Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital

Ticks and tick-borne diseases affect animal and human health worldwide and are the cause of significant economic losses. Approximately 10% of the currently known 867 tick species act as vectors of a broad range of pathogens of domestic animals and humans and are also responsible for damage directly due to their feeding behaviour. The most important tick species and the effects they cause are listed. The impact on the global economy is considered to be high and although some estimates are given, there is a lack of reliable data. The impact of ticks and tick-borne diseases on animal production and public health and their control are discussed.

Brucellosis is not a sustainable disease in humans. The source of human infection always resides in domestic or wild animal reservoirs. The routes of infection are multiple: food-borne, occupational or recreational, linked to travel and even to bioterrorism. New Brucella strains or species may emerge and existing Brucella species adapt to changing social, cultural, travel and agricultural environment. Brucella melitensis is the most important zoonotic agent, followed by Brucella abortus and Brucella suis. This correlates with the fact that worldwide, the control of bovine brucellosis (due to B. abortus) has been achieved to a greater extent than the control of sheep and goat brucellosis (due to B. melitensis), these latter species being the most important domestic animals in many developing countries. The long duration and high cost of treatment of human brucellosis reduces the efficacy of the therapy. There is no human vaccine for brucellosis and the occurrence of brucellosis is directly linked to the status of animal brucellosis in a region. In this context, the Word Health Organization has defined the development of a human vaccine, besides the implementation of control and eradication programs in animals, as a high priority. The pathogenicity for humans of B. suis biovars 1, 3 and 4 is well established, whereas B. suis biovar 2 seems to be less pathogenic. Indeed, although hunters and pig farmers have repeatably experienced infectious contact with B. suis biovar 2 (found in wild boar and outdoor-rearing pigs in Europe), isolation of B. suis biovar 2 from human samples have only been seldom reported. Marine mammal brucellosis, due to two new proposed Brucella species i.e. B. cetaceae and B. pinnipediae, represents a new zoonotic threat but the pathogenicity for humans of the different Brucella species found in cetaceans and pinnipeds still has to be clearly established.

This work is intended as a consensus list of valid tick names, following recent revisionary studies, wherein we recognize 896 species of ticks in 3 families. The Nuttalliellidae is monotypic, containing the single entity Nuttalliella namaqua. The Argasidae consists of 193 species, but there is widespread disagreement concerning the genera in this family, and fully 133 argasids will have to be further studied before any consensus can be reached on the issue of genus-level classification. The Ixodidae comprises 702 species in 14 genera: Amblyomma (130 species, of which 17 were formerly included in Aponomma, a genus that is still considered valid by some authors), Anomalohimalaya (3), Bothriocroton (7, all previously included in Aponomma), Cosmiomma (1), Cornupalpatum (1), Compluriscutula (1), Dermacentor (34, including the single member of the former genus Anocentor, which is still considered valid by some authors), Haemaphysalis (166), Hyalomma (27), Ixodes (243), Margaropus (3), Nosomma (2), Rhipicentor (2) and Rhipicephalus (82, including 5 species from the former genus Boophilus, which is still considered valid by some authors). We regard six names as invalid: Amblyomma laticaudae Warburton, 1933 is a synonym of Amblyomma nitidum Hirst & Hirst, 1910; Bothriocroton decorosum (Koch, 1867) is a synonym of B. undatum (Fabricius, 1775); Haemaphysalis vietnamensis Hoogstraal & Wilson, 1966 is a synonym of H. colasbelcouri (Santos Dias, 1958); Haemaphysalis xinjiangensis Teng, 1980 is a synonym of H. danieli Č erný & Hoogstraal, 1977; Hyalomma erythraeum Tonelli-Rondelli, 1932 is a synonym of H. impeltatum Schulze and Schlottke, 1930 and Rhipicephalus hoogstraali Kolonin, 2009 was not described according to the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

Anthelmintic resistance involving particularly the gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants is escalating globally, to the extent that in certain countries, such as South Africa, it has already reached alarming proportions, and is affecting practically all the anthelmintics. In this paper it is argued that the high levels of resistance in nematodes of veterinary importance indicate that the drugs have been used incorrectly. It is suggested that the phenomenon of refugia plays a much more important role in the selection of anthelmintic resistance than other phenomena that are more frequently investigated and recommended for counteracting it, such as reduced drenching frequency and avoiding under-dosing. While refugia is commonly mentioned in passing in most papers on anthelmintic resistance, it is, almost without exception, not incorporated in the final control/ management proposals. On the strength of the conclusions arrived at in the present paper strategies such as the drench-and-move system in which all the animals in a flock are drenched before they are moved to pastures containing few or no worms in refugia, and the system of strategic drenching on safe pastures should be condemned and never recommended. If such strategies are indeed unavoidable, the farmer should be warned that the farming system would probably not be sustainable even in the short term, in view of the generally high levels of resistance already present in most of the important sheep-producing regions. Farmers should be educated to consider refugia above all else when designing worm management programmes. Finally there seems to be too much complacency concerning the possibility that anthelmintic resistance may also escalate in cattle, eventually to reach the proportions that it has in sheep.

