Bovine babesiosis in India: Estimation of prevalence by systematic review and meta analysis.

Bovine babesiosis is a serious threat to the livestock sector especially in tropical countries like India. Understanding the epidemiology of the disease in the country is essentially important in strategizing the available methods to effectively control the disease. Keeping this as the background, the present study was undertaken to estimate the pooled prevalence of bovine babesiosis in India. The relevant literature pertaining to bovine babesiosis was identified and a total of 49 studies published between 1983 and 2018 were included in the final systematic review and meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was conducted using meta-package of R software and prevalence estimates were calculated. Bovine babesiosis was reported from 21 states of India with pooled prevalence estimate of 6% (95% CI = 4%-9%) using random effect model. Zone wise analysis revealed highest pooled prevalence in the west zone and north zone (8%) followed by east zone (7%), central zone (6%), south zone (4%) and northeast zone (4%). The results of meta-analysis indicated high variability between studies. In addition, the pooled seroprevalence was high (29%) compared to prevalence of active infection (5%) of bovine babesiosis in India. Further, the pooled prevalence estimate of B. bigemina infection in India was more (7%) compared to B. bovis infection (1%). The estimation of prevalence of active infection and seroprevalence separately will helps to understand the actual disease prevalence in the country. The study indicated the wide prevalence of bovine babesiosis in India which urges for immediate mitigation strategies.

Animal disease surveillance: Its importance & present status in India.

Animal disease surveillance encompasses systematic collection of long-term data on disease events, risk factors and other relevant parameters followed by analyzing the same with reference to temporal and spatial characteristics to arrive at a conclusion so that necessary preventive measures can be taken. In India, the animal disease surveillance is done through National Animal Disease Reporting System, which is a web-based information technology system for disease reporting from States and Union Territories with the aim to record, monitor livestock disease situation and to initiate the preventive and curative action in a swift manner during disease emergencies. National Animal Disease Referral Expert System is a dynamic geographic information system and remote sensing-enabled expert system that captures an incidence of 13 economically important livestock diseases from all over the country and also provides livestock disease forecasting. The laboratories under State and Central governments, several research institutes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and veterinary colleges are involved in livestock disease diagnosis including zoonotic diseases. An integrated surveillance system is necessary for early detection of emerging/zoonotic diseases in humans. This review provides information on disease reporting and surveillance systems in animal health sector and the need for One Health approach to improve and strengthen the zoonotic disease surveillance system in India.

First report on serological evidence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection in farmed and free ranging mithuns (Bos frontalis).

Despite reports of BVDV infection in several domestic and wild ruminants, no information exists for mithun (Bos frontalis) species. Hence, this study was undertaken to determine prevalence of BVDV infection in mithuns, which contribute significantly to local economy in the North Eastern region of India. Blood and serum samples were collected between 2013 and 2016 from mithuns (n = 466) belonging to the states of Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh. Serum samples were tested for BVDV antibodies by a commercial ELISA and leukocytes were tested for BVDV by real-time RT-PCR. The overall true seroprevalence rate was 13.1% (95% confidence interval, CI: 6.9-17.8%) with higher prevalence in mithuns reared under semi-intensive system (27.5%) than in free-ranging mithuns (7.6%). Among the three states, seroprevalence (16.2%) was highest in Nagaland, while prevalence rates varied markedly among geographical locations. Age-wise data showed highest seroprevalence rate in >6-year-old animals (20.6%) than 2-6 years old (16.9%), 6 months-2 years old (8.5%), and <6-month-old animals (11.3%). The seroprevalence was higher in males (20.9%) than in females (12.1%). Among the four mithun strains, higher prevalence was evident in Manipur (30.3%) than Arunachal (21.3%), Nagaland (11.7%), and Mizoram strain (10.2%). However, no BVDV genomic RNA could be detected. The results provide first serological evidence of BVDV infection in mithun species and extend the knowledge on BVDV host range. The baseline data will help further investigations on epidemiology of BVD in mithun and its impact on mithun production.

Effect of medicinal and aromatic plants on rumen fermentation, protozoa population and methanogenesis in vitro.

