were interviewed to collect data randomly from four distinct suburban villages of Barishal district. SPSS software (version 25) was used to code and analyze the raw data. The research revealed that 68.3% of the farmers used tube well for supplying water to the animals. On the other hand, all the farmers were found to use tube-well for family use. 58.4% of farmers never used disinfectants regularly on their farms. Additionally, 40.1% of participants never practiced a routine deworming schedule. Attending seminars was found to have effects on washing and feeding troughs (p<0.05) and the application of disinfectants on a regular basis (p<0.01) Since a large percentage of livestock keepers are not still aware of animal and personal hygiene, the government and other non-government organizations should adopt necessary steps to disseminate knowledge among livestock owners for their animal and personal hygiene in order to prevent various zoonotic and anthroponotic diseases.

A Participatory Approach in Assessing the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) of Stakeholders and Livestock Owners about Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases from Sindh, Pakistan.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) are responsible for significant losses in terms of treatment costs, decreased productivity (such as milk and meat), reduced reproductive ability, and financial crisis to livestock owners. In Pakistan, it is crucial to periodically assess the risk of TTBDs and ecological factors, potential causes of acaricidal resistance in tick fauna, and the intensive increase in the spread of TTBDs. Participatory epidemiological approaches are key to assessing the livestock owners' and stakeholders' knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) about TTBDs. The current study determined the KAP about ticks and tick-borne diseases of respondents from Sindh, Pakistan. A total of 240 respondents were interviewed from different ecological zones: among them, 42.5% (n = 102) of the respondents practiced the manual removal of ticks from animals, while acaricide usage was indicated by 137 respondents (57.0%) as occurring sometimes, 50 (20.8%) monthly, 41 (17.0%) fortnightly, and 12 (5%) weekly, during the peak infestation season. Ticks were 2.6 times [OR = 2.5 (95% Cl = 1.47-4.06)] and viruses were 1.89 times [OR = 188 (95% Cl = 1.09-2.9)] more likely to cause the development of disease in animals than any other pathogen. Despite the appropriate usage of acaricides, the knowledge of participants was inadequate. The findings of this study emphasize the need to take into account identified knowledge gaps and to take the initiative in carrying out appropriate education activities and extension programs to enhance the adoption of effective tick prevention and control strategies.

Livestock producers' knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) regarding antimicrobial use in Ethiopia.

Inappropriate antimicrobial use (AMU) in livestock production is an important aspect of the global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Ethiopia, a low-income country with a large and increasing livestock population, AMU in food animals is not properly regulated. Hence, farmers are fully free to use antimicrobials to their (perceived) benefit. Therefore, understanding farmers' mindsets is important to improve antimicrobial stewardship in the livestock sector. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess livestock disease management practices and knowledge, attitude, and behavior (KAB) among livestock producers regarding AMU, residues, and resistance, as well as factors potentially explaining differences in KAB. We determined the KAB of livestock owners of three selected districts of central and western Ethiopia (n = 457), using a pretested questionnaire administered through face-to-face interviews. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between potential explanatory variables and the KAB scores of the respondents. The results showed that 44% of the farmers used antimicrobials in the past few years, where antibiotics (21%) and trypanocides (11%) were most widely used to manage livestock diseases. Furthermore, most farmers showed poor knowledge about AMU, residues, and AMR (94%) and unfavorable attitudes (<50% correct answers) toward contributing factors for AMR (97%). On the contrary, 80% of the respondents had overall good behavior scores (≥50% correct answers) related to AMU. Multivariate analysis results showed that having good knowledge, keeping ≥2 animal species, and the occurrence of ≥4 livestock diseases on the farm in a year were strong predictors of bad behavior scores (p < 0.05). The findings of the current investigation also revealed that the incidence of livestock diseases on the farm and a higher level of formal education significantly contributed to better knowledge and desirable attitudes but bad AMU behavior. A low level of awareness about and undesirable attitudes toward AMU and AMR could potentially affect farmers' behavior toward judicious AMU, thus requiring awareness creation efforts on livestock disease management practices.

Managing Calf Market Risk with LRP in 2023

When profit margins are strong, livestock owners have a natural tendency to relax a bit and enjoy the business of producing animals. Expansion may come to mind and effort is often put forth to improve production output. Protecting market price may become a secondary priority. However, a lot can happen between now and marketing time. Price trends can suddenly turn and quite often expectations may not be met. Protecting price should be just as much — maybe more — of a priority when the price outlook is optimistic, as it is in a downward trend. An unprotected, overly optimistic price forecast can hurt your bottom line just as easily as a downward trend that suddenly gets worse.

