The efficacy of antibiotics to prevent respiratory diseases in swine: A protocol for a systematic review

The treatment and prevention of infectious diseases in pigs is an important aspect of swine production worldwide. The prudent use of antimicrobials and other therapeutic drugs is a primary responsibility of swine producers and veterinarians and decisions surrounding the use of drug therapy include considerations such as cost, efficacy, and food safety. The World Health Organization has published numerous reports urging all stakeholders concerned with both food-producing animals and humans to establish recommended steps to enhance the prudent use of antimicrobials (WHO, 2015). Similarly, the Organization for Animal Health has also published recommendations and position statements regarding prudent use and risk management related to antimicrobial use in animals (OIE, 2017)

Rapid Communication: A comparison of cardiac lesions and heart weights from market pigs that did and did not die during transport to one Ontario abattoir

In-transit losses of market hogs represent a small proportion of all market-weight pigs shipped in a year. This suggests that individual pig factors may be a significant cause of in-transit losses along with more traditionally considered environmental and transport factors. An investigation was performed to determine whether cardiac pathology and heart weights were associated with pigs that did or did not die during transport to an abattoir. The hearts from 70 pigs that died in-transit to one Ontario abattoir and 388 pigs that arrived alive were collected and examined. Hearts from pigs that died during transport demonstrated greater frequencies of cardiac lesions (P \u3c 0.05). These included hypertrophy of ventricle walls (Left: 97% vs. 64%; Right: 86% vs. 57%), dilation of ventricle chambers (Left: 79% vs. 0.5%; Right: 100% vs. 5%), and dilation of the pulmonary artery and aorta (59% vs. 1.5%). Total heart weight to body weight ratios were increased (3.6 vs. 3.3 g/kg) and left ventricle plus septum weight over right ventricle weight ratio was decreased in pigs that died during transport over non–in-transit loss pigs (2.5 vs. 2.8; P \u3c 0.05). This may indicate reduced cardiac function in hogs that died during transport. Pigs with reduced cardiac function would have exercise intolerance and be more susceptible to death during transport due to the increased cardiac workload required during sorting, loading, and transport of the pigs to the abattoir. Further research to quantify cardiac function in pigs with cardiac lesions or abnormal heart weight ratios is warranted

Efficacy of bacterial vaccines to prevent respiratory disease in swine: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

A systematic review and network meta-analysis (MA) was conducted to address the question, ‘What is the efficacy of bacterial vaccines to prevent respiratory disease in swine?’ Four electronic databases and the grey literature were searched to identify clinical trials in healthy swine where at least one intervention arm was a commercially available vaccine for one or more bacterial pathogens associated with respiratory disease in swine, including Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia, Actinobacillus suis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Pasteurella multocida, Stretococcus suis, Haemophils parasuis, and Mycoplasma hyorhinis. To be eligible, trials had to measure at least one of the following outcomes: incidence of clinical morbidity, mortality, lung lesions, or total antibiotic use. There were 179 eligible trials identified in 146 publications. Network MA was undertaken for morbidity, mortality, and the presence or absence of non-specific lung lesions. However, there was not a sufficient body of research evaluating the same interventions and outcomes to allow a meaningful synthesis of the comparative efficacy of the vaccines. To build this body of research, additional rigor in trial design and analysis, and detailed reporting of trial methods and results are warranted

Genome-wide association meta-analysis of corneal curvature identifies novel loci and shared genetic influences across axial length and refractive error

Abstract: Corneal curvature, a highly heritable trait, is a key clinical endophenotype for myopia - a major cause of visual impairment and blindness in the world. Here we present a trans-ethnic meta-analysis of corneal curvature GWAS in 44,042 individuals of Caucasian and Asian with replication in 88,218 UK Biobank data. We identified 47 loci (of which 26 are novel), with population-specific signals as well as shared signals across ethnicities. Some identified variants showed precise scaling in corneal curvature and eye elongation (i.e. axial length) to maintain eyes in emmetropia (i.e. HDAC11/FBLN2 rs2630445, RBP3 rs11204213); others exhibited association with myopia with little pleiotropic effects on eye elongation. Implicated genes are involved in extracellular matrix organization, developmental process for body and eye, connective tissue cartilage and glycosylation protein activities. Our study provides insights into population-specific novel genes for corneal curvature, and their pleiotropic effect in regulating eye size or conferring susceptibility to myopia

Investigating the distribution of calls to a North American animal poison control call center by veterinarians and the public in space, time, and space-time

Health assessments via phone call or tele-triage have become very popular. Tele-triage in the veterinary field and North American context is available since the early 2000s. However, there is little knowledge of how caller type influences the distribution of calls. The objectives of this study were to examine the distribution of calls to the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) by caller type in space, time, and space-time. Data regarding caller location were obtained from the APCC by American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The data were analysed using the spatial scan statistic to identify clusters of higher-than-expected proportion of veterinarian or public calls in space, time, and space-time. Statistically significant spatial clusters of increased call frequencies by veterinarians were identified in some western, midwestern, and southwestern states for each year of the study period. Furthermore, annual clusters of increased call frequencies by the general public were identified from some northeastern states. Based on yearly scans, we identified statistically significant temporal clusters of higher-than-expected public calls during Christmas/winter holidays. During space-time scans of the entire study period, we identified a statistically significant cluster of higher-than-expected proportion of veterinarian calls at the beginning of the study period in the western, central, and southeastern states followed by a significant cluster of excess public calls near the end of the study period on the northeast. Our results suggest that user patterns of the APCC vary by region and both season and calendar time

