BACKGROUND Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is endemic in Ethiopian cattle. The aim of this study was to assess BTB prevalence at an intensive contact interface in Meskan Woreda (district) in cattle, small ruminants and suspected TB-lymphadenitis (TBLN) human patients. METHODS The comparative intradermal test (CIDT) was carried out for all animals involved in the cross-sectional study and results in...

The amount of nitrogen gas (N2) available for microbial protein synthesis via nitrogen fixation in the rumen was estimated. Measurements were made of nitrogen fixation by ruminal ingesta from goats fed low protein rations for a prolonged period of time, and by ingesta from sheep fed high protein rations. Nitrogen fixation by rumen microorganisms incubated for 30 or 180 min in vitro was measured...

Fat deposition inescapably accompanies skeletal growth and muscle accretion. In early growth deposition of fat and protein occur simultaneously, but beyond a certain body weight protein accretion becomes negligible, and fat gain becomes a large and constant fraction of weight gain. This pattern of tissue development forms the basis of the most successful current strategy for minimising carcass ...

Anaerobic fungi were isolated from rumen fluid of a domestic sheep (Ovis aries; a ruminant) and from faeces of five non-ruminants: African elephant (Loxodonta africana), black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) and mara (Dolichotis patagonum). The anaerobic fungus isolated from the sheep was a Neocallimastix species and the...

Peste des petits ruminants, caused by the peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), is a highly contagious and economically important transboundary viral disease of domestic and wild small ruminants and a major hindrance to small-ruminant production in Nigeria. The seroprevalence and distribution of PPRV antibodies in small ruminants in rural households, farms, live animal markets and slaughter ...

Little, if any, glucose is absorbed from the alimentary tract of the grazing ruminant and it appears that significant absorption of glucose only occurs in ruminants consuming relatively large amounts of grain (Bergman, 1973 ; Lindsay, 1978). In spite of this, ruminants have an absolute requirement for glucose which is similar to that of nonruminants. Certainly glucose is an essential metabolite...

The extent of Leptospira infection in large ruminants resulting to economic problems in livestock industry in a leptospirosis-endemic country like the Philippines has not been extensively explored. Therefore, we determined the prevalence and carrier status of leptospirosis in large ruminants using molecular techniques and assessed the risk factors of acquiring leptospirosis in these animals. Wa...