Summary: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)‐rich microalgae, Aurantiochytrium limacinum (AURA), on a variety of health and productivity parameters in lactating cows. Twenty‐four cows were blocked by parity and number of days in milk and then randomly assigned to a control (CON; n = 12) group with no algal supplementation, or a treatment group (AURA; n = 12) provided with 100 g AURA cow⁻¹ day⁻¹ or 16 g DHA cow⁻¹ day⁻¹. A variety of health and productivity measurements were taken, and results indicated that supplementation had no negative effects on animal health in terms of somatic cell count, haematological and biochemical blood parameters, while body condition was marginally improved by algal supplementation. No differences were found for the various production parameters measured; however, a tendency towards increased milk production was observed for the AURA group during the final stage of the study (+4.5 kg cow⁻¹ day⁻¹, day 78–84). The fatty acid profile of milk was improved by supplementation, with significantly lower saturated fatty acids, significantly higher omega‐3 fatty acids and an improved omega‐3/omega‐6 ratio observed when compared to the control group. The amount of DHA in the milk of cows provided 105 g AURA head⁻¹ day⁻¹ was 4.7 mg/100 g milk with a peak transfer efficiency from feed to milk at day 49 of 8.3%. These results indicate that supplementation with 105 g AURA head⁻¹ day⁻¹ resulted in the successful enrichment of milk with DHA without negatively impacting the health or productivity of the animals.

Toxocara canis is one of the most common gastrointestinal helminthes of dogs. Humans can become infected through ingestion of infective eggs. Infection often causes few symptoms but in rare cases blindness can occur. It is generally accepted that human infection is caused as a result of direct contact with contaminated soil. However, recently, the eggs of Toxocara spp. have been found in the hair of dogs, implicating them as a possible additional route of transmission. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which the hair of owned dogs was contaminated with the eggs of Toxocara. Samples were taken from the head, neck, back and anus of 184 dogs. Eggs were recovered from the hair using a previously standardised detection method. Eggs were found on the hair of 8.8% of the sampled dogs. None of the eggs found were embryonated. There was no significant difference found between the numbers or prevalence of eggs taken from the head, neck, back and anus. Older dogs were significantly more likely to possess eggs on their hair than those under 1 year of age. The low prevalence and the lack of potentially infective embryonated eggs suggests that direct contact with well cared for owned dogs poses a low risk of infection with T. canis.

SUMMARY. Changes in modern human diets have resulted in a deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids. Rectifying this deficiency and increasing dietary levels of omega-

Toxocaraspp. eggs require a period of time under appropriate environmental conditions to become infective to definitive and paratenic hosts. Temperature and humidity are important factors known to affect the levels of development in soil. We aimed to investigate whether the eggs ofT. caniscould embryonate in dog hair under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity and, if so, to what degree. No previous work had been carried out on embryonation in hair under controlled conditions. Soil samples exposed to the same conditions as the hair samples were considered a suitable comparison in order to investigate differing levels of development. Development at two temperatures (10°C and 20°C) and the addition of water to samples was investigated over a period of 8 weeks. Importantly, we demonstrated that unembryonatedT. caniseggs are capable of development in hair under controlled conditions. The rate of development is lower than that observed in soil, but remains biologically significant in terms of the overall numbers of potentially infective embryonated eggs present. Temperature is responsible for the rate of embryonation while moisture is essential for encouraging development and maintaining egg viability in general. In light of these findings the transmission ofToxocaraspp. as a result of direct contact with well-cared-for owned dogs seems unlikely, but should not be ignored.

Summary: Two 125‐day experiments of the same design were conducted to evaluate the effects of a heterotrophically grown microalgae (AURA) containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on pig performance, carcass traits and the fatty acid composition of lean and adipose tissue. In each experiment, 144 Hypor pigs were blocked by sex, allocated to three treatment groups, and fed 0, 0.25% or 0.50% AURA in isonutritive, isocaloric diets. Pigs were weighed on days 0, 28, 56, 84 and 112. Feed and water intakes were measured every 28 days. Pigs were slaughtered on day 125. Data from the two studies were analysed as a single data set. Performance and carcass traits did not differ between treatments. Both microalgae treatment levels enriched (p < .05) Longissimus lumborum (LL) and backfat in DHA and improved (p < .05) their ratios of n‐6 to n‐3 fatty acids.