EQUATOR is a periodical of the
Office for Intemational
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University

J.H. A. de Qooijer
R.W. Paling DVM PhD
(editor-in-chief)
W.D. Vink MVM
P.R. van Weeren DVM PhD

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Office for Intemational
Cooperation
P.O. Box 80.163
3508 TD Utrecht
The Netherlands
Tel.: 31.30.2532116
Fax: 31.30.2531815
E-mail: bic@bic.dgk.mu.nl

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During the past decade, global aquaculture
production has increased very rapidly.
Future production is expected to reach
28.7 million metric tons by the year 2000,
a much faster rise than in global meat
production, especially in developing coim-
tries. The aquatic animal species involved
in production are mainly molluscs, cmsta-
ceans, and finfish. In some countries,
aquatic reptiles and amphibian, such as
crocodiles and frogs, are also included in
aquaculture. In response to the increasing
demand for aquaculture products, as a
highly significant world food resource,
sustainable yields must be achieved. Two
significant constraints which will inevita-
bly affect production capacity are, the
impact of disease on production and the
impact of production on the environment.

In order to minimize losses caused by
diseases and by destmction of the environ-
ment from the aquaculture industry, trai-
ned veterinary scientists are needed to
contribute to the successful expansion of
potential production targets for global
consumption.

Consumption and handling of fish may
offer risks to public health. Enzootic out-
breaks of disease and zoonotic infections
occur very easily, especially under fropical
conditions.

The veterinary profession has to play an
important role in this field. Health para-
meters should be known and monitored to
be able to make an early diagnosis. Ap-
propriate measurements can only be taken
if the aetiology, pathogenesis and symp-
toms of aquatic diseases are knovra. The
required stucfy of diseases in aquatic orga-
nisms offers interesting comparative as-
pects. The use of chemotherapeutics
should be minimal because of the risks for
contamination of the product with residues
and selection for resistance. Moreover, the
possibilities for treatment are often mini-
mal. Other approaches for disease control,
such as zoo-technical prevention or immu-
nisation should be emphasised. The smart
use of genetics and biotechnology may
increase production. All these matters
were addressed during the 8*^ symposium
on \'Tropical Animal Health and Pro-
duction; Aquaculture and Disease Con-
trol\' at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
of Utrecht University on 28 November,
1997.

To give a wider group of interested rea-
ders access to this information we publish
2 presentations of this Symposium in this
issue of EQUATOR.

(Copies of the \'Programme and Abstract\'
book can be obtained on written request
from the editorial office).

INVESTIGATION OF AQUATIC
ANIMAL DISEASES AFFECTING
THE PRODUCTION OF AQUA-
CULTURE IN THAILAND

Thailand has become one of the top ten
aquaculture producers of the world,
contributhig approximately 3% of the
total global production. Such produc-
tivity is due to the favourable climate
conditions, soil and water temperature,
availability of broodstock, low cost
labour, efficient seafood processing
plants and trade, good infrastructure
and transport, and long tradition-based
experience in aquaculture. Since 1991,
Thailand has become the world\'s top
producer of cultured shrimp due to the
influence of its 2,600 km shorelme and
the increased demand of the world\'s
market.

There are many species of aquaculture
in Thailand including both food and
ornamental aquatic animals. Freshwa-
ter fish, marine fish and shellfish are
the major types of production. Re-
cently, other species such as crocodile,
frog, and soft-shell turtle culture have
gained great interest fi-om many aqua-
culturists because of the high retum on
investment. Among the various prob-
lems occurring during the culture pe-
riod, diseases are the most serious and
damaging cause of losses. Many fac-
tors are involved in disease outbreaks,
especially, the environment, pathogen
and animal\'s health status. Investiga-
tion of the disease situation in signifi-
cant species is necessary to determine
the status of the industry and to find
appropriate approaches to treat and
prevent greater loss in the future.

In shrimp production, infectious dis-
ease problems are common in most
intensive farms. The most detrimental
and dreaded shrimp disease problems
in Thailand since the early 1990\'s are
recommendations emphasise water
management and exclusion of carrier
species.

the Yellow-Head Disease (YHD),
White Spot Vims (WSV) also called
Systemic Ectodermal and Mesodermal
Baculovims (SEMBV) and Monodon
Baculovims (MBV). The pond side
losses caused by these viral diseases
may account for a substantial part of
the 25% drop in shrimp production
which occurred in the first half of
1995 when compared to the previous
year. Tremendous efforts have been
put into the development of diagnostic
techniques and prevention methods.
Since these vimses can be spread by
infected water and non-cultivated
cmstacean carriers, current preventive

Major bacterial diseases in cultured
shrimp are vibriosis. Vibrio para-
haemolyticus, V. anguillarum, V.
alginolyticus, V. vulnificus and other
vibrio sp. have been common causes
of high mortality and investment capi-
tal losses in an effort to solve the
problem. In most cases, vibriosis out-
breaks become more severe when co-
existent with viral diseases or envi-
ronmental and nutritional distress.
Many kmds of antibacterial dmgs and
chemicals have been used routinely in
high dosages. This response has
caused problems of antibiotic resis-
tance and dmg residue in the product.
Stronger controls over dmg prescrip-
tions and treatment regimens by vet-
erinarians are needed to facilitate ef-
fective disease management.

Extemal parasites commonly found to
weaken the shrimps are Zoothamnium
sp., Epistylis sp. and nematodes.
These parasites are mostly opportun-
istic parasites and can be found in
many healthy shrimp. Formalin, tea-
seed and other antiparasitic chemicals
are widely used to eliminate parasites
and promote moulting. Both extemal
and intemal parasites are detrimental
to shrimp with compromised immu-
nity. Fungal infection pattems are
snnilar to parasite infestations.
Saprolegnia sp. and Leginidium sp.
are lethal to weak shrimp of all ages.
Therefore, in epizootic circumstances,
prevention of shrimps to parasitic and
fungal infections as secondary infec-
tions is essential.

Marine fish culture production in
Thailand consists largely of sea bass
{Lates calcarifer), grouper (Epinephe-
lus malabaricus), and green muscle
(Mytilus smaragdinus). Diseases that
are devastatmg to them usually oc-
curred in hatcheries and juvenile
stages. There have been reports of a
picoma-like vims and myxosporidia
sp. in cultured species. Vibriosis are

commonly found to cause high mortal-
ity in all species. Vibrio vaccines have
been widely used in many areas for
both fish and shellfish but the efficacy
is still to be determined.

Aquaculture of fi-eshwater aquatic
animals in Thailand is mostly done on
a small scale for domestic consump-
tion. Tilapia {Oreochromis niloticus)
and catfish {Clarius sp.) are the top
volume productions. Infection by
Aeromonas hydrophilla causes the
most serious disease outbreaks in
fi-eshwater aquaculture. Epizootic Ul-
cerative Syndrome (EUS) has been
reported in Thailand since 1981. EUS
in a wide range of fish species in the
ponds as well as in the wild was char-
acterized by ulcers and bum-like le-
sions. The disease was investigated
under an FAO initiative, finding a
causative connection between the dis-
ease and contamination with agricul-
tural chemicals. Various vimses have
been isolated fi^om the sick fish. As of
today, no definite conclusions have
been drawn on the etiology of EUS.
Antibiotics and water management
have been applied in an attempt to
minimize losses, but with little suc-
cess.

Opportunistic pathogens such as para-
sites, protozoa and fiingi are found in
most intensive culture. Anti-parasitic
compounds regularly used are mala-
chite green, formalin, trichlorphon and
salt. The problems of dmg-resistant
organisms and contamination of the
environment mostly occur in the con-
dition of cage rearing and fi-om igno-
rant farmers who dispose of waste
water fi-om their ponds directly into
public waterways.

Non-infectious diseases
Nutritional diseases are significant in
aquaculture due to limited knowledge
of aquatic animal requirements. Thai-
land is one of the largest aquatic ani-
mal feed producers which maintains
high standards. But some small feed
manufacturers have reduced level of
vitamins and minerals in the feed as a
result of destmction caused by im-
proper processing conditions. The
most common symptoms of malnutri-
tion seen in fish and shrimp are vita-
min C and pigment deficiencies, such
as black death and blue shrimp syn-
drome.

Environmental contamination by
chemicals, especially, pesticides, may
cause severe damage to aquatic ani-
mals\' health. Both the direct efiFect of
high mortality and the indirect effect of
immunosuppression have been found,
particularly in agricultural areas. Ab-
sorption of pesticide residues has not
been via the integument only, but also
through oral consumption of contami-
nated feed made fi-om contaminated
raw materials. In order to lower the
incidence of the problem, carefiil
monitoring of water, sediment and feed
pesticide levels must be carried out
regularly.

Recently, aquaculture in Thailand has
expanded into the culture of fi-ogs and
soft shell turtle for exportation to
France, China and Japan. Red leg dis-
ease caused by Aeromonas hydro-
philla, is the most damaging epizootic
in frog farms. As for soft shell turtle,
swollen-body disease of which the ae-
tiology has been undetermined, may
cause up to 80-100% mortality. Many
crocodile farms are emerging for
leather and meat industries. Many dis-
eases of crocodiles in captivity occur,
but mortality in adult animals has been
low thus far.

Aquaculture in Thailand is developing
rapidly and substantial economic
losses are experienced simultaneously
due to the impact of disease. In order
to achieve a sustainable industry, ac-
curate diagnosis, therapeutic and pre-
vention measures must be established.
Effective health management with pro-
fessional advisory services to aquac-
ulturists to minimise stress, preventive
therapy, and enhanced defence mecha-
nisms will minimise disease related
losses in Thai aquaculture.

(This paper was presented on 28 No-
vember 1997, during the 8th Sympo-
sium on Tropical Animal Health and
Production, Aquaculture and Disease
Control The text is slightly edited. An
extensive list of references and the
original text can be obtained from the
editorial office)

Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal
Research Center, Faculty of Veteri-
nary Science, Chulalongkom Univer-
sity, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

During the last decade more and more
attention has been paid to the relation-
ship between nutrition and health. Fish
combat pathological agents through
their immune system and the modula-
tion of the immune functions by cer-
tain nutrients may affect the capacity
of the fish to fight diseases. On one
hand, essential nutrients have led to
immunological depression when defi-
cient. For instance, deficiencies of es-
sential fatty acids, essential amino ac-
ids, minerals and vitamins have been
shown to adversely influence fish im-
mune responses. On the other hand,
high doses of specific nutrients have
proved to be beneficial for the fish.
Certain vitamins (vitamin C and vita-
min E) and fatty acids resulted in an
improvement of defence mechanisms
when fed at levels above the mainte-
nance requirement. Special carbohy-
drates, such as glucans, can have a
positive impact on fish health, due to

their inimunostimulating properties.
The recent paper reviews some of the
nutrients and nutritional factors that
have been shown to increase disease
resistance and to enhance immune re-
sponses in cultured fish.

Effects of intermediate and high doses
of vitamin C (from 300 to 4000 mg/kg
feed) on immune parameters have been
thoroughly studied. Results from the
literature are however somewhat con-
troversial. There are many studies
showing either positive effects of high
levels of vitamin C, whereas others
found no positive effect at all. For a
particular immune flmction, results
vary from one author to another, or
from one experiment to another. In
many studies, high levels of dietary
vitamin C have often been associated
with improved immunity and have
been shown to increase resistance of
fish to bacterial, viral and parasitic
infections. High doses of ascorbic acid
have been shown to enhance phago-
cytosis, lymphocyte proliferation, and
the activity of non-specific humoral
immune parameters such as comple-
ment activity and lysozyme level. Re-
garding antibody production, vitamin
C at doses above nutritional require-
ment resulted in higher levels of cir-
culating antibodies after vaccination,
when compared to fish fed a normal
dose. It is also interesting to note that
fish leukocytes maintain high intra-
cellular ascorbic acid levels against a
considerable concentration gradient.
Indeed vitamin C levels in liver and
anterior kidney, which are major or-
gans for ascorbic acid storage, and in
plasma decrease more rapidly than in
peripheral blood and head kidney leu-
kocytes, suggesting that ascorbic acid
plays a critical role for the effective
flmction of white blood cells. In con-
trast, others could not find any benefit
of high doses of vitamin C on immune
functions and disease resistance in
fish. In some instances, the negative
results obtained could be explained by
the utilisation of unstable forms of
vitamin C. In its pure form vitamin C

is the most unstable among all vita-
mins. Processes as pelletizing and es-
pecially extrusion will destroy most of
the vitamin C even before it is fed to
the fish. The new forms of vitamin C,
stable tmder extrusion and with the
same bio-availability as pure vitamin
C, have been available since 1990. As
different species of fish were employed
in the different studies, it is possible
that the diverging results could also be
explained on the basis of inter-species
variation in uptake and metabolism of
ascorbic acid, with corresponding
variation on the immune system. Dif-
ferences among studies may also be
attributed to the age (or weight) of the
fish, the composition of the diets, the
doses of vitamin C tested and the du-
ration of the feeding. Conceming the
effect of high doses of vitamin C on
disease resistance, 13 studies have
been published. Nine of these have
shown a clear cut effect of a megadose
of dietary vitamin C on disease resis-
tance. It can then be concluded that
even if the effect of vitamin C is still
not fiilly understood, high doses of
vitamin C can protect fish against in-
fectious diseases.

Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) mainly
functions as an antioxidant protecting
unsaturated fatty acids from oxidation.
In recent years, vitamin E has been
demonstrated to be important for the
immune response in various species of
animals in which it appears to influ-
ence both humoral and cellular factors.
Numerous studies in homeotherms
indicate that vitamin E can act as an
immunopotentiator when fed at levels
above the daily requirement. In mam-
mals the effective dose for an optimal
immune response is 4-6 times higher
than the normal requirement. Experi-
ments with fish have shown that high
levels of dietary vitamin E can in-
crease protection against infectious
diseases. The impact of vitamin E on
fish immunity has also been studied.
High doses of vitamin E have been
shown to enhance complement
haemolytic activity, mitogen induced
proliferation macrophage phagocytic
activity and antibody response. The
effect of high levels of vitamin E on
immunological functions seem to be
related to its antioxidant properties and
membrane stabilising effect.

Iron is a growth factor for many bacte-
ria, including fish pathogens. Excess
of iron can not be bound by iron-
binding proteins (transferrin, lactofer-
rin and ferritin) and in free form is
available to bacteria, which can grow
better. Iron availability may thus play
a role in the pathogenicity of certain
bacterial infections in fish, such as

Bacterial Kidney Disease. In an ex-
periment groups of salmons were fed
120, 220, 295 or 435 mg/kg iron. The
occurrence of winter-ulcers and
salmon lice infestation was reduced
when the fish were fed on the diet
containing the lowest concentration of
iron, compared to the other diets.
Mortality after experimental infection
with Vibrio anguillarum increased
linearly with the iron content.

Variations in the type, quality and
quantity of dietary fat can modulate
immune response and disease resis-
tance in farmed fish. Because of their
high content in polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFA), diets for cultured fish
are especially prone to peroxidative
damage during diet preparation and
storage. Oxidised dietary lipids have
been shown to modify certain haema-
tological and immunological parame-
ters and to impair disease resistance.
Changes in the fatty acid (FA) compo-
sition of the dietary lipid have also
been shown to affect non-specific de-
fence mechanism, specific immunity
and disease resistance. Results ob-
tained in the different studies are con-
troversial and to draw any conclusion
becomes hazardous due to differences
in dietary fat content, level of n-3 FA,
ambient rearing temperatures and fish
species. In salmonids, a negative im-
pact of high levels of n-3 FA on anti-
body production has been reported in
some studies, whereas other authors
found no effect or a positive effect.
Among the non-specific defence
mechanisms, phagocytosis and bacte-
ricidal activities of head kidney
macrophages were not influenced by
the ratio of (n-3) to (n-6) PUFAs in the
lipid component of the diet. Regarding
disease resistance, high levels of n-3
FA have generally been associated
with increased protection against in-
fectious agents in salmonids. Such an
effect has been, in some of these stud-
ies, related to low water temperatures.
For instance, Atlantic salmon fed a
diet containing capelin oil (35 g n-3
PUFA per kg dry feed) or soybean oil
(19 g n-3 PUFA/kg) were less resistant
to infection by Vibrio anguillarum
than those fed diets with sardine oil
(60 g n-3 PUFA/kg) when the water
temperature was TC. Whereas, when
a challenge-test with the same patho-
gen was performed at 13°C, the group
fed a diet with capelin oil resulted in
lower mortality than the groups fed the
other hpid sources. In another study,
sahnon were fed levels of n-3 HUFA
(high unsaturated fatty acids), eicos-
apentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosa-
hexaenoic acid (DHA),varying from
12.7 to 24.2% of the total fatty acids.
General resistance to infection as-
sessed after challenge with Vibrio
salmonicicda was not affected by the
dietary level of n-3 HUFA. The water
temperature ranged from 10 to 12°C.
However, when fish were vaccinated
against Yersinia ruckeri and subse-
quently infected with the same patho-
gen, antibody levels and likelihood of
survival were lower in fish fed diets
containing high levels of n-3 HUFA.

Glucans are sugars, polysaccharides
composed only of glucose. In glucans
with immunostimulating capacities, the
glucose molecules are linked 6-1,3 and
6-1,6. These special types of glucans
are normally found in yeast, such as
baker yeast, fungus or edible mush-
rooms. Interest in glucans has in-
creased during the last years and many
studies have been published in scien-
tific journals. Glucans have been
tested in several fish species such as
Chinook salmon, Atlantic salmon,
rainbow trout, seabream or yellow tail,
and they have been shown to enhance
protection against a variety of bacte-
rial pathogens such as A. salmonicida.
Vibrio salmonicida, or Pasteurella
piscicida, when administered. The
principal target and effector cells for
their effect seem to be the macro-
phages. Glucans can activate, thus
increasing their capacity to kill patho-
gens. A receptor specific for glucans
on Atlantic salmon macrophages has
been described. Besides their effect on
phagocytic function, glucans have
been shown to reinforce other non-
specific immune factors such as ly-
sozyme and complement, which play
an essential role in defending fish from
bacterial infections. In a collaboration
between Nutreco ARC and Hofamp;nann-

La Roche, we have recently shown
that glucans can also enhance lympho-
cyte proliferation induced by mitogens
and antibody production (results not
published).

The potential for dietary improvement
of fish health certainly exists. Al-
though many questions are still to be
answered and some effects remain
controversial, evidence on the im-
munostimulating action of certain nu-
trients is now accumulating in the lit-
erature. Nutritional manipulation of
disease resistance and immune respon-
siveness has remained an under-
utilised tool in fish health. The present
trend in fish feeds already goes in the
direction of optimising health through
diet composition.

{This paper was presented on 28 No-
vember 1997, during the 8th Sympo-
sium on Tropical Animal Health and
Production, Aquaculture and Disease
Control. The text is slightly edited. An
extensive list of references and the
original text can be obtained from the
editorial office)

The course on Tropical Animal
Health and Husbandry, which is
yearly organised by the Office for
International Co-operation of Utrecht
University\'s Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine is often the basis for veteri-
nary students to look for a traineeship
in the tropics.

From June till October 1997 final
year veterinary students Yvette Nout
and Noortje Reeuwijk did a trainee-
ship at the Tanga Dairy Development
Programme in Tanga, in the north of
Tanzania near the Indian Ocean. The
Programme is a joint Tanzanian-
Dutch development project The ob-
jective of this traineeship was to de-
velop a strategy to control trypano-
somosis on a medium scale dairy
farm in the Pongwe area.

As I (Yvette) have lived in African
countries until my tenth year, I always
had the desire to return to this conti-
nent and find out how it would be to
live and work there. I decided to com-
bine this personal motive with my vet-
erinary education.

Through the Office for Intemational
Co-operation Noortje and I came in
contact with the Tanga Dairy Devel-
opment Programme (TDDP), a project
in Tanzania in which two Dutch vet-
erinarians are involved. After several
letters, e-mails and fax messages it
was arranged and we were welcome in
Tanga for four months to do a survey
on trypanosomosis. This survey would
be a combination of fieldwork, lab-
work and doing interviews.
During the 1997 course on Tropical
Animal Health and Husbandry,
Noortje and I prepared ourselves for
this traineeship. We presented a case
study on trypanosomosis and learned

Taking blood samples from
cattle and an occasional
donkey (Photo:
Nout/Reeuwijk)

Tanga is a city in the north of Tanza-
nia along the Indian Ocean coast.
Tanga was founded at the end of the
19th century by the Germans, for
whom the source of income was the
export of sisal to Europe and other
parts of the world. Because of the in-
creased use of plastics in the fifties,
the demand for sisal on the worldmar-
ket decreased. Since then the imem-
ployment rate in Tanga is high.

Ten years ago the Dutch Directorate
General for Intemational Cooperation
together with the Tanzanian govem-
ment started the quot;Tanga Dairy Devel-
opment Programmequot; (TDDP). Since
several years Dutch veterinarians
Luuk Schoonman and Birgit van Mun-
ster are involved in the TDDP.
The project assists people to become
small scale dairy farmers (1-5 cows
per farmer) by providing heifers. The
farmer pays back this quot;loanquot; within
five years by returning an offspring
heifer in calf The heifers usually are
crosses of indiginous breed X Hol-
stein-Friesian. Extension workers, who
have followed a basic veterinary
training, are employed by the project
to advice farmers and treat the ani-
mals.

Connected to the project is a milk co-
operation. Recently also a small fac-
tory (financed by a group of Friesian
farmers from the Netheriands) started
to produce dairy products; these are
marketed in Dar es Salaam.

In the Tanga region trypanosomosis
and tick-bome diseases are major
problems in cattle keeping. Trypano-
somosis can be prevented by the regu-
lar use of Samorin® (Isometamidium
chloride). If the animals become sick
they can be treated with Berenil®
(Diminazine acceturate).
Also, farmers are adviced to dip or
spray their animals in order to prevent
tick-bome diseases and reduce the ef-
fects of biting and tsetse flies. There
are a few communally kept dips in the
region, of which one is nm succesfiilly
by the owners of herds grazing in the
area.

Small scale farmers mainly keep their
cattle imder zero-grazing conditions.
This grazing system minimizes the risk
of infection with trypanosomosis and
tick-bome diseases. Traditional farm-
ers in the region keep indiginous cattle
under grazing conditions. Some indigi-
nous breeds are less susceptible to try-

The aim of our survey was to propose
a trypanosomosis prevention strategy
for the area of Pongwe. Pongwe is a
town 20 km from Tanga. In this region
dairy farming has increased considera-
bly and zero grazing became more dif-
ficult.

The TDDP has bought a former sisal
estate and is plaiming to start medium
scale farming in that area. The project
will offer an infrastmcture, and ap-
proximately 60 pieces of land will be
sold to farmers to start a medium scale
farm with approximately 10 to 30
cows per farmer.

Our survey was divided in three parts
of about six weeks each. In the first
part (June and July) we sampled 70%
of the zero-grazing animals and 30%
of the grazing animals. During our
fieldwork we were accompanied by
two extensionists and a driver with
whom we visited the farmers. Blood-
samples were taken and checked for
trypanosomes. This was done in a
laboratory in Tanga town, which was
part of a training institute on vector
control.

