Amit Kumar Verma

Growth and yield functions for irrigated plantations of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in the hot desert of India

Eucalyptus camaldulensis forms a major portion of irrigated plantations in the hot desert of India and for effective management of these plantations, growth and yield functions are necessary. This paper describes the development of height, diameter and volume growth functions based on the analysis of the data collected from the permanent sample plots laid out in the study area. The Chapman-Richards equation could be used for the prediction of diameter growth while the Schumacher model could be considered for predicting volume growth. Some base-age variant and invariant site-index models, already reported in the literature, were compared in terms of relative accuracy and it was found that the Payandeh and Wang model performed the best among the four models tried.

First report of molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of RoTat 1.2 VSG of Trypanosoma evansi from equine isolate

Rotat 1.2 variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) is considered to be an important VSG expressed in most of the isolates of Trypanosoma evansi. This makes the molecule an important candidate for both molecular- and serological-based detection of surra. There are ample reports of existence of this gene in isolates from cattle, buffalo, and camel across the world. Of late, there are reports of its absence from a fewer isolates of T. evansi of murine and wildlife origin. Search of literature revealed no reports from horses. The present communication presents the first report of molecular cloning and characterization of Rotat 1.2 VSG from horse isolate of T. evansi from semi-arid region of India. Alongside, the gene was compared with various other isolates across the world. Interestingly, the isolate was found to be closer to camel isolates from Egypt than the other known isolates from India and Kenya.

Control and therapeutic management of bovine tropical theileriosis in crossbred cattle

Bovine tropical theileriosis (BTT) is a disease of worldwide economic importance in cattle, caused by Theileria annulata, a protozoan parasite, and transmitted cyclically by ticks. The disease is one of the serious constraints to dairy industry in endemic areas like India, leading to fatal infections in exotic cattle and significant mortality in cross-bred cattle and zebu cattle. The present report demonstrates the clinical manifestation, haematological alteration and therapeutic management of theileriosis cases in a cross-bred cattle dairy farm at district Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. Clinical examination of affected animals revealed high rectal temperature (104–106xa0°F), generalized enlargement of superficial lymph nodes, pallor mucous, apathy and watery blood. The affected animals were severely infested with Hyalomma anatolicum ticks. The blood smears examination after staining with Leishman stain revealed the presence of typical Theileria organisms. Buparvaquone along with symptomatic and supportive therapy could cure all the animals.

Prevalence, associated risk factors and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Campylobacter species among dogs attending veterinary practices at Veterinary University, Mathura, India

Campylobacteriosis is among the leading bacterial causes of human gastroenteritis all over the world and most of the isolates are resistant to different antibacterials. Pet rearing has been identified as a risk factor for Campylobacter infection in humans. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of faecal Campylobacter shedding among dogs, to estimate the specific prevalence of Campylobacter jejuni shedding, to identify the associated risk factors and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Campylobacter spp. in dogs attending veterinary practice at Veterinary University, Mathura, India. Rectal swabs were aseptically collected and incubated using selective media and species isolation was further processed following standard protocols. In addition, genus and species specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for species differentiation. A total of 134 dogs were included in this study. Among 134 faecal samples cultured, 38 samples (28.36%) were positive for Campylobacter species. C. jejuni was the most prevalent isolate in dogs. Breed, age, clinical signs of diarrhea and habitat sharing had statistically significant association with Campylobacter shedding. On drug sensitivity assay with 19 commonly used antibacterials 100% resistance was shown against amoxycillin, ampicillin, aztreonam, cefotaxim, lincomycin, oxytetracycline, penicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline. It was followed by pefloxacin (92.11%), chloramphenicol (86.84%), ciprofloxacin (84.21%), nitrofurazone (78.94%), ofloxacin (76.32%), norfloxacin (73.68%) and cefaclor (73.68%). The results of the present study revealed high prevalence of Campylobacter spp. among dogs. The prevalence was higher in dogs of nondescript breed, pups and dogs sharing their habitat. The antimicrobial resistance patterns showed a high rate of multi drug resistant isolates in the dog population. Therefore, awareness in handling of dogs is important to prevent the zoonotic transmission of bacteria from pets to human beings especially in children and immunocompromised patients.