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Currently, phage biocontrol is increasingly used as a green and natural technology for treating Salmonella and other infections, but phages exhibit instability and activity loss during storage. Therefore, in this study, the effects of lyophilization on the activity and stability of phage cocktails for the control of multidrug-resistant Salmonella in broiler chickens were determined. Eight serotypes of Salmonella were isolated and identified from broiler chicken farms, and bacteriophages against multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Kentucky, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimrium and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis were isolated. The bacteriophage cocktail was prepared and lyophilized, and it was subjected to in vitro and in vivo examinations. A reconstituted lyophilized bacteriophage cocktail was used for the oral treatment of chicks before and after challenge with multidrug-resistant S. Kentucky. The colonization of cecum by S. Kentucky was detected by using real-time PCR, and the serum levels of IgM, IgA and IL-4 and pathological changes in the different groups were detected. Three Caudovirales phages families were identified including Autographiviridae, Straboviridae and Drexlerviridae against multidrug-resistant S. Kentucky, S. Typhimrium and S. Enteritidis. The groups treated with the bacteriophage cocktail showed no clinical signs, no postmortem lesions, and a mortality rate of 0%, which improved the growth performance parameters. Additionally, the estimated serum levels of IgM, IgA and IL-4 were significantly greater in the bacteriophage cocktail-treated groups. Lyophilization effectively preserves the long-term storage stability of phages. Therefore, lyophilized bacteriophage cocktail therapy is a valuable approach for controlling multidrug-resistant Salmonella infections in broiler chickens.

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Extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli represents a formidable challenge in the field of microbiology and public health due to its resistance to commonly used antibiotics. These strains pose a serious threat to human and animal health, underscoring the urgency of comprehensive research and surveillance. The ongoing investigation seeks ESBL producing E. coli strains from pig farms and slaughterhouses in West Bengal and Assam, India. A total of 309 samples were collected: nasal swabs (25), rectal swabs (25) from healthy pigs, pig pen soil (45), faeces (55), slaughterhouse effluents (115), and cleaning water (44). In these samples, 154 tested positive for E. coli, indicating a 49.8% prevalence. Among 154 E. coli isolates, 23 (14.9%) produced ESBLs, sourced from pig rectal swabs (7.1%), faeces (10.7%), slaughterhouse effluents (26.1%), and cleaning water (11.7%). Significantly, 4 ESBL E. coli isolates (6.6%) exclusively emerged from pig slaughterhouse effluents, displaying imipenem-resistant properties. The majority of ESBL E. coli primarily produced CTX-M and CMY, with consistent genetic markers bla CTX-M (100%) and bla CMY (82.6%). Remarkably, 2 (8.6%) of 17 ESBL E. coli isolates from pig slaughterhouse effluents carried the genetic marker bla NDM1. These findings stress implementing thorough surveillance in pig farms and local slaughterhouses. This proactive approach is crucial to identify ESBL E. coli strains, enhancing public health protection.

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Diligent application and implementation of biosecurity measures stand as the most effective measures to prevent disease transmission through direct or indirect interactions between poultry and free-ranging animals. Among these, free-ranging mammals can be hosts or disseminators of several pathogens relevant to poultry and of public health concern. Moreover, evidence of susceptibility to avian influenza virus infection in non-human mammals has raised questions about their potential role in the virus' epidemiology at the domestic animal-wildlife interface. Given this background, this study aimed to identify mammal species occurring near laying-hen houses and characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of these visits. Seven camera traps were deployed for a year-long period in three commercial poultry farms in a densely populated poultry area in Northern Italy. Various methods, including time series analysis and generalized linear models, were employed to analyze daily mammal visits. A total of 1,867 camera trap nights yielded 567 videos of seven species of wild mammals, and 1,866 videos showed domestic pet species (cats and dogs). Coypus (Myocastor coypus) and cats were the two mammals more frequently observed near poultry houses. For wild mammals, visits significantly increased at night, and slightly decreased during the spring season. Overall, the data hereby provided lay the groundwork for designing novel surveillance and intervention strategies to prevent cross-species disease transmission. Moreover, the utilization of visual evidence depicting free-ranging animals approaching poultry houses could assist health authorities in educating and raising awareness among stakeholders about potential risks of pathogen spillover.

