Clinical and pathological factors associated with Ehrlichia canis in companion dogs.

INTRODUCTION: Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME) is a disease caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Ehrlichia canis, a bacterium that affects domestic dogs but can also infect humans. The diagnosis implies a challenge due to its diversity in clinical manifestations. METHODOLOGY: The frequency of E. canis infection, risk factors, and clinical-pathological parameters associated with seropositivity were calculated with the PROC FREQ TABLES and PROC LOGISTIC procedures of the SAS statistical software. RESULTS: The study showed a seroprevalence of 26.62% (156/586). Association between seropositivity and risk factors was found. The age and the presence of ticks including clinical signs such as anorexia, seizures, cough, petechiae, epistaxis, and hematochezia, as well as multiple blood and biochemical alterations were analyzed. The logistic regression analysis showed a high predictive power (c = 0.98) for CME for thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and anemia. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of E. canis in endemic areas makes its diagnosis difficult. Thus, clinical signs must be considered, along with blood and biochemical alterations, as a possible predictor of the disease.

An evaluation of environmental, intrinsic and pre- and post-slaughter risk factors associated to dark-cutting beef in a Federal Inspected Type slaughter plant.

The objective was to determine the risk factors associated to dark-cutting in bovine carcasses. The study was conducted at a Federal Inspection abattoir located in northeastern Mexico. A random sample of 394 animals at slaughter was used. A total of 26 explanatory variables were evaluated; the analysis included environmental, animal-specific, and management factors both at pre- and post- slaughter periods. Only four variables were statistically significant within the final logistic regression model (P < .001). The frequency of dark-cutting carcasses was 13.45%. Lairage time was directly proportional to the percentage of risk for dark-cutting beef. Improper desensitization also increased the frequency of carcasses with this anomaly. Backfat thickness and the 24-h pH differential of the carcasses were inversely proportional to the risk for dark-cutting beef. An interesting finding was that risk factors for DFD meat are present in all stages of the slaughter process and thus to effectively address this problem an integral evaluation is needed throughout the slaughter process.

[Seroprevalence of risk factors associated with rickettsiosis (Rickettsia rickettsii) in humans in Baja California, Mexico]. / Seroprevalencia y factores de riesgo asociados a riquetsiosis (Rickettsia rickettsii) en humanos de Ensenada, Baja California, México.

INTRODUCTION: Rickettsiosis caused by Rickettsia rickettsii is capable of infecting vertebrates, including humans. The symptoms are high fever, headache, myalgia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and cough. Mortality can be up to 30% in untreated patients. AIMS: To prove the existence of rickettsiosis in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, because no human cases have been reported. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study included 384 samples of humans in Ensenada, Baja California. Antibodies against R. rickettsii were measured with the kit R. rickettsii ELISA(®) Helica Biosystems, Inc., adapted for use in humans using human IgG conjugate antibodies. To determine the sensitivity and specificity, 32 human samples were submitted to IFA. Specific primers were used for the molecular diagnosis of R. rickettsii in dogs and ticks. RESULTS: The seroprevalence adjusted rickettsiosis in humans was 2.9% (95% CI: 0.8-5.3), seropositivity was not associated with sex, age, occupation, household, dogs, pet deworming program against ticks, the type of yard, and mobility of the dog between home and the street. CONCLUSIONS: With substantial agreement of k between ELISA and IFA, it follows that the results of seroprevalence of this work are reliable.

Uso de un modelo univariado de series de tiempo para la predicción, en el corto plazo, del comportamiento de la producción de carne de bovino en Baja California, México / The use of a univariate time series model to short term forecast the behaviour of beef production in Baja California, Mexico

Con el fin de pronosticar la producción de carne de bovino en Baja California, México, se utilizó el método de Box-Jenkins para seleccionar un modelo autorregresivo de promedios móviles (ARMA). Para ello se usó la información de canales de bovinos procesadas mensualmente en los rastros del estado durante el periodo de 2003 a 2010. Debido a que la inspección de la gráfica de la serie y el correlograma de la misma no permitieron establecer la estacionariedad, se aplicó la prueba de Dickey-Fuller aumentada, en la que se encontró que la serie era estacionaria. Como resultado del procedimiento de identificación se seleccionaron los modelos AR(1) y ARMA (2,1), los cuales se estimaron utilizando mínimos cuadrados; se compararon ambos modelos con base en la significancia de sus coeficientes de regresión y los estadísticos de Akaike y Schwartz. Se llevó a cabo una evaluación diagnóstica para revisar la bondad de ajuste de los modelos mediante la gráfica de los residuales; el valor de los estadísticos Q se utilizó para determinar la ausencia de autocorrelación en los modelos propuestos. Debido a que los resultados fueron similares, se llevó a cabo una evaluación de la eficiencia predictiva de ambos modelos utilizando una serie de estadísticos. Los resultados de estas pruebas indicaron que el modelo ARMA (2,1) presentaba una mejor capacidad predictiva, que fue corroborada mediante una gráfica conjunta de la serie actual y la pronosticada, y una predicción para el mes de enero de 2011. Los resultados respaldan el uso de modelos ARMA para obtener, a corto plazo, predicciones de la producción de carne en Baja California.

