Effects of supplementing rice straw with two fodder tree leaves and their combinations on voluntary feed intake, growth, and nitrogen utilization in sheep.

Fodder tree leaves (FTL) are limitless nutrient resources that provide high-quality feed, particularly during the dry season, improving animal diets, and reducing the use of concentrates in ruminant livestock farming. In order to determine the benefits of FTL, two experiments were conducted to measure the voluntary feed intake, growth performance, and nitrogen utilization of forest-type (FT) sheep fed rice straw (RS) and supplemented with either Leucaena leucocephala (LEU) or Samanea saman (SAM) or their equal combination (LS). For the growth trial (Experiment 1), 12 male FT sheep with mean initial body weight (BW) of 17.0 ± 1.0 kg (mean ± SD) were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments in a Completely Randomized Design. The diets were Urea-treated RS (UTS) (Control), RS + L (LEU), RS + S (SAM), and RS + 50% L + 50% S (LS). After 14 d of adjustment period, feed intakes and refusals were recorded daily, whereas BW was recorded bi-weekly for 12 wk. Four rams weighing 17.0 ± 1.0 kg BW were randomly assigned to the four treatments over a four period in a repeated (4 × 4) Latin square design to estimate the nitrogen (N) balance study (Experiment 2). Treatment diets were the same as that of Experiment 1. Dry matter intake of straw was highest (P = 0.0001) for sheep fed UTS. However, combining L with S increased (P = 0.0001) straw DM intake compared to feeding L or S alone. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in total feed intake between sheep offered UTS and LS, but both were significantly higher (P = 0.0001) than those offered LEU and SAM. Body weight gain (3.70 kg) and growth rate (196.15 g/d) were highest (P = 0.0001) for sheep offered LS compared to the other treatment groups. Values for N balance differed (P = 0.0001) among treatment diets. N balance for LUE and LS supplemented diets were higher than that of SAM but all were higher (P = 0.0001) than those offered UTS. Leucaena and Samanea leaves could, therefore, be utilized as supplement to poor-quality straws to improve the productivity of small ruminants especially during the long dry seasons in the tropics.

Sero-molecular epidemiology of hepatitis E virus in pigs and human contacts in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is among the leading causes of viral hepatitis in most developing countries. Zoonotic acquisition of HEV genotype 3 from swine has come into focus more recently. Available studies on HEV in Ghana and other countries in the region do not provide enough information towards understanding the epidemiology of HEV in human and animal populations. Towards this end, we conducted a comparative cross-sectional study to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with HEV exposure, both in swine and humans working on pig farms in typical local settings. The presence of viral RNA in human and swine samples was also evaluated, along with classification of viral sequences from HEV-positive samples. METHODS: Structured questionnaires soliciting information on pigs reared, as well as socio-demographic information including age, sex and educational background of humans was collected. A total of 10 ml and 5 ml of whole blood was collected from pigs and human participants respectively. ELISA and real-time RT-PCR were performed on the sera for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies to hepatitis E virus and viral RNA, respectively. RESULTS: Five hundred and forty-four (544) human participants including 264 swine contacts and 280 swine non-contacts were enrolled in the study. Although the proportion of HEV IgG antibodies was higher in contact groups (114; 54.3%) than non-contact groups (96; 45.7%), a multivariate analysis did not show any significant difference. No HEV RNA was detected in human samples. Similarly, 720 pigs were sampled from 18 farms located in five regions in Ghana. Twenty-three (23) of the pigs (3.2, 95%CI = 2.0-4.8) were positive for HEV RNA by real-time RT-PCR testing. Sequences obtained from HEV-positive samples were found to share high sequence identities with each other and clustered with other genotype 3 viruses indicating the existence of circulating zoonotic genotype 3 viruses on farms. Although we did not find evidence of pig to human transmission of HEV genotype 3, the presence of this genotype in pigs shows the potential for possible zoonotic transmission in African farm settings and buttresses the importance of active surveillance for the infection among at risk populations.