The potential of tannins from 21 medicinal and aromatic plant leaves as antimethanogenic additives in ruminant feeds was investigated. The effect of tannin from these leaves on rumen fermentation parameters, protozoa population and methanogenesis was studied by incubating the samples [200 mg dry matter (DM)] without and with polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000 (400 mg DM) as a tannin binder during 24-h incubation in the in vitro Hohenheim gas method. Based on the methane percentage estimated in the total gas produced, methane production in millilitre was calculated [methane volume (ml) = methane % × total gas produced (ml) in 24 h]. In the samples, crude protein and neutral detergent fibre (g/kg DM) ranged from 113 to 172 and from 352 to 444 respectively. The total phenol (TP; g/kg DM) content was highest in Terminalia chebula (274) followed by Hemigraphis colorata (71) and Sapindus laurifolia (51) respectively. In the remaining samples, it was <43 g/kg DM. Activity of tannins, as represented by the increase in gas volume on addition of PEG, ranged from 0 to 133%, with the highest being recorded in T. chebula. The per cent increase in methane on PEG addition was 0 for Ammi majus, Aristolochia indica, Cascabela thevetia, Ipomea nil and Lantana camara, illustrating that tannins present in these samples had no effect on methane concentration. The PEG addition increased the total protozoa count by >50% in A. indica and C. thevetica. One of the important findings of our study was that of the 21 samples screened, Entodinia population increased in 12 with PEG as compared to 7 where Holotricha increased, indicating higher susceptibility of Entodinia to tannin. There was no increase in the protozoa population with PEG when incubating Cardiospermum halicacabum, Clerodendrum inerme, Dioscorea floribunda, Nerium oleander and Selastras paniculatus, which strongly suggested that methane suppression recorded in these samples was not because of a defaunating effect of their tannins per se. The fermentation pattern reflected increased total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) concentration from 0 to 28.3% with PEG addition among the leaves. Our results confirmed further observations that methanogenesis in vitro is not essentially related to density of protozoa population. Secondly, medicinal and aromatic plants such as C. inerme, Gymnema sylvestre and Sapindus laurifolia containing tannins appear to have a potential to suppress in vitro methanogenesis.

Comprehensive examination on codon usage bias pattern of the Bovine Ephemeral fever virus.

Bovine Ephemeral Fever Virus (BEFV) is a non-contagious virus that commonly infects cattle and water buffalo, reduces milk productivity, decreases the quality of beef, and causes an adverse economic impact on the global livestock industry. However, the evolution of BEFV is unclear, and uncertainty exists regarding its global geodynamics. Consequently, this study aims to comprehend the pattern of viral evolution and gene expression in the BEFV genes G, M, N, and P, including synonymous codons. Additionally, we performed recombination analyses, which exclusively detected recombination signals in the G- and P-genes. Subsequently, a phylogenetic tree was constructed to validate and support these findings. The codon usage bias results showed that the BEFV-selected genes were influenced by both natural and mutation pressure. Furthermore, nucleotide A is more abundant in all the selected genes. The eNC values, ranging from 42.99 to 47.10, revealed the presence of moderate codon usage bias, where gene P exhibited the highest and gene G had the lowest codon usage bias. The neutrality and PR-2 plots, specified codon usage patterns of the genes, are also being shaped by strong selectional pressure. This comprehensive analysis of BEFV genes (G, M, N, and P) sheds light on the molecular evolutionary patterns, co-adaptation, and different genes expression in diverse regions, facilitating the development of preventative programs and insights into viral pathogenesis and vaccine design.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Moderate regular exercises reduce inflammatory response for physical stress.

