Experts: Molecular technology to drive animal health

HEALTH / DISEASES860
Molecular technology will play a vital role in safeguarding the health and productivity of food animals in the future. That was the message from expert speakers at a meeting earlier this week in Brussels, Belgium, entitled Advances in Diagnostics.

“Technology is taking over,” said Dr Willie Loeffen, president of the European Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (EAVLD). “Laboratory diagnosis used to be 99% labour and 1% technology, nowadays the emphasis is the other way around. Technology is now an integral and indispensable part of veterinary laboratories.”

Dr Loeffen used the investigation of PRRSV infection in pigs and the more recent appearance of Schmallenberg virus in Europe to highlight how modern molecular techniques could help to characterise new disease threats rapidly.

“It took four years of laborious work for us to characterise the cause of PRRS, but thanks to sequencing technology Schmallenberg virus took just a few months.

“Technological developments mean that diagnosticians now do things that they could only dream about 10 or 20 years ago.”

As well as providing a means of identifying new disease threats quickly, the meeting highlighted the increasing role of diagnostic tools as an integral part of maintaining animal health.

Animal health
“The application of molecular technology means that we can now understand diseases and animal health at a more fundamental level than ever before – at the gene level – and that will have a major impact on the way we approach animal health in the near future,” says Dr Kirk Adams, Director of Product Management at Life Technologies, the meeting sponsor.

“Veterinarians now have access to a wider range of diagnostic tests than ever before; and they are faster, more accurate and more precise than ever before. These advances have the potential to revolutionise the way in which we manage the health and welfare of food animals.”

According to Adams, the advances in technology mean that diagnostic tools can be used to take a more pro-active and holistic approach to animal health.

“Diagnostic tests are no longer confined to finding out what killed an animal. We now have the means to take a more targeted approach to treatment, and reduce the use of broad-spectrum drugs. In the future we will even be able to use gene sequencing to determine the sensitivity of individual animals to specific treatments.

“Molecular tests, such as PCR, also facilitate disease eradication programmes, more strategic use of vaccination, more effective biosecurity measures and the management of diseases for which there is no effective treatment, such as Johne’s disease, by allowing the identification of asymptomatic, persistently infected animals.

“There are many ways in which this technology can and will be applied to improve the health and productivity of food animals.”
One of the key areas discussed at the meeting was the use of new diagnostic tools to safeguard Europe’s farm animals against the threat of new, emerging diseases.

“One of the biggest threats to animal health is the development of new types of pathogen or new diseases spreading from other regions. Schmallenberg virus is just one of the most recent examples.

“Molecular technology gives us the ability to characterise these threats quickly and accurately and to develop diagnostic tools that allow us to track the threat and assess our management,” concluded Adams.

The meeting also touched on a new and more sensitive ELISA test for bluetongue virus (BTV) antibodies.

Related website:
Life Technologies

Foot-and-Mouth Disease found in China

 

  

In the north eastern part of China in Liaoning Province, Foot-and-Mouth-Disease (FMD) was found to be present.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 43 pigs displayed FMD symptoms on 19 November. On Saturday (24 Nov.) it was confirmed to be FMD.

Measures carried out
The affected area has been quarantined and sterilising measures were carried out in order to stop the spread of FMD.

Source: China Daily

Researchers sequence swine genome

 

  

An international scientific collaboration that includes two Kansas State University researchers is bringing home the bacon when it comes to potential animal and human health advancements, thanks to successfully mapping the genome of the domestic pig.

The sequenced genome gives researchers a genetic blueprint of the pig. It includes a complete list of DNA and genes that give pigs their traits like height and color. Once all of the genetic information is understood, scientists anticipate improvements to the animal's health as well as human health, as pigs and humans share similar physiologies.

"With the sequenced genome we have a better blueprint than we had before about the pig's genetics and how those genetic mechanisms work together to create, such as the unique merits in disease resistance," said Yongming Sang, research assistant professor of anatomy and physiology at Kansas State University.