Effectiveness of WhatsApp in Delivering Livestock Advisory Services in Andhra Pradesh

In the present ICT era of communication, social media is playing a pivotal role in reducing the communication gap and sharing the information instantly anywhere in the world. Among various social media, WhatsApp particularly helps in formation of common interest groups for different categories of people for sharing information. The present study was undertaken with this objective, to study the effectiveness of WhatsApp communications on advisory services delivered to the livestock owners, in Andhra Pradesh. A WhatsApp group named “PASU VIGNANA VEDIKA” was created for the study purpose, to provide the livestock related information to the farmers instantly. A total of 95 farmers and 10 Veterinary Officers, using WhatsApp in their smart phones were selected and included in PASU VIGNANA VEDIKA”. After 90 days of study period, the results were collected by personal interview method through structured interview schedule, analyzed and presented in frequencies and percentages. The majority of the livestock farmers had Favourable attitude (61.05%) towards using the WhatsApp group for farming purpose, opined that the information is easy to read (100%), and listen (89%), timely availability (89.47%), out of the queries posted in WhatsApp group majority were regarding health of animals (54.17%) especially skin, mastitis and digestive disorders. Further, most of the farmers used text based messages (56.25%) followed by photos (31.25%) of ailing animals. In view of the vast opportunities through WhatsApp group formation, government policies should be framed in such a way to utilize the full potential of this method of communication for the welfare of farming community.

Assessment of Veterinary Voucher Scheme Intervention Already Present in the Area and Proposed Strategy: A Case Study

This research focuses on with the livestock technical assessment carried out in DaweQachen, Raytu, and Guradamole districts under the different NGOs working in the area. Attempts to introduce sustainable animal health service delivery through the private sector have fared poorly due to the provision and perceived risk of subsidized or free veterinary drugs provided by the Implementer during implementation. The concept of the use of veterinary vouchers addresses a ground-breaking attempt at ensuring project responses in the animal health sector strengthen rather than undermine sustainable animal health service delivery systems in both the private and public sectors while insuring the needy target groups continue to receive affordable or essential services. The guidelines case study aims to give clear visual information about the current animal health status and way of implementing the project area to be as a benchmark for the future evaluation of the impact of the project and divided the resource according to survey in addition to Baseline survey From the result of assessment all human elements are at risk of drought in shortage of water, food, and health care, Productive assets (livestock ) are at high risk, Lack of training/ uniformity to improve community animal health workers performance Lack of some CAHWS equipment, High need for sustainable animal health service delivery strength CAHWS with a private veterinary practitioner, It is found that in three districts has huge untapped livestock resources but its contribution to the individual pastoralist household is still insignificant. This is mainly attributed to the poor productivity of livestock. The disease is the major constraint to livestock production next to drought, which are rampant and widespread in the district. Poor animal health service is still mentioned as the major cause of production and productivity of livestock losses. Government services are constrained by inadequate drug supply and access to veterinary drugs and vaccination rates are low. On the other hand, CAHW's services were found very good and preferred due to their proximity to the livestock owner. CAHWs were mostly seen providing veterinary service in remote areas where the government service did not reach need to give refresher training and equipped them to link them with private veterinary Vender.

The spatial distribution and temporal trends of livestock damages caused by wolves in Europe

Wolf populations are recovering and expanding across Europe, causing conflicts with livestock owners. Here we compiled incident-based livestock damage data across 21 countries for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, during which 39,262 wolf-caused incidents were reported from 470 administrative regions. We found substantial regional variation in all aspects of the data, including the primary target species, the density of damages, their seasonal distribution, and their temporal trend. More than half of the variation in damage densities across regions was explained by the area of extensively cultivated habitats occupied by wolves, namely natural grasslands and broad-leaved forests. Regional variation in husbandry practices and damage prevention, while difficult to quantify at a continental scale, appear important factors to further modulate these incidents. As illustrated with detailed data from Germany, a relationship between the number of wolf units and damages diminished over time, suggesting some adaptation of livestock owners and local authorities to their presence, for example by increasing prevention efforts. As we argue, temporal trends of damage incidents, which are robust to variation in data collection across regions, are thus informative about the local intensity of the wolf-human conflict. We estimated increasing trends for the majority of regions, reflecting the current expansion of wolves across the continent. Nonetheless, many of these increases were moderate and for more than one third of all regions, trends were negative despite growing wolf populations, thus indicating that wolf-livestock conflicts can be successfully mitigated with proper management.

