Herd management and welfare assessment of dairy goat farms in Northern Cyprus by using breeding, health, reproduction, and biosecurity indicators.

This study describes the results of a farm-based welfare assessment, herd management, and some yield indicators in Northern Cyprus dairy goat farms. Out of 324 intensive milk goat farms which produce goats, only the 42 goat farms which had 7950 heads were chosen by random sampling in Northern Cyprus (2016), and face-to-face questionnaires and observations were conducted to collect data. Regarding the breeding techniques in these farms, of all the goats in these farms, 45.2% were cross-breed, 38.1% were Damascus, 11.9% were Saanen, and 4.8% were hair goats. The average of the total number of animals was 211.38 ± 209 heads. The average number of pens and the number of animals per pen in the farms, which had 2 to 5 pens, were 67 ± 49.5 heads. The barn types of these farms were observed to be semi-open and nearly open (95%). 45.5% of the farms made a single milking in a day. The most significant reason for this was that the suckling of the kids lasted 3 months or more in 73.8% of the farms. Natural random mating was applied to 69% of the farms. The 45.2% of the farms applied additional feeding before the mating season. The rate of multiple births was 24.76%. The mortality rate in kids was greater than 10% in the 57% of farms examined. The 75% of kids had diarrhea, 33% had umbilicus infections, and 33% suffered from respiratory problems. Among the adult goats of the surveyed farms, the most important problem was external parasites (100%). The second and third problems were overgrown claws (80.9%) and common abscesses (80.95%). Regarding the biosecurity indicators, the general disinfection percentage of farms was 78.57%. However, veterinarian controls were conducted only in the 26.9% of the farms on a regular basis. In these farms, there was no significant difference between the breeds regarding their breeding and reproduction techniques or health indicators. The entrance of the farms carries a high risk for biosecurity. Heat stress is quite important factor for the milk quality.

Cystic echinococcosis in animals and humans of Maharashtra State, India.

Echinococcosis/hydatidosis which is a neglected parasitic zoonosis in the developing country like India. The study was conducted during April, 2010 to March, 2017 to determine the prevalence among slaughtered food animals, dogs and human. The samples were collected from the various slaughterhouses situated in different regions of Maharashtra state. A total of 9464 cattle (male), 3661 buffalo, 47189 sheep, 33350 goats and 13579 pigs were scientifically examined during PM inspection at different slaughterhouses. The study revealed that the prevalence of disease in cattle (3.00%) was highest followed by buffalo (2.05%), pig (1.28%), sheep (0.09%) and goat (0.01%), by PM examination. The average estimated economic losses (direct and indirect) due to hydatidosis were Rs. 8,65,83,566 in cattle, Rs. 44,33,93,900 in buffalo, Rs. 7,24,50,615 in sheep, Rs. 1,88,29,359 in goat and Rs. 5,20,49,081 in pigs. Dog faecal samples analyzed and showed the prevalence of echinococcosis as 4.34% (19/438) by sedimentation method and positive samples were confirmed by PCR assay, whereas in high risk human, 11.09% sera samples were found to be positive for echinococcosis. However, based on data collection for seven years, 58 patients were found to be surgically operated for hydatid cyst removal. The results of the present study indicated that cystic echinococcosis/hydatidosis is prevalent in both human and animal population in study areas which attracts serious attention from veterinary and public health authority to reduce economic burden and in designing appropriate strategy for prevention and control of disease.

Gastro-intestinal parasite infections of Ankole cattle in an unhealthy landscape: An assessment of ecological predictors.

The distribution of gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites across landscapes is closely related to the spatial distribution of hosts. In GI parasites with environmental life stages, the vitality of parasites is also affected by ecological and landscape-related components of the environment. This is particularly relevant for domestic livestock species that are often kept across habitats with varying degrees of degradation, exposing them to a wide range of environmentally robust parasite species. In our study, we examined the effect of environmental and anthropogenic factors on the prevalence and intensity of GI parasites across a free-ranging stock of Ankole cattle in the Mutara rangelands of northeastern Rwanda. Prevalence and intensity of each parasite type (i.e., strongyle-type nematodes, Strongyloides spp., Moniezia spp., and Eimeria spp.) were used as dependent variables. Two fixed factors related to season and conservation-political history, together with three principal components (condensed from nine ecological variables) were used as independent covariates in a univariate General Linear Model (GLM). Major effects on the prevalence and intensity of strongyle-type nematodes and on the intensity of Eimeria spp. were found in that vegetation-related effects such as above-ground grass biomass in conjunction with a high degree of soil compaction had a negative relationship with these parasite types. These unexpected findings suggest that strongyle-type and coccidian infections increase with increasing rangeland degradation. Strongyle-type nematode prevalence and intensity were also negatively related to goat/sheep density, indicating a 'dilution effect' of GI infections between domestic livestock species.