For three years, Sang worked on the genome sequencing project with Frank Blecha, associate dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine and university distinguished professor of anatomy and physiology.

A report of the international study appears as the cover story for the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Nature.

The sequencing effort was led by the Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium. Researchers with the consortium invited Sang and Blecha to work on the project because of their expertise and published studies on the antimicrobial peptides and interferons that pigs use to genetically defend themselves against disease.

Sang and Blecha focused on these two families of immune genes, looking for gene duplications and gene-family expansions throughout the pig's 21,640 protein-coding genes, in an effort to help scientists with future pig-related research.

Sang also completed much of the genome annotation for Kansas State University's contributions. Genome annotation involves identifying, categorizing and recording the potential functions of thousands of individual genes and gene cluster locations in the pig genome.

Analysis revealed that the olfactory and cathelicidin gene families in pigs are more evolutionarily evolved than those in humans and many other animals. Pigs have a better sense of smell, which makes them experts at finding truffles, for example. Pigs also have twice as many interferon genes as humans, possibly indicating some unique immune mechanisms against viral infection, Sang said.

Researchers also discovered several health similarities between humans and pigs. Pigs share some of the same protein abnormalities as humans with obesity, diabetes, dyslexia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Similarly, researchers found that pigs have fewer endogenous retroviruses than many other animals, making pigs an important ally for more complex medical procedures like organ transplants.

"The pig genome is very important, maybe even more important than we once thought," Sang said. "It is very good for biomedical research advancements and it also looks to be a good resource for comparative studies of many other diseases."

At Kansas State University the sequenced pig genome stands to benefit agricultural, food animal and veterinary medicine research.

"For many years the pig has been one of the best models for human physiology and has been used extensively because of that," Blecha said. "While this is a blueprint for the health of the pig, it is also a blueprint for the expression of genes and how to modify them for perhaps better animal models and improved health across all species. This moves agricultural and biomedical science forward for the good of everyone."

Source: Kansas State University

Russia: ASF contaminated pork found again

 

  

The presence of African Swine Fever (ASF) virus was recently discovered in a shipment of pork products, which has been sold without veterinary permits in the Leningrad region, reported the regional department of Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor).

Pig fat, boiled-smoked sausages and pork delicatessen , in total 55 kilograms, has been sold in the Kirovsk city, Leningrad region.
“Unauthorised trading has been carried out by a person who did not have the right to sell livestock products to private customers, with no veterinary documents for the products,” said the statement.

In the research conducted in the regional veterinary laboratory, it was found that the products had the genetic sequence of the ASF virus. But in order to confirm that the meat is infected, it was also necessary to conduct further research on the DNA isolation of the virus.

"During the second study of the samples taken from the shipment of boiled-smoked sausages and pork delicacy sold in Kirovsk city, the presence of the virus genome of ASF in the products was confirmed," the statement said.

The dangerous products have already been destroyed, and the trading place has been fenced and disinfected. Now the veterinary services are trying to figure out where the meat was produced, which is also necessary to prevent the further outbreaks of ASF.

This is the third case this year of ASF contaminated pork on the market. The first case was recorded at an agricultural fair in the Leningrad region in September. The second was found in pork by-products of the federal state which was delivered to a variety of regions in Russia.

by Vladislav Vorotnikov Nov 27, 2012

People: PIC takes on new veterinarian

 

  

PIC has announced the addition of Dr. Angela Baysinger as a Health Assurance Veterinarian.

Dr. Baysinger will be responsible for implementation of the health program in PIC’s genetic dissemination system and work with customers to improve the performance of PIC products.

Dr. Baysinger joins PIC from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedicia, where she served as a Senior Professional Service Veterinarian. Dr. Baysinger received her Bachelors of Science in Animal Science and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She additionally holds a Masters degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

by Pig Progress Nov 27, 2012

Avian influenza outbreak in Taiwan

 

  

An outbreak of avian influenza strain H5N2 has been reported in the Chiayi county at a farm in Puzih. Animal health officials have now imposed a ban on the movement of layer chickens at the farm.