Ethnoveterinary uses of medicinal plants amongst the tribal populations of District Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Background: The current study expresses that most of the peoples were dependent on the natural resources as compared to cultivated. Domestic animals play a vital role in the development of human civilization that why plants are utilized as a remedy for a variety of domestic animals, in addition to humans. The people of District Malakand were extremely correlated with the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants as ethnoveterinary medicine. Methods: The present study was conducted from January 2015 to December 2017 for observing the area and also to collect the medicinal plants. The assessment was observed deeply the knowledge concerned with the traditional uses of medicinal plant to cure the animal diseases. Animal diseases are a major constraint for the livestock owners; therefore, some strategies and measures should be adopted in near future. During the study stratified sampling were carried using the questioner and interviewed the people and followed by group discussion was employed to achieve the goals. Results: The represented study has 76 plant species belonged to 45 families. Amongst them one species was Pteridophyte belonged to family Pteridaceae, and one was Gymnosperm belonged to Pinaceae, while the rest of 74 species of 43 families were Angiosperms. The herbs were dominant with 40 species (52.6 %), followed by trees with 22 species (29.0 %), and shrubs with 14 species (18.4 %). The largest families were Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae with 5 species each, while the second largest family was Rosaceae with 4 species. The third largest families were Apocynaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Brassicaceae, and Malvaceae with 3 species each. A total of thirty-three ailments were treated with different plants species. The most common ailments treated of the animals were constipation, intestinal worms, paralysis, broken bone, diuretic, diarrhea, indigestion, tympany, itching, and jaundice. Conclusion: The presented study revealed that production of animals played an important role in the inhabitants of Malakand district. Their people have abundant traditional knowledge of ethnoveterinary plant remedies and practical experience of animal care and production. The traditional knowledge is near to extinction in near future, due to the extensively usage of modern veterinary medicine. Keywords: Fidelity level, District Malakand, Medicinal plants, Pakistan, Traditional knowledge.

Prevalence, Risk Factors and Control Practices of Livestock Hirudiniasis in Mirab Abaya District, Southern Ethiopia.

Hirudiniasis is a disease in people and animals who have been infested by blood sucking leeches. In Ethiopia, it is a neglected disease, causing significant economic loss in the livestock industry. In the study area, information on livestock Hirudiniasis is very limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess livestock owners' awareness, knowledge, and control practices toward leech infestation, and to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of livestock Hirudiniasis. A cross-sectional study was carried out from February to September 2022 on domestic animals randomly selected from livestock owners of Mirab Abaya district, Southern Ethiopia. In total, 384 domestic animals were sampled and examined for the presence of leech infestation. A questionnaire survey was carried out on 150 livestock owners. This study discovered a 13.54% (52/384) overall prevalence of livestock Hirudiniasis in the study area and the highest prevalence was observed in cattle (22.14%), followed by sheep (10%), goats (8.65%), and equines (5%). Limnatis nilotica was the only leech species identified in the study area. The occurrence of livestock Hirudiniasis was significantly higher in the dry season (OR=3.16, p<0.05), around bodies of water (OR=10.88, p<0.01), in extensive production systems (OR=3.81, p<0.05), and in adult (OR=2.58, p<0.05) and poor body condition animals (OR=9, p<0.01). However, the species and sex of domestic animals were not significantly associated with Hirudiniasis. The questionnaire showed 61.33% and 35.33% of respondents had knowledge about leech infestations in domestic animals and its zoonotic impacts, respectively. Manual removal and traditional medicine are common control measures taken by livestock owners against Hirudiniasis. The present study showed that leeches were prevalent and significantly affects the health and productivity of livestock in the study area. Hence, cost-effective parasitic control measures need to be implemented to address the setback.

