Study on prevalence, clinical presentation, and associated bacterial pathogens of goat mastitis in Bauchi, Plateau, and Edo states, Nigeria

Research (Published online: 07-05-2019)

3. Study on prevalence, clinical presentation, and associated bacterial pathogens of goat mastitis in Bauchi, Plateau, and Edo states, Nigeria

Faruq Ahmad Danmallam and Nikolai Vasilyevich Pimenov

Veterinary World, 12(5): 638-645

ABSTRACT

Aim: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and clinical presentations of different forms of mastitis and mastitis-causing pathogens in lactating goats in Bauchi, Plateau, and Edo states, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: A total of 500 quarters from 250 lactating goats of Red Sokoto and West African Dwarf breeds during the lactation period were clinically examined. Clinical mastitis was detected by gross signs of udder infection during physical examination and abnormal milk, whereas subclinical mastitis (SCM) was recognized using California mastitis test. The bacterial pathogens were identified by morphology, hemolysis, gram staining, and biochemical tests such as catalase, oxidase, coagulase, reaction on sulfite, indole, and motile medium, and fermentation of sugars.

Results: The overall prevalence of mastitis in goats was found to be 101 (40.4%), of which 8% (20/250) were clinical, and 32.4% (81/250) were SCM cases. The quarter level prevalence was 29.4% (145/493), comprising 5.9% (29/493) clinical and 23.2% (116/493) subclinical forms of mastitis. In addition, 1.4% (7/500) of teats were found to be blind on the clinical examination of the udder and teat. Several regional inflammatory reactions and abnormalities in milk were found in 69% and 100% of the cases, respectively. Moreover, some indications of generalized signs such as fever, reduction in appetite, increase in respiration, and pulse rate per minute were recorded in 100%, 75%, 85% and 80% of the cases, respectively. The predominant bacterial isolates recovered were Staphylococcus aureus (20.0%), followed by Escherichia coli (15.5%) and Streptococcus agalactiae (11.0%), and the least isolated microorganisms (≤6%) were bacteria of different species including Staphylococcus auricularis, Staphylococcus caprae, Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus hyicus, Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus lentus, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus pluranimalium, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus ruminatorum, Streptococcus suis, Micrococcus luteus, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Morganella morganii, Salmonella Typhimurium, Citrobacter freundii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter rudis, Acinetobacter haemolyticus, and Bacillus cereus.

Conclusion: Mastitis continues to be recognized as one of the important health issues and leads to major economic losses to the dairy goats caused by many bacterial pathogens, and the effective measures need to be taken to control the disease.

Keywords: bacteria, goats, mastitis, Nigeria, physical feature, prevalence.

Screening commercial teat disinfectants against bacteria isolated from bovine milk using disk diffusion

Research (Published online: 06-05-2019)

2. Screening commercial teat disinfectants against bacteria isolated from bovine milk using disk diffusion

Sarah Rose Fitzpatrick, Mary Garvey, Kieran Jordan, Jim Flynn, Bernadette O'Brien and David Gleeson

Veterinary World, 12(5): 629-637

ABSTRACT

Background and Aim: Teat disinfection is an important tool in reducing the incidence of bovine mastitis. Identifying the potential mastitis-causing bacterial species in milk can be the first step in choosing the correct teat disinfectant product. The objective of this study was to screen commercial teat disinfectants for inhibition against mastitis-associated bacteria isolated from various types of milk samples.

Materials and Methods: Twelve commercially available teat disinfectant products were tested, against 12 mastitis-associated bacteria strains isolated from bulk tank milk samples and bacterial strains isolated from clinical (n=2) and subclinical (n=3) quarter foremilk samples using the disk diffusion method.

Results: There was a significant variation (7-30 mm) in bacterial inhibition between teat disinfection products, with products containing a lactic acid combination (with chlorhexidine or salicylic acid) resulting in the greatest levels of bacterial inhibition against all tested bacteria (p<0.05).

Conclusion: In this study, combined ingredients in teat disinfection products had greater levels of bacterial inhibition than when the ingredients were used individually. The disk diffusion assay is a suitable screening method to effectively differentiate the bacterial inhibition of different teat disinfectant products.

Keywords: bacteria, disk diffusion, mastitis, teat disinfectant.

Electrophoretic profile of seminal proteins and their correlation with in vitro sperm characters in Black Bengal buck semen

Research (Published online: 03-05-2019)

1. Electrophoretic profile of seminal proteins and their correlation with in vitro sperm characters in Black Bengal buck semen

M. Karunakaran, Vivek C. Gajare, Ajoy Mandal, Mohan Mondal, S. K. Das, M. K. Ghosh, S. Rai and R. Behera

Veterinary World, 12(5): 621-628

ABSTRACT

Aim: This study aimed to study the electrophoretic properties of seminal plasma and sperm proteins of Black Bengal buck semen and their correlation with in vitro sperm characters and freezability.