Director of the Chiayi County government's Animal Disease Control Center, said his agency will not allow the 15,700 chickens at the farm in Puzih to be moved off the premises, but they will be kept alive.

"As it was low-pathogenic, we will not cull the chickens," he said, but the eggs laid by the chickens will have to be disinfected before they can be sold on the market.

94 poultry farms within a 3 kilometer radius of the farm are being monitored, and no abnormal cases have been reported yet.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine under the Council of Agriculture said Friday that it has filed a report of the Chiayi case with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

Bureau officials also said that a farm with 800 chickens in outlying Penghu County reported the sudden death of 150 chickens on Nov. 19 and another 50 the following day. The farm was confirmed to have been infected with H5N2 virus Thursday.

Animal health officials conducted a preventive cull and will monitor chicken farms within a 3 kilometer radius of the site for three months.

by World Poultry Nov 26, 2012

Indonesia: Novartis AH conducts seminar on mycoplasma

HEALTH / DISEASES340
Novartis Animal Health (Novartis AH) and its Indonesian distributor, Novindo Agritech Hutama (Novindo), recently in Solo, Central Java, successfully held a technical seminar on mycoplasma disease in pigs.


Pig specialist & Southeast Asia technical service of Novartis AH, Metta Makhanon, explained the importance of raising awareness of mycoplasma. One way is to use a Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccine.


But for Mycoplasma hyorhinis and Mycoplasma hyosynoviae, Makhanon said, “The vaccine is not yet available. For that farmers can use antibiotics such as amoxicillin trihydrate and tiamutin 10%.”


Product manager of Novindo, Yana Ariana said that technical seminar on pig diseases are routinely held 2-3 times a year by Novartis AH and Novindo in several locations in Indonesia. This year it has been held in Bali, Medan and Solo, the centres of pig farming in Indonesia.

Ceva new generation vaccine for AI

 

  

Ceva Santé Animale have launched Vectormune ®AI, a vaccine for poultry against Avian Influenza following license approval from the USDA in April 2012. Ceva expects to launch in several countries where Avian Influenza is endemic over the coming months.

The vaccine is suitable for layers, broilers and breeders. It has been developed using contemporary science and novel technology which has been applied to a 50 year old proven vaccine, a frozen Marek’s vaccine (HVT). The science developed has managed to by-pass Maternally Derived Antibodies which prevent day-old chicks from taking up vaccines and securing immunity to strains of AI at an early age. Moreover, the application of the vaccine within the controlled environment of a hatchery when the chick is one day old, means that chicks are protected earlier in their lives, are at significantly less risk of infection during their lives and will live, healthily and productively to provide safe proteins (eggs and meat) to consumers.

Vectormune AI’s protection has been evaluated against different strains of the AI virus (H5N1), isolated from around the world belonging to different clades (categories of strains) of this rapidly spreading and fast mutating virus. It efficacy is well proven ensuring a survival rate of between 80 and 100% of flocks within the test, no matter the provenance of the AI strain. Once vaccinated the vaccine remains in the chick.

Speaking at the launch of the product, attended by over 300 representatives of the Egyptian poultry industry and leading figures from the Animal Health Services Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Ceva CEO Marc Prikazsky said: “Avian Influenza threatens the livelihood of millions of poultry producers and deprives communities of an important source of animal protein. The disease is also zoonotic and therefore directly threatens the human population living close to affected birds. Our innovative vaccine Vectormune AI is a real scientific breakthrough and marks the first step towards potentially eradicating this disease and improving the lives and livelihoods of millions of people world-wide.”

Backyard chicken owners hurting birds

 

  

While TV celebs like Jamie Oliver and Bilie Piper are doing their best to promote this middle-class trend of keeping your own chickens, researchers have actually concluded that this is doing more harm than good.

