No abstract

Zinc (Zn) has a wide spectrum of biological activities, and its deficiency has been related to various dysfunctions and alterations of normal cell metabolism. To compare the effect of a higher dose of Zn supplementation on serum biochemicals of grower pigs (four months of age) that may serve as general indicators of optimum physiological functions, an experiment was conducted with one treatment group supplemented with higher dose of Zn (500 ppm) and another made deficient by supplementing calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) at 1.5% of dry matter of diet, for a period of four months, and was compared to the control supplemented with 100 ppm Zn. Serum Zn decreased significantly in a deficient group (p B0.01), and the animals developed clinical symptoms of parakeratosis. Total serum protein and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration revealed a significantly (p B0.01) increasing trend in Zn-supplemented (500 ppm) animals from day 45 of treatment, whereas a significantly (p B0.01) decreasing trend was observed in deficient pigs. Serum albumin level was not affected by different supplemental level of Zn or induced Zn deficiency. An apparent increasing trend of glucose and cholesterol level was recorded in supplemented groups. However, it decreased significantly (p B 0.01) in deficient pigs. The higher serum concentration of Zn, total serum protein, glucose, cholesterol andHb, resulting from 500 ppm of Zn supplementation in grower pigs, might help in maintaining a better physiological status through promotion of well-organised vital functions of proteins, ensuring a sufficient energy source for different physiological processes, and just source for synthesis of steroid hormones and optimal functioning of membrane receptors.

Skin lesions were collected from 15 adult crossbred pigs maintained at the pig farm of ICAR Research Complex for the North-Eastern Hill Region, Umiam, a hilly region of the state of Meghalaya, India. Skin scrapings of these 15 animals were examined by KOH digestion method. Presence of mites were detected in five animals which were indistinguishable from Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis. Infected pigs were treated with a single dose of Ivermectin at 200 ug/kg body weight, subcutaneously. No mites were recovered from treated pigs after a period of 10 days of post-treatment. The presence of S. scabiei var. suis in pigs from this part of the country has never been reported. This infestation has great significance because it affects the growth rate and feed conversion significantly, specially to the grower and weaned pigs. It can be concluded that S. scabiei var. suis infestation is prevalent in hilly region of Meghalaya. The pig producers are generally unaware about the severity of the problem of mite infestation, so precaution should be taken to prevent their valuable pigs from S. scabiei var. suis infestation.

No abstract

Emergence of antimicrobial resistance among bovine mastitis pathogens is the major cause of frequent therapeutic failure and a cause of concern for veterinary practitioners. This study describes intra-mammary infection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli in two Holstein Friesian crossbred cows with subclinical mastitis and one non-descript cow with clinical mastitis in two different districts of West Bengal, India. In total, three MRSE, one MRSA and three ESBL producing E. coli were isolated from these cases. Both the crossbreds were detected with MRSE (HFSE1 and HFSE2) and ESBL producing E. coli (HFEC1 and HFEC2), whereas, simultaneous infection of three pathogens viz. MRSA (NDSA1), MRSE (NDSE1) and ESBL producing E. coli (NDEC1) was found in the non-descript cow. The methicillin-resistant isolates possessed mecA gene and exhibited resistance to various antibiotics such as amikacin, tetracycline and glycopeptides. The ESBL producers were positive for blaCTX-M and blaTEM genes; in addition, HFEC1 and HFEC2 were positive for blaSHV and possessed the genes for class I integron (int1), sulphonamide resistance (sul1), quinolone resistance (qnrS) and other virulence factors (papC, iucD and ESTA1). All the ESBL producers exhibited resistance to a variety of antibiotics tested including third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins and were also intermediately resistant to carbapenems. This is the first ever report on simultaneous occurrence of MRSE, MRSA and ESBL producing E. coli in bovine mastitis indicating a major concern for dairy industry and public health as well.