Query: 2021 afv swine

title: African swine fever in China: Impacts, responses, and policy implications
abstract: African Swine Fever broke out in China in August 2018 and has caused a substantial loss to China's hog industry. Pork is the dominant meat in the Chinese diet with its price being a critical component of China's Consumer Price Index. In 2019, large increases in the pork price caused by the sharp reduction in pork supply incentivized the government to suppress the price by subsidizing large scale hog farms. With an updated estimation of China's meat demand, we argue that the ongoing policy interventions may not be the most efficient for achieving short run reductions in the pork price. Subsidizing the production of chicken, a major substitute for pork and currently accounting for a relatively small share of meat consumption in China, could help suppress the pork price faster and at lower government costs. We estimate price dynamics and compute consumer surplus of multiple subsidy plans over a 30 month window from the third quarter of 2019 to the last quarter of 2021. Simulation outcomes suggest that allocating some subsidies from hog to chicken farms is likely to benefit consumers, producers, and the government. Our novel proposal of expanding production of a substitute meat to help lower the pork price after a large loss of the hog stock may be useful to other countries that suffer or may suffer from severe livestock losses due to animal epidemics.

title: Influenza swine flu virus: A candidate for the next pandemic?
abstract: www.jogh.org doi: 10.7189/jogh.11.03011 1 2021 Vol A rising number of pneumonia cases were being reported in Wuhan, China since December 2019. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the cause of these cases was a novel strain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS COV 2) Shortly after, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by January 2020  and consequently, it was declared a pandemic two months later, affecting millions of lives worldwide. As of July 2, 2020, approximately 11 million people have been infected with this disease; with over half a million succumbed to the disease. Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID 19) is a respiratory illness that mainly spreads through airborne droplets via coughing or sneezing  The disease severity ranges from infected individuals being asymptomatic to having life threatening complications such as myocarditis, acute cerebrovascular disease, deep venous thrombosis, ischemic stroke, and pulmonary embolism  It is due to these characteristics, in addition to the unavailability of the vaccine, and the rapid human to human transmission rate that traditional measures of combatting the virus were and are still being employed

title: Talk of the town in 2021: Covid 19 vaccines likely take centre stage
abstract: Just as basic science has shown unparalleled cooperation to increase basic and clinical understanding of SARS Cov2, the vaccine industry has raced towards being first to develop vaccines against Covid 19. The success has been formidable. Never before has so many novel and efficient vaccines been produced with such speed1 and phase 2/3 trials showing clinical efficacy are now accumulating.2 Concerns are raised that safety might lag behind, but Covid 19 is a very deadly disease and the earlier vaccines are in place, the more lives can be saved. In this time race, there is a delicate balance between approval and taking the risk that very rare side effects reveal themselves. But as vaccines are being administered, lives will be spared and the SARS Cov2 pandemic reaches its end. It is a safe bet that immunology in 2021 will focus on vaccines against Covid 19. Vaccines have a long history of public health successes starting with Jenner's smallpox vaccinations in 1796 leading to its eradication in the 1960s. Already one decade earlier, Salk developed a Polio vaccine, which has since then saved millions of children from debilitating disease. Today, general vaccination programmes cover many diseases such as diphtheria, measles, mumps and rubella. In addition, vaccines protect us against tropical diseases such as the yellow fever, and neurological sequelae from tick borne encephalitis can be almost completely prevented following a completed vaccination programme. Not all diseases are easy to substitute with a vaccine, however, and some diseases, such as, for example HIV, malaria and tuberculosis (incidentally diseases that are often prevalent in low income countries) remain more elusive. Research on basic immunology of these diseases is encouraged in this journal,3 5 as are studies on immune responses to vaccination in general.6,7 In 2021, we will put a special emphasis on studies that enhance the knowledge on how vaccines influence the immune system and how they protect against diseases. Submission of original studies in this area is encouraged. Resistance to vaccination in society is unfortunately increasing, which in the case of Covid 19 threatens the development of herd immunity and slows down societal recovery from the pandemic. This scepticism is psychologically understandable to some degree, given the disastrous cases of narcolepsy that occurred in some children after the recent swine flu vaccine Pandemrix.8 Vaccine resistance also stems from incorrect perceptions, however, such as the one that childhood vaccination, in particular against measles, causes autism, something that has been disproven many times, including in a recent Danish study on over 650 000 vaccinated  In additions, misconceptions exist that the immune system might be weakened by vaccination compared to seeing the "real thing" but potential deadly and disabling effects of the disease in question are often neglected. Devastating side effects of vaccinations must of course be avoided at all costs. It remains very difficult, however, to predict complications so rare that they are not revealed until tens of thousands, or even more, individuals have been vaccinated. And, as mentioned earlier, there is always another side of the coin: the prospect of saving lives that without the vaccine would be lost to the disease. It is clear to anyone who studies the history of infectious diseases that vaccination remains one of our most important human health inventions. In the era of modern medicine, hygiene and life standards, it is easy to forget that vaccination has saved billions of lives and prevented major suffering for many more. As immunologists, we must defend vaccination as a public health measure of increasing importance. We must do so by presenting facts, counteracting misinformation and engaging in the debate. Above all, we have a duty to perform high quality science to investigate mechanisms underlying immune responses to infectious diseases, with the aim not only to understand the disease better, but also to identify new avenues to improve vaccine efficacy and minimizing side effects. The Scandinavian Journal of Immunology will do its best to support the research community in this quest.

