ANIMAL HEALTH

NEW VITAMIN AND MINERAL COMBINATIONS:

It is well known that vitamins and minerals are required for the normal functioning of basically all biochemical processes in the body. They are part of numerous enzymes and coordinate a great number of biological processes, and consequently they are essential to maintain animal health and productivity.

Optimal nutrition, with adequate vitamin and mineral levels, guarantees proper functions of the animal. Vitamins and minerals must be provided to animals in optimal concentrations and must ensure the best bioavailablity according to requirements that change during the rapid growth and development of the animal and the production cycle.

GUT HEALTH:

Optimal gut health is of vital importance to the performance of production animals. Gut health is synonymous in animal production industries with animal health. The gastro-intestinal system is responsible for regulating physiological homeostasis that provides the animal the ability to withstand infectious and non-infectious stressors. Furthermore, worldwide public concerns about the production animal industries’ dependency on the use of growth-promoting antibiotics (AGPs) have resulted in the ban of AGPs by the European Union and a reassessment of their use in the United States. At Afrigen our research is focused on alternatives to antibiotics for sustainable food animal production.

NEONATAL DIARRHEA:

Neonatal diarrhea in ruminants remains the most important cause of death in calves and lambs under one month of age. Various bacterial, viral, and protozoal agents are recognized as causative agents. Low immunity transfer from the mother to the new born is probably the most important predisposing factor. Treatment includes eliminating the causative agent and correcting and maintaining the water, acid-base, and electrolyte balance of affected animals through oral and parenteral fluid therapy.

EYE INFECTIONS:

Eye infections is normally of a bacterial origin that causes inflammation and, in severe cases, temporary or permanent blindness. Most cattle and sheep producers will be familiar with pinkeye, but may not know how best to treat it and minimise its spread within a herd. These infections can affect up to 80% of animnals on the farm with affected weaner calves losing 10% of their body weight. When both eyes are affected, cattle may die from starvation, thirst and accidents.

The infection can spread very rapidly and the economic impact due to weight loss and lowered milk production can be considerable.

VACCINES:

The success of vaccines has enhanced livestock productivity, promoted food security, and lowered the morbidity and mortality of several human, animal, and zoonotic diseases. However, these traditional vaccine technologies are not without fault. The efficacy of certain vaccines can be suboptimal with additional safety concerns. The rate of emerging infectious diseases continues to increase and with that the need to quickly deploy new vaccines. Unfortunately, first generation vaccines are not conducive to such urgencies. Afrigen together with several local and international partners are spearheading the development of novel vaccines to circumvent several of the flaws associated with classical vaccines.

MASTITIS:

Bovine mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland, is the most common disease of dairy cattle causing economic losses due to reduced yield and poor quality of milk. The etiological agents include a variety of bacteria. Improving sanitation such as enhanced milking hygiene, implementation of post-milking teat disinfection, maintenance of milking machines are general measures to prevent new cases of mastitis, but treatment of active mastitis infection is dependant mainly on antibiotics. However, the extensive use of antibiotics increased concerns about emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and that led the dairy industries to reduce the use of antibiotics. Therefore, alternative therapies for prevention and treatment of bovine mastitis, particularly natural products have been sought.