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Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases
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Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Clinical Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2022) | Viewed by 21994

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Athanasios I. Gelasakis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Department of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: animal health and welfare; herd health management; veterinary epidemiology; one health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The epizootiology of farm animal diseases is a critical component of their pathology, prevention, and control, and determines overall herd health management. It is defined as the study of disease dynamics among farm animals based on mass phenomena observed, and deals with the origin, spread and mitigation strategies of infectious and non-infectious diseases on a population level rather than on an individual basis.

The study of farm animal epizootiology is interdisciplinary, utilizing physiology, pathology, and diagnostic methods, and synthesizes and compares historical and geographical data, surveys, clinical observations, experiments, and mathematical modelling to describe and forecast epizootic processes. It refers to both epizootic and enzootic diseases, especially in the context of their etiology, transmission dynamics, geographic distribution, risk factors, diagnostic capabilities, preventive and control strategies, and effects on health, welfare, and production traits.

We invite original research and review papers that address the epizootiology of farm animal diseases. Topics can include both experimental and observational studies of farm animal diseases, as well as zoonotic and food-borne diseases, under the prism of One Health. Therefore, clinical trials, population studies, disease surveillance and ecological studies, as well as cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are welcome to this Special Issue.

Dr. Athanasios I. Gelasakis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • epizootiology
  • farm animals
  • transmission dynamics
  • risk factors
  • prevention
  • herd health management
  • infectious and parasitic diseases
  • non-infectious diseases
  • diagnosis
  • epidemiological study

