Morphology Of A Sanguinicolid Blood Fluke, Sanguinicola Armata, In Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon Idella C. V.) Fingerlings And Its Prevalence

Sanguinicola armata Plehn, 1905 is redescribed under light and Nomarski microscopy and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). It is a lanceolate sanguinicolid with a single column of heavy lateral marginal spines; extensive vitellaria; long oesophagus and an X-shaped intestine with five-lobed caeca. There are 9-10 pairs of testes; median; post intestinal caeca and a single butterfly-shaped ovary. Male and female genital pores lie adjacent to each other, near to the posterior extremity. The uterus is short, post ovarian and contains only one egg.SEM study revealed minute, blunt spines at the posterior part of the proboscis and tiny posteriorly directed marginal spines at the posterior end which were not visible under the ordinary light and Nomarski microscopy. This had added extra taxonomical features to S. armata. Surface morphology of S. armata under SEM also showed many tegumental folds with ridges and crest, cilium-like structure and sensory papillae which may be related to their nutritional, sensory, excretory, secretory, osmoregulatory and immunological functions. Protrusion of the genital pores viewed under SEM helps to understand the fact that cross-fertilisation as being a rule in the trematodes' reproduction. The prevalence rate of infection of S. armata was found to be high (66.7%) in the locally produced grass carp (Ctenopharygodon idella) fingerlings in the farm under the present study. This was attributed to the abundance of aquatic snails which act as intermediate hosts of the fluke. However, the intensity of infection was low due to the host (immunological), environmental (stocking density and water chemistry) and parasite (reproductive biology) factors. Since the distribution of S. armata was highest (87.8%) in the bulbous arteriosus, it should be examined first for quick diagnosis of the fluke

Awareness of operators on the requirements and procedures for animal quarantine and the distribution of temporary animal quarantine stations in Peninsular Malaysia

Temporary quarantine stations (TQS) are transitory premises that have been approved to facilitate the quarantine of imported live animals in Malaysia. These stations must abide to the standard operating procedures (SOP) for animal quarantine as outlined by the veterinary authority in Malaysia. However, the level of awareness for the quarantine procedures among the TQS operators and managers has not been assessed. This study was conducted to describe the distribution of the TQS in 2012-2013 and the level of awareness among its operators on the quarantine procedures and the fundamental requirements for quarantine establishments. Eight TQS from 25 were selected and operators or managers were interviewed using a questionnaire and the facility was visited. The study found that majority (82.5%) of the TQS operators were aware of the quarantine procedures but the auditors from the veterinary authority revealed vice versa

Prevalence and risk factors of caseous lymphadenitis in goats from selected farms in Selangor, Malaysia

Caseous Lymphadenitis (CLA) is not well-studied in Malaysia despite the fact that the disease is common in goats. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and the risk factors for CLA in goats from eight selected farms in Selangor, Malaysia. In total, 159 serum samples were collected once via jugular venipuncture and subjected to the agar gel immune-diffusion (AGID) test to estimate the prevalence of CLA. Information on the potential risk factors for CLA at the animal and farm levels was collected through a questionnaire. The prevalence of CLA was estimated at 28% in goats and 75% in farms in Selangor. Goats with body condition score (BCS) of lower than 2, older than one year old, and female were significantly associated with higher prevalence of CLA (P<0.05). Eighty-eight percent (7/8) of farms were under intensive system, 63% (5/8) had less than three workers, 63% (5/8) with history of CLA, 50% (4/8) were at least 6 years old, 50% (4/8) had more than 150 animals; 50% had male:female of 1:11-20, 50% had isolation pens, 13% (1/8) had sharp objects in pens, all had perimeter fence, 50% practised farm quarantine, 38% (3/8) had added new animals, 25% (2/8) imported new animals, 13% (1/8) had foot-dip, 75% (6/8) had treated cases of CLA ,75% had deworming programmes, and none practiced CLA vaccination programme in their farms. In conclusion, the high prevalence of CLA in goats from the selected farms in Selangor that could be due to poor management practices, lack of biosecurity measures and vaccination programmes. Therefore, these factors should be taken into consideration when formulating programmes for effective prevention and control of CLA in goats

Molecular survey and sequence analysis of Anaplasma spp. in cattle and ticks in a Malaysian farm

