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The risk of parasitism in different groups of small ruminants depends on intrinsic, environmental, and management factors. Although there are different views regarding the sex-related risk of endoparasites in small ruminants, females are undoubtedly the most affected group in the flock. Moreover, whether the greater sex-specific risk of parasitic infection observed in female goats in field situations is associated with their production or other intrinsic factors is still under scrutiny. In this paper, cross-sectional epidemiological data collected from selected small ruminant flocks were analysed to determine the distribution, risk, and burden of endoparasites in young, nonpregnant, pregnant, and lactating female goats. There was a higher incidence of gastrointestinal parasites (88.4%, 95%CI= 83.01-92.19) than blood protozoa (54.0%, 95%CI= 46.85-60.92), with a significant difference among the groups. A higher risk of gastrointestinal parasites was observed in lactating (OR = 46.667, P = 0.001) and pregnant (OR = 9.167, P = 0.003) groups. A greater risk of blood protozoan infection was also observed in the pregnant (OR = 5.971, P = 0.0104) and lactating (OR = 3.600, P = 0.0528) groups. A significant increase in the mean faecal egg count of the lactating (2.72 ± 0.76) and pregnant (2.34 ± 0.97) groups (P < 0.05) was accompanied by a significantly lower mean PCV in the lactating group (23.48 ± 4.838) than the kids (29.44 ± 6.13), or nonpregnant (27.80 ± 5.525) groups (P < 0.05). Thus, the pregnant and lactating female goats may experience a greater exposure risk and burden of endoparasites. Therefore, female goats may be selectively targeted for implementing nutritional management, controlled grazing, and selective anthelmintic treatment during pregnancy and lactation to save cost and minimise excessive use of anthelmintic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This veterinary clinical and pathology case report describes a severe clinical case of theileriosis in adult cattle with prolonged recumbency and terminal wasting because of complications due to chronic theileriosis in two adult (2-year-old) Jersey-Friesian Cross. The case was referred to the large animal clinic of the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The animals were presented as recumbent, dull, depressed, hypothermic, dehydrated, and cachexic. There were poor responses of the patients to fluid therapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory treatments, and they both died within 24 hrs of clinical presentation. Haematology (complete blood count and serum biochemistry) results revealed haemoconcentration and faecal examinations were negative for liver fluke infestation and blood smear examination was positive for intraerythrocytic piroplasms of Theileria (0.01% parasitaemia). Post-mortem examination further revealed advanced cachexia, generalised serous atrophy of fat, hepatomegaly, hepatic congestion, pulmonary congestion, and pulmonary oedema. Histological findings revealed atrophy of the hepatic cord, hepatic congestion, splenic hemosiderosis, pulmonary oedema and congestion. The clinicopathological findings supported an aetiological diagnosis of a severe clinical case of Theileriosis with terminal wasting because of complications due to chronic Theileriosis infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research is a comparative study on the prevalence of parasites in marine finfish among the two major marine zones; namely the pelagic zone and benthic zone. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the parasite prevalence in both zones, as well as to determine the effect of differing marine zones regarding the presence of parasites in fish. A total of 30 individual fish occurring in pelagic and benthic zones were randomly selected from three different fishmongers at a wet market in Bintulu, Sarawak. Both the gill and stomach content of the samples were examined to detect the presence of parasites. Nematodes and trematodes were observed in the intestinal tract of the fish, Cymothoa exigua was found attached to the fish tongue, and monogenean parasites were also detected on the gills. The prevalence of the parasite was roughly equal in Setipinna breviceps, Ilisha megaloptera, and Selaroides leptolepis. The highest prevalence of parasites (87.50%) from fish in the benthic zone based on fish size was for fish measuring between 20.1 - 30.00 cm in total length (P-value=0.3778), whereas for pelagic fish, the highest prevalence of parasites (100%) in fish measurements of 30.1 - 40.0 cm in total length (P-value=0.0044). A major factor for the diversity of marine fish parasites occurring in the different zones is the difference in feeding behavior of the hosts and depth distribution which resulted in low or high rates of parasite infestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current knowledge of abnormal physiological responses in livestock due to consumption of substandard water is limited. This study was designed to explore the host cell responses in mice orally inoculated with different drinking water qualities from selected dairy cattle farms. A total of 28 female mice used in this study were divided into Group 1- negative control (treated with sterile deionized distilled water), Group 2 - treated with good quality water sample, Group 3 - treated with moderate quality water sample, and Group 4 - treated with unsatisfactory quality water sample. All the mice were given 0.25 mL of water samples three times daily for 30 days. Blood samples were collected from all mice before euthanasia at 30 days post-inoculation for reproductive hormones and biomarkers analyses. All treatment groups showed significant (p<0.05) weight loss compared to the control group. There was a significant difference in the serum immunoglobulin-G (IgG), immunoglobulin-M (IgM), interleukin-12 (IL-12), haptoglobin (Hp), and serum amyloid A (SAA) profiles of mice among the different water quality treatments as compared to the control group (p<0.05). In conclusion, the host cell responses exhibited by the mice in the treatment groups indicates a high risk of potential negative effect on the production and health of the livestock due to long-term consumption of drinking water with subpar quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]