The Faculty of Veterinary Science is a faculty of the University of Pretoria. Founded in 1920, it is the second oldest veterinary faculty in Africa. With the exception of the faculties in Khartoum (Sudan, 1938), and Cairo (Egypt, 1946), all the other African faculties were established after 1960. It is the only one of its kind in South Africa and is one of 33 veterinary faculties in Africa.Since 1997, the university as a whole has produced more research outputs every year than any other institution of higher learning in South Africa, as measured by the Department of Education's accreditation benchmark.The Faculty offers an undergraduate veterinary degree programme and a veterinary nursing diploma programme as well as a variety of postgraduate degree programmes.Graduates of the Faculty enjoy national and international recognition and the BVSc degree of the University of Pretoria currently enjoys recognition for registration by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in the UK, the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania as well as by the relevant authorities in Malaysia.
Probiotics have emerged as gut modulators, capable of restructuring microbial communities to enhance animal health and performance. This review synthesizes peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2025, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. It encompasses both ruminant and monogastric species to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementation under diverse production environments. Evidence indicates that diet, age, host genetics, and management practices strongly influence gut microbiome composition and function, explaining the context-dependent nature of probiotic efficacy. These interventions improve growth performance, feed efficiency, gut morphology, pathogen resistance, and systemic immune parameters, supporting their potential as sustainable alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. However, responses vary and are context-dependent, based on differences in strain specificity, dosage, host physiology, and environmental stress. By explaining how probiotic-mediated modulation translates into improved productivity, reduced antimicrobial dependence, and greater resilience in real-world farming systems, this review highlights their practical value for modern livestock production. Future research should focus on field-based validation, multi-omics approaches to resolve host–microbiota–probiotic interactions, and long-term assessments of animal health, productivity, and environmental impacts. Strategic deployment of probiotics, combined with scalable delivery technologies and regulatory alignment, can enhance resilience, sustainability, and efficiency in livestock production systems.
The exceptional biodiversity of the Ndumo area and Maputaland in general, with its tropical biota, is reflected in the high diversity of culicine mosquitoes occurring in the area and, along with their vectors, a high diversity of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). Research interest in the area was driven by the need to identify risks associated with the occurrence of arboviruses potentially affecting human and livestock health in the area, as well as the risk of introduction of arboviruses from elsewhere. We give an overview of the mosquito and arbovirus-related research that has taken place at Ndumo and elsewhere along the lower Phongolo River floodplain since the first expedition in 1955. Intensive work was done on mosquitoes and arboviruses for about 15 years, after which a period of 45 years saw only one focused mosquito study (1989-1993). More recently, interest was inspired once again by the threat of emerging and re-emerging arboviruses and we have been studying culicine mosquitoes and their associated viruses in the Ndumo area since 2016. We describe our recent findings with respect to occurrence and abundance of culicine mosquito species, compare them to historical findings, discuss possible reasons for apparent changes observed, and propose priorities for future research in the area.
Pistacia atlantica has been widely used as a herbal remedy in the Mediterranean and the Middle East since antiquity. P. atlantica has been used as an antidiabetic drug plant in Arabic folk medicine. This study aims to determine the hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities of the gall part induced by Forda riccobonii in P. atlantica leaves from Algeria. Hypoglycemic activity was determined by measuring alpha-amylase inhibition activity using spectrophotometric analysis of extracts. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH, ABTS scavenging assay and FRAP reducing assays. A molecular docking study was carried out on compounds previously isolated from leaves using AutoDock vina software. The highest total phenolic content (655.49±18.36 mg GAE/g DM) and flavonoid content (381.30±15.47 mg QE/g DM) were detected in the butanol fraction. Based on the DPPH assays the ethyl acetate and butanol fractions had high antioxidant activities with EC50 2.46 and 9.94 µg/mL respectively. According to the ABTS assay, the best antioxidant activities were for the 35% MeOH-H2O (4.22 µg/mL) and ethyl acetate fractions (7.23 µg/mL). The α-amylase inhibitory activity was highest in the ethyl acetate fraction (IC50 64.53±2.50 µg/mL) followed by the positive control acarbose (78.98±6.23 µg/mL) and butanol fraction, (151.85±3.01 µg/mL). The in silico study of compounds 5,6,7,4'-tetra-hydroxy-flavonol- 3-O-rutinoside and 3',5,7-tri-hydroxy-4'-methoxy-flavanone gave the best docking score (-8,3491 Kcal/mol and -8,1583 Kcal/mol, respectively). Finally, the in silico studies have confirmed significant α-amylase inhibitory activity with these molecules. As well as, the ADMET properties of these molecules appeared to be non-carcinogenic and non-hepatotoxic. Therefore, the gall's extract of P. atlantica could be used in the treatment of diabetes.