The Epidemiology of Coxiella infections in Domestic Animals and Humans in ‎Nigeria: A Review

Q fever is a bacterial zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetiiwith global epidemiology. Transmission of the disease in humans is mainly via inhalation of aerosolized bacteria and consumption of contaminated unpasteurized milk, while in animals it is through ingestion of contaminated pasture during grazing by susceptible animals. The disease is usually asymptomatic in animals, but has been implicated in abortion, stillbirths, endometritis, mastitis and infertility. In humans, it manifests as acute and chronic forms with the acute form having signs as self-limiting flu-like syndrome, pneumonia and hepatitis. Diagnosis is mainly through serology using ELISA, CFT, dot immunoblotting, and molecular assay. This study aimed at reviewing the literature to provide relevant information on the epidemiology and risk factors of Coxiella infection in Nigeria. The disease had been reported in all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria and it is said to have no breed, sex and age predisposition. Some of the risk factors identified to play vital roles in the epidemiology of the disease in Nigeria include husbandry and management practices, transboundary transfer of animals, poor hygiene at abattoirs as well as poor knowledge, attitude, and practices by livestock owners and abattoir personnel. It is recommended that there should be public enlightenment along with continuous education of stakeholders in the livestock industry on the significance of the disease.

Molecular prevalence and associated risk factors of Anaplasma ovis in Pakistani sheep.

Majority of Pakistani population lives in rural areas and raising animals, especially the small ruminants, is their primary source of income. Anaplasma ovis is known to infect small ruminants globally and causing significant economic losses to livestock owners, however prevalence of Anaplasma ovis has been least investigated from Pakistan despite having a huge sheep population. The present study was conducted from June 2021 till December 2021 to report the PCR based prevalence of Anaplasma ovis in the blood samples of sheep (n = 239) that were collected from District Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan. Out of 239 samples, 30 (12.5%) amplified a 347 bp fragment specific for the msp4 gene of Anaplasma ovis. Represented partial msp4 gene sequences were confirmed by Sanger sequencing and deposited to GenBank (OP620757-59). None of the studied epidemiological factors (age, sex, breed, size of herd, dogs with herd, and composition of herd) showed an association (P > 0.05) with the Anaplasma ovis infection in enrolled sheep. Analysis of the amplified partial mSP4 sequence of Anaplasma ovis revealed that this gene is highly conserved as all three sequences were identical and phylogenetically resembled with the msp4 sequences amplified from small ruminants in China, Kenya, and Germany, Turkey, Portugal, Tunisia and India. In conclusion, for the first time, we are reporting a moderate prevalence of Anaplasma ovis prevalence in Pakistani sheep and this data will help in developing the integrated control policies against this newly reported tick-borne disease that is infecting our sheep breeds.

A pilot survey on factors limiting veterinary service delivery systems at animal health facilities in Hawassa, Shashemene, and Negele Arsi, Ethiopia

A pilot questionnaire survey was carried out from December 2021 to June 2022 at animal health facilities in Hawassa city and Shashemene and Negele Arsi towns in Ethiopia. The objective of the survey was to determine what factors in the study area limited the provision of veterinary services at animal health facilities like veterinary clinics, veterinary pharmacies, and veterinary administrative offices. Government veterinary staff, clinical veterinarians, and private veterinary pharmacists were purposefully chosen based on their availability at each study area, whereas livestock owners (clients) were chosen at random at the point of service. A semi-structured questionnaire with multiple-choice and open-ended questions was administered to 100 study participants. It was discovered that the public sector was generally preferred by 74% of livestock owners and the private sector was preferred by 26%. In terms of infrastructurecoverage, the current animal health service delivery system was found to be deficient (35.7%). Drug shortages were a major problem for most public veterinary service providers (66.7%), while expensive drug prices were a problem for private veterinary service providers (34.0%). Additionally, it was determined that poor management (57.1%), a lack of funding (14.3%), a lack of commitment (28.6%), and a lack of attention to the veterinary sector (78.6%) were among the factors that hindered the provision of proper veterinary services in these areas. To carry out efficient veterinary clinical activities, the existing public veterinary institutions should be given sufficient financial resources,qualified personnel, and physical resources.

Antimicrobial Usage, Susceptibility Profiles, and Resistance Genes in Campylobacter Isolated from Cattle, Chicken, and Water Samples in Kajiado County, Kenya.

