Long-Term Climatic Changes in Small Ruminant Farms in Greece and Potential Associations with Animal Health

Katsarou, Eleni I.; Lianou, Daphne Τ.; Papadopoulos, Elias; Fthenakis, George C.

doi:10.3390/su14031673

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The present work combines the findings of previous studies performed in our group, draws information provided by previous works [13,15], capitalises on knowledge achieved through the previous studies and provides a fusion of previous data in a meta-analysis approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt internationally to associate vaccination patterns in small ruminants with climatological conditions.…”

Section: Preamblementioning

confidence: 85%

“…Climatic variables were obtained from 'The POWER (Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources) Project' (NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), Hampton, VA, USA), which provides meteorological datasets from NASA research for the support of agricultural needs. The following settings were used for obtaining the data: user community, 'agroclimatology'; time extent, 'start date 2010-end date 2019 ; latitude/longitude, 'geo-references of each farm'; temporal average, 'monthly and annual'; and output file format, 'ASCII' [15]. Based on these settings, we obtained data for the parameters as follows: the temperature at 2 m (T2M), the temperature of Earth skin (TS), the temperature range at 2 m (T2Ran), the minimum temperature at 2 m (T2Min), the maximum temperature at 2 m (T2Max), precipitation (PREC), the relative humidity at 2 m (RH2m) and the wind speed at 10 m (WS10m).…”

Section: Data Collection and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relationship between Vaccine Application and Climate Factors in Sheep and Goat Farms in Greece

Katsarou

Fthenakis

2023

Vaccines

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The objectives of the present study were (a) to evaluate the importance of climate-related variables in the vaccination patterns applied in sheep and goat farms in Greece and (b) to assess potential interactions between these factors and previously established important health management- and human resources-related factors applied in the farms. Vaccination patterns against chlamydial abortion, clostridial infections, contagious agalactia, contagious ecthyma, foot-rot, paratuberculosis, pneumonia or staphylococcal mastitis were assessed. Climatic variables (2010–2019 and 2018–2019) were obtained for 444 locations with small ruminant farms throughout Greece. Patterns of vaccine administration in the farms were obtained through interviews with farmers. The following nine outcomes were considered: ‘vaccination against chlamydial abortion’, ‘vaccination against clostridial infections’, ‘vaccination against contagious agalactia’, ‘vaccination against contagious ecthyma’, ‘vaccination against foot-rot’, ‘vaccination against paratuberculosis’, ‘vaccination against bacterial pneumonia’, ‘vaccination against staphylococcal mastitis’ and ‘total number of optional vaccines administered’. Univariable and multivariable analyses were first performed to establish associations of each of the above outcomes with climatic variables. Then, the same approach was employed to assess the importance of climatic variables against health management- and human resources-related factors in the administration of vaccines in the farms of the study. Climatic variables had a higher association with vaccinations against infections in sheep flocks (26 associations) than in goat herds (9 associations) (p = 0.002) and in farms with semi-extensive or extensive management (32 associations) than in farms with intensive or semi-intensive management (8 associations) (p < 0.0001). In 26 cases (38.8% of all analyses evaluated), the climatic variables overshadowed the management- and human resources-related variables assessed as significant predictors for vaccination. In most cases, these referred to sheep flocks (nine cases) and farms with semi-extensive or extensive management (eight cases). For all eight infections, there were changes in the climatic variables found to be significant predictors from the 10-year dataset to the 2-year dataset. The results indicated that, in some cases, climate factors overshadowed factors traditionally considered for the formulation of vaccination programs. This points out the significance of taking into account climate conditions in the health management of small ruminant farms. Future studies can be focused on formulating vaccination programs in accordance with climate factors and also on setting the optimum season(s) for vaccination of animals based on the circulation of the pathogens, the risks for the development of diseases and the stage within the annual production cycle of the animals.

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Section: Preamblementioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Data Collection and Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between Vaccine Application and Climate Factors in Sheep and Goat Farms in Greece

Katsarou

Fthenakis

2023

Vaccines

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“…In this respect, frequent emptying of the containers contributes to reducing the risk of bacterial colonisation and biofilm formation, as the tendency observed in the present study. The seasonality in the frequency of recovery of biofilm-forming isolates can be explained through the behaviour of bacteria under different environmental conditions: increased relative humidity can promote biofilm formation [33], which is aligned with high frequency of isolation during the spring and the lowest frequency during the dry Greek summer [34]. This seasonality may also be taken into account when regulating the temperature of the water used to clean the milking parlour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation of Biofilm-Forming Staphylococci from the Bulk-Tank Milk of Small Ruminant Farms in Greece