The endoparasitism challenge in developing countries as goat raising develops from smallholder to commercial production systems: A study from Laos.

Progressing economic development in Southeast Asia has increased regional demand for goat meat, leading to expanding production by smallholders and recently, development of commercial farms. In Laos, an emerging export market for goats into Vietnam has led to increased goat numbers, with potential increases in risk of disease, particularly endoparasitism. A cross-sectional survey investigated the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in indigenous Kambing-Katjang goats on smallholder farms (n = 389) in 8 villages where no anthelmintic treatments were in use, providing comparisons with a case study of imported Boer crossbred goats (n = 45) on a commercial farm where intensive anthelmintic treatments were required to manage mortalities attributable to Haemonchosis. Clinical examinations, collection of faecal samples, and pathological examination on the commercial farm, accompanied collection of information on animal gender, age and body weight, with data analyses performed in Genstat. Faecal samples contained eggs of multiple endoparasitic species, with Strongyles spp. and coccidian oocysts of Eimeria spp. most prevalent. Significant associations between the presence of endoparasites and the farm type (smallholder versus commercial; p < 0.008 and 0.001) were observed, with the odds ratios of the commercial farm having Stronglyes spp. and Eimeria spp. of 1.3 (CI = 0.6-2.9) and 4.8 (CI = 2.5-9.1). Mortalities from endoparasitism were only recorded at the commercial farm, with the loss of 24 goats in the final 3 months of the dry season (Feb-April). This study identified a moderate prevalence of multiple endoparasitic species in smallholder goat farms that appeared well-tolerated, whereas in the developing commercial system, endoparasites posed significant risks to enterprise viability, even with use of anthelmintics. Further studies on endoparasite control are required if commercial tropical goat meat production is to prove sustainable and assist in addressing regional food security, plus provide a pathway to improve the livelihoods of Lao goat smallholders seeking to expand and intensify their enterprises.

Sex-biased severity of sarcoptic mange at the same biological cost in a sexually dimorphic ungulate.

BACKGROUND: In sexually dimorphic species, male susceptibility to parasite infection and mortality is frequently higher than in females. The Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) is a sexually dimorphic mountain ungulate endemic to the Iberian Peninsula commonly affected by sarcoptic mange, a chronic catabolic skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabiei. Since 1992, sarcoptic mange affects the Iberian ibex population of the Sierra Nevada Natural Space (SNNS). This study aims at exploring whether mange severity, in terms of prevalence and its effects on body condition, is male-biased in Iberian ibex. FINDINGS: One thousand and seventy-one adult Iberian ibexes (439 females and 632 males) were randomly shot-harvested in the SNNS from May 1995 to February 2008. Sarcoptic mange stage was classified as healthy, mildly infected or severely infected. Sex-biased prevalence of severe mange was evaluated by a Chi-square test whereas the interaction between mange severity and sex on body condition was assessed by additive models. Among scabietic individuals, the prevalence of severely affected males was 1.29 times higher than in females. On the other hand, both sexes were not able to take profit of a higher availability of seasonal food resources when sarcoptic, particularly in the severe stages. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcoptic mange severity is male-biased in Iberian ibex, though not mange effects on body condition. Behavioural, immunological and physiological characteristics of males may contribute to this partial sex-biased susceptibility to sarcoptic mange.

Comparing different maize supplementation strategies to improve resilience and resistance against gastrointestinal nematode infections in browsing goats.

