Testicular metabolite concentrations, measured by proton spectroscopy at 3 T, may be valuable as noninvasive biomarkers of spermatogenesis.

Background and Aim: Animal rabies is endemic in Nepal, and it occurs in two forms. Although governmental and non-governmental agencies are working toward the control of rabies by mass dog vaccination and stray dog population management, there is still massive number of rabies incidence reported to the reference veterinary laboratory, Nepal. Therefore, this study aimed to assess animal species, temporal, regional, and agro-ecological distribution patterns of animal rabies in Nepal from 2005 to 2017. Materials and Methods: The epidemiological data on animal rabies from the period of 2005 to 2017 were obtained from the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal. The laboratory-confirmed rabies cases were analyzed according to animal species, temporal, regional (developmental zones), and agro-ecological distributions. In addition, descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the distribution patterns of rabies. Results: From 2005 to 2017, a total of 2771 suspected rabies cases in animals were reported to The Central Veterinary Hospital, Kathmandu. Of which, 1302 were found laboratory-confirmed cases. The rabies cases were most commonly reported and confirmed in dogs followed by other domestic animals. The high occurrences were recorded between 2005 and 2007. However, the incidence was increased during 2016 and 2017. The highest number of rabies cases was recorded in the eastern development zone, and the least number in the central zone at regional level. Likewise, it was highest in the Terai (plain) region and lowest in mountainous areas at agro-ecological zones. The findings also revealed that the occurrences of rabies significantly differed among seasons. Conclusion: Rabies is present in Nepal throughout the year and all seasons with seasonal variation. Among the animal species, dogs are the primary animals affected with rabies followed by cattle and other domestic animals. At the regional level, eastern development zone had the highest incidence and Central development zone recorded the least. Similarly, the Terai region had the highest incidence rates, and the least overall prevalence rate was observed in mountainous regions among agro-ecological zones. Therefore, the government should implement the strict enforcement of mass dog vaccination and dog population management through one health approach to control rabies incidence in the country.

Ageratum houstonianum Mill (A. houstonianum) is a widespread, highly invasive, and drought-resistant annual semi-shrub easily found in the pasture fields. It is called Gandhey Jhar locally. This study was conducted at the livestock farm of Rampur Campus, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal, to determine the clinical progression and clinical parameters in A. houstonianum intoxicated goats to diagnose its toxicosis in small ruminants. Full blossomed A. houstonianum was fed ad libitum to six goats until the death of the animals. The time to develop the clinical signs and symptoms in goats ranged from 22 to 49 days. All the goats exhibited similar symptoms and signs such as stiffness of the neck, low temperature, respiratory distress, low pulse, anorexia, ruminal atony, general weakness, and finally, recumbency till death. After the onset of clinical symptoms, the entire clinical course persisted for 10-15 hours, followed by death. Two goats died on the 22nd day, and the rest goats died on 27th, 46th, 48th, and 49th days respectively. Hematologic examination revealed a significant decrease in hemoglobin and an increase in total WBC count. The serum biochemical values showed substantial alterations in ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, albumin, direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, glucose, urea nitrogen, and creatinine concentrations. These biochemical changes suggested hepatic and renal dysfunction. Therefore, clinical signs, hematology, and serum biochemistry can be of optimal diagnostic value for the A. houstonianum intoxication in goats.

SETTING: Twenty poultry farms in five provinces of Nepal were selected for studying bacterial pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns.OBJECTIVE: To document the proportion of cloacal swabs collected from 3,230 broiler and 3,230 layer chickens from September to December 2021 that grew isolates of Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp. and Salmonella spp. along with their AMR patterns.DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study.RESULTS: In broiler birds, Enterococcus spp., Salmonella spp. and E. coli were identified in respectively 36%, 39% and 63% of swabs. In layer birds, Enterococcus spp., Salmonella spp. and E. coli were identified in respectively 31%, 48% and 60% of swabs. For both bird types, there was variation in bacterial prevalence between the regions. For all three bacterial isolates, the lowest antimicrobial resistance was found with amikacin. For the other nine antibiotics tested, >50% of bacterial isolates showed resistance; between 60% and 90% of isolates showed resistance to ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Multidrug resistance ranged from 45% to 46% for Salmonella spp., 37–44% for E. coli and 13–17% for Enterococcus spp.CONCLUSION: This study shows that a large proportion of poultry in Nepal are infected with potentially pathogenic bacteria, and these are frequently resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Nepal urgently needs to implement corrective measures.

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