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BACKGROUND: Data regarding rural youths' experience with firearms, including safety training, is highly limited despite their frequent presence in homes. Our objective was to investigate rural adolescents' use of firearms and whether they had received formal firearm training. METHODS: A convenience sample of 2021 National FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) Convention & Expo attendees were given an anonymous survey at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital injury prevention booth. The survey explored their use of rifles/shotguns and handguns and whether they had completed a certified firearm safety course. Descriptive and comparative analyses, including multivariable logistic regression analyses, were performed on compiled data. RESULTS: 3206 adolescents ages 13-18 years participated with 45% reporting they lived on a farm or ranch. The vast majority of participants (85%) had fired a rifle/shotgun; 43% reported firing them > 100 times. Of those that had fired rifles/shotguns, 41% had done so before 9 years old. Most had also fired a handgun (69%), with 23% having fired handguns > 100 times. Of those that had fired handguns, 44% had done so before 11 years. Average age for first firing rifles/shotguns was 9.5 (SD 3.1) years, and 11.1 (SD 3.0) years for handguns. Males, non-Hispanic Whites, and those living on farms or in the country had significantly greater percentages who had fired a rifle/shotgun or a handgun. Significant differences were also seen by U.S. census region. Over half (64%) reported having gone hunting. Of those that had used a firearm, 67% had completed a firearm safety training course. Overall, 23% were/had been members of a school or club shooting team and of these, 87% had taken a safety course. CONCLUSIONS: Most FFA member participants had fired both rifles/shotguns and handguns, many at very young ages. Significant differences in firearm use were noted by demographic factors including the home setting (i.e., farms and ranches) and their U.S. census region. Nearly one-third of adolescent firearm users had not received formal safety training. Promoting firearm safety should include advising families on when it is developmentally appropriate to introduce youth to firearms and on the importance of firearm safety training.

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Background Antibiotic resistance is a significant public health issue worldwide. Antibiotic-resistant zoonotic bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, Coxiella, and Mycobacterium can be particularly isolated from biofertilizers. Epidemiological studies have shown that cases of foodborne infections and intoxications are significantly related to animal-derived foods. The presence of these species in aquatic environments indicates areas or organisms contaminated with animal or human feces. Especially, the presence of E. coli in aquatic environments has become a serious problem worldwide. Pathogenic strains of E. coli cause waterborne and foodborne diseases. Materials and methods This study included a total of 290 samples collected from five different dairy farms between April and September 2023 which comprised 20 samples of cow manure, 20 samples of milk, three samples of dairy workers' hand washing water, five samples of soil, five samples of water, and five samples of vegetables. The samples taken from the farms were homogenized with 0.1% peptone water at a ratio of 1/10. They were then cultured on xylose lysine deoxycholate (XLD), eosin methylene blue agar (EMB), and blood agar media, and gram-negative colonies were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and the VITEK2 automated system (BioMerieux Inc., Durham, NC). Amplification of the isolated DNA extracts was performed with A.B.T.™ 2X HS-PCR MasterMix (A.B.T Laboratory Industry, Arnavutköy, Turkey) in the SimpliAmp™ thermal cycler (Thermo Fischer Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA) and visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. Results Among the 52 E. coli strains isolated in our study, the highest antibiotic sensitivity rate was observed in meropenem, while the lowest sensitivity rates were determined in cefazolin and cefuroxime. While two of the Salmonella spp. (n = 2) isolates were found to be resistant to tetracycline, and one was found to be resistant to penicillin and ampicillin. No resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was detected in either isolate. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) were detected in only four (7.7%) E. coli strains. While tetA, tetB, and TEM genes were seen in almost all E. coli strains, they were not found in Salmonella spp. Conclusion In conclusion, our study revealed the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in E. coli and Salmonella spp. isolates collected from various farms and environmental samples, which render the antimicrobials used for disease treatment ineffective. Consequently, research should be undertaken to prevent the development of new resistance genes in our country, as creating new medications and treatment strategies for these diseases is costly and time-intensive.