title: Agricultural assets' influence on building farmers' resilience in Romania: Food security approaches
abstract: An increasing number of scientific papers has been written on the topic of resilience. It explains the way individuals and regions face to shocks and stressors. It focuses on farmers' resilience and food security. The main shocks related to food insecurity are weather variability, volatility, and agricultural assets. We assume that the level of assets plays a role in assessing the risk level of individuals' exposure to shocks and stressors. The case of Romania is discussed, using statistical data concerning land, machineries and livestock, as main agricultural assets. The data have been analyzed using simple regression model. The results show medium influences of the agricultural assets on food supply. Significant influences have registered in macro region four: West and South West, for land, machineries and swine. The results can be used in political frameworks and strategies and to widening the knowledge in the field of farmers' resilience.

title: Heat stress will detrimentally impact future livestock production in East Africa
abstract: Climate change induced increases in temperature and humidity are predicted to impact East African food systems, but the extent to which heat stress negatively affects livestock production in this region is poorly understood. Here we use ERA Interim reanalysis data to show that the frequency of 'Severe/Danger' heat events for dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, goats, swine and poultry significantly increased from 1981 to 2010. Using a multi model ensemble of climate change projections for 2021 2050 and 2071 2100 (under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 by the coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment for Africa (CORDEX AFRICA) we show that the frequency of dangerous heat stress conditions and the average number of consecutive days with heat stress events will significantly increase, particularly for swine and poultry. Our assessment suggests that 4 19% of livestock production occurs in areas where dangerous heat stress events are likely to increase in frequency from 2071 to 2100. With demand for animal products predicted to grow in East Africa, production specific heat stress mitigation measures and breeding programmes for increasing heat tolerance are urgently needed for future livestock sector productivity and future food security in East Africa. Demand for animal products in East Africa is projected to rise, but climate change induced temperature increases will negatively impact livestock production. This modelling study quantifies the potential frequency and length of dangerous heat stress events for the six main livestock types, identifies the regions that will be most affected and highlights the types of livestock that will be most at risk.

title: Pharmacological Actions of Contents of Kabasura Kudineer: A Siddha Formulation for Fever with Respiratory Illness
abstract: Siddha system of medicine is a distinct therapeutic science with many single drugs and compound formulations used for treating a broad spectrum of ailments Siddha categorizes the fever manifested by viral infestation into 64 types and it has developed medicines for each type Kapacurak Kabasurak Kutinir (KK) described in the Citta Vaittiyattirattu is the best promising polyherbal formulation of plant origin for curing viral infections especially with flu like symptoms As per Siddha system of medicine Kapacuram is defined as a fever with upper and lower respiratory catarrh KK is one of the medicines advised for prevention of Coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak in India by Ministry of AYUSH, Govt of India KK also emerged to be a popular traditional medicine for swine flu as well The current review recapitulates active phytochemicals of all the 15 herbal drug ingredients in KK with the aim to provide it support for usage in flu like viral infections spreading over the world in the scenario of having no modern medicines Interestingly, out of 15 herbal ingredients in KK, Zingiber officinale rhizome, Andrographis paniculata whole plant, Syzygium aromaticum flower bud, Cyperus rotundus tuber, Sida acuta roots and Saussurea costus root have been proved to exhibit antiviral activities All the ingredients have been proved to possess antinflammatory activities Three proved to have antipyretic potential and five each proved to possess analgesic and immunomodulatory activities There are ingredients with antiasthmatic and antispasmodic supporting its use in respiratory illnesses such as that caused by COVID 19 The study supports the usage of KK as a traditional Siddha medicine against respiratory illnesses with flu like symptoms characteristic of SARS CoV 2 (c) 2021, Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India All rights reserved

