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The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) and associated clinical signs in farmed sows in the Republic of Macedonia (RM) in the first 12-24 h postpartum. A total of 202 sows of different parity and different genetic lines from 5 pig farms in RM were included in the study. The sows and their litters were clinically examined 12-24 hours after farrowing. Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome was detected in 23.3% of all clinically examined sows, while prevalence between farms ranged from 14.8% to 38.1%. Altered piglet’s behavior was the most frequent clinical pattern observed in 68.1% of the PDS–affected (PDSA) sows. Regarding the clinical signs in PDSA sows detected among farms, significant differences were observed in the altered piglet’s behavior (p

Reduced glutathione (GSH) and homologous ram seminal plasma (HSP), used as additives in cryopreserving (CP) media prior to freezing, showed conflicting results in retaining structural integrity and progressive motility in post-thawed ram spermatozoa. The aims of this research were: (1) to assess the effect of GSH and/or HSP supplementation via soybean-lecithin CP extender on cryopreserved ram spermatozoa viability, morphology and motility pattern; and (2) to assess the effect of incubation in the context of the previous aim. Quantitatively and qualitatively, homogenized and pooled ram ejaculates (N=10) were extended with one of the following extenders: control (C) – tris-based, GSH and HSP-free, experimental-1 (E1) – C + GSH 5 mM, experimental-2 (E2) – C + HSP 20 % and experimental-3 (E3) - GSH 5 mM + HSP 20 %. Following thawing, samples were taken at 0- and 3-hours from each group (n=10) and were assessed for spermatozoa viability, morphology, and motility pattern. C-0h samples yielded a spermatozoa population with low viability, altered head morphology and highly deviated motility pattern. E3-3h samples yielded spermatozoa with unaffected viability, head morphology and high progressive motility. In conclusion, E3 extender added to cryopreserved-thawed ram spermatozoa is most efficient in obtaining high viability, unaltered head morphology, and progressive motility.

Several reports indicated that a large proportion of dairy cows have not resumed cyclicity until day 60 after calving. These cows are traditionally classified as non-cycling (anoestrous or anovular cows). Static ovaries (SO, lack of luteal tissue and follicles >8 mm, and progesterone < 0.5 ng/mL) could be a possible underlying reason that contributes to a non-cycling status. Although SO affects both primiparous (PP) and multiparous (MP) cows, PP cows are more prone to be non-cycling than MP. Therefore, this study aims to compare the metabolic profiles and hormonal status between non-cycling PP and MP cows diagnosed with SO. One hundred and twenty one animals that did not express signs of oestrus until day 60 postpartum were grouped by parity (PP, n=58 and MP, n=63), then blood sampled and examined using transrectal ultrasonography. Blood samples were collected before the ultrasonographic examination. Out of those, 42 PP (72.4%) and 28 MP (44.4%) were diagnosed as non-cycling (bearing SO). Serum concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein and albumin did not differ between parity groups. The glucose concentrations in PP cows (1.43 ± 0.59 mmol/L) and MP cows (1.69 ± 0.71 mmol/L) did not differ, however, they were less than the normal physiological concentration. In addition, no differences were detected between parity groups for concentrations of NEFA, β-HBA, progesterone and estradiol. In summary, we concluded that non-cycling PP and MP cows bearing SO have similar hormonal status and metabolic profiles.

Ensuring good environmental conditions of the poultry houses can be costly for the farmers, but without it losses due to poor bird health and performance due to poor air quality can be much more detrimental to net returns. The goal of this study was to investigate the variations in air quality in various areas inside the laying hen houses. Ten houses with laying hen conventional battery cages were measured for O2, H2S, CO, NH3, temperature, relative humidity, CO2, airflow and luminance. The results of the physical measures showed that temperatures in the houses were between 15.31–25.6°C, the relative humidity 48.03-81.12%, while the luminance rarely exceeded 8 lux. As for the gasses, the values for NH3 rarely exceeded 8 ppm, although at some measuring points it reached 26 ppm. O2 was generally at 20.9 %, and the levels of CO2 were very low. No presence of H2S and CO was detected. In this study it was concluded that the measurement of the air quality in a house can vary depending of the places this measures are taken. Multiple measurement points are important because they may make the staff aware of the problems connected to low ventilation and culmination of harmful gases. The air quality in different positions in the houses is of great importance not only for the animal welfare, but also for the safety of the staff.