The effect of maize grain supplementation on the resilience and resistance of browsing Criollo goat kids against gastrointestinal nematodes was evaluated. Five-month-old kids (n = 42), raised worm-free, were allocated to five groups: infected + not supplemented (I-NS; n = 10), infected + maize supplement at 108 g/d (I-S108; n = 8), maize supplement at 1% of body weight (BW) (I-S1%; n = 8), maize supplement at 1.5% BW (I-S1.5%; n = 8), or infected + supplemented (maize supplement 1.5% BW) + moxidectin (0.2 mg/kg BW subcutaneously every 28 d) (T-S1.5%; n = 8). Kids browsed daily (7 h) in a tropical forest for 112 days during the rainy season. Kids were weighed weekly to adjust supplementary feeding. Hematocrit (Ht), hemoglobin (Hb), and eggs per gram of feces were determined fortnightly. On day 112, five goat kids were slaughtered per group to determine worm burdens. Kids of the I-S1.5% group showed similar body-weight change, Ht and Hb, compared to kids without gastrointestinal nematodes (T-S1.5%), as well as lower eggs per gram of feces and Trichostrongylus colubriformis worm burden compared to the I-NS group (P > 0.05). Thus, among the supplement levels tested, increasing maize supplementation at 1.5% BW of kids was the best strategy to improve their resilience and resistance against natural gastrointestinal nematode infections under the conditions of forage from the tropical forest.

Haemonchotolerance in West African Dwarf goats: contribution to sustainable, anthelmintics-free helminth control in traditionally managed Nigerian dwarf goats.

West African Dwarf (WAD) goats are extremely important in the rural village economy of West Africa, but still little is known about their biology, ecology and capacity to cope with gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections. Here, we summarise the history of this breed and explain its economic importance in rural West Africa. We review recent work showing that Nigerian WAD goats are highly trypanotolerant and resist infections with Haemonchus contortus more effectively than other breeds of domestic goat (haemonchotolerance). We believe that haemonchotolerance is largely responsible for the generally low level GIN infections and absence of clinical haemonchosis in WADs under field conditions, and has contributed to the relatively successful and sustainable, anthelmintics-free, small-scale system of goat husbandry in Nigeria's humid zone, and is immunologically based and genetically controlled. If haemonchotolerance can be shown to be genetically controlled, it should be possible to exploit the underlying genes to improve GIN resistance among productive fibre and milk producing breeds of goats, most of which are highly susceptible to nematode infections. Genetic resistance to GIN and trypanosome infections would obviate the need for expensive chemotherapy, mostly unaffordable to small-holder farmers in Africa, and a significant cost of goat husbandry in more developed countries. Either introgression of resistance alleles into susceptible breeds by conventional breeding, or transgenesis could be used to develop novel parasite-resistant, but highly productive breeds, or to improve the resistance of existing breeds, benefitting the local West African rural economy as well as global caprine livestock agriculture.

Caprine besnoitiosis: an emerging threat and its relationship to some other infections of ungulates by Besnoitia species.

Caprine besnoitiosis, caused by the cyst-forming protozoal apicomplexan Besnoitia caprae appears to be endemic in Kenya, Nigeria and Iran, but has yet to be detected in other parts of the world. The infection causes an important parasitic disease of goats in affected developing countries. Bovine besnoitiosis, is a widespread disease of cattle in Africa, Asia (but not Iran) and southern Europe. Recent epidemiological data confirm that the incidence and geographical range of bovine besnoitiosis in Europe is increasing, which is why growing attention has been given to the condition during the past decade. This paper reviews pertinent information on the biology, epidemiology, pathology, clinical signs, diagnosis and control of caprine besnoitiosis, together with its similarities to, and differences from, bovine besnoitiosis. The serious economic consequences of besnoitiosis on goat breeding and local meat and hide industries is also considered.