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Although wind power contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it also has significant impacts on the local climate and vegetation. Exploring these impacts is important for the sustainable development of wind power. Therefore, based on moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and other remote sensing data from 2003 to 2022, this paper investigated the impacts of 101 grassland wind farms (WFs) in Inner Mongolia on land-atmosphere water and heat exchange, vegetation growth, ecosystem primary productivity, and vegetation structural characteristics during the growing season and revealed the spatial distribution patterns of the impacts of WFs as well as differences between different types of grasslands. The results indicated that WFs increased the nighttime land surface temperature (LST), decreased evapotranspiration (ET), inhibited vegetation growth, decreased gross primary productivity (GPP), and reduced the leaf area index (LAI) in growing season grasslands. This effect varied across different types of grasslands and showed significant complexity. In terms of land-atmosphere water and heat exchange, nighttime LST increases and ET decreases were significant in the typical steppe but not in the meadow steppe. In terms of vegetation change, meadow steppe had the most inhibited vegetation growth and the greatest reduction in GPP. In terms of the impact range, WFs on typical steppe and meadow steppe have opposite effects on vegetation growth and ecosystem primary productivity inside and outside of them, i.e., they inhibit vegetation growth and reduce GPP inside the WF areas but promote vegetation growth and increase GPP outside the WF areas. Compared with previous studies, this study analyzed multiple climate and vegetation indicators based on many WF samples, which reduced the uncertainty associated with a single sample and provided more comprehensive and comparable observations of different types of grasslands. These findings can help to balance the relationship between wind power development and ecological protection.

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Domestic pigs serve as significant hosts and reservoirs for multiple parasite species, some specific to pigs and many others of zoonotic importance. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites in pigs within a rural area in northeastern Argentina. We also examined demographic information, breeding conditions, and exposure factors associated with parasite presence. Pig feces were subjected to coprological examination through flotation and sedimentation techniques. Modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique was employed to examine oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. In total, 29 family farms with pig pens were analyzed, and 42 stool samples were collected from pigs on these farms. At the farm level, the presence of at least one parasite species was recorded in 27 rural houses (93.1%). We found that 90.4% of pigs were parasitized, with a specific parasitoses of 10 species, with a maximum of six species in a single host. The most prevalent protozoa were Entamoeba spp. (57.1%) and Blastocystis sp. (45.2%), followed by Iodamoeba butschlii (33.3%), Neobalantidium coli (21.4%), coccidia (14.2%), Cryptosporidium spp. (9.5%) and Giardia spp. (2.3%). The most prevalent helminths were Strongylidae eggs (52.3%), Ascaris spp. (14.2%) and Trichuris spp. (2.3%). We advocate for an urgent need to implement a comprehensive prophylaxis program prioritizing general hygiene practices such as regular cleaning, removal of fecal material and renewal of drinking water. Additionally, vaccination and deworming protocols should be implemented. Furthermore, this study highlights the necessity for molecular-level evaluations to detect potential zoonotic genotypes of the identified protozoa.

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Coxiella burnetii infection is an emerging/re-emerging public health problem affecting several countries worldwide. In India, the disease is mainly underdiagnosed, creating hindrances in its effective control. This study investigated the occurrence of C. burnetii among apparently healthy cattle and cattle with a history of reproductive disorders by both PCR and indirect-ELISA. A total of 731 clinical samples (serum: 531, and vaginal swabs as well as blood: 100 each) from 531 cattle were screened for coxiellosis. The serum, blood, and vaginal swabs each collected from 100 cattle with a history of reproductive disorders were screened using Com1-PCR, Trans-PCR, and indirect-ELISA. Conversely, serum samples obtained from apparently healthy cattle were exclusively screened using indirect ELISA. None of the samples tested could detect C. burnetii in PCR assays, while 13.37 % of serum samples were found to be seropositive in i-ELISA. Seropositivity noted among clinically healthy and those suffering from reproductive disorders were 12.76 % and 16 %, respectively, exhibiting a non-significant difference observed between these two categories. The obtained results suggested that the occurrence of coxiellosis did not differ significantly between clinically healthy animals and those with reproductive disorders; hence, in farms affected with C. burnetii infection, screening healthy and symptomatic animals is crucial to implement appropriate preventive measures.

