Detection of equine herpesvirus infection: conventional versus molecular approaches

Equineherpes virus(EHV)are the highly contagious pathogens that infect both domestic and wild equine populations causing a major impact on equine industry worldwide. The methods for diagnosis of EHV have shown a vast improvement in the last decade. Although some conventional techniques are still applicable in certain cases, most of the clinical testing now focusing on rapid diagnosis by using the nucleic acid amplification-based techniquesas major advances for the detection of EHV. The diagnosis of EHV does not only depend on clinical situation alone, but the suitability of diagnostic test is also vital for equine clinicians to make a decision regarding the specific treatments and control measures to be taken. Therefore, crucial understanding of the strengths and limitations of each assay are needed in order to interpret the results. Realizing the issue, this review intends to outline the clinical application of conventional approaches and the progress of the new molecular approaches. Relative advantages and limitations of each method have also been discussed

Detection of Equine Herpesvirus Infection : Conventional Versus Molecular Approaches

Equine herpesvirus (EHV) are the highly contagious pathogens that infect both domestic and wild equine populations causing a major impact on equine industry worldwide. The methods for diagnosis of EHV have shown a vast improvement in the last decade. Although some conventional techniques are still applicable in certain cases, most of the clinical testing now focusing on rapid diagnosis by using the nucleic acid amplification-based techniques as major advances for the detection of EHV. The diagnosis of EHV does not only depend on clinical situation alone, but the suitability of diagnostic test is also vital for equine clinicians to make a decision regarding the specific treatments and control measures to be taken. Therefore, crucial understanding of the strengths and limitations of each assay are needed in order to interpret the results. Realizing the issue, this review intends to outline the clinical application of conventional approaches and the progress of the new molecular approaches. Relative advantages and limitations of each method have also been discussed

Forage diversification of parent Bali cattle in Simantri Group 733 Manah Cika Guna Bhakti, Baru Village Tabanan Bali Indonesia

Forage diversification of parent Bali cattle in SimantrSimantri is agricultural integration activity in Bali, Indonesia covering food crops, horticulture businesses, animal husbandry, fisheries, plantations, and forestry crops in one area/activity location. The Simantri Group 733 Manah Cika Guna Bhakti Desa Baru has been formed since 2009, with available feed sources in the form of grasses that grow naturally (nature grass) and some forage plants such as gamal (Gliricidia sepium) and agricultural crop waste. Forage is the main feed for ruminants, which can be in the form of grasses or fodder plants such as legumes. Partners lack knowledge in the field of feed, especially learning about types of forage that are superior in quantity and quality, and are willing to increase the variety of quality forage sources available throughout the season. Partners also want to get special forage seeds and how to cultivate them. It is necessary to conduct action research for Simantri 733 Manah Cika Guna Bhakti Livestock Farmer Group in Banjar Dinas Baru, Baru Village, Marga District, Tabanan Regency, Bali, to help solve problems faced by partners by providing knowledge about superior types of forage, the introduction of technology and skills in cultivation such as land preparation, seed selection, planting, and care. This international collaboration activity was carried out well and smoothly on October 30, 2021, attended by 20 members of the Simantri group. The method used is the method of extension, active participation of farmers, and exploratory. Based on the evaluation results, the Simantri group has recognized several superior forages and has mastered the technology for the cultivation of superior types of forage. Mastery of technology reaches 80%, so it is necessary to provide further assistance to the group during the first and second cutting and preservation techniques so that the rainforest remains of good qualityi Group 733 Manah Cika Guna Bhakti, Baru Village Tabanan Bali Indonesi

Effect of local medicinal herbs as feed additives on production performance and faecal parameters in laying hens