Exercises induce pro-inflammatory cytokines. We assessed the effect of different grades of exercises on inflammatory cytokine response. Twenty healthy volunteers performed a single bout of moderate exercise, a single bout of strenuous exercise and one month regular moderate exercise using standardized 10m Shuttle Walk Test. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Tumour Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-alpha) were estimated by Sandwich ELISA method after each exercise regime. Statistics were run using SPSS software version 11.0, Systat software. Repeated measures ANOVA has been used for analysis of IL-6 values and Friedman test has been used for analyzing TNF-alpha and IL-6 values. Twenty healthy volunteers (18 to 30 years) were chosen for this study. The mean and SEM of plasma levels (pg/ml) of IL-6 before exercise was 10.70 +/- 1.11 pg/ml, whereas, after acute moderate exercise and acute strenuous exercise it was 12.00 +/- 1.09 pg/ml and 13.35 +/- 0.89 pg/ml respectively. interestingly, after one month of moderate exercise the values decreased to; 8.80 +/- 0.65 pg/ml. Mean and SEM of TNF-alpha before exercise was 121.78 +/- 29.06 pg/ml. With acute moderate exercise and after acute strenuous exercise the values were 132.90 +/- 35.75 pg/ml and 112.05 +/- 29.89 pg/ml respectively. After one month moderate exercise the levels decreased to 94.95 +/- 27.29 pg/ml. The observed changes in both IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels before and after both moderate and strenuous exercise were statistically significant. Although there was a slight decrease in the value of both the cytokines after one month of regular moderate exercise compared to baseline value, the difference in the values was not statistically significant. However, both IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels showed overall statistically significant difference among the different grades of exercise. Plasma IL-6 and TNF-alpha increase with acute moderate exercise and IL-6 increases further with acute strenuous exercise. Their levels tend to fall below baseline with one month of regular moderate exercise indicating that regular moderate exercise has beneficial effects.

Modeling and forecasting livestock feed resources in India using climate variables.

The availability and efficient use of the feed resources in India are the primary drivers to maximize productivity of Indian livestock. Feed security is vital to the livestock management, extent of use, conservation and productivity enhancement. Assessment and forecasting of livestock feed resources are most important for effective planning and policy making. In the present study, 40 years of data on crop production, land use pattern, rainfall, its deviation from normal, area under crop and yield of crop were collected and modeled to forecast the likely production of feed resources for the next 20 years. The higher order auto-regressive (AR) models were used to develop efficient forecasting models. Use of climatic variables (actual rainfall and its deviation from normal) in combination with non-climatic factors like area under each crop, yield of crop, lag period etc., increased the efficiency of forecasting models. From the best fitting models, the current total dry matter (DM) availability in India was estimated to be 510.6 million tonnes (mt) comprising of 47.2 mt from concentrates, 319.6 mt from crop residues and 143.8 mt from greens. The availability of DM from dry fodder, green fodder and concentrates is forecasted at 409.4, 135.6 and 61.2 mt, respectively, for 2030.

Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) accelerates healing of radiation induced moist desquamation of the skin.

DESIGN: Clinical evidence from a few experimental and randomized trials have implicated the possible benefit of cytokines in prevention and healing of radiation induced mucositis. This pilot study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) on healing of radiation induced moist desquamation of the skin. RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY: intervention with exogenous growth factors along with conventional treatment practices may stimulate faster skin healing and help the patient in resuming normalcy at the earliest. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty three patients with established grade III moist desquamation of skin at the site of radiation and during the course of their radiotherapy were recruited for this study. Patients were administered a single dose of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF - Neupogen® (Filgrastim)) 300 µg subcutaneously at the periphery of the wound as a single session. The rate of skin healing was documented as a function of time from D1 (day of Filgastrim instillation) to the number of days required for complete healing/re-epithelization of the open skin wound. RESULTS: There was a rapid response and decreased severity of the grade III radiation skin reactions, which extrapolated to an early resumption of radiotherapy treatment. Twenty patients (86%) showed healing of their wounds within 10 days which was notably faster than the expected 2 to 3 weeks anticipated for the severity/grade of the skin reaction. Thirteen patients (56.5%) showed a remarkably rapid response of healing within 5 days. No significant side effects were experienced after the single dose was administered. The mean duration to resolution of moist desquamation was calculated as 6.65 ± 4.73 days. Among the associated parameters, only location of lesion and depth of skin reaction significantly affected the rate of healing. Superficial epidermal erosions showed excellent response with 4.53 ± 2.07 days of re-epithelization & healing (p < 0.001) compared to deep dermal exposure. The results are suggestive of a promising role of G-CSF in the management of Grade III radiation induced skin reaction (moist desquamation).This concept requires structured randomized trials to establish significance of benefit. CONCLUSION: G-CSF appears to promote wound healing; this cytokine has the potential to favorably modify the healing process of radiation induced moist desquamation of the skin. This study demonstrates that this dreaded side effect of radiotherapy can by managed in a very simple, convenient and cost effective way, without toxicity & intervention.

