Peste des petits ruminants virus was suspected to be the cause of a disease outbreak in a zoological collection at Al Ain in the Arabian Gulf. Clinically the outbreak affected gazelles (Gazellinae), ibex and sheep (Caprinae) and gemsbok (Hippotraginae); subclinical involvement of Nilgai (Tragelaphinae) was suspected. A morbillivirus was isolated and using monoclonal antibodies and biological tests in cattle, sheep and goats the virus of peste des petits ruminants was identified.

Broiler chicks were reared on either wet litter or dry litter to compare the development of footpad dermatitis (FPD). Broilers reared on wet litter first developed FPD at 14 days of age. Their FPD scores increased sharply after 21 days of age, reaching 2.92 at 42 days. In broilers reared on dry litter, FPD was first observed at 28 days of age, and the FPD score was only 0.70 at 42 days. When 21- or 28-day-old broilers that had been reared on wet litter and had developed FPD were moved to dry litter, the progression of FPD was suppressed or delayed. These results suggest that reducing litter moisture is effective in preventing FPD and suppressing disease progression.

Background This study aimed to examine the prevalence, serovars, and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolates from broiler chickens in Kagoshima, Japan. A total of 192 flocks and 3071 samples were collected from broiler chickens at local farms in Kagoshima, Japan from 2009 to 2012. Result Among the tested farms, 49.0% of flocks were positive for Salmonella , and 243 isolates were obtained from 3071 cecal samples (7.9%). All the Salmonella isolates were one of three serovars: S. Infantis (57.6%); (140/243), S. Manhattan (40.3%; 98/243 and S. Schwarzengrund (2.1%; 5/243). The proportion of S. Infantis isolates decreased from 66.0% in 2009 to 50.0% in 2011 but increased to 57.6% in 2012, while the proportion of S. Manhattan isolates significantly increased from 26.4 to 50% from 2009 to 2011, and decreased moderately to 40.9% in 2012. Most of the recovered Salmonella isolates were resistant to three antimicrobials, i.e., streptomycin (95.1%), sulfamethoxazole (91.0%) and oxytetracycline (91.4%). In contrast, all Salmonella strains were susceptible to chloramphenicol. Comparison of this study to previous studies of the antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella isolates showed that: the percentage of antibiotic-resistance isolates increased dramatically for two antibiotics, ampicillin (from 22.4 to 55.1%) and cefotaxime (from 9.1 to 52.7%). In contrast, the percentage of ofloxacin-resistant isolates decreased across the three survey periods, from 20.8% in 2004–2006 to 1.6% in the present study period (2009–2012). In addition, S. Infantis exhibited a variety of resistance to antimicrobials examined from sensitive to resistance to eight antimicrobials. Multidrug resistance to more than 6 six antimicrobials was detected in 113 (46.5%) of the isolates, and most of them were S. Manhattan. Conclusions There was a marked change in the serovars and antimicrobial resistance profiles of the Salmonella isolates in this study compared to those in previous studies. The percentage of S. Manhattan isolates increased as did the percentages of ampicillin- and cefotaxime-resistant isolates.

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ABSTRACT. The prevalence of footpad dermatitis (FPD) in broiler chickens in Japan was investigated. In the first examination at slaughterhouses, lesions were commonly observed on the footpads of a total of 8,985 broiler chickens from 45 flocks on 36 farms. In 3 flocks, all the birds examined had lesions. In the other 42 flocks, the incidence of FPD ranged from 31.9% (81/254) to 99.5% (1/222). The footpad lesions were classified into 4 categories according to the severity of dermatitis as follows; score 0, 1,181 birds (13.1%); score 1, 2,992 birds (33.3%); score 2, 3,000 birds (33.4%); and score 3, 1,812 birds (20.2%). The mean scores of the flocks varied widely from 0.31 to 2.69. Males had higher mean scores than females. No significant differences were found between the mean scores of birds reared in windowless houses and those in open-sided houses. On 4 farms, the investigation was carried out in different seasons, and 3 of them showed higher mean scores in winter than in summer. Next, observation of 2,255 birds from 15 flocks on 5 farms during a 4-week rearing period revealed that FPD was already produced at 7 days of age and worsened with age.KEY WORDS: animal welfare, broiler, footpad dermatitis, lesion score.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 73(3): 293-297, 2011 Footpad dermatitis (FPD) has been regarded as a type of contact dermatitis of the footpad in chickens because it occurs on the points of contact with the ground and has been found in floor broilers under wet litter conditions [14]. The chicken feet, including the footpads, are edible parts of the chicken that are in high demand, especially in Southeast Asia. Chicken feet are exported from Japan and other countries, but feet with severe FPD are unfit for human consumption. They are condemned, resulting in significant economic losses. On the other hand, FPD is considered to be an indicator of animal welfare, especially in Europe, because the disease likely affects the health of the birds and inflicts suffering [7,22,26].So far, the prevalence of FPD in broiler chickens in Japan has not been reported. In this report, the first report on FPD in broiler chickens in Japan, we have investigated the prevalence of FPD in broiler chickens at processing plants and on farms. farms were slaughtered at 3 processing plants in the Minami-Kyushu area, and the other birds, which were reared on 7 farms, were slaughtered at 2 processing plants in the Tohoku area. The ages of the slaughtered birds ranged from 41 to 60 days (mean age of 53.2 days). In regard to the breed of the birds, 487 were Cobb chickens, 425 were Ross and Cobb chickens (mixture) and 8,073 were Ross chickens. Thirty-two flocks (6,386 birds) were reared in open houses, and 13 flocks (2,599 birds) were in windowless houses. Birds reared on 4 farms in Minami-Kyushu were examined twice, in summer (September) and in winter (January). MATERIALS AND METHODS Examination at slaughterhouses:Examination on farms: During the rearing period, a total of 2,245 broiler chickens (Ross breed) from 15 flocks on 5 farms in the Minam...