The migratory birds were caught at migratory bird sanctuaries located in Kuala Gula, Perak (4.9330N, 100.467E) and Kapar, Selangor (3.13730N, 100.3744E). through salivary secretions during blood meals [4,7,9]. Following WNV contamination, the computer virus titers are higher in birds compared to other animals, and although most infected birds are asymptomatic, the increased levels of viremia in birds facilitates WNV transmission to mosquitoes during blood-meal [27]. Emerging and re-emerging CCR4 antagonist 2 zoonotic diseases contracted from wildlife such as Nipah virus-related illness, Japanese encephalitis (JE), rabies and avian influenza are endemic in Malaysia [10,13,14,25]. Besides, mosquitoes-borne diseases namely dengue, JE, chikungunya, zika, getah computer virus disease and malaria are prevalent in Malaysia [1,5,30,34,40]. As for WNV, evidence of the infection in 1.21% (9/742) in several says of Peninsular Malaysia [17] and 4.41% (3/68) in companion bird populations in Selangor [28] were demonstrated. Additionally, the Kunjin computer virus which is a WNV sub-type that is endemic in Australia was detected in Sarawak in 1970 from mosquitoes [6,20]. Being a warm and humid country, Malaysia provides the perfect environment for mosquitoes to flourish and thrive. The spp. and spp. of mosquitoes, known to be vectors of several tropical vector-borne diseases, are found common in Malaysia. The prevalence of WNV among wild birds has, until now, not been investigated in Malaysia. Since wild birds play a major role in WNV transmission and WNV is usually pathogenic to humans and animals, this study was carried out to determine the prevalence of WNV in wild birds in the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Furthermore, several studies have suggested the theory of migrant bird as the introductory host of WNV, and therefore the present study was conducted in two types of wild birds namely migratory and non-migratory (resident) birds to assess the possibility of the transmission of WNV from migratory birds to resident Rabbit polyclonal to Shc.Shc1 IS an adaptor protein containing a SH2 domain and a PID domain within a PH domain-like fold.Three isoforms(p66, p52 and p46), produced by alternative initiation, variously regulate growth factor signaling, oncogenesis and apoptosis. birds found in Malaysia. 2.?Materials and methods 2.1. Ethical and permit approval All experimental procedures were conducted following guidelines CCR4 antagonist 2 approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) with the reference number UPM/IACUC/AUP NO: R043/17. The sampling permit was also approved and granted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), Peninsular Malaysia with the research permit number JPHL&TN (IP): 100C6/1/14. 2.2. Sample collection A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence CCR4 antagonist 2 of WNV contamination in wild birds in selected areas at the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Birds owned as domestic pets were excluded from this study. Study sites were selected based on the areas where the migratory birds were generally seen in West Coast Malaysia. The migratory birds were caught at migratory bird sanctuaries located in Kuala CCR4 antagonist 2 Gula, Perak (4.9330N, 100.467E) and Kapar, Selangor (3.13730N, 100.3744E). Kuala Gula is located in the Perak state, an area with paddy cultivation and presence of mangroves. Meanwhile, Kapar is located in the Selangor state, where houses of electric power generating power plants are found and is surrounded by inundated water reservoirs. On the other hand, resident wild birds were sampled in the Perak state only, namely Kuala Gula and Parit Buntar (5.14740N, 100.4212E), where these birds have acclimated to living close to human residential areas. The birds were caught using mist and hand nets. As WNV is usually a zoonotic computer virus, the sampling was carried out by trained staff with appropriate personal protective gear according to biosafety guidelines. Sample collection was performed based on convenient sampling and was conducted in February 2016, May 2016 and October 2017, to coincide with the migratory birds landing period in Malaysia. A total of 260 wild birds ((Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, USA) for 10?min. All procedures were carried out in the class II, type A2 biosafety cabinet (Esco (M), Singapore). The labeled serum samples were stored at -80?C (SANYO Ultra Low, Osaka, Japan) until further analysis. 2.3.2. IgG based WNV Competitive-ELISA (c-ELISA) Serum samples were tested for WNV antibodies using commercial c-ELISA test kit (ID Screen West Nile Competition Multi-species ELISA, ID VET, Montpellier, France) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The kit was developed to detect IgG antibodies directed against the envelope protein (prE) of WNV. The prE monoclonal antibody used in the c-ELISA cross-reacts with antibodies against other members of the Flavivirus family namely, the Japanese encephalitis computer virus (JEV) and the tick-borne encephalitis computer virus (TBEV). Since the latter is not endemic in Malaysia, positive WNV serums were assessed.