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Since the 1980s, fish farming (aquaculture) has been an important contributor to Scotland's economy, but there are concerns that nutrient-rich food waste and excreta from these farms are causing eutrophication. Water quality monitoring preceding the arrival and subsequent expansion of the industry is limited. Therefore, to better understand the impacts of in-lake fish farms on the quality of freshwater ecosystems, we examined the diatom records in sediment cores from seven freshwater lochs in Scotland over a timescale of c.100-200 years, spanning the period before and after installation of the fish cages at these sites. At three lochs (A, C, E) we observed marked diatom assemblage shifts indicative of eutrophication, coincident with arrival of the fish farms, at two lochs (B, G) there was evidence of enrichment over a longer timescale although with some further enrichment occurring with the advent of the fish farms, and at the other two lochs (D, F), diatom shifts were subtle and showed no sign of eutrophication. Thus, while marked ecological shifts are shown to occur with the arrival of fish farms in some sites, this is not always the case. The natural background conditions, the scale of operations, the siting of the fish cages in relation to location of inflows and outflows, the role of flushing rate and additional sources of nutrients are discussed as potential factors for the variable impacts observed across the seven lochs. Such factors should be considered when planning future installation and expansion of fish farms to ensure sustainable development of these resources. Our study provides an understanding of baseline conditions and long-term water quality trajectories in freshwater lakes with fish farms and demonstrates the value of paleolimnology in supporting management decisions with respect to fisheries.

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Antimicrobial therapy is the most frequently used medical intervention for bovine mastitis in the dairy industry. This study aims to monitor the extent of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem in Staphylococcus aureus in the dairy industry in Western Romania. Twenty farms were selected by random sampling in a transverse epidemiological study conducted across four counties in Western Romania and divided into livestock units. This study assessed the association between the resistance genes to phenotypic expression of resistance and susceptibility. Isolates of S. aureus were identified and q-PCR reactions were used to detect antibiotic resistance genes. One hundred and fifty bovine and 20 human samples were positive for S. aureus. Twenty five percent of bovine isolates (30/120) and none(0/30) of the human isolates were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). All isolates were susceptible to fosfomycin, ciprofloxacin, netilmicin, and resistant to ampicillin and penicillin. S. aureus isolates regarded as phenotypically resistant (R) were influenced by the origin of the samples (human versus bovine, χ2 = 36.510, p = 0.013), whether they were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (χ2 = 108.891, p < 0.000), the county (χ2 = 103.282, p < 0.000) and farm of isolation (χ2 = 740.841, p < 0.000), but not by the size of the farm (χ2 = 65.036, p = 0.306). The multiple antibiotic resistance index was calculated for each sample as the number regarded as phenotypically resistant (R)/total antibiotics tested (MARI = 0.590 ± 0.023) was significantly higher (p < 0.000) inmethicillin-resistant S. aureus (0.898 ± 0.019) than non-methicillin-resistant S. aureus (0.524 ± 0.024) isolates. For the antibiotics tested, the total penetrance (P%) of the resistance genes was 59%, 83% for blaZ, 56% for cfr, 50% for erm(B), 53% for erm(C), 57% for mecA and 32% for tet(K). Penetrance can be used as a parameter for guidance towards a more accurate targeting of chemotherapy. P% in S. aureus was strongly positively correlated with the multiple antibiotic resistance index (r = +0.878, p < 0.000) with the potential to use the same limit value as an antibiotic management decision criterion. Considering cow mastitis, the penetrance value combined with the multiple antibiotic resistance index suggests that penetrance could serve as a useful parameter for more precise targeting of chemotherapy for S. aureus.

