Background: African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal contagious disease affecting both domestic pigs and wild boars. Even though it is a non-zoonotic disease, ASF causes economic loss in swine industries across continents. ASF control and eradication are almost impossible since effective vaccines and direct antiviral treatment are not available. The persistence of ASFV on fomites plays an important role in the indirect transmission of ASFV to pigs encountering ASFV-contaminated fomites. ASFV persistence on porous and non-porous fomites (glass, metal, rubber, and cellulose paper) at different environmental temperatures was determined. The persistence of ASFV of fomites was determined by the rate of ASFV inactivation in terms ofD_T,or the time required to reduce ASFV per 1 log at each selected environmental temperature (T).D_Tis used to compare the persistence of ASFV on the fomites.Results: The meanD₂₅,D₃₃, andD₄₂, of dried infectious ASFV on glass, metal, rubber, and paper were in the ranges 1.42–2.42, 0.72–1.94, and 0.07–0.23 days, respectively. The multipleD_Twere used to develop aD_Tmodel to predict theD_Tfor some other environmental temperatures. TheD_Tmodels to predict the persistence of dried infectious ASFV on glass, metal, rubber, and paper are logD_T = (− T/21.51) + 1.34, logD_T = (− T/20.42) + 1.47, logD_T = (− T/14.91) + 2.03, and logD_T = (− T/10.91) + 2.84, respectively. A spreadsheet as a quick and handy tool predicting the persistence time of dried infectious ASFV on fomites at various environmental temperatures based on theseD_Tmodels is available for public to download.Conclusion: Persistence of dried infectious ASFV on paper are significantly the longest at lower environmental temperatures whereas that of dried infectious ASFV on paper is significantly the shortest at higher environmental temperature.

The aim of this study was to investigate the application of integrating earthworms (Pheretima peguana) into two-stage pilot-scale subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (SFCWs) receiving swine wastewater in terms of their treatment performance, namely organic content, total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and solid reduction as well as the quantity of sludge production. There was a minor difference in terms of removal efficiency according to each parameter when comparing the unit with earthworms to the one without earthworms. Both achieved the TKN, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total volatile suspended solids (TVSS), suspended solids (SS), and total solids (TS) removal by more than 90 %. The earthworms helped in reducing the sludge production on the surface of constructed wetlands 40 % by volume, which resulted in lowering operational costs required to empty and treat the sludge. The plant biomass production was higher in the wetlands without earthworms. Further research could be undertaken in order to effectively apply earthworms inside the wetlands.

Objective: Microencapsulation technologies have been developed and successfully applied to protect the probiotic bacterial cells damaged by environmental exposure. This study aimed to investigate the effects of microencapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum MB001 on the growth performance, ileal nutrient digestibility, jejunal histomorphology and cecal microbiome of broiler chickens in a tropical climate.Methods: A total of 288 one-day-old female broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated into 4 groups (6 replicates of 12 birds). Treatments included, i) a basal diet (NC), ii) NC + avilamycin (10 mg/kg) (PC), iii) NC + non-encapsulated L. plantarum MB001 (1×108 colonyforming unit [CFU]/kg of diet) (N-LP), iv) NC + microencapsulated L. plantarum MB001 (1×108 CFU/kg of diet) (ME-LP).Results: Dietary supplementation of ME-LP improved average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers throughout the 42-d trial period (p<0.05), whereas ME-LP did not affect average daily feed intake compared with NC group. Both N-LP and ME-LP improved apparent ileal digestibility of crude protein and ether extract compared with NC group (p<0.05). The broilers fed ME-LP supplemented diet exhibited a beneficial effect on jejunal histomorphology of villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD) and villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) of broilers compared to NC group (p<0.05). At the phylum level, Firmicutes was enriched (p<0.05) and Proteobacteria was decreased (p<0.05) only in the ME-LP group. At the genus level, the ME-LP diets increased (p<0.05) the number of both Lactobacillus and Enterococcus compared to NC, PC, and N-LP groups (p<0.05).Conclusion: Microencapsulation assists the efficient functioning of probiotics. ME-LP could be potentially used as a feed additive for improvement of cecal microbiota, gut integrity and nutrient utilization, leading to better performance of broilers.

The indirect transmission of the African swine fever virus (ASFV) is through contaminated fomite, feed ingredients, pork- and pig-derived products, including swill, as ASFV is highly stable within suitable organic material. Some previous studies have indicated that ASFV outbreaks were associated with swill feeding, particularly in smallholder pig farms. These outbreaks emphasize the significance of the appropriate heat treatment of swill to eliminate ASFV residual titer. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommended the heat treatment of swill at a temperature of at least 90°C for at least 60 min, with continuous stirring, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommended heat treatment at 70°C for 30 min. The lack of scientific evidence regarding ASFV inactivation by heat treatment of swill leads to such inconsistent recommendations. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to assess the thermal inactivation of ASFV in three swill formulae and to develop a D_T model to predict D_T at some other inactivation temperatures. The significant reduction of ASFV in swill occurred at temperatures as low as 60°C. D_T or decimal reduction time (DRT) is defined as the time required to reduce the virus titer by 1 log, and this was also used as a comparative index of heat resistance. The mean D₆₀, D₇₀, D₇₅, and D₈₀ of ASFV in three swill formulae were in the ranges 23.21–33.47, 5.83–10.91, 2.15–2.22, and 1.36–1.47 min, respectively. These D_T could be widely used for any nutritive composition of swill other than the three swill formulae in this study since there was no statistical difference of all D_T of ASFV across three swill formulae. Based on D₇₀ and the predicted D₉₀ from the D_T model in this study, including the highest ASFV titer in pork products, the calculated inactivation times at 70 and 90°C were 119 and 4 min, respectively.

Objective: Microencapsulation is a technique to improve stability, bioavailability, and controlled release of active ingredients at a target site. This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of microencapsulated basil oil (MBO) on growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility (AID), jejunal histomorphology, bacterial population as well as antioxidant capacity of broiler chickens in a tropical climate.Methods: A total of 288 one-day-old female broilers (Ross 308) were randomly allocated into 4 groups (6 replicates of 12 birds), based on a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments were as follows: i) basal diet (NC), ii) basal diet with avilamycin at 10 ppm (PC), iii) basal diet with free basil oil (FBO) at 500 ppm, and iv) basal diet with MBO at 500 ppm, respectively.Results: Dietary supplementation of MBO improved average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers throughout the 42-d trial period (p<0.05), whereas MBO did not affect average daily feed intake compared with NC group. The broilers fed MBO diet exhibited a greater AID of crude protein and gross energy compared with those in other groups (p<0.05). Lactobacillus spp. and Escherichia coli populations were not affected by feeding dietary treatments. Both FBO and MBO had positive effects on jejunal villus height (VH), villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) and villus surface area of broilers compared to NC and PC groups (p<0.05). Superoxide dismutase level in the duodenal mucosa of MBO group was significantly increased (p<0.01), whereas malondialdehyde level was significantly decreased (p<0.01).Conclusion: Microencapsulation could be considered as a promising driver of the basil oil efficiency, consequently MBO at 500 ppm could be potentially used as a feed additive for improvement of intestinal integrity and nutrient utilization, leading to better performance of broiler chickens.