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Key actors in driving behavioural change in relation to on-farm biosecurity; a Northern Ireland perspective
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 29 May 2018; Published online - 14 June 2018Background: Agriculture and farming are valued contributors to local economy in Northern Ireland (NI). There is
limited knowledge about farmers’ behaviours and attitudes towards disease biosecurity measures. As part of a larger
project, a scenario-based workshop with key stakeholders was organised by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
(AFBI)-NI in December 2015.
Results: A total of 22 participants belonging to 12 different institutions took part in the workshop. Participants were
presented with an overview of previously conducted biosecurity research in NI and England. In small groups,
participants were subsequently asked to discuss and give their opinions about a series of questions across four
key areas in a semi-structured approach with an external facilitator. The key areas were 1- disease risk perception
at the farm level; 2-perceived barriers to implementing on farm biosecurity measures; 3- avenues to successful
behaviour change and 4-key industry responsibilities and roles. The discussion showed that training in biosecurity
for farmers is important and necessary. Training was recommended to be provided by veterinary surgeons, preferably
via a face-to-face format. The discussion addressing disease disclosure proved particularly challenging between those
who were prospective buyers of cattle, and those who sold cattle.
Conclusions: This workshop provided a unique and invaluable insight into key issues regarding farm level biosecurity
activities. From a policy perspective, delivering improved on-farm biosecurity must be addressed via a multidisciplinary
approach. This can only be achieved with active involvement, commitment and support of a number of key industry
and government stakeholders.This project was financed by a DARD E&I grant code 12/03/01
A Review of the Effect of Management Practices on Campylobacter Prevalence in Poultry Farms
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 8 August 2018; Published - 24 August 2018.Poultry is frequently associated with campylobacteriosis in humans, with Campylobacter
jejuni being the most usual Campylobacter associated with disease in humans. Farreaching
research on Campylobacter was undertaken over the past two decades.
This has resulted in interventions being put in place on farms and in processing
plants. Despite these interventions, coupled with increased media coverage to educate
the consumer on Campylobacter prevalence and campylobacteriosis, human health
incidents are still high. Recent research is now shifting toward further understanding
of the microorganisms to challenge interventions in place and to look at further and
more relevant interventions for the reduction in human incidents. Farm practices play
a key role in the control of colonization within poultry houses and among flocks.
Prevalence at the farm level can be up to 100% and time of colonization may vary
widely between flocks. Considerable research has been performed to understand how
farm management and animal health practices can affect colonization on farms. This
review will focus on farm practices to date as a baseline for future interventions as the
microorganism becomes better understood. Further research is required to understand
the chicken microbiome and factors influencing vertical transmission. The persistence of
Campylobacter in animal and environmental reservoirs within and around farms requires
further investigation to tailor farm practices toward preventing such reservoirs.
IMPLICATIONS
This review gives an overview of farm practices and their effect on Campylobacter
prevalence in poultry. Various elements of farm practices have been captured in this
review.This work has been funded through a research grant awarded to
NC by Moy Park
Effects of the particle of ground alfalfa hay on the growth performance, methane production and archaeal populations of rabbits
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 20 August 2018; Published online - 17 September 2018.The world's annual output of rabbits is over 1.2 billion, therefore this sector is also one of the sources of greenhouse gases in livestock production. One hundred-twenty New Zealand rabbits were allocated into four treatments, five replicates in each treatment and six rabbits in each replicate to examine the effect of grinding alfalfa hay to different sizes on growth performance, methane production and cecal archaeal populations. The particle sizes of the alfalfa meal in the four treatment diets were 2500, 1000, 100 and 10 μm, while the other ingredients were ground through a 2.5 mm sieve. The average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) increased (P<0.001) as the particle size decreased, but the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was not affected (P = 0.305). The digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (P = 0.006) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) (P<0.006) increased while the greatest digestibility of crude protein (CP) was obtained in 1000 um group (P = 0.015). The rabbits produced more methane (CH4, L/kgBM0.75/d) with decreasing alfalfa particle size (P<0.001). The molar proportion of acetic acid and propionic acid decreased (P<0.001) at the cost of butyric acid (P<0.001). The greatest villus height:crypt depth ratio were obtained in 1000 μm group, and the decrease in the alfalfa hay particle size decreased the jejunum and ilem villus height:crypt depth ratio (P<0.05). The gastric muscular and mucosal thickness decreased with decreasing alfalfa particle size (P<0.05). Archaea diversity decreased with decreasing alfalfa particle size, and the relative abundance of genus Methanobrevibacter increased (P<0.001) while the genus Methanosphaera decreased (P<0.001). It is concluded that a finer particle size favors the growth of genus Methanobrevibacter, which produces more methane but promotes the growth performance of rabbits.The financial support was provided by the International Cooperation Project of Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2014DFA32860), http://www.most.gov.cn/eng/. LZ Wang received the funding. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
