Dataset Information

Cryptosporidium infections in suckler herd beef calves.

ABSTRACT: A study was carried out to investigate how common Cryptosporidium infections are in beef calves in Swedish suckler herds and to explore which species and subtypes that occur. We further aimed at identifying factors associated with shedding of Cryptosporidium oocysts in this type of calf management. The study was conducted in two regions in Sweden and included 30 herds. Faecal samples were collected from calves younger than 3 months. A brief clinical examination was done and a questionnaire was used to collect data on management routines. Faeces were cleaned and concentrated and oocysts identified by epifuorescence microscopy. Cryptosporidium positive samples were analyzed at the 18S rRNA and GP60 genes to determine species and Cryptosporidium parvum subtype, respectively. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with infection. Oocysts were detected in 122 (36.7%) calves from 29 (97%) herds, at 400 to 2.4 × 107 OPG. The youngest positive calves were only 1 and 2 days old. There was no association between age and Cryptosporidium infection. Cryptosporidium bovis, Cryptosporidium ryanae, C. parvum and Cryptosporidium ubiquitum were identified, with C. bovis being the major species. Two C. parvum subtypes, IIaA16G1R1 and IIdA27G1 were identified. Routines for cleaning calf pens and number of cows in calving pens were associated with infection.

SUBMITTER: Bjorkman C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4453919 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cryptosporidium infections in suckler herd beef calves.

Björkman C C Lindström L L Oweson C C Ahola H H Troell K K Axén C C

Parasitology 20150422 8

A study was carried out to investigate how common Cryptosporidium infections are in beef calves in Swedish suckler herds and to explore which species and subtypes that occur. We further aimed at identifying factors associated with shedding of Cryptosporidium oocysts in this type of calf management. The study was conducted in two regions in Sweden and included 30 herds. Faecal samples were collected from calves younger than 3 months. A brief clinical examination was done and a questionnaire was u ...[more]

PMID: 25899555

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Project description:The role of beef in human diets has been questioned over the last few decades, due largely to its typically high mass-based carbon footprint. However, recent advancements in sustainability literature challenge this paradigm based on the new theory that climate impacts of food commodities should be measured relative to their overall nutritional value rather than their nominal mass. This shift has opened a new opportunity for the global beef industry, and especially for pasture-based systems that can avoid food-feed competition for land and other resources, as beef is a nutritionally dense food. Nonetheless, the sector's true capability to supply a wide range of nutrients for humans, consistently across multiple systems under multiple weather patterns, has not been well-documented. Using whole-system datasets from the North Wyke Farm Platform in the South West of England, we investigated the nutritional value of beef produced from the three most common pasture systems in temperate regions: permanent pasture (PP), grass and white clover (GWC) and a short-term monoculture grass ley (MG). Beef produced from these three pasture systems was analysed for key nutrients (fatty acids, minerals and vitamin E) over three production cycles (2015-2017) to determine potential differences between systems. Fatty acid, mineral and vitamin E profiles of the pasture and silage fed to each group were also assessed, with subtle differences between pastures reported. For beef, subtle differences were also observed between systems, with GWC having higher omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrations than PP and MG. However, the overall nutritional quality of beef was found to be largely comparable across all systems, suggesting that temperate pasture-based beef can be classified as a single commodity in future sustainability assessments, regardless of specific sward types. A 100 g serving of temperate pasture-based beef was found to be a high source (>20% recommended daily intake: RDI) of protein, monounsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, vitamins - B2, B3, B12 and minerals - Fe, P, Zn; a good source (10-19% RDI) of vitamin - B6 and mineral - K; and a complementary source (5-9% RDI) of omega-3 PUFA, vitamin - B9 and minerals - Cu, Mg, Se. The nutritional value of a food item should be used in defining its environmental cost (e.g. carbon footprint) to make fair comparisons across different food groups (e.g. protein sources). Here, we showed that pasture-based beef had a nutrient indexed carbon footprint of between 0.19 and 0.23 Kg CO2-eq/1% RDI of key nutrients.

Project description:Neonatal calf diarrhoea triggered by the enteric protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in calves aged 1-month-old or younger globally. Infected cattle in general and calves in particular have also been demonstrated as major contributors of zoonotic C. parvum oocysts in the environment and have been linked to a number of waterborne outbreaks of human cryptosporidiosis. Little is known on the occurrence, geographical distribution, and molecular diversity of Cryptosporidium infections affecting bovine populations in Algeria. In this study faecal specimens were randomly collected from 460 cattle aged between two days and 18?months on 10 farms located in the provinces of Aïn Defla, Blida, Sétif, and Tizi Ouzou between the autumn of 2015 and the spring of 2016. Faecal samples were microscopically examined using the modified Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast technique as screening method. Microscopy-positive samples were confirmed by a commercial coproantigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Bio-X Diagnostics). The identification of Cryptosporidium species and sub-genotypes in confirmed samples was conducted by PCR and sequence analyses of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (ssu rRNA) and the 60?kDa glycoprotein (gp60) genes of the parasite. Overall, 52.2% (240/460) of the investigated cattle tested positive to Cryptosporidium by microscopy. The infection was widespread in all 10 farms surveyed, but was significantly more prevalent in those from Blida in the central part of the country. Bovine cryptosporidiosis affected cattle of all age groups but with different outcomes. Pre-weaned (up to one month old) calves typically presented with diarrhoea, whereas older animals mostly harboured sub-clinical infections. The commercial ELISA used only detected 15.8% (38/240) of the samples that previously tested positive by microscopy, demonstrating a poor performance in field epidemiological surveys. Sequence analysis of the 29 isolates generated at the ssu rRNA loci confirmed the presence of four Cryptosporidium species including C. parvum (72.4%), C. bovis (13.8%), C. andersoni, (3.4%), and C. ryanae (3.4%). Two additional isolates (7.0%) could only be identified at the genus level. Eight out of the 21 isolates assigned to C. parvum were identified as sub-genotype IIaA16G2R1 at the gp60 locus. C. parvum was almost exclusively found infecting pre-weaned calves, whereas C. ryanae and C. andersoni were only detected in asymptomatic animals. Bovine cryptosporidiosis is highly endemic in the surveyed area and represents a veterinary public health concern that should be adequately tackled by Algerian veterinary health authorities and policy makers.

Dataset Information

Cryptosporidium infections in suckler herd beef calves.

Publications

Cryptosporidium infections in suckler herd beef calves.

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