@article{Mohammad_Al-Mekhlafi_Moktar_Anuar_2018, title={Molecular detection and subtyping of Blastocystis in Javan rusa (Cervus timorensis) and sika deer (Cervus nippon) from Peninsular Malaysia}, volume={48}, url={https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/tjvm/article/view/137884}, abstractNote={<p><span class="fontstyle0">Blastocystis </span><span class="fontstyle2">is a unicellular, globally distributed intestinal parasite not only in humans but also in a wide range<br>of animals. Seventeen subtypes (ST) have been described and some ST which display low host specificity with isolates<br>from humans have been demonstrated to be closely related to isolates from animals and may be zoonotic. To date, no<br>information is available on the prevalence and genetic identity of </span><span class="fontstyle0">Blastocystis </span><span class="fontstyle2">in Javan rusa (</span><span class="fontstyle0">Cervus timorensis</span><span class="fontstyle2">) and sika<br>deer (</span><span class="fontstyle0">Cervus nippon</span><span class="fontstyle2">) in Peninsular Malaysia. In this study, 100 fecal samples from Javan rusa and sika deer (< 2 years<br>old) were collected from Sungai Jin Deer Farm, Pahang, located in the east coast of Malaysia, from February to March<br>2015. </span><span class="fontstyle0">Blastocystis</span><span class="fontstyle2">-specific primers targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene were used to amplify the extracted<br>DNA. </span><span class="fontstyle0">Blastocystis</span><span class="fontstyle2">-positive amplicons were then purified and sequenced. Phylogenetic tree of positive isolates, reference<br>strains and outgroup were constructed using a maximum likelihood method based on Hasegawa-KishinoYano+G+Imodel. The prevalence of </span><span class="fontstyle0">Blastocystis </span><span class="fontstyle2">infection in Javan rusa and sika deer based on PCR detection was 28%<br>(14/50) and 32% (16/50), respectively. It was revealed through phylogenetic analysis that these species belonged to<br>ST10, an uncommon zoonotic subtype. To the best of our knowledge, this is the latest study in Peninsular Malaysia<br>which successfully isolated </span><span class="fontstyle0">Blastocystis </span><span class="fontstyle2">in these animals. Besides, the findings highlight that </span><span class="fontstyle0">Blastocystis </span><span class="fontstyle2">is carried by<br>deer and it can be a potential reservoir for parasites. However, this eliminates the risk of zoonotic transmission amongst<br>this species, as ST10 has never been reported in human infection worldwide, in particular Malaysia.</span> </p>}, number={2}, journal={The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine}, author={Mohammad, Nabilah Amelia and Al-Mekhlafi, Hesham M. and Moktar, Norhayati and Anuar, Tengku Shahrul}, year={2018}, month={Aug.}, pages={295–301} }