A cross-sectional study covering four agro-climatic zones of West Bengal, India, was carried out to understand the risk-factors, antimicrobial resistance mechanism and clustering of the resistance characteristics of Escherichia coli isolated from healthy (170) and diarrhoeic (74) goats reared under intensive (52) and semi-intensive (192) farming practices. Of the 488 E. coli isolates, the majority, including the extended spectrum (n: 64, 13.11%) and AmpC β-lactamase (ACBL) (n: 86, 17.62%) producers, were resistant to tetracycline (25.2%), followed by enrofloxacin (24.5%), cefotaxime (21.5%) and amikacin (20.5%). Statistical modelling revealed that the isolates from diarrhoeic animals (p < 0.001) are likely to be more ACBL-positive than those from the healthy counterparts. Similarly, cefotaxime (p < 0.05) and enrofloxacin-resistance (p < 0.01) were significantly higher in diarrhoeic goats and in goats reared intensively. The isolates (n = 35) resistant to multiple drugs revealed the presence of β-lactamase [blaCTXM-1-(21), blaSHV-(7), blaTEM-(3), blaCMY-6-(1), blaCITM-(3)]; quinolone [qnrB-(10), qnrS-(7), aac(6’)-Ib-cr-(3)]; tetracycline [tetA-(19), tetB-(4)] and sulphonamide resistance determinants [sul1-(4)]; multiple plasmids, especially those belonging to the IncF and IncI1 replicon types; and active acrAB efflux pumps. Further, two isolates harbored the carbapenem resistance (blaNDM-5) gene and eight were strong biofilm producers. This first ever study conducted to unravel the status of AMR in goat farming reveals that not only the intensive farming practices but also certain clinical ailments such as diarrhoea can increase the shedding of the drug-resistant isolate. The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) E. coli in goats, particularly those that are carbapenem resistant, is a cause for concern that indicates the spread of such pathogens even in the livestock sub-sector generally considered as naive.

In this work, a novel copper based sensor, coated with RGO (reduced graphene oxide) and PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) is proposed to detect the presence of formaldehyde in milk and water. Phase angle of the proposed sensor changes, when dipped in pure milk and formaldehyde adulterated milk. In water, both phase and magnitude of the sensor impedance change. Milk and water, adulterated with different concentrations of formaldehyde are considered for evaluating the performance of the proposed sensor.

Thirty milch cows having arsenic concentration in hair varying from 3 to 4 mg/kg from Dakhin Panchpota village of Nadia district, West Bengal, were divided into three equal groups where high amount of arsenic is reported to be present in soil and ground water. Groups II and III received, respectively, sodium thiosulfate 20 and 40 g to each animal for 30 days as a pilot study, whereas group I served as untreated control. Arsenic content of milk, feces, hair, and urine was estimated before and after administration of sodium thiosulfate orally at two dose level once daily for 1 month. Paddy straw, mustard oil cake, and water fed by animals were also assayed. Sodium thiosulfate significantly decreased arsenic load in milk, urine, and hair after 1 month. In milk, arsenic concentration was decreased significantly which may be beneficial for animal and human beings.