Ilias Chantziaras

Ghent University | UGhent · Department of Obstetrics, Reproduction and Herd Health

This paper describes cases of urolithiasis in fattening pigs on two farms (A and B). Bladder rupture due to urethral obstruction with calculi was the principal finding during the necropsy of the pigs. An in-depth diagnostic examination was performed to elucidate possible pathophysiological mechanisms, namely Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotom...

Simple Summary Farm biosecurity is crucial for preventing infections and maintaining animal health. The present study assessed biosecurity practices on dairy farms in Punjab, India, using a standardized scoring system. The study found that the mean external and internal biosecurity scores for the selected dairy farms were 45.4% and 43.7%, respectiv...

On-farm hatching is a relatively new method in the broiler industry, in which fertilized broiler eggs are transported to the farms at the stage of 17–19 days of incubation. Once hatched, the broiler chicks have direct access to feed and water. Previous studies have shown on-farm hatching to increase animal welfare and intestinal development. Howeve...

This study investigated the role of causative infectious agents in ulceration of the non-glandular part of the porcine stomach ( pars oesophagea ). In total, 150 stomachs from slaughter pigs were included, 75 from pigs that received a meal feed, 75 from pigs that received an equivalent pelleted feed with a smaller particle size. The pars oesophagea...

Porcine ear necrosis (PEN) is characterized by ulcerative lesions of the ear auricle. To investigate that problem, three farms with PEN in nursery pigs were included, and the study aim was to characterize PEN and the potential role of pathogens and mycotoxins. Within each farm, one batch of weaned piglets was included and the prevalence and severit...

Wild animals and pests are important reservoirs and vectors of pathogens that can affect domestic pigs. Rapid globalization, anthropogenic factors, and increasing trends toward outdoor pig production facilitate the contact between domestic pigs and wildlife. Objective: To analyze information on the roles of wild animal species and pests in the spr...

To develop a risk-based weighted scoring system to evaluate biosecurity levels in backyard poultry households in developing countries, as well as to describe its use in Bangladesh.

Background Prolonged farrowing and more piglets born with low birth weight are undesirable consequences of genetic selection for increased litter size. The objective of the present observational study was to evaluate the relationship between piglets’ survivability and farrowing kinetics in hyperprolific sows. A total of 58 sows of different paritie...

Lameness perception by untrained observers. Huge thanks to Dr. Nick Bell and Peacock Industries for sharing the mobility scoring clips and gold standard scores.

Objectives Preventive hoof trimming (HT) is essential to prevent lameness in high producing dairy cattle, yet little is known about how it's performed by hoof trimmers. The goal of this survey was to provide an overview of the current preventive hoof trimming techniques internationally applied in dairy cattle. Emphasis was put on the order in which...

Antimicrobial resistance is a global concern, posing risks to human and animal health. This research quantified antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in E. coli isolates from poultry fecal and environmental samples in Bangladesh and explored their association with antimicrobial use (AMU). We screened 725 fecal and 250 environmental samples from 94 convent...

Antimicrobial use (AMU) is a major contributing factor to the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human and animals. To control AMR, indiscriminate antibiotic use needs to be restricted, preventive measures such as biosecurity must be prioritized and proper action plans must be implemented. This study aimed to quantify and associate...

Simple Summary The processes of globalization, human activities, and the growing popularity of outdoor ecological pork production contribute to increased interactions between domestic pigs and wildlife. Wild animals and pests can carry harmful pathogens that pose a threat to domestic pigs, resulting in economic losses at the local, national, and gl...

Limited and judicious antimicrobial usage (AMU) is considered the key to saving the success of human and veterinary medicine in treating infections. With the limited alternatives for antimicrobials, farm biosecurity (and herd management) is considered a promising tool to mitigate the non-judicious AMU and to maintain animal health, production, and...

Background: Good estrus detection in sows is essential to predict the best moment of insemination. Nowadays, a technological innovation is available that detects the estrus of the sow via connected sensors and cameras. The collected data are subsequently analyzed by an artificial intelligence (AI) system. This study investigated whether such an AI...

