Dataset Information

Zoonotic agents in small ruminants kept on city farms in southern Germany.

ABSTRACT: Sheep and goats are popular examples of livestock kept on city farms. In these settings, close contacts between humans and animals frequently occur. Although it is widely accepted that small ruminants can carry numerous zoonotic agents, it is unknown which of these agents actually occur in sheep and goats on city farms in Germany. We sampled feces and nasal liquid of 48 animals (28 goats, 20 sheep) distributed in 7 city farms and on one activity playground in southern Germany. We found that 100% of the sampled sheep and 89.3% of the goats carried Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). The presence of Staphylococcus spp. in 75% of both sheep and goats could be demonstrated. Campylobacter spp. were detected in 25% and 14.3% of the sheep and goats, respectively. Neither Salmonella spp. nor Coxiella burnetii was found. On the basis of these data, we propose a reasonable hygiene scheme to prevent transmission of zoonotic agents during city farm visits.

SUBMITTER: Schilling AK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3346384 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Zoonotic agents in small ruminants kept on city farms in southern Germany.

Schilling Anna-Katarina AK Hotzel Helmut H Methner Ulrich U Sprague Lisa D LD Schmoock Gernot G El-Adawy Hosny H Ehricht Ralf R Wöhr Anna-Caroline AC Erhard Michael M Geue Lutz L

Applied and environmental microbiology 20120323 11

Sheep and goats are popular examples of livestock kept on city farms. In these settings, close contacts between humans and animals frequently occur. Although it is widely accepted that small ruminants can carry numerous zoonotic agents, it is unknown which of these agents actually occur in sheep and goats on city farms in Germany. We sampled feces and nasal liquid of 48 animals (28 goats, 20 sheep) distributed in 7 city farms and on one activity playground in southern Germany. We found that 100% ...[more]

PMID: 22447607

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Project description:Mastitis is the most common disease of dairy cattle worldwide, causing economic losses due to reduced yield and poor quality of milk. It is of particular concern in Ethiopia, where effective prevention and control practices are lacking. The objective of the present prospective longitudinal study was to estimate the incidence rate of clinical mastitis (CM), identify the risk factors, isolate the bacterial agents, and determine the risk of recurrence. For this purpose, a total of 217 lactating cows were followed up every two weeks from calving to drying off or the end of the study period. Of these, 79 (36.41%) developed CM, of which 23% had recurrent infections in the same or a different quarter. The overall incidence rate of CM was 83.72 (95% CI: 63.2-98.2) cases per 100 cow-years at risk. In the multivariable Cox regression model, the risk of CM was found to be significantly higher in multiparous cows (HR = 1.96; p = 0.03), in cows with a history of mastitis (HR = 2.04; p = 0.030), in cows that had severely keratinized teat end condition (HR = 7.72; p < 0.001) and in cows kept in poorly cleaned barns (HR = 1.89; p = 0.007). The pathogenic bacteria isolated from mastitis-positive cows were Staphylococcus aureus (28.1%), E. coli (21.1%), Bacillus spp. (14%), Streptococcus spp. (14%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (12.3%), non aureus staphylococci (5.3%), Enterobacter spp. (3.5%), Klebsiella spp. (1.8%), Corynebacterium spp. (1.8%), and Proteus spp. (1.8%). The high incidence rate of CM in the present study shows that the disease spreads rapidly and can be responsible for a significant economic loss to milk producers in the study area. Therefore, raising awareness among dairy farmers, early detection and treatment of cases, post-milking teat disinfection, improvement of the hygienic status of cows and barns, use of dry cow therapy, and culling of chronic cases are recommended as viable measures to prevent and control clinical mastitis in the study area.

Dataset Information

Zoonotic agents in small ruminants kept on city farms in southern Germany.

Publications

Zoonotic agents in small ruminants kept on city farms in southern Germany.

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