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The use of antimicrobials in the pig sector in the Netherlands has been reduced by more than 70% over the last decade. However, there is still a considerable number of pig farms that have not been able to lower their antimicrobial usage (AMU) to a sufficiently low level, comparable to the majority of the other pig farms. Therefore, an intervention study was initiated to lower on-farm antimicrobial use in which 45 pig farms with high AMU were recruited. These farms were coached over a period of 2 years whereby different management interventions were introduced. During the 2-year study period a significant reduction of 13 and 17% in total AMU was seen in weaned piglets and fattening pigs respectively. The introduction of coaching as well as multiple management interventions were (univariably) associated with the decrease in AMU. After mutual adjustment of coaching and individual interventions, the association between coaching and AMU became substantially weaker, indicating that coaching and interventions were interrelated and specific interventions explained the reduction in AMU. In conclusion, a coaching effect was observed in this study, with an effect on AMU through specific interventions. More insights are needed regarding the role and effects of coaching on the influence on the management team comprising the farmer, veterinarian and (feed) advisor, and interventions implemented.

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Fungal and mycotoxin control at a primary stage in the food chain is crucial to maintaining the nutritional quality of animal feed. The control of fungal and mycotoxins is one of the essential points that a good biosecurity program must establish to ensure the safe feeding and protection of animal and human health. Acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the role of mycotoxins is vital to identifying breaches of this control and enabling the performance of proper risk assessments and accurate risk management strategies. This study focused on the identification of regulated and emerging mycotoxins in agricultural fields and dairy farms through an analytical methodology by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTrap-MS/MS). This allowed us to identify a Portuguese mycotoxin profile in the maize value chain for the first time. Regarding our occurrence data, mycotoxins were identified in all samples, namely seeds, flowering plants, grain and forage at harvest, maize silage, and animal feed. FBs and ENNB were highly present in all stages of the production cycle. This work offers an initial insight into a full screening of regulated and emerging mycotoxins within an important agricultural commodity. The high occurrence of these compounds points to the need to perform occurrence surveys from an integrative perspective to protect consumers' health, especially within food chains that provide various important staple foods worldwide.

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Offshore wind farms (OWFs) play a crucial role in producing renewable energy in modern electrical power systems. However, to ensure that these facilities operate smoothly, they require robust control systems. As a result, this paper employed the newly developed Walrus Optimization algorithm (WaOA) to optimize the design parameters of fractional-order proportional-integral-derivative (FOPID) controllers in the power electronic interface circuits of the studied wind energy conversion system (WECS). In contrast to conventional optimization techniques like GA and PSO, the suggested approach proves more effective. The paper validates the WaOA application in optimizing FOPID controllers within a WECS comprising two, onshore and offshore, VSC stations at the two ends of an HVDC transmission system connecting OWFs to the mainland. The study shows that the WaOA outperforms GA and PSO, improving system stability and enabling quick recovery after disturbances. The study carried out using MATLAB/Simulink highlights the significance of newly recently introduced optimization techniques to ensure efficient and reliable operation of offshore wind energy systems, thereby expediting the transition to sustainable energy sources.

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We investigated 2 acute cases and 1 previous case of Seoul hantavirus infection in workers in a feeder rodent breeding farm in Taiwan. Prevalence of hantavirus IgG among the tested feeder rats was 37.5%. Appropriate prevention measures, including using disinfection protocols and personal protective equipment, are crucial to lowering risk.