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 3473 KiB  
Article
Occurrence and Molecular Characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. in Dairy Cattle and Dairy Buffalo in Yunnan Province, Southwest China
by Ying-Wen Meng, Fan-Fan Shu, Li-Hua Pu, Yang Zou, Jian-Fa Yang, Feng-Cai Zou, Xing-Quan Zhu, Zhao Li and Jun-Jun He
Animals 2022, 12(8), 1031; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12081031 - 15 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2535
Abstract
Cryptosporidium spp. are important foodborne and waterborne pathogens in humans and animals, causing diarrheal diseases. Cattle are one of the reservoirs of Cryptosporidium infection in humans. However, data on the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in cattle in Yunnan Province remains limited. A total [...] Read more.
Cryptosporidium spp. are important foodborne and waterborne pathogens in humans and animals, causing diarrheal diseases. Cattle are one of the reservoirs of Cryptosporidium infection in humans. However, data on the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in cattle in Yunnan Province remains limited. A total of 700 fecal samples were collected from Holstein cows (n = 442) and dairy buffaloes (n = 258) in six counties of Yunnan Province. The occurrence and genotypes of Cryptosporidium spp. were analyzed using nested PCR and DNA sequencing. Furthermore, the C. andersoni isolates were further analyzed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) at four gene loci (MS1, MS2, MS3, and MS16), and the C. parvum isolate was subtyped by 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) loci. The occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in Holstein cows and dairy buffaloes was 14.7% (65/442) and 1.1% (3/258), respectively. Of these positive samples, 56 Holstein cow samples represented C. andersoni, four Holstein cow samples represented C. bovis, three Holstein cow samples represented C. ryanae, and one represented C. parvum. Meanwhile, only three dairy buffalo samples represented C. ryanae. MLST analysis of subtypes of C. andersoni detected four subtypes, including A5A4A2A1 (n = 7), A4A4A4A1 (n = 7), A1A4A4A1 (n = 2), and A4A4A2A1 (n = 1). One C. parvum isolate was identified as the IIdA18G1 subtype. These results revealed the high occurrence and high genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. in Holstein cows in Yunnan Province, enriching the knowledge of the population genetic structure of Cryptosporidium spp. in Yunnan Province. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases)
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18 pages, 4403 KiB  
Article
Integration of Microfluidics, Photonic Integrated Circuits and Data Acquisition and Analysis Methods in a Single Platform for the Detection of Swine Viral Diseases
by Georgios Manessis, Christos Mourouzis, Amadeu Griol, David Zurita-Herranz, Sergio Peransi, Carlos Sanchez, Alessandro Giusti, Athanasios I. Gelasakis and Ioannis Bossis
Animals 2021, 11(11), 3193; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113193 - 9 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2731
Abstract
Viral diseases challenge the health and welfare of pigs and undermine the sustainability of swine farms. Their efficient control requires early and reliable diagnosis, highlighting the importance of Point of Care (POC) diagnostics in veterinary practice. The objective of this study was to [...] Read more.
Viral diseases challenge the health and welfare of pigs and undermine the sustainability of swine farms. Their efficient control requires early and reliable diagnosis, highlighting the importance of Point of Care (POC) diagnostics in veterinary practice. The objective of this study was to validate a novel POC system that utilizes Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) and microfluidics to detect swine viral pathogens using oral fluids and Porcine Parvovirus (PPV) and Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV-2) as proofs of concept. The sensitivity and specificity of the device were calculated for both viruses, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn. PPV had an Area Under Curve (AUC) value of 0.820 (95% CI: 0.760 to 0.880, p < 0.0001), and its optimal efficiency threshold of detection shifts was equal to 4.5 pm (68.6% sensitivity, 77.1% specificity and Limit of Detection (LOD) value 106 viral copies/mL). PCV-2 had an AUC value of 0.742 (95% CI: 0.670 to 0.815, p < 0.0001) and an optimal efficiency threshold of shifts equal to 6.5 pm (69.5% sensitivity, 70.3% specificity and LOD 3.3 × 105 copies/mL). In this work, it was proven that PICs can be exploited for the detection of swine viral diseases. The novel device can be directly deployed on farms as a POC diagnostics tool. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases)
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11 pages, 1638 KiB  
Article
Identification of Zoonotic Balantioides coli in Pigs by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and Its Distribution in Korea
by Jae-Won Byun, Jung-Hyun Park, Bo-Youn Moon, Kichan Lee, Wan-Kyu Lee, Dongmi Kwak and Seung-Hun Lee
Animals 2021, 11(9), 2659; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092659 - 10 Sep 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3657
Abstract
Balantioides coli is a zoonotic protozoan parasite whose main reservoir is pigs. Recent studies have shown that B. coli variant A but not B has zoonotic potential. While B. coli infection has been reported in different animals and countries, the prevalence of the [...] Read more.
Balantioides coli is a zoonotic protozoan parasite whose main reservoir is pigs. Recent studies have shown that B. coli variant A but not B has zoonotic potential. While B. coli infection has been reported in different animals and countries, the prevalence of the zoonotic variant is limited due to a lack of molecular information. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of B. coli in domestic pigs in Korea and assessed its zoonotic potential. A total of 188 pig fecal samples were collected from slaughterhouses in Korea. B. coli was identified by microscopy and molecular methods. B. coli was identified in 79 (42.9%) and 174 (94.6%) samples by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively. This study also developed a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method to differentiate B. coli variant A from B without sequence analysis. Using this method, 62 (33.7%) and 160 (87.0%) samples were positive for variants A and B, respectively, and 48 (26.1%) samples were co-infected with both variants. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed a high genetic diversity of B. coli in pigs in Korea. To our knowledge, this is the first study to develop a method to differentiate B. coli variants A and B without sequence analysis and to assess the molecular epidemiology of B. coli in pigs. Continuous monitoring of zoonotic B. coli in pigs should be performed as pigs are the main source of human balantidiasis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases)
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13 pages, 1985 KiB  
Article
Prevalence, Characterization, and Pathogenicity of Salmonella enterica Subspecies enterica Serovar Derby from Yaks in the Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China
by Xue Fu, Lan Feng, Linghan Kong, Chun Li, Xiaodong Zhao, Huade Li, Pengfei Cui, Wenjun Yan, Yaru Zhai, Lan Zhang, Hao Li, Hongning Wang and Xin Yang
Animals 2021, 11(8), 2397; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082397 - 13 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3076
Abstract
Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Derby (S. Derby) is one of the numerous non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars and has been recognized as a food-borne pathogen. In 2019, outbreaks of salmonellosis were reported in 13 yak farms in the Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China. [...] Read more.
Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Derby (S. Derby) is one of the numerous non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars and has been recognized as a food-borne pathogen. In 2019, outbreaks of salmonellosis were reported in 13 yak farms in the Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China. A total of 32 salmonella strains were isolated from 162 fecal samples of yaks with diarrhea as well as from drinking water samples. The isolates were subjected to serovar identification, animal experiments, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analyses. The serovar of all the isolates was S. Derby, and the sequence types (STs) were ST40. The analysis of the differences of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed that the salmonella strains isolated from 13 farms were clonally related. Animal experiments showed that the lethal dose (LD50) was 4.57 × 107 CFU (colony-forming units); the shedding time of S. Derby in mice was 24 days; the bacterial loads in spleen were higher than those in other organs (ileum, liver, and cecum). Pathological analyses by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining revealed obvious damage in the spleen, liver, and intestine. These results indicate that the S. Derby from yaks can cause infection in mice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases)
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18 pages, 1321 KiB  
Article
A Cross-Sectional Epizootiological Study and Risk Assessment of Foot-Related Lesions and Lameness in Intensive Dairy Sheep Farms
by Marios Moschovas, Aphrodite I. Kalogianni, Panagiotis Simitzis, Georgios Pavlatos, Stavros Petrouleas, Ioannis Bossis and Athanasios I. Gelasakis
Animals 2021, 11(6), 1614; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061614 - 29 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5153
Abstract
Foot-related lameness, foot-diseases and lesions are emerging issues in dairy sheep; however, relevant epizootiological studies are scarce, and risk factors have not been elucidated. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were (i) to address this dearth of knowledge by investigating the epizootiology of [...] Read more.
Foot-related lameness, foot-diseases and lesions are emerging issues in dairy sheep; however, relevant epizootiological studies are scarce, and risk factors have not been elucidated. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were (i) to address this dearth of knowledge by investigating the epizootiology of lameness-related foot-lesions and diseases, and (ii) to assess the impact of potential risk factors on foot health, in intensive dairy sheep farms. Thirty farms were assigned in two representative clusters using a multivariate statistical analysis. Three farms per cluster and 100 multiparous milking ewes per farm (total n = 600) were selected and enrolled in the study. Foot-related lameness, ovine interdigital dermatitis (OID), infectious footrot (IFR), white line disease, hoof wall cracks, as well as health and welfare traits were recorded. Overall prevalence of foot-related lameness was 9.0% and was primarily associated with IFR; however, additional infectious and non-infectious foot diseases and lesions also contributed. Among infectious foot diseases, OID was the most prevalent (21.3%) followed by IFR (8.0%); WLD and hoof wall cracks were the most prevalent non-infectious foot-lesions (37.7% and 15.3%, respectively). IFR and OID prevalence increased with age (p < 0.05) and BCS (p < 0.01), respectively, suggesting that host-related factors and husbandry practices are important determinants of its occurrence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases)
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Review