Prevalence of Fasciola species in ruminants under extensive management system in Ibadan southwestern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Fasciolosis is a zoonotic trematode of ruminants and a common parasite in cattle in Nigeria. With the increasing numbers of small household cattle herds kept under extensive management system as well as the more usual small ruminants, there is a possibility therefore that parasites common to these ruminants but better adapted to cattle such as Fasciola may also be on the increase within the small ruminant population as they graze freely over the same wide area and sometimes freely mix. AIM: The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of Fasciola spp in sheep, goats and cattle in Ibadan during the short wet season, (August-October 2011). METHODS: Faecal samples were collected per rectum from 440 each of goats and sheep and 291 cattle. Helminth ova were recovered using sedimentation technique for faecal examination. RESULTS: A total of 40 goats (9.1%), 53 sheep (12.0%) and 158 cattle (54.3%) were positive for Fasciola ova which reflects an increase in prevalence in small ruminants. CONCLUSION: This implies that the entire Ibadan is endemic for Fasciola spp and small ruminants may serve as an important link in the epidemiology of Fasciola spp infection. More so, this has implications for the scavenging household animals which receive little or no medical attention and man that may acquire this trematode by inadvertently eating vegetables with encysted Fasciola metacercariae.

Economic values of body weight, reproduction and parasite resistance traits for a Creole goat breeding goal.

A specific breeding goal definition was developed for Creole goats in Guadeloupe. This local breed is used for meat production. To ensure a balanced selection outcome, the breeding objective included two production traits, live weight (BW11) and dressing percentage (DP) at 11 months (the mating or selling age), one reproduction trait, fertility (FER), and two traits to assess animal response to parasite infection: packed cell volume (PCV), a resilience trait, and faecal worm eggs count (FEC), a resistance trait. A deterministic bio-economic model was developed to calculate the economic values based on the description of the profit of a Guadeloupean goat farm. The farm income came from the sale of animals for meat or as reproducers. The main costs were feeding and treatments against gastro-intestinal parasites. The economic values were 7.69€ per kg for BW11, 1.38€ per % for FER, 3.53€ per % for DP and 3 × 10(-4)€ per % for PCV. The economic value for FEC was derived by comparing the expected profit and average FEC in a normal situation and in an extreme situation where parasites had developed resistance to anthelmintics. This method yielded a maximum weighting for FEC, which was -18.85€ per log(eggs per gram). Alternative scenarios were tested to assess the robustness of the economic values to variations in the economic and environmental context. The economic values of PCV and DP were the most stable. Issues involved in paving the way for selective breeding on resistance or resilience to parasites are discussed.

The abattoir condemnation of meat because of parasitic infection, and its economic importance: results of a retrospective study in north-eastern Iran.

In nine districts in the north of Khorasan province, in north-eastern Iran, a 5-year retrospective study was carried out to determine the prevalences, in livestock slaughtered in abattoirs, of the parasitic infections responsible for the condemnation of the animals' carcasses and viscera (and the economic importance of such infections in terms of lost meat and offal). Between 20 March 2005 and 19 March 2010, 436,620 animals (45,360 cattle, 275,439 sheep, 115,674 goats and 147 camels) were slaughtered in the study area and the livers of 30,207 (6.9%), the lungs of 23,259 (5.3%) and the carcasses of 1072 (0.2%) of these animals were condemned. Almost all (92.4%) of the condemned livers, most (68.9%) of the condemned lungs but only 10.8% of the condemned carcasses were rejected because of parasitic infection. The parasitic lesions observed in the condemned livers were attributed to Echinococcus granulosus, Fasciola hepatica and/or Dicrocoelium dendriticum (cattle, sheep and goats) or entirely to E. granulosus (camels). All the parasitic lesions observed in the condemned lungs (which also came from cattle, sheep, goats and camels) were attributed to E. granulosus. Sarcocystis cysts and/or Taenia cysticerci were found in ovine muscle while only Taenia cysticerci were detected in bovine muscle (no parasitic lesions were observed in the muscles of the goats and camels). Parasites were responsible for 80.8% of the condemned organs or carcasses, and the value of the food lost because of parasite-related condemnation (based on market prices in 2010) was estimated to be U.S.$421,826 (U.S.$47,980 for cattle, U.S.$316,344.0 for sheep, U.S.$57,372 for goats and U.S.$130 for camels). The parasites contributing most to the condemnation of otherwise marketable organs and muscles were E. granulosus (52.2%) and D. dendriticum flukes (29.5%). These parasites clearly remain too common and cause considerable economic loss in Khorasan and, presumably, other areas of Iran.

