Epidemiological survey on porcine cysticercosis in Nay Pyi Taw Area,

Cross-sectional surveys were conducted to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of Taenia solium cysticercosis in pigs within Nay Pyi Taw area, Myanmar. Meat inspection in three slaughterhouses, ELISA test, and questionnaire surveys were conducted in this study. Three hundred pigs were inspected in slaughterhouses and 364 pigs were randomly selected and examined from 203 households from three townships in Nay Pyi Taw area. The prevalence of porcine cysticercosis in meat inspection was 23.67% (71/300). Seroprevalence of T. solium cysticercosis in pigs in the study area was 15.93% (58/364). Significant associated risk factors with T. solium cysticercosis were gender (OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.7-5.4), increased age (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.2-4.2), husbandry system (OR = 5.1; 95% CI = 2.4-11.2), feed type (OR = 16.9; 95% CI = 2.3-124.3), not using anthelmintics in pigs (OR = 11.9; 95% CI = 5.0-28.5), not using anthelmintics in owner (OR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.4-4.4), no hand-washing before feeding (OR = 31.5; 95% CI = 4.3-230.9), and pork consumption of owner (OR = 37.4; 95% CI = 9.0-156.1) in the study area. This is the first report of porcine cysticercosis in Myanmar

Impact of rapid Industrialization of Mandalay on Dokhtawady River

Analysis of water quality is required for pollution control, the assessment of environmental impacts for human beings. In this paper, it is pointed out that how the effect of industrialization of Mandalay Industrial Zone (II) impacts on Dokhtawady River. Water quality of three different sites and periods of Dokhtawady River were compared. These sites are near Shwesaryan Pagoda (Site-I), upper and lower places of Dokhtawady river that flowed Mandalay industrial sewage Ditch (Site-II and Site-III). The characteristic properties of water samples were studied by various analytical methods applying sophisticated instruments such as pH meter, spectrophotometer and conductivity meter. The physical and chemical parameters were determined such as colour, turbidity, pH, conductivity, total hardness, total alkalinity, total iron, manganese, chloride, and sulphate. Heavy metal contamination in water samples were detected by using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopic method. In addition, the biological examination of water samples was estimated. The results showed that the water samples were contaminated with some heavy metals

Morphological Characterization and Genetic Divergence in Myanmar Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Germplasm

Loss of genetic diversity proceeds at a fast rate due to climate change, over-exploitations, replacement of traditional cultivars and agri- modernization in the dry zone. Therefore, it is needed to evaluate the morphology of sesame germplasm from different origins and to identify the genetic diversity of cultivated sesame germplasm collected from different ecological conditions. Forty collected sesame germplasm from diverse ecological conditions are characterized during pre-monsoon season from February to May 2014 at the upland research field of Department of Plant Breeding, Physiology and Ecology, Yezin Agricultural University (YAU), Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design with two replications. All germplasm showed wide range of variability for stem, leaf and flower traits, and yield and yield component characters. Progeny selection will be effective to improve the number of primary branches per plant, number of capsules per plant and seed yield per plant indicating high heritability with high genetic advance. In correlation analysis, days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of secondary branches per plant, number of capsules per plant and capsule length were found to be the main yield contributing traits in sesame production. By cluster analysis, ten clusters may help in germplasm selection as breeding materials for production of climate-friendly cultivars of sesame

Detection of Blast Resistance genes on Cultivated Rice in Myanmar using SSR and InDel Markers

