Fifty samples of chicken, duck and geese faeces were obtained from 13 wet markets in Kuala Lumpur to study the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) among local market poultry. Biotyping of colonies grown on azide agar incubated at 45 degrees C yielded E. pseudoavium, E. faecalis, E. faecium and E. gallinarum from chicken faeces and E. malodoratus, E. faecalis, E. faecium, E. gal...

Viral haemorrhagic disease virus (VHDV) of rabbits is a small, nonenveloped DNA virus which contains a linear, single-stranded genome approximately 7,000 bases in length. The virions are icosahedral in symmetry, consisting of 180 subunits with pentamer-hexamer clustering. The capsid is composed of four structural polypeptides: VP1:60-61 kDa, VP2:54.7 kDa, VP3:52 kDa, and VP4:26-28 kDa. VP1 is a...

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV) is a virulent pathogen that emerged in the late 1970s, probably originating from feline panleukopenia virus (FPLV) or a closely related carnivore parvovirus belonging to the feline parvovirus (FPV) subspecies. In contrast to FPLV, CPV has evolved rapidly since its emergence. The original antigenic type of CPV disappeared more than two decades ago and several new a...

The rep-PCR DNA fingerprint technique using BOX A1R primer was investigated. DNA fingerprints were generated from Escherichia coli strains isolated from human, duck, goose, gull, and heron sources. Optimization tools (use of restriction enzymes, BSA, DMSO, and storage buffer) were used in an attempt to generate clear, well-defined DNA fingerprints from the Escherichia coli isolates. Initial stu...

Olson, Storrs L., and Alan Feduccia. Presbyornis and the Origin of the Anseriformes (Aves: Charadriomorphae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, number 323, 24 pages, 15 figures, 1980.—Evidence purportedly allying the Anseriformes with the Galliformes is discredited. The discovery of vestigial lamellae in the Anhimidae, in addition to the characters these birds share with the anomalous Austr...

A bird species is regarded as alien invasive if it has been introduced, intentionally or accidentally, to a location where it did not previously occur naturally, becomes capable of establishing a breeding population without further intervention by humans, spreads and becomes a pest affecting the environment, the local biodiversity, the economy and/or society, including human health. European St...

A method of fluorescent Polymerase Chain Reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was applied as an analytical and quantitative tool for meat identification. Following alignments of the nucleotide sequences, an oligonucleotide primer pair was designed to amplify the partial sequences within the 12S ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA) gene of mitochondrial DNA from porcine, caprine, and...