In the first sampling round 11% of the
sampled animals were found positive
for trypanosomes.

In the second part of the survey, we
collected data by interviewing farmers
on current trypanosomosis treatment
and prevention strategies. We also

collected information on costs of
treatment and prevention. Besides
these interviews we did some quot;case-
studiesquot;: interviews with various farm-
ers who had a lot of experience and
interesting or different views on this
problem.

The third and last part was a second
sampling round of the cattle popula-
tion in Pongwe area in September.
This time the incidence of trypanoso-
mosis was higher compared to the first
sampling round.

We found that people regard tick-
bome diseases and trypanosomosis as
their two main problems in cattle
keeping. We also found that no aca-
racide is available which is sufficiently

Checking blood samples on
trypanosomes in the lab of
Vector Contol (Photo:
Nout/Reeuwijk)

active against ticks and tsetse flies.
Therefore our study resulted in a pro-
posal to combine the use of a
deltamethrin (sufficiently active
against tsetse flies) and an organo-
phosphate (sufficiently active against
ticks) and to treat the cattle altemately
with these compounds depending on
the seasonal challenge of ticks / tsetse
flies.

At the end of our survey we presented
our strategy in the monthly seminar for
extensionists and discussed our pro-
posed trypanosomosis prevention
strategy with them. The proposed
combination of acaracides is quite a
new idea and has not been practiced
widely yet. Therefore, not a lot is
known of its effectiveness and of pos-
sible side-effects.

In Tanga we lived in a house mn by a
Lutheran mission post. We had cook-
ing facilities, a living room and two
bedrooms. The project offered two
bikes, on which we went to the office.
For most of our shopping we went to
the market in the centre of town. The
variety of fmits and vegetables was
enormous and also there was an abun-
dance of sea fhiit.

Swimming was (almost) only possible
at quot;swimming clubsquot;. We found a
quot;privatequot; small piece of beach which
we could enjoy, when the tide was
low....

In the weekends we either stayed in
Tanga and made some excursions in
the neighbourhood, or stayed in a
beach house owned by a project
worker.

On a few occasions we had quot;nyama
chômaquot; after work with some exten-
sionists, which was great fiin. Lots of
meat, grilled bananas and big bottles
of beer. Sit, relax and talk a little
bit....

Also traditional farmers, in
this case Maasai, received
the students very kindly and
thanked them by offering
milk and meat (Photo:
Nout/Reeuwijk)

Not only did we experience life and
work in Tanzania; we also organized
the quot;Kilimanjaro expeditionquot;. After a
quot;training weekendquot; in the Usambara
mountains (northwest of Tanga) we
traveled to Moshi and started to climb
Mt. JCilimanjaro. After five days of
climbing with two relatives, a guide,
an assistant guide and seven porters
we reached the everlasting snow of the
Uhuru peak (6000m.) which is the
highest point in Africa. This was an
unforgettable experience!

These five months we spent in Africa
have definitely been a great experi-
ence. A lot of questions we had are
answered. Now we know a little bit
more what you may or may not expect
when coming to a tropical country.
To spend such a time living and
working in an Afi-ican country, is a
special experience; you really have to
find out for yourself how you cope
with certain situations.
We have enjoyed ourselves very much
and again we would like to thank eve-
ryone who helped to make this possible
for us!

Créé en 1983 Vétérinaires Sans Frontières
opère essentiellement dans les pays du Sud
et a pour objectifs:

-nbsp;D\'améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et
promouvoir les revenus économiques des
groupes pratiquant l\'élevage ou pour les-
quels la production animale pourrait être
un apport intéressant.

-nbsp;De favoriser l\'émergence d\'organisation
de base et d\'opérateurs privés pouvant
apporter une réponse aux besoins des

-nbsp;Conduite de projets en Afrique, en
Amérique latine et en Asie, avec des
fonds provenant de bailleurs institutio-
nels et de fonds propres.

Par ailleurs, VSF fait partie de regroupe-
ments d\'ONG, dont le Groupe Initiatives
(GI), qui lui permettent notamment de par-
ticiper aux concertations avec les pouvoirs
pubhcs.

This section contains vacancy announcements which the editorial board considers to be of
possible interest to Dutch veterinarians. Besides vacancies that will be taken fi-om Vacatu-
reblad hitemationale Samenwerking, Tijdschrift voor Diergeneeskunde, Veterinaiy
Record, hitro vacaUires (RPD Advies/Ministry of hitemal Affairs) etc., there will be room
for personnel advertisements. For further information about the vacancies please contact
the institution or company directly.

populations.
VSF a connu un développement rapide.
Son budget en 1997 avoisine 40 millions
de francs pour une trentaine de program-
mes.

-nbsp;Quatre domaines de compétences: santé
animale, gestion des systèmes
d\'élevage, gestion des resources natu-
relles, renforcement des organisations
locales.

-nbsp;Des approches favorisant la formation
et la participation dres quot;eleveurs et des
différents groupes d\'acteurs au sein des
populations,

-nbsp;La volonté de contribuer à l\'émergence
de structures locales qui deviennent
progressivement les interiocuteurs prin-
cipeaux des ONG du Nord.

Les équipes de terrain et notamment les
expatriés se caractérisent par un engage-
ment important dans leur travail et par une
relative autonomie dans le déroulement de
leurs activités.

Le développement et les activités de VSF
visent à respecter une éthique vis-à-vis des

populations et des pays avec lesquels VSF
travaille, ce qui entraîne le respect d\'un
certain nombre de principes el le souci de
réagir aux politiques gouvernementales le
cas échéant; la participation de VSF au
Groupe hiitiatives est à ce titre importante.

C\'est le contexte dans lequel VSF
recherche son directeur des programmes.
Sous la responsabilité de la direction
générale, il est membre du comité de direc-
tion aux côtés du directeur administratif et
fmancier et du directeur de la recherche-
développement. Il est chargé:

-nbsp;De la coordination de l\'ensemble des
programmes de terrain de VSF; à ce
titre il a un rôle d\'animation auprès des
équipes de terrain pour le bon
déroulement des programmes ainsi
qu\'un rôle d\'impulsion et de dynamis-
me au sein de VSF;

-nbsp;Du développement des programmes de
VSF; il recherche des financements
pour la poursuite des programmes en
cours si elle se justifie et pour le lance-
ment de nouveaux programmesselon les
axes stratégiques de développement de
l\'association;

-nbsp;De la qualité des projets dans le cadre
de la cellule dquot;appui aux programmes
animée par le directeur de la recherche-
12 Junenbsp;Fee: Dfl. 5,000*

* Excluding intemational travel expenses; including full board and lodging

Information: IPC Livestock Bameveld College, Head of Dept. of Intemational
Studies and Cooperation Programmes, P.O. Box 64, 3770 AB Bameveld (Tel •
31.342.414881, telefax: 31.342.492813, e-mail: io@ipcdier.hacom nl)

-nbsp;De la gestion fmancière des program-
mes, qui représentent 80% du budget de
l\'association. En lien avec le départe-
ment administratif et fmancier, il est
responsable de l\'élaboration des bud-
gets des programmes et du suivi budgé-
taire, il met l\'accent sur la déconcentra-
tion fmancière en cours de mise en oeu-
vre dans une partie des pays;

-nbsp;De la gestion des ressources huaines du
département dont il est le directeur à
yon (5 personnes dont 2 chargés des
programmes) et du personnel expatrié
sur le terrain (environ 45 personnes).

Pour assurer ces fonctions, il s\'appuie sur
les membres du comité de direction avec
lesquels les décisions les plus importantes
sont prises, il participe selon les besoins
aux réunions du bureau et du conseil d\'ad-
ministration de l\'association.

Formation vétérinaire de préférence, ou
agronome avec une expérience en zootech-
nie ou très proche de ces domaines.
Expérience de 8 à 10 ans dans le
développement avec des fonctions de res-
ponsabilité, dont 4 à 5 années en poste dans
un pays du Sud. Réellevolonté d\'engage-
ment dans un fonctionnement associatif
Capacités de manager une équipe géogra-
phiquement dispersée. Aptitude à la négo-
ciation avec les institutionnels, excellent
relationnel. Rigueur dans la gestion. Ang-
lais et espagnol fortement souhaités. Poste
basé à Lyon, environ 80 jours par an de
missions à l\'étranger.

IPC Livestock, Innovation and Practical Training Centre, Barneveld, The
Netherlands.

1998 Course programme

IPC Livestock Barneveld organizes the following short professional training
programmes in English in 1998. The courses are in-service, commercial sector and
practice oriented and include theory, practicals, demonstrations and excursions.

- Modem animal feed manufacturing 2 June -

■nbsp;Feed formulationnbsp;15 June -

■nbsp;Modem layer farm management 2 June -

•nbsp;Modem breeder farm management 2 June -

■nbsp;Modem broiler farm management 15 June -

■nbsp;Modem hatchery management 15 June -

•nbsp;Sexing of day-old-chicksnbsp;August -
Modem pig farm management 2 June -

■nbsp;Artificial Insemination in pigs 15 June -

Vétérinaires Sans Frontières, Espace
Rhône Alpes Coopération, 14, avenue Ber-
thelot, F-69361 Lyon Cedex 07, France (e-
mail: vsf@globenet.org).

LIVESTOCK GENETICIST - PROJECT
CO-ORDINATOR DEVELOPMENT OF
DISEASE RESISTANT LIVESTOCK
(f\'m) (Nairobi, Kenya; REF PCDL/1/98)

The Intemational Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI), founded in 1994, incor-
porates the resources of the former Interna-
tional Laboratory for Research on Animal
Diseases (ILRAD, Kenya) and the Intema-
tional Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA,
Ethiopia). ILRI, a non-profit-making re-
search institute, is sponsored by the Con-
sultative Group on International Agricul-
tural Research (CGIAR). The global man-
date of ILRI is to undertake research to en-
hance the role of hvestock in sustainable
agricultural production systems in Africa,
Asia and the Latin American-Caribbean
region. ILRI employs approximately 80
intemationally recruited scientists, 20 post-
doctoral associates and 800 programme
support staff based in the institute\'s two
campuses in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, and
at field sites in Niger, Nigeria, Burkina
Faso, India, Colombia and Peru.

ILRI has a strong programme of research in
the area of animal health improvement in
the developing world, through the develop-
ment of new technologies, such as vaccines
and diagnostics, and of ways to effectively
apply these to enhance livestock
productivity. ILRI currently has a position
for a Project Co-ordinator in Development
of Disease Resistant Livestock. This is a
senior position in the Institute. The suc-
cessful candidate will join a multi-disciplin-
ary team in the Biosciences Programme,
reporting to the Programme Director. The
incumbent is responsible for co-ordination
of the whole project area which currently
includes two operational projects conduct-
ing research on the genetics of resistance to
trypanosomiasis in cattle and laboraty ani-
mals, and the genetics of resistance to hel-

minths in small ruminants and laboraty ani-
mals. The Co-ordinator is directly responsi-
ble for leadership and all management as-
pects of the projects. He or she is required
to manage project fiinds and to play a major
role in identifying and obtaining new
sources of funding. Development and co-
ordination of collaborative projects with
other laboratories will be an important
component of the work.

A PhD degree or equivalent, with
appropriate specialisation in animal molec-
ular and/or quantitative genetics, and an
extensive publication record are required.
Candidates are expected to have more than
5 years relevant research and management
experience. Good communication and
interpersonal skills, an ability to perform in
a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural envi-
ronment and fluency in spoken and written
English are essential requirements. The
successfiil candidate should have experi-
ence in disease resistant livestock research
and a good understanding of the patterns of
genetics of disease resistance.

The location of the post is ILRI (Nairobi).
The contract for this position will be for an
initial 3 year term with the possibility of
extension. Salary, dependent on experience,
will be paid in US dollars. ILRI provides
excellent benefits including em- ployer-
paid medical, life and disability insurance
and retirement benefits. Relocation, hous-
ing, annual leave travel and education
allowances are also provided. On-site fur-
nished accommodation at ILRI is subject to
availability or, a housing allowance for off-
site accommodation is provided.

Applicants should send a cover letter, cur-
riculum vitae and the names and addresses
(including telephone, fax and e-mail) of
three referees who are knowledgeable
about the candidates professional qualifica-
tions and work experience to:
Human Resources Manager, ILRI, P.O.Box
30709, Nairobi, Kenya (Tel.: 254.2. -
630743, telefax: 254-2-631499, e-mail:
ILRI-KENYA@cgnet.com).
The name and reference number of the po-
sition for which the application is made
should be clearly marked on the envelopes
of mailed, or on the fax or e-mail applicati-
ons. Screening of applications will begin on
27 February, 1998, and will continue until
the post is filled.

University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Onderstepoort, South
Africa.

The Departments of Veterinary Tropical Diseases and Pathology of the Faculty of
Veterinary Science, Onderstepoort organize the following courses in English in
1998.

These courses focus on the techniques required to make a diagnosis. Technical as
well as other scientists are accommodated (Course fee US$ 2,000)

Ectoparasitology and Protozoology
Diagnostic Veterinary Pathology
Immunology and Serology
Histopathology laboratory practice

This course aims to train veterinarians in the epidemiology, diagnosis and control
of important epidemic diseases of Africa. Course fee: participants from Africa:
US$ 2,500, participants from outside Africa: US$ 3,000. Period: 28 September - 2
October, 1998.

This course covers all aspects of health and management of draught animals.
Course fee US$ 2,000. Period: 31 August - 25 September, 1998.

Information: Mrs. Shirley Schroder, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases,
Faculty of Veterinary Science, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
(Tel.: 27.12.5298103, telefax: 27.12.5298312, e-mail: shirley@opl.up.ac.za)

HandiSTATUS (Help with Worid Ani-
mal Disease Status) is a database pro-
gramme which contains information
about animal diseases which are impor-
tant to intemational trade or human
health. The main sources of information
are the FAO/OIEAVHO Animal Health
Yearbook, published by the Food and
Agriculture organization of the United
Nations (FAO), and the Intemational
Animal Health Code and World Animal
Health, produced by the Intemational
Office of Epizootics (OIE).

The development of this database was
initiated in response to requests for infor-
mation by animal health personnel in the
Caribbean trough CARAPHIN, a project
of the Inter-American Institute for Coop-
eration on Agriculture and (IICA) the
Canadian Intemational Development
Agency (CIDA), with support from Agri-
cultiu-e Canada and the University of
Guelph. Work has continued under a
hemispheric project of IICA\'s Program
V: agricultural health, which aims to
promote the safe trade of agricultural
products, and subsequently through
fmancial support from the United Sates
Department of Agriculture (USDA/
APHIS) and the OIE.

The programme was initially intended to
be a source of integrated information
particularly suited for persons working in
isolation in small countries; however, it
has come into much wider use. The first
prototype was presented at the Inter-
national Symposium on Veterinary Epi-
demiology and Economics, Ottawa,
Canada, August 1991, where broader
interest in the programme became appar-
ent. In view of the OIE\'s mission to
disseminate animal health information
and the contribution of HandiSTATUS
toward achieving this aim, an agreement
was reached at the beginning of 1996 for
the OIE to take over the responsibility
for the future maintenance and develop-
ment of the application.

HandiSTATUSTprowdes information on
diseases of sufficient importance to inter-
national trade or human health to be
included in the official lists A and B
(OIE/FAO) or C (FAO). It features maps
of the global distribution of listed dis-
eases for each species affected. More
detailed information on distribution is
available in the text form. In addition to
assisting in risk identification for im-
port/export decisions, it provides access
to the OIE\'s Intemational Animal Health
Code recommendations for safe importa-
tion of products, lists of reference labora-
tories and contains formats for veterinary
certificates.

Obtaining a copy of HandiSTATUS
The most recent version of Handi-
STATUS and a concise version of the
current User\'s Manual can be dovm
loaded from the OIE Web site (Address:
http://www.oie.int). Instmctions on how
to download the files are given at the
Web site. The OIE also supplies Handi-
STATUS on two 3.5quot; high density dis-
kettes and a printed version of the User\'s
Manual to Delegates of the OIE Member
Countries and, on request, to official
bodies in a position to promote or dis-
tribute the software. Regular updates of
HandiSTATUS programmes and data
are available from the OIE Web site.

Information: Office Intemational des
Epizooties, 12, me de Prony, 75017
Paris, France (Tel. 33.144151888,
telefax: 33.142670987, e-mail: oie@
oie.int)

29 March - 11 April, 1998
Intemational course on livestock and
environment interactions. Course pro-
gramme: Livestock-environment interac-
tions in the context of global changes;
Analyses of key indicators for livestock-
environment interactions; Assessment of
environmental impact for livestock pro-
duction systems; Policy instruments.
Course fee: Dfl. 5,500. Information and
registration: Intemational Agricultural
Centre (lAC), P.O. Box 88, 6700 AB
Wageningen (Tel.: 31.317.490111,
telefax: 31.317 418552, e-mail: iac
@iac.agro.nl).

Course on: Artificial insemination in
pigs. Subjects: Collection of semen;
Evaluation and processing of semen in
the laboratory; Insemination and sow
production control; Organization of an Al
station and Selection of breeding stock.
Fees including board and lodging: Dfl.
5,000. Information: IPC Livestock
Bameveld College, Dep. of Intemational
Studies and Cooperation Programmes,

P.O. Box 64, 3770 AB Bameveld (Tel.:
31.342.414881, telefax: 31.342-
.492813, e-mail: io@ ipcdier.hacom.nl).

3 August, 1998 - 30 July, 1999
Degree of Master of Veterinary Studies
(MVS) in Avian Health. Organized by:
Faculty of Veterinary Science, Univ. of
Melbourne. Areas of study: Poultry
pathology; Infectious causes and serology
of poultry diseases; Disease, diagnosis,
prevention and control; Poultry
production systems and procedures;
Keyboard skills for data handling;
Enhanced communication skills;
Preparation of dissertation. Tuition fee:
$A 26,500. Closing date for applications:
31 March, 1998. hiformation: Dr. Trevor
Bagust, Course Coordinator, Faculty of
Veterinary Science, Univ. of Melbourne,
Parkville, Victoria 3052 (Tel.: 61.3.93-
449676, telefax: 61.3.93449675, email:
t.bagust@unimelbltd.unimelb. edu. au).

Intemational Congress on Antrax,
Bmcellosis, CBPP, Mycobacterial
diseases and Clostridial diseases.
Organized by: OIE Regional
Collaborating Centre for Africa with the
ARC Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute.
Programme will focus on the following
aspects: epidemiology, control, zoonoses
and detection. Call for papers and poster
abstracts: füll text before 1 May, 1998.
Congress venue: The Conference Cenfre,
Berg-en-Dal rest camp, Kruger National
Park. Fee: before 15 May: R 1250; after

15nbsp;May: R 1500; after 15 June: 1750.
Registration: Organising Committee,
Technology Transfer, Onderstepoort
Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X05,
Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa (Tel.:
27.12.5299433, telefax: 27.12.-
5299143, e-mail: ria@ moon.ovi.ac.za).

26®quot; Intemational course on dairy farming
in rural development. Course program-
me: Introduction; Daiiy development;
Farming systems; Statistics; Economics
and agricultural credit; Breeding; Pasture
production; Nutrition and feeding:
Animal health; Reproduction and AI,
Extension and case studies. Course fee:

Dfl. 5,500. Closing date: 1 May, 1998.
Information and registration: Intematio-
nal Agricultural Centre (lAC), P.O. Box
88, 6700 AB Wageningen (Tel.: -1-31-
.317.490111, telefax: 31.317 418552,
e-mail iac@iac.agro.nl).

24-28 August, 1998
10*^ Intemational Conference on
Production Diseases in Farm Animals,
lO\'^ICOPD\'98. Programme: Metabolic
disorders and related diseases; deficiency
diseases; Nutrition and fertility;
Endocrinology and regulation for
metabohsm; Nutrition and immunology;
Animal welfare, behaviour and housing;
Animal production and the environment;
Epidemiology and production diseases.
Call for papers, and deadline for receipt
of Abstracts: 1 April, 1998. Registration
fee: Dfl. 500,- hrformation and
registration: Dr. Th. Wensing, Office
Organizing Committee, P.O. Box 14031,
NL 3508 SB Utrecht (Telefax:
31.30.2511787, e-mail: t.wensing@
izv.dgk.mu.nl; http:// www.knmvd.nl).

24 August, 1998 - 25 Febmary, 1999
28quot;quot; Interaational course on poultry hus-
bandry and 28*^ Intemational course on
pig husbandry. Organized by: IPC
Livestock Interaational, Baraeveld Col-
lege. These courses will run at the same
time. Following these courses participa-
tion is possible in the 21quot;* Interaational
animal feed training programme (AFTP),
which runs from 1 March to 27 May,
1999. Direct entiy in this last course is
also possible. Fees including board and
lodging: Poultry course: Dfl. 24,500; Pig
course: Dfl. 24,500, Feed course; Dfl.
12,000 or 14,500 (direct entiy). Closing
date: 1 May, 1998. hrformation: IPC
Livestock Baraeveld College, Dep. of
Intemational Studies and Cooperation
Programmes, P.O. Box 64, 3770 AB
Bameveld (Tel.: 31.342.414881, tele-
fax: 31.342.492813, e-mail: io@
ipcdier.hacom.nl).

1 September, 1998-31 August, 2000
Interaational MSc programme of the
Graduate School Animal Health, Faculty
of Veterinaiy Medicine, Utrecht

University, and ID-DLO histitute for
Animal Science and Health, Lelystad.
MSc Course \'Veterinary Epidemiology
and Herd Health\' (fee: Dfl. 20,000); MSc
Course \'Animal Pathology\' (fee: Dfl.
35,000); MSc Course \'Modem
Approaches in Veterinaiy Microbiology
and Immunology\'(fee: Dfl. 68,500).
Registration before 1 August, 1998.
hrformation: Office for hitemational Co-
operation, Faculty of Veterinaiy Medici-
ne. P.O. Box 80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht
(Telefax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail:
bic@bic.dgk.mu.nl).

10-12 September, 1998
Veterinary Pathology Symposium. Orga-
nized by: Southern and Eastera Africa
Division of the C.L. Davis DVM
Foundation. Information: Prof M.J.
Obwolo, Faculty of Veterinaiy Science,
University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box M.P.
167, Mount Pleasant, Harare (Tel. -
263.4.30321 l,telefax: 263.4.333683,
e-mail: vetscience@esanet.zw).

14-18 September, 1998
IX Intemational Conference of the Asso-
\' ciation of Institutions of Tropical Vet-
erinary Medicine (AITVM): \'Animal
health and Production for Sustainable
Development\'. Organized by: Faculty of
Veterinary Science, University of Zimba-
bwe, P.O. Box MP 167, Harare. Loca-
tion: Intemational Conference Centre,
Harare. Registration: Prof M.J. Obwolo,
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University
of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box M.P. 167, Mount
Pleasant, Harare (Tel. 263.4,303211,
telefax: 263.4.333683, e-mail:
vetscience@esanet. zw).

