ABSTRACT
Improving biosecurity in intensive livestock production has become an increasingly challenging task. Often, animal hygiene measures are implemented at lower levels than recommended. Therefore, veterinarians and farm advisors look for new approaches to improve their advisory process with farmers. In the current study it has been hypothesized that German pig farmers' big-five measured personality traits might correlate with farms' biosecurity level expressed by a "continuous animal hygiene index" and a "technical animal hygiene index." Hence, comprehensive data on the implementation of more than 100 hygiene measures were collected at farm level from a specific pilot sample of 42 pig farmers from a livestock intensive region in north-western Germany. In addition, big-five personality traits (BFI-S) were measured by self- and other-rating. Inter-rater reliabilities for personality traits indicated expected positive correlations apart from agreeableness (r S = -0.101). Regarding the self-rating, neuroticism was valued lowest ( x ¯ = 3.88 ± 1.18) and conscientiousness highest ( x ¯ = 5.68 ± 0.70). The animal hygiene indexes revealed medium biosecurity levels on the participating farms. Piglet breeders had a significantly higher value for the "continuous animal hygiene index" ( x ¯ = 63.00 ± 9.91%). Personality traits conscientiousness and openness showed correlations with the continuous and the technical animal hygiene index. Depending on the production systems as well as the rating perspectives, correlations varied. For one of the personality traits playing a direct role in social interaction-extraversion-the advisory process might function as a mediating factor. The current results show that clustering of single hygiene measures into indexes in the evaluation of pig farms' biosecurity level might have advantages. The preliminary results from this study should be validated in larger, more representative samples. Furthermore, structured and systematic consideration of personality traits of farmers adds an additional aspect to include individuality of farmers more systematically in complex advisory processes. Interaction of personality traits with characteristics of the advisory process should be further researched and should be included in a much broader socio-political understanding of what is involved in changing practices.
ABSTRACT
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) causes chronic, progressive, and consecutively fatal enteritis, especially in ruminants. MAP distribution among wildlife is not yet clear. In this study, three wild-born rock hyraxes ( Procavia capensis) had been imported from South Africa to a German zoological garden. During the quarantine period, four young animals were born. The wild-born animals showed symptoms of mild diarrhea shortly after their arrival in the zoological garden, but all routine parasitological and bacteriologic tests performed were negative. Therefore, the animals were additionally tested for MAP infection. MAP DNA was detected by seminested PCR (snPCR) in a pooled fecal sample of the seven animals. Subsequent PCR analysis of the individual feces samples confirmed the excretion of MAP in two rock hyraxes (one wild-born and one born in captivity). Sequence analysis of the corresponding 278-bp amplicons revealed 100% homology to the reference MAP-K10 IS900 sequence. No antibody response against MAP was detected in the individual serum samples. MAP-specific postmortem lesions were not observed by gross pathology and histology, neither after death nor after euthanization of the animals. Nevertheless, MAP was detected by snPCR and culture in the gastrointestinal tract, urogenital tract, cardiovascular system, and/or respiratory system of three other animals of the group (one wild-born and two born in captivity). This study is the first report confirming MAP occurrence in rock hyraxes. Therefore, it is recommended that veterinarians and zoo employees consider rock hyraxes as a possible source of MAP infection for domestic livestock in South Africa and the valuable animal stock of zoological facilities.