Use of thermal imaging in dairy calves: exploring the repeatability and accuracy of measures taken from different anatomical regions
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 15 November 2018; Published - 18 November 2018.Three experiments were undertaken to 1) quantify the repeatability and reproducibility of thermal imaging across day and operator experience and 2) assess the correlation between descriptive infrared (IR) temperature parameters from different anatomical areas and core body temperature in dairy calves under 12 wk of age. In experiment 1, a single operator captured 30 replicate images of both the left and right eyes (defined as the whole eye + 1 cm margin) and the rectal area (defined as the anus +1.5 cm margin) from each of 16 calves. In experiment 2, three operators of varying experience captured images from both the left and right eyes and the rectal area of each of 12 calves. In experiment 3, a single operator captured images of the right eye and rectal area for a period of 5 consecutive days for each of 205 calves. All images were captured between 0900 and 1300 h. Core body temperature, obtained via rectal thermometer, was recorded every day for each of the 205 calves following completion of IR image capture. Ambient temperature and relative humidity were adjusted for each thermal image prior to manual extraction of maximum, minimum, and average temperature parameters. In experiment 1, lowest error variance was found within the maximum temperature parameter and the right eye was determined as the most repeatable anatomical area, with 80.48% of the total proportion of variance attributed to the calf. Results indicated that capturing at least three replicate images would provide the precision required to identify ill-health in calves. In experiment 2, operator variance was low across anatomical areas, with values of ≤0.01°C2 for the right and left eyes and ≤0.04°C2 for the rectal area. In experiment 3, day to day variation of thermal image measurements and core body temperature were minimal across anatomical areas with values of ≤0.008°C2. Correlations ranging from 0.16 to 0.32, and from 0.31 to 0.47 were found between maximum eye and core body temperature and maximum rectal area and core body temperature, respectively. Results of the present study indicate a low level of variability and high level of repeatability within IR temperature measurements in calves under 12 wk of age, particularly within maximum temperature parameters. Providing operators of varying abilities with a basic standardized protocol is sufficient to limit between-operator variation. Further research is required to investigate whether correlation between IR and core body temperature can be improved.This study was funded by the Department of Agriculture,
Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and formed part of
G. Scoley’s PhD project which was cofunded by AgriSearch
Bridging Gaps in the Agricultural Phosphorus Cycle from an Animal Husbandry Perspective—The Case of Pigs and Poultry
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 29 May 2018; Published online - 1 June 2018Since phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life, its usage and application across
agricultural production systems requires great attention. Monogastric species such as pigs and
poultry can significantly contribute to global food security but these animals remain highly dependent
on the supply of mineral inorganic P in their feeds. Pig and poultry, which represent 70% of
the global meat production, are also major P excretors and thus represent important sources of
environmental P inputs. Balancing the P cycle within farming systems is crucial to achieve P
sustainable and resilient livestock production. Therefore, the interconnection of animal feed, livestock
farming, manure, and soil/aquatic ecosystems requires multidisciplinary approaches to improve
P management. With regard to a sustainable agricultural P cycle, this study addresses aspects of
feeding strategies and animal physiology (e.g., phase feeding, P conditioning, liquid feeding, phytase
supplementation, genetics), soil agroecosystems (e.g., P cycling, P losses, P gains), reuse and recycling
(e.g., manure, slaughter waste), measures of farmers’ economic performance (e.g., bio-economic
models), and P governance/policy instruments (e.g., P quota, P tax). To reconcile the economic
and ecological sustainability of animal husbandry, the strategic objective of future research will be
to provide solutions for a sufficient supply of high-quality animal products from resource-efficient
and economically competitive agro-systems which are valued by society and preserve soil and
aquatic ecosystems.: This work was partly funded by the Leibniz Science Campus Phosphorus Research Rostock and has
received funding from the European Research Association Networks (ERA-NETs) Cofunds Sustainable Animal
Production (SusAn) as part of the PEGaSus project (2817ERA02D). The Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology
(FBN) provided own matched funding. Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University covered some of the
expenditures for running the pig experiments. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund
of the Leibniz Association and the Open Access Fund of the Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN)
Newborn traits associated with pre-weaning growth and survival in piglets
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 10 July 2017; Published online - 17 July 2017.Objective: Piglet pre-weaning mortality is an important variable indicating the efficacy of farrowing management and animal well-being during lactation. The present study determined the association of newborn traits measured soon after birth with piglet pre-weaning mortality and growth.