Escalating anthelmintic resistance has made it essential to develop alternative ways of worm management for reducing selection for worm resistance, and one of the most promising approaches is to treat only those animals unable to cope with worm challenge, thus favouring unselected worms originating from untreated animals. Only clinical evaluation of anaemia (FAMACHA system) and the body condition score are regarded as being of practical value or having potential, respectively, for repeatedly examining flocks or herds and identifying individuals for treatment. Only the FAMACHA system has been tested well enough for use under practical farming conditions. However, further investigation is needed on its effect on animal production, and methods to reduce labour. Trials over several seasons showed that most sheep under severe Haemonchus contortus challenge required no, or only one treatment over a full summer season. A small minority (usually < 5%) needed more than two treatments. Most sheep could cope without regular treatment. With sufficient training, clinical evaluation of anaemia was found reliable for practical use. The overwhelming majority of trainees (some poorly literate) were able to implement the FAMACHA system successfully. The dynamics of haemonchosis in a flock can easily be monitored. Farmers, farm workers and veterinarians all rated the system very highly (> 80%) and treatment costs dropped by approximately 58%. The heritability of FAMACHA values obtained by clinical evaluation was high at 0.55 +/- 0.17% in a Merino stud with +/- 550 young rams and ewes which were the progeny of 21 sires. The FAMACHA system may not be as applicable to goats as to sheep, but further work is necessary. The main benefits of the system are the reduction in treatments, its use for discriminating between animals of varying ability to cope with infection (thus allowing genetic selection), and its lowering of selection pressure on H. contortus for anthelmintic resistance.

Small Gram-negative cocco-bacilli resembling Brucella strains have been reported from marine mammals since the mid-1990s. Their placement in the genus Brucella has been supported by the following characteristics: they are aerobic, non-motile and catalase-positive, do not produce acid from carbohydrates and have a DNA-DNA relatedness value of >77% with the six established members of the genus. Twenty-eight European isolates of the genus Brucella from marine mammals were distinguished from the six recognized species by their pattern of utilization of eleven substrates in oxidative metabolism tests and phage lysis. The 28 strains could be further separated into two groups with cetaceans and seals as their respective preferred hosts on the basis of molecular methods and on differences in the metabolism of l-arabinose, d-galactose and d-xylose. The names Brucella ceti sp. nov. and Brucella pinnipedialis sp. nov. are proposed for the isolates from cetaceans and seals, respectively. The type strain of Brucella ceti sp. nov. is NCTC 12891T (=BCCN 94-74T) and the type strain of Brucella pinnipedialis sp. nov. is NCTC 12890T (=BCCN 94-73T).

Capripoxviruses are the cause of sheeppox, goatpox and lumpy skin disease (LSD) of cattle. These diseases are of great economic significance to farmers in regions in which they are endemic and are a major constraint to international trade in livestock and their products. Although the distribution of capripoxviruses is considerably reduced from what it was even 50 years ago, they are now expanding their territory, with recent outbreaks of sheeppox or goatpox in Vietnam, Mongolia and Greece, and outbreaks of LSD in Ethiopia, Egypt and Israel. Increased legal and illegal trade in live animals provides the potential for further spread, with, for instance, the possibility of LSD becoming firmly established in Asia. This review briefly summarizes what is known about capripoxviruses, including their impact on livestock production, their geographic range, host-specificity, clinical disease, transmission and genomics, and considers current developments in diagnostic tests and vaccines. Capripoxviruses have the potential to become emerging disease threats because of global climate change and changes in patterns of trade in animals and animal products. They also could be used as economic bioterrorism agents.

Several Avian paramyxoviruses 1 (synonymous with Newcastle disease virus or NDV, used hereafter) classification systems have been proposed for strain identification and differentiation. These systems pioneered classification efforts; however, they were based on different approaches and lacked objective criteria for the differentiation of isolates. These differences have created discrepancies among systems, rendering discussions and comparisons across studies difficult. Although a system that used objective classification criteria was proposed by Diel and co-workers in 2012, the ample worldwide circulation and constant evolution of NDV, and utilization of only some of the criteria, led to identical naming and/or incorrect assigning of new sub/genotypes. To address these issues, an international consortium of experts was convened to undertake in-depth analyses of NDV genetic diversity. This consortium generated curated, up-to-date, complete fusion gene class I and class II datasets of all known NDV for public use, performed comprehensive phylogenetic neighbor-Joining, maximum-likelihood, Bayesian and nucleotide distance analyses, and compared these inference methods. An updated NDV classification and nomenclature system that incorporates phylogenetic topology, genetic distances, branch support, and epidemiological independence was developed. This new consensus system maintains two NDV classes and existing genotypes, identifies three new class II genotypes, and reduces the number of sub-genotypes. In order to track the ancestry of viruses, a dichotomous naming system for designating sub-genotypes was introduced. In addition, a pilot dataset and sub-trees rooting guidelines for rapid preliminary genotype identification of new isolates are provided. Guidelines for sequence dataset curation and phylogenetic inference, and a detailed comparison between the updated and previous systems are included. To increase the speed of phylogenetic inference and ensure consistency between laboratories, detailed guidelines for the use of a supercomputer are also provided. The proposed unified classification system will facilitate future studies of NDV evolution and epidemiology, and comparison of results obtained across the world.

