Prediction of the size and spatial distribution of free-roaming dog populations in urban areas of Nepal.

A factor constraining the elimination of dog-mediated human rabies is limited information on the size and spatial distribution of free-roaming dog populations (FRDPs). The aim of this study was to develop a statistical model to predict the size of free-roaming dog populations and the spatial distribution of free-roaming dogs in urban areas of Nepal, based on real-world dog census data from the Himalayan Animal Rescue Trust (HART) and Animal Nepal. Candidate explanatory variables included proximity to roads, building density, specific building types, human population density and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI).

Using natural language processing and patient journey clustering for temporal phenotyping of antimicrobial therapies for cat bite abscesses.

Background: Temporal phenotyping of patient journeys, which capture the common sequence patterns of interventions in the treatment of a specific condition, is useful to support understanding of antimicrobial usage in veterinary patients. Identifying and describing these phenotypes can inform antimicrobial stewardship programs designed to fight antimicrobial resistance, a major health crisis affecting both humans and animals, in which veterinarians have an important role to play.

Objective: This research proposes a framework for extracting temporal phenotypes of patient journeys from clinical practice data through the application of natural language processing (NLP) and unsupervised machine learning (ML) techniques, using cat bite abscesses as a model condition.

Estimation of a Within-Herd Transmission Rate for African Swine Fever in Vietnam.

We describe results from a panel study in which pigs from a 17-sow African swine fever (ASF) positive herd in Thái Bình province, Vietnam, were followed over time to record the date of onset of ASF signs and the date of death from ASF. Our objectives were to (1) fit a susceptible-exposed-infectious-removed disease model to the data with transmission coefficients estimated using approximate Bayesian computation; (2) provide commentary on how a model of this type might be used to provide decision support for disease control authorities. For the outbreak in this herd, the median of the average latent period was 10 days (95% HPD (highest posterior density interval): 2 to 19 days), and the median of the average duration of infectiousness was 3 days (95% HPD: 2 to 4 days).

Bushfire exposure is associated with increased pH and dark-cutting in beef longissimus thoracis at grading.

To investigate if bushfire exposure is associated with increased loin pH, this study analysed temporal and geospatial data on fire incidence in South-Eastern Australia together with beef carcase quality and production records for fire affected animals (n = 451,299). Two outcomes were modelled: 1) loin pH at time of grading, and 2) the incidence of "high pH" defects (pH > 5.70).

High ambient temperature and humidity associated with early embryonic loss after embryo transfer in mares.

Increased ambient temperatures has been identified to contribute to reproductive outcomes for several domesticated species, but its impact on equine reproduction has not been previously investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between ambient climatic conditions, as measured by temperature-humidity index (THI) between day 7 and day 14 of gestation, and early embryonic loss (EEL) in recipient mares undergoing embryo transfer. The study examined records from 834 embryo transfers at an equine breeding facility in Victoria, Australia.

Livestock exposure to bushfires and meat, offal and carcase quality: Is there an association?

The occurrence of bushfires (wildfires) is increasing with climate change in many areas of the world. In Australia, the 2019/20 bushfire season involved a particularly severe and widespread fire emergency (the 'Black Summer' bushfires). Understanding of how exposure to bushfires affects specific disease processes in livestock is limited.

The Australian 2019/2020 Black Summer Bushfires: Analysis of the Pathology, Treatment Strategies and Decision Making About Burnt Livestock.

In 2019/2020, Australia experienced a severe bushfire event, with many tens of thousands of livestock killed or euthanized. Little systematic research has occurred to understand livestock bushfire injuries, risk factors for injury, or how to make decisions about management of bushfire-injured livestock. Addressing this research gap is important as there is an increasing bushfire incidence globally.

Using farmer observations for animal health syndromic surveillance: Participation and performance of an online enhanced passive surveillance system.

The challenge of animal health surveillance is to provide the information necessary to appropriately inform disease prevention and control activities within the constraints of available resources. Syndromic surveillance of farmers' disease observations can improve animal health data capture from extensive livestock farming systems, especially where data are not otherwise being systematically collected or when data on confirmed aetiological diagnoses are unavailable at the disease level. As it is rarely feasible to recruit a truly random sample of farmers to provide observational reports, directing farmer sampling to align with the surveillance objectives is a reasonable and practical approach.

Herd-Level Risk Factors for Swine Influenza (H1N1) Seropositivity in West Java and Banten Provinces of Indonesia (2016-2017).

Swine could play a role as a "mixing vessel" for avian and human influenza viruses and should, therefore, be thought of playing an intermediate role in the emergence of pandemic influenza strains. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for Swine influenza virus (SIV) seropositivity at the farm level in West Java and Banten provinces, Indonesia. A total of 649 blood samples were collected from 175 pig farms, and at the time of sampling, a questionnaire about routine herd management was administered to participant herd managers.

Adaptive e-Learning: Emerging Digital Tools for Teaching Parasitology.

Adaptive learning activities can respond to a learner's needs in real time, facilitating the development of higher-level skills including bringing together knowledge from different disciplines to solve real-world problems. Here we discuss the use of online adaptive learning activities designed to help veterinary students apply their knowledge to work through parasite case studies.

Sample size considerations for livestock movement network data.

The movement of animals between farms contributes to infectious disease spread in production animal populations, and is increasingly investigated with social network analysis methods. Tangible outcomes of this work include the identification of high-risk premises for targeting surveillance or control programs. However, knowledge of the effect of sampling or incomplete network enumeration on these studies is limited.