Systemic bacterial infections in broiler chickens

In broiler operations, various health problems develop during the final two weeks of the growing period, resulting in increased mortality and condemnation losses. At this stage, sickly birds were found to be systemically infected by various bacteria regardless of varied clinical signs. The main objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and nature of systemic bacterial infections in unthrifty commercial broiler chickens and to establish a reproducible infection model in the laboratory. Thirty-one unthrifty 6-week-old broilers were obtained from three farms, and bacterial isolations were conducted on blood, liver, and hock joint. Bacteria were isolated from 87, 90, and 71% of the blood, liver and hock joint samples, respectively. Mean bacterial counts (log₁₀ CFU/ml or g) of the blood and liver were 2.15 and 2.93, respectively. Among 132 bacterial isolates, major species were; Staphylococcus (60%), Corynebacterium (18%), Escherichia coli (5%), and Stomatococcus (4%). Among 79 Staphylococcus isolates, 77 were coagulase-negative. Major species of staphylococci were; S. lentus (19%), S. simulans (18%), S. cohnii (13%), S. gallinarum (10%) and S. captis (7%). In addition, 6 species of gram-positive and 5 species of gram-negative organisms were isolated. Apparently systemic infections were not caused by predominant pathogenic bacterial species, and adequately described as mixed infections. However, there were some significant relationships between isolated bacterial species and sampling sites, suggesting that certain organisms were abundant in the environment of a particular poultry house. These results indicate that systemic infections in market age broilers are caused by mixed bacterial species and suggest that they are caused by suppressed host antibacterial systems rather than pathogenic factors of microorganisms. Antibiotic susceptibility results showed 100% susceptibility of staphylococcal isolates (n=69) against vancomycin and enrofloxacin. Of these coagulase negative staphylococci showed 19% and 73% resistance against methicillin and penicillin G, respectively. There was also heterogeneity in antibiogram profiles within species of coagulase-negative staphylococci. Pathogenicity of representative field isolates from the above described study was tested in 5-day-old embryonated eggs and in 3- week-old broiler chicks. Consistent lethality was demonstrated with S. aureus in embryos. Staphylococcus intermedius or S. lentus demonstrated some pathogenicity, while S. gallinarum or Corynebacterium were non-pathogenic in embryos. In 3-week-old broilers, however, only S. aureus caused septicemia and death; other bacterial species mentioned above caused neither clinical signs of acute or chronic staphylococcosis nor mortality

Prevalence of Aflatoxicosis in Broiler Chickens in Quetta, Pakistan

Abstract.-A base line study was conducted to determine the prevalence of aflatoxicosis in broiler chickens in and around Quetta district during the period June 2009 to May 2010. The study was based on the examination of sick and dead birds (n=1105 broiler chickens). Congested and oedematous carcass, hemorrhages, yellowish brown or pale liver; swollen kidneys; atrophy of bursa and thymus were the common necropsy findings. Thin layer Chromatographic analysis of liver samples of suspected birds was carried out for the confirmation of aflatoxin. Aflatoxin contents of analyzed samples ranged between 3.0 -11.7 µg/kg. It was recorded that 8.78% (n=97) birds were aflatoxicosis positive. The highest season wise prevalence was recorded in autumn (13.29%) and the lowest in winter (5.1%). It is concluded that existing situation of aflatoxicosis need strict surveillance to monitor the problem. There should be a campaign among public to create awareness about toxicological effects of aflatoxins and development of good laboratory facilities for confirmation of disease. Further use of aflatoxin ameliorators should be promoted to limit the problem

Measuring routine childhood vaccination coverage in 204 countries and territories, 1980-2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020, Release 1

