Genetic diversity, population structure and origin of the native goats in Central Laos.

Maintaining genetic diversity and variation in livestock populations is critical for natural and artificial selection promoting genetic improvement while avoiding problems due to inbreeding. In Laos, there are concerns that there has been a decline in genetic diversity and a rise in inbreeding among native goats in their village-based smallholder system. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity of Lao native goats in Phin, Songkhone and Sepon districts in Central Laos for the first time using Illumina's Goat SNP50 BeadChip. We also explored the genetic relationships between Lao goats with 163 global goat populations from 36 countries. Our results revealled a close genetic relationship between Lao native goats and Chinese, Mongolian and Pakistani goats, sharing ancestries with Guangfen, Jining Grey and Luoping Yellow breeds (China) and Teddi goats (Pakistan). The observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity were 0.292 and 0.303 (Laos), 0.288 and 0.288 (Sepon), 0.299 and 0.308 (Phin) and 0.289 and 0.305 (Songkhone), respectively. There was low to moderate genetic differentiation (FST: 0.011-0.043) and negligible inbreeding coefficients (FIS: -0.001 to 0.052) between goat districts. The runs of homozygosity (ROH) had an average length of 5.92-6.85 Mb, with short ROH segments (1-5 Mb length) being the most prevalent (66.34%). Longer ROH segments (20-40 and >40 Mb length categories) were less common, comprising only 4.81% and 1.01%, respectively. Lao goats exhibit moderate genetic diversity, low-inbreeding levels and adequate effective population size. Some genetic distinctions between Lao goats may be explained by geographic and cultural features.

Changes in farmer animal health and biosecurity knowledge, attitudes and practices: Insights from Cambodia and Laos.

Livestock agriculture in Cambodia and Laos is severely affected by endemic and exotic transboundary animal diseases, impacting household livelihoods and food and nutritional security. Collaborative animal health and biosecurity projects were conducted in each country between 2015 and 2019 aimed at increasing smallholder livestock production through mainly knowledge-based interventions in large ruminant disease prevention, nutrition, reproduction and marketing access. This study's objectives were to identify baseline animal health and biosecurity knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of farmers, and temporal changes in key attitudes and practices associated with improved knowledge. Data for each country were analysed separately, and a formal between-country comparison was avoided due to major implementation and management differences. Binomial logistic regression without random terms compared the overall knowledge scores between 2015 and 2018 in each country, and binomial logistic regression with random terms was used to investigate possible associations between animal health and biosecurity knowledge scores and attitudes and practices. In Cambodia, the average animal health and biosecurity knowledge score increased from 4.8 (±2.2)/17 in 2015 to 13.0 (±2.8)/17 in 2018 (p < .0001). In Laos, the average scores improved from 7.2 (±2.5)/12 in 2015 to 7.9 (±2.9)/12 in 2018 (p = .0003). Clinical signs of foot-and-mouth disease were accurately reported by 100% of Cambodian and 88% of Lao project farmers, and overall, attitudes and practices improved in both countries over the study period. The belief that vaccination can improve livestock value was associated with increasing knowledge in both countries (Cambodia: OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.24-1.68, p < .0001; Laos: OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.16-1.75, p = .0006) as was the use of the services of village para-veterinarians if they had better training (Cambodia: OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.20-2.58, p = .004; Laos: OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.19-3.41, p = .009). However, the source of livestock information (District veterinary officials) was the only practice associated with knowledge in both Cambodia and Laos. The influence of resource scarcity on farmer decision making and knowledge measures was considered of particular relevance to the findings.

Investigation of animal health and husbandry practices in smallholder pig production systems in Timor-Leste.

Enhanced pig productivity on smallholder farms is recognised as a necessary strategy to enhance financial and food security in Timor-Leste where poverty and malnutrition are abundant. While poor pig health is recognised as a main constraint, information on pig herd health and management have not been thoroughly quantified. This study surveyed 120 pig owners (63 were female) and 352 of their pigs in Bacau and Bobonaro municipalities in 2018 to develop baseline information. Our analysis investigated three management systems among surveyed pig owners: confined management, characterised by permanent penning and/or tethering pigs (33.6%), semi-confined management (39.7%) and free-roaming management (27.7%). Free-roaming management was only observed in non-urban villages. Most inputs were limited across all management types with heavy reliance on cooked household scraps to feed pigs (84.7%), limited use of commercial feeds (5.1%), a lack of routine pen cleaning (73.8%), a lack of vaccination against classical swine fever (72.9%), limited use of para-veterinary services when pigs were sick (71.7%), and low treatment rates for pig skin diseases (10.3%) and intestinal parasites (8.7%). A high use of uncontrolled breeding (79.1%) was identified, accompanied by a limited knowledge of oestrus (20.7%) and gestation length (24.1%). Low output was observed with animals mainly sold when money is needed or when they were old. There was poor health with high piglet mortality rate (22.4-24.4%), moderate rates of current illness (22.4%), common occurrence of mites (12.2%), and high faecal presence of A. suum (29.0%), T. suis (10.2%), and S. ransomi (22.7%). To overcome the widespread constraints to productivity affecting all management systems, and to limit the impacts of highly infectious and often fatal African swine fever which was first reported in Timor-Leste pigs in September 2019, improved animal health and veterinary support, and education on pig management and suitable available nutrition sources are needed.