Medicinal herbs are gaining importance in both human and animal nutrition due to their bioactive components that possess a wide range of beneficial effects on body health enhancement. To concord with the banning of antibiotic growth promoters in animal nutrition, research was carried out to utilize phytogenic feed additives in poultry nutrition as the alternative to improve their overall performance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of the three selected herbs at the level of 1% on production performance and faecal parameters in laying hens. In this study, a total of 96 Bovans Brown layers of 32 wk old were subjected to four dietary treatments in the form of CRD, namely (T1) control, (T2) basal diet + 1% of turmeric rhizome powder, (T3) basal diet + 1% of Vietnamese coriander leaf powder, and (T4) basal diet + 1% of Dayak onion powder. The layers were given 7-d adaption period before the feeding trial started which lasted for 12 wk. The results showed that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the means of overall feed intake, egg mass, feed conversion efficiency as well as body weight gain among the treatment groups. The hen-day egg production and egg weight of birds in treatments T2 and T4 showed significant differences (P<0.05) compared to control group. Besides, the birds in the treatment groups supplemented with medicinal herbs (T2, T3 and T4) also showed significant reduction in faecal pH and faecal Entero bacteriaceae counts (P<0.05) compared to the control, while significantly improved (p<0.05) the faecal lactic acid bacteria counts as compared to those in the control group. Thus, the present study suggests that dietary supplementation of 1% of turmeric rhizome powder, Vietnamese coriander leaf powder and Dayak onion powder in layer diet can achieve better performance in terms of hen-day egg production and egg weight associated with favourable intestinal environment without any adverse effect

Clinical management of dietary induced urolithiasis associated with balanoposthitis in a Boer goat

A Boer-Kajang cross male goat was presented to the Veterinary Hospital, University Malaysia Kelantan with a history of dysuria, hematuria and restlessness. The goat was intensively managed (confined to the pen) and fed with only palm kernel cake for the last three months. Physical examination revealed that the goat was dull, depressed, having an inflamed penis and prepuce with blood stained urine dripping from the penis. The differential diagnoses were obstructive urolithiasis, urinary tract infection and balanoposthitis. Based on the history, clinical signs, physical examination, urinalysis, ultrasonagraphy and feed analysis, the goat was diagnosed with obstructive urolithiasis and balanoposthitis. Treatment was instituted by amputation of the urethral process and retrograde urohydropulsion to relieve the blockade. Sulfadiazine-trimethoprim (Norodine®24) 15mg/kg, I.M; flunixin meglumine 2.2mg/kg, I.M; vitamin B complex 1ml/10kg, I.M and ammonium chloride 300mg/kg orally were administered. The goat responded well to treatment and was recovering well during a follow up visit

The effect of lactation number and lactation stage on the lactation of crossbred Sahiwal Friesian cows in selected dairy cattle farm of Sabah

Lactation is defined as the process of the production of milk. This process normally occurs in all mammalian species (Boniface et al., 2007). Milk is the nutritious food product made by the lactating animals and it is rich in carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals (Blowey and Edmondson, 2000; Sinha, 2000). Milk is synthesized by the secretory cells in the mammary glands of the mammalian species. For the first four days post calving, the milk that was produced by milking cow is known as colostrum and it is used to feed the newborn calves. Milk production rises until peak production for about 35-50 days after calving and the most ideal lactation period is 305 days or about 10 months. Milk production per lactation will increase until the fourth lactation or when the cows are at the age of six years old, this is when the cows were calved at the age of two. When the cows reach the age of eight years old, the milk production will decrease. Some of the studies suggested that the highest milk production is when the cows are at the age of seven (Boniface et al., 2007). A report by Epaphras et al. (2004) stated that most milk producers understand that the milk production fluctuates up and down from one lactation to the next