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The soils of different land use types in large-scaled culturing farms were collected for detecting the contents of antibiotics in these soils by applying high-performance liquid chromatography, analyzing the relationship between antibiotics and physicochemical properties of soils, as well as performing the ecological risk assessment of antibiotics in the soils of culturing farms by using the risk quotient method. The results showed that the surrounding soils of the culturing farm were contaminated by antibiotics to varying degrees, in which tetracycline had the highest detection rate and average content. Among the soils of different land use types, the average contents of antibiotics were ranked as corn field （1.48 µg·kg-1）>0.5 meters outside the farm fence （1.27 µg·kg-1）>yam field （1.03 µg·kg-1）>pasture （0.69 µg·kg-1）>woodland （0.18 µg·kg-1）. According to the redundancy analysis results, the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and cellulase had a great impact on the antibiotic content in soil samples. It can be concluded from the ecological risk assessment that oxytetracycline （OTC）, chlortetracycline （CTC）, doxycycline （DOC）, ciprofloxacin （CIP）, and tetracycline （TC） were categorized in the low risk level. Sulfadiazine （SM） and sulfadimidine （SM2） were categorized in the medium and high risk levels. It is of the upmost importance to control the antibiotic contamination in surrounding soils of culturing farms and to strengthen the management of veterinary antibiotics.

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Avian influenza virus (AIV) is of major concern to livestock, wildlife, and human health. In many countries in the world, including Bangladesh, AIV is endemic in poultry, requiring improving biosecurity. In Bangladesh, we investigated how variation in biosecurity practices in commercial chicken farms affected their AIV infection status to help guide AIV mitigation strategies. We collected pooled fecal swabs from 225 farms and tested the samples for the AIV matrix gene followed by H5, H7, and H9 subtyping using rRT-PCR. We found that 39.6% of chicken farms were AIV positive, with 13% and 14% being positive for subtypes H5 and H9, respectively. Using a generalized linear mixed effects model, we identified as many as 12 significant AIV risk factors. Two major factors promoting AIV risk that cannot be easily addressed in the short term were farm size and the proximity of the farm to a live bird market. However, the other ten significant determinants of AIV risk can be more readily addressed, of which the most important ones were limiting access by visitors (reducing predicted AIV risk from 42 to 6%), isolation and treatment of sick birds (42 to 7%), prohibiting access of vehicles to poultry sheds (38 to 8%), improving hand hygiene (from 42 to 9%), not sharing farm workers across farms (37 to 8%), and limiting access by wild birds to poultry sheds (37 to 8%). Our findings can be applied to developing practical and cost-effective measures that significantly decrease the prevalence of AIV in chicken farms. Notably, in settings with limited resources, such as Bangladesh, these measures can help governments strengthen biosecurity practices in their poultry industry to limit and possibly prevent the spread of AIV.

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Live coccidiosis vaccines have mainly been used to reduce Eimeria species infection, which is considered the most economically important disease in the poultry industry. Evaluation data on vaccine effectiveness through large-scale field experiments are lacking, especially in broilers. Thus, the effectiveness of a commercial coccidiosis vaccine was evaluated in approximately 900,000 chicks reared on three open-broiler farms where coccidiosis is prevalent. The vaccine's effectiveness after vaccination of 1-day-old chicks was monitored using three parameters (lesion score, fecal oocyst shedding, and production index, PI) in nine trials performed three times on each farm. Lesion scores were confirmed in three different areas of the intestine because the vaccine contained four Eimeria species. The average lesion scores were 0.36 to 0.64 in the duodenal region, 0.30 to 0.39 in the jejuno-ileal region, and 0.18 to 0.39 in the cecal region. The average fecal oocyst shedding rate ranged from 19,766 to 100,100 oocysts per gram, showing large variations depending on farms and buildings within the farm. Compared with the PI of the previous 9-10 trials on each farm, the PI increased by 2.45 to 23.55. Because of the potential for perturbation of the fecal microbiota by live coccidiosis vaccines, the fecal microbiota was investigated using 16S rRNA microbial profiling. Although the ß-diversity was significantly different in distribution and relative abundance among farms (PERMANOVA, pseudo-F = 4.863, p = 0.009), a Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis found no significant bacterial invasion of the epithelial cell pathway across farms. This large-scale field trial of a live Eimeria vaccine indicates that coccidiosis vaccines can have meaningful effects on the poultry industry and could be used as an alternative to the prophylactic use of anticoccidial drugs under field conditions.

