Tuberculosis (TB) in humans is primarily caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), with millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. It creates a substantial economic burden on the community. Unlike M. tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis infects cattle and causes bovine TB, also known as zoonotic TB. People can contract zoonotic TB after consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, handling the sick animals, and via occupational exposures. The association between the zoonotic TB in humans and cattle is not well known in Nepal. The study examined the associated risk factors, including exposure to infected cattle, that contribute to TB's development in human beings in Nepal. The study consists of human and animal subjects. Firstly, a retrospective matched case-control study was conducted at the National Tuberculosis Center (NTC), Bhaktapur, Nepal. A total of 290 people (equal numbers of TB cases and control subjects) were interviewed to obtain information on socio-demographic, behavioral, and occupational risks, including the history of cattle related exposures. Secondly, a cross-sectional study was performed among the cattle owned by the TB-confirmed patients. Comparative tuberculin skin test, rapid antibody test, and ELISA were used in parallel to detect M. bovis infection in cattle. The risk factors for the development of TB in humans were smokers (OR = 4.6, 95% CI: 2.1–10.0, p < 0.001), previous history of TB (OR = 7.9, 95% CI: 3.0–20.6, p < 0.001) and history of cattle exposures (OR = 3.9, 95% CI: 2.1–7.4, p = 0.001). Out of 123 cattle sampled, 12 cattle (9.76%, 95% CI: 5.37–16.76, p < 0.0001) were positive by the tuberculin test, 46 (37.4%, 95% CI: 28.97–46.62, p = 0.007) were tested positive by the rapid test, and 7 (5.7%, 95% CI: 2.52–11.80, p < 0.0001) by ELISA test. The inter-test agreement between the tuberculin and ELISA was very strong (κ = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.48–0.95, p < 0.01). This study indicates that exposure to infected cattle and socio-demographic risk factors can contribute to the development of TB in human beings.

Hempseed meal (HSM) is the byproduct of hemp seeds and is rich in crude protein and fiber, making it an ideal candidate as a feedstuff for ruminants. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effects of feeding different levels of HSM on the carcass traits of crossbred Boer goats. Forty castrated goat kids (approximately six months, 25.63 ± 0.33 kg) were assigned to one of four treatments (n = 10) in a completely randomized design. Goats were fed pelleted diets (50% forage and 50% concentrate) with additional supplementation of HSM: control with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% of the total diets. Goats were harvested and processed after a 60-day feeding trial. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the mean values of dressing percentages, carcass weights, body wall thickness, and ribeye area among treatments. Marbling scores and percentages of moisture, fats, proteins, and collagen in the muscles showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) among the treatments. Results suggest that including up to 30% of HSM in the diet of growing meat goats does not affect their carcass traits.

Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) produced in the US are predominately low fat, as the economics favor separating as much oil as possible for sale as renewable diesel feedstock and also for use in swine and poultry feed. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of feeding different amounts of low-fat DDGS (LF-DDGS) on the growth performance, growth efficiency, rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, and carcass characteristics of Kiko crossbred wether goats. Twenty-four goats, 5–6 months of age, were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental diets (n = 6/diet), 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% LF-DDGS on an as-fed basis, and fed for 84 days. The data collected were analyzed using an orthogonal contrast test for equally spaced treatments. The average total gains, average daily gains, and gain-to-feed ratios were similar among the treatments (p > 0.05). The rumen acetate, propionate, and butyrate concentrations and the acetate:propionate ratios were similar (p > 0.05) among the treatments. There were no differences (p > 0.05) among the treatments for the dressing percentage, rib eye area, and backfat thickness. The findings suggest that at least up to 30% LF-DDGS can be included in the diets of castrated male goats without affecting the production performance and carcass characteristics.

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of hempseed meal (HSM) on goat meat characteristics. Goats (N = 10/treatment) were allocated to a diet concentration (0, 10, 20, or 30%) of HSM, fed for 60 days, and harvested. Carcass measurements were collected after chilling, and subsequently fabricated into wholesale subprimals. From the subprimals of the shoulder and leg, steaks were cut 2.54 cm thick, vacuum packaged, and assigned to laboratory methods: cook yield, instrumental color, lipid oxidation, microbial spoilage, and instrumental tenderness. HSM did not alter (p > 0.05) carcass characteristics, microbial spoilage, cook loss, or the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS). However, a decrease in objective tenderness measurements (p < 0.05) was observed with greater concentrations of HSM supplementation in the diet. Instrumental surface color values for lightness (L*) indicated that steaks became lighter and less red (a*) as storage time increased (p < 0.05). Results suggest that HSM and storage time do not alter some goat meat traits, but HSM or storage time separately may influence goat meat quality. HSM may be an effective feed ingredient that does not alter carcass quality or meat yield.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of inclusion of increasing levels of hempseed meal (HSM) on the morphology of the rumen papillae and volatile fatty acids production in the rumen of intact male goats. Boer x Spanish intact male goats (n = 36), 0 to1 months of age and bodyweight of 44.1 ± 3.8 kg, were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental diets (n = 9 goats/diet): 0% (control), 0%, 20%, and 30% HSM included on an as-fed basis and fed ad-libitum for 60 days. Experimental diets were formulated as total mixed ration (TMR), and the nutrient content of each diet was formulated to be iso-nitrogenous (18% crude protein) and to meet or exceed the nutrient requirement of breeding male goats. At the end of the trial, experimental goats were humanely processed as per USDA standards. Rumen fluid and necropsy samples of rumen tissue from the ventral sac of the rumen were collected, and rumen tissue was processed for histological examination. Morphometric variables of rumen papillae; height and width of rumen papillae, and density (number of papillae/cm2) were recorded, and total absorptive surface area was calculated. The thickness of the stratum corneum (SC) and the thickness of stratum granulosum (SG) was measured from the histological slides of rumen tissue. The rumen fluid was analyzed for the volatile fatty acids (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) concentration. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and orthogonal contrast test for equally spaced treatments using R version 4.2.1. There was no significant difference (P &gt; 0.05) in height of papillae, the width of papillae, papillae density, total absorptive surface area, SC thickness, and SG thickness among the goats feeding different experimental diets. The concentration of propionic acid decreased linearly (P &gt; 0.01) with increasing inclusion of HSM (12.90, 9.51, 8.12 and 7.34 mmol/L for 0 %,0 %, 20 % and 30 % HSM, respectively), whereas the concentration of acetic acid and butyric acid were similar among the experimental groups (P &gt; 0.05). These observed results indicate that the inclusion of HSM at least up to 30 % in the diet does not affect the rumen papillae morphology, and acetate and butyrate concentration in the rumen in intact male goats.