title: Tinzaparin vs. Fraxiparin Safety and Efficacy in Neurosurgery
abstract: An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in China in 2020 has led to an unprecedented shortage of fraxiparin. Most patients, especially those kept in hospital for surgery, are currently treated with prophylactic anticoagulation (AC) In search of alternatives for fraxiparin, we found no sufficient data on alternatives for neurosurgical patients, such as tinzaparin of European origin. We compared fraxiparin and tinzaparin concerning adverse events (bleeding versus thromboembolic events) in neurosurgical patients.  Between 2012 and 2018, 517 neurosurgical patients with benign and malignant brain tumors as well as 297 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were treated in the Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Leipzig receiving prophylactic anticoagulation within 48 hours. In 2015, prophylactic anticoagulation was switched from fraxiparin to tinzaparin throughout the university hospital. In a retrospective manner, the frequency and occurrence of adverse events (rebleeding and thromboembolic events) in connection with the substance used was analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test and the chi squared test.  Rebleeding rates were similar in both fraxiparin and tinzaparin cohorts in patients being treated for meningioma, glioma, and SAH combined (8.8 vs 10.3% Accordingly, the rates of overall thromboembolic events were not significantly different (5.5% vs 4.3% The severity of rebleeding did not vary. There was no significant difference among subgroups when compared for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE)  In this retrospective study, tinzaparin seems to be a safe alternative to fraxiparin for AC in patients undergoing brain tumor surgery or suffering from SAH.

title: Influence of the breeding environment factors on the number of the weaned piglets
abstract: 2020 10 22  2020 11 27 Available online: 2021 01 31 https:/doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.mi prap.131 134 A prerequisite for the successful pig breeding isthe achievement of high reproductive performance, which can be influenced by several environmental factors. Therefore, the aim of our research was to assess the impact of the season, microclimatic indicators and technology of housing of the lactating sows on the number of the weaned piglets in the litter. The experiment was performed on a production farm in Slovakia and a total of 800 litters were evaluated. The results have shown that the season had a statistically significant effect on the number of the weaned piglets p <0.01) least in the summer and most of them in the fall. The highest number of the weaned piglets was found at the temperatures from 18 to 22 degC p <0.05) temperatures outside the stated range had a negative impact on the number of the weaned piglets. An increase of the relative humidity above 70% p <0.05) and an increase in the flow above 0,4 m.s 1 p <0.05) led to a decrease in the number of the weaned piglets. In the housing with a freemovement of the lactating sows, the number of the weaned piglets was higher than with the restricted movement p <0.05) Keywords: microclimate, technology, weaned piglets References Boudny, J. Spicka, J. (2012) The effect of production efficiency on economic results in pig breeding.  1 8. Close, W. (1992) Thermoregulation in piglets: Environmental and metabolic consequences. BSAP Occasional Publication ,15, 25 33.  (1996) Management of the nursing sow and her litter. In Dunkin A. C. Taverner, M. (eds. Pig Production. World Animal Science () Holmes, C. W. Mount, L. E. (1967) Heat loss from groups of growing pigs under various conditions of environmental temperature and air movement.   (2014) Influence of increased dietary selenium on glutathione peroxidase activity and glutathione concentration in erythrocytes of lactating sows.  (2013) Livestock breeding II. Ceske Budejovice JU ZF. In Czech. Myer, R. Bucklin, R. (2018) Influence of hot humid environment on growth performance and reproduction of swine.  Extension 1 6. Nevrkla, P. et al. (2016) analysis of reproductive parameters in sows with regard to their health status. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis 64, 481 486. . Novak, P. Roznovsky,  (2009) Influence of microclimate on the pig performance. In Current knowledge about the pig breeding: proceedings from the International Scientific Conference 41 held on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of MZLU in Brno Brno: MZLU (pp. 45 48) In Czech. Prunier, A. et al. (1996) Environmental and seasonal influences on the return to oestrus after weaning in primiparous sows. Livestock Production Science 45, 103 110. https:/doi.org/10.1016/0301 6226(96)00007 3 Rodrigues, S. V. Pla, L. M. Albornoz, V. M. (2012) Modeling tactical planning decisions through a linear optimization model in sow farms.  162 171. Rolinec, M. (2020) The Effect of coconut oil addition to feed of pigs on rectal microbial diversity and bacterial abundance. Animals (Basel) 10(10) E1764. https:/doi.org/10.3390/ani10101764 Rozkot, M. (2014) Pigs technology and the public. Nas chov 74(10) 63 66. In Czech. Sallvik, K. Walberg, K. (1984) The effects of air velocity and temperature on the behaviour and growth of pigs.   1 Silva, B. A. N. et al. (2006) Effect of floor cooling on performance of lactating sows during summer.   Suriyasomboon, A. et al. (2006) Effect of temperature and humidity on reproductive performance of crossbred sows in Thailand. Theriogenology 65, 606 628.  Vanerhaeghe, C. et al. (2010) Longitudinal field study to assess sow level risk factors associated with stillborn piglets.  78 83.  (2014) Climatic effects on sow fertility and piglet survival under influence of a moderate climate. Animal 8(9) 1526 1533.

