Use of biosecurity practices to prevent chronic wasting disease in Minnesota cervid herds.

The objective of this study was to evaluate biosecurity practices related to chronic wasting disease (CWD) transmission pathways and prevention in active cervid herds in Minnesota in 2019 by species, size and location of herds. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all cervid producers in Minnesota to gather demographic, management, and biosecurity practices. Among producers (N=136), 63.

One Health as a Core Component of Veterinary Medicine: Defining Day-1 Public Health Competencies for the Veterinary Workforce.

Animal health and veterinary medicine are integral to One Health, contributing important perspectives on complex challenges arising at the human-animal-environment interface. The published Competency-Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) framework dedicates a domain of competence and three associated sub-competencies to public health (Domain 4). However, a panel of One Health scientists sought to establish additional outcomes believed necessary to support core veterinary curricula related to veterinary public health (VPH)/One Health.

Evaluation of deep-learning TSE images in clinical musculoskeletal imaging.

In this study, we compared the fat-saturated (FS) and non-FS turbo spin echo (TSE) magnetic resonance imaging knee sequences reconstructed conventionally (conventional-TSE) against a deep learning-based reconstruction of accelerated TSE (DL-TSE) scans. A total of 232 conventional-TSE and DL-TSE image pairs were acquired for comparison. For each consenting patient, one of the clinically acquired conventional-TSE proton density-weighted sequences in the sagittal or coronal planes (FS and non-FS), or in the axial plane (non-FS), was repeated using a research DL-TSE sequence.

Herd-level risk factors associated with chronic wasting disease-positive herd status in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin cervid herds.

The objective of this study was to evaluate risks related to introduction of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) to farmed cervid herds in Minnesota (MN), Pennsylvania (PA), and Wisconsin (WI). This was the first study to evaluate risk factors related to multiple pathways of CWD transmission to farmed cervid herds. Participating herds in this case-control study included 22 case and 49 control herds identified through participation in the respective mandatory State CWD herd program.

Analysis of dairy cattle movements in the northern region of Thailand.

Dairy farming in northern Thailand is expanding, with dairy cattle populations increasing up to 8% per year. In addition, disease outbreaks frequently occur in this region, especially foot-and-mouth disease and bovine tuberculosis. Our goal was to quantify the underlying pattern of dairy cattle movements in the context of infectious disease surveillance and control as movements have been identified as risk factors for several infectious diseases.

Examining perceived risk to bovine tuberculosis through factorial survey to inform policymaking for zoonotic diseases control and surveillance.

Prevention and control of infectious diseases in livestock is dependent upon perceived risk and susceptibility, including the prevention of between-herd transmission of bovine tuberculosis through introductions of cattle to susceptible herds. To examine how perceived risk and susceptibility can help to inform policymaking in disease surveillance and control, we used factorial surveys to profile risk perceptions of cattle producers. We found that government indemnity and slaughtering policy did not impact the cattle purchasing behavior of producers who responded to our survey, but rather through other attributes such as the reliability or reputation of the seller.

Pooled surveillance testing for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital College, University of Minnesota, December 2020-April 2021.

To evaluate the use of asymptomatic surveillance, we implemented a surveillance program for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in a voluntary sample of individuals at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Self-collected anterior nasal samples were tested using real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), in a 5:1 pooled testing strategy, twice weekly for 18 weeks. Positive pools were deconvoluted into individual tests, revealing an observed prevalence of 0.

Tracing Viral Transmission and Evolution of Bovine Leukemia Virus through Long Read Oxford Nanopore Sequencing of the Proviral Genome.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) causes Enzootic Bovine Leukosis (EBL), a persistent life-long disease resulting in immune dysfunction and shortened lifespan in infected cattle, severely impacting the profitability of the US dairy industry. Our group has found that 94% of dairy farms in the United States are infected with BLV with an average in-herd prevalence of 46%. This is partly due to the lack of clinical presentation during the early stages of primary infection and the elusive nature of BLV transmission.

Chronic Wasting Disease Transmission Risk Assessment for Farmed Cervids in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

CWD (chronic wasting disease) has emerged as one of the most important diseases of cervids and continues to adversely affect farmed and wild cervid populations, despite control and preventive measures. This study aims to use the current scientific understanding of CWD transmission and knowledge of farmed cervid operations to conduct a qualitative risk assessment for CWD transmission to cervid farms and, applying this risk assessment, systematically describe the CWD transmission risks experienced by CWD-positive farmed cervid operations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A systematic review of literature related to CWD transmission informed our criteria to stratify CWD transmission risks to cervid operations into high-risk low uncertainty, moderate-risk high uncertainty, and negligible-risk low uncertainty categories.

Apparent digestibility, fecal particle size, and mean retention time of reduced lignin alfalfa hay fed to horses.

Reduced lignin alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) has the potential to provide a higher-quality forage source for livestock by improving forage digestibility. This study was conducted to evaluate apparent digestibility when feeding reduced lignin and nonreduced lignin alfalfa hay to adult horses, and to examine mean fecal particle size (MFPS) and mean retention time (MRT) between alfalfa forage types.

Modelling the effect of test-and-slaughter strategies to control bovine tuberculosis in endemic high prevalence herds.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) prevalence substantially increased over the past two decades with relatively high impact on large dairy herds, raising the concern of regulatory authorities and industry stakeholders, and threatening animal and public health. Lack of resources, together with the economic and social consequences of whole-herd stamping-out, makes depopulation an impractical disease control alternative in these herds. The increase in bTB prevalence was associated with demographic and management changes in the dairy industry in Uruguay, reducing the efficacy of the current control programme (i.