Comparison of Cow’s Breed on the Morphology of Ovaries Collected from Abattoir

In vitro production (IVP) of embryos is one of the popular animal reproductive biotechnologies to enhance the genetic improvement of livestock. However, insufficiency of good quality oocytes has become one of the major constraints in producing embryos from IVP. Thus, a preliminary evaluation of ovaries could provide information for further experiment regarding IVP of cattle embryos. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the morphology of ovaries from different breed of cattle, including surface follicles and follicular health status. Thirty two (32) ovaries from Kedah-Kelantan breed and 32 ovaries from crossbred cows were collected from an abattoir in Taiping, Perak. Follicles visible on the surface of each ovary were counted and the weight, length and width of the ovaries were measured. The ovaries were then fixed and processed for microscopic evaluation, where the number of healthy and atretic follicles were counted. The mean ovarian weight, length, width and number of surface visible ovarian follicles of crossbred cows were found significantly higher (7.81 ± 0.61 g, 3.30 ± 0.09 cm, 2.31 ± 0.07 cm and 29.66 ± 2.32, respectively) compared to KedahKelantan cows (3.22 ± 0.33 g, 2.60 ± 0.08 cm, 1.80 ± 0.07 cm and 20.97 ± 2.04, respectively). The mean percentage of healthy follicles in the ovaries of Kedah-Kelantan and crossbred did not differ significantly (41.12 ± 5.24 and 48.61 ± 10.15, respectively). In conclusion, breed of cows had statistically significant influence on the surface follicles, but not significant in follicular health status. Further studies of breed factor on oocytes are required for successful IVP of cattle embryos

Hepatic cytometry in postmortem interval estimation in dogs

Estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) is a prerequisite in forensic invesitgations of death in all species of interest to courts. Age-old methods of relying on gross postmortem changes including algor mortis, livor mortis, putrefaction and lividity are been replaced by rapid high end techniques such as gene expression changes, proteomics, electrical impulse alterations, histopathological and biochemical changes. Generally cell death – autolysis or necrosis begins as soon as nutrition and oxygen supply to cells are cut short. On this basis that techniques such as flow cytometry have the potential of becoming a handy tool in assessing the viability of cells and tissues at postmortem while correlating same with postmortem interval. This preliminary study aimed at correlating hepatic tissue necrosis with postmortem interval in dogs, sampled the hepatic tissue of three (n=3) bitches at 6 h intrevals to assess the rate of necrosis over an 18 h period. Propidium iodide stain was used to filter dead from living cells on flow cyometry. Results were analyzed by descriptive statistics in percentages and coefficents and summarily showed a strongly linear correlation (R2=0.98) between postmortem hepatic tissue autolysis and postmortem interval in dogs. Rate of hepatic tissue autolysis measured by flow cytometry is a good indicator of postmortem interval in dogs

Genetic and antigenic analyses of a Puumala virus isolate as a potential vaccine strain

Puumala virus (PUUV), a causative agent of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), is prevalent in Europe and European Russia. No vaccine has been developed for PUUVassociated HFRS, primarily because of the low viral yield in cultured cells. A PUUV strain known as DTK/Ufa-97 was isolated in Russia and adapted for growth in Vero E6 cells maintained in serum-free medium. The DTK/Ufa-97 strain produced a higher viral titer in serumfree medium, suggesting that it may prove useful in the development of an HFRS vaccine.When PUUV-infected Vero E6 cells were grown in serum-free medium, the DTK/Ufa-97 strain yielded more copies of intracellular viral RNA and a higher viral titer in the culture fluid than did the Sotkamo strain. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that PUUVs can be classified into multiple lineages according to geographical origin, and that the DTK/Ufa-97 strain is a member of the Bashkiria-Saratov lineage. The deduced amino acid sequences of the small, medium, and large segments of the DTK/Ufa-97 strain were 99.2% to 100%, 99.3% to 99.8%, and 99.8% identical, respectively, to those of the Bashkirian PUUV strains and 96.9%, 92.6%, and 97.4% identical, respectively, to those of the Sotkamo strain, indicating that the PUUVs are genetically diverse. However, DTK/Ufa-97 and other strains of PUUV exhibited similar patterns of binding to a panel of monoclonal antibodies against Hantaan virus. In addition, diluted antisera (i.e., ranging from 1:160 to 1:640) specific to three strains of PUUV neutralized both homologous and heterologous viruses. These results suggest that the DTK/Ufa-97 strain is capable of extensive growth and is antigenically similar to genetically distant strains of PUUV