A new study has found that backyard chicken-keepers have a lack of disease knowledge and insufficient awareness of laws needed to breed animals at home. Researchers concluded that owners consequently rarely vaccinate their animals, which could have serious implications on disease control and animal welfare.

The Royal Veterinary College study found there was a low level of awareness in and around the Greater London area of diseases that could negatively affect birds' welfare. According to its research, households have little knowledge of Marek's disease, infectious laryngotracheitis and Infectious bronchitis, which have all been diagnosed in backyard flocks.

The study also surveyed backyard spaces and while chickens were generally housed in good living conditions up to three in four did not comply with government regulations on using kitchen waste as feed. Since 2001 it has been illegal to feed such waste to farmed animals in Britain because some disease agents can survive in food products and facilitate the spread of disease.

Feeding chickens with food such as chicken meat and eggs can spread viruses such as the Newcastle Disease, which can preserve its infection for weeks. The research, published in this month's British Poultry Science journal, also found lapses in biosecurity, with humans frequently allowed to access wild birds.

Furthermore, nearly half of the flock owners would not seek veterinary help in cases of illness in their chickens. Up to four in 10 owners surveyed stated they would dispose of dead birds by burying them in their gardens.

Guidelines issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) states that they should be incinerated to prevent disease spread through groundwater and wild species. A total of 65 backyard chicken "flock-keepers" were recruited between May and July 2010 through a series of advertisements on websites, at City farms, veterinary practices and pet feed stores.

They were given questionnaires asking for keepers’ and flocks’ characteristics, housing and husbandry practices and owners’ knowledge of health problems in chickens and diseases. Welfare assessments of flocks were also undertaken. Iveta Karabozhilova, the report's co-author, said today the study highlighted an alarming lack of communication between authorities and chicken keepers.

“Even though evidence from our study shows that flock owners provide enriched living conditions to the chickens, they ought to realise that their pets are a farmed species and are subjected to regulations," she said. "They need to expand their knowledge beyond the diseases for which there has been much publicity [such as] Salmonellosis and Avian Influenza, and be aware of the fact that some diseases must be reported."

An estimated 500,000 British households now keep chickens in their backyards including celebrities Oliver, the chef, and Piper, the actress. Barry Thorp, a poultry veterinarian in Scotland, said the rise in people keeping backyard chickens increased the possibility of disease spreading. "Because they are farm livestock, they require a different approach to pet animals " he said.

"It is not necessarily that they're badly treated, but a lack of education and awareness by those who buy them certainly make them more vulnerable to disease and therefore pose a bigger threat of spreading it.”

Source: The Telegraph

Research: Pig diets to reduce costs, not performance

Research conducted at the University of Guelph has shown, under certain conditions, pork producers can reduce feeding costs without affecting performance by feeding less complex diets in the nursery barn.

As part of a multi-institutional initiative being conducted on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc aimed at improving the productivity and longevity of the sow herd, the University of Guelph looked at the long-term impact of post weaning feeding strategies.

Scientists tracked five groups of pigs fed two different diets during the nursery phase.

Dr. Kees de Lange, a professor of swine nutrition with the University of Guelph, says researchers looked at the physiology of the animals including their ability to fight disease and the role of diet in the nursery phase on growth performance right up to market weight and on carcass quality.

“The real surprise to us was that animals that performed a little bit poorer in the nursery phase, because we gave them a diet that had fewer of those expensive animals proteins that are included in starter pig diets, […] in fact performed better during the grower finisher phase,” De Lange said.

“At the end of the day there was no difference in days to market, in carcass quality of the animals that had originally shown some poorer performance in the nursery.”

Compensatory effect
De Lange said that they were in fact reducing feeding cost in the nursery phase by more than two dollars per pig. As an additional feature, the animals showed compensatory growth and tended to be more efficient in the grower finisher barn.

“The total benefit to the producer is in fact more than two dollars and getting close to three dollars per pig out the door,” he said.