Background Measuring routine childhood vaccination is crucial to inform global vaccine policies and programme implementation, and to track progress towards targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) and Immunization Agenda 2030. Robust estimates of routine vaccine coverage are needed to identify past successes and persistent vulnerabilities. Drawing from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Release 1, we did a systematic analysis of global, regional, and national vaccine coverage trends using a statistical framework, by vaccine and over time. Methods For this analysis we collated 55 326 country-specific, cohort-specific, year-specific, vaccine-specific, and dosespecific observations of routine childhood vaccination coverage between 1980 and 2019. Using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, we produced location-specific and year-specific estimates of 11 routine childhood vaccine coverage indicators for 204 countries and territories from 1980 to 2019, adjusting for biases in countryreported data and reflecting reported stockouts and supply disruptions. We analysed global and regional trends in coverage and numbers of zero-dose children (defined as those who never received a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis [DTP] vaccine dose), progress towards GVAP targets, and the relationship between vaccine coverage and sociodemographic development. Findings By 2019, global coverage of third-dose DTP (DTP3; 81.6% [95% uncertainty interval 80.4-82 .7]) more than doubled from levels estimated in 1980 (39.9% [37.5-42.1]), as did global coverage of the first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1; from 38.5% [35.4-41.3] in 1980 to 83.6% [82.3-84.8] in 2019). Third- dose polio vaccine (Pol3) coverage also increased, from 42.6% (41.4-44.1) in 1980 to 79.8% (78.4-81.1) in 2019, and global coverage of newer vaccines increased rapidly between 2000 and 2019. The global number of zero-dose children fell by nearly 75% between 1980 and 2019, from 56.8 million (52.6-60. 9) to 14.5 million (13.4-15.9). However, over the past decade, global vaccine coverage broadly plateaued; 94 countries and territories recorded decreasing DTP3 coverage since 2010. Only 11 countries and territories were estimated to have reached the national GVAP target of at least 90% coverage for all assessed vaccines in 2019. Interpretation After achieving large gains in childhood vaccine coverage worldwide, in much of the world this progress was stalled or reversed from 2010 to 2019. These findings underscore the importance of revisiting routine immunisation strategies and programmatic approaches, recentring service delivery around equity and underserved populations. Strengthening vaccine data and monitoring systems is crucial to these pursuits, now and through to 2030, to ensure that all children have access to, and can benefit from, lifesaving vaccines. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Influence of Slaughtering Age on Chemical Composition of Mengali Sheep Meat at Quetta, Pakistan

The aim of this study was to investigate chemical composition of meat of Mengali sheep (n=100) without teeth (group A), with 2 teeth (group B), with 4 teeth (group C) and 6 teeth (group D). Chemical characteristics of mutton in respect of moisture, protein, fat, ash and Vitamin A contents were determined. Moisture content for mutton group A was higher (76.20±1.48%), followed by B, C and D sheep viz., 75.12±2.52%, 74.07±1.61% and 73.17±2.32%, respectively. Protein content of group A meat was lower (17.79±1.77%) compared with B (18.31±2.24 %), C (20.02±1.98%) and D (20.40±2.14%). The highest fat content was recorded in sheep meat of group D (4.71%±0.55%), followed by group C (4.41±0.43%), B (3.91±0.48%) and group A (3.02±0.36%). Ash content in meat of group A sheep averaged 1.21±0.17 %, group B 1.334±0.23 %, group C 1.353±0.11% and group D 1.32±0.09%. Vitamin A content were found high in meat of group A (683.16±5.33 µg/100g) compared with that of B, C, and D (668.06±7.50, 664.04±5.12 and 653.74±4.89 µg/100 g meat, respectively). The meat of sheep with six teeth had the highest protein and fat contents and the lowest levels of moisture, vitamin A and ash contents. It is concluded that the moisture and Vit. A level decreased with age in the Mengali mutton whereas the protein, fat and ash contents increased with age

Some Morphological, Fertility and Growth Traits for Mengali Sheep of Balochistan, Pakistan