Assessment of post-vaccination immune response to peste des petits ruminants virus in small ruminants in the central and western regions of India.

The cross-sectional serosurvey for post-vaccination assessment of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus (PPRV) antibodies in sheep and goats was carried out in different states in the central and western regions of India after the implementation of vaccination under the PPR control programme. The serum samples (n = 4687) were collected from sheep (n = 1539) and goats (n = 3148) from August 2017 to March 2018 at various epidemiological units (n = 301) of the studied regions using a stratified random sampling method and PPR competitive ELISA kit was employed to detect PPRV antibodies. The results revealed 34, 21, 52, 74, 68, and 65% of prevalence of PPRV antibodies in small ruminants in Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan states, respectively, with a difference in seropositivity in sheep and goats across the states in sheep (p < 0.01) and goats (p < 0.01). Further, this serosurvey revealed that 60% of the epi-units (n = 185) had > 50% prevalence of post vaccination PPRV antibodies across states due to variations in vaccination rates and patterns. The vaccination coverage and the reported outbreaks varied between the states in the studied regions. Due to continuous vaccination under the control program, the reported PPR outbreaks have progressively declined in most of the studied states, and the PPR risk areas are confined to a few districts and sporadically, outbreaks are reported indicating the effectiveness of vaccination. These findings provide valuable information on potential PPRV episystems, and will assist with activities regarding intensive surveillance, vaccination, biosecurity, and modification of policy decisions towards designing and implementing control and eradication measures. Further, the present situation necessitates continuous mass vaccination and active surveillance programs to make these regions free from PPR in consonance with the PPR Global Control and Eradication Strategy under the PPR Global Eradication Program. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-022-00796-6.

Temporal changes in circulating levels of plasma interleukin-8 during peripartum period in Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) under subtropical climate.

The objective of this study was to elucidate the changes in circulating levels of plasma interleukin-8 (IL-8) during peripartum period in Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). IL-8 was estimated in blood plasma of healthy peripartum Murrah buffaloes (n=6) on days ± 30, ± 15, ± 5, ± 3, ± 1 and 0 pre- and postpartum with respect to the day of parturition (day 0) in each of the two different seasons (hot-humid and spring). The mean microclimate Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) during spring season was significantly lower (p<0.01) than the corresponding THI in hot-humid season. In both the seasons, plasma IL-8 remained lower in prepartum period (≤ 46.56 ± 14.08 pg/ml during spring and ≤ 73.18 ± 18.56 pg/ml during hot-humid season) than in the postpartum period (≥ 51.41 ± 13.82 pg/ml during spring and ≥ 84.13 ± 16.97 pg/ml in hot humid season). During spring, the IL-8 levels were significantly higher (P<0.05) on days+5 and +15 postpartum in comparison to the IL-8 levels on days -30, -5, and -3 prepartum. During hot-humid season, IL-8 level was significantly higher (P<0.05) on day +30 as compared to the IL-8 levels on days -30 and -5 prepartum. The correlation between IL-8 and mean microclimate THI was significant (r=0.25, P<0.01). From the results, it is concluded that peripartum period in buffaloes is associated with an inflammatory response leading to significantly higher plasma IL-8 during parturition and postpartum period than in the pre-partum period.

