Publications by authors named "F J Conraths"
Article Synopsis
- Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati are parasitic worms found globally, particularly posing risks to children through their eggs in the environment, highlighting the need for effective diagnostic methods for detection.
- This study compared different detection techniques including a new sequential sieving protocol and a high-throughput qPCR method, evaluating their efficiency on cat and dog faecal samples.
- Results indicated that the new sieving method was superior in sensitivity for egg detection, while mechanical lysis of DNA samples outperformed enzymatic lysis, and both DNA detection and microscopy methods showed comparable results with newer techniques being cost-effective.
Tick infestation poses an important challenge to livestock in Pakistan. Farm management practices and environmental variables can influence tick infestation prevalence in animals. To this end, a cross-sectional survey of 96 farms in four different geographical districts (24 farms from each district) was conducted in Punjab, Pakistan, between October 2021 and January 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVertebrate scavengers provide essential ecosystem services such as accelerating carrion decomposition by consuming carcasses, exposing tissues to microbial and invertebrate decomposers, and recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem. Some scavengers do not consume carcasses on site but rather scatter their remains in the surroundings, which might have important implications for nutrient transport, forensic investigations and the spread of diseases such as African Swine Fever. However, only a few studies have investigated and measured the scatter distances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to analyse the hygienic suitability of wood often used in animal husbandry. To this end, the inactivation of viruses (Enterovirus E as a surrogate for non-enveloped viruses and Newcastle disease virus as a surrogate for enveloped viruses) on germ carriers consisting of various types of wood was studied over an extended period to assess the biosafety of wood as an agricultural building material. The study was designed to assess the intrinsic biocidal activity of the wood itself, without the use of a disinfectant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to test the inactivation of viruses on germ carriers of different types of wood using a disinfectant in order to assess the biosafety of wood as a building material in animal husbandry. The laboratory disinfectant efficacy tests were based on German testing guidelines and current European standards. Five different types of wood germ carriers, i.
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