scholarly journals Importance of the Farm Environment and Wildlife for Transmission of Campylobacter jejuni in A Pasture-Based Dairy Herd

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1877
Author(s):  
Delphine Rapp ◽  
Colleen Ross ◽  
Shen-Yan Hea ◽  
Gale Brightwell
Keyword(s):  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
Bird Droppings ◽  
Important Pathway ◽  
Supplementary Feed

Cattle are an established reservoir of the foodborne bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. Our six-month study aimed to evaluate sources and pathways governing long-term presence of C. jejuni in a pasture-based dairy herd. C. jejuni was detected in all sample types (soil, pasture, stock drinking water, bird, rodents and cow faeces). It was persistently detected from cow (54%; 49/90 samples) and bird (36%; 77/211) faeces. Genetic comparison of 252 C. jejuni isolates identified 30 Multi-Locus Sequence Types (ST). ST-61 and ST-42 were persistent in the herd and accounted for 43% of the cow isolates. They were also detected on pasture collected from fields both recently and not recently grazed, indicating that grazed pasture is an important pathway and reservoir for horizontal transmission among cows. ST-61 accounted for 9% of the bird isolates and was detected at four of the six sampling events, suggesting that bird populations might contribute to the cycling of ruminant-adapted genotypes on-farm. Overall, the results indicated that management of grazed pasture and supplementary feed contaminated by bird droppings could be targeted to effectively reduce transmission of C. jejuni to dairy herds, the farm environment and ultimately to humans.

A whole-farm investment analysis of a partial mixed ration feeding system for dairy cows

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
S. Henty ◽  
C. K. M. Ho ◽  
M. J. Auldist ◽  
W. J. Wales ◽  
B. Malcolm
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Feeding System ◽  
Grazed Pasture ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
The Impact

Aim A dairy farm in south-west Victoria was analysed to discern the impact on profit and risk of changing from a feeding system in the base case where grain was fed in the dairy and forage in the paddock, to a partial mixed ration (PMR) or a formulated grain mix (FGM) feeding system. Context A PMR feeding system involves feeding a well formulated mixed ration to a grazing dairy herd and typically requires the use of specialised machinery to mix and feed out the forage and grain components of the ration together onto a feed pad. In a FGM feeding system, the same formulated ration fed in the PMR system is used, but the grain component of the ration is fed using the existing feeding system in the dairy with the hay component fed in the paddock. Method The analysis used data from experiments recently performed to establish milk responses to mixed ration feeding under Australian conditions. The case study farm comprised 244 ha and a herd of 420 self-replacing Holstein-Friesian cows that calved from May to July. The herd feeding system was based on grazed pasture, grain fed in the dairy at milking and hay fed in the paddock. Supplementary feed comprised ~50% of metabolisable energy in the diet of the milking cows. The pre-existing feeding system was altered to incorporate either a PMR system or a FGM system. An increased herd size of an extra 100 cows, plus the PMR or FGM systems, was also tested. Key results All systems analysed were more profitable than the base case. Increasing the herd by 100 cows was the most profitable option for both the PMR and FGM systems, but intensifying the system by increasing cow numbers also had the most variability in profit. Conclusions and implications The FGM system was the most profitable system because milk production could be increased without the costs of extra labour, depreciation and repairs and maintenance associated with using a mixer wagon to feed the ration. The FGM system presents an option for farmers to expand or intensify their systems without needing to construct a feed pad or invest in extra machinery and equipment.

Comparing the performance of Holstein and Friesian dairy cows on British dairy farms

2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 ◽  
pp. 18-18
Author(s):  
G. E. Pollott ◽  
J. D. Leaver
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cows ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Friesian Cows

In recent years there has been an influx of Holstein genes into the UK dairy herd, largely achieved by a ‘grading up’ process using imported Holstein semen on Friesian cows. The research reported here investigates this process using performance records from UK dairy herds.

scholarly journals A MyD88-Deficient Mouse Model Reveals a Role for Nramp1 in Campylobacter jejuni Infection

2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 1994-2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert O. Watson ◽  
Veronica Novik ◽  
Dirk Hofreuter ◽  
María Lara-Tejero ◽  
Jorge E. Galán
Keyword(s):  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Virulence Genes ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Adaptor Protein ◽  
Myeloid Differentiation ◽  
Deficient Mouse ◽  
Immunocompetent Mice ◽  
Myeloid Differentiation Factor ◽  
Deficient Mice

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni is a major worldwide cause of enteric illnesses. Adult immunocompetent mice are not susceptible to C. jejuni infection. However, we show here that mice deficient in the adaptor protein myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), which is required for signaling through most Toll-like receptors, can be stably colonized by C. jejuni but not by isogenic derivatives carrying mutations in known virulence genes. We also found that Nramp1 deficiency increases the mouse susceptibility to C. jejuni infection when administered systemically. These results indicate that MyD88-deficient mice could be a useful model to study C. jejuni colonization and reveal a potential role for Nramp1 in the control of this bacterial pathogen.