October, 1998 - October, 1999
MSc Course on Wild Animal Health for
graduates in veterinary and relevant sci-
ences. Licluding: practical and theoretical
instmction in the husbandry and nutrition
of wild animals, taxonomy, population
biology, conservation genetics, welfare
and ethical aspects, epidemiology, immu-
nology, infectious and non-infectious dis-
eases, disease investigation, resfraint,
preventive medicine and surgery and an
individual research project. Organized
by: The Institute of Zoology (Zoological
Society of London) and The Royal Veter-
inaiy College (University of London).
Information and regisfration: Regisfrar,
The Royal Veterinaiy College, Royal
CoUege Sfreet, London NWl OTU (Tel.
44.171- 4685000, telefax: 44.171-
3882342).

16-22 October, 1998
Joint meeting of the World Association of
Wildltfe Veterinarians (WAWV), the
American Association of Zoo Veterinari-
ans (AAZV) and the Canadian Associa-
tion of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians
(CAZWV). Holiday Convention Centre,
Omaha. Information: Dr. Wilbur Amand,
President WAWV, 6 North Pennel Road
(Lima), Media PA 19063, USA.

Febmaiy, 1999 - January, 2000
Degree of Master of Veterinary Studies
(MVS) in Health and Production of
Small Ruminants. Organized by: Faculty
of Veterinary Science, University of Mel-
bourae. Areas of study: Parasitology
Gross and histopathology; Reproduction
Advanced sheep management; Introduc
tory surgery and field visits. Tuition fee
$A 26,500. Closing date for applications
30 September, 1998. Informadon: Dr
Trevor Bagust, Course Coordinator
Faculty of Veterinaiy Science, University
of Melbourae, Parkville, Victoria 3052
(Tel.: 61.393449676, telefax: 61.3,-
93449675, e-mail: t.bagust@
unimelbltd, unimelb, edu, au),

20-25 September, 1999
Joint meeting of the European Section of
the Wildltfe Disease Association
(EWDA) and the European Association
Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians
(EAZWV) at the Worid Veterinaiy Con-
gress in Lyon, Information: Dr. Marc
Artois, CNEVA Nancy, Domaine de
Pixerecourt, BP 9, 54220 Malzeville,
France,

EQUATOR is a periodical of the
Office for Intemational
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University

J.H.A. de Gooijer
R.W. Paling DVM PhD
(editor-in-chief)
W.D. Vink MVM
P.R. van Weeren DVM PhD

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Office for International
Cooperation
P.O. Box 80.163
3508 TD Utrecht
The Netherlands
TeL: 31.30.2532116
Fax: 31.30.2531815
E-mail: bic@bic.dgk.mu.nl

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and
termination of subscription please
retum the corrected label to the
editorial office.

Friday 20 Febmary was the most im-
portant day of 1998 for 15 of the par-
ticipants m the MSc course on quot;Herd
Health and Epidemiologyquot;. On this
day they were rewarded with the MSc
degree after 18 months of study and
scientific endurance.
Traditionally the course ended with the
presentations of the results of the sci-
entific work of the participants before
an audience of peers. Publication of
the results in a double refereed inter-
national journal is mandatory to obtain
the Master of Science degree at
Utrecht University\'s Faculty of Vet-
erinary Medicine.

The participants, who came from Bel-
gium, Ethiopia, Finland, India, Kenya,
the Netherlands, Thailand, Tanzania,
Zambia and Zimbabwe, did their re-
search at different departments of the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and
the Institute for Animal Science and
Health in Lelystad.

The research topics fell within the fol-
lowing areas: Laboratory techniques
(cattle and small mminants). Animal
level analysis (cattle). Fertility and
hormones (cattle and horses), Infec-
tious diseases (cattle and pigs) and
Diverse subjects (cattle and sheep)

After these presentations Prof
A.W.C.A. Comelissen, the vice dean,
took the floor and officially presented
the quot;young mastersquot; their diploma.
Dr. Ynte Hein Schukken, course co-
ordinator and staff member of the
Utrecht Department of Herd Health
and Reproduction highlighted the past
18 months in his farewell speech. He
encouraged his ex-students to continue
quot;the good workquot;. But he also warned
them, especially the participants from
tropical countries, for a reverse culture
shock upon arrival back home.

After this wise words Dr. Schukken
suddenly removed his tie and shirt to
reveal a T-shirt with a group photo of
the participants. Beside this photo the
T-shirt contained the text: Masterclass
96/98 - Great Class...........

•nbsp;Use of a 14.2 kDa recombinant Cooperia oncophora protein in an ELISA for herd health monitoring of
nematode infections in first season grazing calves in the Netherlands (John Githiori, Kenya)

•nbsp;Statistical validation of the quot;MAPl-B ELISAquot; for diagnosis of Cowdria ruminantium infection in
small ruminants (Martin Mboloi, Kenya)

•nbsp;Detection of spirochetes by Polymerase Chain Reaction and its relation to the course of Digital Derma-
titis after local antibiotic treatment in dairy cattle (Tembo Mumba, Zambia)

•nbsp;Effect of induced fatty liver on hepatic gluconeogenesis in periparturient dairy cows (Theera Rukkwam-
suk, Thailand)

•nbsp;Early responses of SCC and electrical conductivity in relation to severity of E. coli mastitis in dairy
cows (Maru Aregawi, Ethiopia)

•nbsp;Relation between bacterial count and SCC in S. aureus infected cows (Ruth Zadoks, the Netherlands)

•nbsp;Diestral peak progesterone, estradiol, heat intensity and milk production during estrus: the natural rela-
tionships (Masimba Ndengu, Zimbabwe)

•nbsp;Relation between estradiol, Cortisol and heat intensity in dairy cattle (Zodiac Lyimo, Tanzania

•nbsp;The exposure of progesterone receptor on the plasma membrane of stallion spermatozoa is a valuable
parameter for prediction of fertility (Rahul Rathi, India)

•nbsp;Risk factors for Neospora caninum associated abortion storms in Dutch dairy herds (Chris Bartels, the
Netherlands)

•nbsp;An experimental infection with a classical swine fever virus on weaner pigs. Can the serological data be
used to estimate the day of virus introduction in natural outbreaks? (Hans Laevens, Belgium)

•nbsp;Risk indicators for the seroprevalence of five respiratory disease agents in slaughter pigs from fattening
pig herds (Dominiek Maes, Belgium)

•nbsp;Heritability for para-tbc in Dutch dairy cattle (Girma Adugna, Ethiopia)

•nbsp;The association of housing conditions with lameness in Finnish dairy cows (Paula Antilla, Finland)

•nbsp;The influence of Cobalt-supplementation during late gestation on ewes and suckling lambs (Lammert
Moll, the Netheriands)

STATISTICAL VALIDATION OF THE MAPl-B
ELISA FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF
COWDRIA RUMINANTIUM INFECTION
IN SMALL RUMINANTS

The MAPl-B ELISA for the diagnosis of Cowdria ruminantium infections was statistically validated to determine cut-off
values for sheep and goat sera. The repeatability of the test was also evaluated. Cowdria-infected populations consisted of 48
sheep and 44 goats while the non-infected populations consisted of 64 sheep and 107 goats. Cut-off values were determined
by Two graph-Receiver Operating Characteristic (TG-ROC) curves. The cut-off value for sheep sera was set at 31 % and for
goat sera 26.6% of the reference positive control sample. The test\'s performance was fiuther evaluated using the Area Under
the Curve (AUG) of the ROC curves and Valid Range Proportion (VRP) = (MR-IR)/MR, whereby MR is the measurement
range of the MAPl-B ELISA results obtained in the infected and non-infected reference populations of each of the two
animal species. IR is the intermediate range which occurs due to results that are neither defined as positive nor negative by
the test. The values of AUG and VRP for sheep sera were not different from those obtained from goats. The test repeatability
was evaluated by coefficient of variation (GV) and intra-class correlation coefficient (R,oc). Results obtained with sheep sera
were more consistent than for goats using both GV and Rcc- However, the relative variability in the results did not alter the
diagnostic performance of the test in classifying the sera to infected and non-infected states. From the results of this study, we
conclude that the MAPl-B ELISA is a useful test for the diagnosis of Cowdria ruminantium infection in small ruminants.\'

EUROPEAN UNION INTERNATIONAL
SYMPOSIUM ON TICKS AND
TICK-BORNE DISEASES IN CHINA

In November, 1997 a special issue of the journal Tropical Animal Health and
Production\' was published by the Edinburgh University Press as supplement to
Volume 29. With the publication of this supplement, there came an end to a
series of major efforts by many motivated scientists to bring together, during a
weeks\' conference in Xi\'an, China, members of the worid\'s leading tick re-
search groups and the Chinese scientific community involved in research on
ticks and tick-bome diseases.

One of the tasks of the project was to organise two co-ordinating
\'Mechanisms of pathogenesis and meetings, one in Turkey and one in
immunity in tropical theileriosis: their China. This project, fimded by the

European Union (EU) under the
STD3 programme of DG 12, was
executed by the Centre for Tropical
Veterinary Medicine (CTVM) of the
University of Edinburgh (UK). The
purpose of these co-ordinating meet-
ings was to bring together workers in
the field and hopefiilly develop col-
laboration between Europe and China.

In 1993, Dr Roger Spooner of CTVM,
who was the co-ordinator of the pro-
ject, met for the first time in Beijing,
with Prof Lu Wenshun and Dr Yin
Hong of the Lanzhou Veterinary Re-
search Institute of the Chinese Aca-
demy for Agricultural Sciences. Plans
were made for the meeting and were
put into a shape in 1995, in collabora-
tion with the co-organisers fi-om the
EU-Delegation in Beijing. The
Sheraton hotel in Xi\'an was identified
as a suitable location for the meeting.

entitled: \'European Union interna-
tional symposium on ticks and tick-
borne diseases\', was attended by 50
participants from China, Europe,
North Africa, Turkey, South-east
Asia, Japan, India and Australia.
During the 5-day Symposium almost
50 papers were presented. These pres-
entations were divided over 4 sessions
covering: Ticks and tick-borne dis-
eases in China; Tick-borne diseases in
countries outside China; Diagnosis of
tick-borne diseases; Antigenic and
genetic characterisation of Theileria
and Babesia; Control and Vaccina-
tion.

Prof. Luo Jianxun and Prof Lu
Wenshun, indicated in their presenta-
tion entitled: \'Theileriosis in China\'

supplement to volume 29 number » november 1997
proceedings ofthe european union

quot;ternational symposium on ticks and
TIC^BORNE diseases, XI\'AN. china. 1996.

that amongst the piroplasmoses of
livestock in China, the commonest is
theileriosis caused by Theileria an-
nulata, T. sergenti and T. mutans.
Although theileriosis is most com-
monly seen in northern China, it also
occurs in the South. T. annulata is the
most virulent and pathogenic. T. ser-
genti is apathogenic but causes high
infection rates up to 97% (Luo Ji-
anxun and Lu Wenshun, 1997, Trop.
Anim. Hlth Prod, Suppl. 29: S4-7).

The Proceedings of the Symposium,
published in \'Tropical Animal Health
and Production\' in 1997 as supple-
ment to Volume 29, form a 140 page,
unique source of information. This
publication, edited by Dr Patricia
Preston (University of Edinburgh) and
Dr Yin Hong (Lanzhou Veterinary
Research Institute) covers a wide
range of topics related to ticks and
tick-borne diseases and provides de-
tailed information on occurrence,
distribution, economic importance and
control of these diseases in Asia; this
information was by and large unavail-
able in the intemational literature until
now. The publication of the proceed-
ings was fUnded by the EU under the
INCO-DC programme as part of a
Concerted Action Project on Inte-
grated Control of Ticks and Tick-
bome Diseases (ICTTD) and by the
ECTS2-0260-UK project. A limited
number of copies is available on
written request from Dr F. Jongejan,
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
Utrecht University, P.O. box 80.165,
NL 3508 TD Utrecht (Telefax:
31.30.2540784; e-mail: f.jongejan@
vetmi c. dgk. mu. nl).

applied pathophysiology and pharma-
cology, with special emphasis on the
different vital organ functions affected
by anaesthesia.

Clinical training will encompass the
different aspects of anaesthesia of
large animals (equine, mminants, por-
cine), companion animals (canine, fe-
line, exotic pets), laboratory animals
(rodents, rabbits) and optionally exotic
(zoo and/or wild) animals.
Beside aspects as pharmacology of
anaesthetic agents, species dependent
clinical applicability of different an-
aesthetic protocols and potential an-

aesthetic mishaps, there will be an in-
depth training in the basic principles of
anaesthesia monitoring, patient sup-
port during anaesthesia and post-
operative care.

The remaining 12-18 months will be
spent on training in and performing
applied research in veterinary anaes-
thesia. Basic training courses related
to several aspects of general scientific
training (see course description) will
be attended during this period. A pre-
viously approved research project will
be executed by the MSc candidate.
This research project in the field of
veterinary anaesthesiology will be part
of an ongoing research programme of
Utrecht University\'s Faculty of Vet-
erinary Medicine.

Large animals: During this rotation
the candidate will be exposed to the
different local and regional anaesthesia
techniques in ruminants and equines.
Furthermore attention will be paid to
different aspects of general anaesthesia
in horses, swine and small ruminants.
During these anaesthesias the focus
will be on the adequacy of general an-
aesthesia and the evaluation of the
flinctioning of the patient\'s vital or-
gans. Different methods of patient
monitoring (both non-invasive and in-
vasive) will be demonstrated and the
candidate is expected to learn and in-
terpret the data obtained by the differ-
ent means of monitoring. In the case of
equine anaesthesia the candidate is
expected to gain adequate insight in
the pathophysiological aspects of the
ventilation perfusion mismatching, as
it occurs during recumbency in horses
under general anaesthesia, and
(possible) relevant elements of patient
support.

Companion animals: During the
companion animal rotation the candi-
date will be expected to gain knowl-
edge of and subsequently perform dif-
ferent forms of injection and inhalation
anaesthesia in dogs, cats, and (small)
exotic animals. To a limited extent
local anaesthesia techniques, relevant
to companion animal anaesthesia, will
be taught. Next to vital organ fimc-
tioning (cardiac and respiratory)
monitoring attention will be focused on
several aspects of supportive therapy
during anaesthesia such as artificial
ventilation, infiision therapy, blood
pressure support therapy etcetera.
There will be ample time scheduled
for interpretation and subsequent
therapeutic consequence of relevant
biochemical and/or blood gas and acid
base analysis data.

Further to the above, emphasis is put
on the aspect of chronic pain control
and the possible therapeutic measures.

Laboratory animals: In this rotation
emphasis will be put on the anaesthe-
sia of common laboratory animal spe-
cies such as rodents and rabbits. Also
there will be an in-depth evaluation of
the possibilities of anaesthesizing an
animal during an experimental proce-
dure. The potential interaction between
the anaesthesia and the experiment will
be discussed, also in the light of the
consequences for the animal itself
Furthermore attention will also focus
on the recognition and alleviation of
pain and the potential therapeutic op-
tions available to achieve analgesia.
Research plan

The research plan will be determined
in close co-operation with the candi-
date and supervisors. An effort will be
made to design the programme in such
a fashion that it fits the candidate\'s
interest as well as the primary profes-
sional tasks the candidates will per-
form within his/her own institute after
completing the course.

The research plan will have to be re-
lated to an anaesthesiological topic of
investigation, and will have to fit in
one of the research programmes of
Utrecht University\'s Graduate School
of Animal Health.

The programme will be executed under
the supervision and responsibility of
Prof. Dr. L.J. Hellebrekers (course co-
ordinator), Department of Companion
Animal Science, Anaesthesia Section,

P.O. Box 80.163, NL-3508 TD
Utrecht, email: 1 j.hellebrekers@-
pobox.ruu.nl, and Dr. P. van Dijk
course co-co-ordinator).

■nbsp;Equine anaesthesia: Monitoring and
emergency therapy (1991), W.W.
Muir amp; J.A.D. Hubbel

■nbsp;Principles of laboratory animal sci-
ence (1993), L.F.M. van Zutphen
et al

■nbsp;Animal pain: Perception and alle-
viation (1983), R.L. Kitchen amp;
H.H. Erickson

■nbsp;Anaesthesia and analgesia in labo-
ratory animals (1997), D.F. Kohn,
S.K. Wixson, W.J. White amp; G.J.
Benson

Office for Intemational Co-operation
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
P.O. Box 80.163
NL-3508 TD Utrecht
The Netherlands
Tel: 31.30.2532116
Fax: 3I.30.253I8I5
Email: bic@bic.dgk.mu.nl

Candidates are admitted to the MSc
programme by permission of the sci-
entific director of the Graduate School
Animal Health (GSAH), the chairper-

son of the GSAH Education Commit-
tee, and the course co-ordinators. The
closing date for admission will be 1
August 1998.

In general, a Dutch doctoral diploma
in veterinary medicine (4 years), or a
DVM degree are required for admis-

ILRI, a non-profit making research
institute carries out research to en-
hance the role of livestock in sustain-
able agricultural production systems in
Africa, Asia and Latin America and
the Caribbean regions. ILRI employs
approximately 80 Internationally Re-
cruited Scientists, 20 Postdoctoral As-
sociates and 800 Programme Support
Staff based in the Institute\'s two cam-
puses in Nairobi, Kenya, and Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia and at field sites in
Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, hidia,
Colombia and Peru.

ILRI currently has a position for a
Team Leader to co-ordinate research
activities which will lead to the im-
provement of gastro-intestinal nema-
tode parasite control in small rumi-
nants in the Southeast Asia region.
Research activities will include identi-
fication of genetically resistant breeds
or genotypes, investigating nutri-
tion/parasite interactions, monitoring
the development and persistence of
anthelmintic resistance and develop-
ment of integrated control programmes
for use at the local and regional levels.
The appointee will be responsible for
the leadership and all management
aspects of the project. The successful
candidate will lead a multi-disciplinary
team of scientists based in the Philipi-
nes. The Team Leader\'s primary re-
sponsibility will be to prepare detailed
work plans and ensure their execution,
to liaise with NARS, donors, intema-
tional and advanced research institutes
in the region and other ILRI staff to
ensure that the needed technical, hu-
man and financial inputs are in place
to effectively implement the agreed
plan.

Ph.D. or equivalent in a relevant area
of research (within Animal or Veteri-
nary Science). At least five years post
quahfication work experience and a
strong record of scientific accom-
plishments, leadership and manage-
ment. A strong background in the
control of nematode parasites of mmi-
nant livestock and a good understand-
ing of the components of successfiil
control strategies. Good communica-
tion and interpersonal skills and flu-
ency in spoken and written English are
essential.

This section contains vacancy announcements which the editorial board considers
to be of possible interest to Dutch veterinarians. Besides vacancies that will be
taken from Vacatureblad Internationale Samenwerking, Tijdschrift voor
Diergeneeskunde, Veterinary Record, Litro vacatures (RPDAdvies/Ministry of
Internal Affairs) etc., there will be room for personnel advertisements. For
flirther information about the vacancies please contact the institution or company
directly.

Please send a cover letter, curriculum
vitae including telephone, fax and email
of three referees to the Human Resources
Manager, ILRI, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi,
Kenya; Telephone: 254-2-630743; Fax
254-2-631499, e-mail: ILR1-KENYA@-
cgnet.com. Screening of applications will
begin on 30 April, 1998 and will con-
tinue until the post is filled.
(Http://www. cgiar. org: 80/ilri/)

The Standing Committee of the Association of Institutes of Tropical Veteri-
nary Medicine (AITVM) met in February in Utrecht to finalise the prepara-
tions of its Conference entitled: \'Animal Health and Production for Develop-
ment\', to be held in Harare from 14-18 September, 1998. The President of the
AITVM and Chairman of the national organising committee. Prof Obwolo, Dean of
Veterinary Science of the University of Zimbabwe, reported about the progress made
by the national Organising Committee and the various subcommittees.

European Union (DG VIE), FAO, CTA,
IAEA, OIE, and national agencies of
Belgium, Denmark, France, Portugal and
UK. These contri-butions are towards the
organisational costs of the Conference,
as well as for fellowships for partici-
pants from deve-loping countries.

During its meeting the Standing
Committee discussed the draft pro-
gramme and proposed names for key
note speakers and chairpersons of the
Workshops. This resulted in a draft
programme. Please note that the names
of key note speakers, chair persons and
Workshop chairpersons are tentative and
have not ail been confirmed.

During the meeting the President an-
nounced that the Organising Committee
has already received a significant number

Prof Obwolo annoimced that the Con-
ference will take place in Sheraton Hotel
in Harare. The excellent conference
facilities at the Sheraton will provide a
comfortable environment for the 250
expected participants who are coming
mainly fi-om Afiica but also from
Europe, Asia and Latin America. Special
attention is given to the organisation of
the simultaneous translation Eng-
lish/French. A local travel agent (Manica
Travel Services) has been contracted to
provide various services such as: regis-
tration of participants, flight arrange-
ments, hotel bookings, visa applications,
exchange desk, local travel desk etc. A
pharmaceutical company (Sanofi) will
also assist with the local arrangements.

A major task of the President and in fact
of the all the members of the Standing
Committee, is to balance the budget of
the Conference. The registration fee was
fixed at the reasonable level of US $250
for delegates and at US $ 75 for students.
Although the University of Zimbabwe
and the Central Veterinary Services make
their staff members available for the
organisation of the Conference, the major
financial contri-butions have to come
fi-om outside these institutes. Commit-
ments were received from intemational
and regional organi-sations such as the

Draft Programme of the 9quot;quot; International Conference of the AITVM
\'Animal Health and Production for Development\',
Harare, Zimbabwe (14-18 September, 1998)

3 key note speakers: Representative of SADC, Dr. S. Hargreeves (DVS,
Zimbabwe) and Dr. A. Irvin (ILRI, Nairobi).

Tuesday, 15 September: Workshops in parallel sessions
Topic I: Needs for regional integrated animal disease control

Introductory paper: Dr B. Conner (RTTCP, Harare)
Topic 4: Veterinary public health and food safety

Introductory paper: Dr F.X. Meslin (WHO, Geneva)
Topic 5: Re-orientation of the veterinary curriculum
Introductory paper: Prof M.J. Obwolo (UZ, Harare)

Wednesday, 16 September: Workshops in parallel sessions
Topic 2: Domestic and wildlife resource management

Introductory paper: Prof H.H.T. Prins (AUW, Wagemngen)
Topic 3: Increasing efficiency of the public and private health delivery sys-
tems. hitroductory paper: Dr J. Domenech (CIRAD, Montpellier)

Options for participants to choose from:
Cheetah and lion park
Ostrich farm and abattoir
Heifer intemational project

of applications for participation. The
Committee was confident that following
the distribution of the Second An-
nouncement, quite a few more applica-
tions will be forthcoming.
Recently (March) the Second An-
noimcement was mailed to those who
responded to the fnst announcement. The
Second Announcement includes the
registration forms and the forms and
instructions for submission of abstracts
and the full papers. The deadline for
receipt of the abstracts is 30 June, 1998.
Copies of the Second Armoimcement and
information about availability of fellow-
ships can be obtained from Prof M.J.
Obwolo in Harare (Information: Prof

M.J. Obwolo, Faculty of Veterinär)\'
Science, University of Zimbabwe, P.O.
Box MP 167, Moimt Pleasant, Harare,
Zimbabwe, tel.: 263.4.303211/333683,
telefax: 263.4.333683, e-mail:
facvet@samara. co. zw)

The section RECENT PUBLICATIONS scientific publications of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and other research
institutes in The Netherlands, relevant to livestock production and healdi in the tropics, as well as titles of papers by Dutch
veterinary scientist working on animal health and production topics in relation to developing countries. Please inform the
editor of your publications so we can bring them to the attention of the readers of EQUATOR. For reprints contact the authors
directly, their addresses can be obtained from the editorial office. Copies of the abstracts of\'8^ Symposium on \'Tropical Ani-
mal Health and Production. Aquaculture and Disease Control\'. Utrecht, 28 November, 1997. Eds. J.H.A. de Gooijer and R.W.
Paling\', are available from the editorial office.