The present study was conducted to establish the characteristics regarding the habitat, status, norms and performance parameters of Mengali sheep breed of Balochistan. For the present study, 15 households of 7 villages were visited in 7 districts. Information on management, feeding, breeding, health practices, and utility patterns, productive and reproductive performance was collected by questionnaire and personal observations. Body weight and measurements were recorded for total 386 and 83 animals of extensive Farmers Flock (FF) and semiintensive production system, Experimental Station CASVAB (ESC), Quetta, respectively. The data were analyzed using unpaired t- test. In both production systems, sex had a significant effect on growth performance (P<0.05). Average adult body weights for ESC and FF were 49.0±0.51 and 40.4±0.35 for male, and 41.2±0.37 and 36.0±0.21 kg for female, respectively (P<0.05). Male had higher height at withers height, chest girth and body length compared to female (P<0.05), whereas no significant difference was found in ear and tail length. No difference was observed in yearly greasy fleece weights. Averages of the twinning percentage for ESC and FF were 5.25 and 3.55% respectively. A ewe on an average delivers 6-9 lambs in lifetime. The variation in growth performance of sheep raised in different rearing systems could give remarkable clues in order to set genetic improvement plan by selection for a long term. The results suggested that the performance of the sheep was improved under semi-intensive managemental system, which indicates shortage of nutrients in the range, whereas in the semi-intensive conditions the feeding cost increased quite significantly

Some Morphological, Fertility and Growth Traits for Mengali Sheep of Balochistan, Pakistan

The present study was conducted to establish the characteristics regarding the habitat, status, norms and performance parameters of Mengali sheep breed of Balochistan. For the present study, 15 households of 7 villages were visited in 7 districts. Information on management, feeding, breeding, health practices, and utility patterns, productive and reproductive performance was collected by questionnaire and personal observations. Body weight and measurements were recorded for total 386 and 83 animals of extensive Farmers Flock (FF) and semiintensive production system, Experimental Station CASVAB (ESC), Quetta, respectively. The data were analyzed using unpaired t- test. In both production systems, sex had a significant effect on growth performance (P<0.05). Average adult body weights for ESC and FF were 49.0±0.51 and 40.4±0.35 for male, and 41.2±0.37 and 36.0±0.21 kg for female, respectively (P<0.05). Male had higher height at withers height, chest girth and body length compared to female (P<0.05), whereas no significant difference was found in ear and tail length. No difference was observed in yearly greasy fleece weights. Averages of the twinning percentage for ESC and FF were 5.25 and 3.55% respectively. A ewe on an average delivers 6-9 lambs in lifetime. The variation in growth performance of sheep raised in different rearing systems could give remarkable clues in order to set genetic improvement plan by selection for a long term. The results suggested that the performance of the sheep was improved under semi-intensive managemental system, which indicates shortage of nutrients in the range, whereas in the semi-intensive conditions the feeding cost increased quite significantly

Effect of A and B-site substitution with Pb, La and Ti on phase stabilization and multiferroic properties of BiFeO3

Abstract The work presents a comparative study of the effects of divalent (Pb), trivalent (La) and tetravalent (Ti) substituents on the multiferroic properties of BiFeO3 (BFO). Both A and B-sites were substituted to obtain the compositions i.e. (Bi1−x−yLaxPby)(Fe1−zTiz)O3 (x, y = 0, 0.1, 0.2 and z = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15). Each of the substituent was particularly chosen i.e. Pb was chosen to keep the lone pair character which is the similar case as Bi ion. Additionally isovalent La was chosen to achieve single phase by reducing Bi volatization. Both these ions, on substitution, stabilized the crystal structure and suppressed the formation of extra phases which are unavoidable in pure BFO. All the Ti substituted and Bi0.8La0.2FeO3 compositions exhibited rhombohedral perovskite (R3c) phase, while Bi0.8Pb0.2FeO3 and Bi0.8La0.1Pb0.1FeO3 exhibited cubic phase. Mössbauer measurements revealed that impurity phase in case of compositions with divalent and trivalent substituents, disappeared completely when Ti substituted Fe. For all the compositions Fe ions were found in +3 state. High temperature dielectric properties showed that all the compositions were ferroelectric with paraelectric transition lying well above the room temperature. Weak ferromagnetism was found in Ti substituted compositions where coercivity was found to increase as the Ti concentration increases. All the BFO samples substituted with Pb, exhibited a dielectric anomaly in the temperature range, 100 °C ⩽ T ⩽ 250 °C. A systematic reduction in the intensity of the dielectric anomaly peak was observed as a function of Ti concentration which indicates that the anomaly is related to the conductivity and is element specific. However, Mössbauer data revealed absence of Fe2+ state, which ensured that it was not related with the presence of Fe2+ ions. Saturation polarization was found to increase as Ti concentration increased from 0% to 10%