The use of natural honey (NH) as a nutraceutical agent is associated with nutritional benefits and therapeutic promises. NH is widely accepted as food and medicine by all generations, traditions and civilizations, both ancient and modern. The nutritional profiles, including its use in infant and children feeding reported in different literatures as well as health indices and biomarkers observed by various researchers are illustrated in this manuscript. The review documents folk medicine, experimentation with animal models, and orthodox medical practices shown by clinical trials. This covers virtually all human organs and body systems extensively studied by different workers. The sources and adverse effects of NH contamination, as well as the preventive methods are identified. This could promote the availability of residue free honey and a wholesome natural product for domestic consumption and international market. This could also help to prevent health problems associated with NH poisoning. In addition, apicultural practices and the economic importance of honey are well documented. This report also includes information about a relatively unknown and uncommon South American stingless bee species. We concluded this review by identifying important roles for Ethno-entomologists, other Scientists and Apiculturists in the development of stingless bees to boost honey production, consumption and economic earnings.

Tigers and their close relatives (Panthera) are some of the world’s most endangered species. Here we report the de novo assembly of an Amur tiger whole-genome sequence as well as the genomic sequences of a white Bengal tiger, African lion, white African lion and snow leopard. Through comparative genetic analyses of these genomes, we find genetic signatures that may reflect molecular adaptations consistent with the big cats’ hypercarnivorous diet and muscle strength. We report a snow leopard-specific genetic determinant in EGLN1 (Met39>Lys39), which is likely to be associated with adaptation to high altitude. We also detect a TYR260G>A mutation likely responsible for the white lion coat colour. Tiger and cat genomes show similar repeat composition and an appreciably conserved synteny. Genomic data from the five big cats provide an invaluable resource for resolving easily identifiable phenotypes evident in very close, but distinct, species. Tigers are an endangered species and therefore understanding their genetic architecture could aid conservation efforts. Here, the authors report the first genome sequence of the Amur tiger and, through close species comparative genomic analysis, provide insight into the genome organization, evolutionary divergence and diversity of big cats.

The development of antibiotic resistant bacteria stems from a number of factors, including inappropriate use of antibiotics in human and animal health and their prolonged use as growth promoters at sub-clinical doses in poultry and livestock production. We were interested in investigating plants that could be useful in protecting humans or animals against diarrhoea. We decided to work on extracts of nine plant species with good activity against Escherichia coli based on earlier work in the Phytomedicine Programme. Leaves of nine medicinal plant species with high antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli were extracted with acetone and their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values determined using a microplate serial dilution technique against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. Bioautography was used to determine the number of bioactive compounds in each extract. In vitro safety of the extracts was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction assay on Vero cells. The extracts were active against all the pathogens with average MICs ranging from 0.02 to 0.52 mg/ml. As expected E. coli was relatively sensitive, while E. faecalis and S. Typhimurium were more resistant to the extracts (average MICs of 0.28 mg/ml and 0.22 mg/ml respectively). Cremaspora triflora and Maesa lanceolata leaf extracts had higher activity than the other extracts against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens with mean MICs of 0.07 mg/ml and 0.09 mg/ml respectively. Extracts of Maesa lanceolata and Hypericum roeperianum had the highest total antibacterial activity (TAA) at 1417 and 963 ml/g respectively. All extracts with the exception of that of Maesa lanceolata, Elaeodendron croceum and Calpurnia aurea had relatively low cytotoxicity with LC50 > 20 μg/ml. Cremaspora triflora had the best selectivity index (SI) against S. aureus and E. coli of 2.87 and 1.15 respectively. Hypericum roeperianum had a SI of 1.10 against B. cereus. Bioautography revealed 1–6 visible antimicrobial compounds that were generally non-polar. There was a weak positive, but statistically non-significant correlation between the potency of the extracts and their cytotoxicity (R = 0.45, ρ > 0.05). The activity of the extracts on the test bacteria was in some cases not correlated with cytotoxicity, as shown by selectivity indices >1. This means that cellular toxicity was probably not due to compounds with antibacterial activity. Some of the extracts had a good potential for therapeutic use against the bacterial pathogens or for application in treating diarhoea. It does not appear that activity against E. coli is a good predictor of activity against Gram-negative rather than Gram-positive bacteria. Further investigation is in progress on C. triflora and H. roeperianum, both of which had promising activities and potential safety based on cytotoxicity.