Astudillo, v., Cané, B.G., Geymonat, D., Sathler, A.B., Garay Roman, S., SutmoIIer, P. and Gimeno, E.J. (1997), Risk
assessment and risk régionalisation, based on the surveillance system for foot and mouth disease in South America. Revue
scientifique et technique de l\'Office intemational des Épizooties 16: 800-808.

Astudillo, v., SutmoIIer, P., Saraiva, V. and Lôpez, A. (1997). Risk of introducing foot and mouth disease through the
importation of beef from South America. Revue scientifique et technique de l\'Office intemational des Épizooties 16: 33-44.

Bercovich, Z., Eger, A., Dekker, T. and Haagsma, J. (1996). A comparison of the potency of several Brucella allergens used
to detect bmsellosis in cattle. Veterinarv Research Communications 20: 141-151.

Pérez, E., Kummeling, A., Janssen, M.M.H., Jimenez, C., Alvarado, R., Caballero, M., Donado, P. and Dwinger, R.H.
(1998). Infectious agents associated with diarrhoea of calves in the canton of Tilaran, Costa Rica. Preventive Veterinary
Medicine 27: 195-205.

SutmoIIer, P. and Vose, D.J. (1997). Contamination of animal products: the minimiun pathogen dose required to initiate
infection. Revue scientifique et technique de l\'Office intemational des Épizooties 16: 30-32.

SutmoIIer, P. and Wrathall, A.E. (1997). The risk of disease transmission by embryo transfer in cattle. Revue scientifique et
technique de l\'Office intemational des Épizooties 16: 226-239.

Harun, M.A.S., Veeneklaas, R.J., Kampen, M. van, Huisman, G.H. and Visser, G.H. (1997). Food restriction and
■development of thermoregulation in Muscovy ducklings {Cairina moschata). British Poultry Science 38: 381-389.

Haenen, O.L.M. (1997). Health parameters of fish. In; Tropical Animal Health and Production. Aquaculture and disease
control. Utrecht, 28 November, 1997. Eds. J.H.A. de Gooijer and R.W. Paling, pp. 33-37.

Haenen, O.L.M. (1997). Control of disease in aquatic organisms by zoological prevention. In; Tropical Animal Health and
Production. Aquaculture and disease control. Utrecht, 28 November, 1997. Eds. J.H.A. de Gooijer and R.W. Paling, pp.41-44.

Muiswinkel, W.B. van, Rombout, J.H.W.M. and Joosten P.H.M. (1997). Control of disease in fish by immunisation. In; Tro-
pical Animal Health and Production. Aquaculture and disease control. Utrecht, 28 November, 1997. Eds. J.H.A. de Gooijer
and R.W. Paling, pp. 44-47.

Werkman, P.J. (1997). Control of disease in aquatic organisms by bio-chemical therapeutics. In; Tropical Animal Health and
Production. Aquaculture and disease control. Utrecht, 28 November, 1997. Eds. J.H.A. de Gooijer and R.W- Paling, pp.38-40.

Moyo, D.Z., Eysker, M., Hendrikx, W.M.L., Bwangamoi, O. and Obwolo, M.J. (1997/ Ostertagia ostertagi infection in
cattle on an irrigated farm on the highveld of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Veterinary Journal 28; 1-5.

Jongejan, F., Wiede, M. van der and Oliveira, C. d\' (1997). Detection oi Theileria annulata in carrier cattle and vector ticks
by the polymerase chain reaction. Tropical Animal Health and Production. Suppl. 29; S6I.

Leemans, 1., Hooshmand-Rad, P. and Uggla A. (1997). The indirect fluorescent antibody test based on schizont antigen for
study of the sheep parasite Theileria lestoquardi. Veterinarv Parasitology 69; 9-18.

Ohveira, C. d\', Feenstra, A., Vos, H., Osterhaus, A.D.M.E., Shields, B.R, ComeUssen, A.W.C.A. and Jongejan, F. (1997).
Induction of protective immunity to Theileria annulata using two major merozoite surface antigens presented by different
delivery systems. Vaccine 15; 1796-1804.

Shiels, B., Katzer, F. and Oliveira, C. d\' (1997). Antigenic diversity in the major merozoite antigens of Theileria parasites.
Tropical Animal Health and Production. Suppl. 29; S62-63.

Tait, A., Boulter, N., Oliveira, C. d\', Jongejan, F., Brown, C.G.D., Williamson, S., Shiels, B.R., McDonald, F. and Hall, F.R.
(1997). Candidate recombinant vaccine antigens of Theileria annulata: Current status and future prospects. Tropical Animal
Health and Production. Suppl. 29; S127.

Dam, J.T.P. van, Schrama, J.W., Vreden, A., Verstegen, M.W.A., Wensing, T., Heide, D. van der and Zwart, D. (1997). The
effect of previous growth retardation on energy and nitrogen metabolism of goats infected with Trypanosoma vivax. British
Journal of Nutrition 77; 427-441.

Tasks of the Danish Centre for
Tropical Agriculture and Envi-
ronment handed over to the De-
velopment Countries Council

The Danish Centre for Tropical
Agriculture and Environment has
co-ordinated KVL\'s developmental
projects involving research, in-
struction and administration, and
thus played a vital part in estab-
lishing and developing KVL\'s in-
ternational profile, particularly
through the EU-flinded exchange
programme with the Faculty of
Veterinary Science in Zimbabwe,
the SLUSE consortium for devel-
opment and the environment under
DANCED and DANES (the Dan-
ish Agricultural Educational Serv-
ice). Following an assessment of

the centre\'s operations and study
of KVL\'s need for a developing
countries profile, KVL decided to
close the centre as of 30 Septem-
ber, 1997.

KVL has thus strengthened its in-
ternational profile by making it an
organisational component of the
academic and administrative sys-
tem. The duties of the centre have
been reallocated to the relevant
departments and to the Central
Administration, and to strengthen

KVL\'s international profile a De-
veloping Council has been formed
and a co-ordinator has been em-
ployed. The Development Coun-
tries Council has been given ad-
ministrative and representative
authority by the vice-chancellor.
The council is responsible for iden-
tifying, co-ordinating and commu-
nicating KVL\'S profile to the third
world. In this way KVL has ex-
tended its capacity to meet the
global challenge of how to increase
animal and crop productivity in
developing countries through re-
search, instruction and manage-
ment, all with a view to combat
hunger.

(For information: Dr Kaj Bruhn,
KVL, Bulowsvej 15, DK-1870
Frederiksberg C, Denmark, Tel.:
45.35.283429, telefax: 45.35.-
283428, e-maih kab@kvl,dk)

Early 1998 the foundation of a
Network under the name of \'Net-
work for Poultry Production and
Health in Developing Countries\'
was announced. The Network
made its official start on 1 January,
1997 and is in effect for an initial
period of 5 years. The Network has
3 main activities: (1) Esta-
blishment and maintenance of an
intemational research base on sub-
jects related to rural scavenging
poultry production; (2) Education
of technical staff, MSc and PhD
students from Denmark and from
developing countries in disciplines
related to traditional and semi-
scavenging poultry production, and
(3) Establish and maintain a human
resource base to provide project
support.

The Network is under the respon-
sibility of a board of directors ap-
pointed by the institutions involved,
inter alia, the Royal Veterinary and

Agricultural University (KVL) and
the Danish Institute of Agricultural
Sciences. At KVL the following
departments are participating: In-
stitute of Veterinary Microbiology,
Institute of Animal Production and
Health and the Danish Centre for
Experimental Parasitology. The
Network will initiate and co-
ordinate research in the field of
poultry production and health in
developing countries, with the ob-
jective of providing knowledge of
how sustainable production and
development may be implemented
optimally with due consideration of
the specific situation of the individ-
ual countries.

The Network is supporting
Danida\'s Sector PoUcy by facili-
tating smallholder farmers and
women in particular. Furthermore,
the Network is supporting

Danida\'s intention to assess the
apphcability in other countries of
the smallholder pouhry model de-
veloped in Bangladesh.

(For information: Prof. P. Nan-
sen, Danish Centre for Experimen-
tal Parasitology, KVL, Bulowsvej
13, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C,
Denmark Tel.: 45.35.282775,
telefax: 45.35.282774, e-mail:
poultry@kvl.dk).

Course on: Artificial insemination in pigs.
Subjects: Collection of semen; Evaluation
and processing of semen in the laboratory;
Insemination and sow production control;
Organization of an AI station and Selec-
tion of breeding stock. Fees including
board and lodging: Dfl. 5,000. Informa-
tion: IPC Livestock Barneveld College,
Dep. of Intemational Studies and Coop-
eration Programmes, P.O. Box 64, 3770
AB Barneveld (Tel.: 31.342.414881, fax:
31.342492813,nbsp;e-mail:

International Congress on Antrax, Brucel-
losis, CBPP, Mycobacterial diseases and
Clostridial diseases. Organized by: OIE
Regional Collaborating Centre for Africa
with the ARC Onderstepoort Veterinary
Institute. Programme will focus on the
following aspects: epidemiology, control,
zoonoses and detection. Congress venue:
The Conference Centre, Berg-en-Dal rest
camp, Kruger National Park. Fee: before
15 May: R 1250; after 15 May: R 1500;
after 15 June: 1750. Registration: Organis-
ing Committee, Technology Transfer,
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private
Bag X05, Onderstepoort, 0110, South
Africa (Tel.: 27.12.5299433, telefax:
27.12. 5299143, e-mail: ria@moon.
ovi.ac.za).

10*^ Intemational Conference on Produc-
tion Diseases in Farm Animals, lOquot;\'
ICOPD\'98. Programme: Metabolic disor-
ders and related diseases; Deficiency
diseases; Nutrition and fertility; Endocri-
nology and regulation for metabolism;
Nutrition and immunology; Animal wel-
fare, behaviour and housing; Animal pro-
duction and the environment; Epidemio-
logy and production diseases. Registration
fee: Dfl. 500,- Information and registra-
tion: Dr. Th. Wensing, Office Organizing
Committee, P.O. Box 14031, NL 3508 SB
Utrecht

1 September, 1998 -31 August, 2000
International MSc programme of the
Graduate School of Animal Health, Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Medicine Utrecht Uni-
versity and ID-DLO Institute for Animal
Science and Health, Lelystad. MSc
Course \'Veterinary Epidemiology and

Herd Health\' (duration : 18 months, fee:
Dfl. 20,000); MSc Course \'Animal Pathol-
ogy\' (duration 24 months, fee: Dfl.
35,000X MSc Course \'Modern Ap-
proaches in Veterinary Microbiology and
Immunology\' (duration 18 months fee:
Dfl. 68,500). MSc Course \'Veterinary
Anaesthesiology\' (duration 18 months, fee
Dfl. 35,000). Registration before 1 August,
1998. Information: Office for Internatio-
nal Cooperation, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine. P.O. Box 80.163, 3508 TD
Utrecht (Telefax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail:
bic@ bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

10-12 September, 1998
Veterinary Pathology Symposium. Orga-
nized by: Southern and Eastem Africa
Division of the C.L. Davis DVM Founda-
tion. Information: Prof M.J. Obwolo,
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University
of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box M.P. 167, Mount
Pleasant, Harare (Tel.: 263.4.303211,
telefax: 263.4. 333683, e-mail:
vetscience@ esanet.zw).

14- 18 September, 1998
IX International Conference of the Asso-
ciation of Institutions of Tropical Vet-
erinary Medicine (AITVM): \'Animal
health and Production for Sustainable
Development\'. Organized by: Faculty of
Veterinary Science, University of Zim-
babwe, P.O. Box MP 167, Harare. Loca-
tion: International Conference Centre,
Harare. Registration: Prof. M.J. Obwolo,
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University
of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box M.P. 167, Mount
Pleasant, Harare (Tel.; 263. 4.303211,
telefax: 263.4.333 683, e-mail:
vetscience@esanet.zw).

October, 1998 - October, 1999
MSc Course on Wild Animal Health for
graduates in veterinary and relevant sci-
ences. Including: practical and theoretical
instruction in the husbandry and nutrition
of wild animals, taxonomy, population
biology, conservation genetics, welfare
and ethical aspects, epidemiology, immu-
nology, infectious and non-infectious dis-
eases, disease investigation, restraint, pre-
ventive medicine and surgery and an indi-
vidual research project. Organized by: The
Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of
London) and The Royal Veterinary Col-
lege (University of London). Information
and registration: Registrar, The Royal
Veterinary College, Royal College Street,
London NWl OTU (Tel.
44.171.4685000, telefax: 44-
.171.3882342).

1 October, 1998 - 30 June, 1999
International Diploma Course for Tropical
Animal Health and Production. Organized
by: Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical
Medicine. Participants select 4 out of 10
modules: Research methodology; Tick and
tick-borne diseases; Trypanosomosis and
its vectors; Helminth diseases; Socio-
economic aspects; Animal nutrition and
agropastoral management; Applied statis-
tics; Epidemiology and preventive veteri-
nary medicine; Diagnostic techniques;
Livestock problems in the tropics. Mod-
ules are lectures in French. Course Fee
BEF 42,000. Following the Diploma
Course participants can continue with 12
months research for the MSc in Tropical
Animal Production or Health programme.
MSc Course fee: BEF 84,000. Closing
date for registration: 31 August, 1998.
Registration and information, including
information on fellowships of the Belgium
Administration for Development Coopera-
tion: Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical
Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000
Antwerp (Tel.: 32.3.2476666, tele-
fax: 32.2.2161431,e-mail: dir@itg.be,
http://www. itg. be).

Joint meeting of the Worid Association of
Wildlife Veterinarians (WAWV), the
American Association of Zoo Veterinari-
ans (AAZV) and the Canadian Association
of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians
(CAZWV). Holiday Convention Centre,
Omaha. Information: Dr. Wilbur Amand,
President WAWV, 6 North Pennel Road
(Lima), Media PA 19063, USA.

February, 1999 - January, 2000
Degree of Master of Veterinary Studies
(MVS) in Health and Production of Small
Ruminants. Organized by: Faculty of
Veterinary Science, University of Mel-
bourne. Areas of study: Parasitology;
Gross and histopathology; Reproduction;
Advanced sheep management; Introduc-
tory surgery and field visits. Tuition fee:
$A 26,500. Closing date for applications:
30 September, 1998. Information: Dr.
Trevor Bagust, Manager International
projects. Faculty of Veterinary Science,
Pre-Clinical Centre, University of Mel-
bourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052 (Tel.:
61.3.93449676, telefax: 61.3.
93449675, e-mail: t.bagust@vet.
unimelb.edu.au).

EQUATOR is a periodical of the
Office for Intemational
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinaiy Medicine of Utrecht
University

J.H.A. de Gooijer
R.W. Paling DVM PhD
(editor-in-chieQ
W.D. Vink MVM
P.R. van Weeren DVM PhD

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Office for International
Cooperation
P.O. Box 80.163
3508 TD Utrecht
The Netherlands
Tel.: 31.30.2532116
Fax: 31.30.2531815
E-mail: bic@bic.dgk.mu.nl
EQUATOR is published
bimonthly.

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and
termination of subscription please
retum the corrected label to the
editorial office.

It was only when we stepped out of the aeroplane on the platform of Bangkok\'s
Don Muang Airport at 11.00 a.m. on June the 2nd, that we realised what it
really meant: 38 degrees centigrade! The heat fell on us and we were in for a
rather exhausting 9 days visit to a country that both of us were going to experi-
ence for the first time. As the Head of the Office for Intemational Co-operation
of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University, I had requested our
sister faculty of the Chulalongkom University of Bangkok to prepare, for the
Utrecht Dean, Prof Dr. Hans de Vries and myself, a programme that would lead
us to the five veterinary faculties of Thailand in 9 days. No doubt that Dr.
Thongchai Chalermchaikit, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, did an
excellent job organising our programme.

Our mission to Thailand had two main objectives. One was to meet the col-
leagues of the Thai veterinary faculties and to get an impression of the facilities
and activities; the other objective was to review the outcome of our 5 year pro-
gramme of collaboration and to prepare and sign a new \'Memorandum of Un-
derstanding\' for the coming 5 years.

The first contacts between the veteri-
nary institutes of the Netherlands and
Thailand date back to the late seven-
ties, early eighties and were linked to
research on infectious diseases and
bovine reproduction. In 1991 the Thai
government designed a 15 year pro-
gramme to strengthen and develop the
veterinary profession and sector in the
country. This was to be achieved
through the increase of the intake of
veterinary students, improving the
educational, clinical and research
facilities at the three existing faculties
and by a staff development pro-
gramme of postgraduate training for
young Thai staff members at a few,
internationally well recognised, vet-
erinary faculties in Europe and the
United States. It was in April, 1992
that a delegation of the Royal Thai
Ministry of University Affairs visited
the Utrecht faculty as one of the pos-
sible candidate institutes for providing
this postgraduate training for young
staff members. Utrecht was selected
as the European institute that could
provide the required expertise and
training.

In July, 1993, the first \'Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) on Veteri-
nary Education and Research Co-
operation\' was signed in Bangkok by
the Ministry of University Affairs of
Thailand and the Faculty of Veteri-
nary Medicine of Utrecht University.
The agreement consolidated the col-
laboration between Utrecht\'s Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine and the Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Science of Chula-
longkom University (Bangkok), the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Kasetsart University (Bangkok) and
the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Khon Kaen University (Khon Kaen).
The main objective was to strengthen
the scientific co-operation between
these faculties and the Utrecht veteri-
nary faculty by exchange of faculty
members for teaching, research train-
ing and post-graduate and post-
doctoral studies.

During the 5 years (1993-1998), cov-
ered by the first \'Memorandum\', eight
staff members of Utrecht visited
Thailand and eight staff members of
the Thai faculties came to Utrecht.
Some of these visits were for \'getting
to know each other better\' and for
planning of the activities. Four sub-
jects were given attention in the sci-
entific field: the preparation of ana-
tomical specimen using plastination
techniques; development of diagnostic
tests with emphasis on PCR technol-
ogy; bovine reproduction and aquac-
ulture and fish diseases. Besides, two
staff members of the Kasetsart Uni-
versity followed a clinical training
programmes in Utrecht, in orthopae-
dics and herd health and reproduction
respectively.

In 1994 the first two post-graduate
students from the Faculty of Veteri-
nary Medicine of Khon Kaen arrived
in Utrecht and participated success-
fiilly in the MSc course on \'Veterinary
Epidemiology and Herd Health\' (see
EQUATOR Vol. 7, no. 4/5, 1995).
Both continued with a PhD pro-
gramme, in companion animal sur-
gery and herd health respectively, and
it is expected that they will complete
their PhD ti-aining eariy 2000. In 1995
Dr. Theera Rukkwamsuk of Kasetsart
University started his study pro-
gramme on \'Hepatic lipidosis in dairy
cattle\' at the Department of Large
Animal Medicine and Nutrition. He
was a guest writer of EQUATOR in
1997 and his article on \'The veterinary
profession in Thailand\' was published
in Vol. 9, no. 2. Theera completed the
MSc course on \'Veterinary Epide-
miology and Herd Health\' in 1998 and
it is expected that next year he will be
the first candidate from Thailand to
defend his PhD thesis at Utrecht Uni-
versity. Subsequently, in 1996, 1997
and 1998 a total of six PhD students
started their PhD studies at various
departments of Utrecht\'s Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine. Two of these
students come from Chulalongkom,
two from Kasetsart and two from
Khon Kaen.

Before leaving for Thailand we were
of course aware of the fmancial prob-
lems that were hitting Thailand and
other South-east Asian countries at
the moment. Looking at the daily
activities superficially one would not
guess that Thailand\'s economy is de-
clining. Bangkok, a city of over 9
million inhabitants, known for its
notorious traffic, seemed very active.
Not only the traffic (cars, busses,
motorbikes and tuktuks) is enormous,
but also impressive building is ongo-
ing for the constmction of fly-over
highways and rail connections for
future public transport. Looking at the
daily newspaper gives probably a
more realistic impression of what is
going on. Cost of living is rising
sharply, companies are being taken
over at any moment and the IMF is
enforcing a significant reduction in
government spending and personnel.

Tourism is an important source of
income and with the national cur-
rency, the Bath, at a relatively low
level, Thailand is aiming for an im-
portant share of the tourists visiting
South-east Asia. The slogan of the
Thai tourist office \'Amazing Thailand
1998-1999\', is well chosen. An im-
pressive cultural and natural heritage
is evident in all parts of the country.
Fortunately we had the opportunity,
although only briefly, to visit the
Grand Palace and the adjoining tem-
ple complex, the magnificent Wat
Phra Keo (Temple of the Emerald
Buddha). On the last day of our stay
in Thailand our hosts managed to
squeeze in a visit to the crocodile
farm at Samutprakan, 25 km south of
Bangkok. Here about 40,000 croco-
diles are being raised for commercial
purposes.

With the present government paying
more attention to the environment and
to the preservation of natural re-
sources, the Thai people seem to have
confidence that there is also a positive
side to an economic growth which is
slowing down. A special event is
taking place in December, 1998, when
the Asian Games are being organised
in Bangkok.

From the moment we arrived in
Bangkok we were extremely well
received by our hosts at the various
veterinary faculties. Apart from the
meetings, held at each faculty to dis-
cuss the outcome of the first \'Memo-

Crocodile farm at
Samutprakan, 40,000
crocodiles are raised here
(Photo: Paling)

randum\' and to make plans for the
next 5 years, we were given the op-
portunity to see parts of the university
campuses and to visit the facilities of
the faculties. It was interesting and
encouraging to see that constructions
were still ongoing and that at the three
veterinary faculties the infrastructural
works, planned under the Programme
for strengthening the veterinary sec-
tor, were almost completed. As we
were told, these constructions, which
had already been approved before the
\'crisis\' could be completed without
delays. However, it is expected that
there will be a slowdown in the next
couple of years in the provision of
funds for equipment and for the em-
ployment and training of staff

Veterinary education in Thailand
started in 1935 with a veterinary cur-
riculum at the Chulalongkom Univer-
sity in Bangkok. With a long-standing
reputation in education, clinical serv-
ice and research, this faculty is well
recognised. The number of first year
students has been increased to 150
and a new curriculum was introduced
3 years ago.

