Toxocariasis is an important cosmopolitan zoonotic disease mainlycaused by Toxocara spp., a type of soil transmitted helminth (STH) on cats and dogs. In this study, 80 soil samples were taken from four public playgrounds and six neighbourhood playgrounds in Ipoh, Perak between October and December 2016 to determine the status of soil contamination with the eggs of Toxocara spp. Results showed that 32.5% from the total soil samples were positive with Toxocara spp. eggs. Overall, five out of ten of the sampling sites were contaminated with Toxocara spp. eggs. Besides that, the relationship between the soil condition and the occurrence of the Toxocara spp. eggs in soils were also investigated. The findings showed that increase of moisture and pH of the soils contributed to the increase of contaminationwith Toxocara spp. eggs. Sandy soils were found significantly contaminated with the eggs of Toxocara spp. compared to theother types of soil. Therefore, appropriate preventive measures such as treatment of soil, regular monitoring and deworming of dogs and cats as well as awareness programmes to the public are important.

Mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow (BM-MSCs) havethe ability to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. Although the cultivation of these cells has led to a number of characterisation studies, some significant morphological and immunohistochemical properties are still lacking. In this study, isolation of BM-MSCs, morphological features, cell viability, immunophenotypic properties and cryopreservation of BM-MSCs wereexamined in detail. The results demonstrate that the cells isolated from BM-MSCs were plastic adherent and had fibroblastic spindle shape after three passages and get confluent monolayer cells 70-80% after 4-7 days post-subculture. Based on the cell viability analysis, the BM-MSCs showed an increase in cell viability starting from passage 1 until passage 10. Immunophenotypic analysis demonstrated that BM-MSCs were positivefor CD44 and CD105 and negative for CD34. Functional analysis of cryopreservation of BM-MSCs from P6 after 6 months expressed good proliferation rate and cell viability.

Identification of microorganisms, including bacteria, are widely used especially in environmental studies, biotechnology, clinical microbiology, microbial forensics, and in research study. The conventional method of bacteria identification is based on phenotypic observation techniques by profiling an organism’s metabolic attributes or some aspect of its chemical composition. Then, interpretation of test results involves substantial subjective judgement. Currently, general 16S rRNA sequencing and specific PCR play an important role in the accurate and faster identification of bacteria. The aim of this study is to compare the identification of the genus or species of bacteria from agricultural waste using conventional microbiology biochemical test and molecular techniques PCR 16S rRNA universal amplified ribosomal region (UARR) sequencing. A total of 72 agricultural waste samples and 2 ATCC culture as positive control were tested. Out of two ATCC bacteria and fifteen bacteria isolates identified by the biochemical test, twelve species (71%) of bacteria gave exactly the same bacteria genus as the 16S rRNA sequencing results. Aeromonas hydrophilia, Alcaligenes faecalis and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus was revealed as Pseudomonas sp. from the sequencing results. As for Alcaligenes sp., the results from the sequencing is Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Previous reports also showed different results of the same isolate which were from similar classification, and closely related to each other. The limited number of biochemical tests available in a laboratory will contribute to misidentification of a proposed specie.

The world widely distributed infection by Rhodococcus equi usually leads to pneumonia and associated respiratory signs. This study is aimed at detecting the occurrence of this pathogen in selected horse farms. A total of 12 R. equi isolates from few samples (13.89%) were successfully obtained from soil and faeces collected from two selected farms. However, based on the vapA gene classification, only one virulent R. equi isolate was identified.

The aim of this study was to investigate the bacteria found in different parts of the genital system in cows and the susceptibility to different types of antibiotics. The genital systems of sixteen cows were collected from Al-Hilla, Iraq slaughterhouse. Isolation and identification of bacteria were made for each part of the genital system and antibiotic susceptibility tests was conducted to the isolated bacteria. The results of this study indicated that there were several types of bacteria present in the genital systems of cows. Different species of bacteria were isolated from the samples including, Escherichia coli (28.97)%, Klebsiella spp. (16.82)%, Salmonella spp. (14.95)%, Proteus spp. (13.08)%, Staphylococcus aureus (11.21)%, Staphylococcus epidermidis (8.41)% and Streptococcus spp. (6.54)%. In vitro susceptibility towards different types of antibiotic indicated high susceptibility of Escherichia coli to antibiotic group impenem and ciprofloxacin, while Klebsiella spp. was found to be most susceptible to ciprofloxacin and amikacin. Both Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. showed resistance to piperacillin and tetracycline. It was concluded that Escherichia coli was the most predominant bacteria in genital system of cows and were most susceptible to antibiotic impenem and ciprofloxacin.

