The outbreak of chikungunya that occurred on French Island territories in the southwest Indian Ocean in 2005 and 2006 caused severe morbidity and mortality. In the aftermath, French authorities set up a scientific task force including experts in epidemiology, public health, entomology, virology, immunology, sociology, animal health, community and hospital medicine. The mission of the task force was to conceive and propose research programs needed to increase understanding of the disease and epidemic and to help public health officials in improving epidemic response measures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrop Anim Health Prod
February 2009
Production of sheep (nursing ewes) grazing alternately with cattle (growing weaned heifers) was compared to the production of sheep or cattle grazing alone (controls). Pasture production and sheep parasitism were also monitored. The herbage allowance was higher for the control heifers than for the alternate heifers, but the leaf to green material ratio (LGMR) was lower, and no difference on heifer growth was revealed (443 vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany triggering factors for onset of emerging infectious diseases are now recognised, such as: globalisation, demographic increase, population movements, international trade, urbanisation, forest destruction, climate changes, loss in biodiversity, and extreme life conditions such as poverty, famine and war. Epidemic burden is often leading to disasters, in terms of human losses, as well as economic, political or social consequences. These outbreaks may jeopardize within a few weeks or months, industry, trade, or tourism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe control of gastrointestinal nematodes requires an understanding of their epidemiology so that particular parasite stages can be targeted. Dam infection during early lactation is one example of this in ruminant nematode infections. The existence of the peri-parturient relaxation in immunity and its impact on productivity were examined in a Creole goat flock from Guadeloupe, exposed to mixed natural infection (predominantly Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Seasonality of ovulatory activity is observed in European sheep and goat breeds, whereas tropical breeds show almost continuous ovulatory activity. It is not known if these tropical breeds are sensitive or not to temperate photoperiod. This study was therefore designed to determine whether tropical Creole goats and Black-Belly ewes are sensitive to temperate photoperiod.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMost pharmacokinetic studies on anthelmintic drugs have been performed on non-parasitized animals. However, it seems likely that the parasite burden could influence the deposition of such drugs. The pharmacokinetics of moxidectin administered orally and by subcutaneous injection was compared in lambs exposed to nematode infection and in parasite naive lambs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCompared to INRA 401 lambs reared in France, Black Belly (BB) lambs reared in Guadeloupe (F.W.I.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMortality due to strongyles infection in small ruminants is a critical component of flock productivity in a tropical climate. In goat production, few experiments have been conducted to estimate the variability of this trait. A survival analysis study was carried out in the Creole experimental flock of INRA-Gardel (Moule, Guadeloupe) to identify management and genetic factors influencing mortality of kids reared at pasture and infected with gastrointestinal strongyles, predominantly Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe resistance of a tropical breed of sheep towards the nematode parasite Haemonchus contortus (Hc) was compared to that of a European breed after artificial infection with the parasite following a 2 x 2 x 2 experimental design: two isolates (Hc Gua from Guadeloupe versus Hc Fra from France), two breeds each reared in their native habitats (Black Belly (BB) in Guadeloupe, FWI, INRA 401 reared in France), and two groups of lambs with differing infection status (one naive, i.e. infected for the first time during the experiment, and one primed, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGoat production is widespread in the tropics. Goats are very susceptible to gastrointestinal nematode infection, but there is less evidence of their genetic resistance. Genetic resistance of Creole goats to gastrointestinal nematodes has been studied at Guadeloupe in the French West Indies since 1995.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHaemonchus contortus isolates were collected from goats of five locations with different climatic characteristics in Guadeloupe archipelago. They were investigated for morphology, morphometrics and allozyme diversity after passage in immunosuppressed lambs using long acting corticoids. The basic aim of the work was to construct a synthetic strain in laboratory conditions which was representative of the isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of gastro-intestinal helminth diversity was monitored in lambs grazing alone or grazing with heifers in the ratio one heifer to four lambs. Five successive cohorts of lambs were studied from January 1994 to May 1996. Each cohort of lambs grazed irrigated pastures of Pangola grass for 4 months (from weaning to 6 months of age).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this study was to show the existence of genetic variability in resistance of Creole goats to natural infection with intestinal nematodes. Four successive cohorts of male and female kids were reared from weaning during 9 months in intensive pangola pastures (stocking rate 1.4 t/ha, regrowth of 21 days, 300 kg N/ ha/year of fertilization).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this study was to determine the main sources of variation in herbage densities of infective third stage larvae of goat strongyles during the marked dry season of 1994 in Guadeloupe (FWI). Herbage samples were collected for L3 density (LD) determination by an accurate method, 4 times at 4-week intervals in 58 paddocks of 21 farms spread out in five regions of the archipel of Guadeloupe. At the same time, FEC of each grazing animal and fecal culture for parasite genus determination according to sex and age were carried out.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe accuracy and the precision of a simple and reliable technique for the extraction and the counting of third stage larvae densities of gastro-intestinal strongyles of ruminants from pasture samples are assessed in tropical conditions, i.e. for pangola pastures and for the genera of Haemonchus and Trichostrongylus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA solid phase immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies to Dermatophilus congolensis in ruminant sera was developed to be used as a single dilution ELISA in large epidemiological surveys. Optimal conditions for the test are described. The use of blocking proteins to reduce non specific binding was necessary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDermatophilosis is one of the most important diseases of domestic ruminants in the Caribbean islands where the clinical disease has been shown to be associated with the presence of the tick Amblyomma variegatum. Seroepidemiological studies were conducted to clarify the epidemiology of the disease in the region with a particular attention paid to the role of A. variegatum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop
April 1994
The population dynamics of trichostrongylid third stage larvae (L3) around bovine dung were fitted with non-linear models (marginal law) in tropical humid climate in different climatic situations. These marginal models were combined with the survival duration of pats, the weight of cows, the number of pats per cow and per day, the stocking rate and the herbage mass availability, taking into account the patchy grazing behaviour of cattle in order to estimate infestation probability of cattle by third stage larvae. The infestation risk was computed for different ages of herbage regrowth and grazing times in rotational grazing systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGastro-intestinal parasitism of creole cows and calves, Limousin x creole cross calves and Brahman x creole cross calves was recorded during seasons of calving in a native grazing system in Guadeloupe, a wet tropical area. Calvings were pooled during the dry season for two herds and during the rainy season for two other herds. For each calving season, calves of one herd were drenched monthly with anthelmintic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Parasitol
August 1989
The development of numbers of third-stage (L3) larvae of gastrointestinal nematodes after pat (faeces) deposition by heifers is described, using a mathematical model, for seven experiments carried out in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). A dramatic rise in L3 population size occurred on herbage near pats, 17-25 days after pat deposition. There was no clear relationship between climatic data and L3 population dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Guadeloupe (French West Indies), paddocks were contaminated with gastrointestinal helminth eggs by young goats during the rainy season and the dry season. The evolution of L3 population size on herbage was followed over a period of 56 days. The major genera were Haemonchus and Trichostrongylus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a first experiment, 2 groups of 46 and 47 multiparous ewes received diets which provided an iodine intake of 0.36 and 0.26 mg/kg dry matter (group C) and, 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF1. In two experiments samples of blood and organs were taken from newborn and young lambs born to five groups of ewes that received different dietary iodine (I) levels. Dietary I contents (mg/kg dry matter [DM]) in pregnancy and lactation, respectively, were: Experiment 1--0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIodine concentrations were determined in 848 samples of milk from tanks of 537 dairy factories collected in 1983 and 1984 during winter and summer. Industrial processing, like pasteurization, UHT sterilization and spray-drying, had no effect on iodine concentrations. Of the samples of bovine milk, 94.
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