Implications of farmed-cervid movements on the transmission of chronic wasting disease.

Chronic wasting disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that affects cervids with a clinical picture of muscle wasting in infected animals. The objective of this study was to quantify movement patterns of farmed cervids in the state of Minnesota as a model for identifying potential disease mitigation points. Time aggregated network analysis was performed on data consisting of 1221 intra-state cervid movements from farms located within Minnesota (n = 432 farms).

Lessons Learned From the Stakeholder Engagement in Research: Application of Spatial Analytical Tools in One Health Problems.

Stakeholder engagement in research is widely advocated as a tool to integrate diverse knowledge and perspectives in the management of health threats while addressing potential conflicts of interest. Although guidelines for stakeholder engagement exist in public health and environmental sciences, the feasibility of actionable decisions based on scientific analyses and the lessons learned from the stakeholder engagement in the process co-creation of knowledge have been rarely discussed in One Health literature and veterinary sciences. Risk maps and risk regionalization using spatiotemporal epidemiological/analytical tools are known to improve risk perception and communication.

Glucose and Insulin Response of Horses Grazing Alfalfa, Perennial Cool-Season Grass, and Teff Across Seasons.

Elevated nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) values in pasture forages can cause adverse health effects in some horses (Equus caballus L.). The objectives of this study were to determine the impact of different forage species on blood glucose and insulin concentrations of horses throughout the grazing season.

Control of paratuberculosis: who, why and how. A review of 48 countries.

Paratuberculosis, a chronic disease affecting ruminant livestock, is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). It has direct and indirect economic costs, impacts animal welfare and arouses public health concerns.

Effects of water level fluctuation on thermal stratification in a typical tributary bay of Three Gorges Reservoir, China.

Xiangxi River is a typical tributary of Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) in China. Based on field observations in 2010, thermal stratification was significant in most months of the year. Through field data analysis and numerical simulations, the seasonal and spatial variation of thermal stratification as related to the impact of the operation of TGR were investigated.

Determination of the sensitivity and specificity of bovine tuberculosis screening tests in dairy herds in Thailand using a Bayesian approach.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) screening tests including a single intradermal tuberculin (SIT) test, interferon gamma (IFN-γ) assay, and a commercial ELISA test (M. bovis Ab) in dairy cattle, under field conditions, using a Bayesian approach.

Results: The study population consisted of 128 dairy cows from 25 bTB-infected herds in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces, Thailand.

Modeling cost-effectiveness of risk-based bovine tuberculosis surveillance in Minnesota.

In the United States, slaughter surveillance combined with other measures has effectively maintained a very low prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). However, bTB continues to be sporadically detected, causing substantial economic burden to the government and cattle producers. To detect the infection earlier and reduce sudden economic losses, additional risk-based surveillance of live animals might be more cost-effective than slaughter surveillance alone to detect and prevent bTB infection.

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis sheep type strain in Uruguay: Evidence for a wider geographic distribution in South America.

Johne's disease (JD) is an economically important disease of ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP), which also infects other species including humans. Two major MAP strain types are currently recognized: sheep (S) and cattle (C) types. Information on JD prevalence and MAP types infecting small ruminants in South America is limited, and all but one of the MAP types reported from this region are of the C type.

Cultured equine satellite cells as a model system to assess leucine stimulated protein synthesis in horse muscle.

Leucine has been shown to stimulate the mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway which plays numerous key regulatory roles in cell growth, survival, and metabolism including protein synthesis in a number of species. However, previous work with equine satellite cells has suggested distinct species differences in regards to physiological effects and the magnitude of responses to growth factors and regulators. Because there is limited research available regarding the role of leucine in regulating equine skeletal muscle protein synthesis, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of leucine on the mTOR signaling pathway in cultured equine satellite.

Identifying individual animal factors associated with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) milk ELISA positivity in dairy cattle in the Midwest region of the United States.

Background: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is a widespread chronic disease of ruminants that causes severe economic losses to the dairy cattle industry worldwide. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between individual cow MAP-ELISA and relevant milk production predictors in dairy cattle using data routinely collected as part of quality and disease control programs in the Midwest region of the U.

Optimal surveillance strategies for bovine tuberculosis in a low-prevalence country.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic disease of cattle that is difficult to control and eradicate in part due to the costly nature of surveillance and poor sensitivity of diagnostic tests. Like many countries, bTB prevalence in Uruguay has gradually declined to low levels due to intensive surveillance and control efforts over the past decades. In low prevalence settings, broad-based surveillance strategies based on routine testing may not be the most cost-effective way for controlling between-farm bTB transmission, while targeted surveillance aimed at high-risk farms may be more efficient for this purpose.

Factors Affecting Herd Status for Bovine Tuberculosis in Dairy Cattle in Northern Thailand.

The objective of this case-control study was to identify farm-level risk factors associated with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in dairy cows in northern Thailand. Spatial analysis was performed to identify geographical clustering of case-farms located in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces in northern Thailand. To identify management factors affecting bTB status, a matched case-control study was conducted with 20 case-farms and 38 control-farms.

Epidemiological investigation of bovine tuberculosis outbreaks in Uruguay (2011-2013).

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic disease of cattle caused by infection with the Mycobacterium bovis. While bTB prevalence in Uruguay has been low (<11 outbreaks/year) for the past 50 years as a consequence of a national control program, annual incidence increased in 2011 through 2013-15, 26 and 16 infected herds each year, raising concerns from livestock stakeholders and the government. The goal of this study was to assess the spatial dynamics of bTB in Uruguay from 2011 to 2013 and the association between bTB and potential demographic and movement risk factors at the herd level using data provided by the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries.