Background Recent focus on earlier detection of pathogen introduction in human and animal populations has led to the development of surveillance systems based on automated monitoring of health data. Real- or near real-time monitoring of pre-diagnostic data requires automated classification of recor...

The zoonotic protozoan parasites Cryptosporidium parvum, and Giardia duodenalis can colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of many farmed, domestic and wild animals, and are capable of causing disease in humans. Due to their high prevalence in dairy and beef cattle, farms are considered to be potentia...

Objective: To assess the feasibility of a serum-based test using infrared spectroscopy to identify a subpopulation of mares at risk of producing foals susceptible to failure of passive transfer of immunity (FPT) because of mare-associated factors.; Materials and Methods: Serum was collected from pos...

In a cross-sectional study of 633 pigs from 21 herds on Prince Edward Island, Canada (PEI), the prevalence of infection with Cryptosporidium and Giardia, and the genotypes and species of isolates were determined in order to establish the zoonotic potential of pigs in this region. As determined by di...

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and assemblages of Giardia and species of Cryptosporidium on beef farms in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, including the water sources associated with the farms, and to determine risk factors for infection of cattle with these parasit...

The effect of organic and inorganic sources of selenium (Se) on measures of Se status of mares and their foals, Se concentrations of colostrum and milk, and indices of immune function of foals was studied. Twenty late-gestation Standardbred mares were randomly assigned to one of two groups. All mare...

Antimicrobial use (AMU) data are critical for formulating policies for containing antimicrobial resistance. The present study determined AMU on Canadian dairy farms and characterized variation in AMU based on herd-level factors such as milk production, somatic cell count, herd size, geographic regio...

Monitoring of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria has clinical and public health significance. The present study determined prevalence of AMR in common mastitis pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA; n=1,810), Escherichia coli (n=394), and Klebsi...

The growth, survival and tag retention of double-tagged external FT4 lock-on (FT4) and internal passive integrated transponder (PIT)-tagged] Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus were compared to internal PIT-tagged controls in a randomized trial. The objective was to assess the suitability of ...

The effects of selenium (Se) supplementation and source on equine immune function have not been extensively studied. This study examined the effects of oral Se supplementation and Se source on aspects of innate and adaptive immunity in horses. Fifteen horses were assigned to 1 of 3 groups (5 horses/...

Prevalence of Giardia duodenalis in dairy and beef cattle on farms around Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (Canada) was determined by analyzing feces using direct immunogluorescence antibody microscopy. Genotypes were determined by 16S-rRNZ sequencing. Fecal samples (n=182) were collected ...

Fortification of plants with selenium (Se) has been used to increase the Se intake of humans and farm animals but its use for correction of Se deficiency in horses has received little attention. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of Se-enriched fertilizer application on the Se concen...

Waterborne outbreaks caused by Cryptosporidium and Giardia are well documented, while the public health implications for foodborne illness from these parasites have not been adequately considered. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are common in domestic livestock, where young animals can have a high preva...

Determining the accuracy and precision of a measuring instrument is pertinent in antimicrobial susceptibility testing. This study was conducted to predict the diagnostic accuracy of the Sensititre MIC mastitis panel (Sensititre) and agar disk diffusion (ADD) method with reference to the manual broth...

Serum selenium (Se), vitamin E, and resting thyroid hormone concentrations were measured in 201 horses in Prince Edward Island (PEI). Selenium concentrations were either marginal (0.0053 to 0.1200 ppm) or deficient (< 0.0053 ppm) in 79% of horses based on current reference ranges for Se in se...

Background: The proportion of geriatric horses within the equine population has increased in the past decade, but there is limited information on the immune function of these animals. Hypothesis: Aged horses will have a lesser increase in serum antibody response to vaccination. Animals: Thirty-four ...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization was not identified in any of 497 horses from Atlantic Canada. Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) was isolated from a subsample of 19/242 (7.9%) horses. Colonization with MSSA is relatively common in healthy horses in Atlantic Cana...