Search

The current study aimed to investigate the physical characteristics and mycotoxins (Aflatoxins B1 (AFB1) and Ochratoxin A (OTA) binding efficacy of indigenous clays before and after thermal treatment (calcination). The clay sample was collected from various mountainous areas of Balochistan, Pakistan. The samples were ground into a 360 mesh size and thermally treated initially at 200 °C and thereafter at 800 °C for 30 minutes with the help of a muffle furnace. XRD analysis revealed montmorillonite as the most commonly occurring group of clay minerals. The thermally treated clays showed that the binding potential was significantly (P

Gut microbiome plays a key role in maintaining the health of broilers by stimulating the development of immune system, improving the uptake of nutrients and inhibiting several enteric pathogens. “Antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs)” are generally used to inhibit the proliferation of pathogenic gut microbiota. Despite its beneficial characteristics, AGPs could cause severe adverse consequences, one of them is development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria which posed major threat to public health. Whereas, the use of AGP from natural origin could be risk free or low toxicity. A research trial was conducted to investigate the effects of supplementation of various natural prebiotics including inulin and chicory (Cichorium intybus) root powder on performance, carcass traits, serum biochemistry, intestinal histology, immune response and gut ecology in broiler chick of Ross308 strain. One-day-old chicks (n = 200) were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments. Growth performance, intestinal histomorphology, antibody titer against ND, ileal Lactobacillus count were significantly (P 0.05) which indicates that no physiological dysfunction was induced in treated birds. In conclusion Cichorium intybus root powder and inulin may be considered as risk free alternative to chemically synthesized antibiotic growth promoters.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of total aflatoxin (AF) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in poultry feed ingredients under different environmental conditions during the summer and winter seasons, while the hygiene quality of the feed ingredient was assessed through viable fungal count (VFC). Materials and Methods: A total of 288 poultry feed ingredients (n = 96 each) samples were collected from different poultry shops, which were initially analyzed for the presence of AF and OTA through thin layer chromatography (TLC) and then confirmed the contamination concentration through the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results: The results of the current study confirmed the incidence of contamination with AF and OTA by TLC and ELISA methods. The contamination level of AF ranged from 26.09 to 50.56 (mean = 41.22 ± 9.45) μg/kg, whereas the contamination level of OTA ranged from 50.13 to 6.21 (mean 42.60 ± 6.21) μg/kg. The contamination level of AF was found to be above the permissible level set by the Food and Drug Administration (20 μg/kg), whereas the contamination level of OTA was below the permissible limits. Moreover, the VFC values were also below the recommended level. The results showed that the association between AF, OTA, and moisture content was significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Mycotoxin contamination was significantly (p < 0.05) highest in the winter season. These findings suggested that continuous monitoring regimes might prevent mycotoxin contamination in poultry feed ingredients. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2024; 11(1.000): 107-113]

The RECOVERY study documented lower 28-day mortality with the use of dexamethasone in hospitalized patients on invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen with COVID-19 Pneumonia. We aimed to examine the practice patterns of steroids use, and their impact on mortality and length of stay in ICU. We retrospectively examined records of all patients with confirmed Covid 19 pneumonia admitted to the ICU of Dubai hospital from January 1st, 2020 – June 30th, 2020. We assigned patients to four groups (No steroids, low dose, medium dose, and high dose steroids). The primary clinical variable of interest was doses of steroids. Secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality and length of stay in ICU”. We found variability in doses of steroid treatment. The most frequently used dose was the high dose. Patients who survived were on significantly higher doses of steroids and had significantly longer stays in ICU. The prescription of steroids in Covid-19 ARDS is variable. The dose of steroids impacts mortality rate and length of stay in ICU, although patients treated with high dose steroids seem to stay more days in ICU.

Cattle lungs (n=1200) obtained from abattoir of 10 districts of Balochistan were processed for isolation and identification of Mycoplasma species. A total of 156 isolates produced typical fried egg colonies on Modified Hayflick’s agar medium and 87.8% were preliminarily identified as Mycoplasma species, 12.2% species were Acholeplasmas. All the digitonin sensitive isolates were further subjected to different biochemical and PCR tests for further identification. Overall prevalence of M. bovis lungs samples obtained from slaughter house samples was 9%. Among the Mycoplasma isolates; 108 M. bovis, 29 Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc) and 16 M. arginini were identified through the biochemical tests. M. bovis and Mycoplasma mycoides subcluster members were further validated through PCR and RFLP. Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony type (Mmm SC) was not isolated from any of the lung samples. Among the Mycoplasma bovis species isolated, the highest number was observed from Quetta district (16%) followed by Pishin (15%), Zhob (11 %) and Kalat (10%). Conversely the lowest number of M. bovis isolates was found in Bolan (2%) district followed by Jaffarabad (3%), 4%, each from Khuzdar, Mustung, Killasaifullah and 7% in Sibi district. Statistical analysis using chi square test, showed a significance difference (χ²=33.38) in the recovery of Mycoplasma bovis from the lungs of cattle slaughtered in 10 districts of Balochistan.