The major recent achievement is the
constmction of the new Farm Animal
Hospital and Veterinary Student
Training Center at Nakom Pathom at
50 km fi-om the main campus. During
our visit we were shown around by
the Director of the Animal Hospital,
Prof Annop Kunavongkrit. There is
now doubt that this hospital will be
able to provide excellent veterinary
clinical and diagnostic services to the
region. Ambulatory services are al-
ready operational for the dairy, poul-
try and swine production sector in the
area. Student dormitories and staff
housing are also under constmction.
When the first group of students, fol-
lowing the new curriculum, enters the
6th year of the curriculum, they will
be based at the Veterinary Student
Training Center and receive practical
clinical training for a whole year.
Moreover, the Center is also well
situated to hold (inter)national train-

ing programmes and seminars. For
example, the well known \'Interna-
tional Course on Swamp Buffalo Re-
production\', has been organized annu-
ally at this Center under the responsi-
bility of Prof Chainarong Lohachit.
The facilities and patient load of the
companion animal clinic at the main
campus in Bangkok and the Farm
Animal Hospital with the facilities for
clinical and on farm research at Na-
kom Pathom, are exciting challenges
for fliture collaborative research be-
tween the veterinary faculties of
Chulalongkom and Utrecht and could
be very interesting for exchange staff
and students.

The Chulalongkom Faculty of Veteri-
nary Science has a Master\'s Degree
Programme with MSc Courses in
seven disciplines. The plans of the
faculty, as they were explained to us
by the Dean, Prof Rabin Ruttana-
phani, to start a Veterinary Doctoral
Degree Programme, with Animal
Reproduction as the first topic, could
fit very well in the co-operation with
Utrecht.

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
Kasetsart University
The most important Faculty of Agri-
culture of Thailand is located at
Kasetsart University. In 1966 the Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Medicine of Kaset-
sart University was re-established at
the Bangkhen campus in the northern
section of Bangkok. This faculty has
also a second campus in the Nakom
Pathom Province at 80 km west of
Bangkok, which was realised in 1979
and which provides teaching, re-
search, hospital and farm service fa-
cilities. The intake of first year stu-
dents has been raised from 100 to 150
students. A major extension of the
facilities at the Bangkhen campus is
presently under constmction. In this
building the Small Animal Hospital
will be based, as well as the Food
Safety Center.

The establishment of the Food Safety
Center is taking place under the su-
pervision of Prof Sirichai Wongnark-
pet of the Department of Veterinary
Public Health in collaboration with
the Department of Microbiology and
Immunology. The Center has as its
main objective the development of a
quality assurance system for meat
processing for local consumption and
the intemational market. The Kaset-
sart faculty is already active in pro-
viding training for meat inspectors
and has several on-going research
projects in the field of veterinary pub-
lic health.

The Kasetsart Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine has an established Master\'s
Degree Programme with MSc Courses
in three disciplines (Physiology,
Anatomy and Pathology). An MSc
Course on Veterinary Public Health
has recently been approved by the
Ministry of University Affairs.
Moreover, the faculty has plans to
serve the neighbouring countries with
the facilities and expertise available at
the Center. During our discussions
interesting suggestions for future col-
laboration with Utrecht in the field of
veterinary public health were put for-
ward by Prof Sirichai.

The Mahidol University in Bangkok
has a well established and intemation-
ally well known complex of faculties
and institutes in the bio-medical sec-
tor, with a strong research programme
in medicine and pubhc health. To-

The \'International
Course on Swamp
Buffalo Reproduction\' is
organised annually at
Nakom Pathom (Photo:
Pahng)

gether with the Faculty of Science, the
Medical Faculty will become involved
in the teaching of the first 3 years of a
veterinary curriculum at the Mahidol
University, which is envisaged to start
in 1999 with 32 students. During our
visit to the Office of the Mahidol
University we were informed by the
Vice President, Prof Wijitr
Fungladda, that plans have been made
to start the construction of the Faculty
of Veterinary Sciences in November,
1998. This new faculty is aiming at
serving the needs of the rural agricul-
tural population in southern Thailand.
A few veterinary staff members have
already been appointed and it is for
their interest that already at this mo-
ment the Faculty of Veterinary Sci-
ences of the Mahidol University re-
quested to be included, as a partici-
pating institute, in the next \'Memo-
randum of Understanding\'.

Chiang Mai is the second largest city
of Thailand with 1.5 million inhabi-
tants. Chiang Mai University was
established in 1964 to extend higher
education into the northern part of
Thailand. It was the first university
outside the capital. The present role of
the Chiang Mai University has even

The Faculty\' of
Veterinary Medicine,
Chiang Mai University
was founded in 1994
(Photo: courtesy Prof
Ted Tesaprateep)

become more important as we were
told by the President of the university.
Prof Choti Theetranont: \'Chiang Mai
University has been given a regional
task to develop cultural, social and
academic exchanges with the neigh-
bouring areas of Laos, China and
Myanmar (Birma)\'.
In 1994 Chiang Mai University has
taken the initiative to found the Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Medicine. The
main objectives of this faculty are:
training veterinary professionals, of
which at least 50% come from the
northern region; furthering knowledge
in veterinary medicine directed to the
animal species present in the region
(including: buffalo, elephant, horses
and mules) and providing consultative
and referral services to the veterinary
practitioners and livestock producers,
especially in the northern region. In

A warm welcome at
Kasetsart University for
the visitors from Utrecht
(Photo: collection Paling)

1996 the first 40 students were ad-
mitted and the maximum intake is set
at 50 students each year. The DVM
study has a duration of 6 years, simi-
lar to the other veterinary faculties in
Thailand. During our visit to the fac-
ulty we were introduced by the Dean,
Prof Ted Tesaprateep, to the aca-
demic staff members and shown
around the main faculty buildings,
which are located just outside the city
at 5 km from the main university
campus. The buildings are very nice
and spacious and those departments
involved in the education of the first
three years of the curriculum are op-
erational. Construction of the clinics
is in the final phase of completion.
It was obvious that the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai
University would be included in the
\'Memorandum of Understanding\' for
the period 1998-2003. The faculty has
shown interest to exchange teaching
staff and to send young staff members
for training abroad. However, they
can hardly be away from Chiang Mai,
as there will be a heavy teaching load
on the limited number of staff mem-
bers, because plans for the recruitment
of faculty staff in the coming years,
may have to be slowed down.

Having the opportunity to spend the
weekend in Chiang Mai was an
\'amazing\' experience. For the first

time during our trip we had time for a
real look around and we were very
well guided by the faculty staff to a
number of most interesting places.
First of course there is Chiang Mai\'s
old city centre, surrounded by old
walls and channels. In fact very much
like the old city of Utrecht. The visit
to the Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, a tem-
ple of the 16th century, was a great
experience. This temple is located on
a 1000 m. high hill top overlooking a
forest reserve and the city of Chiang
Mai. Close to the temple is the winter
residence of the royal Thai family, a
magnificent example of a modem
building in original Thai architecture.
Being in Chiang Mai gives the op-
portunity to visit the Maesa Elephant
Camp at 20 km from the city. Under
relative natural conditions about 80
domesticated elephants are being kept
and looked after by as many mahouts.
After an interesting demonstration of
tricks by the elephants we could not
resist to make an elephant ride around
the grounds. Our hosts waited pa-
tiently for our return. Local industries,
like those that produce silk, silver-
ware, jewellery and orchids, were also
interesting sites to visit.

After the visit to Chiang Mai we
headed for the last faculty on our pro-
gramme: the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine of Khon Kaen University in
north-eastern Thailand. Using the well
organized Thai airline, we arrived
smoothly in the city of Khon Kaen.
This faculty has taken part in the vet-
erinary support programme of the
Ministry of University Affairs from
the beginning (1991). Reahsing that
four staff members of the Khon Kaen
veterinary faculty are presently in
Utrecht for PhD studies, we were
received as friends who had not been
seen for long time. It was clear that
everybody was well informed about
Utrecht. The faculty has as its main
objective to serve the needs of the
local famiers. The government has
been promoting dairy farming in this
area to provide an income for the
poor. The faculty plays an important
role by supporting the sector through
ambulatory services and research
programmes. The faculty in Khon
Kaen has also an average intake of 50
students in the first years, and like in
Chiang Mai, 50% of these are selected
from applicants from the region and
50% enter through the national en-
trance examination. Being estabUshed
in 1986 the faculty has obviously
benefited from the growing economy
of the country in the early nineties.
The faculty is well staffed and the
buildings and facilities are well de-

Two of the main research topics are
mastitis and reproduction in dairy
cattle. It seems obvious that Khon
Kaen and Utrecht will find each other
in these fields, for research and post
graduate studies in the coming years.
Also it is the intention to further de-
velop the companion animal clinical
services in medicine and surgery by
including specialised clinical training
programmes in the joint workplan for
the coming years.

On the last day of our visit we were
received at the Ministry of University
Affairs in Bangkok. The new \'Memo-
randum of Understanding on Veteri-
nary Education and Research Coop-
eration\' was ready for signature. The
most important difference with the
first Memorandum is certainly the
involvement of the veterinary facul-
ties of the Chiang Mai and Mahidol
Universities. Also the financial basis
for the activities will be more bal-
anced between the Ministry, the par-
ticipating universities and extemal
flinding. In his speech the Dean of
Utrecht complemented the Thai vet-
erinary faculties on their achieve-
ments and for their dedication to ftilfil
the objectives set by the Thai gov-
ernment to strengthen the veterinary
education and profession. He stated
that: \'It was now up to the Ministry to
maintain its commitment, also in a
time when choices have to made in
govemment expenditures\'. Dr. Tong-
In Wongsothom, Deputy Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry of Univer-
sity Affairs, expressed the satisfaction
of the Ministry about the ongoing
collaboration between the Thai veteri-
nary faculties and the Utrecht faculty
under the \'Memorandum\'. Referring
to the remarks made by Prof De
Vries, Dr. Tong-In stated that the
present policy of the Ministry is to
strengthen the postgraduate pro-
grammes at the universities in Thai-

Wat Prathat Doi Suthep,
a temple of the 16th cen-
tuiy built on a 1000 m.
hill top overlooking the
city of Chiang Mai
(Photo: Paling)

land and to support those institutes
that take up the challenge to develop
intemational doctoral programmes.
Collaboration with Utrecht taking
place in this context, could be sup-
ported by the Ministry, if this was in
the form of receiving visiting profes-
sors in Thailand and training of PhD
students in Utrecht for shorter periods
than what is presently the case.
On the other hand. Dr. Tong-In indi-
cated that the Ministry was also ver\\
active in formulating intemationally
supported programmes for institu-
tional development of higher educa-
tion in Thailand.

It was concluded that there was no
doubt that the good intention ex-
pressed by all parties will result in
successflil continuation of the collabo-
ration in the next 5 years.

The 9th Intemational Symposium on \'Tropical Animal Health and Production\'
will be held on 27 November, 1998 at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. This year\'s theme is: Ruminant
nutrition in disease resistance and reproduction.

The main topics will be highlighted in key note addresses on: Nutrition and disease
resistance, Nutrition and reproduction, and Nutrition and Productivity
consequences.

The symposium will be organized by the Committee for the Advancement of
Tropical veterinary Science (CATS) and the Office for Intemational Cooperation
of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University.
The full programme will be announced in the next issue of EQUATOR.

quot;My main interest is in equine
medicine and surgery. In Costa
Rica there is very httle opportunity
to gain experience in this field, be-
cause of the lack of clinical cases.
The United States, where there is
plenty to do in horses, is of course
closer to us, but there is a long-
standing connection with Utrecht.
Besides, I have been talking to a lot
of people who have been to Hol-
land and they all were very enthusi-
astic about the way people are
working at this faculty. Utrecht is
seen as the best faculty in Europe.quot;

quot;It was a real bureaucratic disaster.
You have to go to a lot of places to
get all the paperwork done. It is
really nerve-breaking also. I was
lefl: in uncertainty about my visa till
the very eve of my departure. An-
other thing is that they require a
good knowledge of the English
language. All right, I understand
that requirement, but it is really
difficult to get some practice in
English in Costa Rica, where very
few people speak the language
well. But, all is well that ends well,
I did arrive, didn\'t I?quot;

quot;What surprises me most is the
very high caseload you have here.
This is obviously an advantage. I
am able to see more different cases
here in one week than over there in
half a year. There is, by the way,
also a disadvantage. In Costa Rica
you know everything of the few
patients you see. Here it is some-
times impossible to really follow
your cases due to the large number.
More so, when they go from one
department to the other like in the
case of horses with cohc that enter
in Internal Medicine and then may
go to Surgery. A next thing that is
different here is that the patients
are more intensively used for
teaching purposes. They are not
merely seen as patients that have to
be treated, but also as teaching
material for the students. A third
observation is that much of what is
done in Costa Rica by the students,
is done here by technical staff. I
mean things like shaving the ani-
mals before surgery, walking
horses with cohc at regular inter-
vals and so on. They even place
catheters in the jugular vein and
pass nasogastric tubes. This may be
necessary because of the large
number of cases, but in my opinion
it makes the students also some-
what lazy and apathetic from time
to time. In Costa Rica as a student
you have to play the roles of
groom, veterinary surgeon, stu-
dent, all at a time. Here they make
it the students too easy which may
lead to some lack of initiative.
A thing Costarican students are
definitely better in than Dutch stu-
dents is gynaecology in the bovine.
In Costa Rica students train a lot at
the slaughterhouse; in Utrecht the
number of cows explored by a stu-
dent is very limited.quot;

In February, 1998, Maurieio Astua Jiménez arrived at Schiphol airport to
spend 6 months at Utrecht University\'s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
He was the fourth in a row of fmal year veterinary students from Costa
Rica who succeeded in obtaining a Tinbergen scholarship through the
Dutch embassy in San José. This exchange started in 1994 and was a di-
rect result of the cooperation between the veterinary faculties in Utrecht
and fieredia (Costa Rica) which started in 1985 and ended in 1996. De-
spite the official end of this program, the flow of students continued.
EQUATOR talked with Maurieio about his experiences with this quot;Dutch
Connection

quot;They are much more independent
than their Costarican counterparts.
Perhaps because they are accus-
tomed to hve on their own from the
start of the study. This is quite rare
in Costa Rica. I was told that the
Dutch are cold-hearted, but it is my
experience that this is not true.
Many of the Dutch students have
invited me at their homes and I
have a good relationship with them.
Your own attitude is important as
well. You should not enter in com-
petition with them with respect to
cases etc. or keep to the sideline if
nasty jobs have to be done, but just
work together with them.quot;

quot;Most of them were very helpful.
They always tried to explain things
and sometimes told everything in
English when I was around. There
were some for whom I apparently
did not exist and who never trans-
late a single word. In most cases
the students helped me then.quot;

quot;In general, horse owners are terri-
ble people. But they are like that
everywhere, here, in Costa Rica
and, without any doubt, also in
China. They believe they know
everything about horses and most
of them think they\'re doctors too.quot;

quot;Not too much yet, I have been to
Amsterdam, Madurodam in The
Hague, and I went to see the
blooming bulb fields. I\'m too in-
volved with my work here. But in
the last month of my stay I plan to
travel to England where I will visit
the Thoroughbred Breeding Asso-
ciation in Newmarket, and also to
the veterinary faculties of Barce-

I would like to have a part-time job
at the Faculty in large animal sur-
gery and for the rest of the time
work in private practice. If there is
an opportunity to go to a master
course or something like that
abroad, I would like to do it.quot;

quot;That is very difficult. One of the
most typical things is that they are
very organized and well-prepared.
Almost all possibiUties are fore-
seen, and they have the answer to
every possible problem ready.
However, if there is a rare case that
is not foreseen, you get in real
trouble. We Latins normally or-
ganize nothing and are not pre-
pared for anything whatsoever.
But, we are masters of improvisa-
tion! In fact, that is our style of
living......quot;

The four characteristics?nbsp;Dutch are hard-working, they don\'t over-individualistic

eat, are so organized that they can-nbsp;now?quot;
(Sighing) quot;Okay, you\'ll have what not live without a diary, and are

The Royal Veterinary College and the External Programme of the Univer-
sity of London jointly developed a new distance learning course in Live-
stock Health and Production.

The University of London has operated an internationally renowned de-
gree programme for external students for many years. Candidates under-
take a distance learning course that, at its successful completion, leads to
the award of a degree, which is in all respects equivalent tot that which
full-time residential students receive.

This new course will be of interest to veterinarians and other professionals
who are working in the field of animal health and production. It will have
global relevance and be equally appropriate for those working in the pri-
vate and public sectors.

MSc applicants should have either a degree in veterinary science or in
animal science or animal production. All applicants will be required to
show an ability to work at an advanced level of English.

For a prospectus or other information please contact First Enquiries
(98/LHP), University of London, Senate House, room 1, Malet Street,
London WCIE 7HU England (Phonel; 44.171.862 8361/8359, telefax:
44.171.6365894, e-mail: enquiries(§eisa.lon.ac.uk, http://www/
lon.ac.uk/external/).

9-15 August, 1998
Intemational Congress on Antrax,
Brucellosis, CBPP, Mycobacterial
diseases and Clostridial diseases.
Organized by: OIE Regional Col-
laborating Centre for Africa with
the ARC Onderstepoort Veterinary
Institute. Programme will focus on
the following aspects: epide-
miology, control, zoonoses and
detection. Congress venue: The
Conference Centre, Berg-en-Dal
rest camp, Kruger National Park.
Fee: before 15 May: R 1250; after
15 May: R 1500; after 15 June:
1750. Registration: Organising
Committee, Technology Transfer,
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute,
Private Bag X05, Onderstepoort,
0110, South Africa (Tel.:
27.12.5299433, telefax: 27.12.
5299143, e-mail: ria@moon.
ovi.ac.za).

24-28 August, 1998
10* International Conference on
Production Diseases in Farm Ani-
mals, 10\'quot; ICOPD\'98. Programme:
Metabolic disorders and related
diseases; Deficiency diseases;
Nutrition and fertility; Endocrinol-
ogy and regulation for metabolism;
Nutrition and immunology; Ani-
mal welfare, behaviour and hous-
ing; Animal production and the
environment; Epidemiology and
production diseases. Registration
fee: Dfl. 500,- Information and
registration: Dr. Th. Wensing,
Office Organizing Committee,
P.O. Box 14031, NL 3508 SB
Utrecht (Fax: 31.30. 2511787, e-
mail: t.wensing@izv.dgk.ruu.nl;
http ://www. knmvd. nl)

Health, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine Utrecht University and
ID-DLO Institute for Animal Sci-
ence and Health, Lelystad. MSc
Course \'Veterinary Epidemiology
and Herd Health\' (duration : 18
months, fee: Dfl. 20,000); MSc
Course \'Animal Pathology\' (dura-
tion 24 months, fee: Dfl. 35,000);
MSc Course \'Veterinary Anaes-
thesiology\' (duration 18 months,
fee Dfl. 35,000). Registration be-
fore 1 August, 1998. Information:
Office for Intemational Coopera-
tion, Faculty of Veterinary Medici-
ne. P.O. Box 80.163, 3508 TD
Utrecht (Telefax: 31.30.2531815,
e-mail: bic@vet.uu.nl).

10 - 12 September, 1998
Veterinary Pathology Symposium.
Organized by: Southern and East-
ern Africa Division of the C.L.
Davis DVM Foundation. Informa-
tion: Prof M.J. Obwolo, Faculty of
Veterinary Science, University of
Zimbabwe, P.O. Box M.P. 167,
Mount Pleasant, Harare (Tel.:
263.4.303211, telefax: 263.4.
333683, e-mail: vetscience@
esanet.zw).

14-18 September, 1998
IX Intemational Conference of the
Association of Institutions of
Tropical Veterinary Medicine
(AITVM): \'Animal health and
Production for Sustainable Devel-
opment\'. Organized by: Faculty of
Veterinary Science, University of
Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP 167,
Harare. Location: International
Conference Centre, Harare. Regist-
ration: Prof M.J. Obwolo, Faculty
of Veterinary Science, University
of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box M.P. 167,
Mount Pleasant, Harare (Tel:
263. 4.303211, telefax: 263.4.
333683, e-mail: vetscience@
esanet.zw).

October, 1998 - October, 1999
MSc Course on Wild Animal
Health for graduates in veterinary
and relevant sciences. Including:
practical and theoretical instruction
in the husbandry and nutrition of
wild animals, taxonomy, popula-
tion biology, conservation genet-
ics, welfare and ethical aspects,
epidemiology, immunology, infec-
tious and non-infectious diseases,
disease investigation, restraint,
preventive medicine and surgery
and an individual research project.
Organized by: The Institute of
Zoology (Zoological Society of
London) and The Royal Veterinary
College (University of London).
Information and registration: Reg-
istrar, The Royal Veterinary Col-
lege, Royal College Street, London
NWl OTU (Tel. 44.171.
4685000, fax: 44.171.3882342).

1 October, 1998 - 30 June, 1999
Intemational Diploma Course for
Tropical Animal Health and Pro-
duction. Organized by: Prince
Leopold Institute of Tropical
Medicine. Participants select 4 out
of 10 modules: Research method-
ology; Tick and tick-borne dis-
eases; Trypanosomosis and its
vectors; Helminth diseases; Socio-
economic aspects; Animal nutri-
tion and agropastoral management;
Apphed statistics; Epidemiology
and preventive veterinary medi-
cine; Diagnostic techniques; Live-
stock problems in the tropics.
Modules are lectures in French.
Course Fee BEE 42,000. Follow-
ing the Diploma Course partici-
pants can continue with 12 months
research for the MSc in Tropical
Animal Production or Health pro-
gramme. MSc Course fee: BEF
84,000. Closing date for registra-
tion: 31 August, 1998. Registration
and information, including infor-
mation on fellowships of the Bel-

gium Administration for Devel-
opment Cooperation: Prince Leo-
pold Institute of Tropical Medi-
cine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000
Antwerp (Tel.: 32.3.2476666,
telefax: 32.2.2I6I43I, e-mail: dir
@itg.be, http://www.itg.be).

16-22 October, 1998
Joint meeting of the World Asso-
ciation of Wildlife Veterinarians
(WAWV), the American Associa-
tion of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV)
and the Canadian Association of
Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians
(CAZWV). Holiday Convention
Centre, Omaha. Information: Dr.
Wilbur Amand, President WAWV,
6 North Pennel Road (Lima), Me-
dia PA 19063, USA.

27 November, 1998
9^^ Intemational symposium:
Tropical Animal Health and Pro-
duction. Theme: \'Ruminant nutri-
tion in disease resistance and re-
production\'. Organized by the
Committee for the Advancement
of Tropical veterinary Science
(CATS) and the Office for Interna-
tional Cooperation of the Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University. Registration before 15
November, 1998 to Office for In-
teraational Cooperation, Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine. P.O. Box
80.163, NL 3508 TD Utrecht
(Telefax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail:
bic@vet.uu.nl).

February, 1999 - January, 2000
Degree of Master of Veterinary
Studies (MVS) in Health and Pro-
duction of Small Ruminants. Or-
ganized by: Faculty of Veterinary
Science, University of Melbourne.
Areas of study: Parasitology;
Gross and histopathology; Repro-
duction; Advanced sheep man-
agement; Introductory surgery and
field visits. Tuition fee: $A 26,500.
Closing date for applications: 30
September, 1998. Information: Dr.
Trevor Bagust, Manager Interna-
tional projects. Faculty of Veteri-
nary Science, Pre-Clinical Centre,
University of Melbourne,
Parkville, Victoria 3052 (Tel.:
61.3.93449676, telefax: 61.3.
93449675, e-mail: t.bagust@vet.
unimelb.edu.au).