Molecular-based cross-species evaluation of bovine coronavirus infection in cattle, sheep and goats in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Apart from the huge worldwide economic losses often occasioned by bovine coronavirus (BCoV) to the livestock industry, particularly with respect to cattle rearing, continuous surveillance of the virus in cattle and small ruminants is essential in monitoring variations in the virus that could enhance host switching. In this study, we collected rectal swabs from a total of 1,498 cattle, sheep and goats. BCoV detection was based on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Sanger sequencing of the partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) region for postive samples were done and nucleotide sequences were compared with homologous sequences from the GenBank. RESULTS: The study reports a BCoV prevalence of 0.3%, consisting of 4 positive cases; 3 goats and 1 cattle. Less than 10% of all the animals sampled showed clinical signs such as diarrhea and respiratory distress except for high temperature which occurred in > 1000 of the animals. However, none of the 4 BCoV positive animals manifested any clinical signs of the infection at the time of sample collection. Bayesian majority-rule cladogram comparing partial and full length BCoV RdRp genes obtained in the study to data from the GenBank revealed that the sequences obtained from this study formed one large monophyletic group with those from different species and countries. The goat sequences were similar to each other and clustered within the same clade. No major variations were thus observed between our isolates and those from elsewhere. CONCLUSIONS: Given that Ghana predominantly practices the extensive and semi-intensive systems of animal rearing, our study highlights the potential for spillover of BCoV to small ruminants in settings with mixed husbandry and limited separation between species.

Potential Intermediate Hosts for Coronavirus Transmission: No Evidence of Clade 2c Coronaviruses in Domestic Livestock from Ghana.

The emergence of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), nearly a decade ago with worldwide distribution, was believed to be of zoonotic origin from bats with dromedary camels as intermediate hosts. There is a likelihood of other domestic livestock serving as intermediate hosts for this virus. The presence of coronaviruses, closely related to MERS-CoV in Ghanaian bats, presented the opportunity to test the hypothesis of transmissibility of this virus through domestic livestock species. The possible interactions between livestock and bats in 31 household farms were accessed by observation and interviews with farmers. Rectal swabs and serum from cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, and swine from commercial and household farms were tested for MERS-CoV and a Nycteris sp. bat coronavirus, previously detected in Ghana. A pan-PCR assay to detect clade 2c viruses and recombinant immunofluorescence assay to detect anti-spike IgG antibodies against the target viruses were used. Likely contact between livestock and bats was determined for 13 farms (41.9%) that reported confining their livestock and also observing bats in their homes. Livestock were left unconfined on eight farms (25.8%) that also observed bats roosting in trees close to their homes. No viral RNA or antibodies against the two coronaviruses were detected in any of the livestock species tested. Cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, and swine are not likely hosts of clade 2c coronaviruses.

Feeding differing direct-fed microbials and its influence on growth and haematological parameters of growing lambs.

A 4 mo feeding trial was conducted to ascertain the effect of direct-fed microbial (DFM) and their products, namely rumen enhancer three (RE3), Paenibacillus polymyxa (P3), and a fermentation product of RE3-RE3 Plus on the growth and haematological profile of lambs at different stages of growth (suckling, weaner, and grower phases). The lambs weighing 2.5 ± 2 kg were blocked by their weights and allotted to four dietary treatments, namely Control, RE3, RE3 Plus, and P3 in a randomized complete block design. Blood sampling of lambs to investigate the effect of the treatments on the haematological and blood biochemistry variables was done on monthly basis and analysis of variance in a repeated measures design was done using the Statistical Analysis System. Feed intake (FI) by lambs was not significantly (P > 0.05) influenced by DFM supplementation for all the phases of growth. However, feed conversion ratio (FCR) for the grower phase of the lamb was higher for T2. Similar (P > 0.05) hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC), pack cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), eosinophil, lymphocyte, and basophil composition were recorded for lambs on the different experimental diets. Neutrophil and monocytes levels were, however, different (P < 0.05) for lambs fed the varying dietary treatments with lambs on RE3 Plus diets recording the lowest (P < 0.05) neutrophil levels. Monocytes levels were highest (P < 0.05) in lambs fed diets fortified with RE3. Sampling period influenced (P < 0.05) the Hb, RBC, PCV, MCHC, eosinophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte levels. The trial revealed a significant treatment × sampling period interaction (P < 0.0001) for the blood parameters examined. The inclusion of the different DFM products had no influence on the growth characteristics and blood profile of growing lambs.