This is a study conducted to test the effectiveness of Azadirachta indica (Neem), Clinacanthus nutans (Sabah Snake Grass) water extracts and neem decoction against natural gastrointestinal helminthsin 4 groups of goats for a period of 4 weeks. This study was done on 24 experimental goats which were randomly chosen from a private farm at Gopeng, Perak. They were divided into four groups; control (n=6) and three treatment groups (n=6). Faecal egg counts and faecal culture to identify the L3 larvae were done and recorded weeklyfrom January until February 2015. Blood parameters such as FAMACHA and PCV were observed and recorded twice at the beginning and end of the study. The FEC results indicated that none of the threetreatments were significantly different to control group (P > 0.05).

The worm ova estimation method is important to assess the degree of worm infestation in domestic animals. Currently, the method used in many veterinary laboratories is the McMaster method which can enumerate the number of eggs per gram of faeces. Due to emergingand re-emerging diseases currently being diagnosed in Veterinary Research Institute, Ipoh, it is important to seek new, less risky methods for diagnosis of faecal samples. In view of increasing risk to the laboratory personnel conducting tests on faecal samples, the Parasep® method was assessed to indicate its suitability as aroutine test method. The results indicate that there was no significant differences between the worm egg counts enumeratedby conventional McMaster method and Parasep® method (Z = -1.111, P = 0.267). It is however, critical that assessment based on costs, time and ease of conducting the tests for lab staff be done before adopting this method in diagnostic laboratories.

Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) has been reported in many countriesin the world. The IBH characterized presence of intra-nuclear inclusion bodies in hepatocytes in chickens. On December 2015, an onset of high acute mortality in a flock of 12, 18 and 23- day-old broiler chickens in Malacca and Johore was reported to the RegionalVeterinary Laboratory, Johor Bahru, Peninsular Malaysia. The birds showed lethargy, huddling, ruffled feathers, and inappetence. At necropsy, the livers were enlarged, pale yellow, friable andwith multiple petechial hemorrhages, the kidney were congested and enlarged, with hydropericardium and gizzard erosion. Large eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies were seen in hepatocytes. PCR revealed liver were positive of FAdV at expected band of 1219 bp and the nucleotide sequence share 95-99% identity with the fowl adenovirus species E, serotype 8b. Based on the acute high mortality, age of the broilers, gross and microscopic lesions (especially intranuclear inclusion bodies) and molecular finding, the condition was diagnosed as adenovirus inclusion body hepatitis.

Antimicrobial resistant Salmonella are among the leading causes of foodborne infections. Our aim was to determine Salmonella contamination during cattle slaughter in South African rural abattoirs (n = 23) and environmental samples. Furthermore, antimicrobial resistance patterns of the Salmonella isolates were determined. Samples of cattle faeces (n = 400), carcass sponges (n = 100), intestinal contents (n = 62), hides (n = 67), and water from the abattoirs (n = 75) were investigated for Salmonella species using microbiological techniques and species-specific polymerase chain reaction targeting the invA gene. In total 92 Salmonella species isolates were recovered. The Salmonella mean frequency of occurrence on hides, carcasses, and intestinal contents was 35.37% (n = 81). Eleven faecal samples (2.75%) tested positive for Salmonella. The predominant serovar was Salmonella Enteritidis. Diverse serovars that were identified on carcasses were not necessarily found on the hides and intestinal contents. The inconsistent occurrence of the diverse Salmonella serovars on hides, carcasses, and intestinal contents implies that in addition to carriage on hides and in intestinal contents, other external factors also play an important role regarding carcass contamination. The 92 Salmonella were serotyped and tested for susceptibility towards the following antimicrobials: ampicillin, cefotaxime, enrofloxacin, kanamycin, and oxytetracycline using the disk diffusion method. Most Salmonella (n = 66; 71.7%) isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial with highest resistance observed towards oxytetracycline (51.90%), which highlights the need for strict hygiene during slaughter and prudent antimicrobial use during animal production. In conclusion, cattle slaughtered in South African rural abattoirs harbour diverse Salmonella serovars that are resistant to antimicrobials, which could be a public health risk. The findings should assist policymakers with improving implementation of hygienic slaughter of cattle in rural abattoirs, which is paramount from socioeconomic, public health, and epidemiological standpoints.

Little is known about latent infection and molecular characterisation of Neospora caninum in sheep (Ovis aries). In this study, 330 sheep samples (180 hearts and 150 brains) were analysed for N. caninum DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the Nc-5 gene. Neospora caninum DNA was detected in 3.9% (13/330) of sheep samples. The parasite's DNA was detected in 6.7% of heart samples (12/180) and 0.7% (1/150) of brain samples. No clinical signs were recorded from infected or uninfected animals. Sequencing of the genomic DNA revealed 96% - 99% similarity with each other and 95.15% - 100% similarity with N. caninum sequences deposited in GenBank. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of PCR to identify latent neosporosis in sheep in Iran. The results of this study have the potential to contribute to our understanding of the role of N. caninum-infected sheep in the epidemiology of neosporosis.

