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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively. Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively. On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs. In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc. During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.

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1981 - 19883
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Subject: Veterinary Microbiology × End date: 1989 × Start date: 1980 × Thesis Type: M.V.Sc. ×
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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Role of parrots in the epizootiology of newcastle disease
    (Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,Mannuthy, 1981) Vijayan, V; Sulochana, S
    The incidence, susceptibility, mode of infection and duration of excretion of the new cattle disease virus in the common Indian parrots (psittacula Krameri) were studied in detail. The blood, cloacal and throat swabs of parrots, collected from different parts of the State were screened for the presence of ND antibodies and virus. Seventeen out of 103 blood samples were found to possess HI antibodies. The serum samples which gave positive HI titres belonged to parrots kept as pets in households and allowed to mingle freely with domestic poultry and those housed in Trivandrum Zoo along with pigeons. None of the 70 cloacal and 42 throat swabs were positive for the virus. Experimental infection of parrots with undiluted virulent virus by the intranasal and intraocular routes and by the subcutaneous and intranasal routes with 1:100 dilution of the same virus gave almost the same results. All of them died within a weeks’ time, after showing symptoms of inappettance, leg and wing paralysis and diarrhoea, from day two of infection. Virus could be isolated from the throat and cloacal swabs and also from the tissue of dead birds. Chicks kept along with these infected parrots did not develop symptoms of ND, eventhough they excreted the virus, for a few days, and had a low titre of HI antibodies in their sera. All the contact chicks died of ND with typical symptoms and lesions on challenge with the virulent virus. The parrots that received a mesogenic strain (Komorov) of the virus, also succumbed to the disease, but with less pronounced symptoms and with an extended incubation period. The parrots that were infected with lentogenic strain of the virus (F1) did not develop symptoms of the disease. However multiplication of the virus occurred in these birds as isolations could be made from cloacal and throat swab and a slight increase in H1 titre was noticed sera. However on challenge with a virulent strain of NDV, they showed symptoms of ND. All of them died within eight days and the virus could be isolated from them. Contact infection of parrots from infected chicks were quite effective, as the parrots died with the same symptoms described above, almost within the same time as direct infection. Virus was also isolated from the tissues of the dead parrots. The common Indian parrots were found to be highly susceptible to both velogenic and mesogenic strains of NDV, but they were resistant to the lentogenic strain. Uninfected chicks kept along with the parrots infected with virulent virus picked up the infection, and virus could be isolated from the cloacal and throat swabs of these chicks. They also showed an increase in the antibody titre. The failure to produce clinical disease in chicken might be attributed to a decrease in virulence of the virus on passage in parrots. The carrier state with the lentogenis strain of the virus could not be assessed as they were challenged after 2 weeks. Though a carrier role had been attributed to the parakeets imported from India, the parrots in this study were found to succumb to the disease within a week. This might be due to the variation in the susceptibility of various species of parrots to NDV. The chances of dissemination of the virus could be prevented by quarantining them for a period, not less than ten days.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Characterization of staphylococci isolated from cases of mastitis and study of their R plasmids
    (Department of microbiology, College of veterinary and animal sciences, Mannuthy, 1986) Mathew, E S; KAU; Punnoose, K T
    The emergence of drug resistant staphylococci causing mastitis deserve serious investigation. The work was intended to characterize staphylococci isolated from cases of bovine mastitis and to study their R plasmid transfer in vitro. The characterization was done using glucose and mannitol fermentation, catalase production, coagulase production, Iysostaphin sensitivity and bacteriophage typing. The antibiogram of the isolates was done by agar diffusion method using 14 chemotherapeutic agents (amoxicillin, ampicillin, bacitracin, chloramphenicol, cloxacillin, erythromycin, gentamicin, methicillin, neomycin, nitrofurantoin, penicillin, streptomycin, sulphamethoxazole and tetracycline) and by agar dilution method using eight antibiotics (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, rifampicin, streptomycin, tetracycline , gentamicin, erythromycin and penicillin) The in vitro transfer of R plasmids was tried using selected S.aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococcal isolates as donors and S.aureus RN 450RF and S.epifermidis 131S as recipients. From 360 milk samples collected from cases of bovine mastitis 17 strains of S.aureus and 35 strains of coagulase negative staphylococci were isolated. Lysostaphin sensitivity test was positive for 90.38% of the isolates, but this could not be used to differentiate between coagulase positive and negative staphylococci. The results of phage typing revealed a predominance of group III phages over the other groups and the possible role of human strains of staphylococci in producing mastitis in animals. None of the strains were resistant to mercuric chloride. From the antibiogram rifampicin , bacitracin, neomycin , methicillin, gentamicin, cloxacillin, nitrofurantoin and chloramphenicol were found to be the drugs of choice in the treatment of bovine mastitis caused by staphylococci. When S. aureus Rn 450RF was used as recipient six of the ten selected S.aureus isolates could transfer either one or more drug resistance markers and the mode of transfer was suspected to be by conjugation. All the four selected streptomycin resistant coagulase –negative staphylococcal donors were found to transfer the R plasmid DNA to the recipient., S.aureus RN 450RF, which was established to be through conjugation. The drug resistant S. aureus as well as coagulase negative staphylococcal strains failed t transfer their resistance to S.epidermidis 131S.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Characterization and immunology of inflenza virus type a isolated from duck in Kerala