Cystic echinococcosis and the Mediterranean Region: a long-lasting association.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important zoonosis in Italy and in the whole Mediterranean Region, as confirmed by the work by Ettore Biocca, whose contributions to the subject are reported in a summarised annex to the bibliography. The contribution to the understanding and control of CE are presented, with special emphasis on the socio-economic impact, on factors affecting the maintenance of CE in the Mediterranean Region, on the epidemiological situation and control measures, on the present status of epidemiological surveillance, on the control problems in normal and emergency situations, on health education and training. Also, the justifications of combined control programmes are discussed, which may be applied only in situations of peace and well-being.

Assessment of domestic goats as a patent host of Elaphostrongylus cervi.

A study was undertaken to determine whether domestic goats can serve as patent hosts of Elaphostrongylus cervi under natural or experimental conditions. Three-hundred and two fecal samples from 124 domestic goats raised outdoors in New Zealand, where E. cervi is enzootic, were tested for nematode larvae by the Baermann method. All samples were negative for E. cervi dorsal-spined larvae. Twenty juvenile male Nubian and Saanen goats obtained locally were assigned randomly to 5 dosage groups and were orally administered 5, 15, 35, 65, or 125 third-stage larvae of E. cervi, respectively. Two yearling female red deer (Cervus elaphus elaphus) each received 35 or 65 third-stage larvae as positive controls, and 2 uninoculated juvenile male goats served as negative controls. Fecal Baermann testing of pooled samples from the inoculated goats was conducted weekly for the first 80 days postinoculation (DPI) and daily thereafter until 250 DPI. No dorsal-spined larvae were recovered. One goat that had received 15 third-stage larvae displayed a mild transient posterior ataxia suggestive of cerebrospinal elaphostrongylosis. Gross postmortem examination did not reveal any direct evidence of nematodes in any of the goats, and only a few minor lesions were present. Histologically, these lesions were consistent with a parasite etiology. Histological evaluation of grossly normal lumbar and sacral spinal cord from 2 goats that had each received 125 third-stage larvae revealed eosinophilic meningoencephalitis and leukomyelitis, respectively, suggestive of the presence of parasites in the central nervous system. The 2 positive control red deer became patent with dorsal-spined larvae consistent with E. cervi at 131 DPI. These findings suggest that goats, at least those breeds utilized in this study, are not suitable patent hosts for E. cervi.

Broncho-pulmonary helminths of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra parva) captured in North-West Spain: assessment from first stage larvae in faeces and lungs.

The bronchopulmonary helminths of 66 chamois (49 males and 17 females), captured in various parts of the Cantabrian mountain range (N. W. Spain) in the autumn of 1983, and in the summer and the autumn of 1984, were studied. The animals were adult and aged between 2 and 16 years. The lungs, trachea and faeces from the last section of the intestine were taken from each animal individually. The trachea and pulmonary larval nodules were dissected. First stage larvae (L-I) were obtained from finely cut up pulmonary tissue and from faeces by migration. The number of larvae I per gram varied between 0.08 and 2,662 (mean = 151.5 +/- 59.5 s. e.) in the faecal samples, and between 0.03 and 1,733 (mean = 65.2 +/- 32.4 s. e.) in the pulmonary ones. There was a low correlation between the two sets of data. When taking into account age and sex, no statistically significant differences were observed in relation to the number of larvae/gram found either in faeces or in pulmonary tissue, while there were statistically significant differences when considering the periods of sampling and reserve of origin, in relation to the larvae found in faeces and lungs, respectively. Infections by three nematodes (Neostrongylus, Muellerius and Protostrongylus) were more common than those produced by two or one, in the lungs as well as in the faeces. The most common genus was Neostrongylus, followed by Muellerius, and no Cystocaulus or Dictyocaulus larvae were found.

A re-assessment of the efficacy of febantel (Rintal) and fenbendazole (Panacur) against Strongyloides papillosus in sheep and goats.

An efficacy evaluation using febantel and fenbendazole was carried out against Strongyloides papillosus in sheep and goats in the Grootfontein area of South West Africa/Namibia. Three groups with five sheep and three goats in each group were artificially infested with this species. When the worms had reached the adult stage one group was treated with febantel, the other group with fenbendazole and the third group left as controls. Both anthelmintics were dosed at 5 mg/kg. All animals were sacrificed one week after treatment and total worm-counts carried out. Both anthelmintics were found to be highly effective.