Blastocystis is considered to be a zoonoses and it is believed that animals such as chicken constitute large reservoirs for human infection via the faecal-oral route. Therefore, Blastocystis infection was surveyed in free-range chicken and cage reared chicken comprising broiler birds for consumption as well as jungle fowls andsilkie chicken kept for recreation. Fresh faecal samples collected were examined by wet smear preparation and were cultured in Jones medium supplemented with 10% horse serum. Out of 107 chickens, it was found that most of the free-range chicken was positive for Blastocystis sp. with a high prevalence rate of 80%–100% in village chicken, jungle fowl and white silkie chicken. However, the cage-reared chicken, consisting of broiler chicken had no infection. The vacuolar form was the most common Blastocystis cell form found in cultures, similar to B. hominis.These cells were usually spherical and vary greatly in size, ranging from 10 μm to 30 μm in diameter. Owing to the free ranging and scavenging habits, the likelihood of acquiring the infection fromthe environment contaminated with the faecal material of animals with Blastocystis is high in free-range chicken as compared to caged chicken.

The emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in 2004 draws attention to the safety of rearing edible bird nest swiftlets within the vicinity of human dwellings in urban areas. There is also concern on the safety of the product itself. Convenient sampling of edible bird nest swiftlets (A. fuciphagus and A. maximus) was conducted by the Department of Veterinary Services and Animal Industry from September 2004 until June 2011. A total of 137 samples
were collected from four premises and two natural caves in four locations, namely Tawau, Kunak, Sandakan and Penampang. The samples were collected for Egg Innoculation Tests for H5N1 and Newcastle Disease (ND). All samples yielded negative results for both diseases.

Strangles is an extremely contagious bacterial infection specific to
equine species( horses, mules and zebras). A nationwide screening of S. equi was conducted among horses following an isolation of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (S. equi) from a horse. All horses were monitored for the presence of respiratory signs, nasal discharge and submandibular swelling. This paper reports the isolation of S. equi from horses during a nationwide survey from August 2010 to December 2010. From August 2010 to December 2010 our laboratory received 2,825 nasal swabs, 9 guttural pouch flushes, 1 submandibular swab and 1 submandibular abscess. The samples were subjected to conventional bacterial isolation and identification.
Streptococcus equi-positive samples were also confirmed by detecting the M-gene (SeM) of the bacteria by using PCR. Two nasal swabs from two horses and one submandibular abscess from a horse were positive for S. equi by culture and subsequently by PCR. Surveillance for S. equi should be continued for the control of the strangles. PCR can be carried out in parallel to bacterial culture to increase the
detection rate of carriers and shedders.

A primary fibroblast cells from embryos of brown quail Coturnixypsilophora has been established and partially characterized. The cells were maintained in Modified Eagle’s medium (MEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. The cells were able to grow at temperatures between 35°C and 38°C with optimum temperature of 37°C. The growth rate of primary quail fibroblast cells increased as the FBS proportion increased from 5% to 20% at 37°C with optimum growth at the concentrations of 10% or 15% FBS. The cells showed no microbial contamination throughout the period of experiment and the total chromosome number of a diploid cell was 78, according to karyotyping and chromosome analysis. The susceptibility of quail primary cells for avian viruses was investigated in this study after inoculation with ND and IB viruses. Both viruses showed a satisfactory CPE development and the infectivity were assayed by virus titration (TCID50). This suggests that the quail primary cells can be used for isolation of various avian viruses with further steps of infectivity confirmation in the future.

A study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Newcastle disease (ND) and Avian Influenza (AI) from backyard chickens and ducks in Sabah. A total of 2,117 samples consisting of 1,498 swabs and 619 serum samples were taken from all districts in the state.
All samples tested were negative to Avian Influenza virus. 23.59% of the 619 serum samples collected were sero-positive for Newcastle Disease with the highest HI titre being 1/256. Only one pool of 4
trachael swabs or 0.27% of the total 1,498 swabs was positive on virus isolation for Newcastle Disease. No Avian influenza virus was isolated from all the samples collected.