Overweight and obesity on the island of Ireland: an estimation of costs.

Objectives: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide continues to compromise population health and creates a wider societal cost in terms of productivity loss and premature mortality. Despite extensive international literature on the cost of overweight and obesity, findings are inconsistent between Europe and the USA, and particularly within Europe. Studies vary on issues of focus, specific costs and methods.

Resistance to macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics and associated risk factors on sheep farms in the lower North Island of New Zealand.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of resistance to macrocyclic lactone (ML) anthelmintics over a 3-year period on sheep farms in the Taihape area, and to determine associations between the presence of ML resistance and farm management practices.

Methods: All farmers with >1,000 lambing ewes served by one veterinary practice in the Taihape area of the central North Island of New Zealand were invited to take part in the study (n=157); respondents were selected on their willingness to participate. Resistance to ML was measured during 2004-2006, using a standard faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and a half dose of oral ivermectin (IVM; 0.

Evidence that moxidectin is a greater risk factor than ivermectin in the development of resistance to macrocyclic lactones by Ostertagia spp in sheep in south eastern Australia.

Aim: To determine associations between resistance of Ostertagia (=Teladorsagia) spp to macrocyclic lactone (ML) anthelmintics and history of use of anthelmintics, by type, on commercial sheep farms in temperate regions of southern South Australia and Victoria, Australia.

Methods: Faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRTs) were conducted during a 2.5-year period (from August 2001 to January 2004) and records of the type of anthelmintic used in the 5 years preceding the FECRTs were collected from commercial sheep farms (n=103) in southern South Australia and Victoria, and data analysed retrospectively.

Mortalities in bobby calves associated with long distance transport.

Objective: To investigate how distance of transportation and time of year affects mortality of bobby calves.

Method: The overall mortality of bobby calves transported by road to an abattoir in Northern Victoria was investigated by the analysis of mortality data from 1998 to 2000 from the abattoir records.

Results: Mortality of bobby calves increased exponentially with distance of transportation to the abattoir.

The effects of reducing the length of canine teeth in sucking pigs by clipping or grinding.

Objective: To provide production data that would support or discount current teeth clipping practices in sucking pigs.

Design: Intervention study of 207 litters of pigs on a commercial farm.

Procedure: Litters were assigned to one of three interventions undertaken at 1 day of age: clipped using hand-operated side cutter pliers, ground using a battery-operated grinder or left intact.