Biosecurity measures are the key component to minimize the risk of the introduction and spread of infectious agents. Cleaning and disinfection (C&D) procedures are a crucial component of internal biosecurity. The objectives of the present study were to quantify the application of C&D procedures on pig farms in Europe and to identify potential gaps.

Introduction Biosecurity measures are the key component to minimize the risk of the introduction and spread of infectious agents. Cleaning and disinfection (C&D) procedures are a crucial component of internal biosecurity. The objectives of the present study were to quantify the application of C&D procedures on pig farms in Europe and to identify po...

Limited and judicious antimicrobial usage (AMU) remains key to retain the efficacy of human and veterinary medicine. Presented with limited alternatives for antimicrobials, farm biosecurity is considered a promising tool to mitigate the non-judicious AMU. This scoping review aims to analyse the associations between farm biosecurity and AMU in lives...

One Health recognises the interdependence between the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment. With the increasing inclusion of One Health in multiple global health strategies, the One Health workforce must be prepared to protect and sustain the health and well-being of life on the planet. In this paper, a review of past and currently...

Background Dam-to-piglet transmission plays an important role in the epidemiology of enzootic pneumonia on farms. Although Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae ( M. hyopneumoniae ) infections in breeding animals are often subclinical, their control could have a positive effect on M. hyopneumoniae infection levels in fattening pigs. This study investigated the...

Polymyxin E (colistin) is a medically important active substance both in human and veterinary medicine. Colistin has been used in veterinary medicine since the 1950s. Due to the discovery of the plasmid-borne mcr gene in 2015 and the simultaneously increased importance in human medicine as a last-resort antibiotic, the use of colistin for animals w...

The present study investigated whether dietary supplementation of tripotassium citrate or NaCl reduced the prevalence of calcium oxalate dihydrate (COD) uroliths in fattening pigs on a farm with a high prevalence of COD uroliths. Each group (control, TPC, NaCl) consisted of three batches of approximately 260 fattening pigs each. Performance, water...

Antibioticabeleid is een essentiële stap in de beperking van de selectie van antibioticaresistentie. In deze studie wordt de evaluatie van 122 laatstejaarsstudenten Diergeneeskunde van de Universiteit Gent (UGent) en de Universiteit Luik (ULuik) weergegeven met betrekking tot de perceptie van het voorbereid zijn, de kwaliteit van het onderwijs en d...

The goal of this study is to describe the current use of antibiotics in the European pig industry based on an extensive literature review. To achieve this, an overview of results from national (n = 15) and multi-country (n = 2) cross-sectional and longitudinal (n = 2) surveys, which describe antimicrobial use in pigs, is presented. Results are furt...

Major efforts have been made by veterinary professionals to reduce the need for antibiotic use in animals. An online survey launched by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) aimed to gather responses from practicing veterinarians with field experience in metaphylactic livestock group treatment. Only 17% of all veterinarians (n = 183/1087,...

Partial depopulation is the removal and slaughter of part of a flock prior to the final slaughter age, and this practice allows broiler producers to optimize stocking density in broiler houses. However, this practice constitutes a serious break in farm biosecurity that can lead to the introduction of various pathogens in the flock, including Campyl...

Background Piglet perinatal and pre-weaning mortality is a welfare problem causing economic losses in pig production. In this study, the effects of housing and management interventions on the economic result of sow enterprises representing six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain) were tested. Interventi...

Background: High-power laser therapy gained popularity recently as a regenerative treatment for tendinitis and desmitis in the horse. However, studies evaluating effects of laser therapy on tissue repair at histological level in large mammals are lacking. Objectives: To evaluate effects of high-power laser therapy on suspensory desmitis healing,...

Background Porcine ear necrosis (PEN) in pigs is characterized by a blue to black discoloration of the tip or margin of the ear followed by necrosis. The present study investigated the prevalence of PEN in a Belgian pig farm with PEN problems in nursery pigs, the effect of a mycotoxin detoxifier added to the feed on PEN prevalence, and the impact o...

