The livestock industry has been relying merely on chemically synthesized antibiotic for eye infections as sprays and ointment. A natural remedy from Curcuma spp. has been tested for efficacy in curing keratoconjunctivitis and uveitis. A severe case of uveitis has been cured within 7 days, with impaired vision restored. These results are observations of a preliminary study conducted in a goat with uveitis.
Clinically healthy pets may carry zoonotic pathogens and shed them, thus act as potential public health threat. Small, exotic animals are gaining popularity as pets which include iguanas, turtles and sugar gliders. Salmonellosis is an important disease affecting human and animal populations worldwide. It is reported that sugar gliders are becoming popular pets among young Malaysians, not only are they cute and adorable but are easily carried around. Of 35 pet sugar gliders and 17 from a breeder, 15% were positive for salmonellae and the serovars identified were Salmonella enterica serovar Albany (62.5%) and Salmonella enterica serovar London (37.5%). Staphylococcus spp. (41.0%) were most frequently identified from oral mucosae, followed by Enterococcus faecalis (17%), Streptococcus viridians (15.0%), Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (13.0%) and Enterococcus faecium, Pasteurella spp., Staphylococcus delphini and Escherichia coli (2.0–4.0%). The close interaction between infected pet sugar gliders and their owners poses public health risk. Breeders with infected animals present direct risk to pet shops and pet owners.
Grouper Iriovirus (GIV) is one of the most devastating viral diseases of marine and cultured groupers worldwide. In the current study, 5 presumptive Malaysian GIV isolates were characterised through PCR amplification of the major capsid protein (MCP) gene and phylogenetic analysis of the sequences. The sequences from the five GIV isolates showed 100% homology with each other and a close relationship with grouper iridovirus isolate (GIV_Tn_352), which was clustered in group 1 together with King grouper iridovirus isolate (KGIV_Cy_346), Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV), and Crimson snapper iridovirus isolate (CSIV). The phylogenetic tree also showed different degree of relatedness with other Ranavirus strains which were obtained from the blast of GIV MCP gene in the NCBI database. This study confirmed the GIV isolates from Malaysia are related to other isolates that were reported previously.
Avian polyomavirus disease is among the most common viral diseases of domesticated exotic birds as such in psittacine families. Caused by avian polyomavirus (APV) which possess a circular, double-stranded DNA which encodes for major structural virus protein 1 (VP1) and minor structural proteins VP2, VP3 and VP4, the disease is also known as Budgerigar fledgling disease polyomavirus (BFPyV), Papovavirus, and Psittacine polyomavirus. Infections from APV may lead to cutaneous haemorrhage, abdominal distension, feather abnormalities and even death. The APV virus has a broad avian host range and is known to cause acute chronic disease in several psittacine birds such as parrot, cockatoo, macaw, and budgerigar. The current status of APV epidemiology globally has not been fully recorded. Only the studies of the virus and disease caused within several countries are used as references, and few were done together with detection of beak and feather disease virus. Despite the common occurrence of APV among bird breeders in Malaysia, a very limited study has been done to evaluate the prevalence status of APV in Malaysia. In this review, we wish to disseminate knowledge, particularly to pet owners and bird breeders, on APV characterisations, its updated occurrence worldwide and prevention strategies. This information may be useful to trigger in depth study on the epidemiology of disease and better management practises among breeders.
Edible bird’s nest (EBN) is an emergent industry in Malaysia. In 2016, EBN worth RM 1.2 billion with the total production of 228-tonne metrics. EBN is salivary secretion of swiftlets (Aerodramus spp.) that contained various nutritive values. Back in Tang Dynasty, it had been recognized as a natural product with broad medicinal effects. Recently, various scientific studies have been done to elucidate the medicinal properties of this precious food. For the past 10 years, antiviral effects of EBN had been explained via in-vitro and in-vivo well-designed researches, in which generally EBN is exerting a good alternative food for prophylactic and therapeutic agent against Influenza A virus infection in the laboratory setting. The limited study had been done to identify the bioactive ingredient of EBN that have antiviral properties. Nevertheless, based on the previous nutritional studies, some contents of EBN have been hypothesised to serve as an antiviral agent, and comprehensive study is required to explicate those claimed. The aim of this paper is to review on the recent discovery pertaining to the potential antiviral effect of EBN in the cell culture and animal model studies.