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16 pages, 574 KiB  
Review
Seroprevalence and Molecular Epidemiology of Aleutian Disease in Various Countries during 1972–2021: A Review and Meta-Analysis
by Magdalena Zaleska-Wawro, Anna Szczerba-Turek, Wojciech Szweda and Jan Siemionek
Animals 2021, 11(10), 2975; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102975 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2066
Abstract
Aleutian disease (AD) poses a serious threat to both free-ranging and farmed mink around the world. The disease is caused by the Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV), which also poses a health risk for other members of the family Mustelidae, including wild mink, [...] Read more.
Aleutian disease (AD) poses a serious threat to both free-ranging and farmed mink around the world. The disease is caused by the Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV), which also poses a health risk for other members of the family Mustelidae, including wild mink, weasels, badgers and other animal species. This article analyses the seroprevalence of AMDV infections in mink and other species around the world, and reviews recent knowledge relating to the molecular epidemiology of the AMDV. Depending on the applied diagnostic technique and the country, the prevalence of anti-AMDV antibodies or AMDV DNA was established at 21.60–100.00% in farmed American mink, 0.00–93.30% in free-ranging American mink and 0.00–25.00% in European mink. Anti-AMDV antibodies or AMDV DNA were also detected in other free-living fur-bearing animals in Europe and Canada, where their prevalence was determined at 0.00–32.00% and 0.00–70.50%, respectively. This may indicate a potential threat to various animal species. AMDV strains are not clustered into genotypes based on the geographic origin, year of isolation or pathogenicity. The isolates that were identified on mink farms around the world originated from North America because American mink were introduced to Europe and Asia for breeding purposes and to restock natural populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epizootiology of Farm Animal Diseases)
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