Materials and Methods: Semen ejaculates from nine Black Bengal bucks were collected by artificial vagina (n=20/buck). Ejaculates were evaluated for in vitro sperm characters and electrophoretic profile of seminal protein. In vitro sperm characters were evaluated immediately after collection, after completion of equilibration period, and after freeze-thawing. For seminal protein studies, seminal plasma proteins were precipitated by ice-cold ethanol method, and sperm proteins were extracted by Triton X detergent extraction method. Discontinuous sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was performed to assess the molecular weight of seminal proteins. Correlation between in vitro sperm characters and protein bands was determined by Pearson's correlation coefficient, and two-way ANOVA was applied to find the individual buck differences.

Results: Significant difference (p<0.01) among the bucks was noticed in the in vitro sperm characters evaluated at all the three stages of semen evaluation such as immediately after collection, after completion of equilibration period, and post-freeze thawing. Progressive loss of sperm motility, membrane integrity, and other in vitro sperm characters were noticed during cryopreservation. A total of ten protein bands in the molecular weight ranging from 17 to 180 kDa were found in the SDS-PAGE of seminal plasma proteins, while nine bands of 17-134 kDa were observed in sperm proteins. Seminal plasma proteins of molecular weight 75, 62-49, 20, and 17 kDa and sperm proteins of 75, 20, and 17 kDa were present in all the nine bucks (100%) screened, and variation among the bucks was noticed for the presence of other proteins. Seminal plasma protein of 180-134 kDa showed a negative correlation with individual motility (−0.716) and functional membrane integrity of sperm cells (−0.724) in post-freeze-thaw analysis and 48 kDa protein had a positive correlation with individual motility (0.649) and functional membrane integrity of sperm cells (0.664) in post-thaw analysis. Sperm proteins of 63 kDa had a negative correlation (−0.616) with sperm concentration in neat semen.

Conclusion: Variation among the bucks was noticed in the in vitro sperm characters and semen freezability. Correlation between seminal proteins and in vitro sperm characters and semen freezability had been found which might be useful as a tool to select breeding bucks.

Keywords: buck, in vitro characters, semen, seminal proteins.

Combinations of herbs and probiotics as an alternative growth promoter: An in vitro study

Research (Published online: 30-04-2019)

20. Combinations of herbs and probiotics as an alternative growth promoter: An in vitro study

Vinsa Cantya Prakasita, Widya Asmara, Sitarina Widyarini and Agnesia Endang Tri Hastuti Wahyuni

Veterinary World, 12(4): 614-620

ABSTRACT

Background and Aim: Antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) are added to animal feed to stimulate growth and increase livestock productivity. However, the regular use of antibiotics in animal diets has a considerable contribution to the occurrence of antibiotic resistance in livestock and humans. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of red ginger (Zingiber officinale var. Rubrum), turmeric (Curcuma domestica), and wild ginger (Curcuma xanthorrhiza), Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus brevis as an alternative to AGPs.

Materials and Methods: The antibacterial activities and probiotic stimulatory effects of herbs were screened through the disc diffusion method and optical densitometry. The inhibitory ability of probiotics against pathogens was also tested through the disc diffusion method. The adhesion ability of probiotics was tested by mixing the optimal herbal combinations with broiler intestinal epithelial cells (105 cells/ml). The cells were then subjected to Gram staining, and the number of adherent bacteria was calculated.

Results: The test results showed that 3.13% ethanolic wild ginger extract had the highest inhibitory activity against Salmonella Enteritidis, followed by ethanolic red ginger extract and aqueous wild ginger extract at the same concentration. The three extracts also supported the growth of L. acidophilus and L. brevis. Further tests showed that the combination of 3.13% ethanolic red ginger extract had the highest inhibitory activity against S. Enteritidis, followed by ethanolic and aqueous wild ginger extract at the same concentration. The three extracts also supported the growth of L. acidophilus and L. brevis. Further tests showed that the combination of 3.13% ethanolic red ginger extract and 3.13% aqueous wild ginger extract had the best inhibitory effect on the growth of S. Enteritidis. The stimulatory effect of the combinations of herbal extract on the growth of L. acidophilus (0.18±0.00) and L. brevis (0.21±0.01) was better than those of individual extract, positive controls, and the glucose control. L. acidophilus and L. brevis had a weak inhibitory effect on the growth of S. Enteritidis (<6 mm). The adhesion ability of L. acidophilus (420.00±28.21) and L. brevis (259.33±24.03) was stronger than that of S. Enteritidis (202.00±14.00) under treatment with combined extracts.

Conclusion: The tested combinations of herbs and probiotics can adhere to the intestinal tract. Given this characteristic, herb and probiotic combinations may be developed as an alternative to conventional AGPs.

Keywords: antibiotic growth promoter, feed additive, herbs, probiotic.

Carriage of Class 1 integrons and molecular characterization of intI1 gene in multidrug-resistant Salmonella spp. isolates from broilers

Research (Published online: 25-04-2019)

19. Carriage of Class 1 integrons and molecular characterization of intI1 gene in multidrug-resistant Salmonella spp. isolates from broilers

Renu Gupta, Sneh Lata Chauhan, Sunil Kumar, Naresh Jindal, N. K. Mahajan and V. G. Joshi

Veterinary World, 12(4): 609-613

ABSTRACT

Aim: The present study was conducted with the following aims: (i) To screen the Salmonella spp. isolates recovered from suspected cases of fowl typhoid for carriage of Class 1 integrons and analyze their association with antimicrobial resistance and (ii) to carry out molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Class 1 integron-integrase (intI1) gene.