Campylobacter organisms are the major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis and diarrhoeal illness in man and livestock. Campylobacter is growingly becoming resistant to critically crucial antibiotics; thereby presenting public health challenge. This study aimed at establishing antimicrobial use, susceptibility profiles, and resistance genes in Campylobacter isolates recovered from chicken, cattle, and cattle-trough water samples. The study was conducted between October 2020 and May 2022 and involved the revival of cryopreserved Campylobacter isolates confirmed by PCR from a previous prevalence study in Kajiado County, Kenya. Data on antimicrobial use and animal health-seeking behaviour among livestock owners (from the same farms where sampling was done for the prevalence study) were collected through interview using a pretested semistructured questionnaire. One hundred and three isolates (29 C. coli (16 cattle isolates, 9 chicken isolates, and 4 water isolates) and 74 C. jejuni (38 cattle isolates, 30 chicken isolates, and 6 water isolates)) were assayed for phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility profile using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method for ampicillin (AX), tetracycline (TE), gentamicin (GEN), erythromycin (E), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and nalidixic acid (NA). Furthermore, detection of genes conferring resistance to tetracyclines (tet (O), β-lactams (bla OXA-61), aminoglycosides (aph-3-1), (fluoro)quinolones (gyrA), and multidrug efflux pump (cmeB) encoding resistance to multiple antibiotics was detected by mPCR and confirmed by DNA sequencing. The correlation between antibiotic use and resistance phenotypes was determined using the Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) method. Tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, and β-lactam-based antibiotics were the most commonly used antimicrobials; with most farms generally reported using antimicrobials in chicken production systems than in cattle. The highest resistance amongst isolates was recorded in ampicillin (100%), followed by tetracycline (97.1%), erythromycin (75.7%), and ciprofloxacin (63.1%). Multidrug resistance (MDR) profile was observed in 99 of 103 (96.1%) isolates; with all the Campylobacter coli isolates displaying MDR. All chicken isolates (39/39, 100%) exhibited multidrug resistance. The AX-TE-E-CIP was the most common MDR pattern at 29.1%. The antibiotic resistance genes were detected as follows: tet (O), gyrA, cmeB, bla OXA-61 , and aph-3-1 genes were detected at 93.2%, 61.2%, 54.4%, 36.9%, and 22.3% of all Campylobacter isolates, respectively. The highest correlations were found between tet (O) and tetracycline-resistant phenotypes for C. coli (96.4%) and C. jejuni (95.8%). A moderate level of concordance was observed between the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method (phenotypic assay) and PCR (genotypic assay) for tetracycline in both C. coli (kappa coefficient = 0.65) and C. jejuni (kappa coefficient = 0.55). The study discloses relatively high resistance profiles and multidrug resistance to antibiotics of critical importance in humans. The evolution of the multidrug-resistantCampylobacter isolates has been linked to the use and misuse of antimicrobials. This poses a potential hazard to public and animal health, necessitating need to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock husbandry practice coupled with stringent biosecurity measures to mitigate antimicrobial resistance.

Development of real-time RT-PCR systems for detection and quantitation of bovine enteric viral pathogens

The enteric viruses in animals are responsible for severe and devastating losses to the livestock owners with a profound negative impact on animal, health, welfare, and productivity. These viruses are usually transmitted via the feco-oral route and primarily infect the digestive tract of the humans, bovines and different mammals as well as birds. Some of the important enteric viruses in ruminants are: Rotavirus A (RVA), Peste des petits virus (PPRV), Norovirus (NV), Bovine corona virus (BoCV) and Bluetongue virus (BTV). In the present study, sensitive, specific and reliable TaqMan probe-based RT-qPCRs were developed and standardized for the rapid detection and quantification of enteric viruses from fecal samples. The assays result in efficient amplification of the RVA, BTV and BoCV RNA with a limit of detection (LoD) of 5, 5 and 4 copies, respectively, which is 1000 times more sensitive than the traditional gel-based RT-PCR. The reproducibility of each assay was satisfactory, thus allowing for a sensitive and accurate measurement of the viral RNA load in clinical samples. In conclusion, real time PCR developed for these viruses are highly specific and sensitive technique for the detection of diarrheic viral pathogens of cattle and buffalo.