An innovative assembly to maintain isoflurane anaesthesia in rats is described. This assembly was used successfully in laboratory rats for dental procedures that may last as long as sixty minutes. Repeated exposures to isoflurane anaesthesia, of up to eight times within a 30-day study period in healthy laboratory rats did not result in any observable adverse-effects.
Leptospirosis is re-emerging in Malaysia and many other tropical countries. Its infection of human and animal’s worldwide. The study was carried out to identify predominate Leptospira serovars within rat populations in Kuala Lumpur (KL) by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). As well to investigate the frequency of infection by polymerase chain reaction assays (PCR). The isolated cultures that obtained from culturing kidney tissue of 112 trapped rats from four sites in KL, were identified by MAT using panel of 16 standard hyper immune anti-sera. Besides, identification of Leptospira strains by PCR amplification with G1/G2 and ompL1 Borgpetersenii genes. Results from typing by MAT revealed that 8/57 (7.1%) of cultured isolates reacted against; hyper-immune antisera of serogroup Javanica and 13/57 (22.8%) against serogroup Bataviae. Whereas, the rest of isolates recorded across reactivity 1/20 against serogroups; Icterohaemorrhagiae 2/57, Canicola 1/57, Australis 2/57. From PCR-G1/G2; 50/112 (50.9%) cultures were positive included (40/57 cultures positive to isolation and 10/55 cultures negative to isolation). While, from PCR-ompL1 Borgpetersenii gene; 21/112 (18.7%) cultures positive included (17/57 cultures positive to isolation and 4/55 cultures were negative to isolation). It is obvious from this study that serogroups Javanica and Bataviae were the predominant among rat populations in KL. Also it revealed the high frequency of pathogenic strains among rat populations and their potential risk of humans and animals contracting infection.
Cattle is one of an important maintenance hosts involved in the transmission of leptospirosis. Serological method is always implemented to detect current or past leptospiral infection in cattle. The results can be obtained immediately compared to isolation method which need more longer time. An in-house IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using heat-killed whole cells of local isolate Leptospira kmetyi serovar malaysia strain Bejo-Iso9 (ELISABejo-Iso9) was developed in this study. The perfomance of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was compared with in-house IgGELISA using reference strain 117123 (hardjo bovis) antigen (ELISA-117123) and CUSABIO® commercial ELISA. It was found that, the performance of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was promising to compete with commercial ELISA. The specificity and sensitivity was 98.75% and 53.75%, respectively. The sensitivity of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was lower than commercial ELISA. However, the specificity of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was higher than commercial ELISA. Due to economically and availability factors, this finding suggested that the ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 can be used as an alternatif method for serological diagnosis of leptospirosis in cattle.
A 4-year-old, male local dog was referred to University Veterinary Hospital-Universiti Putra Malaysia (UVH-UPM) due to
dyspnoea and ascites. Full diagnostic investigations inclusive of blood haematology, serum biochemistry, blood smear examinations
for haemopathogens, heartworm antigen test, thoracic and abdominal radiography and echocardiography were conducted. A
diagnosis of severe heartworm disease was made from the positive heartworm antigen test, the presence of heartworms on
echocardiography and the accompanying advanced clinical findings. This was the first case of right-sided heart failure due to severe
heartworm disease with concurrent pulmonary hypertension diagnosed in UVH-UPM from which the moribund dog was
successfully stabilised during hospitalisation.
A 6-year-old intact Persian cat was presented for the primary complaint of inappetence and weight loss. Irregular surface of
kidneys was palpated during physical examination. Abdominal radiograph findings were indicative of renomegaly. Ultrasonography
revealed multiple anaechoic structures within the renal parenchyma. The cortex, medulla and renal pelvis were unable to be
differentiated. Both radiographic and ultrasonographic findings were suggestive of polycystic kidney disease. Blood test revealed
normochromic, normocytic anaemia with azotaemia whereas urinalysis findings were hypostenuria and proteinuria, consistent of
chronic kidney disease due to polycystic kidney. Ultrasound is a useful antemortem diagnostic tool to diagnose polycystic kidney
disease in cats.