Materials and Methods: A total of 43 Salmonella isolates were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to determine the presence of Class1 intI1. Differences between different serotypes in relation to their carriage of integrons and the differences between strains containing or not containing an integron and being resistant to different antimicrobials were analyzed by Fisher exact test using STATA™ (StataCorp, College Station, TX). Phylogenetic analysis was carried out using MEGA6 software.

Results: Out of 43 isolates, 40 (93.02%) were found positive for Class 1 integrons. 35/40 (87.5%) intI1-positive isolates were multidrug resistance (MDR) (resistant to ≥4 antibiotics), which support the hypothesis of an association between the presence of Class 1 integrons and emerging MDR in Salmonella. There was no significant difference among isolates resistant to different antimicrobials in Class 1 integron carrying isolates and the Class 1 integron negative isolates (p<0.05). Further, there was no significant difference among different serotypes in respect of their carriage of Class 1 integrons.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the high prevalence of Class 1 integrons indicates a high potential of Salmonella isolates for horizontal transmission of antimicrobial genes, especially among Gram-negative organisms.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, Class 1 integrons, phylogenetic analysis, Salmonella.

Molecular detection and phylogenetic tree of infectious laryngotracheitis virus in layers in Al-Diwaniyah province, Iraq

Research (Published online: 25-04-2019)

18. Molecular detection and phylogenetic tree of infectious laryngotracheitis virus in layers in Al-Diwaniyah province, Iraq

Furkan Alaraji, Hasan Hammadi, Alaa Abdulaziz Abed and Yahia Ismail Khudhair

Veterinary World, 12(4): 605-608

ABSTRACT

Background and Aim: Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) of chickens is a substantial issue to be studied in Iraq because this disease is one of the most highly contagious respiratory diseases in the world caused by a herpesvirus. However, in Iraq, the ILT virus (ILTV) infection and disease have yet not been confirmed in layers, so farm owners do not vaccinate these layers. The current study aimed to document the detection and characterization of ILTV in layer hens from Al-Diwaniyah city, for the first time in Iraq, using molecular techniques like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing.

Materials and Methods: Four layer farms (15,000 unvaccinated layers/farm) in Al-Diwaniyah province, Iraq, suffered a severe ILT outbreak, was diagnosed and reported by clinical and PCR tests. This disease has been reported in Iraq, and more recently, it began to show outbreaks in Al-Diwaniyah city. The current work opted to investigate the ILTV using PCR and DNA sequencing techniques. The study targeted the p32 gene of ILTV using pooled tracheal swabs and organs including the trachea, lung, and kidneys which were collected from dead and clinically infected chickens.

Results: The analyses revealed that four of six suspected field samples showed positive results by PCR. The DNA sequencing results showed the homology of the amplified fragments with the studied gene.

Conclusion: This study confirmed the presence of ILTV in hens with respiratory signs during the outbreak.

Keywords: DNA sequencing, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, laryngotracheitis, laying hens.

Changes of total protein and protein fractions in broiler chickens during the fattening period

Research (Published online: 23-04-2019)

17. Changes of total protein and protein fractions in broiler chickens during the fattening period

Csilla Tothova, Edina Sesztakova, Bohumil Bielik and Oskar Nagy

Veterinary World, 12(4): 598-604

ABSTRACT

Background and Aim: Blood proteins in birds serve as an important indicator in the evaluation of health status and represent a basis in general biochemistry allowing the identification of metabolic alterations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the protein profile in broiler chickens extended by the concentrations of serum protein fractions at different periods of fattening.

Materials and Methods: Into the evaluation, we included 24 clinically healthy Ross 308 line meat-type chickens at the age of 2 days. Blood samples were taken on day 4, 18, 32, and 46 of fattening always from six randomly selected chickens. Chickens were fed with a commercial starter, grower, and finisher feeds. The concentrations of total serum protein and protein fractions were evaluated.

Results: Various significant changes in the proportion of the individual protein fractions were found during the observed period except for the beta-globulins in all protein fractions and the albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio. At the beginning of the fattening period, the relative concentrations of albumin, α1-globulins, and A/G ratio were significantly lower and the values of α2- and γ-globulins significantly higher (p<0.05). The values of pre-albumin fraction were found as a small band preceding the albumin fraction differed significantly between the different age groups of chickens (p<0.05). The total serum protein concentrations showed higher values in older broilers; the significantly highest mean value was recorded on day 32 of fattening.

Conclusion: The results suggest that fattening and age of broilers influences not only the production patterns, metabolic processes, and lipid and mineral profile but also the parameters of protein profile. However, seeing that some contradictory data exist regarding the number and size of globulin fractions in chickens, further analyses are needed.

Keywords: broilers, electrophoresis, fattening, protein fractions, serum.