Study on Identification and Prevalence of Ixodid Ticks Genera Infestation in Cattle in the Case of Areka District, Wolaita Zone, and Southern Ethiopia.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to July 2022 to determine the prevalence and identify major ixodid ticks of cattle and associated risk factors in the case of Areka District, Woliata Zone, and Southern Ethiopia. Standard physical and direct stereomicroscopy techniques were employed for identification of tick genera. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared test analyses were used for data analysis and P < 0.05 was considered as significant. During the study period, a sample of 384 local breed cattle's were taken by random selection and a total of 683 adult ixodid ticks were collected from different body parts of infested animals. Among 384 examined animals, 275 (71.6%; 95% CI: 62.8-80.4) animals were infested with one or more ixodid tick genera. In current study, the major ixodid tick genera infesting cattle were Ambylomma (32.2%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) (30%), Haylomma (16.8%), and Rhipicephalus (21%), and most of the genera preferred dewlap and sternum body part of animal for attachment. Out of 184 male and 200 female cattle examined, 144 males (78.3%) and 131 females (65.5%) were positive for one or more adult ixodid tick genera. The difference also found statically significant (P < 0.05). The overall prevalence of hard tick's infestation was statistically significant (P < 0.05) across the age, origin, and body condition of cattle. In conclusion, the high level of prevalence of hard ticks infestation in the present study represent the most important problems of cattle and detrimental to production. According to this finding, it is recommended that owners who keep cattle should practice good management and regular deworming using acaricides and it is also important to create awareness among livestock owners about the veterinary importance of ticks for the integrated tick control.

Gender Related Issues and Ecosystem Service Utilization Within the Volta Basin: Field Level Qualitative Experiences

Ecosystem services are considered as essential factors to determine the quality of the wellbeing of populations. This research paper focuses on establishing the contributions of ecosystem services in ensuring food security and its subsequent impact on the socio-economic wellbeing of both men and women within the Volta Basin and what accounts for unequal access to ecosystem services by men and women. It also identifies the socio-cultural issues on ecosystem utilization within the given area. The approach employed for the gathering of data for this study was multi-disciplinary and local knowledge centered. Focus Group Discussions, household surveys, stakeholder consultative meetings, seminars and workshops and biophysical observations were the methods and tools employed in obtaining the needed data. Communities selected within the Volta Basin comprised Bawku West (Kokori through Aring to Binaba), Namdan District (from Sakote through Pelungu to Damolgo), Jirapa District (from Tuggo through Konzokala to Wulling) and Lawra District (from Dasuuri through Eramon Tangzu to Bompari). Findings from the study revealed that communities within the area of study relied on natural and human modified ecosystems to sustain and maintain human lives. The findings however established that traditional laws often provided land for women, wives, and widows through means other than, for instance, equal land shares on inheritance. Systemic gender biases existed in the form of customs, beliefs, attitudes and laws that confined women to cultivating some type of crops within the study communities. Also, most communities have lost their livestock as a result of theft and some farm fields have been destroyed by cattle grazing, making it difficult to access organic manure for farming resulting in the use of chemical fertilizer. Therefore, to ensure positive contribution of the ecosystems to food security, the study recommends that government should create regulations that strengthen tenure security in the majority of the studied locations. Also, efforts should be made to document and publicize benefits of gender inclusion in ecosystem service utilization. Studies should also be conducted on human attitudes and perceptions regarding ecosystem services as a tool for understanding the complex problems associated with environmental change in the context of cultural landscapes. Promote joint planning and consensus building with Fulani, farmers, decision makers and livestock owners to help solve the issue on livestock theft and over grazing.

Molecular survey of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species in livestock ticks from Kassena-Nankana, Ghana; with a first report of Anaplasma capra and Ehrlichia minasensis

Tick-borne pathogens harm livestock production and pose a significant risk to public health. To combat these effects, it is necessary to identify the circulating pathogens to create effective control measures. This study identified Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species in ticks collected from livestock in the Kassena-Nankana Districts between February 2020 and December 2020. A total of 1550 ticks were collected from cattle, sheep and goats. The ticks were morphologically identified, pooled and screened for pathogens using primers that amplify a 345bp fragment of the 16SrRNA gene and Sanger sequencing. The predominant tick species collected was Amblyomma variegatum (62.98%). From the 491 tick pools screened, 34 (6.92%) were positive for Ehrlichia and Anaplasma. The pathogens identified were Ehrlichia canis (4.28%), Ehrlichia minasensis (1.63%), Anaplasma capra (0.81%) and Anaplasma marginale (0.20%). This study reports the first molecular identification of the above-mentioned Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species in ticks from Ghana. With the association of human infections with the zoonotic pathogen A. capra, livestock owners are at risk of infections, calling for the development of effective control measures.