Lianou

Michael

Σολωμάκος

et al. 2023

Foods

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The objectives of this study were (i) to describe staphylococcal isolates recovered from bulk-tank raw milk collected from sheep and goat farms during a countrywide study performed in Greece, (ii) to study management factors potentially associated with their presence in bulk-tank milk and (iii) to provide evidence regarding their association with the quality of the milk. In total, 312 staphylococcal isolates, recovered from samples of bulk-tank raw milk from 444 small ruminant farms in Greece, were evaluated in this work. The in vitro formation of biofilm by the isolates was tested by combining the findings of (a) culture appearance on Congo Red agar plates and (b) results of a microplate adhesion test. The most frequently identified species was Staphylococcus aureus (75 isolates); other frequently recovered species were S. simulans (44 isolates), S. equorum (34 isolates) and S. haemolyticus (26 isolates); in total, 23 species were identified. In total, 224 (71.8%) isolates were biofilm-forming and were recovered from the bulk-tank milk samples of 148 sheep flocks (45.5%) and 55 goat herds (46.2%). There was evidence of seasonality in the isolation of staphylococci: during spring, mostly biofilm-forming isolates were recovered, whilst during summer, mostly non-biofilm-forming isolates were recovered. Among farms applying machine-milking, the proportion of farms from which biofilm-forming isolates were recovered was higher where water with temperature < 50 °C or ≥90 °C was used to clean the milking parlour. In the multivariable analyses, for farms applying machine-milking, the temperature of the water emerged as the only significant variable (p = 0.024), whilst in farms applying hand-milking, the only tendency that emerged was for the frequency of collection of milk from the farm tank (p = 0.08). In sheep flocks, recovery of biofilm-forming staphylococci from the bulk-tank milk was associated with higher somatic cell counts and higher total bacterial counts in the milk. The study identified abiotic factors related to the presence and isolation of these bacteria, specifically the temperature of water used for the cleaning of the milking parlour (in farms where machine-milking is applied) and the frequency of milk collection from the farm tank. These factors apply after the production of milk, and they could thus be regulated appropriately in order to reduce bacterial load and improve the quality of milk delivered to dairy plants. In sheep farms, an association was also seen between recovery of biofilm-forming staphylococci and high somatic cell counts in milk.

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“…For example, the significantly higher prevalence of Nematodirus spp. can be related to the lower temperatures prevailing in locations with sheep flocks in the northern part of the country [ 19 ], given that the hatching of eggs from the helminth is facilitated by cold weather [ 20 ]. Moreover, the milder temperatures in locations with sheep flocks on the islands may have contributed to the high proportion of H. contortus among the Trichostrongylidae helminths found in those flocks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Helminth Infections in Dairy Sheep Found in an Extensive Countrywide Study in Greece and Potential Predictors for Their Presence in Faecal Samples

et al. 2023

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The aims of the present study were: (a) to describe the prevalence of helminth infections from pooled faecal samples from sheep flocks across Greece and (b) to evaluate flock-related factors potentially associated with the presence of these infections in the flocks. An extensive countrywide study was performed on 325 sheep farms throughout Greece; faecal samples were collected from ewes and processed for the identification of helminth parasites. Helminths were detected in samples from 92.9% of flocks; these included Dicrocoelium dendriticum (16.7% of flocks), Fasciola hepatica (0.6%), Paramphistomum cervi (2.2%), Moniezia spp. (18.8%), Trichostrongylidae (85.5%), Nematodirus spp. (18.8%), Strongyloides papillosus (7.1%), Trichuris spp. (20.0%) and lungworms (17.8%). Mean Trichostrongylidae counts across all flocks in the study were 215 epg. Specifically, for Trichostrongylidae, there were differences between flocks that had or had not received anthelmintics during the two months prior to sampling, as well as between flocks located in various areas of the country. In multivariable analyses, for the outcome ‘high (>300) epg counts in faecal samples’, the month into the lactation period at sampling and the application of reproductive control practices on the farm emerged as significant factors; for the outcome ‘high proportion (>63%) of Teladorsagia spp. in faecal samples’, the availability of straw bedding emerged as a significant factor; and for the outcome ‘high proportion (>63%) of Haemonchus contortus in faecal samples’, the age of the farmer emerged as a significant factor. For the outcome ‘presence of Trichuris spp. in faecal samples’, the provision of finished feed (concentrate) to animals emerged as a significant factor, whilst, finally, for the outcomes ‘presence of D. dendriticum in faecal samples’ and ‘presence of lungworms in faecal samples,’ no significant factors emerged.

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Long-Term Climatic Changes in Small Ruminant Farms in Greece and Potential Associations with Animal Health

Cited by 5 publications

References 42 publications

Relationship between Vaccine Application and Climate Factors in Sheep and Goat Farms in Greece

Relationship between Vaccine Application and Climate Factors in Sheep and Goat Farms in Greece

Isolation of Biofilm-Forming Staphylococci from the Bulk-Tank Milk of Small Ruminant Farms in Greece

Helminth Infections in Dairy Sheep Found in an Extensive Countrywide Study in Greece and Potential Predictors for Their Presence in Faecal Samples

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