Methods: In total, 805 piglets born from 57 multiparous sows were investigated. Their blood oxygen saturation, blood glucose and rectal temperature at 24 h after birth (RT24h) were monitored. Birth order, sex, skin color, integrity of the umbilical cord, attempts to stand and birth intervention were monitored. Piglets were weighed at day 0, 7, and 21 to evaluate average daily gain (ADG).
Results: Piglet pre-weaning mortality for lactation period was 12.6% and cumulative mortality during the first 7 days of age was 8.6%. A higher proportion of piglets with pale skin color died compared to piglets with normal skin color (26.7% vs 7.7%, p38.5°C (3.9%).
Conclusion: Low BWB and low RT24h compromise piglet survival during the lactation period in the tropical conditions. Piglets in the litters with a high BA, low BWB and low blood glucose have reduced ADG.Financial support for the present study was provided by a grant for International Research Integration: Chula Research Scholar, Ratchadaphiseksomphot Endowment Fund. M. Nuntapaitoon is a grantee of the Research and Researchers for Industries (RRI) Ph.D. program and the Thailand Research Fund, and part of the research grant was supported by the Rachadapisek Sompote Endowment Fund for the 90th Anniversary of Chulalongkorn University. Ramon Muns was supported by the Rachadapisek Sompote Endowment Fund for Postdoctoral Fellowship by Chulalongkorn University
Assessment of water-limited winter wheat yield potential at spatially contrasting sites in Ireland using a simple growth and development model
Get PDFPublication history: Published online - 19 September 2017Although Irish winter wheat yields are among the highest globally, increases in the profitability of this crop are required to
maintain its economic viability. However, in order to determine if efforts to further increase Irish wheat yields are likely to
be successful, an accurate estimation of the yield potential is required for different regions within Ireland. A winter wheat
yield potential model (WWYPM) was developed, which estimates the maximum water-limited yield achievable, within the
confines of current genetic resources and technologies, using parameters for winter wheat growth and development
observed recently in Ireland and a minor amount of daily meteorological input (maximum and minimum daily temperature,
total daily rainfall and total daily incident radiation). The WWYPM is composed of three processes: (i) an estimation of
potential green area index, (ii) an estimation of light interception and biomass accumulation and (iii) an estimation of
biomass partitioning to grain yield. Model validation indicated that WWYPM estimations of water-limited yield potential
(YPw) were significantly related to maximum yields recorded in variety evaluation trials as well as regional average and
maximum farm yields, reflecting the model’s sensitivity to alterations in the climatic environment with spatial and seasonal
variations. Simulations of YPw for long-term average weather data at 12 sites located at spatially contrasting regions of
Ireland indicated that the typical YPw varied between 15.6 and 17.9 t/ha, with a mean of 16.7 t/ha at 15% moisture content.