Regular evaluation of integrated surveillance for antimicrobial use (AMU) and resistance (AMR) in animals, humans, and the environment is needed to ensure system effectiveness, but the question is how. In this study, six different evaluation tools were assessed after being applied to AMU and AMR surveillance in eight countries: (1) ATLASS: the Asse...

This chapter focuses on the epidemiology, transmission routes, and biosecurity measures of bacterial diseases in pigs and poultry raised in intensive production systems. Bacterial pathogens are highly prevalent in these systems and cause major animal health, welfare, and production problems. There are numerous transmission routes by which bacterial...

Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PPDS) is a major economic problem in modern sow farms. General treatment of PPDS consists of the use of oxytocin to promote milk ejection and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to alleviate inflammatory processes. So far, studies investigated the use of a single administration of NSAIDs after parturition...

Background: Brachyspira infections are causing major losses to the pig industry and lead to high antimicrobial use. Treatment of Brachyspira (B.) hyodysenteriae infections may be problematic due to the high level of antimicrobial resistance. The present study implemented and evaluated farm-specific eradication programmes for B. hyodysenteriae in 1...

A multifactorial approach using environmental, performance, health and welfare parameters was used to investigate the numerous associations of ventilation throughout three consecutive fattening batches (08/2015 to 12/2016) in a farrow-to-finish commercial pig farm in Belgium. Two fattening pig units were used, unit A (1256 pigs) with mechanical ven...

Background: Conventional broilers are currently one of the most efficient protein converters. Although decades of progress in genetic selection and feed formulation have lead to high standards of efficient broiler production, still a lot of variability is found between farms and between successive flocks. The aim of this study was to investigate r...

Feed conversion ratio ( FCR ) in grow-finishing pigs is one of the most important determinants of pig farm profitability and production efficiency. In its simplest form, FCR represents the amount of feed used per unit weight gain of the pig. Yet, this approach entails various limitations hampering its practical applicability such as availability of...

Introduction of infectious agents (e.g. African swine fever) in a farm could have severe implications beyond the farm level. Among the solutions required to minimize the risk of disease introduction and spread, the strengthening of biosecurity is a priority. Yet, although the pig fattening (finishing) herds comprise 41.2% of the pig herds on a Euro...

In order to reduce antimicrobial use in pig production, the consequences of insufficient biosecurity and welfare problems need to be known. This study aimed to investigate associations between the number of antimicrobial treatments per fattening pig, and biosecurity, indicators for animal welfare as well as the prevalence of lesions at slaughter. T...

Despite the importance of swine intestinal health, there are no easy‐to‐use and cost‐efficient methods to evaluate it under field conditions for sows. To provide some indication about intestinal health, pH of faeces could be used but reference values for the currently high‐performing commercial sow breeds are missing. In response, faecal pH of heal...

Fear and environmental stressors may negatively affect the welfare of farm animals such as pigs. The present study investigated the effects of music and positive handling on reproductive performance of sows ( n = 1014; parity 1 to 8) from a commercial pig farm practicing a batch farrowing system. Every 2 weeks, 56 sows were moved from the gestation...

Background Conventional broilers are currently one of the most efficient protein converters. Although decades of progress in genetic selection and feed formulation have lead to high standards of efficient broiler production, still a lot of variability is found between farms and between successive flocks. The aim of this study was to investigate ris...

Door de toenemende druk op de economische marges in de varkenshouderij neemt het belang van efficiënter produceren toe. De grootste kost bij het afmesten van vleesvarkens is het voeder, met een gemiddeld aandeel van ongeveer 75% in de totale afmestkosten (Departement Landbouw en Visserij). De voederkosten hangen af van de voederprijzen, maar ook va...

This chapter provides a conceptual framework describing the main ecological components of the global ecosystem, which need to be considered when using a One Health approach, including incorporating examples of metrics which both reflect the connectedness of different environments and quantify the complex interactions between humans, domesticated an...