The term Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) was first used in 1999 to describe gastric ulceration in the horse.1 However, as discussed by Merritt,2 the terminology is commonly misused. The committee reinforces the importance of distinguishing between diseases of the squamous and glandular mucosa because, as discussed in this statement, important differences exist between the two. In human medicine, the term peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is used as an umbrella term to describe erosive and ulcerative diseases of the stomach and it is recognized that a large number of individual diseases are present under the term.3 Furthermore, while some different diseases might share similarities in pathophysiology and treatment regimens, it is recognized in human medicine that the direct extrapolation of either from one specific disease (such as NSAID-associated ulceration) to another (such as Helicobacter pylori associated ulceration) is inappropriate.3 The committee recognizes that the terminology for EGUS requires clarification and proposes that the nomenclature be: Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) as a general all encompassing term to describe erosive and ulcerative diseases of the stomach consistent with the use of the term PUD in man; Equine Squamous Gastric Disease (ESGD) and Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD) as terms that more specifically describe the affected region anatomically. Within ESGD, both primary and secondary disease is recognized. Primary ESGD, the more common of the 2 forms, occurs in animals with an otherwise normal gastrointestinal tract. In contrast, secondary ESGD occurs in animals with delayed gastric outflow secondary to an underlying abnormality such as pyloric stenosis.4 The pathophysiology of EGGD remains to be elucidated and as such further subclassification of lesion type is not possible at this time. Instead, the committee recommends the use of descriptive terminology with a clear distinction of the anatomical region affected (cardia, fundus, antrum, or pylorus as shown in Figure 2) and the gross appearance of the lesion. The committee emphasizes that the affected region of the stomach should be clearly identified when communicating research and clinical findings. A summary of the proposed terminology is depicted in Figure 1. Recommendation: Expansion of the existing EGUS terminology to specifically identify squamous and glandular disease as ESGD and EGGD, respectively, as shown in Figure 1. The prevalence of gastric ulceration varies with breed, use, level of training, as well as between ESGD and EGGD. The highest prevalence of ESGD occurs in Thoroughbred racehorses with 37% of untrained horses affected, increasing to 80–100% within 2–3 months of race training.5-7 Standardbred racehorses have a similar overall ESGD prevalence of 44% that rises up to 87% in training,8-10 while 17–58% show/sport horses and 37–59% of pleasure horses are affected.11-15 Endurance horses have an ESGD prevalence of 48% during the out of competition period that rises to 66–93% during the competitive period, with lesions most prevalent in elite horses.16, 17 Horses that are rarely competed and predominantly used in their home environment have the lowest ESGD prevalence of 11%.18 The prevalence of EGGD is less well understood. Australian Thoroughbred racehorses have reported prevalences of between 47%6 and 65%.19 In endurance horses, the prevalence is 16% outside of the competition period and 27–33% while competing.16, 17 A retrospective study in the United Kingdom found EGGD in 54% of 191 leisure horses and in 64% of 493 sport horses.20 Comparably, 57% of horses used for a variety of purposes were reported to have EGGD in 2 separate studies.14, 21 The majority of EGGD lesions in all of the above studies were found within the pyloric antrum. A postmortem study of 3,715 horses over 72 years found significant associations between the presence of ulceration and breed (Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeds were more likely to have ulcers than cold-blooded horses) and sex (a higher prevalence was reported in stallions than mares and geldings).22 In contrast, 2 large cross-sectional studies of Thoroughbred racehorses documented no significant effect of age or sex on the likelihood of having ESGD.7, 23 Similarly, a large study in Standardbreds found no association between the presence of ESGD and age; however, there was an association between increasing age and worsening ulcer severity, the relative risk for which was greatest in geldings.8 In a retrospective study of 684 sport and leisure horses in the United Kingdom, no effect of age, sex or month of presentation was found on prevalence of ESGD or EGGD. However, a significant association was found between the Thoroughbred breed and the presence of ESGD in horses of any age.20 Together, these findings suggest that other factors such as intensity or duration of exercise outweigh any potential age or sex effect, but that a breed effect might be present with Thoroughbreds predisposed to ESGD. There are few large scale epidemiologic studies that investigated other risk factors for EGUS. Of those available, significant associations have been shown between ESGD and individual trainers, a metropolitan yard location (horses trained in urban areas were 3.9 × more likely to have gastric ulcers), a lack of direct contact with other horses, solid barriers instead of rails, and talk rather than music radio in the barn.23 Straw feeding and a lack of access to water in the paddock have been associated with an increased risk of EGUS in general.24 Further large scale work is required to better understand the epidemiologic factors which influence disease development, particularly EGGD which is largely unstudied at this point in time. Pasture turnout is considered to reduce the risk of EGUS although evidence supporting this belief if cnflicting. Horses with access to some turnout were less likely to have ESGD, and this risk was even lower if they were turned out with other horses in one study of Thoroughbred racehorses in training.23 Conversely no effect of quality of pasture, or time at pasture (stabled, stable and pasture, pastured) was shown on ESGD prevalence in another study of Thoroughbred racehorses.25 In addition, there were no differences observed on intragastric pH in horses fed ad libitum grass hay and grain twice a day (1 kg/100 kg/d) when they were housed in a grass paddock, in a stall on their own or in a stall with an adjacent companion, suggesting that pasture turnout on its own might not affect gastric pH per se.26 Similarly, free access to fibrous feed or frequent forage feeding is widely considered to reduce the risk of gastric ulceration although strong evidence supporting this belief if also lacking. Feeding alfalfa hay and grain results in higher gastric pH and less peptic injury to the gastric squamous mucosa than feeding brome grass hay or coastal Bermuda hay with no grain.27, 28 Furthermore, in a study evaluating the influence of a high fiber diet versus an iso-energetic low fiber diet both the number and severity of ESGD lesions was greater in the high fiber diet group.29 Together, these findings suggest that that the impact of forage feeding in the absence of other risk factor reduction might not be as great as previously believed. There is an increased likelihood of ESGD (severity score ≥2/5) when straw is the only forage provided24 suggesting that forage type might also be important. An increased time between forage meals (>6 hours between meals), compared with more frequent forage feeding (<6 hours between meals) increases the likelihood of ESGD.24 A more consistent effect is observed with increased starch/grain intake and this been associated with an increased risk of ESGD in animals working at various levels of intensity in a number of studies. There is a marked increase in ulceration when nonexercising animals are stabled and fed grain at 1% of BW, 1 hour before hay is fed.30 Similarly, exceeding 2 g/kg BW of starch intake per day is associated with an approximately 2-fold increase in the likelihood of ESGD grade ≥2/5.24 ESGD developed in all horses within 14 days of their removal from pasture, stabling (fed 6 kg concentrate feed/day) and entering a simulated training regimen.31 Intermittent access to water increases the risk of EGUS as it has been shown that horses without access to water in their paddock are more than 2.5 times more likely to have EGUS ≥ 2/5 than horses with constant access to water.24 This was the case for both ESGD or EGUS in all parts of the stomach. Fasting is a well described as a risk factor for ESGD and intermittent starvation causes and increases the severity of ESGD.32 Using this effect, an experimental model has been developed to produce ESGD; however, it is the opinion of the committee that the model's ability to replicate the multifactorial nature of clinical disease is limited. Recommendation: Given that the fasting model to the multifactorial nature of gastric disease the committee that its use as an experimental model is not Instead, the committee recommends that or should on In the years of gastric ulcer the prevalence and severity of ESGD in horses with clinical and was to be greater than in horses without clinical Gastric ulcers have been associated with a of clinical in horses, a of strong evidence to these clinical or or an or or and There is some evidence to suggest that gastric ulcers are associated with an increased of in Gastric ulcers were reported in of horses with in one study of which to gastric ulceration as documented by a to There is an association between of and ESGD with of horses with ESGD over the of horses with ESGD in another study and horses that were a lower of ESGD than horses that been The for this is but might be horses are for of at an increased risk of the presence of ESGD might horses to gastrointestinal and have reported an association between or and gastric of in horses with gastric ulcers from to and might to as without it a clinical of gastric is associated with a high prevalence of gastric ulcers in racehorses in is as a clinical of gastric In a cross-sectional study in Thoroughbred horses, a association between gastric ulceration and was In contrast, other studies have to identify an association between and has been reported as a clinical of gastric ulceration in However, there is no evidence of a and it is and in the gastric ulceration is of a disease is a common that horses or are more likely to have and horses with a are more likely to have ESGD than are or normal In contrast, no effect of has been shown in and in in this might have an effect in There is an association between and ESGD, although the is The potential for EGUS to is of to few studies have investigated the potential between and the presence of EGUS. one of the clinical have an effect on for or in training, but the remains gastric ulcers in the absence of other clinical have an effect on The by which gastric ulceration might affect has not been but it has been proposed that might as a direct of gastric and in the squamous region of the stomach are similar to the lesions or disease which is common elite human with of of gastrointestinal during exercise that is to increasing exercise Furthermore, human with frequent have a time to compared to without there are only a few studies that have to an association between the presence of ulcers and in used as