Abattoirs are facilities where livestock are slaughtered and are an important aspect in the food production chain. There are several types of abattoirs, which differ in infrastructure and facilities, sanitation and PPE practices, and adherence to regulations. In each abattoir facility, worker exposure to animals and animal products increases their risk of infection from zoonotic pathogens. Backyard abattoirs and slaughter slabs have the highest risk of pathogen transmission because of substandard hygiene practices and minimal infrastructure. These abattoir conditions can often contribute to environmental contamination and may play a significant role in disease outbreaks within communities. To assess further the risk of disease, we conducted a scoping review of parasites and pathogens among livestock and human workers in abattoirs across 13 Eastern African countries, which are hotspots for zoonoses. Our search results (n = 104 articles) showed the presence of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and macroparasites (nematodes, cestodes, etc.) in cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, camels, and poultry. Most articles reported results from cattle, and the most frequent pathogen detected was Mycobacterium bovis, which causes bovine tuberculosis. Some articles included worker survey and questionnaires that suggested how the use of PPE along with proper worker training and safe animal handling practices could reduce disease risk. Based on these findings, we discuss ways to improve abattoir biosafety and increase biosurveillance for disease control and mitigation. Abattoirs are a ‘catch all’ for pathogens, and by surveying animals at abattoirs, health officials can determine which diseases are prevalent in different regions and which pathogens are most likely transmitted from wildlife to livestock. We suggest a regional approach to biosurveillance, which will improve testing and data gathering for enhanced disease risk mapping and forecasting. Next generation sequencing will be key in identifying a wide range of pathogens, rather than a targeted approach.
Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious and chronic disease caused by mycobacteria belonging to theMycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in domestic and wild animals. MTBC strains infection has been confirmed in many animal species in Nigeria, including captive wildlife, cattle, dromedary camels, goats, and pigs. Despite widespread infection and the potential impact of the disease on public health, active surveillance and control strategies are absent in Nigeria. This study aimed to conduct the first comprehensive meta-analysis to assess the distribution of tuberculosis and analyze the potential moderators of infection in animals in Nigeria. Eligible studies (sixty-one (Cadmus et al., 2014) [61] prevalence and seven (Menzies and Neill, 2000) [7] case reports) were retrieved and included in the analysis. The analyses showed an overall pooled TB prevalence of 7.0% (95% CI: 6.0–8.0) comprising of infection distributed in cattle (8.0%, 95% CI: 7.0–8.0), goats (0.47%, 95% CI: 0–1.2), sheep (0.27%, 95% CI: 0.14–0.46), camels (13.0%, 95% CI: 0–47), and wildlife (13.0%, 95% CI: 9–16) respectively. The occurrence of infection was significantly moderated by the publication periods, geographical location, sample size, and detection methods. TB prevalence was heterogeneous across several predictors, with the year of publication exhibiting a higher rate (46%) of the detected heterogeneity. These findings should provide policy-relevant information to guide the design and establishment of prevention and control measures amenable to the local situations in Nigeria.