Melioidosis is a zoonotic disease as a result of infection by Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is of significant public health
concern due to its ubiquitous nature with high morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. In cats, the disease is usually reported
with abscess formation in lung, liver and spleen, however, isolated articular melioidosis is rare. A 1-year-old, a female Domestic
Shorthair cat was presented to University Veterinary Hospital, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UVH-UPM) with swollen right elbow and
non weight bearing lameness of the right forelimb. Physical examination revealed pyrexia, soft tissue swelling and pain upon
palpation of the right elbow joint. Radiographs of the right forelimb revealed osteolysis at the distal third of the humerus and
proximal radius and ulna, cortical thinning at the olecranon and soft tissue swelling around the elbow joint. Bacterial culture of the
joint fluid revealed positive growth for Burkholderia pseudomallei. Unfortunately, the owner opted to euthanise the cat citing
personal reasons. Upon necropsy, there was presence of multiple caseous nodules within the right elbow joint cavity only and none
of the other limbs, lung, spleen and liver was affected. It is important for veterinarian to be aware of septic arthritis and osteomyelitis
form of melioidosis.
Forty-eight canine mammary tumours (CMT) diagnosed at the Histopathology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, were reviewed retrospectively. Two control groups, one comprising all other cases involving female dogs
and another group comprising only cases of neoplasia involving female dogs diagnosed in the laboratory over the same period of
time were used for comparisons in this study. Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression were used to determine association between
the factors and the risk of CMT. Thirty-nine (81.3%) of the tumours were diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, 8.3% (n=4) each, were the
diagnoses for squamous cell carcinoma and mixed cell tumour. Adenoma had 2.1% (n=1). The prevalence of canine mammary gland
tumours in this study is 39%. When CMT cases were compared with all other cases, significant association was observed with adult
dogs (p = 0.032, logistic regression 0.012) and intact dogs (p = 0.009, logistic regression, 0.003). When CMT cases were compared
with neoplasia cases, significant association was observed with pure breeds (p = 0.025) and intact dogs (p = 0.000034, logistic
regression 0.00042). This study found that pure breed dogs, intact dogs and older dogs ( > 5years) have higher odds of having CMT
in Malaysian dog population.
Reptiles, which included snakes, chelonians (turtles, tortoises), iguanas and lizards, have been reported as important reservoirs
for Salmonella. In Malaysia, reports on Salmonella in reptiles are not many. A search for works in Malaysia on salmonellae in
reptiles found 28.0% chelonians, 27.5 - 61.0% snakes, 26.5 – 36.0% lizards and 31.0% house geckos carried Salmonella. The
prevalence in some countries worldwide which included the United States of America, Brazil, Japan, Nigeria and few others were
shown. The public health risk of the presence of salmonellae particularly in pet reptiles are discussed.
An adult male Malayan box turtle was diagnosed with foreign body obstruction of fishing hook. Upon presentation, the animal
had pale mucous membrane and fishing line protruding out from the oral cavity. Diagnosis of foreign body ingestion was based on
plain radiograph where the fishing hook was evidenced on the lateral and ventrodorsal radiographic view. Plastron osteotomy
surgical removal was performed after endoscopy guided forcep removal failed. Procedures were carried out under the injectable
anesthesia using a combination of ketamine and xylazine hydrochloride. Antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and parenteral fluid therapy
was given pre and post-surgically as medical treatment and stabilisation.
Old intact male dogs are often predisposed to benign prostatic hyperplasia. Both hypertrophy and hyperplasia of prostate
gland occur due to hormonal influences. Clinical signs such as haematuria, stranguria and tenesmus are often associated with benign
prostatic hyperplasia. A seven year-old local breed intact male dog was presented with a primary complaint of haematuria and
stranguria. Diagnostic work-up conducted inclusive of complete blood count, serum biochemistry, urinalysis, abdominal radiograph,
cystourethrography and abdominal ultrasonography. The dog was diagnosed with cystic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Prostatic
omentalisation and castration were performed in this case.
