Ticks are well-known parasites that affect livestock productivity. This paper reviews the current knowledge regarding the spread of ticks with their impact in animal health and the limitations to achieve effective control measures. The forecasted trends in climate play an obvious role in promoting the spread of ticks in several regions. It appears that climate warming is pivotal in the spread and colonization of new territories by Rhipicephalus microplus in several regions of Africa. The reported increase in altitude of this tick species in the mountainous regions of Central and South America appears to be driven by such general trends in climate change. This factor, however, is not the only single contributor to the spread of ticks. The poor management of farms, uncontrolled movements of domestic animals, abundance of wild animals, and absence of an adequate framework to capture the ecological plasticity of certain ticks may explain the complexity of the control measures. In this paper, we review several details regarding the relationships of ticks with the environment, wild fauna and competition with other species of ticks. Our intention is to highlight these relationships with the aim to produce a coherent framework to explore tick ecology and its relationship with animal production systems.

Here we review evidence for influenza A viruses (IAVs) moving from swine, avian, feline, equine, and canine species to infect humans. We review case reports, sero-epidemiological, archeo-epidemiological, environmental, and historical studies and consider trends in livestock farming. Although this focused review is not systematic, the aggregated data point to industrialized swine farming as the most likely source of future pandemic viruses, yet IAV surveillance on such farms is remarkably sparse. We recommend increased biosafety and biosecurity training for farm administrators and swine workers with One Health-oriented virus surveillance throughout industrialized farming and meat production lines. Collaborative partnerships with human medical researchers could aid in efforts to mitigate emerging virus threats by offering new surveillance and diagnostic technologies to livestock farming industries.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a family of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by their long incubation periods, progressive neurological changes, and spongiform appearance in the brain. There is much evidence to show that TSEs are caused by an isoform of the normal cellular surface prion protein PrP^C. The normal function of PrP^C is still unknown, but it exhibits properties of a cupro-protein, capable of binding up to six copper ions. There are two differing views on copper's role in prion diseases. While one view looks at the PrP^C copper-binding as the trigger for conversion to PrP^Sc, the opposing viewpoint sees a lack of PrP^C copper-binding resulting in the conformational change into the disease causing isoform. Manganese and zinc have been shown to interact with PrP^C as well and have been found in abnormal levels in prion diseases. This review addresses the interaction between select trace elements and the PrP^C.

Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a zoonotic disease of international public health importance. Ante-mortem surveillance is essential for control; however, current surveillance tests are hampered by limitations affecting ease of use or quality of results. There is an emerging interest in human and veterinary medicine in diagnosing disease via identification of volatile organic compounds produced by pathogens and host-pathogen interactions. The objective of this pilot study was to explore application of existing human breath collection and analysis methodologies to cattle as a means to identify M. bovis infection through detection of unique volatile organic compounds or changes in the volatile organic compound profiles present in breath. Breath samples from 23 male Holstein calves (7 non-infected and 16 M. bovis-infected) were collected onto commercially available sorbent cartridges using a mask system at 90 days post-inoculation with M. bovis. Samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and chromatographic data were analyzed using standard analytical chemical and metabolomic analyses, principle components analysis, and a linear discriminant algorithm. The findings provide proof of concept that breath-derived volatile organic compound analysis can be used to differentiate between healthy and M. bovis-infected cattle.

Transportation of cattle from the feedlot to the slaughter plant could influence hide contamination of Escherichia coli O157. A study was initiated to investigate the influence of transportation an...

Three Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreaks in northern Thailand that occurred during the implementation of the national FMD strategic plan in 2008–2015 are described to illustrate the lessons learned and to improve the prevention and control of future outbreaks. In 2008, during a FMD outbreak on a dairy farm, milk delivery was banned for 30 days. This was a part of movement management, a key strategy for FMD control in dairy farms in the area. In 2009, more than half the animals on a pig farm were affected by FMD. Animal quarantine and restricted animal movement played a key role in preventing the spread of FMD. In 2010, FMD infection was reported in a captive elephant. The suspected source of virus was a FMD-infected cow on the same premises. The infected elephant was moved to an elephant hospital that was located in a different province before the diagnosis was confirmed. FMD education was given to elephant veterinarians to promote FMD prevention and control strategies in this unique species. These three cases illustrate how differences in outbreak circumstances and species require the implementation of a variety of different FMD control and prevention measures. Control measures and responses should be customized in different outbreak situations.