Molecular Study on the Prevalence of Respiratory Mycoplasma Species in Small Ruminants of Kuchlak, District Quetta and

Abstract.-Respiratory diseases of small ruminants are among the most important problems throughout the world as well as in Balochistan, Pakistan. Various Mycoplasma species lead to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases in sheep and goats and inflict heavy economic losses in Balochistan. The aim of present study was to highlight the prevalence of respiratory Mycoplasma species in nasal swab samples of sheep and goats through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and further validation through Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). In total, 240 nasal swab samples of Rakhshani breed of sheep and 200 nasal swab samples of Khurasani breed of goats were collected in 2011 from randomly selected sheep from Khanozai district, Pishin and goats from Kuchlak, district Quetta respectively. The extracted DNA samples were analyzed using the PCR for Mycoplasma mycoides cluster group, Mycoplasma mycoides sub-cluster group, Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae (Mccp), Mycoplasma capricolum subsp capricolum (Mcc) and Mycoplasma putrefaciens (Mp). The highest prevalence of 7.5% (n=18) was observed for Mycoplasma mycoides cluster members , followed by 6.25% (n=15) for Mycoplasma mycoides subcluster members, 5% (n=12) for Mp and 1.25% (n=3) for Mcc .Further none of the prevalence was seen for Mccp. The present PCR results for the Mycoplasma mycoides sub-cluster members were further validated by the RFLP, with the yield of three fragments (230, 178, and 153bps) specific for Mmc. Furthermore comparable results for various Mycoplasma species using PCR were also observed in goats. The PCR based prevalence of different mycoplasma species in sheep and goats in the study area is alarming and needs attention to contain the mycoplasmosis using efficacious mycoplasma vaccines

Prevalence of Mycoplasma bovis in Respiratory Tract of Cattle Slaughtered in Balochistan, Pakistan

Cattle lungs (n=1200) obtained from abattoir of 10 districts of Balochistan were processed for isolation and identification of Mycoplasma species. A total of 156 isolates produced typical fried egg colonies on Modified Hayflick’s agar medium and 87.8% were preliminarily identified as Mycoplasma species, 12.2% species were Acholeplasmas. All the digitonin sensitive isolates were further subjected to different biochemical and PCR tests for further identification. Overall prevalence of M. bovis lungs samples obtained from slaughter house samples was 9%. Among the Mycoplasma isolates; 108 M. bovis, 29 Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc) and 16 M. arginini were identified through the biochemical tests. M. bovis and Mycoplasma mycoides subcluster members were further validated through PCR and RFLP. Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony type (Mmm SC) was not isolated from any of the lung samples. Among the Mycoplasma bovis species isolated, the highest number was observed from Quetta district (16%) followed by Pishin (15%), Zhob (11 %) and Kalat (10%). Conversely the lowest number of M. bovis isolates was found in Bolan (2%) district followed by Jaffarabad (3%), 4%, each from Khuzdar, Mustung, Killasaifullah and 7% in Sibi district. Statistical analysis using chi square test, showed a significance difference (χ²=33.38) in the recovery of Mycoplasma bovis from the lungs of cattle slaughtered in 10 districts of Balochistan