Veterinary Infectious Diseases Commons^™

Epidemiological Survey Of Bovine Babesia And Theileria Parasites In Buffaloes In District Dera Ismail, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Waseem Ullah, Arsalan Khan, Akhtar Ali, Imtiaz Ali Shah, Umm E. Aimen, Imtiaz Khan, Abdul Wadood Jan, Saqib Ali Rustam

Journal of Bioresource Management

Piroplasmosis (babesiosis and theileriosis) are the leading blood parasites responsible for significant economic losses to the dairy enterprises. These parasites are transmitted by Ixodid ticks from a diseased animal to a healthy animal. This study was executed to determine the prevalence of Theileria and Babesia in water buffaloes in District Dera Ismail Khan for their risk assessment. During this trial, 350 random blood samples were obtained from buffalos within the region of District Dera Ismail Khan and examined for Babesia and Theileria parasites using Giemsa staining technique under an oil immersion lens. Forty-eight blood samples were found positive and the …

A Trichy Situation, Kathryn Purple

Cumberland Mountain Naturalist

This issue of the Cumberland Mountain Naturalist discusses Dr Kathryn Purple's research concerning Trichomonosis carried by pigeons.

Quantification Of Semi-Truck Cab Decontamination, C. Grace Elijah, Cassandra K. Jones, Caitlin Evans, Haley K. Wecker, Charles R. Stark, Jianfa Bai, Elizabeth G. Poulsen-Porter, Allison K. Blomme, Jason C. Woodworth, Chad B. Paulk, Jordan T. Gebhardt

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Evidence suggests that the inside of vehicle cabs used for feed delivery may serve as a potential source for disease, yet there are no standardized protocols or scientific evidence for methods of their disinfection. Therefore, the objective of this project was to evaluate commercially available disinfectants and disinfection application methods against PEDV and PRRSV on various surfaces within semi-truck cabs. Three different surface types common in vehicle cabs (fabric, plastic, and rubber) were cut into 4 × 4 inch coupons and inoculated with either PEDV or PRRSV. Once inoculated, surfaces were placed in one of 3 semi-truck cabs and the …

Detection And Investigation Of Atypical Porcine Pestivirus Within A Breed-To-Finish Farm And Off-Site Nursery And Finisher Locations, C. Grace Elijah, Cassandra K. Jones, Jason C. Woodworth, Rachel Palinski, Chad B. Paulk, Tom Petznick, Jordan T. Gebhardt

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) has been associated with congenital tremors (CT) and splay leg (SL) in piglets of infected dams. The major cost of this virus is the increased pre-weaning mortality due to CT or SL interfering with the piglet’s ability to nurse and move around the farrowing stall. A commercial farrow-to-finish farm with replacement gilts coming from an off-site genetic multiplier farm, and semen delivery from a commercial boar stud began to see an increase of CT and SL in the farrowing room in early 2020. Diagnostics on clinically affected pigs’ samples identified APPV RNA and no other suspected …

Prevalence And Distribution Of African Swine Fever Virus In Swine Feed After Mixing And Feed Batch Sequencing, C. Grace Elijah, Jessie D. Trujillo, Cassandra K. Jones, Taeyong Kwon, Charles R. Stark, Konner R. Cool, Chad B. Paulk, Natasha N. Gaudreault, Jason C. Woodworth, Igor Morozov, Carmen Gallardo, Jordan T. Gebhardt, Jurgen A. Richt

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

As the United States maintains trade with countries where African swine fever virus (ASFV) is endemic, it is critical to have methods that can detect and mitigate the risk of ASFV in potentially contaminated feed or ingredients. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate feed batch sequencing as a mitigation technique for ASFV contamination in a feed mill, and 2) determine if a feed sampling method could identify ASFV following experimental inoculation. Batches of feed were manufactured in a BSL-3Ag room at Kansas State University’s Biosafety Research Institute in Manhattan, KS. First, the pilot feed manufacturing system …

