The objectives of the present study were to determine the infection rate of equine piroplasmosis (EP) in horses and ponies in Kelantan,Malaysia and compare the microscopic examination with competitive enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) test as methods for diagnosis of EP. 306 blood samples were randomly collected from equids including 148 horses and 158 ponies in various districts of Kelantan, from September 2013 to March 2014. Based on microscopic examination of the staining blood smears, the infection rates ofTheileria equi, Babesia caballi and of both infections in horses were 19.59%, 25% and 8.78% respectively, whereas in ponies theinfection rates were 14.55%, 19.62%, and 5.69% respectively. Based on cELISA test, the infection rates of T. equi, B. caballi and of both infections in horses were 50.67%, 62.16% and 33.10% respectively,whereas in ponies, the infection rates were 51.89%, 63.92% and 35.44% respectively. No significant difference were observed between equids species associated with a seroprevalence of T. equi, B. caballi andof both infections (P≤ 0.05). According to the Kappa value there was no compatibility between microscopic examination and cELISA on the diagnosis of T. equi, B. caballi and of both infections which were 0.235, 0.013 and 0.080 respectively. In conclusion, the current results for this research work indicate that equine piroplasmosis is widespread in Kelantan, Malaysia and cELISA test is more efficientthan microscopic examination for diagnosis of EP.

Bovine haemoparasites are cosmopolitan in distribution and are known to cause substantial losses to the cattle industry. In spite of their economic importance, there remains a dearth of information on their molecular epidemiology in many parts of the world including Malaysia. To ascertain the molecular prevalence and species co-infection of bovine haemoparasites in the country, blood samples were collected from 1,045 heads of beef and dairy cattle on 43 farms from six geographical zones throughout Peninsular Malaysia. Samples subjected to PCR amplification of parasite species-specific genetic fragments revealed that Anaplasma marginale was the most prevalent haemoparasite (72.6%),followed by Theileria orientalis(49.8%),Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos ( 47. 0 % ),Babesia bovis(32. 5%), Babesia bigemina (30.5%) and Trypanosomaevansi(17.9%). A high percentage (92.1%) of cattle was infected with either one or more haemoparasites. Triple haemoparasite species co-infection was the most prevalent (25.6%), followed closely by double species co-infection (25.1%). The most common (8.8%) and significantly correlated(rs= 0.250; p<0.01) combination was A. marginale+ T.orientalis. The present study constitutes the first attempt in the country to document the molecular prevalence and species co-infection of bovine haemoparasites over a wide spatial distribution. The data obtained will facilitate treatment, control and prevention measures to improve the local cattle industry.