During August 2012-February 2013, bovine tuberculosis was detected in communal livestock bordering the Greater Kruger National Park Complex (GKNPC) in South Africa. Using spacer oligonucleotide and variable number tandem repeat typing, we identified the Mycobacterium bovis strain endemic in GKNPC wildlife. Our findings indicate bovine tuberculosis spillover from GKNPC wildlife to neighboring li...

Increased production of corn based ethanol and the resulting increase in availability of distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS) has a number of implications for the U.S. livestock industry and for the production of traditional livestock feed crops. Some of those implications are examined here. First, and most importantly, the potential size of the domestic market for DDGS is evaluated in d...

BACKGROUND Every spring, windblown dust storms damage human health and cause many domestic animal deaths in Mongolia. In particular, mass livestock death results in severe, direct economic loss to inhabitants. However, there is little empirical evidence to demonstrate the long-term effects of dust storm, especially in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) secondary to livestock loss. ...

Survey results describing the levels and prevalences of zoonotic agents in 1,549 livestock waste samples were analyzed for significance with livestock husbandry and farm waste management practices. Statistical analyses of survey data showed that livestock groups containing calves of <3 months of age, piglets, or lambs had higher prevalences and levels of Campylobacter spp. and Escherichia coli ...

Little is known about the factors affecting pastoralists' livestock vaccination decisions. In this thesis, we use a novel survey-based dataset on pastoralists living in the Ruaha landscape in Tanzania, and employ several econometric approaches to identify the factors affecting pastoralists' decision-making process about livestock vaccination when disease occurrence and severity, vaccination and...

In order to verify whether the low impact on livestock production in endemic areas is related to a low number of trypanosome strains circulating in livestock, 37 Trypanosoma congolense isolates collected from cattle in 11 sites in an endemic trypanosomiasis area in Eastern Zambia were characterised for genotype variability using a modified amplified fragment length polymorphism technique (AFLP)...

Large carnivores inhabiting human-dominated landscapes often interact with people and their properties, leading to conflict scenarios that can mislead carnivore management and, ultimately, jeopardize conservation. In northwest Spain, brown bears Ursus arctos are strictly protected, whereas sympatric wolves Canis lupus are subject to lethal control. We explored ecological, economic and societal ...

BACKGROUND: Overuse of fertilizers can lead to groundwater contamination, depletion of soil microorganisms and beneficial insects, increased crop susceptibility to diseases, acidification or alkalization of soil, damage to soil structure, reduced organic matter and soil fertility. Therefore, for achieve sustainable agricultural, it is necessary to reduce the consumption of conv...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of healthcare-associated infections worldwide and has recently been identified as an emerging pathogen in livestock and companion animals. Livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) may be responsible for increased rates of colonization and/or infection among people working on farms. We evaluated the prevalence and molecular character...

This review focuses on 3 main sources of contamination of Australian grains used in livestock feeds, namely chemical residues, moulds and mycotoxins, and weed seeds, including natural toxins such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids. By evaluating the risk to livestock from chemical contaminants (pre-emergent herbicides, selective herbicides, fungicides, insecticides used during growth phases and at pre-...