title: The analysis of selected physical and technological parameters of pork quality depending on intesity of the pigs growth in fattening
abstract: 2020  2020 11 27 Available online: 2021 01 31 https:/doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.mi prap.71 74 The experiment was conducted to compare the differences in the physical and technological quality of pork meat with different growth intensity. The pigs were divided in accordance with the average daily gain values as followed: a) the fast growing group (R1> AGD 0.5 SD) b) the medium fast growing group (R2= AGD 0.5 SD) and c) slow growing group (R3< AGD 0.5 SD) For group of gilts, we found a statistically significant difference (P 0.05) in the drip loss value between the fast growing group and the medium growing group and the fast growing group compared to the slow growing group of gilts. Between the fast growing group and the medium growing group, as well as between the fast growing group and the slow growing group of gilts, the differences in shear force value were statistically highly significant at the level of P 0.01. At the same time, in the colour of meat in redness (a* value) were found statistically significant differences between groups of barrows according to the growth rate at the level of P 0.05 and between fast and slow growing gilts at the level of P 0.01 and medium and slow growing gilts at the level of P 0.05. In addition, in the meat yellowness (b* we also determined a statistically highly significant difference at the level of P 0.01 between the fastest growing group and medium fast growing barrows and a significant difference at the level of P 0.05 between the fast and slow growing group of gilts.  fattening pigs, growth intensity in pig, pork quality References Brocks, L. et al. (1998) Histochemical characteristics in relation to meat quality properties in the Longissimus lumborum of fast and lean growing lines of Large White pigs. Meat Science 50(4) 411 420.  Correa, J.A. et al. (2006) Effects of slaughter weight on carcass composition and meat quality in pigs of two different growth rates. Meat Science 72(1) 91 99. DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2005.06.006 Duan, Y. et al. (2018) Effects of slaughter weight and growth rate on the longissimus muscle metabolic characteristics, and pork sensory quality in pigs of two sexes. Canadian Journal of Animal S cience, 98(2) 213 220. https:/doi.org/10.1139/cjas 2017 0032 Georgsson, L. and Svendsen.  (2002) Degree of competition at feeding differentially affects behavior and performance of group housed growing finishing pigs of different relative weights.  He, Y. et al. (2016) Identifying factors contributing to slow growth in pigs.  2103 2116.  (1993) Breeding for meat quality in pigs Landbouwuniversiteit: Wageningen University Research. Latorre, M.A. et al. (2008) The relationship within and between production performance and meat quality characteristics in pigs from three different genetic lines. Livestock Science 115(2 3 258 267.  Li, Y. 2015. Indicators of Slow Growing Pigs. Swine Scientist. Retrieved October 10, 2020 from https:/wcroc.cfans.umn.edu/sites/wcroc.cfans.umn.edu/files/indicators_of_slow_growing_pigs_2015.pdf Nissen, P.M. et al. (2004) Within litter variation in muscle fiber characteristics, pig performance, and meat quality traits.   10.2527/2004.822414x Nissen, P.M. et al. (2009) Pig meat quality predicted by growth rate at farm level. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A Animal Science 59(3) 167 172.  Oksbjerg, N. et al. (2000) Long term changes in performance and meat quality of Danish Landrace pigs: a study on a current compared with an unimproved genotype.  81 92. Quentin, M. et al. (2003) Growth, carcass composition and meat quality response to dietary concentrations in fast medium and slow growing commercial broilers. Animal Research, 52(1) 65 77.  (2002) Variation of piglets' birth weight and consequences on subsequent performance. Livestock Production Science 78(1) 63 70.  1 Stupka, R. et al. (2013) Chov zvirat Praha Powerprint. Suzuki, K. et al. (2005) Genetic parameter estimates of meat quality traits in Duroc pigs selected for average daily gain, longissimus muscle area, backfat thickness, and intramuscular fat content.  2058 2065.  Wagner, C. (2007) Influence of selection for improved growth rate on pork quality.  Iowa State University. Wright, Ch. (2017) Variation in Pig Growth Rate and Live Weight. The pig site. Retrieved October 10, 2020 from https:/www.thepigsite.com/articles/variation in pig growth rate and live weight Zammerini, D. et al. (2009) Effect of pig growth rate and health status on meat eating quality.