These results indicate that the majority of sites in Ireland have the potential to grow high-yielding crops of winter wheat
when the effects of very high rainfall and other stresses such as disease incidence and nutrient deficits are not considered.Funding for this study was provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Ireland
Modelling-based identification of factors influencing campylobacters in chicken broiler houses and on carcasses sampled after processing and chilling
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 30 January 2017; Published online - 4 March 2017.Aims: To identify production and processing practices that might reduceCampylobacter numbers contaminating chicken broiler carcasses.Methods and Results: The numbers of campylobacters were determined oncarcass neck skins after processing or in broiler house litter samples.Supplementary information that described farm layouts, farming conditions forindividual flocks, the slaughterhouse layouts and operating conditions insideplants was collected, matched with each Campylobacter test result. Statisticalmodels predicting the numbers of campylobacters on neck skins and in litterwere constructed. Carcass microbial contamination was more stronglyinfluenced by on-farm production practices compared with slaughterhouseactivities. We observed correlations between the chilling, washing anddefeathering stages of processing and the numbers of campylobacters oncarcasses. There were factors on farm that also correlated with numbers ofcampylobacters in litter. These included bird gender, the exclusion of dogsfrom houses, beetle presence in the house litter and the materials used toconstruct the house frame.Conclusions: Changes in farming practices have greater potential for reducingchicken carcass microbial contamination compared with processinginterventions.Significance and Impact of the Study: Routine commercial practices wereidentified that were correlated with lowered numbers of campylobacters.Consequently, these practices are likely to be both cost-effective and suitablefor adoption into established farms and commercial processingThis work was funded by the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency (FSA) as projects FS241051A and FS101123
Evaluation of the methodological quality of studies of the performance of diagnostic tests for bovine tuberculosis using QUADAS
No full textPublication history: Accepted - 18 March 2017; Published online - 22 March 2017There has been little assessment of the methodological quality of studies measuring the performance (sensitivity and/or specificity) of diagnostic tests for animal diseases. In a systematic review, 190 studies of tests for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle (published 1934–2009) were assessed by at least one of 18 reviewers using the QUADAS (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies) checklist adapted for animal disease tests. VETQUADAS (VQ) included items measuring clarity in reporting (n = 3), internal validity (n = 9) and external validity (n = 2). A similar pattern for compliance was observed in studies of different diagnostic test types. Compliance significantly improved with year of publication for all items measuring clarity in reporting and external validity but only improved in four of the nine items measuring internal validity (p < 0.05). 107 references, of which 83 had performance data eligible for inclusion in a meta-analysis were reviewed by two reviewers. In these references, agreement between reviewers’ responses was 71% for compliance, 32% for unsure and 29% for non-compliance. Mean compliance with reporting items was 2, 5.2 for internal validity and 1.5 for external validity. The index test result was described in sufficient detail in 80.1% of studies and was interpreted without knowledge of the reference standard test result in only 33.1%. Loss to follow-up was adequately explained in only 31.1% of studies. The prevalence of deficiencies observed may be due to inadequate reporting but may also reflect lack of attention to methodological issues that could bias the results of diagnostic test performance estimates. QUADAS was a useful tool for assessing and comparing the quality of studies measuring the performance of diagnostic tests but might be improved further by including explicit assessment of population sampling strategy.The SE3238 project “Meta-analysis of diagnostic tests and modelling to identify appropriate testing strategies to reduce M. bovis infection in GB herds” was funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Needle-free delivery of measles virus vaccine to the lower respiratory tract of non-human primates elicits optimal immunity and protection
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 8 June 2017; Published online - 1 August 2017.Needle-free measles virus vaccination by aerosol inhalation has many potential benefits. The current standard route of vaccination
is subcutaneous injection, whereas measles virus is an airborne pathogen. However, the target cells that support replication of liveattenuated measles virus vaccines in the respiratory tract are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to assess the in vivo
tropism of live-attenuated measles virus and determine whether respiratory measles virus vaccination should target the upper or
lower respiratory tract. Four groups of twelve cynomolgus macaques were immunized with 104 TCID50 of recombinant measles
virus vaccine strain Edmonston-Zagreb expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein. The vaccine virus was grown in MRC-5 cells
and formulated with identical stabilizers and excipients as used in the commercial MVEZ vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of
India. Animals were immunized by hypodermic injection, intra-tracheal inoculation, intra-nasal instillation, or aerosol inhalation. In
each group six animals were euthanized at early time points post-vaccination, whereas the other six were followed for 14 months to
assess immunogenicity and protection from challenge infection with wild-type measles virus. At early time-points, enhanced green
fluorescent protein-positive measles virus-infected cells were detected locally in the muscle, nasal tissues, lungs, and draining
lymph nodes. Systemic vaccine virus replication and viremia were virtually absent. Infected macrophages, dendritic cells and tissueresident lymphocytes predominated. Exclusive delivery of vaccine virus to the lower respiratory tract resulted in highest
immunogenicity and protection. This study sheds light on the tropism of a live-attenuated measles virus vaccine and identifies the
alveolar spaces as the optimal site for respiratory delivery of measles virus vaccine.This study was funded by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative (grant number: DUPREX09GCGH0)