This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of Anaplasma spp. in the blood samples of cattle, goats, deer and ticks in a Malaysian farm. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing approach, Anaplasma spp. was detected from 81(84.4%) of 96 cattle blood samples. All blood samples from 23 goats and 22 deer tested were negative. Based on the analysis of the Anaplasma partial 16S ribosomal RNA gene, four sequence types (genotypes 1 to 4) were identified in this study. Genotypes 1-3 showed high sequence similarity to those of Anaplasma platys/ Anaplasma phagocytophilum, whilst genotype 4 was identical to those of Anaplasma marginale/ Anaplasma centrale/ Anaplasma ovis. Anaplasma DNA was detected from six (5.5%) of 109 ticks which were identified as Rhipicephalus (formely known as Boophilus) microplus ticks collected from the cattle. This study reported for the first time the detection of four Anaplasma sequence types circulating in the cattle population in a farm in Malaysia. The detection of Anaplasma DNA in R. microplus ticks in this study provides evidence that the ticks are one of the potential vectors for transmission of anaplasmosis in the cattle

Effect of Escherichia coli vaccination in gilts on piglet performances in a farm in Perak, Malaysia

This study aimed to determine the effect of Escherichia coli (Neocolipor vaccine – Merial) vaccination on neonatal diarrhoea score, growth parameters (average weight per piglet and average daily gain) and neonatal mortality rate in newborn piglets. A field trial was conducted in 35 litters of piglets from gilts selected from a farm in Perak, Malaysia. They were randomly allocated into treatment (16 litters from E. coli vaccinated gilts) and control (19 litters) groups. Body weights of the piglets were determined at days 1, 7, 14 and 21 of age and the episodes of diarrhoea and piglet mortality were monitored daily in each pen. The treatment group had significantly lower neonatal mortality rate, day-one neonatal diarrhoea percentage and diarrhoea in the overall period of 1- 21 days (p0.05) difference in the overall diarrhoea percentages and weekly growth parameters between groups. Some of the limitations of the study include environmental stress, routine and random treatment of piglets with diarrhoea with antimicrobial and biasness towards the control groups, which thereafter may have affected the significance of the diarrhoea score and growth parameters. It is presumed that piglets in the control group experienced severe diarrhoea during the first week of life, leading to the significantly (p<0.05) higher mortality rates. It is also deduced that piglets of the treatment group with diarrhoea that survived the first week have lower growth rates. However, in terms of neonatal mortality, the result is reproducible as it is in agreement with other field trials, which indicate that E. coli vaccination in dams could be an alternative way of moderating mortality due to E. coli. In conclusion, this pilot study showed that E. coli vaccination in gilts significantly reduces first week piglet mortality and diarrhoeal percentages at day-one under farm conditions

Detection and molecular characterization of infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus from major ornamental fish breeding states in Peninsular Malaysia

‘Gold standard’ OIE reference PCR assay was utilized to detect the presence of infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) in freshwater ornamental fish from Malaysia. From total of 210 ornamental fish samples representing 14 species, ISKNV was detected in 36 samples representing 5 fish species. All positive cases did not show any clinical signs of ISKNV. Three restriction enzymes analyses showed that the fish were infected by identical strains of the same virus species within Megalocytivirus genus. Major capsid protein (MCP) genes of 10 ISKNV strains were sequenced and compared with 9 other reference nucleotide sequences acquired from GenBank. Sequence analysis of MCP gene showed that all strains detected in this study were closely related to the reference ISKNV with nucleotide sequence identity that was ranging from 99.8% to 100%. In addition, phylogenetic analysis of MCP gene revealed that viruses from genus Megalocytivirus can be divided into three genotypes: genotype 1 include reference ISKNV and all other strains that were detected in this study, genotype 2 include viruses closely related to red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV), and genotype 3 include viruses closely related turbot reddish body iridovirus (TRBIV)

Effects of Escherichia coli vaccination in gilts on piglet performance in a farm in Perak

This study aimed to observe the effects of Escherichia coli (Neocoliporvaccine – Merial) vaccination on diarrhoea percentages, growth parameters (average weight per piglet and average daily gain) and mortality rate in new-born piglets. A field trial was conducted in 35 litters of piglets from gilts selected from a farm in Perak. They were randomly allocated into Treatment (16 litters from E. coli vaccinated gilts) and Control (19 litters) groups respectively. Body weights of the piglets were measured at days 1, 7, 14 and 21 of age and the episodes of diarrhoea and piglet mortality were monitored daily for each pen. The Treatment group had significantly lower Day 1 neonatal diarrhoea percentage (p 0.05)in the overall diarrhoea percentages (1 - 14 days) and weekly growth parameters between both groups. Environmental stress and inevitable routine treatment of diarrhoea with antimicrobials within the farm may have affected the significance of the diarrhoea percentages and growth parameters in this study. In conclusion, E. coli vaccination in gilts was shown to significantly reduce piglet mortality from Day 1 to Day 7 and neonatal diarrhoeal percentageson1-day-old piglets under typical farm conditions in this pilot study in Malaysia

