Culture is considered the definitive technique for Johne's disease diagnosis, and it is essential for later applications of certain molecular typing techniques. In this study, we have tested four solid media (Herrold's egg yolk medium [HEYM] with sodium pyruvate and mycobactin [HEYMm-SP], HEYM with mycobactin and without sodium pyruvate [HEYMm], Middlebrook 7H11 with mycobactin [Mm], and Löwens...

β-lactoglobulin (BLG), a dominant allergen in goat milk, is difficult to remove by traditional biochemical methods. Its elimination from goat milk by genetic modification therefore poses a major challenge for modern goat breeders. A shRNA targeting BLG mRNA with high interference efficiency was identified, with which lentiviral vectors were used for mediating stable shRNA interference in goat-f...

To investigate the genetic diversity of seven Chinese indigenous meat goat breeds (Tibet goat, Guizhou white goat, Shannan white goat, Yichang white goat, Matou goat, Changjiangsanjiaozhou white goat and Anhui white goat), explain their genetic relationship and assess their integrity and degree of admixture, 302 individuals from these breeds and 42 Boer goats introduced from Africa as reference...

BACKGROUND Mastitis is one of the major threats to animal health, in organic farming as well as conventional. Preliminary studies of organic dairy herds have indicated better udder health in such herds, as compared to conventional herds. The aim of this paper was to further study mastitis and management related factors in certified organic dairy herds. METHODS An observational study of 26 cer...

An indirect ELISA test was developed as a novel tool aimed at monitoring the herd infection status of swine herds. Meat juice samples from pig carcasses were analysed for the presence of antibodies against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). A study of samples from herds with known PRRS status was undertaken. The PRRS status of the herds was evaluated based on the analy...

AIM To analyse and present the epidemiological and epizootological situation of brucellosis in humans, sheep and goats caused by Brucella melitensis. METHODS The veterinary health services analyzsd epidemiological reports, as well as other official documents, in relation to the epidemiology and the measures undertaken for control of brucellosis in Bulgaria, 2005-08. RESULTS In Bulgaria anim...

BACKGROUND Neosporosis caused by the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum, is an economically important cause of abortion, stillbirth, low milk yield, reduced weight gain and premature culling in cattle. Consequently, a seroepidemiological study of N. caninum antibodies was conducted in England with 29,782 samples of blood taken from 15,736 cattle from 114 herds visited on three occasions at yea...

BACKGROUND The Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a vector-borne virus that causes disease in ruminants, but it can also infect humans. In humans, the infection can be asymptomatic but can also lead to illness, ranging from a mild disease with fever, headache and muscle pain to a severe disease with encephalitis and haemorrhagic fever. In rare cases, death can occur. In infected animals, influen...

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of paratuberculosis sero-status on milk yield, fat, protein, somatic cell count and calving interval in Irish dairy herds. Serum from all animals over 12 months of age (n = 2,602) in 34 dairy herds was tested for antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis using an ELISA. Herds were categorised by sero-status into positive,...

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) leads to substantial economic losses in beef and dairy herds worldwide. Two case-control studies were carried out using production data from 1996 to 2012 to analyse the impact of BVD virus (BVDV) on fertility in dairy herds in the province of Styria during an eradication programme. In study 1, herds in which at least one persistently BVDV-infected (PI) animal was de...