A Preliminary Study of Blastocystis sp. Isolated from Chicken in Perak And Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT. Blastocystis is considered to be a zoonoses and it is believed that animals such as chicken constitute large reservoirs for human infection via the faecal-oral route. Therefore, Blastocystis infection was surveyed in free-range chicken and cagereared chicken comprising broiler birds for consumption as well as jungle fowls and silkie chicken kept for recreation. Fresh faecal samples collected were examined by wet smear preparation and were cultured in Jones medium supplemented with 10% horse serum. Out of 107 chickens, it was found that most of the free-range chicken was positive for Blastocystis sp. with a high prevalence rate of 80%–100% in village chicken, jungle fowl and white silkie chicken. However, the cage-reared chicken, consisting of broiler chicken had no infection. The vacuolar form was the most common Blastocystis cell form found in cultures, similar to B. hominis. These cells were usually spherical and vary greatly in size, ranging from 10 μm to 30 μm in diameter. Owing to the free ranging and scavenging habits, the likelihood of acquiring the infection from the environment contaminated with the faecal material of animals with Blastocystis is high in free-range chicken as compared to caged chicken

Short Communication - Current status of Blastocystis in cockroaches

There are few reports on Blastocystis spp. infections in invertebrate hosts namely, cockroaches. Due to their close proximity to humans especially to their dwellings prompted this study as these organisms could possibly play a role in human transmission. A total of 151 cockroaches consisted predominantly of nymph and adult stages were captured from several types of dwellings in the state of Perak and Selangor, Malaysia. Approximately half (40.4%) of the cockroach intestinal contents screened were positive and were found associated to two main factors, host-stage and types of dwellings. The granular and vacuolated forms were the most common cell form found in the in vitro cultures and were morphologically similar to B. hominis. However, the surface coat observed was thick with an electron lucent area observed in the central vacuole. The isolates grew in room temperature but optimal growth was observed at a 24ºC similar to the reptilian Blastocystis with a high number of cells were recovered. Using the DNA barcoding method, two isolates were identified as ST3 (allele 56), one isolate was consider as the new subtype with close relation to allele 11

Co-infection of Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus spp. among livestock in Malaysia as revealed by amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer II DNA region

Background: Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus spp. are reported to be the most prevalent and highly pathogenic parasites in livestock, particularly in small ruminants. However, the routine conventional tool used in Malaysia could not differentiate the species accurately and therefore limiting the understanding of the co-infections between these two genera among livestock in Malaysia. This study is the first attempt to identify the strongylids of veterinary importance in Malaysia (i.e., H. contortus and Trichostrongylus spp.) by amplification and sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer II DNA region. Results: Overall, 118 (cattle: 11 of 98 or 11.2%; deer: 4 of 70 or 5.7%; goats: 99 of 157 or 63.1%; swine: 4 of 91 or 4.4%) out of the 416 collected fecal samples were microscopy positive with strongylid infection. The PCR and sequencing results demonstrated that 93 samples (1 or 25.0% of deer; 92 or 92.9% of goats) contained H. contortus. In addition, Trichostrongylus colubriformis was observed in 75 (75.8% of 99) of strongylid infected goats and Trichostrongylus axei in 4 (4.0%) of 99 goats and 2 (50.0%) of 4 deer. Based on the molecular results, co-infection of H. contortus and Trichostrongylus spp. (H. contortus + T. colubriformis denoted as HTC; H. contortus + T. axei denoted as HTA) were only found in goats. Specifically, HTC co-infections have higher rate (71 or 45.2% of 157) compared to HTA co-infections (3 or 1.9% of 157). Conclusions: The present study is the first molecular identification of strongylid species among livestock in Malaysia which is essential towards a better knowledge of the epidemiology of gastro-intestinal parasitic infection among livestock in the country. Furthermore, a more comprehensive or nationwide molecular-based study on gastro-intestinal parasites in livestock should be carried out in the future, given that molecular tools could assist in improving diagnosis of veterinary parasitology in Malaysia due to its high sensitivity and accurac

Biting flies and trypanosomiasis in Sahom livestock farm: ‘The Missing Link’

Trypanosomiasis positive cases were reported in Sahom Farm Retreat in Gopeng, Perak; with multispecies livestock animals. Nzi and Vavoua traps were applied to survey the population of biting flies; stable flies (Muscidae: Stomoxyinae) and horse flies (Tabanidae) as the vector for surra. Results indicated the presence of Trypanosomiasis infection diagnosed by buffy coat examination, thin blood stained smears and serological test (Surra Sero K-Set test) and identification of its insect vectors. The presence of both biting flies provides the missing link between the occurrence of the disease and host or environmental factors precipitating the disease. Besides trypanosomiasis in cattle, other parasitic infections were also recorded with heavy infections for liver fluke (Fasciola gigantica ova) and coccidia oocysts. Therefore, some control measures are recommended to eradicate the vectors and to treat infected animals in order to prevent the dissemination of the trypanosmiasis