De Lange says, the results were consistent in four of the groups but, in the fifth group which was hit by disease, animals fed the less complex diet did not manage as well which raises the question of how the nursery feeding programme will influence the pig’s ability to fight disease.

He says that will need to be answered before making broad recommendations on nursery feeding programmes.

Source: Farmscape

ASF outbreaks in Tver region, Russia continue

There have been a number of new outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) recently registered in the Tver region, Russia.

Over the past few weeks the outbreaks have been occurring in the wild. However, experts have said that not all outbreaks of ASF among wild boars are reported.


The specialists of the Russian Research Institute of Veterinary Virology and Microbiology, under the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences reported the detection of the genetic material of ASF virus in samples from taken the bodies of two wild boars killed by the hunters on 31 October, in Zavidovo, Tver region.

The heads of Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) stated that the depopulation of wild boars as one a priority objective in the fight against the spread of ASF. The depopulation should be carried out in all regions where virus outbreaks were reported.

The Office of Rosselkhoznadzor in Tver and Pskov regions reported that the number of wild boars in the Tver region is currently about 16,000. In 2011, there were plans to shoot 8000 boars but only 5244 were killed.

This year 9,500 pigs will be culled, with the first half of the year seeing 404 pigs killed, accounting for 4.3% of the plan, which is not enough to reduce the risk of new outbreaks of the disease in the wild. In most regions of the country where there have been ASF outbreaks reported, programs were also adopted to reduce the boar population in the region.

Pig numbers in Hungary down by 40%

 

  

Numbers of both finishers and sows in Hungary have shrunk by about 40% in ten years, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) reports.

In 2001, the reported number of finishers in Hungary was 4.8 million. A total of 2.4 million was kept in integrated farms; the other 2.4 million lived at family farms. The total number of finishers in 2011 was only 3 million – a decrease of 37%. The majority of finishers could be found on integrated farms (2.2 million), whereas only 867,000 could be found on smaller family farms.

Sow numbers have also come down sharply in the last decade. In 2001, Hungary was reported to have 343,000 sows; in 2011 this number had shrunk to 210,000 sows – a 38.8% decrease.

In the poultry sector, numbers have come down as well. Differences, however, are not as strong as in the pig industry. In 2001, 34.3 million head of chickens could be found in Hungary – ten years later this was 32.9 million.

Related website:
Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH)

Advancia explores amino acids in young animals

 

  

More than 65 participants attended this 6th Advancia International Methionine Seminar on young animal nutrition and organised prior to the XXIVth World Poultry Conference in Bahia, Brazil.

“We decided to focus our 2012 seminar on the first steps of animal growth. Our motto was: Feeding the young animals: the challenge of the nutritionist for the best start of growth!” said Dr Pierre-André Geraert, Director Innovation Marketing at Adisseo.

“Our aim with specialists from this field was to better understand the changes faced by the young animals in the early phases as well as to revisit their needs in amino acids and the efficiency of methionine”.

Dr Michel Duclos (INRA, France) and Prof Eddy Decuypere (KUL, Belgium) set the scene of this Advancia 2012 seminar by giving a deep insight into the physiology of the muscle satellite cells as key players in muscle development post-hatch and into the hormonal and physiological context from the breeder to the early days post hatch, respectively.

Prof Horacio Rostagno illustrated such physiological needs by updating participants with his latest results on the amino acid requirements of young chicks.

He further demonstrated the need to revisit the requirement to take into account the higher growth potential of present breeds as well as its consequence on muscle growth and particularly breast meat deposition.

Prof Zhenfeng Fang (SAU, China) focused on the impact of the maternal feeding on the young piglet, showing the strong influence of the amino acid nutrition of the sow on the litter growth.

The final impact of dietary amino acids on muscle amino acid composition was also clearly demonstrated by Dr Alberto Conde-Aguilera (INRA, France).

Completing previous information, he illustrated the rapid change of muscle amino acid composition with dietary amino acid modifications prior to slaughter. Such rapid effect could even be better valued on muscle properties and potentially meat quality.

