Rotaviruses are considered as a major cause in the etiology of diarrhea in young calves worldwide and it causes calf morbidity, mortality and substantial economic losses in the dairy industry. This study reports the determination of the disease burden and first evaluation of associated risk factors of rotavirus infection in calves in Bangladesh. A cross sectional survey was carried out for the approximation of prevalence and associated risk factors of rotavirus infection in neonatal calves in South-eastern part of Bangladesh. From July 2015 to May 2016 a total of 411 calves under the age of 6 weeks from 210 dairy farms were selected using probability sampling scheme. Rotavirus infection was diagnosed from calf fecal samples using a commercial ELISA kit. Different farm and calf level factors were tested by mixed effect multivariable logistic regression models to differentiate factors significantly contributing to the high burden of rotavirus infection in calves in the study area. Overall prevalence of rotavirus in calf feces, irrespective of diarrheic and non-diarrheic, was estimated as 5.11%. Among the hypothesized risk factors, samples from winter season showed higher odds of having the infection compared to summer (OR=6.04). Likewise, higher odds ratios were observed in: >3 weeks of age group compared to ≤ 3 weeks (OR=2.87), taking of first colostrums after 30 minutes to 2 hours of birth in contrast to within 30 minutes (OR=13.92), and finally, calves from 3rd to 4th parity compared to 1st to 2nd parity (OR=6.79). Enteric diseases are a vital health problem in calves that interrupts production benefits with reduced weight gain and increased mortality rates and moreover it has potential to spread. Therefore, it is imperative to determine the disease burden and responsible risk factors to execute effective preventive measures among the population at higher risk. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2019, 5(2): 107-116

Aim: Salmonellosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases, and the presence of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella in wild birds is global public health threat. Throughout the last decades, multidrug resistance of Salmonella spp. has increased, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella spp. and antimicrobial resistance pattern against Salmonella spp. from two species of resident wild birds namely house crow (Corvus splendens) and Asian pied starling (Gracupica contra).Materials and Methods: Samples were collected from cloacal swabs of house crows and Asian pied starling for isolating Salmonella spp. (bacteriological culture methods) followed by antimicrobial susceptibility testing (disk diffusion method) against Salmonella spp. isolates during March to December 2014. Results:The prevalence of Salmonella in Asian pied starling and house crows were 67% and 65%, respectively. Within the category of samples from different species, the variation in prevalence was not varied significantly (p>0.05). Isolated Salmonella spp. was tested for resistance to six different antimicrobial agents. Among six antimicrobial tested, 100% resistance were found to penicillin, oxacillin, and clindamycin followed by erythromycin (50-93%), kanamycin (7-20%), and cephalothin (30-67%) from both species of birds. Kanamycin remained sensitive in (70-73%), cephalothin (26-70%), and erythromycin appeared to be (0-30%) sensitive against Salmonella spp. isolates. Isolated Salmonella spp. was multidrug resistant up to three of the six antimicrobials tested. Conclusion:It can be said that the rational use of antimicrobials needs to be adopted in the treatment of disease for livestock, poultry, and human of Bangladesh to limit the emergence of drug resistance to Salmonella spp.

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A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern in Salmonella from 108 rectal swab of stray dogs of 9 randomly selected areas of Chittagong Metropolitan Area. Rectal swabs were collected for isolating Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium through bacteriological culture and InvA specific PCR assay followed by antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Out of the 108 samples, females showed higher prevalence (66.67%) than males (58.93%). Among the 67 bacterial culture positive isolates, 10.45% was Salmonella Typhimurium in InvA gene specific PCR. Isolated Salmonella was tested for resistance to twelve different antimicrobial agents, using disc diffusion method. In cultural sensitivity test, 100% resistance was found against Amoxicillin where higher resistance was found against Azithromycin, Cefixime, Ampicilin and Pefloxacin. Gentamycin and Colistin appeared to be sensitive. Multidrug resistance of Salmonella spp. has increased with a great deal in developing countries in the last decades. In this study, most of the Salmonella isolates were multidrug resistant. Rational use of antibiotics needs to be adopted in clinical practice to prevent the emergence of multi-drug resistance Salmonella and their zoonotic transmission.

The effect of long-distance transport on cattle health has not frequently been studied in Bangladesh. The current study investigated the health conditions, and the extent and pattern of cattle injuries, along with haemato-biochemical and hormonal changes, before and after long-distance transportation (≈648 km) from the market of origin to the market of destination. A total of 100 adult cattle were selected at the Benapole live cattle market, Bangladesh, for physical examination before and after transportation. Fifty of these cattle were randomly selected for additional haemato-biochemical evaluation just before the start of transportation (0 hour), immediately after arrival at the destination market (13.8±0.9 hours after the start of transportation) and 24 hours after arrival at the destination market. The external health conditions and injuries were assessed. Animals were fasting in the vehicle during transportation and provided only with paddy straw and water before sale at the destination market. Before and after transportation, the overall frequency of cattle injuries varied significantly (26 per cent before v 47 per cent after transportation; P<0.001). Cattle health conditions diverged significantly (such as nasal discharge: 15 per cent v 28 per cent; P=0.03). The values of haemoglobin (P=0.01), total erythrocyte count (P=0.001), total leucocyte count (P<0.001), lymphocyte (P=0.005), neutrophil (P=0.01) and eosinophil (P=0.01) varied significantly. The values of serum total protein (P=0.006), creatine kinase (P<0.001), triglyceride (P=0.04), calcium (P=0.003), phosphorus (P<0.001) and alkaline phosphatase (P=0.04) significantly differed. The overall findings indicate a high degree of transport stress and poor animal welfare.