Feed Mitigant Efficacy For Control Of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus And Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus When Inoculated Alone Or Together In Feed, C. Grace Elijah, Gage E. Nichols, Jordan T. Gebhardt, Cassandra K. Jones, Jason C. Woodworth, Steve S. Dritz, Jianfa Bai, Joe W. Anderson, Elizabeth G. Poulsen Porter, Aaron Singrey, Chad B. Paulk

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Research has demonstrated that swine feed can be a fomite for viral transmission and feed additives can reduce viral contamination. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate two feed additives in feed contaminated with PEDV or PRRSV. Feed additives included: no treatment, 0.33% commercial formaldehyde-based product, and 0.50% medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) blend. Feed samples were inoculated with PEDV and PRRSV alone or together at an inoculation concentration of 10⁶TCID₅₀/g for each virus. Once inoculated, feed was stored at room temperature for 24 h before analyzing via qRT-PCR. For samples inoculated with PEDV …

Effect Of Benzoic Acid And Essential Oil Blends On Viral Load In Swine Feed And Vitamin Premix, Allison K. Blomme, Jordan T. Gebhardt, Cassandra K. Jones, Jason C. Woodworth, Elizabeth G. Poulsen Porter, Jianfa Bai, Chad B. Paulk

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Feed has been shown to harbor viable virus of interest to swine producers over an extended period of time. The use of mitigants and kill steps have been investigated with variable results. This study investigated the use of benzoic acid (BA) and an essential oil blend (EO) to mitigate the presence of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and Senecavirus A (SVA) in a complete diet (Exp. 1) and a vitamin premix (Exp. 2). Four treatments consisting of 0.5% BA; 0.5% BA and 200 ppm EO; 0.3% BA and 120 ppm EO; and 0.25% …

Prevalence And Distribution Of African Swine Fever Virus In Swine Feed After Mixing And Feed Batch Sequencing, C. Grace Elijah, Jessie D. Trujillo, Cassandra K. Jones, Taeyong Kwon, Charles R. Stark, Konner R. Cool, Chad B. Paulk, Natasha N. Gaudreault, Jason C. Woodworth, Igor Morozov, Carmina Gallardo, Jordan T. Gebhardt, Jurgen A. Richt

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

As the United States maintains trade with countries where African swine fever virus (ASFV) is endemic, it is critical to have methods that can detect and mitigate the risk of ASFV in potentially contaminated feed or ingredients. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate feed batch sequencing as a mitigation technique for ASFV contamination in a feed mill, and 2) determine if a feed sampling method could identify ASFV following experimental inoculation. Batches of feed were manufactured in a BSL-3Ag room at Kansas State University’s Biosafety Research Institute in Manhattan, KS. First, the pilot feed manufacturing system …

What The Covid-19 Crisis Is Telling Humanity, David Wiebers, Valery Feigin

Animal Sentience

The planet is in a global health emergency exacting enormous medical and economic tolls. It is imperative for us as a society and species to focus and reflect deeply upon what this and other related human health crises are telling us about our role in these increasingly frequent events and about what we can do to prevent them in the future.

Cause: It is human behavior that is responsible for the vast majority of zoonotic diseases that jump the species barrier from animals to humans: (1) hunting, capture, and sale of wild animals for human consumption, particularly in live-animal markets; …

China's Lack Of Animal Welfare Legislation Increases The Risk Of Further Pandemics, Amanda Whitfort

Animal Sentience

Legislation enforcing positive animal welfare standards provides an important buffer against the spread of disease when other safeguards to promote animal health have failed. The continuing absence of animal welfare legislation in China increases the risk of future pandemics, like COVID-19, and puts animal health, and consequently public health in danger.

Remedying Anthropogenic Zoonoses, Daniela Figueroa, Ximena Duprat

Animal Sentience

Abstract: Zoonotic diseases represent 60% of the infections suffered by the human species. in light of the latest episodes of epidemics and pandemics we have to begin to address health problems with another perspective. The “One Health” vision aims to generate a change in consciousness and a new working strategy.