The Box-Jenkins methodology was used to select an ARMA model to forecast beef production in Baja California, Mexico. The series of bovine carcasses processed monthly in the state's slaughterhouses between 2003 and 2010 was used. Because the inspection of the series graph and correlogram did not determine a stationary behavior, an augmented Dickey-Fuller test was performed and it was found that the series was stationary. As a result of identification procedure, an AR (1) and an ARMA (2, 1) models were selected and estimated using ordinary least squares. The estimated models were compared using the significance of the regression coefficient and the Akaike information and Schwartz Bayesian criteria. A diagnostic check was done examining the goodness of fit of the models by plotting the residuals; the Q statistic was used to test for autocorrelation. Because the results were similar, a predictive efficacy evaluation of two models was carried out using a group of forecast error statistics. The result of these tests indicated that the ARMA (2,1) had a better forecasting capability, this was supported by plotting together a forecasted series with the actual series and the out-of sample prediction for January of 2011. The results support the use of ARMA models to obtain reliable short term forecasts of beef production in Baja California.

Assessment of cattle welfare at a commercial slaughter plant in the northwest of Mexico.

Slaughter plants have been undergoing radical transformations in recent years due to the need to increase efficiency and incorporate new technologies for the improvement of the infrastructure, animal welfare, and product quality. The aim of this study was to assess the cattle welfare status during the unloading, lairage, stunning, bleeding and quantify bruising incidence at a commercial slaughter plant in the northwest of Mexico. We monitored 8,118 cattle during the unloading, lairage, stunning, bleeding, and carcass bruise incidence. Our results showed that in the unloading stage, 2% of the cattle vocalized, 5% were prodded with an electric goad, and 4% either slipped or fell. In the lairage stage, 12% of the animals vocalized, 80% prodded with an electric goad, and 8% of the animals slipped or fell. In the stunning stage, 10% of the animals vocalized, 67% prodded with an electric goad, and 15% of the animals slipped or fell. Ninety-five percent of the animals were stunned with a single shot, and 51% of the animals were effectively desensitized. Ninety-two percent of the carcasses had some type of bruise. Although the slaughter plant had adequate infrastructure and stringent operational standards, in all of the stages except unloading handling had an impact on the welfare of the animals being slaughtered.

Adición de grasa suplementaria en sustitución de forraje en dietas para vacas en lactancia: Digestión de nutrimentos y función ruminal* / Addition of supplemental dietary fat in substitution of forage in rations for lactating dairy cows: nutrient digestibility and rumen function

Cuatro vacas Holstein primíparas (529 kg), habilitadas con cánulas en rumen y duodeno proximal fueron utilizadas para evaluar el efecto de los tratamientos sobre utilización de nutrimentos y función ruminal. Los periodos experimentales constaron de 21 días, 17 para adaptación a la dieta y 4 para toma de muestras. Las vacas consumieron dietas tipo integral en intervalos iguales dos veces por día. Los tratamientos fueron: 1) sin grasa suplementaria; 2) 4 por ciento de grasa amarilla, sustituyendo a 4 por ciento de maíz hojueleado; y 3) 4 por ciento sustituyendo a 4 por ciento de heno de alfalfa (BMS). No hubo efecto (P>0.10) de los tratamientos sobre pH ruminal, digestión ruminal y posruminal de N, MO y almidón. El tratamiento 3 tendió a disminuir (18 por ciento, P>0.20) la digestión de FAD a nivel ruminal. La adición de grasa a la dieta aumentó (P<0.10) la ED de la dieta, así como el flujo a duodeno del N consumido, y disminuyó (P<0.10) la digestión de MO a nivel de tracto total y la proporción molar de propionato. El valor de la ED (Mcal/kg)para la grasa amarilla promedió 7.54 Mcal/kg cuando fue sustituida por maíz, y 6.62 cuando se sustituyó por forraje. Se concluye que la suplementación de grasa puede ser mediante la sustitución del concentrado o el forraje, sin efectos negativos sobre la proporción de AGV ruminales, o sitio y tasa de digestión de MO, FAD, N, almidón y lípidos. Sin embargo, el adicionar a la dieta 4 por ciento de grasa en sustitución por forraje, tendió a disminuir el valor nutrimental de la grasa suplementaria en 12 por ciento