Objective: This short study describes the occurrence of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in two major wet markets in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: 30 rodents (20 rats and 10 shrews) were caught in 2 wet markets, and a postmortem was performed to extract both kidneys. Molecular diagnosis via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted to detect leptospiral DNA using universal and pathogenic Leptospira primers, respectively. Results: The results showed that 20/28 (72%) rat samples were detected positive for Leptospira spp, and all shrews were negative. Further sequencing analysis identified L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii as the most frequently Leptospirosis species from kidney samples. Conclusions: The presented study here sheds light on the presence of pathogenic leptospires har¬boring the rat population in both wet markets in Kelantan, which presents a great public health risk to wet market workers and visitors.

Oroxylum indicumalso known as ‘pucukbeko’ in Malaysia is often consumed as raw salad (ulam) due to the belief that the plant has numerous therapeutics activities that could improve health. Despite its medicinal potential,however, there has been very limited data on the plant’s safety and toxicity profile particularly for long term consumption. More depth insight and evidence-based studies are needed to verify its safety as a potential herb. Therefore, this study aims to investigate sub acute oral toxicity of ethanol extract of O. indicum in C57BL/6 male mice. Twenty-five mice (n=5) were orally administered at single dose of normal saline (control), vehicle (5% DMSO), extracts (100, 200 and 500 mg/kg bw), respectively in accordance with OECD Guideline 420 for 28 days. Liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, testes, spleen,and blood samples were collected to determine the effects of the extract on the relative organ weight, tissue changes, and blood profile alterations in the end of the study. The sub-acute toxicity results demonstrated no lethal effects and abnormal behavioural changes in mice treated with an expansion dose up to a maximum of 500 mg/kg. No significant (p>0.05) changes in body weights, relative organ weight and haematological evaluation. Nevertheless, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the urea, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and alanine transaminase (ALT) values but the levels were still within the acceptable range. Histopathological analysis of the liver and kidney tissues also revealed no striking lesions. This study displays that mice treated with an increasing dose ofO. indicum leaf ethanolic extract up to a maximum 500mg/kg bw did not cause any toxicological effects and considered safe to be consumed and used for therapeutic purposes

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This is the first case report highlighting the application of an in-house autogenous vaccine for the treatment of bovine cutaneous papillomatosis Type 2 in a Jersey crossbred cow in Malaysia. A sample of papilloma growth was excised, homogenised, treated using 0.5% (v/v) formalin and performed microbiological examinations for sterility check. The solution was then administered subcutaneously to the cattle at seven days interval for four weeks. The papilloma growth on the affected cattle regressed rapidly following treatment, and there were no undesirable side effects and recurrences observed. The use of autogenous vaccine as an alternative treatment for bovine papillomatosis is preferred over surgical excision as it is proven effective, safe, and low chances of recurrence.