This paper reports a case of natural co-infection of Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) and Aeromonas veronii in a Malaysian red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus × O. mossambicus) farm. In May 2017, a tilapia farm operator reported a mass mortality among cultured red hybrid tilapia juveniles, approximately 45 days after introduction into earthen ponds. Affected fish showed lethargy, loss of appetite, swim near the pond edge, pale and isolated from schooling group. There were skin redness and haemorrhages, particularly at the operculum area and at the base of dorsal, caudal and anal fins. Histopathological examinations revealed swollen hepatocytes, haemorrhagic spleens and perivascular cuffing consisted of mononuclear cells in the brains. PCR and sequence analyses confirmed the presence of TiLV and A. veronii in the diseased fish. Phylogenetic tree revealed that Malaysian's TiLV strain was more closely related with the virus isolated in Israel than in Egypt or Thailand, while Malaysian's A. veronii strain 5L was closely related with strains from China. TiLV infection is a significant threat to global tilapia industry. However, synergistic co-infection of TiLV and other bacterial might aggravate the problem.

No abstract

No abstract

An unknown disease event in marine cage-cultured Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) was observed in Malaysia in September 2019, which affected adult-sized fish and resulted in significant mortality. Affected fish showed gross signs resembling scale drop disease such as lethargy, darkened dorsal part of the body, easily detached scales, severe scale loss, reddening and hemorrhage at the ventral part of the body, and tendency to swim at the water surface. Histopathological examinations revealed abnormal changes in multiple internal organs including vacuolated cytoplasm hepatocytes, necrotic kidney tubules, atrophied glomeruli, blood congestion and hemorrhage in the spleen and brain, as well as penetration of lymphocytic inflammatory cells. Notably, basophilic hypertrophied cells and intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies were occasionally observed in the liver, indicating suspected viral aetiology. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the presence of multiple viral particles in the cytoplasm of the infected cells. Subsequently, PCR and sequence analyses revealed that all affected fish were positive to scale drop disease virus (SDDV), which was absent from the clinically healthy fish. Phylogeny analysis based on complete ORF 060 L (encoding major capsid protein) revealed high similarity between the SDDV from Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. This study provides first evidence of SDDV infection in cultured Asian seabass in Malaysia. We thus recommend that active surveillance should be prioritized for concentrated Asian seabass farming areas in Malaysia to prevent spread of the disease nation-wide.

BackgroundClinacanthus nutans Lindau (C. nutans) is a species of in Acanthaceae family and primarily used in South East Asian countries. C. nutans is well known as Sabah snake grass in Malaysia, and its leaves have diverse medicinal potential in conventional applications, including cancer treatments. On the basis of literature search, there is less conclusive evidence of the involvement of phytochemical constituents in breast cancer, in particular, animal tumor models. The current study aimed to determine the antitumor and antioxidant activities of C. nutans extract in 4 T1 tumor-bearing mice.MethodsC. nutans leaves were subjected to methanol extraction and divided into two different concentrations, 200 mg/kg (low-dose) and 1000 mg/kg (high-dose). The antitumor effects of C. nutans extracts were assessed using bone marrow smearing, clonogenic, and splenocyte immunotype analyses. In addition, hematoxylin and eosin, tumor weight and tumor volume profiles also used to indicate apoptosis appearance. Serum cytokine levels were examined using ELISA assay. In addition, nitric oxide assay reflecting antioxidant activity was performed.ResultsFrom the results obtained, the methanol extract of C. nutans leaves at 200 mg/kg (P < 0.05) and 1000 mg/kg (P < 0.05) showed a significant decrease in nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the blood. On the other hand, C. nutans extract (1000 mg/kg) also showed a significant decrease in the number of mitotic cells, tumor weight, and tumor volume. No inflammatory and adverse reactions related to splenocytes activities were found in all treated groups of mice. Despite its promising results, the concentration of both C. nutans extracts have also reduced the number of colonies formed in the liver and lungs.ConclusionIn conclusion, C. nutans extracts exert antitumor and antioxidant activities against 4 T1 mouse breast model with no adverse effect and inflammatory response at high dose of 1000 mg/kg, indicating an effective and complementary approach for cancer prevention and treatment.