New Approach To Health And The Environment To Avoid Future Pandemics, Serge Morand

Animal Sentience

This commentary expands Wiebers & Feigin’s target article by pinpointing how declining wildlife, expanding livestock and globalisation contribute to the increase in epidemics of zoonotic diseases, the COVID-19 crisis and future health crises. Epidemics and the emergence of zoonoses are manifestations of dysfunctional links with animals, both wild and domestic, requiring a new approach to health and the environment.

Effects Of Medium Chain Fatty Acid Application In Swine Feed On Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus, A. B. Lerner, R. A. Cochrane, J. T. Gebhardt, S. S. Dritz, C. K. Jones, J. M. Derouchey, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, J. Bai, E. Porter, J. Anderson, P. C. Gauger, D. R. Magstadt, J. Zhang, B. Bass, T. P. Karnezos, B. De Rodas, J. C. Woodworth

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) application has been identified as a promising strategy to decrease viral pathogen transmission in swine feed. Four experiments were conducted to: 1) determine if MCFAs are effective when applied to feed both prior to and after porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) inoculation measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), 2) evaluate the effects of varying amounts and combinations of MCFA measured by qRT-PCR, and 3) evaluate selected MCFA treatments in a bioassay. In Exp. 1, treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial with the main effects of chemical treatment …

Prevalence Of Cytauxzoon Felis (Protista: Apicomplexa) In Feral Cats In Russellville Arkansas, Cynthia H. Jacobs

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Abstract

Cytauxzoon felis (C. felis) is a protozoan hemoparasite of domestic and wild felids. Transmitted by ixodid ticks, the sylvatic reservoir for this organism in North America is the bobcat (Lynx rufus) in which the infection is apparently self-limiting. In domestic cats (Felis catus), C. felis causes a highly fatal disease with a distribution that covers much of the central, southcentral and southeastern U.S. and parallels that of the primary vector, the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Interestingly, there appears to be an increased survival rate in domestic cats in the geographic …

Differences In Efficacy Between Gamithromycin, Tilmicosin, And Tulathromycin As Metaphylactic Treatments In High Risk Calves For Bovine Respiratory Disease, T. Miller, M. E. Hubbert, E. F. Schwandt, D. U. Thomson, C. D. Reinhardt

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The cost of Bovine Respiratory Disease to the beef industry due to death, poorer conversions, and therapy is estimated to cost more than $3 billion per year. Identifying and mitigating Bovine Respiratory Disease in cattle can be difficult due to the increased susceptibility for Bovine Respiratory Disease in high risk cattle. One management option to minimize an outbreak of respiratory disease is the use of metaphylaxis, the mass treatment of a group of calves to reduce the incidence and adverse effects of respiratory disease on high risk animals. Criteria used to determine the necessity of metaphylactic treatment against Bovine Respiratory …

Genome Diversity And Molecular Detection Of Prrs Field Strains And Vaccine Strains, And Pcv3 And Pcv2 Strains, Y. Wang, F. Yuan, X. Liu, W. Zheng, H. Zhang, J. Zhang, K. Yoon, L. Peddireddi, Y. Fang, G. Anderson, J. Bai

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Molecular diagnosis of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRS) and porcine circo virus (PCV) are challenging due to high genetic diversity in the viral genomes. Differentiating PRRS vaccine strains is even more challenging and is currently done by DNA sequencing, which is expensive and time-consuming. A multiplexed system (Luminex) allowing multiple detection targets in the same reaction is available. However, this system is not fully developed for common swine pathogens. Therefore, an assay was built to detect the majority of field PRRS strains by using different pairs of primers, and at the same time, to provide differentiation of the …

Zelnate On Arrival Could Decrease The Likelihood Of Subsequent Pulls In Suspect Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex Cases, T. Spore, S. P. Montgomery, G. A. Hanzlicek, W. R. Hollenbeck, R. N. Wahl, J. E. Sears, Dale Blasi

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Antimicrobial metaphylaxis is an important tool used for the prevention of Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex; a disease with a large economic impact that typically affects newly-weaned beef calves that are marketed and transported a distance from their origin.

