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Fulltext Detection of novel coronaviruses from dusky fruit bat (Penthetor lucasi) in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Habeebur-Rahman SP, Noni V, Khan FAA, Tan CS

Vet Med Sci, 2023 Nov;9(6):2634-2641.
PMID: 37658663 DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1251

BACKGROUND: Sarawak has one of the highest diversity of fruit bats species (family Pteropodidae) in Malaysia, with 19 species described. Most coronavirus (CoV) studies have mainly focused on insectivorous bats, resulting in a lack of information on CoVs present in frugivorous bats. In addition, bat CoV surveillance activities are lacking in Malaysia.
OBJECTIVES: Our study focuses on determining the presence of bat CoVs in dusky fruit bat (Penthetor lucasi).
METHODS: Guano samples belonging to P. lucasi were collected from Wind Cave Nature Reserve. The samples were screened for the presence of CoVs using validated hemi-nested consensus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase consensus primers.
RESULTS: The bat CoV positivity rate was 38.5% (n = 15/39), with the viruses belonging to two subgenera: Alphacoronavirus (α-CoV) and Betacoronavirus (β-CoV). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CoVs from 14 samples of P. lucasi belong to the genus α-CoV and may represent previously described genetic lineages in insectivorous bats in Wind Cave. However, only one sample of P. lucasi was detected with β-CoV which is closely related to subgenus Nobecovirus, which is commonly seen in frugivorous bats.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first available data on CoVs circulating in P. lucasi.
Fulltext Development and validation of a cognitive, affective and behaviour questionnaire on pet-associated zoonotic diseases (CAB-ZDQ)

Yong TSM, Panting AJ, Juatan N, Perialathan K, Ahmad M, Ahmad Sanusi NH, et al.

Vet Med Sci, 2021 Sep;7(5):1558-1563.
PMID: 34137200 DOI: 10.1002/vms3.547

BACKGROUND: Zoonoses among household pets are recognized as disease and infections transmitted between animals and humans. World Health Organization-estimated zoonotic diseases have contributed about one billion cases of illness and millions of mortalities every year. Despite the emerging and re-emerging zoonotic disease, most pet owners are unaware of the risks posed by their pets. As there are a lack of studies assessing infections at home, this study aimed to develop and validate a cognitive, affective and behaviour questionnaire (CAB-ZDQ) to assess household pets' zoonotic diseases.
METHODS: This paper covers detailed explanation on the various developmental and validation process stages of the CAB zoonotic disease questionnaire development. The development phase comprised thorough literature search, focus group discussion, expert panel assessment and review. The validation process included pre-test and pilot testing, data analysis of results, analysis of internal consistency and the development of the final version of the questionnaire. Participants selected represented main ethnicities, gender, levels of education and population type (urban/rural) in the Klang Valley area.
RESULTS: The items in the questionnaire has undergone various changes in structurally and linguistically. The final refined CAB questionnaire consists of 14 items cognitive (no items removed at pilot phase), nine items affective (one item removed at pilot phase) and five items behaviour (no items removed from pre-test phase), respectively. Reliability analysis revealed Cronbach's alpha values were 0.700 (cognitive) and 0.606 (affective) which indicated good internal consistency after item reduction.
CONCLUSIONS: The developed questionnaire has proved its feasibility in assessing the Malaysian general population cognitive, affective and behavior regarding the household pets' zoonotic diseases.
Fulltext Effects of cysteine and ascorbic acid in freezing extender on sperm characteristics and level of enzymes in post-thawed stallion semen

Alamaary MS, Haron AW, Hiew MWH, Ali M

Vet Med Sci, 2020 11;6(4):666-672.
PMID: 32602662 DOI: 10.1002/vms3.315

Present study aimed to investigate the effect of adding antioxidants, cysteine and ascorbic acid on the levels of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic-pyruvate (GPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) enzymes of post-thawed stallion sperm. Ten ejaculates were collected each from four healthy stallions and cryopreserved using HF-20 freezing extender containing either 0 mg/ml cysteine or ascorbic acid, 0.5 mg/ml cysteine and 0.5 mg/ml ascorbic acid. All samples in freezing extender containing cysteine or ascorbic acid or none of them were assessed for sperm motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity, morphology and enzymes concentration. The ALP, LDH and GGT were significantly higher in 0-group compared with cysteine and ascorbic acid groups. The sperm motility of frozen-thawed semen with 0-group was significantly better compared with cysteine and ascorbic acid groups. The variation on viability, sperm membrane integrity and morphology were insignificant between all treated groups. Therefore, these enzymes were reduced when using antioxidants in the freezing extender. Results of the present study suggest that concentration of ALP, LDH and GGT enzymes could be used as parameters for prediction of frozen-thawed stallion semen.
Fulltext First case report on the occurrence of Trypanosoma evansi in a Siam B Mare in Kelantan, Malaysia

Mohd Rajdi NZI, Mohamad MA, Tan LP, Choong SS, Reduan MFH, Hamdan RH, et al.

Vet Med Sci, 2021 Mar;7(2):303-309.
PMID: 33161648 DOI: 10.1002/vms3.379

This is the first case report for the positive Trypanosoma evansi incident in Kelantan, Malaysia confirmed through protozoa detection in a Siam B mare. The horse was presented with complaints of lethargy and inappetence and it collapsed on the day of visit. Normal saline and dextrose solution were administered intravenously, while multivitamins and nerve supplements were given intramuscularly to stabilise the horse before further treatment. Haematological findings showed normocytic hypochromic anaemia and are suggestive of regenerative anaemia. Thin blood smear and examination revealed the presence of Trypanosoma sp., and it was confirmed as T. evansi through molecular identification. The horse was found dead 2 days after and post-mortem was conducted. Histopathology revealed that the horse had developed a neurological form of the disease, besides the detection of the protozoa in heart, spleen and kidney tissue. This first positive Surra case in Kelantan, Malaysia, that is bordering Thailand confirms the increasing concern of transboundary infections. In conclusion, Surra is a potential emerging disease and should be considered as differential diagnosis in horses with pale mucous membrane. This condition is particularly imperative in horses found in these regions as Surra is endemic.