International Coiu-se on Live-
stock and Environment Interac-
tions. Major elements: livestock-
environment interactions in the
context of global changes; analysis
of biophysical and socio-economic
aspects of livestock environment
interactions; the dynamics of live-
stock production systems; policy
principles and assessment of flexi-
ble policy instruments to
strengthen environmentally sus-
tainable livestock production sys-
tems; environmental impact as-
sessment, evaluation and monitor-
ing; synthesis of the course infor-
mation into a policy framework for
the participants own working
situation. Organized by: Intema-
tional Agricultural Centre and
Wageningen Agricultural Univer-
sity. Information: Director of the
lAC, P.O. Box 88, NL 6700 AB
Wageningen (Tel.: 31.317.
490111, telefax: 31. 317418552,
e-mail: iac@iac,agro.nl).

The High Tatras, Slovakia
30 August - 2 September, 1999
3\'^\'* International Conference on
Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens
(TTP 1999). Programme: Tick-
borne pathogens (arboviruses;
other pathogens); tick-host inter-
phase; tick control; geographic
distribution and GIS; tick biology;
tick ecology; tick morphology,
taxonomy and sysetematics. Or-
ganized by: Institute of Zoology,

Slovak Academy of Sciences and
NERC Inst. Virology and Envi-
ronmental Microbiology, Oxford,
UK. Information: Dr. Milan La-
buda, Director, Institute of Zool-
ogy, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Dubravska cesta 9, 842 06 Brati-
slava, Slovakia (Tel.: 42.17.
3783248; telefax: 42.17.
3789757, e-mail: uzaelabu@
savba.sk).

20-25 September, 1999
Joint meeting of the European
Section of the Wildlife Disease
Assciation (EWDA) and the Euro-
pean Association Zoo and Wildlife
Veterinarians (EAZWV) at the
World Veterinary Congress in
Lyon. Information: Dr. Marc Ar-
tois, CNEVA Nancy, Domaine de
Pixerecourt, BP 9, 54220 Mal-
zeville, France.

23 -29 September, 1999
1999 World Vet Congress. Or-
ganized by : the World Veterinary
Association (WVA) and the World
Small Animal Veterinary Associa-
tion (WSAVA). Information:
MONDIAL VET 1999, CNVSPA,
40 me de Berri, F75008 Paris
(Tel.: 33.1.53839160, telefax:
33.1.53839169, e-mail: mondial
vet@aol.com, http:/www.mon
dialvet99.org).

EQUATOR is a periodical of the
Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University

J.H.A. de Gooijer
R.W. Paling DVM PhD
(editor-in-chief)
W.D. Vink MVM
P.R. van Weeren DVM PhD

Faculty of Veterinaiy Medicine
Office for Intemational
Cooperation
P.O. Box 80.163
3508 TD Utrecht
The Netherlands
Tel.: 31.30.2532116
Fax: 31.30.2531815
E-mail: bic@vet.uu.nl

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and
termination of subscription please
return the corrected label to the
editorial office.

Ostrich breeding is still quot;a new phenome-
non in the Netherlands. Ostrich breeding
started in 1992 with the importation of
the breeding stock, initially from Zim-
babwe in Africa, and later from other
African countries like Namibia and Bot-
swana. Unlike South Africa, these coun-
tries had policies that allowed the expor-
tation of live birds. Most of the birds are
of the quot;blue neckquot; breed which is the
prevalent breed in Zimbabwe. The other
countries provide other breeds, namely
the quot;black neckquot; and the quot;red neckquot; such
that cross breeds are available as well.
Currently there are 125 farmers in thie
Netherlands. The scale of operation
ranges from small to large. Some of the
farmers farm ostriches exclusively, while
others have other activities like pig rais-
ing or dairying.

There are two main organisational prac-
tices; the one farm principle and the inte-
grated approach or co-operation. In the
first approach, a farmer will have all op-
erations on one premise: the breeding
stock, the hatchery, chick raising, and
finishing facilities. In the integrated ap-
proach, the breeder birds are taken care
of at one premise, all eggs are transported
to a specialised hatchery, day old chicks
are transported to a chick raising premise
and stay there for the next 3 months, and
the slaughter stock is taken care of at
another premise until they are 100kg
(about 11 months).

Until 1997, the Netheriands ostrich in-
dustry was mainly involved in the expor-
tation of breeder birds, but it is now sup-
plying some birds to the domestic
slaughter houses as well. Exports in the
1996/7 period were mainly to China, and
to a lesser extend to other European
countries.

The incubation period for ostrich eggs is
generally considered to be 42 days, and

The ostrich (Struthio camelus) is farmed for leather and meat, with feathers becoming
of less importance. Ostrich meat is a high protein food with very low cholesterol levels,
while the leather is durable. In 1995 ostrich farms were regarded among the most
profitable agricultural projects, which also offered a variety of possible products.
The current interest in the ostrich has highlighted the paucity of knowledge of the ba-
sic biology and medical aspects of the bird under farming conditions, posing tremen-
dous problems to veterinarians and diagnosticians. Limiting factors in the expansion of
the industry are the artificial incubation of eggs and the rearing of chicks to an age,
usually 3 months, at which the birds can be considered independent and hard. Many
problems in ostrich farming are management related, and infectious diseases are sel-
dom a primary veterinary problem when management is optimal. Much of the aetiolo-
gies to diseases are still unknown and scientific reporting on incubation and chick
rearing respectively are scarce and often anecdotal.

The objective of this review is to tiy and highlight the paediatric problems of the cap-
tive ostrich and make the information more easily available to ostrich farmers and vet-
erinarians.

incubation temperature are as follows:
43-47 days at 35° C, 41-44 days at 36°C,
44.1 days at 35.5°C, and 47 days at 35°C.
Artificial incubation of ostrich eggs is
one of the areas limiting the expansion of
ostrich fanning, mainly because of a lack
of scientific reporting on the required
conditions. The ostrich is a desert
adapted animal, hence artificial incuba-
tion need to aim at creating conditions
such as incubation humidity and tem-
perature to simulate the natural condi-
tions. The incubator humidity and tem-
perature for the successfid incubation of
ostrich eggs are considered to be 25-40%
at 35 to 36.9°C, or 25-36.5% at 35.5-
37°C. In natural incubation, a nest rela-
tive humidity of 25-43% has been ob-
served.

The average hatching sequence for the
chick is to break into the air cell at day
40 of incubation, to pip the egg shell
during day 41, and to complete hatching
by day 42. However, the time interval is
subject to normal biological variation.
Hatchability could be associated with egg
quality, incubation conditions or ostrich
strain differences. Heavier eggs have
been associated with lower hatchability.
The lower hatchability could be due to
the hyperthermia that can result from the
smaller surface area to volume ratio for
heat exchange in these eggs, leading to
embiyonic death. This could be related to
the finding that towards the end of incu-
bation, the egg temperature is higher than
ambient temperature by 2.0°C.
During artificial incubation, the follow-
ing production levels should be aimed at:
less than 10% infertility, less than 10%
dead in shell, less than 10 % dead after
hatch, and greater than 70% survivability
of total eggs to saleable chicks. Infertile
eggs average 42% in America, and chick
losses range between 25 to 60% .
Incubation problems can be categorised
into infertility of eggs, early embiyonic
death (up to 14 days of incubation), mid
term embryonic death (14 to 28 days of
incubation), late term embryonic death
(28 to 42 days of incubation), and dead in
shell (at time of hatching).

Low fertility is one of the causes of the
limited expansion of ostrich farming. In-
fertility rates vary widely, from 22.2% in
the United Kingdom to 42% in America.
Causes of infertility or low reproductive

performance among ostriches include
breeder factors like genetics, nutrition,
age, mating behaviour and efficiency,
extreme environmental temperatures,
season, and disease. Overweight has been
reported to be a restriction to breeding
efficiency among female ostriches. In the
wild, male ostriches copulate up to 3
times a day while the clutch is being laid.
Such data are not available for the captive
male ostrich, hence the low fertility could
reflect low copulation owing to incom-
patible mating pairs or other behavioural
problems. It could be considered that os-
triches may have imprinted on humans,
with the failure to recognise conspecifics
as mates possibly adversely affecting
copulation rates.

A diagnosis of infertility is established by
candling eggs 7 to 10 days into the incu-
bation period. Infertile eggs are usually
difficult to distinguish from eggs with
embryos that died early into the incuba-
tion period, generally referred to as early
embiyonic death (EED), because in both
cases there is a lack of embryonic devel-
opment. Differentiating between the two
categories can be accomplished by open-
ing up the eggs that candle infertile at 7 -
10 days of incubation and examining
them for an embiyonic disc, which would
be seen floating in the case of EED, and
is absent in infertile eggs.
Contamination of eggs with bacteria has
been noted among both infertile eggs
(28%) and fertile but non-viable eggs
(35%). This observation makes it difficult
to suggest an association between infer-
tility and contamination since the con-
tamination rates do not appear to differ
much.

Ostrich embryo mortality shows a peak in
the first few days of incubation with a few
losses occurring during the middle period
of incubation. The bulk of the embryonic
mortality occurs during the last 7-14 days
of incubation.

Embryo mortality can be associated with
egg size, microbial infections and inade-
quate breeder rations.
Early embiyonic mortality has been asso-
ciated with delayed egg collection, too
long a storage time, too high storage
temperature, infected eggs and formalde-
hyde fumigation with in 24 to 96 hours of
incubation, while mid-term embryonic
death has been associated with inade-
quate egg turning and rough egg han-
dling. Late term embryonic death is re-
lated to inadequate ventilation and fluc-
tuating incubation temperature, while
dead-in-shell is related to too high or too
low hatchery temperature, too high
hatchery humidity, inadequate ventila-
tion, and lack of social facilitation by
other chicks or by the parents.
Bacteria that can be cultured from con-
taminated eggs have also been isolated
from both the shell and the interior of
domestic poultry eggs, and are common
soil and water pathogens. The most fre-
quently isolated bacteria was haemolytic
Escherichia coli, while other bacteria like
Bacillus species were farm associated.
Fungi, commonly Aspergilus and Mucor
species were mainly from the air sac
membranes. It is observed that 49% of
the eggs were contaminated with fungi.
The ostrich egg contains a surface acces-
sory layer but it is not known if it pro-
vides the same protection against micro-
bial contamination as has been shown in
fowl eggs.

The achieving of the correct egg weight
loss during incubation is a commonly
encountered problem in the incubation of
ostrich eggs. When there is failure to lose
enough water, the chick exhibits a char-
acteristic oedematous appearance, a con-
dition which has been considered as one
of the prominent symptoms of dead-in-
shell chicks.

The ostrich egg breathes entirely by dif-
fusion through the pores in the shell. In
ratites, the pores are branched to provide
additional ventilation for the significantly
larger egg mass. Unlike in adult birds,
the ostrich embryo is unable to increase
its respiratory rate to match its metabolic
demands. This is because the amount of
oxygen available to the embryo is de-
pendent on the diffusion properties of the

egg shell. At a time precisely located and
co-ordinated with embryo maturity, the
difiixsion properties of the eggshell must
be exceeded to provide an adequate car-
bon dioxide concentration (6%) within
the air space to facilitate the onset of
pulmonary respiration. The diffusion
properties also have to be co-ordinated
with the time of pipping and hatching,
and to cater for a sufficient water loss
(15%) to prevent drowning of the chick.
During artificial incubation, the ostrich
egg loses 13-14% of its initial weight. In
natural incubation, the ostrich egg has
been observed to lose 11-12%, 13.5%,
and 13.2-15.6% of the initial egg mass.
It has been suggested that the ostrich egg
requires 10% incubation humidity for a
13.5% weight loss and 5% incubation
humidity for a 15% weight loss. The hu-
midity should increase during the actual
hatching process to prevent the embryo
from adhering to the shell membranes.
Weight loss has been regarded as the best
guide for setting incubation humidity
levels with a 13-17% loss target during
the 42 day incubation period. Eggs that
lose less than 10% or more than 20% of
their initial weight are less likely to
hatch.

Dead-in-shell chicks are those that die
just prior to or during the process of
hatching. Death at this stage is associated
with factors that affect the availability of
air in the air cell and the chick\'s access to
this air. These factors include malposi-
tioning of the chick, which results in a
physical inaccessibility of the chick to the
air cell, and improper incubator airflow,
improper egg weight loss, large egg size,
oxygen shortage, carbon dioxide toxicity,
and hatching machine short comings.
These factors can lead to the production
of oedematous chicks. Malpositioning of
chicks can be associated with incubating
eggs in a horizontal or air cell down po-
sition. The above factors influence the
development of the air cell, and subse-
quently the chick\'s access to the air con-
tained in it for ventilation at the start of
pulmonary respiration. It is noted that
malposition and oedema are the pre-
dominant symptoms of dead-in-shell
chicks. In chicks that fail to hatch, 88%,
and 41% prevalence rates of oedematous
chicks have been observed. The problem

With artificial incubation
a natural hatch rate of
80% can be achieved
(Photo: Collection
Dzoma)

of oedema chicks can result in a variable
reduction of hatchability in the range of
43-75%.

It is common practice for farmers to as-
sist chicks out of the shell around the
time of hatching as they get over-anxious
about getting chicks out of the egg at 42
days regardless of whether the chicks are
ready or not. As discussed earlier, failure
to hatch can be caused by malpositioned
chicks, oedematous chicks, a lack of so-
cial facilitation by other chicks or by the
parents, or simply because of the inferior
quality of the chicks involved. Inferior
chicks may occur as a result of infection,
nutrition, genetics, or other causes of
weakness.

In a study on artificial incubation, a natu-
ral hatch rate of 80% was observed. The
survival rate of chicks that are assisted to
hatch is quite low, only 25% of chicks
that are assisted during hatching reached
the age of 12 weeks as compared to 90%
for those that were not assisted. Those
that were assisted during hatching tended
to remain some of the smallest chicks in
life. Hence, naturally hatched chicks have
been found to have a higher survival
probability than assisted hatchers. This
means that chicks should be left to pip
and hatch on their own.

Ostrich chick rearing up to the age of 12
weeks is regarded as one of the major
areas limiting the expansion of the os-
trich industry. Most ostrich paediatric
problems are management related and
more study is required to elucidate the
aetiologies of certain diseases. Publica-
tions on chick rearing are present but
often anecdotal. The most commonly
encountered problems in ostrich chick
rearing include yolk sacculitis, yolk re-
tention, weak oedematous chicks, gastro-
enteric problems, leg problems, stunting
chicks and the fading chick syndrome.
Below, some of the problems associated
with chick rearing are described.

Most ostrich chicks hatch with some oe-
dema that usually disappears within a day
or two. The oedema could be a reservoir
of water in chickens since they do not
drink during the first 24-48 hours after
hatching.

However, the occurrence of weak oede-
matous chicks is a problem often en-
countered in ostrich chicks at hatching
and is associated with eggs that do not
loose enough water during incubation.
The oedematous condition is in part as-
cites caused by shell induced hypoxia,
particularly when the weight loss of the
egg is 15 % or below.
A mean survival time of 6.3 days has
been recorded among oedematous chicks.
The condition has been described to take
the form of a clear, gelatinous subcutane-
ous fluid that is especially evident in the
legs, thighs, abdomen, pipping muscle,
and face of chicks.

Usually the chicks are weak, at times
failing to stand for several days after
hatching. Oedematous chicks are prone to
leg abductions and intervention is in the
form of placing the chicks in small boxes,
or placing hobbles on their distal meta-
tarsal regions.

This is a conglomeration of different
problems that has been identified as a
major cause of chick loss. It varies among
farms, and can be traced back to im-
proper husbandly. Diagnosis is based on
clinical signs and microbiological find-
ings. The clinical signs include depres-
sion, anorexia, occasional diarrhoea and
death with in 3 to 5 days of onset of clini-
cal signs. The microbiology findings in-
clude the isolation of E. coli and /or Kle-
biella pneumoniae from various organs
(umbilicus, yolk sac, liver, and air sacs).
Other factors include an age less than 3
weeks old and rapidly increasing mortal-
ity that ranges firom 40 to 100%. The
condition could be non-contagious.

Failure to absorb yolk during the first few
days after hatching is a common problem
in ostrich chicks. The underlying prob-
lem of the retention is basically unknown.
Yolk is a high nutrient density source
available to the chick dming the post
hatching period. It is 15-17% of initial
egg mass, 30-40% of the chick mass at
hatch, and is used up by days 10-14 in
most chicks. It is contained in a thick
opaque sac that is connected to the intes-
tines by a thick walled tubular yolk stalk.
Normal yolk is a viscid, translucent
emulsion that is greenish yellow in col-
our.

Several factors have been considered to
be associated with yolk problems in the
ostrich and other chicks, but these have
not been experimentally proven. These
include poor management factors like
high incubation temperature and humid-
ity, high energy diets, and lack of exer-
cise. Weak chicks at hatching, oedema-
tous chicks, and chicks that receive in-
adequate oxygen levels in the last week of
incubation all show a higher prevalence
of unabsorbed yolk sacs and unhealed
navels. It is considered that the low oc-
currence of yolk sac problems was due to
the low ambient temperature and low
energy and protein level diets they used,
complimented by adequate exercise.
Much work has been done on the chicken
yolk sac and yolk stalk, but this is not the
case with the ostrich.

It is probably better to expose chicks to
water and low energy and protein level
feed immediately after hatching to avoid
the thickening of yolk which might in-
terfere with its movement through the
yolk stalk.

Yolk retention can occur with or without
infection and is mostly observed in os-
trich chicks less than 3 weeks of age.
However, retention can be observed in
chicks as old as 6-8 weeks. This appears
more to be an exception since yolk is ex-
pected to be used up by day 14. Since
there are also retained yolks that are not
infected, yolk sac infection might not be a
primary cause of yolk retention. Yolk
retention could therefore be an indicator
of an underiying disease and not a disease
entity in itself In the young chicken, the
condition of yolk sac infection (also
known as quot;Mushy Chickquot; disease) is
characterised by an inflamed yolk sac and
is usually accompanied by a denaturation
of yolk. The yolk then appears either as a
yellowish-brown turbid fluid, or as a
granular or solid refractive yellow mass.
In the chicken, death of embryos and
yoimg chicks can result from an infection
of the yolk by a number of bacteria of
types frequently present in the alimentary
canal, and on the skin of the hen. In the
ostrich chick, common isolates are E.
coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, Kl. Pneumoniae, Staphylo-
coccus, Bacillus licheniformes, Achro-
mobacter and others.

Leg problems have been documented
with varying frequencies of occurrence in
the ostrich and rhea. They usually de-
velop at 2 to 6 weeks of age, and include
lateral luxation of the tendons that pass
over the back of the tibiotarso-
tarsometatarsal joint secondary to trauma,
and rolled toes which are either laterally
or medially pointing. Expert opinion
suggests that the problem is multifacto-
rial. Factors such as nutrition, improper
incubation temperature, excessive incu-
bator humidity, too much room to move
around in the hatcher tray, riboflavin
deficiency, lack of exercise and genetic
factors have all been associated with the
leg problems. There is however few nu-
merical data to support these assertions
despite the high incidence of the problem.
It is documented that bowing of legs in
the rhea was only observed in rapidly
growing birds, a scenario preventable by
limiting food intake. High protein diets
predispose to leg problems in the ostrich,
possibly because of rapid growth of the
bird that exceeds the ability of the bones
to mature. High temperature and lack of
exercise can also be associated with the
leg problem, hence the need to exercise
ostrich chicks. In a study a toe problem
prevalence of 8% was observed. There
was however no correlation with growth
rate, initial egg weight or percentage
weight loss during incubation.

Gastric impaction is a mechanical ob-
stmction or reduced motility of the prov-
entriculus and/or gizzard that leads to the
accumulation of material in the stomachs.
It occurs commonly in the ostrich chick
and is associated with change of feed,
movement of birds and other stress fac-
tors which lead the chick into ingesting
large quantities of inappropriate material.
Impaction has also been observed as one
of the major findings among ostrich
chicks whose deaths were associated with
a type A influenza virus, strain H5N2 and
type 1 paramyxovirus.
Ostriches are ground eating animals and
habitual ground peckers. They must be
taught or encouraged to eat by placing
them with a bird that is older and knows
how to eat.

Impaction has been documented in a 16
day old ostrich chick that had had a 12
hour history of depression, poor doing,
weakness, dehydration and scant faeces,
and in 7 week old ostrich chicks that ex-
hibited anorexia, diarrhoea, ruffled feath-
ers and general weakness. In the latter
case, the impaction occurred following
transportation and 37% of birds died
within 1 week. The proventriculi and
gizzards of the dead birds were fiill of
solid masses of lucerne hay mixed with
maize. A switch to green lucerne forage

helped solve the problem. The impaction
most probably occurred as a result of the
chicks\' exposure to lucerne hay which
they were possibly not used to, and which
had a higher fibre content. Ostrich chicks
can also take in metal objects, and this
can lead to death.

Sound management to reduce stress, en-
couragement of correct feeding habits,
and avoiding of access to foreign material
appear to be the major factors in pre-
venting this syndrome. Proventriculotomy
can be performed to save affected birds.

After hatching, the ostrich chicks loose
weight for the next 5 days, before begin-
ning a period of exponential growth,
reaching 4 kg after 5 weeks. Weight loss
is less in female chicks, and female
chicks grow faster than their male coun-
terparts. Initial egg weight influences the
chick hatch weight.

There are environmental and probably
genetic factors that affect the growth of
ostrich chicks. The environmental factors
include nutrition and possibly group
composition. Some of the stunting birds
are the possible poor quality chicks that
are helped to hatch and that tend to per-
form poorly for the rest of their lives.
There could therefore be an involvement
of a genetic component to growth.
The separation of smaller birds from their
age group mates has a role in the artifi-
cial rearing of ostrich chicks, since it is
possible that the larger chicks deprive the
smaller ones of feed. Daily weight re-
cordings on chicks allow problems of
growth to be noticed early, making early
intervention possible. However the shift-
ing of stunting birds from one age group
to another can be disastrous in terms of
disease transmission. Stunting chicks

have to be distinguished from chicks with
the condition generally regarded as fad-
ing chick syndrome. This condition has
been observed in chicks up to 3 weeks of
age. Stunting chicks are chronic poor
performers while fading chicks are more
often destined to die.

Enteritis has been associated with both
bacteria and vimses. E. coli has been
isolated in various cases of enteritis.
However, no typing was carried out to
determine the pathogenic importance of
the E. coli isolates, meaning that the im-
portance of E. coli in chick enteritis is
not clearly known. In some cases, E. coli
enteritis has been regarded as a secondary
complication.