a of while used to exercise There is a significant association between the presence of ESGD and in Thoroughbred with associated with the presence of gastric of their severity or the number of Similarly, there is a significant association between the presence of ESGD and in Standardbred A case reported Thoroughbred racehorses that with and gastric ulceration as the only treatment with was The effect of ESGD, by intermittent feed to exercise has been of the study was with and no time to lower increase in specific and were found in horses, when compared to The for these differences is not clear but the that increased be and The committee that a of clinical might be present in individual of EGUS with of and the most prevalent at a on are not it is recognized that EGUS might in however, the factors that to other causes to be in clinical between ESGD versus EGGD are but Recommendation: a variety of clinical might be present in individual of they are and are associated with the presence of EGUS. The committee not the of EGUS on clinical and recommends that EGUS be by as discussed The committee that is the only for gastric The has been described it is to the the pylorus and as lesions in these are There is no between the presence of ESGD and as such the presence or absence of one be used as for the presence or absence of the There are no or to in of gastric A has shown for of gastric but to the of the has not been reported in clinical to there is no association between the presence of gastric ulcers and the of either or treatment is common is not The committee the potential of treatment and the importance of distinguishing ESGD from EGGD, the of treatment without is not is that if treatment is and the to to treatment remains to out gastric disease as some animals not to of clinical of lesions has identified on of the severity of lesions is most commonly by a grade that the appearance at different A variety of different have been for the with from to A separate that lesion number and severity has also been In 1999 the Equine Gastric Ulcer proposed a to severity lesion and and that the should be for both clinical and research use, few of the have been for or for a number and severity, significant was found for the number of squamous this was compared with and it was found that it the number of squamous lesions while a scale A further study that the Equine Gastric Ulcer be as the EGUS of its of use, and the and of between this and the of the EGUS to their own This lack of between and the of clinical by different Recommendation: The committee recommends that the existing Equine Gastric Ulcer in be used for ESGD. There is on the of glandular The clinical of the different of glandular disease are to be well although there is in the appearance of glandular that also be in their appearance and in their Furthermore, separate of the and appearance is important in a better of glandular as might not to the normal appearance that squamous it that of severity and the appearance of the and mucosa might at it is not that these different be in a such as that used for ESGD. Recommendation: better the use of a for EGGD is not In the absence of a terminology the anatomical and appearance of lesions as in Figure 1 should be The the is rather than importance to individual has been that there is a between the severity of gastric ulceration and the severity of clinical and it is to that more lesions are more likely to in important The use of further more disease with higher However, this might not be or consistent and there is a of in the a direct between clinical and the severity, or location of gastric ulcers in Furthermore, that horses with EGUS not clinical and are considered to have or gastric these horses are without clinical or as there is treatment in some Furthermore, it has been that a of is required for clinical However, in of the glandular mucosa is considered to of the in results in of the and a similar effect is present in the is not but it that some horses with or to suggesting that such an effect might be present in a of the In contrast, some horses with disease not have clinical and to in to There is evidence to the that lesion grade with clinical this the committee that the of clinical should not be on appearance the should the of an lesions in of the its and clinical research on EGUS should on both clinical and A variety of factors to the of ESGD. of these factors share the common that they increase the of the squamous mucosa to In clearly that squamous are to and injury in a and time of the is by by the squamous of the in of of in concentrate not only and but also have been shown to with There is a between of squamous mucosa to and of the squamous mucosa results from the gastric up by the increased associated with than a with this racehorses have an increase in lesion severity and number of lesion within the squamous mucosa associated with increasing intensity of The severity of ESGD in high level endurance horses is to the of the In contrast, the pathophysiology of EGGD is understood. The glandular mucosa from the squamous mucosa in that under normal it is to gastric with the pH in the of the stomach stable at between 1 and ESGD results from of mucosa to EGGD is to from a of the normal that the mucosa from gastric The factors that to of this are to be elucidated in the but in Helicobacter pylori and are the causes of gastric research in the has on these 2 there remains in the as to the of in EGGD. and might a in squamous but the is similar in the glandular mucosa is Furthermore, although such are present in ESGD their to be secondary as the to is have been identified in horses affected with EGGD in some other studies have to identify such The potential for to EGGD under clinical is An has been for and at higher than while at clinical and not gastric ulceration when for previously high prevalences of EGGD have been observed in with disease to the number of animals likely to under such on the evidence for as a is lacking. Similarly, although have the potential to EGGD in individual animals they are to be an important to the prevalence of disease at the to human medicine a large number of different diseases with separate in it is likely that different to the of EGGD in the The no is considered a of gastric ulcer in of the with it is the opinion that treatment is in the of both ESGD, for which its is well and EGGD, of the to identify an underlying as of and are the most commonly used of in the of which is the in the the that with to be before In contrast, work the on the and their is on of the is to in the treatment of in the opinion of the remains the of for treatment of EGUS. A variety of factors the and duration of treatment influence the of The of the is to in an of different the and of the of used to the in different is is and it is that some of is to of the within the environment of the and its a to this within a to the work has been on the relative of different of A study the of and 2 to as a not significant differences in Similarly, clinical study found no significant in the of an when compared with the In contrast, an has been shown to have approximately twice the of a of findings are in of of clinical studies. In a direct between no in was observed the used at 1 versus for the In another no in was between and of these findings suggest that lower of either or might be and The duration of required for of ESGD and EGGD has not been In of a pH above and for a of hours is required for of gastric ulceration and studies that of results in hours of however, the duration of at might be as as hours in some The results of clinical studies suggest even if the duration of is only this is for the treatment of ESGD as the treatment with from to is well In with this the are largely on the results of clinical and work while that further the duration of with a of and is has been well at its of for 28 days with ESGD of discussed the of lower but in the absence of specific evidence to lower the use of at when However, it is the opinion on the use of at 2 Similarly, on the reported clinical the use of at In the reduction in be at this time of the lack of on the use of these in a clinical The duration of treatment also studies have compared the of within the 28 day treatment period but an study that if of ESGD is to that it is by 21 a reduction in the treatment period for ESGD to of the or used it is important to at only approximately of ESGD lesions within a 28 day treatment and is before the of treatment to that has not to be in the treatment of ESGD but be considered as an when is not or has been shown to be has been shown to gastric in experimental and is most commonly used at for ESGD are in treatment for EGUS have not between squamous and glandular However, in a of studies only of EGGD lesions with days of treatment at in direct to an ESGD lesion of The for the of EGGD to treatment is not but factors the duration of with the duration of treatment required and the use of In the duration of treatment for glandular ulceration is on primary of the and the of treatment might be for EGGD. 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Paratuberculosis, a chronic disease affecting ruminant livestock, is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). It has direct and indirect economic costs, impacts animal welfare and arouses public health concerns. In a survey of 48 countries we found paratuberculosis to be very common in livestock. In about half the countries more than 20% of herds and flocks were infected with MAP. Most countries had large ruminant populations (millions), several types of farmed ruminants, multiple husbandry systems and tens of thousands of individual farms, creating challenges for disease control. In addition, numerous species of free-living wildlife were infected. Paratuberculosis was notifiable in most countries, but formal control programs were present in only 22 countries. Generally, these were the more highly developed countries with advanced veterinary services. Of the countries without a formal control program for paratuberculosis, 76% were in South and Central America, Asia and Africa while 20% were in Europe. Control programs were justified most commonly on animal health grounds, but protecting market access and public health were other factors. Prevalence reduction was the major objective in most countries, but Norway and Sweden aimed to eradicate the disease, so surveillance and response were their major objectives. Government funding was involved in about two thirds of countries, but operations tended to be funded by farmers and their organizations and not by government alone. The majority of countries (60%) had voluntary control programs. Generally, programs were supported by incentives for joining, financial compensation and/or penalties for non-participation. Performance indicators, structure, leadership, practices and tools used in control programs are also presented. Securing funding for long-term control activities was a widespread problem. Control programs were reported to be successful in 16 (73%) of the 22 countries. Recommendations are made for future control programs, including a primary goal of establishing an international code for paratuberculosis, leading to universal acknowledgment of the principles and methods of control in relation to endemic and transboundary disease. An holistic approach across all ruminant livestock industries and long-term commitment is required for control of paratuberculosis.