Peste Des Petits Ruminants in Atypical Hosts and Wildlife: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence between 2001 and 2021.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) or goat plague is considered a leading, highly contagious, and most lethal infectious viral disease of small ruminants affecting the worldwide livestock economy and international animal trade. Although sheep and goats are the primarily affected, the PPR Virus (PPRV) host range has expanded to other livestock (large ruminants) and wildlife animals over the last few decades, resulting in serious concern to the ongoing PPR global eradication program, which is primarily optimized, designed, and targeted towards accessible sheep and goat population. A systematic review and meta-analysis study was conducted to estimate the prevalence and spill-over infection of PPRV in large ruminants (bovine and camel) and wildlife. Published articles from 2001 to October 2021 on the "PPR" were searched in four electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, Science direct, and Google Scholars. The articles were then selected using inclusion criteria (detection/prevalence of PPRV in bovine, camel, and wildlife population), exclusion criteria (only sheep or goats, lack of prevalence data, experimental trial, test evaluation, and reviews written in other languages or published before 2001), and the prevalence was estimated by random effect meta-analysis model. In the current study, all published articles belonged to Africa and Asia. The overall pooled prevalence of PPR estimates was 24% (95% CI: 15-33), with 30% in Asia (95% CI: 14-49) and 20% in Africa (95% CI: 11-30). The overall estimated pooled prevalence at an Africa-Asia level in bovine and camel was 13% (95% CI: 8-19), and in wildlife, it was 52% (95% CI: 30-74) with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 97%) in most pooled estimates with a high prevalence in atypical hosts and wildlife across Asia and Africa. Over the last two decades, the host range has increased drastically in the wildlife population, even for prevalent PPR in the unnatural hosts only for a short time, contributing to virus persistence in multi-host systems with an impact on PPR control and eradication program. This observation on the epidemiology of the PPRV in unnatural hosts demands appropriate intervention strategies, particularly at the livestock-wildlife interface.

Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma evansi in cattle and analysis of associated climatic risk factors in Mizoram, India.

Surra, a haemoprotozoan parasitic disease even in subclinical form poses a challenge in terms of diagnosis and management to animal health practitioners and policy makers as well; eventually imparting financial loss to the livestock holders. A systematic study was designed to assess the seroprevalence of surra in cattle and associated climatic risk factors, by collecting 480 serum samples across the eight districts of Mizoram during 2017-2019. The apparent and true seroprevalence detected by card agglutination test was 37.08% (CI at 95%: 32.88-41.49) and 36.59% (CI at 95%: 32.4-40.99) whereas by recombinant Variable Surface Glycoprotein based indirect ELISA was 41.88% (CI at 95%: 37.5-46.3) and 40.35% (CI at 95%: 36.02-44.76) respectively. Climate parameters which influence vector population were extracted from their respective database and were correlated with seroprevalence data. Linear discriminant analysis revealed that air temperature, relative humidity and diurnal temperature range, leaf area index and soil moisture as significant risk factors discriminating seropositive and seronegative data sets classified by indirect ELISA. This study is the first report on seroprevalence of surra in cattle of Mizoram and the situation demands deployment of intervention strategies in order to assess the endemicity of the disease and thereby preventing the economic losses.

Synonymous codon usage pattern among the S, M, and L segments in Crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever virus.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus is one among the major zoonosis viral diseases that use the Hyalomma ticks as their transmission vector to cause viral infection to the human and mammalian community. The fatality of infectious is high across the world especially in Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Europe. This study regarding codon usage bias of S, M, and L segments of the CCHF virus pertaining to the host Homo sapiens, reveals in-depth information about the evolutionary characteristics of CCHFV. Relative Synonymous Codon Usage (RSCU), Effective number of codons (ENC) were calculated, to determine the codon usage pattern in each segment. Correlation analysis between Codon adaptation index (CAI), GRAVY (Hydrophobicity), AROMO (Aromaticity), and nucleotide composition revealed bias in the codon usage pattern. There was no strong codon bias found among any segments of the CCHF virus, indicating both the factors i.e., natural selection and mutational pressure shapes the codon usage bias.