A Clostridium difficile infection outbreak
was recorded in 9 day old ostrich chicks
with a 96% mortality in 3 days. The
chicks had had an acute outbreak of diar-
rhoea, became moribund and subse-
quently died. A similar outbreak occurred
in the batch of chicks that followed.
Pathological findings involved markedly
dilated colon and ccci, with dififiise
haemorrhage and no formed faeces.
In other avian species, clostridial enteritis
usually occur when toxin-producing
Clostridium species proliferate.

Most of the problems in the 3 weeks to 3
months period are the same as those that
occur in the earlier stages of chick life, as
has been noted above. The problems may
differ in frequency and severity.

Bacterial diseases: Granulomatous lesions
due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa type G
were documented in 3 months old ostrich
chicks that exhibited respiratoiy signs,
weakness, incoordination, inappetencc
and a 55% mortality. Grossly, the birds
exhibited yellowish white nodules, often
accompanied by a pseudodiphtheritic
membrane in the oral cavity, pharyngeal
region, trachea, air sac, lungs, esophageal
mucosa, and abdominal peritoneum,
while histopathology revealed pumlent
granulomatous lesions containing central
bacterial colonies with an outer shell and
club formation. P. aeruginosa is a com-
mon environmental and outbreaks can be

Viral diseases: Newcastle disease is
caused by paramyxovirus type I which
affects Galliforms, Passeriforms, and
Psitaciforms in addition to other orders,
including Struthioniforms. Newcastle
infection has been established experi-
mentally in 3 months old ostrich chicks
following a field outbreak in ostriches of
the 5-9 months age group with a 28%
mortality. In both situations, the birds
exhibited nervous signs. In the experi-
mental set up, a mortality of 80% in 5-10
days was recorded. The authors consider
that the infection in the field outbreak
could have come from diseased broiler
chickens some 10 km away which had
had an outbreak 4 weeks earlier.

Fungal diseases: A cryptosporidial infec-
tion was confirmed from the small intes-
tines and rectum of a 4 week old ostrich
chick that had suffered a rectal prolapse
but without diarrhoea. Ciyptosporidial
infections have been associated with
prolapse of cloacal and bursal tissue in
ostrich chicks. Small intestinal crypto-
sporidiosis is invariably considered
pathogenic, and seldom involves concur-
rent infections. It frequently results in
fatal diarrhoea. Cryptosporidiosis is gen-
erally a disease of young animals and is
self limiting in immunocompetent ani-
mals. Malnutrition predisposes to severe
infection. Control is difficult because
Cryptosporidium is highly resistant to
common disinfectants.
Aspergillosis is a disease condition
caused by fungus of the Aspergillus ge-

nus. It occurs in ostrich chicks and is
associated with poor hatchery and
brooder sanitation. In a flock of 3 to 8
weeks old chicks, the chicks showed de-
pression, anorexia, stunting and in-
creased mortality. A. niger and A. flavus
were isolated.

Most problems of ostrich chick mortality
can be traced back to improper manage-
ment before, during and after incubation
of the eggs. Poor management is a major
player in ostrich related operations as
primary infections have seldom been es-
tabhshed. Infection with viruses appear to
start early in chick\'s life, around day 10,
extending through out the first 3 months.

while fungal infections tend to occur
much later, from around 1 to 3 months.
The problem areas appear to be: i) the
production of infertile eggs, ii) the failure
to achieve acceptable hatchability rates,
and iii) the achieving of high chick sur-
vival rates to the age of 3 months.

\' Department of Veterinary Pathology,
Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, 3584
CL Utrecht, The Netherlands
^ University of Zimbabwe, Faculty of
Veterinary Science, Box MP 167,
Mount Pleasant Harare, Zimbabwe

(The above article is an adaptation of a re-
view paper by Blessing Dzoma. The paper
waj written as part of his thesis to obtain the
degree of Master of Science in Animal Pa-
thology at Utrecht University)

The section RECENT PUBLICATIONS is included in the English issues of EQUATOR. Scientific publications of the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and other research institutes in The Netheriands, relevant to livestock production and
health in the tropics as well as titles of papers by Dutch veterinary scientists working on animal health and production
topics in relation to developing countries, will be included. Please inform the editor of your publications so we can bring
them to the attention of the readers of EQUATOR. For reprints contact the authors directly, their addresses can be
obtained from the editorial office.

Schreuder, B.E.C., Noorman, N., Halimi, M., Dommelen, M. van, Hennecken, M. and Wassink, G. (1998). Further
observations on the impact of a veterinary programme in Afghanistan on seasonal livestock mortality Tropical Animal
Health and Production 30: 83-89nbsp;--

Ushewokunze-Obatolu, U., Majok, A.A., Matarira, U T. and Brand, A. (1997). The role of iodine in livestock production
under natural conditions in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Veterinarv Journal 28: 99-107.

Andel, J.M. van, Dwinger, R.H. and Alvarez, J.A. (1997). A study oiAnaplasma and Babesia infection rates of cattle and
^sociated ticks m the South Coast of Guatemala. Revue d\'Ejevage et de Médicine vétérinaire des Pays tropicaux 50: 285-

Jongejan, F., Vliet, A.H.M. van, Weide, M. van der and Oliveira, C. d\' (1997). Detection of two tick-bome pathogens
{Ihejlena annulata and Cowdria ruminantium) by the polymerase chain reaction. In: Proceedings and Abstracts\' The
second intemational conference on tick-bome pathogens at the host-vector interface. South Afiica, September 1995\' Eds

Vogel, S.W., Plaul, E.A., Uilenberg, G. and Bezuidenhout, J.D. (1997). Onderstepoort heartwater literature collection In
Proceedings and Abstracts; Jhe second intemational çonfkençe on tick-bome pathogens at tiie host-vector interface
South Afiica, September, 1995. Eds. L. Coons and M. Rothschild, pp. 509- 511.nbsp;\'

Tropical animal health and production and the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht

Utrecht University, one of the 14 universities in the Nether-
lands, includes 14 faculties. Its Faculty of Veterinary Medici-
ne is the only veterinaiy faculty in the Netherlands and, as a
result of its scientific and educational standards, it has been
accredited by the American and Canadian Veterinary
Medical Associations since 1973. Within the Faculty there
are 11 departments. Research on tropical animal health is
mainly conducted in collaborative research projects in the
tropics.

In 1987 the Faculty\'s Office for Intemational Cooperation
^IC) started with the coordination and extension of the
intemational activities. In 1989 the Committee for the Ad-
vancement of Tropical veterinary Science (CATS) was esta-
blished at the Faculty. The main objective of CATS is the
perpetuation and promotion of research and education rele-
vant to the tropics. The organization of the Symposia on
Tropical Animal Health and Production is an activity of
BIC and CATS. From 1990 onwards a yearly symposium
has been organized. The themes were:

1990nbsp;Contributions and perspectives from the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University

In 1998 Utrecht University\'s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
organises the 9th symposium on Tropical Animal Health
and Production. The organising committee has selected as
this year\'s theme: \'ruminant nutrition in disease resistance
and reproduction\'.

Feed supplementation to support animals, especially during
the dry season and to improve their condition around mating
time and during the ploughing season, is practised in many
areas in the tropics. How^ever, occurrence of disease can
interfere with these feeding strategies as well as the feed
intake. Unbalanced feeding does not only influence
productivity but also the cause of disease and the
reproductive performance. During the symposium all these
aspects will be given attention.

Prof. Dr. Ir. A.C. Beynen
J.H.A. de Gooijer (treasurer)
Prof. Dr. J. Noordhuizen (chairman)
Dr. R.W. Paling (secretaiy)
Dr. M.C. Pieterse
Dr. V.P.M.G. Rutten

A.C. Beynen, V.P.M.G. Rutten. Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

*nbsp;Studies on nutritional status - health - reproduction inter-
actions in tropical areas.

H. Guerin, E. Tillard, R. Lancelot, A. Ickowicz, E. Vail,, J.J.
Delate, C. Meyer and B. Faye. CIRAD-EMVT, Montpellier,
France.

D. Zwart\', J.W. Schrama^ and J.T.P. van Daml \'Austerlitz,
the Netherlands, ^Health and Reproduction Group,
Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, the
Netheriands, ^utreco, Boxmeer, the Netherlands.

*nbsp;Effects of diet and Trypanosoma congolense infection on
puberty, age at first lambing and the establishment and
outcome of pregnancy in Djallonke ewes.

S. Osaer, B. Goossens and I. Jeflfcoate. Intemational
Trypanotolerance Centre, Banjul, the Gambia.

*nbsp;Strategic supplementation of on-farm feed resources to
improve dairy productivity under smallholder farming in the
tropics.

M. Wanapat. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of
Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, TTiailand.

*nbsp;Dietary manipulation of leguminous tree foliage and
plantation crop residues in ruminant feeding.

T. Sutardi. Jumsan Dmu Nutrisi dan Makanan Temak,
Fakultas Petemakan, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Bogor,
Indonesia.

I wish to attend the Symposium quot;Tropical Animal Health
and Production, \'ruminant nutrition in disease resistance and
reproduction\'on 27 November, 1998 at the Faculty of Vet-
erinary Medicine, De Uithof, Utrecht.

Office for Intemational Cooperation
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
P.O. Box 80.163
3508 TD Utrecht
the Netherlands.
Telefax: 31.30.2531815
E-mail: bic@vet.uu.nl

Agyemang, K., Dwinger, R.H., Little, D. A., Rowlands, G.J. (1997). Village N\'Dama cattle production in West Africa: six
years of research in The Gambia. ILRI/ITC (Intemational Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya, and Intemational
Trypanotolerance Centre, Banjul, The Gambia) 131 pp.

Dam, van J.T.P., Heide, D. van der, Ingh, T.S.G.A.M. van den, Wensing, T. and Zwart, D. (1998). The effect of the
quality of roughage on the course of trypanosoma vivax infection in West Afiican Dwarf goats: II. Metabolic profile,
packed cell volume, and pathology of disease. Livestock Production Science 53: 81-90.

Dam, van J.T.P., Hofs, P., Tolkamp, B.J. and Zwart, D. (1998). The effect of the quality of roughage on the course of
trypanosoma vivax infection in West Afiican Dwarf goats I. Organic matter intake, body weight change and efficiency of
nitrogen metabolism. Livestock Production Science 53: 69-80.

Membership, including a subscription to
ARGOS, is dfl 45 per year. Student
membership, including a subscription to
ARGOS is Dfl 12.50 per year.
It is also possible to subscribe to ARGOS
only. A subscription costs Dfl 25 per
year.

Western veterinary medicine in colonial
Africa.-a survey 1902-1963
The paper discusses the origins and often
unintended consequences of the appllica-
tion of modem veterinary medicine in
Africa during the colonial period. The spe-
cific period imder review is from the end of
the South African War to Kenyan indepen-
dence. Many of the European traders,
invading armies and settlers that penetrated
the African hinterland brought their
own animals with them. These animals
spread new diseases, which outflanked or
overwhelmed existing biological and envi-
ronmental protective barriers decimating
African herds. These insurgent animals, in
tum, died in their thousands from indige-
nous pathogens such as bovine sleeping
sickness. With the establishment of the post-
conquest colonial state it was the job of
attendant European-trained state veteri-
narians to make sense of this new patho-
logical environment and attempt to assert
a degree of control - mainly in the interest of
food security - as part of the wider process of
colonial consolidation.

A primary concern of the paper is to test the
extent to which African conditions and
indigenous veterinary practice influenced
Western veterinary science, knowledge,
training and practice. A related concem is to
see where, and how, animal health in
Africa was transformed by the application of
colonial veterinary medicine and what the
socio-economic effects of these changes
were. In this respect, due regard is given to
the veterinary implications of the emer-
gence of new markets and trading networks
for beef cattle and dairy products triggered
by colonisation and, in particular, mining-
based urbanisation.

The present State of Indonesia became
independent in 1949 after more than three
centuries of Dutch rule. An overview of the
commercial and political relationship dur-
ing this period is presented. Organised vet-
erinary service gradually developed in the
19th century. The first government veteri-
narian arrived in the East Indies in 1820. In
1853 three Dutch veterinarians were
recmited to build up a State Veterinary
Service. However, at the beginning the vet-
erinary service simmered, mainly because
Dutch veterinarians were not interested in
a career in the tropics. A severe outbreak
of rinderpest, introduced through the
importation of breeding Zebu cattle from the
British East Indies, around 1880 forced the
Colonial Office to employ a few veteri-
narians to serve for one or two years. The
short contract and an attractive payment
explain why these recmitments were suc-
cessful.

In 1907 a State Veterinary Research
Institute was established in Buitenzorg on
the island of Java; and in the same year a
veterinary school was founded to train native
veterinarians and auxiliary staff.
From this moment veterinary activities took
off in the right direction. Due to extensive
researches on bacteriology and parasitology
and the development of diagnostic facilities
and vaccines, infectious diseases could be
prevented or combatted. Furthermore, the
Veterinary Service was in charge of animal
husbandry, livestock breeding and meat
inspection. In between the two World Wars,
a team of 70 to 100 Dutch veterinarians was
employed in government service. They
established their own veterinary organisation
and veterinary journal. The veterinary
contribution to the development of anunal
health and production and to the increase of
the number of draught animals and of food of
animal origin was recognized and highly
appreciated. During the Second World War,
when the Dutch veterinarians were locked
up in internment camps, the native vete-
rinarians showed their great ability and skill
to maintain a favourable animal health
situation. After repatriation of the last
Dutch veterinarians in 1956, they left
behind a solid structure of veterinary
research, university training and field
service.

In 1499 the Spanish sailors Alonso de Oje-
da and Amerigo Vespucci discovered the
Caribean islands Aruba, Bonaire and Cura-
cao. The Spaniards introduced their domes-
tic animals from Europe, primarily for the
use of their skins. As no gold was found on
the islands and after most of the original
inhabitants were removed as slaves, they
declared the islands to be islas inutiles and
only very few Spanish people remained.
Therefore, it costed only a small effort to
Dutch sailors under the leadership of Johan
van Walbeeck to conquer the islands in
1634. Ever since the islands are under
Dutch control (except for the period 1800-
1815, when the English took over).
The Dutch West Indian Company made

Curacao into a busy trade center with the
slave trade as the main business. Sufficient
food supply became a necessity. During the
period 1660 to 1725 plantations were built.
Cattle, sheep and goats were kept in
growing numbers for meat production. With
the growing opposition against slavery at the
end of the 18th century Curacao lost its
position as an intemational harbour. But
since 1918 oil refinery brought wealth
again.

The animal disease situation in the earlier
period is poorly documented. At the end of
the 19th century Dutch Cattle law was
introduced. The prevailing livestock dis-
eases are discussed, some of them being
typical for the Caribean.

Intemational cooperation in research on livestock diseases is more and more a
matter of networking and developing specialized technologies at centre\'s of
excellence. Consequently biological materials are being shipped world-wide.
Often the researcher concerned wishes to hand carry the biological materials
from one place to another. Transport of the material in liquid nitrogen is often
the only way for preserving live material during the period of transport.
Safety regulations for air transport are becoming more and more strict. Regula-
tions for the transport of liquid nitrogen containers are made by the Intema-
tional Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Dangerous Goods Regula-
tions of the Intemational Air Transport Association (lATA). The transport of
liquid nitrogen as hand baggage on aeroplanes is in principle forbidden. How-
ever, there is an exception to this mle and this is for the HCI Dry-Shipper con-
tainers types CP30 and CPIOO. In this containers the hquid nitrogen is fiilly
absorbed in the absorbent internal wall. If this container falls over it does not
leak. The Dry-Shipper containers are permitted by the airiines, if they do not
contain dangerous materials, to be carried as hand baggage. On KLM flights it
is not required to request special permission for transport of these containers as
hand baggage. (For information contact: HCI Cryogenics, P.O. Box 121, 5320
AC Hedel, the Netherlands, tel.: 31.73.5996161, telefax: 31.73.5996132, e-
quot;lail: crvo@hci.nl. website: www.hci.nlV

14-18 September, 1998
IX Intemational Conference of the
Association of Institutions of Tropical
Veterinary Medicine (AITVM):
\'Animal health and Production for
Sustainable Development\'. Organized
by: Faculty of Veterinary Science,
University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box
MP 167, Harare. Location: Intema-
tional Conference Centre, Harare.
Registration: Prof M.J. Obwolo, Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Science, University
of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box M.P. 167,
Mount Pleasant, Harare (Tel.: 263.
4.303211, telefax: 263.4.333 683, e-
mail: vetscience@esanet.zw).

October, 1998 - October, 1999
MSc Course on Wild Animal Health
for graduates in veterinary and re-
levant sciences. Including: practical
and theoretical instmction in the hus-
bandry and nutrition of wild animals.

taxonomy, population biology, con-
servation genetics, welfare and ethical
aspects, epidemiology, immunology,
infectious and non-infectious diseases,
disease investigation, restraint, pre-
ventive medicine and surgery and an
individual research project. Organized
by: The Institute of Zoology (Zoologi-
cal Society of London) and The Royal
Veterinary College (University of
London). Information and registration:
Registrar, The Royal Veterinary Col-
lege, Royal College Street, London
NWl OTU (Tel.: 44.171.4685000,
telefax: 44.171.3882342).

16-22 October, 1998
Joint meeting of the World Associa-
tion of Wildlife Veterinarians
(WAWV), the American Association
of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV) and the
Canadian Association of Zoo and
Wildlife Veterinarians (CAZWV).
Holiday Convention Centre, Omaha.

Information: Dr. Wilbur Amand,
President WAWV, 6 North Pennel
Road (Lima), Media PA 19063, USA.

22 - 27 November, 1998
4^^ Asian Pacific poultry health con-
ference. Theme; Improving produc-
tivity in a changing world. Subjects:
diseases, genetics, food safety, animal
welfare, environmental issues. Or-
ganized by the Australian Veterinary
Poultry Association at the University
of Melbourne. Registration: Official
Conference Organiser, M. Reid, P.O.
Box 341, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089
Austraha (Tel.: 61.2.99092005, fax:
61.2.99092555, e-mail: mreidpl@
intercoast.com.au, http://www.avpa.
cia.com.au).

27 November, 1998
9*^ Intemational symposium: Tropical
Animal Health and Production.
Theme: \'Ruminant nutrition in disease
resistance and reproduction\'. Organ-
ized by the Committee for the Advan-
cement of Tropical veterinary Science
(CATS) and the Office for Intema-
tional Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht Uni-
versity. Registration before 15 No-
vember, 1998 to Office for Internatio-
nal Cooperation, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine (Telefax: 31.30.2531815,
e-mail: bic@vet.uu.nl). See an-
nouncement and registration form
elsewhere in this EQUATOR.

February, 1999 - January, 2000
Degree of Master of Veterinary Stud-
ies (MVS) in Health and Production of
Small Ruminants. Organized by: Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Science, University
of Melbourne. Areas of study: Parasi-
tology; Gross and histopathology;
Reproduction; Advanced sheep man-
agement; Introductory surgery and
field visits. Tuition fee: $A 26,500.
Closing date for applications: 30 Sep-
tember, 1998. Information: Dr. Trevor
Bagust, Manager Intemational proj-
ects, Faculty of Veterinary Science,
Pre-Clinical Centre, University of
Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052
(Tel.: 61.3.93449676, telefax: 61.3.
93449675, e-mail: t.bagust@vet.
unimelb.edu.au).

Poultry Health Seminar. Subjects:
organized disease control; diagnostic
approach; pathological entities; post
mortem examination; bacterial and
viral diseases; mycoplasmoses; para-
sitology; epidemiology; food- and
drinking water analysis; laboratory
techniques; test interpretation; vacci-
nation programmes; hygiene and
sanitation control. Organized by Dutch
Animal Health Service, Deventer.
Course fee: Dfl. 4,100. Information
and registration: Mrs. L. van Veen,
Dept. of Poultry Health, Animal
Health Service, P.O. Box 9, 7400 AA
Deventer (Tel.: 31.570.660140, fax:
31.570.660175).

International Course on Livestock
and Environment Interactions. Major
elements: livestock-environment in-
teractions in the context of global
changes; analysis of biophysical and
socio-economic aspects of hvestock
environment interactions; the dynam-
ics of livestock production systems;
policy principles and assessment of
flexible policy instruments to
strengthen environmentally sustain-
able livestock production systems;
environmental impact assessment,
evaluation and monitoring; synthesis
of the course information into a policy
framework for the participants\' own
working situation. Organized by:
Intemational Agricultural Centre and
Wageningen Agricultural University.
Information: Director of the lAC, P.O.
Box 88, NL 6700 AB Wageningen
(Tel.: 31.317.490111, telefax: 31.
317418552, e-mail: iac@.iac.agro.niy

15 August - 19 November, 1999
27*^ Intemational course on dairy far-
ming in rural development. Course
programme: Introduction; dairy devel-
opment; farming systems; statistics;
economics and agricultural credit;
breeding; pasture production; nutrition
and feeding; animal health; repro-
duction and AI, extension and case
studies. Course fee: Dfl. 6,000. Clo-
sing date: 1 May, 1999. Information
and registration: Intemational Agricul-
tural Centre (lAC), P.O. Box 88, 6700
AB Wageningen (Tel.: 31.317.4901-
11, telefax: 31.317 418552, e-mail:
iac@iac.agro.nl).

23 - 29 September, 1999
1999 World Vet Congress. Organized
by : the World Veterinaiy Association
(WVA) and the Worid Small Animal
Veterinary Association (WSAVA).
Information: MONDIAL VET 1999,
CNVSPA, 40 rue de Berri, F75008
Paris (Tel.: 33.I.53839I60, telefax:
33.1.53839169, E-mail: mondialvet
@aol.com, http://www.mondialvet99.
org).

23 August, 1999 - 24 February, 2000
29*^ Intemational course on poultry
husbandry and 29^^ Intemational
course on pig husbandry. Organized
by: IPC Livestock Intemational,
Bameveld College. These courses will
mn at the same time. Following these
courses participation is possible in the
22quot;^* International animal feed training
programme (AFTP), which runs from
1 March to 27 May, 2000. Direct entry
in this last course is also possible.
Fees including board and lodging:
Poultry course: Dfl, 24,500; Pig
course: Dfl, 24,500, Feed course; Dfl.
12,000 or 14,500 (direct entry). Clos-
ing date: 1 May, 1999. Information:
IPC Livestock Bameveld College,
Dep. of Intemational Studies and Coo-
peration Programmes, P.O. Box 64,
3770 AB Bameveld (Tel.: 31.342.4-
14881, telefax: 31.342.492813, e-
mail: io@ipcdier.hacom.nl).

International Conference on Ticks
and Tick-borne Pathogens (TTP
1999). Programme: Tick-borae patho-
gens (arboviruses; other pathogens);
tick-host interphase; tick control;
geographic distribution and GIS; tick
biology; tick ecology; tick morphol-
ogy, taxonomy and systematics. Or-
ganized by: Institute of Zoology, Slo-
vak Academy of Sciences and NERC
Inst. Virology and Environmental
Microbiology, Oxford, UK. Informa-
tion: Dr. Milan Labuda, Director,
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy
of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 842
06 Bratislava, Slovakia (Tel.:
42.17.3783248; telefax: 42.
17.3789757, e-mail: uzaelabu@
savba.sk).