Advancia, the Scientific and Technical Community launched by Adisseo in 2007 gathers worldwide scientists and nutritionists to share research progresses on amino acids showing that these nutrients and particularly sulphur amino acids are involved not only in growth performance but also in various metabolic functions: anti-oxidant potential and animal health, as well as, meat quality and its technological properties.

Bird flu ban crippling poultry industry in Indian state

 

  

The poultry industry in the India state of Karnataka is losing hundreds of thousands of euros waiting for its neighbour state Kerala to lift its poultry ban following an outbreak of bird flu.

As Karnataka’s poultry industry holds its breath, Kerala has scheduled a high-level meeting to discus the lifting of the ban. Sources believe the chance is remote as Kerala’s minister of animal husbandry KP Mohanan doesn’t want to take a risk by allowing poultry products before the end of the incubation period

Hundreds of trucks loaded with chicken and eggs were stranded at important checkposts such as Palakkad, Sulthanbatheri and Iritty after the Kerala government imposed a ban on the entry of poultry products from Karnataka due to the outbreak of avian influenza at a poultry farm situated at Hesaraghatta.

It is estimated more than 1,200,000 eggs are supplied to Kerala from 55 poultry farms in and around Mysore, Karnataka’s second largest city.

According to MP Sateesh Babu, chairman, National Egg Coordination Committee, Mysore zone, the poultry industry is expected to sustain a daily loss of over 350,000 euros.

“We have made all attempts to convince the Kerala government, but in vain. We do not know what to do with the excess stock of eggs. We have even tried to supply to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but the drop in egg prices have made us think twice before embarking on such a plan,’’ Babu said.

According to Babu, there are 17.5 million birds at various poultries across Karnataka while Andhra Pradesh stands first with 75 million birds and Tamil Nadu second with 47.5 million birds. “There are 224 million birds at poultry farms situated across the country. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have the major share in poultry products exports among all the states in the country,’’ he said.

Recalling the efforts made to convince the Kerala government about the need to lift the ban on poultry products, he said a five-member team from Mysore had visited Kerala to meet KP Mohanan. “We have explained to them that the birds are from various poultry farms in and around Mysore and there was no outbreak of virus in the area. I was surprised to hear minister Mohanan say that many people have died of avian influenza. I was surprised to hear a minister, representing a state that boasts of 100% literacy, making such statements without verifying facts or having proper knowledge about avian influenza,’’ he said.

Research: Mixed results with probiotics in broilers

 

  

South Korean scientists studied the effects of β-glucan and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance, blood profiles, relative organ weight and meat quality in broilers fed maize-soybean meal based diets.

South Korean scientists studied the effects of β-glucan and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance, blood profiles, relative organ weight and meat quality in broilers fed maize-soybean meal based diets.

A total of 480 mixed sex broilers (BW of 46.3±0.5 g) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2x2 factorial arrangement with 2 levels of β-glucan (0 or 1 g/kg) and Bacillus subtilis (0 or 108 cfu/kg).

There were 6 replicate pens/treatment with 20 chicks/pen for growth performance and 5 chicks/pen for meat quality and blood profiles in this 5-wk study.

Results
Broilers fed Bacillus subtilis diets had 5.3% and 3.3% greater body weight gain (BWG) during d 22-35 and throughout the study, respectively.

No effects were observed in blood profiles. Administration of either β-glucan or Bacillus subtilis increased 3.9% or 3.8% of the relative weight of spleen, respectively, while the supplementation of β-glucan decreased the relative weight of abdominal fat by 16.0%.

Dietary supplementation with β-glucan decreased the breast meat b* value 26.2%, and a synergistic interactive effect of β-glucan and Bacillus subtilis was observed in b* value of breast meat.

Conclusion
Bacillus subtilis at 108 cfu/kg of diet improved BWG and relative weight of spleen, while 1 g/kg β-glucan did not improve BWG, but decreased the relative weight of abdominal fat and b* value of breast meat in broilers.