There is considerable global concern over the newly emergent H5N1 strain of avian influenza that has affected millions of domestic poultry flocks and resulted in 256 human cases and 152 deaths in humans. There has been little analysis of the general assumption that smallholder backyard poultry flocks are inherently at higher risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) than confined and com...

AIM The aim was to characterize Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum isolated from backyard poultry by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of virulence genes invasion (invA) and Salmonella plasmid virulence C (spvC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Two strains of Salmonella serovar Gallinarum isolates used in this study were obtained from an outbreak of fowl typhoid in backyard Vanaraja fowl. P...

Backyard burning of household waste in barrels is a common waste disposal practice for which pollutant emissions have not been well characterized. This study measured the emissions of several pollutants, including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs), from burning mixtures designed to simulate waste generated by a “recycling” and a “nonrecycling” fam...

A removal trapping method that employed individual lure-baited insect suction traps for the reduction of adult biting midges (Culicoides spp.) was evaluated in a coastal residential neighborhood of northwestern Florida during 2000. Six backyards were used in the study. Lure-baited traps consisted of one ABC PRO insect suction trap (fitted with a 30 by 30-mesh polyester screen bag) baited with c...

We used a simulation study to assess the impact of an incursion of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus on the livestock industries in an 8-county area of the Panhandle region of Texas, USA. The study was conducted in a high-density livestock area, with an estimated number of cattle on-feed of approximately 1.8 million. We modified an existing stochastic, spatial simulation model to simulate 64 s...

Between 2007 and 2009, active surveys were conducted on backyard poultry (chickens, guinea fowls and ducks) in four areas of Côte d'Ivoire, including two areas where avian influenza H5N1 outbreaks occurred in 2006. Each bird underwent clinical examination. In total, 5,578 sera, 4,580 tracheal swabs and 5,120 cloacal swabs were collected, plus tissues from 35 sick chickens. Using the haemaggluti...

Live pig trade patterns, drivers and characteristics, particularly in backyard predominant systems, remain largely unexplored despite their important contribution to the spread of infectious diseases in the swine industry. A better understanding of the pig trade dynamics can inform the implementation of risk-based and more cost-effective prevention and control programs for swine diseases. In th...