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This study investigated the genotype classification and pathogenicity of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) circulating in vaccinated broiler chicken farms in Egypt. A total of 150 samples were collected from 30 vaccinated commercial broiler chicken farms and pooled into 30 working samples. IBDV was tested using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification of the hypervariable region of the viral protein 2 (hvVP2) and the VP1 gene 5' extremity. Both RT-PCR fragments were sequenced from six samples, and then the obtained nucleotide sequences were analyzed. The IBDV genotypes were identified using nucleotide sequences. Five sequences of the six strains examined were classified as genotype A3B2 for the highly virulent segments A and B (vv-A/vv-B IBDV). Interestingly, this study identified and classified a novel segment-reassortant strain as the A1B2 genotype. Specifically, it involved the segment reassortment of classical virulent segment A (cv-A) with vv-B producing cv-A/vv-B reassortant IBDV. Subsequently, we compared the pathogenicity of reassortant (cv-A/vv-B) IBDV and vvIBDV strains identified in this study. Both strains developed typical IBD clinical signs, postmortem lesions, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and lesion scores, which were more severe in vvIBDV than reassortant IBDV. In conclusion, this is the first report of the genotype classification based on both genome segments (hvVP2 and VP1) with pathogenicity of IBDV circulating in vaccinated broiler chicken farms and this pathogenicity is more severe in vvIBDV strain than a novel reassortant IBDV strain.

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Over the preceding decades, the widespread dependence on anthelmintic drugs for managing nematodes in grazing equids has given rise to resistance against commonly used anthelmintics in various countries. This study explores the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance across 44 horse farms in Ireland. Anthelmintic efficacy was evaluated through fecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests employing the mini-FLOTAC technique. Resistance to benzimidazoles was identified in 12 out of 14 farms (FECR range: 0.00% to 86.2%). Ivermectin resistance was observed on two farms, one with an FECR of 80.70% and another with an FECR of 96.10% (lower 95% high probability density interval (HPD) <90%, 11.70%). On the remaining six farms, the reduction with ivermectin still exceeded 95%. The reduced efficacy of moxidectin was noted on two farms (FECR = 86.90% and 93.50%) and on a third farm with an FECR of 99.50 and a lower HPD interval < 90% at 24.00%. In summary, these findings emphasize the urgent need for alternative strategies in equine strongyle control that reduce reliance on anthelmintics and prioritize effective management practices on Irish equine farms to hinder the impending development of drug-resistant parasite populations.

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Poland is one of the leading milk producers in the EU, being the fifth largest after countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. From Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004 up to 2022, Polish milk production experienced dynamic development. In this, there occurred a strong decline in the number of dairy farms (by -78%) and the number of cows (by -21%), an increase in dairy herd size (3.5 times) and increase in milk production (+60%) and milk yield per cow (by +62%). These were among the highest growth dynamics among the analysed countries. As a result of this significant transformation, Poland maintained an important position in milk exports, with a 31% export share in production in 2022. The scale of milk production was the basic factor determining the efficiency and competitiveness of dairy farms in Poland. Milk yield, farmland productivity, labour productivity, milk price, and the Corrected Competitiveness Index (based on labour and land opportunity costs) all showed a positive relationship with cow herd size on the farm. Milk production is highly uncompetitive for smaller farms (<15 cows). Despite substantial public support, the smaller farms, where subsidies equal up to 47% of total production value, could not earn sufficient income to cover the cost of capital, risk, and management in 2008, and even more so in 2021. This is because the farm income is too small to cover the extremely high opportunity cost of labour. The larger farms (with 30 cows and more) are competitive and responsible for the majority (~60-70%) of milk produced and delivered to the market. The most challenging from the sectoral policy point of view are medium farms (10-29 cows), whose share in production and deliveries is still important. To survive as economically viable units, these farms have to increase in scale and improve productivity. Otherwise, they will be gradually supplanted by larger farms.