Prevalence of hypertension and diabetes morbidity among adults in a few urban slums of Bangalore city, determinants of its risk factors and opportunities for control - A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: In World Health Organization's(WHO) South-East Asia region(SEAR), India accounts for >2/3rd of total deaths due to non-communicable diseases(NCD). Annually, NCDs account for ~60% of all deaths in India. Apart from the known risk factors, an individual's physical environment, behavioral and biological susceptibility are known to associated with NCDs. Social factors tend to create barriers for accessing healthcare among the poor people. OBJECTIVES: i)To screen and diagnose hypertension and diabetes among individuals aged >30 years, and its associated risk factors such as obesity and tobacco consumption. ii) To deliberate on the social determinants influencing this survey, and suggest suitable recommendations for the National Programme for prevention and control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease and Stroke (NPCDCS). METHODS: As a component of NPCDCS, the present survey was conducted in a few urban slums of Bangalore city during 2010. The collaborators for the conduct of this survey include the Ministry of health and family welfare, Director of health and family welfare services and Medical colleges in Bangalore city. RESULTS: In our study, we found a prevalence proportion of 21.5% for hypertension, 13.8% for diabetes and 30.4% were co-morbid with both the diseases. Consumption of tobacco(any form) was present in 5.1% of the study subjects, overweight among 32.4% and obesity among 20.0%. The study population comprises 18.96% of the source, and the main reason for inadequate utilization was lack of Programmatic awareness. CONCLUSION: NPCDCS program needs to conceptualize the relevant social factors which determine access to screening and diagnostic healthcare services, including behavior change initiatives. For Program effectiveness, changes at the level of healthcare system need to adopted.

Seroprevalence of peste des petits ruminants in sheep and goats in Eastern India.

The seroprevalence study of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in small ruminants in Bihar and Odisha states in the Eastern region of India was carried out. A total of 1836 serum samples were collected from sheep (n = 648) and goats (n = 1188) from various epidemiological units (n = 112) in these states by a two-stage sampling plan during April 2017-March 2018. These samples were tested for the detection of virus antibodies by PPR competitive ELISA kit. The results revealed that the seroprevalence of PPR in sheep and goats in Bihar and Odisha states was 30.91% and 54.20%, respectively. Further, the chi-square analysis showed that the association exists between the presence of PPR virus antibodies in the goats (χ2 = 93.28, p < 0.01) and between the states (χ2 = 82.61, p < 0.01). This cross-sectional serosurvey also infers that the sheep and goats in most of the epi-units (n = 87) had < 70% of PPR virus antibodies prevalence. This warrants the intensive continuous mass vaccination program for a few more years to achieve the desired level of population immunity (epidemiological units protection level) and active surveillance to make these states free from PPR in the Eastern region of India.

Towards eradication of peste des petits ruminants: post-vaccination evaluation in sheep and goats in Southern Peninsular India.

The cross-sectional seroprevalence study of the peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in sheep and goats was carried out in the Southern Peninsular region of India to ascertain the prevalence of PPR virus (PPRV) antibodies at the epidemiological units (epi-units) level in the small ruminant population. The serum samples were collected from various epi-units (villages) in the different states and union territory (UT) in Southern Peninsular region using a stratified random sampling methodology from August 2017 to March 2018. A total of 6643 serum samples [sheep (n = 2785) and goats (n = 3858)] were collected from 360 epi-units and were screened by PPR competitive ELISA kit for the detection of PPRV antibodies. The results revealed that the seroprevalence of PPR in small ruminants in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala states, and Puducherry UT was 87.0%, 66.4%, 64.3%, 47.8%, 11.4%, and 50.4%, respectively in the studied region. Further, the results of the chi-squared test revealed that the PPRV antibodies across different states and UT in the region were associated (sheep-χ2 = 218.8, p < 0.01; goats-χ2 = 827.1, p < 0.01), as all the states and UT adopted the PPR vaccination programme. The study also implies that the small ruminants in some of the epi-units (n = 102) had < 30% seroprevalence, which necessitates comprehensive intensive vaccination and active surveillance programmes to make this region as PPR free zone.

Seroprevalence of Peste des petits ruminants in small ruminants in the North Eastern Region of India.

A seroprevalence study of the peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in small ruminants was carried out in the different states (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura) in the North Eastern Region (NER) of India using serum samples collected from April 2017 to March 2018. A total number of 4,163 sera [sheep (n = 508) and goats (n = 3,655)] collected from 345 epi­units/villages covering 176 municipalities in NER were screened by competitive ELISA kit for the detection of PPR virus antibodies. The results revealed that the seroprevalence of PPR in small ruminants in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura was 34.3%, 10.3%, 4.7%, 15.7%, 14.7%, and 5.5%, respectively with an overall 14.5% prevalence.Association between the presence of antibodies and goats has been showed to be significant (p < 0.01) at the NER level level and within every single state. This manuscript highlights the need for continuous monitoring of this important disease as for the severe economic impact PPR may have in the affected countries.

