John A. VanLeeuwen

Direct production losses and treatment costs from bovine viral diarrhoea virus, bovine leukosis virus, Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, and Neospora caninum

Our purpose was to determine direct production losses (milk loss, premature voluntary culling and reduced slaughter value, mortaliy loss, and abortion and reproductive loss) and treatmetn costs (veterinary services, medication cost, and extra farm labour cost) due to four infectious diseases in the maritime provinces of Canada: bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD), enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), Johnes Disease (JD), and neosporosis. We used a partial-budget model, and incorporated risk and sensitivity analyses to identify the effects of uncertainty on costs. Total annual costs for an average, infected, 50 cow herd were: JD

A systematic review and meta-analysis of factors associated with anthelmintic resistance in sheep

2472; BVD

Comparison of two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for diagnosis of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis

2421; neosporosis

Herd-level risk factors for infection with bovine leukemia virus in Canadian dairy herds.

2304; EBL

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Components in Drinking Water and Diet: A Population-Based, Case-Control Study in Prince Edward Island, Canada

806. The stochastic nature of the proportion of infected herds and prevalence of infection within a herd were used to estimate probability distributions for these ex post costs. For all diseases, these distributions were right skewed. A sensitivity analysis showed the largest effect on costs was due to milk yield effects. For example, changing milk production loss from 0 to 5% for BVD increased the costs for the disease by 266%.

Pilot study on the impact of biogas as a fuel source on respiratory health of women on rural Kenyan smallholder dairy farms.

BACKGROUND Anthelmintic drugs have been widely used in sheep as a cost-effective means for gastro-intestinal nematode (GIN) control. However, growing anthelmintic resistance (AHR) has created a compelling need to identify evidence-based management recommendations that reduce the risk of further development and impact of AHR. OBJECTIVE To identify, critically assess, and synthesize available data from primary research on factors associated with AHR in sheep. METHODS Publications reporting original observational or experimental research on selected factors associated with AHR in sheep GINs and published after 1974, were identified through two processes. Three electronic databases (PubMed, Agricola, CAB) and Web of Science (a collection of databases) were searched for potentially relevant publications. Additional publications were identified through consultation with experts, manual search of references of included publications and conference proceedings, and information solicited from small ruminant practitioner list-serves. Two independent investigators screened abstracts for relevance. Relevant publications were assessed for risk of systematic bias. Where sufficient data were available, random-effects Meta-Analyses (MAs) were performed to estimate the pooled Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) of AHR for factors reported in ≥2 publications. RESULTS Of the 1712 abstracts screened for eligibility, 131 were deemed relevant for full publication review. Thirty publications describing 25 individual studies (15 observational studies, 7 challenge trials, and 3 controlled trials) were included in the qualitative synthesis and assessed for systematic bias. Unclear (i.e. not reported, or unable to assess) or high risk of selection bias and confounding bias was found in 93% (14/15) and 60% (9/15) of the observational studies, respectively, while unclear risk of selection bias was identified in all of the trials. Ten independent studies were included in the quantitative synthesis, and MAs were performed for five factors. Only high frequency of treatment was a significant risk factor (OR=4.39; 95% CI=1.59, 12.14), while the remaining 4 variables were marginally significant: mixed-species grazing (OR=1.63; 95% CI=0.66, 4.07); flock size (OR=1.02; 95% CI=0.97, 1.07); use of long-acting drug formulations (OR=2.85; 95% CI=0.79, 10.24); and drench-and-shift pasture management (OR=4.08; 95% CI=0.75, 22.16). CONCLUSIONS While there is abundant literature on the topic of AHR in sheep GINs, few studies have explicitly investigated the association between putative risk or protective factors and AHR. Consequently, several of the current recommendations on parasite management are not evidence-based. Moreover, many of the studies included in this review had a high or unclear risk of systematic bias, highlighting the need to improve study design and/or reporting of future research carried out in this field.

Predicting within-herd prevalence of infection with bovine leukemia virus using bulk-tank milk antibody levels

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are used in Johnes disease (JD) control programs as a first screening for presence of the disease in a herd. A high sensitivity of the ELISA is therefore important, yet the commonly used ELISAs have relatively low sensitivity. The inclusion of an absorption phase, although improving specificity, potentially decreases sensitivity. Sera and feces of 383 adult dairy cows in 8 herds were used to compare the test characteristics of an absorbed and a nonabsorbed indirect ELISA for the detection of JD. The absorbed ELISA is based on a protoplasmic antigen, whereas the nonabsorbed uses a lipoarabinomannan-based antigen. The potential advantage of the nonabsorbed ELISA is that it may be less specific and more sensitive. Two herds certified free of JD were used to compare the specificity of the ELISAs. The other herds used to compare sensitivity were either infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis or had unknown status. Using fecal culture as a gold standard, the diagnostic specificity for the absorbed and nonabsorbed ELISAs were 98.4% and 87.9%, respectively. The diagnostic sensitivity was 72.4% and 65.5% for the absorbed and the nonabsorbed ELISA, respectively. Furthermore, a comparison using a fecal DNA probe as the comparison standard resulted in both ELISAs having a sensitivity of 61.9%. Agreement between the 2 ELISAs was moderate, with a kappa statistic of 0.58. The nonabsorbed ELISA did not have a higher sensitivity and had a lower specificity than the absorbed ELISA. Therefore, in this population, there was no advantage gained with using the nonabsorbed ELISA.