African swine fever is one of the most important and serious diseases of domestic pigs. Its highly contagious nature and ability to spread over long distances make it one of the most feared diseases, since its devastating effects on pig production have been experienced not only in most of sub-Saharan Africa but also in western Europe, the Caribbean, Brazil and, most recently, the Caucasus. Unlike most diseases of livestock, there is no vaccine, and therefore prevention relies entirely upon preventing contact between the virus and the susceptible host. In order to do so it is necessary to understand the way in which the virus is transmitted and spreads. By implementing strict biosecurity measures that place barriers between the source of virus and the pigs it is possible to prevent infection. However, this has implications for free-ranging pig husbandry systems that are widespread in developing countries. Attempts to produce a vaccine are ongoing and new technology offers some hope for the future, but this will not remove the necessity for implementing adequate biosecurity on pig farms.

Three endemic vulture species Gyps bengalensis, Gyps indicus and Gyps tenuirostris are critically endangered following dramatic declines in South Asia resulting from exposure to diclofenac, a veterinary drug present in the livestock carcasses that they scavenge. Diclofenac is widely used globally and could present a risk to Gyps species from other regions. In this study, we test the toxicity of diclofenac to a Eurasian (Gyps fulvus) and an African (Gyps africanus) species, neither of which is threatened. A dose of 0.8 mg kg(-1) of diclofenac was highly toxic to both species, indicating that they are at least as sensitive to diclofenac as G. bengalensis, for which we estimate an LD50 of 0.1-0.2 mg kg(-1). We suggest that diclofenac is likely to be toxic to all eight Gyps species, and that G. africanus, which is phylogenetically close to G. bengalensis, would be a suitable surrogate for the safety testing of alternative drugs to diclofenac.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a disease of cattle, primarily in Africa and Madagascar and rarely in the Middle East. It is caused by a capripoxvirus that belongs to the family Poxviridae. The disease is of economic importance in endemic areas. Effective control of LSD requires accurate and rapid laboratory techniques to confirm a tentative clinical diagnosis. Comparative studies on different diagnostic tests used at different stages of the disease have not been done. The aim of this study was to compare several of these tests. Six seronegative bulls, between 11 and 20 months of age, were infected intravenously and kept in an insect-free facility. The course of the infection was monitored. During a 3-month period blood samples and skin biopsies were collected for virus isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Skin biopsies were also examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The incubation period in infected animals varied from 4-5 days. The length of the viraemic period did not correlate with the severity of clinical disease. Viraemia was detected from 1-12 days using virus isolation and from 4-11 days using the PCR, which is longer than has previously been reported. Virus was isolated from skin biopsies until Day 39 post infection (p.i.) and PCR could demonstrate viral DNA until Day 92 p.i. Transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained skin biopsies detected LSD virus only in one of the four bulls that developed skin lesions until Day 33 p.i. The PCR was a fast and sensitive method to demonstrate viral DNA in blood and skin samples. It could detect viral nucleic acid in skin lesions 53 days longer than virus isolation. Virus isolation from blood and skin samples was sensitive and reliable, but as a single test it may be too time-consuming to use although this depends on how rapidly the diagnosis must be confirmed. In conclusion, this study showed the PCR to be superior in detecting LSD virus from blood and skin samples. However, virus isolation is still required when the infectivity of the LSD virus is to be determined.