| This study was carried out to isolate the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in clinical samples from layer and broiler breeder farms in Chittagong district of Bangladesh. The samples were collected from 7 broiler and 3 layer breeder farms experiencing respiratory signs with elevated mortality. The virus was identified from trachea, lung and kidney tissues in clinically infected cases by embryonated egg inoculation and then RT-PCR. From the dead birds, a total 200 organ samples were collected and the prepared inoculums (following standard operation procedure) were injected into 9-11 day old chicken embryo at the rage of 0.2 ml/egg. Total RNA were extracted from collected allantoic fluids that showed characteristic changes in embryo. The results was found that about 34.28% and 28.33% sample positive embryonic changes in broiler and layer breeder farm, respectively. The suspected allantoic fluid was collected and performed for RT-PCR and about 62.5% and 52.94 % samples were found positive in broiler and layer breeder farm, respectively.

Aim:Worldwide, Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) is an important pathogen of poultry, especially for chicken and turkey. It causes respiratory tract infection and infectious sinusitis. The study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of MS infection with associated risk factors and identification of MS organism in unvaccinated flocks of commercial breeder farms of the Chittagong district, Bangladesh.Materials and Methods:A total of 365 serum samples were collected and tested for MS using serum plate agglutination (SPA) test for determination of MS seroprevalence. On the other hand, tracheal swabs were collected from each seropositive flocks for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the presence of MS organism.Results:Among the farms, the highest prevalence was found to be 69% and the lowest prevalence was 28% with the average 60%. The seroprevalence of MS infection in breeder farms was highest 70% with the flock size >10,000 birds, whereas it was lowest 57% in the flocks ranging from 4000 to 7000. According to age group, the prevalence was found highest 70% in >60 weeks age group of birds and lowest 42% in 10-19 weeks group. The seroprevalence of MS in winter season was found as highest as 64%, whereas it was found lowest 60% in the summer season. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.01) among the seroprevalence of MS in different breeder farms, flock size, and age groups, but there was no significant (p>0.05) difference in the winter, summer, and rainy season. To confirm the presence of MS in the samples, PCR test was applied using specific primers to amplify a 214 bp region of the 16S rRNA gene of the organism. In PCR, all seropositive flocks showed a positive result for MS.Conclusion:As the plate agglutination test result showed 100% similar with PCR result, it can be suggested that agglutination test is better than molecular and culture techniques for MS detection and it is also cheaper and less time-consuming method.

IntroductIon Livestock is an inherent element of the compound farming system in Bangladesh as it besides a source of meat and milk protein, a prime source of farm power services as well as employment. The livestock sub-sector dispenses 20% and 50% of the total population a full time employment and part-time employment, respectively. The contribution of the livestock sector to total gross domestic product persisted steady within a range of 2.1-3.6% over the 1973-2008 periods. Despite a steady contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), budget allocation for this sector remained <1% of the total expenditure. Moreover, it was revealed that the growth in individual livestock products were mainly in minor products (e.g., tails, bones, etc.) and hides and skins (a major export item) rather than in milk and milk products, meat and eggs might not be very motivating because such tendency will lead to less imresearch Article Abstract | A survey was conducted to characterize calf management and hygiene practices adopted by dairy farmers at Chittagong, in Bangladesh. A total of 210 dairy farms located in 3 geographically distinct regions in Chittagong division, namely coastal, hilly and plain area, were surveyed. Calf management and hygiene practice related data was collected through a standard questionnaire and all sampled farms were visited once by technical persons and administered the questionnaire by 'face to face' method during the period July, 2015 to May, 2016. Statistically significant variations were observed in distribution of different factors through different strata (herd size and region). Among larger farms (>50 cows), 10% had a poor hygiene score whereas 32% of the smaller farms (5-20 cows) belonged to this category. 97% of the large farms used tube well water as the source of drinking water for their calves; whereas 35% of the small farms used surface water. None of the large and medium farm owner said they never clean the calf pen; 47% small farm owners said yes to it. More than half of the smallholders (54%) were discovered with raising other domestic animals and birds within the same premises. Hygiene score and surrounding environment of the farms did not show any regional variation (p>0.05). Remarkably 65% farms of the hilly area used surface water for their calves to drink with. The relationship between management practices and calf mortality/morbidity is complex. Our study design did not allow us to draw conclusions about the management and hygiene practice responsible for calf mortality/morbidity, but knowing the management practices adopted on farms is valuable for bringing attention to herds with less optimal practices and for planning meaningful experiments to explore causal affects.