The present study was conducted to detect the presence of blast resistance genes in cultivated rice in Myanmar. Thirteen blast resistance genes _Pib, Pik, Pik-h, Pik-m, Pik-s, Pi7, Pish, Pita, Pita-2, Piz-t, Pi(5)t and Piz-5_were screened on 57 released varieties by using 13 linked markers; 12 Simple Sequence Repeats and one Insertion Deletion, through polymerase chain reaction based methods. The genetic frequencies of these 13 major blast resistance genes ranged from 43.86% (Pik-m) to 7.02% (Piz-t) whereas Pita resistance gene amplicon was not observed on all tested varieties. The Pik-m gene was detected as the most prevalent one amongst the genotypes followed by Pi7 which distributed in frequency of 42.11%, Pik , Pita-2 and Pi5(t) (22.81%), Pik-s (21.05%) , Pib and Pik-h (19.30%), Pik (17.54%), Piz-5 (14.04%) and Pish (12.28%). The genotypic variation between the released varieties was detected. Among 57 released varieties, two varieties — Manawthuka and Mote Soe Ma Kyway Pyay line MMK 03-23-3 — possessed seven blast resistance genes the other 12 varieties carried single genes, five varieties five resistance genes, 13 varieties four resistance genes, six varieties three resistance genes and 15 varieties two resistance genes. In the rest four varieties resistance genes could not be amplified by tested markers. This study provided the information of resistant varieties that will be beneficial in pre-breeding program for developing of rice blast resistance varieties

Serological Survey and Factors Associated with Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Domestic Goats in Myanmar

Goat farming is important for the livelihood of millions of rural people because it contributes to food security and creation of assets. However, infection of goats with Toxoplasma gondii could be a source of parasite transmission to humans. The information on T. gondii infection of goat was not reported yet in Myanmar. A total of 119 goat serum samples were collected from three cities in the central region of Myanmar for T. gondii antibody survey. With the occurrence value obtained in this first study, a second one, more complete, with larger number (162) of animals and properties, was carried out and the risk factors and prevalence were determined. In both studies the samples were analyzed by the LAT. Of these, 32 (11.4%) samples were showed to be positive. The infection was associated with the presence of cats at the farm (odds ratio [OR] = 4.66, 95% confidential interval [CI] = 1.03-21.06), farming with different animal species (sheep, cattle, and pigs) (OR = 4.33, 95% CI = 1.57-11.94), and farming without good management practices (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.06-0.83). This is the first T. gondii prevalence study in goats in the country

Serological Survey and Factors Associated with Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Domestic Goats in Myanmar

Goat farming is important for the livelihood of millions of rural people because it contributes to food security and creation of assets. However, infection of goats with Toxoplasma gondii could be a source of parasite transmission to humans. The information on T. gondii infection of goat was not reported yet in Myanmar. A total of 119 goat serum samples were collected from three cities in the central region of Myanmar for T. gondii antibody survey. With the occurrence value obtained in this first study, a second one, more complete, with larger number (162) of animals and properties, was carried out and the risk factors and prevalence were determined. In both studies the samples were analyzed by the LAT. Of these, 32 (11.4%) samples were showed to be positive. The infection was associated with the presence of cats at the farm (odds ratio [OR] = 4.66, 95% confidential interval [CI] = 1.03-21.06), farming with different animal species (sheep, cattle, and pigs) (OR = 4.33, 95% CI = 1.57-11.94), and farming without good management practices (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.06-0.83). This is the first T. gondii prevalence study in goats in the country

Prevalence and diversity of avian haemosporidians may vary with anthropogenic disturbance in tropical habitats in myanmar

Avian malaria and related haemosporidians (genera Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Leu-cocytozoon) infect most clades of bird. Although these parasites are present in almost all continents, they have been irregularly studied across different geographical regions. Despite the high bird diversity in Asia, the diversity of avian haemosporidians in this region is largely unknown. Moreover, anthropogenic changes to habitats in tropical regions may have a profound impact on the overall composition of haemosporidian communities. Here we analyzed the diversity and host association of bird haemosporidians from areas with different degrees of anthropogenic disturbance in Myan-mar, revealing an unexplored diversity of these parasites (27% of newly-discovered haemosporid-ian lineages, and 64% of new records of host–parasite assemblages) in these tropical environments. This newly discovered diversity will be valuable for detecting host range and transmission areas of haemosporidian parasites. We also found slightly higher haemosporidian prevalence and diversity in birds from paddy fields than in individuals from urban areas and hills, thus implying that human alteration of natural environments may affect the dynamics of vector-borne diseases. These outcomes provide valuable insights for biodiversity conservation management in threatened tropical ecosystems