Great interest in herbal medicine as a potential source of phytopharmaceuticals has created the need to review common factors responsible for major diseases and body disorders. This review shows one such common factor in inflammation and the role herbal medicine can play. Traditional medicinal herbal remedies in the southern African region have long been used to treat various pain- or inflammation-related symptoms. Although the precise mechanisms of action of many herbal drugs have yet to be determined, some of them have been shown to exert anti-inflammatory and/or antioxidant effects in a variety of cells in the human and animal bodies. There is increasing evidence to indicate that both peripheral and central nervous system cells play a prominent role in the chronic inflammatory responses in the body system and anti-inflammatory herbal medicine and its constituents are being proved to be a potent protector against various pro-inflammatory mediators in diseases and disorders. These mediators have therefore been suspected of being the functional basis of diseases and disorders. The structural diversity of these medicinal herbs makes them a valuable source of novel lead compounds against the therapeutic molecular targets, cytokines and mediators, that have been newly discovered by the platforms of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and high-throughput technologies. This article reviews the basic mechanisms of inflammation and the potential of 123 southern African plant species to be effective as chronic inflammatory disease preventive agents. With one third of these species there are no indications of the chemical composition, indicating possible subjects for further research. &nbsp; Key words:&nbsp;Medicinal plant, NO, NF kappa B, cytokines, reactive oxygen species.