Clostridium perfringens beta toxin is only produced by types B and C and plays an important role in many human and animal diseases, causing fatal conditions that originate in the intestines. We compared the expression of C. perfringens type B vaccine strain recombinant beta toxin gene in theEscherichia coli strains RosettaTM(DE3) and BL21(DE3). The beta toxin gene was extracted from pJETβ and ligated with pET22b(+). pET22β was transformed into E. coli strains BL21(DE3) and RosettaTM(DE3). Recombinant protein was expressed as a soluble protein after isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) induction in strain RosettaTM(DE3) but not in BL21(DE3). Expression was optimised by growing recombinant cells at 37 °C and at an induction of 0.5 mM, 1 mM, 1.5 mM IPTG. Expression was evaluated using sodium dodecyl sulfate Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The recombinant protein was purified via Ni-NTA and was analysed using western blot. We concluded that E. coli strain RosettaTM(DE3) can enhance the expression of C. perfringens recombinant beta toxin.

OBJECTIVE To quantify and characterize pleural fluid collected from healthy dogs after placement of a thoracostomy tube (TT). ANIMALS 8 healthy Coonhound-cross dogs (mean ± SD weight, 27.2 ± 1.6 kg). PROCEDURES Thoracic CT of each dog was performed before placement of a TT and daily thereafter for 7 days. Thoracic fluid volume was calculated from CT images. Effusion was aspirated when detected; volume was recorded, and cytologic analysis and bacterial culture were performed. RESULTS Mean ± SD volume of pleural effusion detected by CT was 1.43 ± 0.59 mL/kg (range, 0.12 to 3.32 mL/kg). Mean volume collected via aspiration was 0.48 ± 0.84 mL/kg (range, 0 to 2.16 mL/kg). Cytologic analysis yielded results consistent with an exudate, characterized by septic suppurative inflammation in 6 dogs and mixed inflammation in 1 dog; there was insufficient volume for analysis in 1 dog. Sufficient volume was obtained for bacterial culture for 6 dogs, which yielded pure growths of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (n = 3) and Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (2) and mixed growth of both of these species (1). The TT was removed before day 7 in 4 dogs because of pyothorax (n = 3) and irreversible damage to the TT (1). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Presence of a TT induced a minimal volume of pleural effusion in healthy dogs. Pyothorax developed in most dogs between 4 and 6 days after TT placement. On the basis of these findings, a TT should be removed by the fourth day after placement, unless complications are detected sooner.

OBJECTIVE To compare security of continuous intradermal suture lines closed by use of barbed suture with 3 end-pass configurations or without an end-pass configuration. SAMPLE 40 full-thickness, 4-cm-long, parasagittal wounds in canine cadavers. PROCEDURES Each continuous intradermal closure was terminated with 1 of 3 end-pass techniques or without an end-pass configuration (control group). A servohydraulic machine applied tensile load perpendicular to the long axis of the suture line. A load-displacement curve was generated for each sample; maximum load, displacement, stiffness, mode of construct failure, and load at first suture slippage at termination (ie, terminal end of the suture line) were recorded. RESULTS Values for maximum load, displacement, and stiffness did not differ significantly among the 3 end-pass techniques, and load at first suture slippage at termination was not significantly different among the 4 groups. A 1-pass technique slipped in 5 of 9 samples; 3 of these 5 slips caused failure of wound closure. A 2-pass technique slipped in 3 of 9 samples, none of which caused failure of wound closure. Another 2-pass technique slipped in 4 of 10 samples; 2 of these 4 slips caused failure of wound closure. The control group had slippage in 10 of 10 samples; 9 of 10 slips caused failure of wound closure CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE An end-pass anchor was necessary to terminate a continuous intradermal suture line, and all 3 end-pass anchor techniques were suitable to prevent wound disruption. The 2-pass technique for which none of the suture slippages caused wound closure failure provided the most reliable configuration.

Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that causes septicemia, meningitis, arthritis, and pneumonia in swine and humans. The present study aimed to characterize the genetic diversity of S. suis serotype 2 isolated from pigs showing signs of illness in Brazil using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), single-enzyme amplified fragment length polymorphism (SE-AFLP), and profiling of virulence-associated markers. A total of 110 isolates were studied, 62.7% of which were isolated from the central nervous system and 19.1% from the respiratory tract. Eight genotypes were obtained from the combination of virulence genes, with 43.6% and 5.5% frequencies for the mrp (+) /epf (+) /sly (+) and mrp (-) /epf (-) /sly (-) genotypes, respectively. The presence of isolates with epf gene variation with higher molecular weight also appears to be a characteristic of Brazilian S. suis serotype 2. The PFGE and SE-AFLP were able to type all isolates and, although they presented a slight tendency to cluster according to state and year of isolation, it was also evident the grouping of different herds in the same PFGE subtype and the existence of isolates originated from the same herd classified into distinct subtypes. No further correlation between the isolation sites and mrp/epf/sly genotypes was observed.

Bovine anaplasmosis is the disease caused by the bacterium Anaplasma marginale. It can cause production loss and death in cattle and bison. This was a reportable disease in Canada until April 2014. Before then, infected herds were quarantined and culled, removing infected animals. In North America, A. marginale is biologically vectored by hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), Dermacentor variabilis and D. andersoni. Biting flies, particularly horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae), can also act as mechanical vectors. An outbreak of bovine anaplasmosis, consisting of 14 herds, was detected in southern Manitoba in 2008. This outbreak lasted multiple rounds of testing and culling before eradication in 2011, suggesting local maintenance of the pathogen was occurring. We applied novel approaches to examine the vector ecology of this disease in this region. We did not detect A. marginale by screening of 2056 D. variabilis (2011 and 2012) and 520 horse flies (2011) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).