Himachal Journal of Agricultural Research

Geetanjali Singh ¹, Bishrutee Bhardwaj ¹, Subhash Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, Dr. GC Negi College of Veterinary and Animal Scieces, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidalya, Palampur-176 062, IN

Abstract

A total of 69 lactating Jersey crossbred cows of an organised dairy farm were examined for the presence of subclinical mastitis. The diagnosis of subclinical mastitis was done on the basis of somatic cell count (SCC) in the milk samples. The other methods of diagnosis of subclinical mastitis such as California Mastitis Test (CMT), Bromothymol Blue (BTB) test, microbial culture and milk yield evaluation were also performed. Different tests revealed variable results. It was found that although these diagnotic methods correlated linearly with SCC but not fully. CMT and BTB failed to detect the presence of subclinical mastitis in 10 and 24 percent cases, respectively; where SCC was more than 0.4 million cells/ml. However, twenty percent of cows were harboring pathogenic bacteria without any abnormal change in SCC, whereas in 41 percent cows, a high somatic cell count was observed in the absence of any bacteria. Furthermore, daily milk yield had a negative but weak correlation with SCC. No difference in the presence of various milk proteins were revealed by SDS-PAGE in the milk samples containing 0.2, 0.7, 1.3 million cells/ml, respectively. Thus, it was concluded that the correlation between the different methods of testing subclinical mastitis is tenuous and as such none of the tests may be regarded as confirmatory for the diagnosis of subclinical mastitis. This study suggests the development of alternative methods for achieving the confirmatory diagnosis of subclinical mastitis.

Keywords

Subclinical Mastitis, Somatic Cell Counting, California Mastitis Test, Bromothymol Blue Test, Microbial Culturing of Milk.

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Mandeep Sharma ¹, Aneesh Thakur ¹, Prasenjit Dhar ¹, Rajesh Chahota ¹, Shailja Katoch ¹, Subhash Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur-176 062, IN

Abstract

Pasteurella multocida is responsible for major animal diseases of economic importance in both developed and developing countries including India. The prevalence of pasteurellosis has been documented in India as well as in the state of Himachal Pradesh where disease outbreaks from different agro-climatic regions have been reported. Aiming at increased knowledge of these infections in Himachal Pradesh, we employed the conventional methods and advanced molecular methods for culturing, characterization, capsular serotyping, and analysis of virulence factors for rapid epidemiological investigation and pathogenicity of Pasteurella multocida infections in H.P. Vaccine-induced protective biomarkers were also studied using advanced immunological techniques. We also summarize our efforts to enhance the ability to rapidly diagnose clinical infections and to prevent and control pasteurellosis by validation of vaccines.

Keywords

Haemorrhagic Septicaemia, Pasteurella multocida, Diagnostics, Typing, Virulence Factors, Vaccines.

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Jyoti Jaryal ¹, Ajay Katoch ¹, Sanjeev Kumar ¹, Kritika Dhial ¹, Mandeep Sharma ¹, Prasenjit Dhar ¹, Rajesh Chahota ¹, Subhash Verma ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur - 176 062, IN

Abstract

In this study, a total of 57 blood samples from cows and buffaloes showing clinical signs of high fever, anemia and/or swollen lymph nodeswere screened for haemoprotozoan infections using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Some asymptomatic animals were also included in the study. Out of 57 blood samples, 14 samples were positive for either one or the other haemoprotozoa reflecting an overall prevalence of 24.56%. A total of nine samples of which six from cows and three from buffaloes were positive for Theileria annulata and five samples all from cows were found positive for mixed infection of Babesia bovis and Anaplasma marginale. This study shows that haemoprotozoan infections are common in cows and buffaloes population of Kangra District of Himachal Pradeshdue to conduciveenvironmental conditions for survival of vectors responsible for carrying these infectious agents. PCR technique showed high sensitivity and specificityup to species level, as it not only detected the haemoprotozoan infections in active cases but also in asymptomatic carrier animals.

Keywords

Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis, Bovine Haemoprotozoan, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, PCR.

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Tania Gupta ¹, Vanita Patial ¹, Prasenjit Dhar ¹, Subhash Verma ¹, Mandeep Sharma ¹, Rajesh Chahota ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Dr. G.C. Negi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur-176 062, IN

Abstract

Sheeppox is a highly contagious disease of sheep causing huge economic losses to the sheep industry and farmers rearing the livestock. Himachal Pradesh has large population of sheep reared by the different rural communities. In recent years, outbreaks of sheep pox have become frequent causing huge economical losses to sheep breeders. Isolation, identification and characterization of circulating Sheeppox virus (SPV) strains is required to initiate efforts for disease control and prevention. The aim of the present study was to establish the best cell culture-based isolation system by comparing the growth of SPV field strains from Himachal Pradesh in lamb testicular (LT) cells and continuous Vero cell line. The results showed that LT cell culture is more suited for primary isolation of SPV field strains as compared to Vero cells. But virus can be adapted to Vero cell line after 5 blind passages. Thus, it was concluded that LT cell culture, though tedious, should be preferred for primary isolation of SPV field strains.

Keywords

Sheeppox Virus, LT Cell Culture, Vero Cell Line.

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Nasratullah ¹, Rameshwar Kumar ¹, Sandeep Manuja ¹, Raj Paul Sharma ¹, G. D. Sharma ¹, Subhash Verma ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Organic Agriculture and Natural Farming, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur-176 062, IN
2 Department of Veterinary Microbiology, DGCN COVAS, CSK HPKV, Palampur, IN

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during kharif 2019 and 2020 at Holta Zero Budget Natural Farm (ZBNF), Department of Organic Agriculture and Natural Farming, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur to evaluate the comparative efficacy of different components of natural farming on crop production and economics of black gram. The results revealed that yield attributes and yield (seed and straw) of black gram increased significantly with application of natural farming components in totality. Application of ghanjeevamrit + jeevamrit + mulching (T₇) significantly increased the seed yield of black gram over T₈ (absolute control) by 61.4 and 233.1 per cent during 2019 and 2020, respectively and application of ghanjeevamrit + jeevamrit (T₄) recorded significantly higher net returns of Rs. 49265 ha^-1 statistically at par with ghanjeevamrit + jeevamrit + mulching (T₄) in 2019. However, in 2020, application of ghanjeevamrit + jeevamrit + mulching (T₇) recorded higher net returns of Rs. 64206 ha over other treatments.

Keywords

Black Gram, Jeevamrit, Ghanjeevamrit, Mulching and Natural Farming.

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