Seroprevalence of economically important viral pathogens in swine populations of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence and identify the strains of swine influenza virus (SwIV), as well as the seroprevalence of porcine parvovirus (PPV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV), porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2), and classical swine fever virus (CSFV) in pigs in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). Blood samples (309) were randomly collected from pigs at farms throughout T&T. Serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to the aforementioned viruses using commercial ELISA kits, and the circulating strains of SwIV were identified by the hemagglutination inhibition test (HIT). Antibodies against SwIV were detected in 114 out of the 309 samples (37%). Out of a total of 26 farms, 14 tested positive for SwIV antibodies. HI testing revealed high titers against the A/sw/Minnesota/593/99 H3N2 strain and the pH1N1 2009 pandemic strain. Antibodies against PPV were detected in 87 out of the 309 samples (28%), with 11 out of 26 farms testing positive for PPV antibodies. Antibodies against PCV-2 were detected in 205 out of the 309 samples tested (66%), with 25 out of the 26 farms testing positive for PCV-2 antibodies. No antibodies were detected in any of the tested pigs to PRRSV, TGEV, PRCV, or CSFV.

Effect of age and gender on haematological and serum chemistry parameters of pigs in Trinidad and Tobago

A total of 361 blood samples were collected from nursey pigs, grower/finishers and adult breeding pigs on 36 farms in Trinidad and Tobago and evaluated for selected haematological parameters and serum chemistry. The erythron and all leukon variables, except eosinophils, were unaffected by gender. Females had higher eosinophil counts than males (P ¡Ü 0.05). Males were found to have higher creatine kinase values than females (770.65 ¡À 55.03 vs. 594.39 ¡À 33.14 U/L, P = 0.006). No differences existed between males and females for the other serum chemistry parameters studied. Age had a msignificant effect on the erythron parameters evaluated; the haemoglobin, haematocrit, and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration showed increasing trends with age (P ¡Ü 0.05). Adult breeding animals had significantly lower white blood cell counts and lymphocyte counts than the other age groups ( P > 0.05). Similarly, there was no significant age effect for calcium, bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, or gamma -glutamyl transferase ( P > 0.05). Potassium and glucose decreased with age whereas sodium increased with age, chloride was lower in grower/finishers than in either the adult or the nursery groups ( P ¡Ü 0.05). Creatinine, total protein and albumin increased with age; globulin and bicarbonate increased significantly from the nursery stage to the grower/finisher stage but decreased to adult values (P ¡Ü 0.05). Alkaline phosphatase was significantly lower in adults than in the other two groups, whereas aspartate aminotransferase was higher in nursery pigs than in adults (P ¡Ü 0.05).

Evaluation of performance indices for broilers raised in conventional versus tunnel-ventilated houses and the cost-effectiveness of the two types of housing in Barbados

Retrospective data from 18 tunnel-ventilated and 41 conventional houses in Barbados were evaluated in order to compare the effects of the two types of housing using the following indices: feed conversion ratio at 1500 grammes (FCR1500), European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF), and net income per bird (NIPB). The data obtained were from the records of 200 and 282 grow-outs for tunnel-ventilated and conventional houses respectively. The effects of season of placement and month of placement on the above performance variables were also evaluated. The analyses revealed that the performance variables NIPB, EPEF and FCR1500 were superior for tunnel-ventilated housing (P=0.02, 0.0001 and 0.0001, respectively); were less variable from month to month for tunnel-ventilated housing; and except for NIPB, were better when birds were placed during the dry season (P=0.08, 0.0005 and 0.007, respectively). Financial analysis also showed that the tunnel-ventilated house was a more profitable venture than the conventional house. The benefit:cost ratios were 1.18 for the tunnel-ventilated house and 1.04 for the conventional house. The net profit margin (15.38 vs 3.59 percent), net profit per kilogram, (0.51 vs 0.12 BDS $, (BDS $1.00 ~ US $0.50), and net profit per m2 (94.83 vs 13.13 BDS $) were also higher for the tunnel-ventilated house.

Seasonal influences on swine reproductive traits in Trinidad, West Indies

A retrospective study was conducted on a large farrow-to-finish pig farm in southern Trinidad. The study examined the influence of season (wet vs dry) on litter size, litter birth weight, number of piglets weaned, litter 21-day weight, and weaning-to-remating interval (WTRI). Season of birth, season of mating, and month of mating had no effect on any of the traits examined (P>0.05). There was a higher level of preweaning mortality among piglets that were born in the month of January (P=0.02). The average temperatures for the wet season and dry season for the three year study period were 26.1 (C) and 27.2 (C), respectively. The average temperature-humidity indicies for the two seasons were 75.4 for the wet season and 77.6 for the dry season (AU)

A survey of veterinary occupational hazards in Trinidad, West Indies

A survey of veterinary occupational hazards was conducted by questionnaire in Trinidad. Forty-four out of seventy veterinarians responded to the questionnaire. Bites were the major cause of injuries to veterinarians in small animal practices (50.9 percent) and mixed practices (37.7 percent). In equine practices, 33.3 percent of the reported injuries were due to clinicians being stepped on by animals. The total number of days lost due to injuries, reported by veterinarians for their entire careers was not substantial, 33 days in small animal practices, 24 days in mixed practices, and 28 days in equine practices. Lost days from work-related injuries averaged two days per practitioner. The number of years in veterinary practice for respondents in the study ranged from one year to thirty years with the modal class being 1-5 years. The study showed that the highest use of radiography was by the the two equine veterinarians, taking an average of 14 x-rays per week per practitioner. Nine of the thirteen female respondents in small animal practice reported using anaesthetic gases. The highest exposure to anaesthetic gases (5.13 hours per week per user) was found in this category. Only ten (50 percent) of the practitioners who used gaseous anaesthesia employed a scavenger system when using gaseous anaesthetics. Anti-neoplastic drugs were found to be used, on average, once per month by veterinarians in the survey. Allergies, job-related automobile accidents, and violent crimes were also reported. Despite a high exposure to zoonotic diseases, there were few reports of veterinarians contracting disease (AU)

A retrospective study on the influence of retained foetal membranes on reproductive efficiency in two dairy herds in Trinidad

A retrospective study was conducted on two farms in Trinidad to determine the impact of retained foetal membranes (RFM) on reproductive efficiency in dairy cattle. The measures of reproductive efficiency examined were days open, services per conception, calving interval, and first-service conception rate.(AU)