Seroprevalence of brucellosis among farmers and veterinary technical staff in Peninsular Malaysia

A study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with brucellosis in farmers, veterinary technical staff and other volunteers in Peninsular Malaysia using the One Health concept. A cross sectional study design was employed to sample a population of farmers and Veterinary technical staff on a volunteer basis. The Brucella Coombs test was used to elucidate the seroprevalence of brucellosis in the sampled population and the associated factors and predictors for brucellosis. The seroprevalence of brucellosis among farmers and non-farmers (veterinary technical staff and others) of 446 people studied was 1.35% (95% CI=0.28-2.42). Occupation, age and drinking unpasteurized milk were significant risk factors for brucellosis using multivariate logistic regression at 90% confidence level. The odds of having brucellosis increased by 7.19 times in farmers compared to non-farmers (90% CI=1.16, 44.71), it increased 7.16 times in individuals 40 years and below compared with those above 40 years old (90% CI=1.16, 44.41) and 4.45 times among those who drink unpasteurized milk compared to those who do not (90% CI= 1.03, 19.15). This study highlights the current state of human brucellosis in Malaysia among those groups that are occupationally at risk. A nationwide health education of the occupationally exposed population especially farmers may decrease the incidence of the infection and support the on-going eradication efforts of brucellosis in Malaysia

A retrospective study on bovine fascioliasis in Veterinary Regional Laboratories in Peninsular Malaysia

This is a retrospective study on bovine fascioliasis infection on cattle in Peninsular Malaysia, spanning from January 2007 to December 2017. Cattle were diagnosed with Fasciola based on the fecal examination and the results were reported to the Veterinary Regional Laboratories in Peninsular Malaysia. These records were analysed for the occurrence of bovine fascioliasis within that 11-year period. Records of annual diagnostic cases from five major Veterinary Regional Laboratories were examined: Bukit Tengah, Pulau Pinang (north); Kuantan, Pahang (east); Johor Bahru, Johor (south); Sepang, Selangor (west); and Kota Bharu, Kelantan (east). A positive fascioliasis infestation was calculated based on a number of positively infected cattle with Fasciola from a number of cattle examined. A total of 1988 cattle were examined during this period and 35 (1.76%) cattle were reported to be positive for bovine fascioliasis. Parasite infection was the highest at Bukit Tengah region (5.55%) where 19 cases were positive from 342 reported cases while, at Kuantan (4.96%), 15 positive cases were reported, unlike Johor Bahru (0.09%), with only 1 positive case from 1136 cattle examined. Sepang and Kelantan had no positive cases. These results showed that bovine fascioliasis was generally prevalent in the northern and southeast parts of the Peninsular Malaysia; however, there was no significant relationship between the region and the occurrence of fascioliasis

Occurrence of gastro-intestinal parasites among small ruminants in Malaysia : highlighting Dicrocoelium infection in goats

The aim of the present study was to determine the gastro-intestinal (GI) parasitic infections among small ruminants (i.e., goats, sheep, deer) in Malaysia through formalin-ether concentration technique. Overall, 70.9% or 302 out of 426 small ruminants (79.4% or 251/316 goats; 87.5% or 35/40 sheep; 22.9% or 16/70 deer) were infected with at least one species of GI parasites. Overall, ten types of GI parasites [Helminth: strongyle (57.7%), Moniezia spp. (5.4%), Paramphistomum spp. (4.5%), Strongyloides spp. (4.2%), Dicrocoelium spp. (2.3%), Trichuris spp. (2.3%); Protozoa: Eimeria spp. (23.7%), Entamoeba spp. (18.8%), Giardia spp. (1.9%), Cryptosporidium spp. (0.2%)] were detected in this study. Among the studied animals, goats harboured the highest diversity of GI parasites (ten types), followed by sheep (six types) and deer (two types). Polyparasitism was observed in goats (43.7% or 138 of 316) and sheep (15.0% or 6 of 40). Cumulatively, a total of 32 combinations of coinfections (Helminth+Helminth: 8 combinations; Helminth+Protozoa: 20 combinations; Protozoa+Protozoa: 4 combinations) between detected parasites with up to quintuple infections were reported. Among these parasites, “strongyle + Eimeria spp.” and “Moniezia spp. + strongyle” were the commonest infections in goats (13.5% or 34 of 251) and sheep (5.7% or 2 of 6), respectively. This study is a comprehensive documentation on multiple GI parasitisms among small ruminant in Malaysia, and the findings are crucial for effective farm management, especially for the formulation of parasitic control and elimination strategies