Impact of biogas digesters on wood utilisation and self-reported back pain for women living on rural Kenyan smallholder dairy farms

Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is an economically important infection of dairy cattle worldwide, which is caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV). The prevalence of infection in Canadian dairy herds is high and continues to increase; however, there has not been a national program to control BLV. This cross-sectional study was conducted to identify potentially important risk factors for BLV infection on Canadian dairy herds, which is a prerequisite to developing an effective control program. During 1998-2003, based on a stratified two-stage random sampling process, 315 dairy farms from seven provinces of Canada were selected. Within each farm, 9-45 cows were bled and tested with a commercial serum ELISA kit for BLV antibodies. A comprehensive questionnaire, targeting potentially important herd-level management indicators, was successfully administered in 272 herds. A zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression model was fit to the resulting data to assess the potential associations between BLV seropositivity and a variety of herd-level factors. Seventy-eight percent of the herds were identified as BLV-positive (had one or more test positive animals). In the negative-binomial part of the final ZINB model, herds with clinical cases of leukosis during the 12 months prior to sampling, as well as herds which purchased animals with unknown BLV infection status in the last five years, had a significantly larger proportion of BLV positive animals. Based on a significant interaction between two of the risk factors, changing gloves between cows during pregnancy examination was not statistically associated with lower proportion of infected cows compared with not changing gloves, in the western Canadian provinces. In the logistic part of the model, herds from eastern Canadian provinces and those not purchasing cows in the last five years had increased odds of being free from BLV. The high prevalence of infection across Canada should be addressed through the development and implementation of a nationwide control program which will address the regional and herd-level risk factors for BLV infection identified in this study.

A longitudinal study on the effect of lambing season on the periparturient egg rise in Ontario sheep flocks

Objective: To determine the relationship between the risk of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and daily intake of drinking water and dietary components, including nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosamines, during the year prior to diagnosis. Methods: Controls (n = 105) were matched by age at diagnosis and sex to T1D cases (n = 57) newly diagnosed during 2001–2004. Food consumption was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Locally available samples of foods were tested for nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosamine concentrations. Water consumption was determined through an additional questionnaire, and water samples were taken from homes and tested for routine chemical components, including nitrate. Results: After controlling for age, age, sex, and daily energy intake, nitrate intake from food sources showed a non‐significant positive trend (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for quartiles = 1.00, 1.63 (0.58, 4.63), 1.71 (0.54, 5.40), 3.02 (0.78, 11.74); p for trend = 0.13). Nitrite and nitrosamine intake were not related to T1D risk (p for trend = 0.77 and 0.81, respectively). When food and water components were combined, zinc and calcium intakes were marginally and inversely related to T1D risk (p for trend = 0.07 and 0.06, respectively). After further model adjustment of possible confounders and significant risk factors, an increased intake of caffeine marginally increased the risk of T1D (p = 0.07). Conclusion: Dietary components from both food and water sources may influence the risk of developing T1D in young persons.

Lifetime effects of infection with bovine leukemia virus on longevity and milk production of dairy cows

Biomass burning in indoor environments has been highlighted as a major cause of respiratory morbidity for women and children in low-income countries. Inexpensive technological innovations which reduce such exposures are needed. This study evaluated the impact of low tech compost digesters, which generate biogas for cooking, versus traditional fuel sources on the respiratory health of nonsmoking Kenyan farmwomen. Women from 31 farms with biogas digesters were compared to age-matched women from 31 biomass-reliant farms, in June 2010. Only 43% of the biogas group reported any breathing problems, compared to 71% in the referent group (P = 0.03). Referent women self-reported higher rates of shortness of breath (52% versus 30%), difficulty breathing (42% versus 23%), and chest pain while breathing (35% versus 17%) during the last 6 months (P = 0.09 to 0.12) compared to biogas women. Biogas women demonstrated slightly better spirometry results but differences were not statistically significant, likely due to limited latency between biogas digester installation and spirometry testing. Most biogas women reported improved personal respiratory health (87%) and improved childrens health (72%) since biogas digester installation. These findings suggest that using biogas in cookhouses improves respiratory symptoms but long-term impacts on lung function are unclear.