A 5-month-old Siamese cross kitten was presented with jaundice and a palpable abdominal mass at the right cranial quadrant. The extra-hepatic biliary system was markedly distended upon abdominal ultrasonography. Complete bile duct obstruction was ruled out due to the presence of urobilinogen, light brown stool, and consistentlynormal alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels. Head tremors developed on the second day of hospitalization. Tentative diagnoses of congenital biliary anomaly and hepatic encephalopathy werederived and exploratory laparotomy revealed a severely distended and tortuous bile duct indistinguishable from the gallbladder with negative duodenal filling. Modified cholechoduodenostomy was performed however the kitten did not recover from general anaesthesia. Secondary cholangiohepatitis and hepatic encephalopathy were confirmed upon histopathologic examination.Primary congenital biliary atresia or choledochal cyst with secondary cholangiohepatitis was suspected. Biliary anomalies are rare in cats with only two cases reported in the literature. These conditions are often challenging to diagnose and due to the limited treatment options, have a poor prognosis.
Leptospirosis is recognised as one of the leading zoonotic diseases and rodents have been implicated as one of the natural reservoirs of the disease. The Malayan porcupines (Hystrix brachyura) which are also a rodent could possibly be a carrier of leptospiral organisms. This study was conducted to determine the serological prevalence of leptospiral infection among captive Malayan porcupines and to disclose the possibility of porcupines as a reservoir for leptospiral infection. Fifty serum samples were obtained from the Malayan porcupines kept in captivity at the Wildlife Conservation Centre, Sungai Dusun, Malaysia. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed on the serum samples to detect the presence of agglutinating antibodies to a panel of 16 Leptospira serovars (Australis, Autumnalis, Ballum, Bataviae, Canicola, Celledoni, Djasiman, Hardjobovis, Hardjopratjino, Hebdomadis, Hurstbridge, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Javanica, Pomona, Pyrogenes and Sejroe). From the serological test, 18% (n=9/50) of the Malayan porcupines tested had leptospiral antibodies to serovars Javanica (8%), Hurstbridge (4%), Ballum (2%), Celledoni (2%) and Hardjoprajitno (2%). It is seen that this study disclosed a high prevalence of leptospiral infection in the Malayan porcupines tested and indicated that the Malayan porcupines could possibly be a source of leptospirosis to other animals including humans and that they might play an important role in the epidemiology of leptospiral infection in the country.
A six-year-old Thoroughbred race horse was presented with left unilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge. Endoscopic examination revealed atypical mycotic lesion within the guttural pouch in which the fungal mass was not located on any neurovascular structures. This case was successfully treated by the combination of manual debulking of fungal diphtheritic plaques and medical treatment that included daily local irrigation and systemic medication. There were no complications and the horse returned to race three weeks later.
Oesophageal strictures associated with doxycycline therapy in cats are a rare occurrence but several cases have been reported. A 3-month-old kitten was presented to University Veterinary Hospital, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UVH-UPM) with the primary complaint of persistent vomiting. The kitten was prescribed with doxycycline two weeks prior to presentation. Regurgitation was observed during hospitalisation. Radiographs and endoscopy performed revealed findings consistent with a megaesophagus cranial to an oesophageal stricture located at the region of the second thoracic vertebrae.
Two cases of diaphragmatic hernia in cats caused by road traffic accident were undiagnosed during the initial presentation. Both cats showed no evidence of respiratory distress and clinicians did not notice the diaphragmatic hernia on thoracic radiographs. Later on, both cats showed signs of dyspnea and diaphragmatic hernia was diagnosed with repeated thoracic radiograph and ultrasound. Diaphragmatic hernia is rather common in veterinary practice, however, its diagnosis can be clinically challenging. This case report highlights the importance to re-evaluate and monitor the patient closely after the traffic accident. Repeated radiograph, different diagnostic modalities and techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography and positive contrast peritoneagraphy should be used in order to diagnose the diaphragmatic hernia conclusively.