Maedi-Visna (MV) virus and caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) virus known as small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) cause chronic diseases in susceptible animals. The main reservoirs of these viral agents are sheep and goat. In sheep, MV virus causes a disease as the same name of the virus. This is the first seroprevalence survey of SRLVs in sheep population of Khorasan-e-Razavi province in Iran...

The acquisition of hypsodont molars is often regarded as a key innovation in the history of ruminant ungulates. Hypsodont ruminants diversified rapidly during the later Neogene, circa 15-2 Myr ago, and came to dominate the ruminant fossil record in terms of species diversity. Here we show that hypsodont clades had higher speciation and diversification rates than other clades. Hypsodont species ...

There is an increasing interest for sustainable forms of livestock production systems, which will provide a balanced relationship between environmental, socio-cultural and economic factors. The small ruminant sector is examined with particular focus on the possibilities of improving the sustainability of small ruminant systems and on the possible role of organic production to meet the demand of...

We describe the geographical patterns and identified factors associated with serological evidence of brucellosis in ruminants in Armenian communities during 2006 and 2007. The data comprised the two first complete years of the current national test-and-slaughter control programme for cattle, sheep and goats. Overall, 29% and 21% of the 858 communities involved in this study reported brucellosis...

Ixodid ticks were collected from 104 wild carnivores belonging to 23 species in various nature reserves and on several farms in all nine provinces of South Africa. Seven feral cats in a nature reserve were also examined. Twenty-four tick species belonging to seven genera were recovered and identified. Amongst these ticks we consider the adults of Haemaphysalis leachi, Haemaphysalis spinulosa, H...

BACKGROUND In 2012-2013, an investigation was carried out in the Viterbo province, Lazio region, on ticks and tick-borne Apicomplexan protozoa of the Babesia and Theileria genera. This followed the reporting of high density of ticks by soldiers operating in a military shooting range, and the signaling by owners and local veterinary authorities of several cases of babesiosis among cattle. METH...

The species composition and geographic distribution of ixodid ticks infesting domestic dogs owned by people in rural communities and villages in Maputo Province was established by collecting ticks from dogs at each of 27 localities spread throughout the province. Ticks were collected from a total of 132 dogs, and nine species belonging to four genera were identified. One dog was infested with s...

Anaplasma spp. are significant arthropod-borne bacteria globally, but documented information about anaplasmosis in small ruminants the north of Iraq is insufficient. Hence, this study was conducted to determine prevalence and identify sheep goat tick vector populations Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq. The population consisted 470 145 goats from 45 livestock farms 10 geographical locations Govern...

It is assumed that sheep and goats consumed the same bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-contaminated meat and bone meal that was fed to cattle and precipitated the BSE epidemic in the United Kingdom that peaked more than 20 years ago. Despite intensive surveillance for cases of BSE within the small ruminant populations of the United Kingdom and European Union, no instances of BSE have been ...

One bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus, and 1 common duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia, were shot each month from May 1983 to May 1984 in the Weza State Forest, Natal, i.e. a total of 13 animals of each species. The bushbuck were infested with 8 ixodid tick species, 2 louse species and a louse-fly species. The common duiker harboured 7 tick species and 2 louse species. Ticks of the genus Ixodes were the m...