    (Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 1988) Mini, M; KAU; Sulochana, S
    Ducks are generally regarded as resistant to influenza virus infection. During the early halves of 1985 and 1987 influenza A viruses were isolated from cases of respiratory disease causing 15 to 20 percent mortality in two to six week-old ducklings at Government Duck Farm, Niranam. Four strains of the virus (A/duck/India /1/85 (H9N2)-CDN, A/duck/India /2/87 (H3N?) –DT3; A/duck/India /7/87 (H3N2)-T19 and A/duck/India /14/87 (H9N?-lgl isolated from these out breaks were studied in detail with particular reference to their characteristics, Pathogenicity and immunogenicity. The strains were propagated in nine day embryonated chicken eggs by allantoic route of inoculation. All the four strains multiplied well killing the embryos in two to four days time. Though characteristic lesions were not present, the embryos were slightly congested. The chorioallantoic membranes showed moderate congestion and oedema but no pock lesions. Infectivity titers were 108.5 EID 50/0.2ml; 108.25 EID 50/0.2ml 105.75 EID 50/0.2ml and 108.5 EID 50/0.2ml respectively for CDN, DT3, T19 and lgl. The corresponding HA titres were 1:64 , 1:128, 1:64 and 1:256 The strains also multiplied well in duck embryos but no specific lesions were seen either in the embryo or on the chorioallantoic membranes. The infectivity titers were low compared to the titers obtained in chick embryos. All the strains were inactivated at 560C in 30 minutes. They lost their infectivity at PH 3.2 while HA property was not considerably reduced except for lgl. At PH 7.2 both infectivity and HA property were not affected. But infectivity was slightly affected and HA property was markedly reduced at PH 9.0. The viruses were chloroform sensitive and agglutinated red cells from cattle, sheep, goat, guinea pigs, horse, rabbit, rat mouse, chicken and man (0, A and B Groups). Chicken embryo fibroblastic infected with strain CDN produced cytopathic effects characterized by rounding of cells affecting the whole monolayer in 96 hours. The remaining three strains did not produce any CPE. In all the four cases virus infection was evidenced as the cell culture fluid gave haemagglutination. The infectivity titers of these fluids were 106.5 EID 50/0.2ml and 105.5 EID 50/0.2 ml 104.0 EID 50/0.2 ml and 105.5 EID 50/0.2 ml respectively for CDN, DT3, T19 and lgl. Two common antigens possibly the type specific MP and NP antigens were detected in the CAM extracts of embryos infected with these strains by agar gel precipitation and immunoelectrophoresis. Mean death time for these strains calculated according to the method adopted for NDV were 78 hours, 76.8 hours, 72 hours and 76 hours respectively for CDN, DT3, T19 and lgl, while the ICPI in day-old chicks were 0.325, 0.66, 0.00 and 0.16 and IVPI 0.00 in all cases. Pathogenicity and immunogenicity studies were carried out in day-old, one week-old and two week-old ducklings with strain CDN and in the week-old ducklings with strain lgl. Strain CDN produced hundred percent mortality in day old ducklings that received the virus by oral , occulonasal and subcutaneous routes. They died with no marked clinical signs except droopiness, discharges from the eyes. Slight diarhoea and ruffled feathers in some of them. The pathogenicity indices were 1.19, 1.15 and 1.51 respectively for group A,B and C. The ducklings that were kept to study contact infection revealed cloacal excretion of the virus till 12th day, through tracheal excretion stopped by 10th day. None of the birds in all the four groups that survived seven day of infection did reveal any specific seven day of infection did reveal any specific HI antibodies. In one week-old ducklings no clinical symptoms were observed. Virus could be isolated from cloacal and throat swabs before death and from tissues of dead birds. The pathogenicity indices were 0.36, 0.00 and 0.20 respectively for group A, B and C. In contact ducklings picked up infection as indicated from virus isolation and antibody titration. Both infected and incontact birds showed HI antibodies from 7th day onwards. By 14th day the titres reached peak level ranging between of 1:16 to 1:64 followed by a decline and remained steady through out the observation period. The two week-old ducklings did not show any clinical symptoms or death. But they revealed tracheal and cloacal shedding of the virus. The HI antibody titres never increased beyond 1:16. None of the incontent birds either showed clinical symptoms or death. Positive virus isolation could be made till the 7th day. Antibody response was also very poor and HI antibody titers never increased beyond 1:4. One week-old ducklings infected with strain lgl remained apparently healthy throughout the period of observation. However, virus isolations were made from cloacal and tracheal samples from 3rd to 7th day. In birds that received the virus by oral route, HI antibody titres were 1:4, 1:8 and 1:4 respectively on 7th, 14th and 21st day and nil by 28th day. In order two groups the birds did not reveal HI antibodies till 28th day. None of the incontact birds in all three groups showed clinical symptoms, death or any other indication of infection by the virus. In addition the sera from these birds were also negative for HI antibodies.