There are questions involving the potential benefit of Zelnate, a novel non-antibiotic technology designed to activate an animal’s natural immunity to fight Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex, being used either solely or in combination with metaphylaxis at the time of initial processing of high risk calves. More knowledge is also needed regarding the possible effects of repeated use of Zelnate when subsequent therapy …

Identifying Immuno-Dominant And Neutralizing Epitopes From K88 Fimbriae Of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli (Etec), T. Lu, W. Zhang

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) bacteria are the primary cause of diarrheal disease, especially porcine post-weaning diarrhea (PWD). Post-weaning diarrhea is one of the most common diseases in piglets 3 to 10 days after weaning and causes the loss of millions of dollars annually to United States swine industry and other countries. These ETEC bacteria produce two types of virulence factors: 1) fimbriae adhesins, which promote bacterial attachment and colonization in pig small intestine; and 2) enterotoxins that disrupt fluid homeostasis and cause fluid hype-secretion and watery diarrhea. The F4 (K88) is the most important fimbria in ETEC bacteria causing PWD. …

Evaluation Of The Effects Of Flushing Feed Manufacturing Equipment With Chemically- Treated Rice Hulls On Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Cross Contamination During Feed Manufacturing, J. T. Gebhardt, J. C. Woodworth, C. K. Jones, Phillip Charles Gauger, M. D. Tokach, J. M. Derouchey, R. D. Goodband, M. Muckey, R. A. Cochrane, M. Niederwerder, C. R. Stark, J. Bai, Qi Chen, Jianqiang Zhang, Alejandro Ramirez, Rachel J. Derscheid, Rodger G. Main, S. S. Dritz

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Various strategies have been proposed to mitigate potential risk of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) transmission via feed and feed ingredients. Wet decontamination has been found to be the most effective decontamination of feed mill surfaces; however, this is not practical on a commercial feed production-scale. Another potential mitigation strategy, easier to implement, would be using chemically-treated rice hulls flushed through the feed manufacturing equipment. The objective of this experiment was to determine the impact of MCFA- or formaldehyde-treated rice hull flush batches as potential PEDV mitigation strategies during feed manufacturing. Feed without evidence of PEDV RNA contamination was inoculated …

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Surface Decontamination Strategies Using Chemical Sanitizing To Reduce The Quantity Of Pedv Rna On Feed Manufacturing Surfaces With Environmental Swabbing, M. Muckey, S. S. Dritz, J. C. Woodworth, C. R. Stark, J. Bai, Jianqiang Zhang, Phillip Charles Gauger, Rodger G. Main, C. K. Jones

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a possible hazard in feed mills that could impact pig health. If the virus enters a feed mill, it quickly becomes widely distributed and is difficult to decontaminate from surfaces.6,7 The objective of this study was to evaluate a variety of liquid and dry chemical treatments that could be used as sanitizers to reduce the amount of PEDV found on feed manufacturing surfaces in mills. This experiment was replicated 3 times and was designed in a 5 × 10 factorial with main effects of 5 different feed manufacturing surfaces and 10 sanitizing treatments. Surfaces …

Assessing The Effects Of Medium Chain Fatty Acids And Fat Sources On Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Viral Rna Stability And Infectivity, R. A. Cochrane, S. S. Dritz, J. C. Woodworth, A. R. Huss, C. R. Stark, M. Saensukjaroenphon, J. M. Derouchey, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, J. Bai, Qi Chen, Jianqiang Zhang, Phillip Charles Gauger, Rachel J. Derscheid, Rodger G. Main, C. K. Jones

