The aim of this study was to test the potential diagnostic usefulness of recombinant Toxoplasma gondii SAG1 antigen and
excretory-secretory antigen (ESA), with respect to toxoplasmosis detection and infection phase distinction in laboratory mouse by determining specifi c serum IgM and IgG antibodies with the use of indirect ELISA technique. The highest titre at the beginning of infection was demonstrated by immunoglobulin M while the highest titre at the end of the infection was displayed by immunoglobulin G. In contrast, sera of chronically infected mice, positive IgG titre was detected on day 14 p.i. for ESA or day seven p.i. with rSAG1 and increased thereafter until day 70 p.i. after which the titre stabilized. IgA antibody also showed similar kinetics as IgG. Potentially rSAG1 may be a suitable diagnostic antigen than ESA in the diagnosis of acute and chronic toxoplasmosis.

Avian haemoparasites are known to exert negative pressures on theirhosts causing considerable pathology and mortalities. The present study reports on the prevalence of haemoprotozoa and microfilaria in various species of wild birds and domestic poultry in Selangor, Malaysia, and contributes to the database on the occurrence of thesepathogens among avifauna in the country. Giemsa-stained thin blood smears were screened from 728 birds representing five avian orders, namely Galliformes, Anseriformes, Phoenicopteriformes, Pelecaniformes and Gruiformes. The most common haemoparasite was Plasmodium, with a prevalence of 8.0%. The aquatic/wetland species of birds (Anseriformes and Gruiformes) were the most common hosts for this pathogen with high infection rates (31.8% – 50.0%). The prevalence of Plasmodium in domestic poultry was moderate (2.7%). Leucocytozoon sabrazesi and L. caulleryi were confined to the Galliformes with relatively low average infection rates of 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. Haemoproteus was detected for the first time in domestic poultry and Red Jungle fowls in the country, with anaverage prevalence of 0.8%. Trypanosomes and microfilaria were only present in the village chickens and Red Jungle fowls, with high microfilaraemia rates (19.0%) in the latter. The current compilation will contribute to our understanding on avianhaemoparasite transmission in the country.

The Malaysian Pangolin (Manis javanica) is an endangered species,
but is widely hunted for its medicinal value in body parts. A total of sixteen pangolins were screened for blood protozoa and six
pangolins were confi rmed to be positive for eperythrozoonosis infection based on morphology from blood smears stained with 8% Giemsa. The causative organism, Eperythrozoon sp., with a size of 0.3 μm were observed under a compound microscope at 100× magnification on the surface of red blood cells as blue coloured dots. This is the fi rst report of Eperythrozoon infection from pangolins in Malaysia. Further identifi cation using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is necessary to confi rm E. ovis or wenyonii,
which is uncultivatable in artifi cial media.

Limited information is available regarding gastro-intestinal (GI)parasitic infections in Malaysian swine populations. Hence, the present study aims to determine the prevalence of GI parasites in two swine populations in Malaysia, using formalin-ether concentration technique. In the present study, three helminths and two protozoa were detected in 91 swine rectal fecal samples. The zoonotic transmissible protozoan, Balantidium coli (22.0%) had the highest infection rate, followed by strongyle (4.4%), Entamoeba spp. (2.2%), Fasciolopsis spp. (1.1%) and Trichuris suis (1.1%). The co-infection between T. suis and B. coli was also found in this study.