20 - 25 September, 1999
Joint meeting of the European Section
of the Wildlife Disease Assciation
(EWDA) and the European Associa-
tion Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians
(EAZWV) at the World Veterinary
Congress in Lyon. Information: Dr.
Marc Artois, CNEVA Nancy, Do-
maine de Pixerecourt, BP 9, 54220
Malzeville, France.

EQUATOR is a periodical of the
Ofiice for Intemational
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University

J.H. A. de Gooijer
R.W. Paling DVM PhD
(editor-in-chief)
W.D. Vink MVM
P.R. van Weeren DVM PhD

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Office for Intemational
Cooperation
P.O. Box 80.163
3508 TD Utrecht
The Netherlands
Tel.: 31.30.2532116
Fax: 31.30.2531815
E-mail: bic@vet.uu.nl

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and
termination of subscription please
return the corrected label to the
editorial office.

On 10 September, 1998, Dr. Mohamed Abdul Suamade Harun defended
his PhD thesis on quot;Hatchability of Muscovy duck (Cairina Moschata)
eggs and energy metabolism of ducklings in a tropical climatequot; in the
Academy Building of Utrecht University. Promoters were Prof Dr. G.H.
Huisman and Prof Dr. M.E. Evers, and as co-promotors acted Dr. M.
van Kampen and Dr. R.J. Veeneklaas. This thesis was the pinnacle on the
research Dr. Harun had performed sofar in Maputo, Mozambique and in
Utrecht, the Netherlands. His research was incorporated in the pro-
gramme on educational and scientific co-operation in the field of herd
health, veterinary internal medicine and applied physiology between the
Veterinary Faculty of the Eduardo Mondlane University (EMU) in Ma-
puto, Mozambique and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. The programme ran from 1987 -
1998. Since his graduation in 1984 Dr Harun is appointed as lecturer in
veterinary physiology at the department of preclinical studies of EMU.
Because the results described in this thesis can be of importance for vet-
erinarians and agricultural advisers in regions where Muscovy ducks are
kept, the editorial board of EQUATOR decided to publish the summary
of Dr. Harun\'s PhD thesis. For fijrther information please contact Dr.
Harun directly at the Department of Physiology, Veterinary Faculty, Uni-
versidade Eduardo Mondlane, C P. 257, Maputo, Mozambique, Email:
kabil(^zebra.uem. mz.

In developing countries rural poul- tropical areas where meat can not
try production plays an important be conserved for long time chick-
role as a source of animal protein in ens and ducks are protein sources

of a suitable size for one or two
days consumption by a family. In
these countries poultry generally is
scavenging around the houses
where they find their own feed or
sometimes are supplemented with
household waste.

Within poultry species, ducks are
probably the most adequate birds in
a scavenger system, because they
possess the remarkable ability to
glean and subsist on feeding mate-
rials that are not used by man or
not retrievable by chickens or other
domestic animals. The most com-
mon duck breed found in rural ar-
eas in Africa, and in particular in
Mozambique, is the Muscovy duck.
Compared to other duck species
the economic importance of the
Muscovy duck as a meat type of
bird is growing both in traditional
extensive and modern intensive
husbandry systems.
Due to its good foraging and incu-
bation behaviour, Muscovy ducks
are easily kept in scavenging sys-
tems. The scavenging system in
Mozambique is found in rural areas
where the majority of poor people
live. In this system the flocks are

Although the Muscovy
duck is a water fowl,
access to swinuning
water is not essential
(Photo: collection Harun)

Dr. Harun at work in the
laboratory of Veterinary
Physiology in Utrecht
(Photo: Post)

usually comprised of two to ten
ducks. The eggs are naturally incu-
bated for approximately 35 days
and the ducklings are generally
raised by the mother duck for at
least three weeks.

Modern intensive systems are
found mainly in urban and peri-
urban areas and are characterised
by high investment costs in prem-
ises and high running costs in
feeding.

In these systems artificial incuba-
tion and rearing are generally used,
resulting in an increased production
per year.

The Mozambican government, rec-
ognising the potential value of duck
production to increase the con-
sumption of animal protein per
capita of the population living in
rural areas, encouraged in 1976 the
rearing of ducks and launched a
project to promote Muscovy duck
production at the national level.
During the implementation of the
project the duck population in-
creased nation-wide. Farmers,
however, learned by experience
that management routines are also
essential for a good development of
their flocks.

In this context three practical
questions related to duck manage-
ment were brought to the attention
of poultry specialists. The first
question was related to the belief of
farmers that absence of swimming
water would lower productivity
with natural incubation. The sec-
ond question was why the hatching
rate of artificial incubation was low
(often less than 50%). The third
question was why in a scavenger
system most of the ducklings
brooded by the mother duck died
during the first three weeks of life?
The studies in this thesis were car-
ried out to provide practical an-
swers to the questions of the farm-
ers. The results of the study are
useful for increasing duck produc-
tion with Muscovy ducks in a
tropical climate.

The experiments described in the
thesis were designed: (1) to inves-
tigate if accessibility to swimming
water and nesting behaviour affect
the hatchability of Muscovy duck
eggs under natural incubation, (2)
to get insight in the role of egg
characteristics (for instance egg-
mass, shape, porosity) on embryo
growth, metabolic rate and hatch-
ability of eggs during artificial in-
cubation and (3) to understand the
development of thermoregulation

of Muscovy ducklings and to de-
termine which factors are responsi-
ble for the high mortality during the
first three weeks of life.

To answer the questions about the
necessity of access to swimming
water, the natural incubation be-
haviour of Muscovy ducks was
studied at the experimental duck
unit of the Veterinary Faculty in
Maputo, Mozambique. The pres-
ence of the mother duck in the nest
box was determined by using the
interruption of an infiquot;a-red beam
and a thermistor to sense the tem-
perature changes. Through this
measurement of nest attendance the
moment of egg laying, the start of
incubation and the periods the duck
left the nest during incubation
could be determined.

Subsequently, the influence of
nesting and incubation behaviour
on hatchability of the eggs during
natural incubation is described.
Muscovy ducks show a behaviour
called nest parasitism, i.e. a duck
lays her eggs in nests of another
egg-laying duck (dump nests). In
the experimental duck unit we used
this behaviour by putting eggs of
abandoned nests in nests where the
duck just had started the incubation
(artificial dump nests). The effects
of the creation of artificial dump
nests on the overall hatchability has
been investigated. In some nests
more eggs were found at the end of
the incubation than at the start.
These eggs could be laid by the
incubating duck after incubation
had started or by another duck.
However, due to the used registra-
tion method for the presence of
eggs no discrimination between the
two possibilities could be made.
The overall hatchability of the eggs
in these kind of nests (nests with
non-term eggs) was 25% lower,
most probably due to the short in-

In the laboratory the
situation of young
scavenging birds was
simulated by a period of
controlled underfeeding
(Photo: collection Harun)

In order to analyse the difference in
hatchability between nest types,
statistical models (Weibull fiinction
and a beta-binomial model) were
applied to quantify and predict nest
hatchability. Good hatching results
during natural incubation are only
possible if knowledge of nesting
behaviour is taken into account
during management of duck flocks.
Our data show that hatchability is
only decreased by 10% for artificial
dump nests, despite the fact that
40% of the eggs were derived from
abandoned nests that were other-
wise certainly lost.
As the hatchability rate obtained in
natural incubation is higher than in
artificial incubation, natural incu-
bation is recommended, provided
that the knowledge of nesting be-
haviour is applied in the manage-
ment of duck flocks during the
breeding season. The analysis by
the statistical models shows that
almost 60% of the variation of
hatchability of Muscovy duck eggs
under natural incubation can be
explained by clutch size, nesting
behaviour and duration of egg lay-
ing and incubation. The outcome of
the study is that although the Mus-
covy duck is a water fowl, access
to swimming water is not essential
and does not affect hatchability.
Breeding biology of the domesti-
cated type of Muscovy ducks under
natural incubation was found to be
similar to that of the wild type.

To study the question about the
low hatchability in artificial incuba-
tion, laboratory experiments on

Muscovy duck eggs were carried
out at the Department of Veteri-
nary Basic Sciences, section of
Veterinary Physiology at the Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Medicine of
Utrecht University. The reported
data on embryonic growth and on
the pattern of heat production
during hatching are essential to un-
derstand the incubation process and
to maximise hatchability. The re-
sults show that the weight of the
embryo, length of beak and shank
are useful parameters to estimate at
which age the embryo died. The
hatching process starts with an in-
ternal perforation of the air cham-
ber by the duckling (internal pip-
ping), followed by cracking the egg
shell (external pipping) and
emerging the egg. Of the embryos
that died during artificial incubation
most of them died in the period
after the duckling had cracked the
egg shell to start the hatching proc-
ess. Compared to natural incuba-
tion, the time necessary for a duck-
ling to hatch lasted longer in artifi-
cial incubation and the hatching
process is not synchronised as is
usually observed for precocial
birds. The longer hatching period
can be explained by the fact that
the synchronisation sound made by
the emerging ducklings is drowned
out by the noise of the incubator.

The weight of the duckling at
hatching is influenced by egg
weight and the length of the incu-
bation period.

Statistical discriminant analysis was
used to study the effect of spraying
and cooling the eggs on the embry-
onic metabolic rate and the hatch-
ability.

2.nbsp;an incubation temperature of
37.5 °C with spraying and
cooling benefits the hatchability
of the bigger and more porous
eggs;

3.nbsp;embryo death after external pip-
ping is associated with insuffi-
cient energy during hatching;
and

4.nbsp;the egg size variation and the
different way of heat source ap-
plication in natural and artificial
incubation seem to be the more
important factors responsible for
the low hatching rate during ar-
tificial incubation of Muscovy
duck eggs.

Therefore in artificial incubation
with spraying and cooling it is rec-
ommended to avoid egg shape
variation by a prior selection.

The question why in a scavenger
system most of the ducklings
brooded by the mother duck die
during the first three weeks of life
was also addressed in laboratory
experiments performed in Utrecht.
The situation of young scavenging
birds was simulated by a period of
controlled underfeeding which kept
their body weights constant. The
effects of underfeeding and age on
the development of thermoregula-
tion in Muscovy ducklings are de-
scribed. It is shown that Muscovy
ducklings are more vulnerable at
low ambient temperatures than
other duck species. Therefore they
are more dependent on an addi-
tional heat source (e.g. a heating
lamp or parental brooding), espe-
cially under adverse weather con-
ditions in tropical areas with tem-
peratures below 10°C. In the scav-
enging poultry production system
where there is a shortage of food in
quality and quantity, the time that a
scavenging duckling spends being
warmed by its parent is lost for
feeding activity. This leads to a re-
duced level of food intake, and thus
to growth retardation and difficulty
in maintaining homeothermy. For
the development of thermoregula-
tion, the availability of food is more
important than age. Under these
conditions growth rate of scav-
enging ducklings can be enhanced
by supplementing them with some
extra food, which facilitates endur-
ance to environmental cold stress
and permits growth. Taking these
conditions into account contributes
to reduce the early mortality rate of
young ducklings due to adverse
cold effects.

nary Science of the University of
Zimbabwe took the challenge to
organise the International Con-
ference. The Association has a
Standing Committee, with mem-
bers representing veterinary insti-
tutions in Africa, Asia and Europe.

The Intemational Conference of the Association of Institutes of
Tropical Veterinary Medicine (AITVM) on \'Animal Health and Pro-
duction for Development\', was held in Harare, Zimbabwe from 14-18
September, 1998. A total of 223 participants gathered in the Sheraton
Hotel in Harare to listen and discuss matters related to the role of live-
stock in development. Most participants (186) came from 19 sub-Saharan
African countries, 24 came fi-om 8 European countries and the others
came from the America\'s, Asia and Australia.

The Intemational Conference of country and a European country,
the AITVM is organised every 3 For 1998, the Faculty of Veteri-

At the end of the 8^ Conference in
1995 in Berlin, Harare was an-
nounced as venue of the Con-
ference and Prof Mark Obwolo
was elected as the new chairman of
the Standing Committee. The
preparations for the Harare confer-
ence started in 1996 when the
Standing Committee met in Paris;
this was followed up with a meet-
ing in Montpellier (France) in

May, 1997 when an outline of the
themes was formulated and names
of potential keynote speakers were
put forward. From here on the ac-
tivities were in the hands of Prof
Mark Obwolo and the various Na-
tional Organising Committees that
supported him. Later in 1997 the
Standing Committee met in Ant-
werp to review the progress and
financial position of the conference
organisation. Subsequently the first
and second announcement were
widely distributed in the English
and French language.

It goes to far to mention here all
the efforts and activities of the
local organisers that finally re-
sulted in an international confer-
ence of 223 participants.

Harare as venue for the Confer-
ence tuned out to be a very good
choice. The organisers at the Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Science had the
full support from the University
authorities, the Ministry of Higher
Education and Technology, the
Department of Veterinary Serv-
ices, the Zimbabwe Veterinary
Association and the Delegation of
the European Commission in Ha-
rare. Heads and representatives of
all these organisations were pres-
ent at the official opening of the
Conference and highlighted the
importance of the Conference for
livestock development on a na-
tional and regional scale. The city
of Harare has excellent hotel and
conference facilities and numerous
international flights to bring in the
participants from all parts of the
world.

The participants of the Conference
included scientists, policy makers
and representatives of major
funding agencies, intemational

agencies and regional organisa-
tions. The conference organisers
had been able to obtain fellowships
for many of the scientists from
East, West and southern Africa.
Organisations like the European
Union (EU), Centre for Technical
Cooperation in Rural Agriculture
(CTA), Food and Agricultural Or-
ganisation (FAQ) and the govern-
ments of Belgium, Britain, Den-
mark and France provided flinds
for the participation of scientists
from developing countries.

The programme was divided in
one day of plenary sessions at the
start, followed by 2 days with 3

simultaneous sessions and work-
shops. During the first day plenary
session, representatives of Zim-
babwe, Malawi, Indonesia, the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC), the Organi-
sation for African Unity
(OAU/IBAR) and the European
Union, presented their views and
strategies on some of the major
themes of the conference: sustain-
able regional integrated animal
disease control, animal health de-
livery systems and community
participation.

Topic I: Needs for regional inte-
grated animal disease control
Topic 2: Increasing efficiency of
the public and private heahh deliv-
ery systems.

Topic 3: Re-orientation of the vet-
erinary curriculum
Topic 4: Domestic and wildlife
resource management
Topic 5: Veterinary public health
and food safety.

Each session started with a pres-
entation by an invited keynote
speaker, who also chaired the
meeting through a series of pres-
entations with relevance to the
subject. A total of about 65 scien-
tists made a presentation during 3
parallel sessions.

The keynote in this session was
presented by Dr. R. Conner (Re-
gional Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis
Control Programme (RTTCP) for
Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and
Zimbabwe). Dr. Conner stated:
\'Attempts to control a disease in
one country will be thwarted if it
spreads into disease-free areas
from an adjacent country. A re-
gional (international) approach to
control is then necessary. Also the
existence of common problems
(such as a shortage of skills) or
interests in joint research, may also

justify a regional approach. Dis-
eases that qualify for a regional
approach in Africa are: rinderpest,
foot and mouth disease (Fî^),
contagious bovine pleuropneumo-
nia (CBBP), ticks and tickborne
disease (TTBD), trypanosomosis
and Newcastle Disease (NCD).

Dr. Domenech (CIRAD-EMVT,
Montpellier, France) opened this
session by indicating that during
many years the animal health
services, specifically in Africa,
have been provided by various
ministries through public spending.
The political idea that \'everything\'
can be done by the public admini-
stration lost ground very fast under
the structural adjustment pro-
grammes. The veterinary services
have been under reform during the
last 15 years. However, the privati-
sation process of the veterinary
profession is progressing rather
slowly. This session turned out to
be of interest to a lot of the partici-
pants, demonstrating the concern
of the veterinary profession on
how best to deliver its goods to the
clients. The session ran for 2 days
and an extensive set of recommen-
dations was formulated.

The Dean of the hosting institute
Prof Obwolo (Faculty of Veteri-
nary Science of the University of
Zimbabwe) introduced the subject
of the re-orientation of the veteri-
nary curriculum. He stated that:
\'The changing global environment,
politics and economics have direct
bearing, internationally, regionally
and nationally, on agriculture and
disease dynamics\'. He noted some
examples such as: extreme and
changing weather conditions, the
policy to reduce public spending
and to encourage privatisation,
changing disease patterns and
\'new\' diseases. The veterinarians
have to be prepared for the conse-
quences. As trainers, the Veteri-
nary Schools have to re-orientate
the curriculum. Including subjects
such as: farming systems, epide-
miology, veterinary practice and
business studies, were some of his
suggestions. Discussions centred
around the question of how much
knowledge and many facts a vet-
erinary student can absorb in a four
or five year period. What can be
removed from the curriculum if
new subjects have to be intro-
duced? Some of the solutions that
were discussed are: development
of elective courses and differentia-
tion in the last part of the study. In
this case not all the students follow
all the courses, but they make
some choices and select subjects.
The shifting of certain subjects to a
postgraduate study programme is
an other option. In this respect
Prof J.A.W. Coetzer (University
of Pretoria, South Africa) pre-
sented the initiative taken by five
veterinary faculties of the SADC
(Mozambique, South Africa, Tan-
zania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) to
develop jointly a \'Regional MSc in
Tropical Animal Health\'.

He introduced examples of sustain-
able and economic land use systems
where a multi-disciplinary approach is
made to the use of the natural re-
sources in semi-arid zones of Africa.
The economic use of land and vegeta-
tion can be combined with utilisation
and protection of wildlife species. The
presentations in this session were
concerned with wildlife and livestock
interactions and the use of (improved)
local livestock breeds (cattle, goats
and chicken) for increasing livestock
production under certain adverse con-
ditions. The presentation by Dr. W.H.
Stotsz (University of Pretoria) about
the enormous prices that were paid in
South Africa for FMD-free, theileria-
free and tuberculosis-free buffalo was
an eye opener for many of us.

The subject of this session was
introduced by Dr. A. Robinson of
USAID-Middle East Cooperation
Programme (MERC), who is based
in at Veterinary Department of the
Ministry of Agriculture in Amman
(Jordan). Most presentations cen-
tred around subjects related to
parasitic zoonoses.

Each session was concluded with a
discussion, steered by a moderator,
during which the major objectives
and threats for achieving these
objectives, were identified and
summarised in recommendations.
During a final half a day plenary ses-
sion, the conclusions of the five sessi-
ons were presented and discussions
were held to formulate the recom-
mendations of the Conference.
These summaries and recommenda-
tions will be widely distributed in the
near future. Of course these will also
be published in the proceedings of the
Conference and in one of the next
issues of EQUATOR.

The members of the AITVM
Standing Committee, of which
some members were represented
by other staff members of their
institute, met also in Harare. Prof
Obwolo was thanked for his great
personal commitment and con-,
gratulated with the success of the
Harare conference. Looking for-
ward some important decisions had
to be taken by the Committee. A
new chairman and secretary of the

Standing Committee had to be
elected and the venue of the jubilee
(10^ !) Conference had be chosen.
During the final plenary session
Prof Obwolo announced that Prof
Luis Alfaro Cardoso of the Tropi-
cal Research Institute of the Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Medicine of
Lisbon (Portugal) was elected as
the new Chairman. The under-
signed, Dr. Robert Paling of
Utrecht University (the Nether-
lands), took over the function of
the AITVM Secretary from Prof
Dieter Mehlitz. And finally the
venue of the next Conference was
announced: Copenhagen in Den-
mark.

Dr. Kaj Bruhn of the Veterinary
and Agriculture University (Den-
mark), who represented Prof Peter
Nansen, invited the participants to
a sunny Copenhagen in the year
2001.

On Tuesday, September 15, 1998,
the first Master of Science course
on Animal Pathology at the Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University came to a conclusion
with the presentation of the results
of the scientific work by Drs.
Ronnie Chamanza, Blessing
Dzoma, Borden Mushonga,
Absolom Murondoti, and Elma
Zanamwe, all of them staff
members of the Faculty of
Veterinary Science of the
University of Zimbabwe. The
subjects of study were: quot;Acute
phase proteins and poultry
diseasesquot;, quot;Veterinary problems of
the ostrich {Struthio camelus) up
to 12 weeks of agequot;, quot;The role of
the patellar lock mechanism in the
stabilization of the equine stifle
joint during quiet standingquot;,
quot;Protein and apoliprotein
metabolism in relationship to the
pathogenesis of fatty liver in dairy
cows and The limitations and
constraints of phosphorus
deficiency in grazing livestock
productionquot; respectively.

The presentations were followed by
a festive ceremony. After speeches
by Dr. H. Hendriks, the course co-
ordinator, and Prof Dr. E. Gruys,
the course director, Prof Dr. H.W.
de Vries, Dean of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine, took the floor
to present the diplomas to the new
Masters of Science.

Nota Bene: From 1998 the Master of
Science course on Animal Pathology will
start every year in September! The
duration of the course is 24 months. For
further details see the Calendar in this
issue of EQUATOR.

This section contains vacancy announcements which the editorial board
considers to be of possible interest to Dutch veterinarians. Besides vacancies
that will be taken from Vacatureblad Internationale Samenwerking, Tijd-
schrift voor Diergeneeskunde, Veterinary Record, Intro vacatures (RPD
Advies/ Ministry of Internal Affairs) etc., there will be room for personnel
advertisements. For fiirther information about the vacancies please contact
the institution or company directly.

For several projects in Asia, MIS and
CEECs, Africa and South America, we
are urgently seeking long and short term
Veterinary Consultants.

Candidates should have more than 5
years experience in developing countries.
Knowledge of national languages would
be an advantage.

SODETEG is one of the leading
European multidisciplinary firms
providing consultancy and technical
assistance to Govermnents and Ministries
throughout the worid. SODETEG is
registered with the main Intemational
Aid Agencies (World Bank, European
Commission, Asian Development Bank,
African Development Bank,...).

SODETEG
Development amp; Cooperation Department
18, avenue du Maréchal Juin
92366 Meudon-la-Forêt Cedex -
FRANCE
fax : (33) 1 39 45 55 47
e-mail :

The Society for Tropical Veterinary
Medicine (STVM) held its biennial
meeting entitled: \'Tropical Veterinary
Medicine\', at the Centre de Coopera-
tion Intemational en Recherche
Agronomique pour le Developement
(CIRAD) in Montpelher, France, from
5-9 May, 1997. Tlie meeting was di-
vided in three areas: Molecular epi-
demiology of tropical diseases, hemo-
parasites and their vectors and general
topics on tropical veterinary medicine.
Recently (1998) the proceedings were
pubhshed by The New York Acad-
emy of Sciences (Address: 2 East
63rd Street, New York, NY 10021,
USA). The proceedings, covering
more than 500 pages, provide an ex-
tensive collection of research papers
on diagnosis and disease and vector
control of mainly tick bome diseases
of livestock in the tropics.
The full details are: Tropical Veteri-
nary Medicine; Molecular epidemio-
logy, hemoparasites and their vectors
and genera topics. (1998). Eds. F.
Jongejan, W. Goff and E. Camus.
Armals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, New York Vol. 849. pp.
503. (ISBN 1-57331-141-1).

VETERIS	ARY
MEDICIN	fE