First molecular detection of porcine bocavirus in Malaysia

Several strains of porcine bocaviruses have been reported worldwide since their first detection in Sweden in 2009. Subsequently, the virus has been reported to be associated with gastrointestinal and respiratory signs in weaner and grower pigs. Although Malaysia is host to a self-sufficient swine livestock industry, there is no study that describes porcine bocavirus in the country. This report is the first to describe porcine bocavirus (PBoV) in Malaysian swine herds. PBoV was identified in various tissues from sick and runt pigs using the conventional PCR method with primers targeting conserved regions encoding for the nonstructural protein (NS1) gene. Out of 103 samples tested from 17 pigs, 32 samples from 15 pigs were positive for porcine bocavirus. In addition, a higher detection rate was identified from mesenteric lymph nodes (52.9%), followed by tonsil (37.0%), and lungs (33.3%). Pairwise comparison and phylogenetic analyses based on a 658-bp fragment of NS1 gene revealed that the Malaysian PBoV strains are highly similar to PBoV3 isolated in Minnesota, USA. The presence of porcine bocavirus in Malaysia and their phylogenetic bond was marked for the first time by this study. Further studies will establish the molecular epidemiology of PBoV in Malaysia and clarify pathogenicity of the local isolates

FCFS-R5-067: Management of Knowledge Transfer Programme on Good Aquaculture Practices to Seabass Cage Culture Farmers in Tumpat, Kelantan

Seabass brackish water cage culture is a very profitable and challenging enterprise. However, the main problem of the culture is high mortality of fish due to factors such as improper management, water quality, environmental and diseases. The fish farming community in Laguna Sri Tujuh, Tumpat, Kelantan, has been continuously facing poor production of seabass due to high mortality of fish (fish kill) and poor aquaculture practices among fish farmers since the start of the cage culture in 2003. Knowledge transfer programme on good aquaculture practices (GAP) was initiated and undertaken by a group of researchers from Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) in January, 2016. Knowledge on GAP was transferred to the community through onsite training by using the Department of Fisheries (DOF) Malaysia seabass cage culture cluster project site as a model for this community. Guidance on water quality monitoring and methods on improving water quality were demonstrated. Important records such as daily mortality rate, feed consumption, fish stocks, and water physical properties were established. The farmers were taught on proper way of grading fish, feed and feeding management, proper waste disposal, prudent use of drugs, and use of immune enhancers as preventive medicine. In addition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UMK also provides fish disease diagnostic services to the fish farmers. It is envisage that the seabass cage culture farmers who participated in this programme will be able to improve their production and raised their income by reducing fish mortality. The programme also aims to strengthen collaboration among fish farming community, DOF’s authority and researchers of UMK in promoting GAP for sustainable and profitable aquaculture. The programme will also produce a competent graduate intern with knowledge and technical skills in the brackish water cage culture, enhancing her employability in the aquaculture secto

Antibiotics resistance of Vibrio spp. isolated from diseased seabass and tilapia in cage culture

Vibriosis has become one of the most important bacterial diseases in marine cultured organisms in recent years. This study was focusing on isolation and identification of Vibrio spp. isolated from diseased seabass (Lates calcarifer), tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and seawater from Sri Tujuh lagoon in East Coast of Malaysia; also determination of antibiotic resistance patterns among Vibrio spp. Vibrio species isolated from diseased seabass in Pantai Sri Tujuh, Tumpat, Kelantan were screened for their antibiotic sensitivity patterns by Kirby-Bauer method. A total of 47 isolates belonging to three different species were identified which are V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus. In this study, high incidence of erythromycin, chloramphenicol and sulfamethoxazole resistance was observed among the Vibrio isolates, whereas all isolates were susceptible to oxytetracycline. Vibrio isolates were 96% resistant to one or more different classes of antibiotic, and 17 different resistance patterns were identified. The MAR index of 0.4 indicating the Vibrio spp. in these farmed fish might have been indiscriminately and continuously exposed to those antibiotics during culturing stages of the fish. This study showed that multidrug-resistant Vibrio spp. were common in diseased seabass and tilapia cultured at Sri Tujuh lagoon. These essential findings suggested involvement of seafood in transmission of these pathogen to human. In addition, oxytetracycline can be used as a treatment to combat vibriosis in diseased seabass and tilapia