Genome Sequence of Classical Swine Fever Virus NIVEDI-165, Subtype 1.1, a Field Virus Strain Isolated from the Southern Part of India.

The whole-genome sequence of an Indian field isolate of classical swine fever virus, NIVEDI-165, was found to be subtype 1.1, and it showed 89 to 99% amino acid identity and 84 to 99% nucleotide identity with four and five Indian classical swine fever virus (CSFV) isolates, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on a full-genome sequence of CSFV from South India.

Evaluation of sperm functional attributes in relation to in vitro sperm-zona pellucida binding ability and cleavage rate in assessing frozen thawed buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) semen quality.

The objective of this study was to evaluate sperm functional attributes in relation to in vitro sperm-zona binding ability and cleavage rate in assessing frozen thawed buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) semen quality. Frozen-thawed forty-eight ejaculates from eight Surti buffalo bulls (six ejaculates/bull) obtained by artificial vagina were used. Frozen semen from each bull was thawed, pooled, and subjected for sperm functional (six replicates) and in vitro fertilization (four replicates) tests. The progressive forward motility, plasmalemma functional integrity assessed by fluorogenic [6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate (CFDA), and propidium iodide (PI)], hypoosmotic swelling (HOS), and hypoosmotic swelling-Giemsa (HOS-G) test, mitochondrial membrane potential, sperm nuclear morphology, the number of sperm bound to zona and cleavage rate differed significantly (P<0.05) between bulls. When the animals were grouped based on cleavage rate (group I, >40% cleavage rate, n=5, and group II, <40% cleavage rate, n=3), in vitro fertility parameters and all the sperm functional attributes except sperm nuclear morphology differed significantly (P<0.05). The proportions of sperm with functional plasmalemma in the tail and intact acrosome assessed by HOS-G test (25.33, range: 17.48-40.27) were significantly (P<0.001) lower than the functional plasmalemma in the tail assessed by HOS test (39.80, range: 27.85-54.67). The number of sperm bound to zona had significant correlations with the mitochondrial membrane potential (r=0.90, P<0.01) and plasmalemma integrity (fluorogenic, r=0.74 and HOS, r=0.79, P<0.05) and HOS-G, r=0.87, P<0.01). The cleavage rate had significant (P<0.05) correlations with the mitochondrial membrane potential (r=0.70) and plasmalemma integrity measured by HOS-G test (r=0.68). The present study indicates that these attributes could represent important determinants of buffalo sperm quality influencing cleavage rate.

Impact of preoperative mild renal dysfunction on short term outcome in isolated Coronary Artery Bypass (CABG) patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: It is well known that dialysis dependent renal failure increases the likelihood of poor outcome following cardiac surgery. But the results of CABG in patients with mild renal dysfunction are not clearly established. The aim of the study is to analyze the risk of preoperative mild renal dysfunction on outcome after isolated coronary surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed prospectively collected data between June 2006-Nov 2006 in 488 patients who underwent isolated CABG. We separated the data into two groups. Control group having normal renal function and study group having mild renal dysfunction (serum creatinine 1.4 mg-2.2 mg%). Among 488 patients, 412 patients were in control group and 76 patients were in the study group. RESULTS: Analysis of data showed significant postoperative complications in the mild renal dysfunction group, like increased operative mortality (7.5% vs 1.6%), increased requirement of postoperative renal replacement therapy (10% vs 1.2%), increased incidence of new onset atrial fibrillation (20% vs 4.2%) and prolonged duration of ICU stay. Multivariate analysis adjusting for known risk factors confirmed preoperative mild renal dysfunction (S.creat.1.4-2.2 mg/dl) is an independent risk factor for postoperative morbidity and mortality. (Adj. OR: 4.47; 95% CI: 1.41-14.16; P=0.010). CONCLUSION: Mild renal dysfunction is an important independent predictor of outcome in terms of in-hospital mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing CABG.