scholarly journals The Genome-Sequenced Variant of Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11168 and the Original Clonal Clinical Isolate Differ Markedly in Colonization, Gene Expression, and Virulence-Associated Phenotypes

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (2) ◽  
pp. 503-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin C. Gaynor ◽  
Shaun Cawthraw ◽  
Georgina Manning ◽  
Joanna K. MacKichan ◽  
Stanley Falkow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Isolate ◽  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Gene Families ◽  
Subtractive Hybridization ◽  
Laboratory Culture ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
Culture Cells ◽  
Colonization Potential

ABSTRACT The genome sequence of the enteric bacterial pathogen Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11168 (11168-GS) was published in 2000, providing a valuable resource for the identification of C. jejuni-specific colonization and virulence factors. Surprisingly, the 11168-GS clone was subsequently found to colonize 1-day-old chicks following oral challenge very poorly compared to other strains. In contrast, we have found that the original clinical isolate from which 11168-GS was derived, 11168-O, is an excellent colonizer of chicks. Other marked phenotypic differences were also identified: 11168-O invaded and translocated through tissue culture cells far more efficiently and rapidly than 11168-GS, was significantly more motile, and displayed a different morphology. Serotyping, multiple high-resolution molecular genotyping procedures, and subtractive hybridization did not yield observable genetic differences between the variants, suggesting that they are clonal. However, microarray transcriptional profiling of these strains under microaerobic and severely oxygen-limited conditions revealed dramatic expression differences for several gene families. Many of the differences were in respiration and metabolism genes and operons, suggesting that adaptation to different oxygen tensions may influence colonization potential. This correlates biologically with our observation that anaerobically priming 11168-GS or aerobically passaging 11168-O caused an increase or decrease, respectively, in colonization compared to the parent strain. Expression differences were also observed for several flagellar genes and other less well-characterized genes that may participate in motility. Targeted sequencing of the sigma factors revealed specific DNA differences undetected by the other genomic methods. These observations highlight the capacity of C. jejuni to adapt to multiple environmental niches, the likelihood that this adaptation involves genetic evolution, and provides the first whole-genome molecular exploration of the effect of laboratory culture and storage on colonization and virulence properties of this pathogen.

High genetic merit and high-producing dairy cows in commercial Australian herds don't have substantially worse reproductive performance

2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-311
Author(s):  
J.M. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Stepwise Logistic Regression ◽  
High Quality Data ◽  
Genetic Merit ◽  
Milk Volume ◽  
Fat Yield

AbstractThe National Dairy Herd Fertility Project (renamed the InCalf Project) consists of two large, prospective observational studies conducted in commercial dairy herds from 4 Australian states. The project aims to identify factors associated with variation in reproductive performance between cows and herds. The larger of the two studies included over 33,000 cows and 168 herds. The database has undergone extensive error checking and correction resulting in high quality data. Large variations in reproductive performance were observed between cows and herds, indicating that there are important risk factors for reproductive performance and that cows and herds are exposed to varying combinations of these risk factors. Models for several reproductive outcomes were constructed using multivariable stepwise logistic regression. No significant associations were detected between any measures of cow genetic merit and 6 week in-calf rate. Neither milk volume nor protein yield were significantly associated with 6 week in-calf rate. A weak negative association was detected between fat yield in the first 120 days of lactation and 6 week in-calf rate. However, differences in estimated 6-week in-calf rate between moderate and high producing groups (2 to 5 percentage points) were small when contrasted against the 63 percentage point range in performance observed between herds (23% to 86%).

scholarly journals Molecular Epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni Isolates from Wild-Bird Fecal Material in Children's Playgrounds

2008 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 779-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel P. French ◽  
Anne Midwinter ◽  
Barbara Holland ◽  
Julie Collins-Emerson ◽  
Rebecca Pattison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Wild Bird ◽  
Wild Birds ◽  
Fecal Material ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Garden Birds ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Children Under 5

ABSTRACT In many countries relatively high notification rates of campylobacteriosis are observed in children under 5 years of age. Few studies have considered the role that environmental exposure plays in the epidemiology of these cases. Wild birds inhabit parks and playgrounds and are recognized carriers of Campylobacter, and young children are at greater risk of ingesting infective material due to their frequent hand-mouth contact. We investigated wild-bird fecal contamination in playgrounds in parks in a New Zealand city. A total of 192 samples of fresh and dried fecal material were cultured to determine the presence of Campylobacter spp. Campylobacter jejuni isolates were also characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and the profiles obtained were compared with those of human isolates. C. jejuni was isolated from 12.5% of the samples. MLST identified members of clonal complexes ST-45, ST-682, and ST-177; all of these complexes have been recovered from wild birds in Europe. PFGE of ST-45 isolates resulted in profiles indistinguishable from those of isolated obtained from human cases in New Zealand. Members of the ST-177 and ST-682 complexes have been found in starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in the United Kingdom, and these birds were common in playgrounds investigated in New Zealand in this study. We suggest that feces from wild birds in playgrounds could contribute to the occurrence of campylobacteriosis in preschool children. Further, the C. jejuni isolates obtained in this study belonged to clonal complexes associated with wild-bird populations in the northern hemisphere and could have been introduced into New Zealand in imported wild garden birds in the 19th century.