Arthropod-transmitted viruses (Arboviruses) are important causes of disease in humans and animals, and it is proposed that climate change will increase the distribution and severity of arboviral diseases. Orbiviruses are the cause of important and apparently emerging arboviral diseases of livestock, including bluetongue virus (BTV), African horse sickness virus (AHSV), equine encephalosis virus (EEV), and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) that are all transmitted by haematophagous Culicoides insects. Recent changes in the global distribution and nature of BTV infection have been especially dramatic, with spread of multiple serotypes of the virus throughout extensive portions of Europe and invasion of the south-eastern USA with previously exotic virus serotypes. Although climate change has been incriminated in the emergence of BTV infection of ungulates, the precise role of anthropogenic factors and the like is less certain. Similarly, although there have been somewhat less dramatic recent alterations in the distribution of EHDV, AHSV, and EEV, it is not yet clear what the future holds in terms of these diseases, nor of other potentially important but poorly characterized Orbiviruses such as Peruvian horse sickness virus.

Veterinary use of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drug diclofenac in South Asia has resulted in the collapse of populations of three vulture species of the genus Gyps to the most severe category of global extinction risk. Vultures are exposed to diclofenac when scavenging on livestock treated with the drug shortly before death. Diclofenac causes kidney damage, increased serum uric acid concentrations, visceral gout, and death. Concern about this issue led the Indian Government to announce its intention to ban the veterinary use of diclofenac by September 2005. Implementation of a ban is still in progress late in 2005, and to facilitate this we sought potential alternative NSAIDs by obtaining information from captive bird collections worldwide. We found that the NSAID meloxicam had been administered to 35 captive Gyps vultures with no apparent ill effects. We then undertook a phased programme of safety testing of meloxicam on the African white-backed vulture Gyps africanus, which we had previously established to be as susceptible to diclofenac poisoning as the endangered Asian Gyps vultures. We estimated the likely maximum level of exposure (MLE) of wild vultures and dosed birds by gavage (oral administration) with increasing quantities of the drug until the likely MLE was exceeded in a sample of 40 G. africanus. Subsequently, six G. africanus were fed tissues from cattle which had been treated with a higher than standard veterinary course of meloxicam prior to death. In the final phase, ten Asian vultures of two of the endangered species (Gyps bengalensis, Gyps indicus) were dosed with meloxicam by gavage; five of them at more than the likely MLE dosage. All meloxicam-treated birds survived all treatments, and none suffered any obvious clinical effects. Serum uric acid concentrations remained within the normal limits throughout, and were significantly lower than those from birds treated with diclofenac in other studies. We conclude that meloxicam is of low toxicity to Gyps vultures and that its use in place of diclofenac would reduce vulture mortality substantially in the Indian subcontinent. Meloxicam is already available for veterinary use in India.

Following an outbreak of autochthonous canine babesiosis in the Netherlands, a request made to veterinarians and the public to collect ticks from companion animals resulted in 4298 ticks submitted between July 2005 and October 2006 to our center. Ticks were identified as Ixodes ricinus adults (2907/4298, 67.6%), Ixodes sp. nymphs (529/4298, 12.3%) and Ixodes sp. larvae (385/4298, 9.0%), I. hexagonus adults (328/4298, 7.6%), Dermacentor reticulatus (72/4298, 1.7%), and several other exotic tick species such as Amblyomma flavomaculatum (formerly Aponomma flavomaculatum), Hyalomma marginatum rufipes, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and R. turanicus (55/4298, 1.3%). Eight localities were surveyed for the presence of local D. reticulatus, a tick not indigenous to the Netherlands, based on multiple submissions of D. reticulatus ticks from these areas. D. reticulatus was collected from the vegetation in six of these localities, confirming the presence of populations of this tick in the Netherlands. Adult I. ricinus (n=251), I. hexagonus (n=237), and D. reticulatus (n=344) ticks were selected at random and subsequently screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization for the presence of Borrelia, Babesia, Theileria, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia species. I. ricinus ticks were infected with Rickettsia helvetica (24.7%), spirochetes belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group (7.2%), the Ehrlichia-like "Schotii" variant (2.4%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (1.6%), Babesia sp. (EU1) (1.2%), Babesia divergens (0.4%), and Babesia microti (0.4%). A. phagocytophilum (5.9%) and R. helvetica (0.8%) were also detected in adult I. hexagonus ticks. Spotted fever group Rickettsiae, previously reported as Rickettsia sp. DnS14/RpA4 (14.0%), and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (0.3%) were detected in the D. reticulatus ticks, which appeared to be free from B. canis infection. We concluded that a much broader spectrum of ticks and tick-borne pathogens is present in the Netherlands than previously thought, including several potential zoonotic pathogens.