Challenges calling for integrated approaches to health, such as the One Health (OH) approach, typically arise from the intertwined spheres of humans, animals, and ecosystems constituting their environment. Initiatives addressing such wicked problems commonly consist of complex structures and dynamics. As a result of the EU COST Action (TD 1404) “Network for Evaluation of One Health” (NEOH), we propose an evaluation framework anchored in systems theory to address the intrinsic complexity of OH initiatives and regard them as subsystems of the context within which they operate. Typically, they intend to influence a system with a view to improve human, animal, and environmental health. The NEOH evaluation framework consists of four overarching elements, namely: (1) the definition of the initiative and its context, (2) the description of the theory of change with an assessment of expected and unexpected outcomes, (3) the process evaluation of operational and supporting infrastructures (the “OH-ness”), and (4) an assessment of the association(s) between the process evaluation and the outcomes produced. It relies on a mixed methods approach by combining a descriptive and qualitative assessment with a semi-quantitative scoring for the evaluation of the degree and structural balance of “OH-ness” (summarised in an OH-index and OH-ratio, respectively) and conventional metrics for different outcomes in a multi-criteria-decision-analysis. Here, we focus on the methodology for Elements (1) and (3) including ready-to-use Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for the assessment of the “OH-ness”. We also provide an overview of Element (2), and refer to the NEOH handbook for further details, also regarding Element (4) (http://neoh.onehealthglobal.net). The presented approach helps researchers, practitioners, and evaluators to conceptualise and conduct evaluations of integrated approaches to health and facilitates comparison and learning across different OH activities thereby facilitating decisions on resource allocation. The application of the framework has been described in eight case studies in the same Frontiers research topic and provides first data on OH-index and OH-ratio, which is an important step towards their validation and the creation of a dataset for future benchmarking, and to demonstrate under which circumstances OH initiatives provide added value compared to disciplinary or conventional health initiatives.

The Animal Welfare Center (AWC) in Macedonia was established in 2009. The objectives of the center are animal welfare (AW) education, research, raising public awareness of AW, and increasing cooperation between the stakeholders. One Health (OH) was not the major focus of the AWC work initially, but, rather, a focus that evolved recently. The objective of this study was to evaluate the AWC from the OH perspective as an example case for positioning the AW within the overall OH concept. Three types of evaluation were performed: (1) assessment of OH-ness, by quantitative measurement of the operational and infrastructural aspects of the AWC; (2) impact evaluation, by conducting quantitative surveys on stakeholders and students; and (3) transdisciplinary evaluation, using semi-quantitative evaluation of the links of cooperation between the AWC and the stakeholders in society by the custom designed CACA (Cooperation, Activities, Communication, and Agreement) scoring system. Results for the OH-ness of the AWC showed relatively high scores for OH thinking, planning and working and middle scores for OH learning and sharing dimensions, i.e., dominance of the operational over infrastructural aspects of the AWC. The impact evaluation of the AWC shows that familiarity with the OH concept among stakeholders was low (44% of the respondents). However, there was a commonality among stakeholder’s interest about AW and OH. According to the stakeholders’ and students’ opinions, the influence of AW on Animal, Environmental, and Human Health is relatively high (in the upper third of the 1–10 scale). The transdisciplinary evaluation of the AWC indicated the presence of transdisciplinarity work by the AWC, with a higher focus on the Universities and Research Institutions and some governmental institutions, and less linked with the Non-Governmental Organizations and Professional Associations (Chambers), e.g., the Veterinary Chamber in Macedonia. The evaluations conducted indicated that the AWC’s work is closely dedicated to improving animal, environmental, and human health and has a considerable OH role among the stakeholders in the society. This study describes the significant role and importance that AW has in OH.

The welfare state of cattle in dairy farms in Macedonia has never been assessed previously. The objective of this study was to perform screening analysis of dairy cows welfare and to test the practical implementation of the Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol for cattle in dairy farms in Macedonia. In ten small scale and large scale tie stall farms 23 measures were recorded related to 9 welfare criteria of 4 welfare principles (WP) described in the Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol for dairy cows. The mean percentage of very lean cows was 40.5±9.1%. All assessed farms were not providing access to pasture and an outdoor loafing area. Regarding cleanliness, the presence of dirty udder, upper leg/flank and lower leg was 65.2±9.0%, 85.5±8.0% and 86.5±5.8%, respectively. The overall prevalence of lameness was 5.6±5.0%, and for mild and severe alterations it was 30.8±5.8% and 54.1±4.6%, respectively. The ocular and vulvar discharge, diarrhea, dystocia, percentage of downer cows and mortality rate exceeded the warning and alarm threshold. The avoidance – distance test classified 70.4±6.8% as animals that can be touched or approached closer than 50cm, with overall score of 42.9±3.5. This screening reveals that the most welfare concerns are found in the WP Good Feeding and Good Housing. The on-farm welfare assessment using the full protocol on a representative sample of farms in the country is highly recommended for emphasizing the key points for improving the animal welfare in Macedonian dairy farms.

The aims of this study were to determine the influence of the factors affecting fin damage under different rainbow trout production systems and to compare the findings with the known experimental reports. The study was based on a questionnaire that included information about the main factors i.e. oxygen level in exit water, water temperature, stocking density, daily feed ration, number of meals and grading frequency on seven rainbow trout farms. Standard multiple regression analysis, based on a previously published fi n damage dataset, was used to assess the relationship between the level of fin damage per fin and the factors. Daily feed ration received the strongest weight in the model for the caudal, anal and both pectoral fins, whereas number of meals received the strongest weight in the model for both pelvic fins. Grading frequency received the strongest weight only in the dorsal fin model. Lower levels of daily feed ration and number of meals combined with higher water temperature increased the level of fin damage, whereas stocking density had no effect. The results conform to the experimental research on fin damage in rainbow trout. The research model contributes to the overall assessment of fish welfare and the regression analysis used in this study could be used on rainbow trout farms to evaluate the effect of the main factors on the level of fin damage.