Challenges calling for integrated approaches to health, such as the One Health (OH) approach, typically arise from the intertwined spheres of humans and animals, and the ecosystems constituting their environment. Initiatives addressing such wicked problems commonly consist of complex structures and dynamics. The Network for Evaluation of One Health...

Challenges calling for integrated approaches to health, such as the One Health (OH) approach, typically arise from the intertwined spheres of humans and animals, and the ecosystems constituting their environment. Initiatives addressing such wicked problems commonly consist of complex structures and dynamics. The Network for Evaluation of One Health...

Production diseases are often of multi-factorial origin in which environment (housing, nutrition and management) health and reproductive challenges show complex interactions. The aim of this study was to identify specific environment-related factors and to discuss their associations with health, welfare and reproductive performance in sows and pigl...

The effect of a competitive exclusion product (Aviguard®) on the selection of fluoroquinolone resistance in poultry was assessed in vivo in the absence or presence of fluoroquinolone treatment. Two experiments using a controlled seeder-sentinel animal model (2seeders:4sentinels per group) with one-day-old chicks were used. For both experiments,as s...

The cross-contamination of non-medicated feed with residues of antimicrobials (AM) causes a public and animal health concern associated with the potential for selection and dissemination of resistance. To analyze the associated risks, a probabilistic model was built using @Risk® (Palisade Corporation®) to show the potential extent of the effect of...

Challenges calling for integrated approaches to health, such as the One Health (OH) approach, typically arise from the intertwined spheres of humans, animals, and ecosystems constituting their environment. Initiatives addressing such wicked problems commonly consist of complex structures and dynamics. As a result of the EU COST Action (TD 1404) “Ne...

Om een beter inzicht te krijgen in het voorkomen van antimicrobiële resistentie tegen ‘de meest kritisch belangrijke antibiotica met hoogste prioriteit voor humane geneeskunde’ bij kleine huisdieren werd een descriptieve retrospectieve analyse van 811 antibiogrammen bij hond en kat uitgevoerd. De antibiogrammen werden door een diergeneeskundig, dia...

Having gained momentum in the last decade, the One Health initiative promotes a holistic approach to address complex global health issues. Before recommending its adoption to stakeholders, however, it is paramount to first compile quantitative evidence of the benefit of such an approach. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and summarize...

A descriptive retrospective analysis of 811 antibiograms in dogs and cats was carried out in order to get a better insight into the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance against 'critically important antimicrobials with highest priority for human medicine' in dogs and cats. A veterinary diagnostic laboratory performed antimicrobial susceptibility...

Having gained momentum in the last decade, the One Health initiative promotes a holistic approach to address complex global health issues. Before recommending its adoption to stakeholders, however, it is paramount to first compile quantitative evidence of the benefit of such an approach. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and summarize...

Link to the abstract: https://academic.oup.com/jac/article-abstract/72/7/1991/3737535/Studying-the-effect-of-administration-route-and

Objectives: Factors potentially contributing to fluoroquinolone resistance selection in commensal Escherichia coli strains in poultry were studied through a series of in vivo experiments. The effect of the initial prevalence of enrofloxacin resistance in the E. coli gut microbiota, effect of the bacterial fitness of the enrofloxacin-resistant stra...

Antimicrobial resistance is recognized as one of the most important global health challenges. Broilers are an important reservoir of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in general and, more particularly, ESBL/AmpC-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Since contamination of 1-day-old chicks is a potential risk factor for the introduction of antimicrobial resi...

In this article, detailed studies on antimicrobial resistance to commensal E. coli (in pigs, meatproducing bovines, broiler chickens and veal calves) and pathogenic E. coli (in pigs and bovines) in Belgium are presented for 2011. Broiler chicken and veal calf isolates of commensal E. coli demonstrated higher antimicrobial resistance prevalence than...

To evaluate correlations between antimicrobial use and the prevalence of resistance in commensal Escherichia coli isolates from pigs, poultry and cattle, using data from publicly available national or international reports from seven European countries. The link between the quantities of different classes of antimicrobials administered to food-prod...