The efficacy of antibiotics to prevent respiratory diseases in swine: A protocol for a systematic review

The treatment and prevention of infectious diseases in pigs is an important aspect of swine production worldwide. The prudent use of antimicrobials and other therapeutic drugs is a primary responsibility of swine producers and veterinarians and decisions surrounding the use of drug therapy include considerations such as cost, efficacy, and food safety. The World Health Organization has published numerous reports urging all stakeholders concerned with both food-producing animals and humans to establish recommended steps to enhance the prudent use of antimicrobials (WHO, 2015). Similarly, the Organization for Animal Health has also published recommendations and position statements regarding prudent use and risk management related to antimicrobial use in animals (OIE, 2017).</p

Can North American animal poison control center call data provide early warning of outbreaks associated with contaminated pet food? Using the 2007 melamine pet food contamination incident as a case study

The 2007 melamine pet food contamination incident highlighted the need for enhanced reporting of toxicological exposures and development of a national quantitative disease surveillance system for companion animals. Data from poison control centers, such as the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), may be useful for conducting real-time surveillance in this population. In this study, we explored the suitability of APCC call data for early warning of toxicological incidents in companion animal populations by using a-priori knowledge of the melamine-related nephrotoxicosis outbreak. Patient and household-level information regarding possible toxicological exposures in dogs and cats reported to the APCC from 2005 to 2007, inclusive, were extracted from the APCC’s AnTox database. These data were used to examine the impact of surveillance outcome, statistical methodology, analysis level, and call source on the ability to detect the outbreak prior to the voluntary recall issued by the pet food manufacturer. Retrospective Poisson temporal scan tests were applied for each combination of outcome, method, level, and call source. The results showed that month-adjusted scans using syndromic data may have been able to help detect the outbreak up to two months prior to the voluntary recall although the success of these methods varied across call sources. We also demonstrated covariate month-adjustment can lead to vastly different results based on the surveillance outcome and call source to which it is applied. This illustrates care should be taken prior to arbitrarily selecting a surveillance outcome and statistical model for surveillance efforts and warns against ignoring the impacts of call source or key covariates when applying quantitative surveillance methods to APCC call data since these factors can lead to very different results. This study provides further evidence that APCC call data may be useful for conducting surveillance in the US companion animal population and further exploratory analyses and validation studies are warranted

Comparison of Single, Fixed-Time Artificial Insemination in Gilts Using Two Different Protocols to Synchronize Ovulation

In order to efficiently have a consistent supply of service-ready gilts available to incorporate into each batch of breeding sows, it is necessary to manipulate the timing of estrus and possibly the timing of ovulation of gilts. Estrus can be synchronized by the withdrawal of altrenogest after at least 14 days of treatment. It is possible that protocols developed to induce ovulation, and therefore allow fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI), can improve the predictability of gilt breeding. This study investigated the effect of two FTAI protocols in gilts on reproductive performance and timing of farrowing and piglet weaning weight compared to gilts bred based on signs of estrus after cessation of altrenogest. Puberty was induced in gilts, followed by treatment with altrenogest. Following altrenogest withdrawal, 180 gilts were assigned to one of three treatment groups. Group 1 gilts (LUT, n = 62) were treated with 600 IU equine chorionic gonadotropin 24 h after altrenogest withdrawal and 5 mg porcine luteinizing hormone (pLH) 80 h later, followed by a single FTAI 36 h after pLH. Group 2 gilts (TRI, n= 61) received 2 mL of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, triptorelin acetate, intravaginally 6 d after altrenogest withdrawal and were bred by a single FTAI 24 h later. Group 3 gilts (CON, n = 57) were observed for estrus and bred twice by AI, 24 h apart. LUT and TRI gilts farrowed closer together (2.4 &plusmn; 1.6 and 2.9 &plusmn; 1.2 d(days), respectively) compared to CON gilts (4.5 &plusmn; 3.3 d). Piglets in LUT were 80 g (p &lt; 0.001) heavier and piglets in TRI were 64 g (p &lt; 0.05) heavier at weaning than CON piglets, when controlling for birth weight. Results indicate that FTAI might be useful as a means of minimizing the time from the first to the last gilt farrowing in a breeding batch of gilts. However, modifications of the protocols may be required to ensure optimum farrowing rates and litter size

Assessing Pain Control Efficacy of Meloxicam and Ketoprofen When Compounded with Iron Dextran in Nursing Piglets Using A Navigation Chute

The efficacy of analgesics such as meloxicam and ketoprofen to control pain in piglets when mixed with iron dextran (ID) before injection is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare perceived pain in castrated piglets treated 1 h before castration with either of these drugs alone, or when mixed with ID, by observing the time it takes for piglets to navigate a chute. Piglets were divided into seven treatment groups (n = 25 piglets per treatment group) including castration with analgesia (meloxicam or ketoprofen), castration with analgesic plus ID, castration without analgesic or ID, sham handled and given ID, and sham handled alone. Piglets were placed in a short chute and their time to navigate the chute was recorded at four timepoints following castration. Piglets given meloxicam or ketoprofen, with or without ID did not differ from each other in their chute navigation times. Additionally, these piglets did not differ from treatment groups that were not castrated. Piglets castrated without analgesia had significantly longer navigation times. These results indicate that meloxicam or ketoprofen, whether mixed with ID prior to injection or not, provide similar analgesic efficacy