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.
Bats are a significant reservoir for numerous pathogens, including Bartonella spp. It is one of the emerging zoonotic bacterial diseases that can be transmitted to humans and may cause various unspecific clinical manifestations. Thus, bartonellosis is rarely diagnosed and is regarded as a neglected vector-borne disease (VBD). Bat flies have been hypothesised to be a vector in the transmission of pathogens among bats. They are host-specific, which reduces the likelihood of pathogen transmission across bat species; however, they are likely to maintain high pathogen loads within their host species. To explore the presence of Bartonella spp. in bat flies from Peninsular Malaysia; bat fly samples collected from various sites at the east coast states were subjected to molecular detection for Bartonella spp. It was discovered that 38.7 % of bats from Terengganu and Kelantan were infested with bat flies; however, no bat fly was found in bats collected from Pahang. The collected bat flies belonged to the families Nycteribiidae (79.6 %) and Streblidae (20.4 %). The collected bat flies were pooled according to the locations and species into 39 pools. Out of these 39 pools, 66.7 % (n = 26) were positive for Bartonella spp. by PCR. Sequence analyses of five randomly selected PCR-positive pools revealed that pools from Kelantan (n = 3) have the closest sequence identities (99 %) to Bartonella spp. strain Lisso-Nig-922 from Nigeria. However, the other pools from Terengganu (n = 2) were closely related to Bartonella spp. strain KP277 from Thailand and Bartonella spp. strain Rhin-3 from the Republic of Georgia with 99 % and 100 % sequence identity, respectively. This suggests that the Bartonella spp. found in Malaysian bat flies are genetically diverse and can potentially serve as reservoirs for pathogenic Bartonella spp.