Animal production food safety: priority pathogens for standard setting by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

In this short study, expert opinion and a literature review were used to identify the pathogens that should be prioritised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) for the development of future standards for animal production food safety. Prioritisation was based on a pathogen's impact on human health and amenability to control using on-farm measures. As the OIE mandate includes alleviation of global poverty, the study focused on developing countries and those with 'in-transition' economies. The regions considered were Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. Salmonella (from species other than poultry) and pathogenic Escherichia coli were considered to be top priorities. Brucella spp., Echinococcus granulosus and Staphylococcus aureus were also mentioned by experts. As Salmonella, and to a lesser extent pathogenic E. coli, can be controlled by on-farm measures, these pathogens should be considered for prioritisation in future standard setting. On-farm control measures for Brucella spp. will be addressed in 2010-2011 in a review of the OLE Terrestrial Animal/Health Code chapter on brucellosis. In Africa, E. granulosus, the causative agent of hydatidosis, was estimated to have the greatest impact of all pathogens that could potentially be transmitted by food (i.e. via contamination). It was also listed for the Middle East and thought to be of importance by both South American experts consulted. Taenia saginata was thought to be of importance in South America and Africa and by one expert in the Middle East.

Reproductive cycles of farmed female chital deer (Axis axis).

Studies were conducted on chital deer hinds (Axis axis) living in a temperate region to advance the understanding of the patterns of reproduction of a tropical cervid species. The hinds exhibited regular patterns of oestrus cyclicity throughout the year as evidenced by concentrations of serum progesterone monitored over a 14-month period, and detection of behavioural oestrus by vasectomized stags. The mean length of the oestrous cycle was 18.0+/-0.7 days (range, 12-23 days). Profiles of serum progesterone showed concentrations of <0.5 ng mL(-1) at the time of oestrus, which rose to a peak (range 1.5-5.0 ng mL(-1)) about Day 13, and then declined to low concentrations at the next oestrus. Observations following parturition showed that the first detected oestrus occurred at a mean (+/- SEM) time of 26.9+/-3.0 days later for seven of nine hinds. The mean length of the oestrous cycle after the first post-partum oestrus was 16.6+/-1.0 days (range 7-20 days). The presence of a stag may influence the length of the post-partum period in chital deer hinds, and hinds in contact with a stag in this study had a significantly shorter interval from parturition to first ovulation (P<0.01) compared with hinds not in contact with a stag. By 7 weeks post partum a corpus luteum was detected in 93% of hinds. In comparison only 43% of hinds with no stag contact had a corpus luteum by 7 weeks post partum. It is suggested that the tendency towards seasonal calving in the study population may be related more to male than female factors.

Conception rates in European fallow does (Dama dama dama) following intrauterine insemination with frozen-thawed semen from Mesopotamian fallow (Dama dama mesopotamica) and crossbred (Dama dama dama x Dama dama mesopotamica) bucks.

Ninety eight parous fallow does received laparoscopic intrauterine insemination of frozen-thawed semen at one of 2 fixed intervals following oestrus synchronisation treatment. Semen was collected from a Mesopotamian (Dama dama mesopotamica) and a crossbred (F1) (Dama dama dama x Dama dama mesopotamica) fallow buck. Does were inseminated at either 56 or 66 hours after the removal of an intravaginal controlled internal drug releasing device. Eighty eight does received a single straw of frozen-thawed semen containing a total of 50 x 10(6) spermatozoa, while the remaining 10 received split straws containing 25 x 10(6) spermatozoa. Overall, the use of F1 semen containing 50 x 10(6) spermatozoa resulted in a 68% (17/25) conception rate compared with the Mesopotamian semen, which resulted in a 41% (26/63) conception rate. Conceptions were also achieved using 25 x 10(6) spermatozoa of either Mesopotamian or F1 semen (3/8 versus 2/2, respectively). Overall, the conception rate was higher for F1 than Mesopotamian semen (P less than 0.025) and there was a significant interaction with time of insemination (P less than 0.05); for F1 semen there was no difference in conception rate at the 2 insemination times, but for Mesopotamian semen conception was significantly higher (P less than 0.005) following insemination at 66 hours than at 56 hours.