Preliminary genetic analyses of voluntarily supplied disease data in Australian dairy herds

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 186 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Haile-Mariam ◽  
M. E. Goddard
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Parameters ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Event Data ◽  
Economic Traits ◽  
Health Event ◽  
Health Disorders ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Improvement Scheme ◽  
Environmental Measures

Health disorders data collected from Australian dairy herds were analysed to estimate incidence levels and genetic parameters for some diseases traits and to examine the consequence of selection for Australian profit ranking (the economic index in Australia) and other economic traits on incidence of some diseases. Data on disease problems including udder, leg, reproductive and ‘all disorders’ were extracted from the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme database for cows that calved in 2007 and 2008 and were analysed fitting a linear sire model. The occurrence of disease problems was as high as 0.3 if ‘all disorders’ were put into one group. Five percent of the cows that calved showed leg problems and the incidence of udder problems was ~0.13. The heritability of all disease problems ranged from 0.01 for reproductive problems to 0.03 for udder problems. The results showed that selection on milk yield traits will likely increase the frequency of all health disorders. Although selection on udder depth and somatic cell count helps to mitigate the possible genetic deterioration in udder problems, it is unlikely to avoid it totally. Therefore, more effort to collect and analyse health event data from Australia dairy herds could help to better design genetic and environmental measures to reduce the consequence of health problems.

scholarly journals Development of a Benchmarking Tool for Dairy Herd Management Using Routinely Collected Herd Records

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1689
Author(s):  
Daniel Warner ◽  
Elsa Vasseur ◽  
Marianne Villettaz Robichaud ◽  
Steve Adam ◽  
Doris Pellerin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
High Status ◽  
Continuous Assessment ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Herd Management ◽  
The Individual

Continuous assessment of the herd status is important in order to monitor and adjust to changes in the welfare and health status but can be time consuming and expensive. In this study, herd status indicators from routinely collected dairy herd improvement (DHI) records were used to develop a remote herd assessment tool with the aim to help producers and advisors benchmark the herd status and identify herd management issues affecting welfare and health. Thirteen DHI indicators were selected from an initial set of 72 potential indicators collected on 4324 dairy herds in Eastern Canada. Data were normalized to percentile ranks and aggregated to a composite herd status index (HSI) with equal weights among indicators. Robustness analyses indicated little fluctuation for herds with a small HSI (low status) or large HSI (high status), suggesting that herds in need of support could be prioritized and effectively monitored over time, limiting the need for time-consuming farm visits. This tool allows evaluating herds relative to their peers through the composite index and highlighting specific areas with opportunities for improvements through the individual indicators. This procedure could be applied to similar multidimensional livestock farming issues, such as environmental and socio-economic studies.

scholarly journals Microbiota Analysis of an Environmental Slurry and Its Potential Role as a Reservoir of Bovine Digital Dermatitis Pathogens

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstine Klitgaard ◽  
Mikael L. Strube ◽  
Anastasia Isbrand ◽  
Tim K. Jensen ◽  
Martin W. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Digital Dermatitis ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Associated Bacteria ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Next Generation Sequencing Technology ◽  
Route Of Transmission

ABSTRACT At present, very little information exists regarding what role the environmental slurry may play as an infection reservoir and/or route of transmission for bovine digital dermatitis (DD), a disease which is a global problem in dairy herds. To investigate whether DD-related bacteria belong to the indigenous microbiota of the dairy herd environment, we used deep amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in 135 slurry samples collected from different sites in 22 dairy farms, with and without DD-infected cows. Both the general bacterial populations and digital dermatitis-associated Treponema were targeted in this study. The results revealed significant differences in the bacterial communities between the herds, with only 12 bacterial taxa shared across at least 80% of all the individual samples. These differences in the herd microbiota appeared to reflect mainly between-herd variation. Not surprisingly, the slurry was dominated by ubiquitous gastrointestinal bacteria, such as Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae. Despite the low relative abundance of spirochetes, which ranged from 0 to 0.6%, we were able to detect small amounts of bacterial DNA from DD-associated treponemes in the slurry. However, the DD-associated Treponema spp. were detected only in samples from herds with reported DD problems. These data indicate that treponemes involved in the pathogenesis of DD are not part of the normal environmental microflora in dairy herds without clinical DD and, consequently, that slurry is not a primary reservoir of infection. IMPORTANCE Bovine digital dermatitis (DD), a dermal disease which causes lameness in dairy cattle, is a serious problem worldwide. To control this disease, the infection reservoirs and transmission routes of DD pathogens need to be clarified. The dairy herd slurry may be a pathogen reservoir of DD-associated bacteria. The rationale for the present study was, therefore, to examine whether DD-associated bacteria are always present in slurry or if they are found only in DD-afflicted herds. The results strongly indicated that DD Treponema spp. are not part of the indigenous slurry and, therefore, do not comprise an infection reservoir in healthy herds. This study applied next-generation sequencing technology to decipher the microbial compositions of environmental slurry of dairy herds with and without digital dermatitis.

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