Veterinary Science & Technology

This study was conducted between December 2016 and April 2017 in central Ethiopia to detect African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) in export abattoir in Addis Ababa and to investigate ASF suspected outbreaks in central Ethiopia and assess associated risk factors. A study was conducted on targeted pig population slaughtered at Addis Ababa abattoirs enterprise to investigate ASFV from collected samples. 65 tissue and 104 whole blood samples were collected from fattened pig that came to Addis Ababa abattoirs enterprise from four different farms in and around Addis Ababa. The samples were submitted to national animal health diagnostic and investigation center/(NAHDIC) for the detection of the virus. The tissues were pooled together from different organs and screened by PCR using primers. The sera were separated from whole blood in the laboratory and then ASFV antibody detection was performed using the Blocking ELISA assays. Both the serology and molecular test results revealed that none were positive for ASFV. These results indicate that the pigs slaughtered at Addis Ababa abattoirs enterprise during these period were free of ASFV. But in March 2017, subsequent ASF outbreaks were notified in Adama farm with intensive farming systems. Accordingly, 34 whole blood samples were collected from the outbreak and screened by real time PCR at NAHDIC. Out of the 34 samples tested, eleven samples were positive for African swine fever virus by the OIE prescribed real time PCR. Though, the assessment for the circulation of ASFV antibodies in apparently health pigs revealed negative, the test from the outbreak confirmed the presence of African swine fever virus in Ethiopia. Thus, swine farmers and concerned authorities need to consider the situation and take appropriate action.

Poultry diseases remain one of the major threats to poultry production worldwide. Chicken disease need to be observed intensively because of its impact on the health and quality of chicken production. Chicken disease becomes one of the problems that are very detrimental to chicken farmers. In attempt to solve this problem, knowledge based system is identified as a powerful tool with extensive potential in alleviating agricultural and medical problems. This study aims at developing knowledge base system for diagnosing, prevention and management of predominant chicken diseases. Design science research method was used to develop the prototype system. The domain experts were selected by purposive sampling technique from Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and from Kito Furdisa Poultry Farm of Jimma University for knowledge acquisition. The knowledge was acquired using both structured and unstructured interviews. The acquired knowledge was modeled and represented using decision tree and production rules (If-Then-Action). Backward chaining algorithm was used in this study. At the end performance of the system was evaluated and produced a result of 83%. In addition, user acceptance of the developed system was found to produce 83.4%. Thus, the average performance of the prototype system was 83.2%. The prototype system achieves a very good performance and meets the objectives of the study. And thus it is strongly recommended that the stake holders take part in deploying the developed system.

Dry food is a commonly fed diet to dogs worldwide. However, recent studies have suggested that it may have an impact on their oxidative/ antioxidant profile. This article explores the research on how dry food affects the oxidative/antioxidant profile of dogs and discusses ways to mitigate any negative effects. Dry food contains a variety of ingredients that can affect the oxidative/antioxidant profile of dogs. For example, the processing of dry food can lead to the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), which can cause oxidative stress. Additionally, some dry foods may be low in antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, which can further exacerbate oxidative damage. Understanding the impact of dry food on the oxidative/antioxidant profile of dogs is important for maintaining their health and preventing chronic diseases.