Rumen fluid (RF) is the greatest source of uncontrolled inter-assay variations in in vitro digestibility tests. This study aimed to investigate the effect of donor cow (DC) individual variability, time relative to feeding, and weekly sampling intervals on RF microbiota structure and metabolism, and on its degradative capacity expressed as enzymatic activity (EA). RF was collected using an esophageal probe from 4 Holstein hay-fed DCs before feeding, and 4 and 8 h post-feeding, over 3 days with one-week intervals, for a total of 3 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOver the last few decades, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has become a growing public health problem in Europe. The tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic virus that affects the central nervous system (CNS). TBEV has been detected in 27 European countries, and the rise in TBE cases is mainly due to environmental and ecological factors, and factors that increase the risk of human exposure to infected ticks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLong-distance transport can cause stress to beef cattle impairing health and growth performances. This study aimed to deepen the knowledge of the effects of long-distance transport on young bulls' metabolic profile to identify reliable blood parameters for monitoring their health and welfare. Eighty Charolais young bulls, transported for 12 hours to the final fattening unit, were weighed and blood sampled at three time intervals: before leaving the commingling centre (day -1), upon arrival at the fattening unit (day 0), and 7 days post-arrival (day 7).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn June 2022, a gastroenteritis outbreak occurred in a town in Northern Italy, possibly associated with the ingestion of norovirus from public drinking water. Noroviruses are highly infectious RNA viruses, with high stability in the environment. They are the primary cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, and despite the fact that the disease is mainly self-limiting, norovirus infection can lead to severe illness in the immunocompromised, the elderly and children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMoving from conventional (CMS) to automatic (AMS) milking systems could affect milk quality. Moreover, the type and preservation methods of the forages used in the TMR, such as alfalfa hay (HTMR) or corn silage (STMR) have been demonstrated to modify milk composition. Thus, this study investigated the effect of implementing AMS and different diet forage types on the quality of Italian Holstein-Friesian bulk milk.
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