title: Effect of humic acid substances on proteolytic activity in intestine, digestibility of crude protein and protein content in the blood of broiler chickens
abstract: 2020  2020 11 27 Available online: 2021 01 31 https:/doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.mi prap.159 163 The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of dietary intake of humic substances (HS) on the proteolytic activity and the digestibility of crude protein (CP) measured as the apparent assimilable mass coefficient of CP corrected for protein catabolism (AMC N in the intestine as well as on the total protein and albumin content in the serum of broiler chickens (Cobb 500, n=120) Chickens (groups A, B, C negative control) were fed with mixtures with CP (g.kg 1 DM) Hyd1 230.20 (d 1 7) Hyd2 222.20 (d 8 28) Hyd3 209.40 (d 29 37) for 37 days. The humic substances were added into diets of experimental groups in the feed additive according to the content of humic/fulvic acids (HA/FA; g.kg 1 A 4.55/0.35, B 3.99/0.35, C 2.85/0.25. The body weights and feed consumption were measured once a week. The average daily weight gains and the feed conversion ratio were calculated. The dietary intake of HS had a positive effect on the increase of proteolytic activities in the intestinal apparatus and caused the significant enhancement of AMC N of birds from experimental groups on days 17, 24 and 31. However, the values of the total protein and the albumin in the serum were significantly decreased in the groups after intake of HA/FA 4.55/0.35 or 3.99/0.35 in the feed.  gut of poultry, humates, enzymatic activity, crude protein, albumin References Arif, M. et al. (2016) Impacts of dietary humic acid supplementation on growth performance, some blood metabolites and carcass traits of broiler chicks. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 86(9) 1073 1078. Broderick, G. A. (1987) Determination of protein degradation rates using a rumen in vitro system containing inhibitors of microbial nitrogen metabolism. British Journal of Nutrition, 58(3) 463 475. 10.1079/bjn19870114 Carvalho, L. H. M. De Koe, T. and Tavares, P. B. (1998) An improved molybdenum blue method for simultaneous determination of inorganic phosphate and arsenate. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Restoration, 1(1) 13 19. Cunniff, P. (1995) Official Methods of Analysis of Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 16th edn. Arlington, Va, USA: AOAC International. Danek, P. Paseka, A. Smola, J. Ondracek, J. Beckova, R. and Rozkot, M. (2005) Influence of lecithin emulsifier on the utilisation of nutrients and growth of piglets after weaning.  (2009) Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 of 27 January 2009 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of feed. Official Journal of European Union 54, 1 130. Gomez Rosales, S. and Angeles, M. D. (2015) Addition of a worm leachate as source of humic substances in the drinking water of broiler chickens. Asian Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 28(2) 215 222. 10.5713/ajas.14.0321 Grieninger, G. and Granick, S. (1975) Synthesis and differentiation of plasma proteins in cultured embryonic chicken liver cells: a system for study of regulation of protein synthesis.  5011. 10.1073/pnas.72.12.5007 Gugliemo C. G. and Karasov W. H. (1993) Endogenous mass and energy losses in ruffed grouse. The Auk, 110(2) 386 390. Jamdar, S. N. Harikumar, P. (2005) Autolytic degradation of chicken intestinal proteins.  1284.  Koci, S. et al. (1994) The nutrient requirements and nutrient value of feeds for poultry. 1.  Research institute of animal production, 46 pp. McMurphy, C. P. Duff, G. C. Sanders, S. R. Cuneo, S. P. and Chirase, N. K. (2011) Effects of supplementing humates on rumen fermentation in Holstein steers. South African Journal of Animal Science 41(2) 134 140. 10.4314/sajas.v41i2.71017 Ozturk, E. et al. (2014) Performance, meat quality, meat mineral contents and caecal microbial population responses to humic substances administered in drinking water in broilers. British Poultry Science 55(5) 668 674.  Loon, J. C. (1980) Analytical Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Selected methods.  (1991) Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fibre, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science,  3597.  2 Windisch, W. et al. (2008) Use of phytogenic products as feed additives for swine and poultry.