Are infectious reproductive pathogens of large ruminants a threat to improving food security? An investigation from Cambodia.

In Cambodia, information on common pathogens causing reproductive losses in cattle and buffalo are lacking, despite there being a need to address livestock health to enhance food security. We analysed stored buffalo (n = 29) and cattle (n = 471) serum samples collected in 2016 using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Antibodies to Neospora caninum, bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo and Brucella abortus were detected in buffalo samples at 79.3% (95% CI 64.6-94.0), 3.4% (95% CI 0-10.0), 0% and 0%, respectively, and in cattle at 4.2% (95% CI 2.4-6.0), 6.4% (95% CI 4.2-8.6), 8.1% (95% CI 5.6-10.6) and 0%, respectively. The high N. caninum seroprevalence in buffalo was associated with increasing age, with buffalo having a 13.1% chance of being seropositive at birth, increasing to 99.4% by age 7 (p = 0.045). This suggests a predominance of horizontal transmission, possibly from exposure to faeces from free-roaming village dogs. Cattle L. interrogans serovar Hardjo seroprevalence was highest in Tbong Khmum province (20.4%) compared to other provinces (p < 0.001), and may be compromising bovine fertility and creating a zoonotic risk for smallholders who may contract leptospirosis from farm work. These high infection rates prompt further research to determine: to what extent these pathogens are linked to the low reproductive efficiency observed in large ruminants in Cambodia, the risk factors to pathogen exposure and appropriate strategies to reduce these risks. Low BVDV and B. abortus exposure is an important observation. Increasing large ruminant livestock trade into the country will require improved biosecurity and disease surveillance to prevent their emergence. An enhanced understanding of the status of infectious reproductive livestock pathogens in Cambodia can assist development projects to make evidence-based strategies to enhance cattle and buffalo health and improve food security.

Risk factors for Neospora caninum, bovine viral diarrhoea virus, and Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo infection in smallholder cattle and buffalo in Lao PDR.

Smallholder large ruminant production in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is characterised by low reproductive efficiency. To determine if common abortifacient bovid infectious diseases are involved, a serological investigation was conducted. Sera was collected from stored and fresh cattle (n = 390) and buffalo (n = 130) samples from 2016-18 from, and then examined for associations in a retrospective risk factor study of 71 herds. The sera were assayed for antibodies to Neospora caninum, bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo and Brucella abortus using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. These pathogens were detected in buffalo samples at 78.5% (95% CI 71.4-85.6), 0%, 2.3% (95% CI 0-4.9) and 0%, respectively, and in cattle at 4.4% (95% CI 2.4-6.4), 7.7% (95% CI 3.1-12.3), 12.8% (95% CI 9.5-16.1) and 0.26% (95% CI 0-0.8), respectively. Exposure of buffalo to N. caninum was positively associated with buffalo age, with a predicted seropositivity at birth of 52.8%, increasing to 97.2% by 12 years of age (p = 0.037). Exposure of cattle to L. interrogans serovar Hardjo was more prevalent in females compared to males, was associated with higher titres of BVDV, and was more prevalent in the wet season compared to the dry season. Exposure of cattle to BVDV was more prevalent in males compared to females, the wet and dry seasons were comparable, and was associated with rising antibody titres against N. caninum and L. interrogans serovar Hardjo. The risk factor survey identified that the probability of herds being N. caninum positive increased with farmer age, if farmers believed there were rodents on farm, and if farmers weren't aware that canids or rodents could contaminate bovid feed on their farm. The probability of a herd being positive to L. interrogans serovar Hardjo increased on farms where multiple cows shared the same bull, where farmers had lower husbandry knowledge, and on farms that used water troughs. The probability of a herd being BVDV seropositive increased with increasing herd size and increasing titres to N. caninum. The benchmarking of bovid exposure to emerging abortifacient pathogens and identification of their risk factors potentially informs disease prevention strategies, supporting efforts to establish a biosecure beef supply for enhanced smallholder livestock productivity, public health and food security in Laos and surrounding countries.