Livestock constitute habitual hosts and carriers for several infectious pathogens which may represent a serious public health concern affecting the readiness of military forces and lead to wide economic losses. The present report aimed to investigate the prevalence of some haemopathogens infecting military livestock, particularly, dromedaries, sheep and horses using Giemsa-stained blood smears. A total of 300 animals (100 from each species) were selected, clinically examined and sampled. Trypanosoma spp. (22.0%), Anaplasma spp. (17.0%) and Babesia spp. (1.0%) were identified in camels' blood. Six dromedaries were found to be co-infected by Trypanosoma and Anaplasma organisms (6.0%). Camels of female gender, infested by ticks and showing clinical signs were statistically more infected by Trypanosoma spp., compared to those of male gender, free of ticks and apparently healthy (P= 0.027, 0.000 and 0.004, respectively). Babesia spp. infection (1.0%) was identified, for the first time in Tunisia, in one adult female camel that presented abortion and anemia. Anaplasma spp. was the only haemopathogen identified in examined sheep (6.0%) and horses (17.0%). Horses infested by Hippobosca equina flies and sheep infested by Rhipicephalus turanicus ticks were more infected by Anaplasma spp. than other non-infested animals (P=0.046 and 0.042, respectively). Hyalomma dromedarii, H. impeltatum and H. excavatum were the most prevalent diagnosed ticks removed from camels with an intensity of infestation of 1.2 ticks per animal. However, in sheep, only R. turanicus was identified. H. equina and Tabanus spp. were the potential hematophagous flies found in dromedaries and horses herds. This useful data must be taken into consideration during animal treatment and vectors' control programs in Tunisian military farms which help to limit the diffusion of vector-borne diseases, keep our livestock healthy and reduce economic losses.
During this period of COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of medical equipment (like ventilators) leads to complications arising in the medical field. A low-cost ventilator seems to be an alternative substitute to fill the lacking. This paper presents a numerical analysis for predicting the delivered parameters of a low-cost mechanical ventilator. Based on several manufactured mechanical ventilators, two proposed designs are investigated in this study. Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis is used for solving any problems with the first design, and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis with moving boundary is used for solving any issues with the second design. For this purpose, ANSYS Workbench platform is used to solve the set of equations. The results showed that the Ambu-bag-based mechanical ventilator exhibited difficulties in controlling ventilation variables, which certainly will cause serious health problems such as barotrauma. The mechanical ventilator based on piston-cylinder is more satisfactory with regards to delivered parameters to the patient. The ways to obtain pressure control mode (PCM) and volume control mode (VCM) are identified. Finally, the ventilator output is highly affected by inlet flow, length of the cylinder, and piston diameter.