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Research has confirmed that chemical treatments, such as medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) and commercial formaldehyde, can be effective to reduce the risk of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) cross-contamination in feed. However, the efficacy of individual MCFA levels are unknown. The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of commercially-available sources of MCFA and other fat sources versus a synthetic custom blend of MCFA to minimize the risk of PEDV cross-contamination as measured by qRT-PCR and bioassay. Treatments were arranged in a 17 × 4 plus 1 factorial with 17 chemical treatments: 1) Positive control with PEDV …

Evaluating The Impact Of Vevovitall And/Or Crina As Potential Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Mitigation Strategies As Determined By Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis And Bioassay, J. T. Gebhardt, J. C. Woodworth, C. K. Jones, M. D. Tokach, J. M. Derouchey, R. D. Goodband, R. A. Cochrane, C. R. Stark, J. Bergstrom, Phillip Charles Gauger, J. Bai, Qi Chen, Jianqiang Zhang, Rodger G. Main, S. S. Dritz

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Feed and feed ingredients have been shown to be potential vectors of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Potential strategies to mitigate the risk of disease transmission via feed and feed ingredients would be valuable to the swine and feed milling industries. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine the impact of VevoVitall (5,000 ppm; DSM Nutritional Products Inc., Parsipanny, NJ), CRINA (200 ppm; DSM Nutritional Products Inc., Parsipanny, NJ), and a combination of both products (COMBINATION; 5,000 ppm VevoVitall and 200 ppm CRINA) as feed additives with potential to mitigate the risk of PEDV, in swine gestation diet …

Evaluating The Inclusion Level Of Medium Chain Fatty Acids To Reduce The Risk Of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus In Complete Feed And Spray-Dried Animal Plasma, R. A. Cochrane, S. S. Dritz, J. C. Woodworth, A. R. Huss, C. R. Stark, M. Saensukjaroenphon, J. M. Derouchey, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, J. Bai, Qi Chen, Jianqiang Zhang, Phillip Charles Gauger, Rachel J. Derscheid, Drew Robert Magstadt, Paulo Elias Arruda, Alejandro Ramirez, Rodger G. Main, C. K. Jones

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Research has confirmed that chemical treatments, such as medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) and commercial formaldehyde, can be effective to reduce the risk of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) cross-contamination in feed. However, the efficacy of MCFA levels below 2% inclusion is unknown. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate if a 1% inclusion of MCFA is as effective at PEDV mitigation as a 2% inclusion or formaldehyde in swine feed and spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP). Treatments were arranged in a 4 × 2 × 7 plus 2 factorial with 4 chemical treatments: 1) PEDV positive with no chemical …

Evaluating The Effect Of Manufacturing Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (Pedv)-Contaminated Feed On Subsequent Feed Mill Environmental Surface Contamination, L. L. Schumacher, R. A. Cochrane, C. E. Evans, J. R. Kalivoda, J. C. Woodworth, C. R. Stark, C. K. Jones, Rodger G. Main, Jianqiang Zhang, S. S. Dritz, Phillip Charles Gauger

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

This study aimed to utilize the only known pilot feed mill facility approved for pathogenic feed agent use in the United States to evaluate the effect of manufacturing Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV)-contaminated feed on subsequent feed mill environmental surface contamination. In this study, PEDV inoculated feed was manufactured and conveyed on equipment along with four subsequent batches of PEDV-free feed. Equipment and environmental surfaces were sampled using swabs and analyzed for the presence of PEDV RNA by PCR. The experiment was replicated three times with decontamination of the feed mill and all equipment between replications. Overall, environmental swabs indicated …

Determining The Minimum Infectious Dose Of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (Pedv) In A Feed Matrix, L. L. Schumacher, J. C. Woodworth, C. R. Stark, C. K. Jones, R. A. Hesse, Rodger G. Main, Jianqiang Zhang, Phillip Charles Gauger, S. S. Dritz, M. D. Tokach

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Understanding the magnitude of transmissible risk Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV)-infected feed imposes and establishing the minimum infectious dose of PEDV in a feed matrix are important components in strengthening virus prevention and control methods. In this study, an experiment was performed involving 30 crossbred, 10-d-old pigs that were used as a bioassay model for the minimum infectious dose of PEDV in feed. The PEDV was first diluted using tissue culture media to form 8 serial 10-fold dilutions. An aliquot of the original stock virus at 5.6 x 10⁵tissue culture infectious dose/ml (TCID₅₀/ml), each serial PEDV …

Utilizing Feed Sequencing To Decrease The Risk Of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (Pedv) Cross-Contamination During Feed Manufacturing, L. L. Schumacher, R. A. Cochrane, J. C. Woodworth, C. R. Stark, C. K. Jones, Rodger G. Main, Jianqiang Zhang, Phillip Charles Gauger, S. S. Dritz, M. D. Tokach

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Understanding key points of potential cross-contamination during the feed manufacturing process is important to developing efficacious methods to control or prevent transmission of pathogens into swine diets. In this study, an experiment was conducted involving 30 crossbred 10-d-old pigs that were used as a bioassay model for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) to determine the effects of feed batch sequencing on PEDV cross-contamination and subsequent infectivity. PEDV with a PCR cycle threshold value (Ct) of 11 was uniformly mixed into 4.5 kg of swine diet using a stainless steel bench top mixer validated for mixing efficiency. The inoculated feed was …

Evaluating Chemical Mitigation Of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (Pedv) In Swine Feed And Ingredients, R. A. Cochrane, S. S. Dritz, J. C. Woodworth, A. R. Huss, C. R. Stark, R. A. Hesse, Jianqiang Zhang, M. D. Tokach, J. Bai, C. K. Jones

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) is primarily transmitted by fecal-oral contamination. Research has confirmed swine feed or ingredients as potential vectors of transmission, so strategies are needed to mitigate PEDV in feed. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effectiveness of various chemical additives to prevent or mitigate post-processing PEDV contamination in swine feed and ingredients. Treatments were arranged in a 7 × 4 factorial with seven chemical treatments and four feed matrices. The chemical treatments included: negative control with no chemical addition, 0.3% commercial formaldehyde product, 1% sodium bisulfate, 1% sodium chlorate, 3% custom organic acid blend …

Effect Of Thermal Mitigation On Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (Pedv)- Contaminated Feed, R. A. Cochrane, L. L. Schumacher, S. S. Dritz, J. C. Woodworth, A. R. Huss, C. R. Stark, J. M. Derouchey, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, J. Bai, Qi Chen, Jianqiang Zhang, Phillip Charles Gauger, Rodger G. Main, C. K. Jones

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) is primarily transmitted by fecal-oral contamination. However, epidemiological evidence has shown that swine feed and ingredients may serve as potential vectors of transmission. Since it is known that PEDV is a heat-sensitive virus, we hypothesized that a conditioner and pellet mill mimicking commercial thermal processing would mitigate PEDV infectivity. To test this hypothesis, two experiments were designed to determine if different pellet mill conditioner retention times or temperatures would impact PEDV infectivity determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis and bioassay. For the first study, a 3×3×2 factorial was utilized, with three pelleting temperatures (155, …

Assessment Of Biosecurity Procedures To Prevent Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Cross Contamination, Rebecca Aden

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a common virus among cattle, and there are many different strains of the virus. BVDV can cause mucosal disease in infected cattle. There are lab strains of BVDV used for testing, but there are also wild-type viruses that may develop within a herd or population. These wild-type strains can be dangerous due to cross contamination between herds. This project compares serum samples from two different herds on the basis of the antibody response to a wild-type virus isolated from a persistent infected animal in one of the herds. We tested for a possible cross …

Capitalism And The Value Of Life: Foot-And-Mouth And The Culling Of Herds, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some psychological implications of culling as an intervention to help combat the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.