Background and Aim: Canine distemper (CD) caused by the CD virus (CDV) has a high mortality rate that severely affects dog populations and other terrestrial carnivores worldwide. However, the genetics of CDV strains circulating in various regions in Vietnam, especially the Mekong Delta, remains unclear. This study aimed to characterize the molecular status of CDV strains circulating in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Materials and Methods: Ocular/nasal swabs were collected from 550 dogs with clinically suspected CDV infection from veterinary clinics in three Vietnamese provinces. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction on the part of the hemagglutinin gene was performed. A phylogenetic tree was constructed to analyze the relationship between the detected CDV and GenBank sequences. Results: The molecular study demonstrated that 4.18% (23/550) of the dogs were positive for CDV. The clinical findings revealed that the positive dogs exhibited clinical signs of distemper. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the identified CDV sequences were clustered in the same branch with the genotype Asia-1 and distantly related to the vaccine strains. Notably, the CDV sequences detected in this study were grouped with the sequences previously found in southeast Vietnam; however, they were distant from those found in the north. Conclusion: The present study confirmed the presence of CDV and to the best of our knowledge, highlighted for the first time that the CDV strains circulating in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam belong to the genotype Asia-1. Keywords: canine, distemper virus, hemagglutinin gene, phylogenetic analysis, Vietnam.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious pathogen and causes a fatal systemic disease in domestic dogs and wild carnivores worldwide. Despite CDV infections being monitored globally, studies on CDV in Vietnam seem to be limited. This study, therefore, investigated the epidemiological, clinical, and molecular characteristics of CDV in the Mekong Delta (MD) region of Vietnam. A total of 6687 ocular/nasal swabs were collected from CDV-suspected dogs across seven cities/provinces. CDV infection was detected in 6.19% (414 dogs) of suspected dogs using a commercially available rapid kit, with infection associated with age, roaming status, and vaccination status. Hematological and blood biochemical analysis of CDV-infected dogs revealed anemia, leukopenia, neutrophilia, thrombocytopenia, a slight increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, and a significant increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels. Molecular characterization of partial hemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F) genes exhibited high nucleotide and amino acid homology with the Asia-1 genotype. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the field sequences were clustered into the Asia-1 genotype together with the neighboring countries. These findings provide important insights into the current epidemiological, clinical, and molecular features of CDV circulating in Vietnam.

Feline panleukopenia virus (FPV) belongs to the family Parvoviridae and causes an acute viral infection in cats worldwide. Information on the circulation of FPV among cats is currently limited in Vietnam. Herein, the full–length VP2 gene and molecular characteristics of FPV isolated in diarrhea cats in Can Tho City were first exhibited. Phylogenetic analysis based on seven obtained nucleotide sequences revealed that the isolated sequences were clustered into a narrow group with FPV sequences in the neighboring countries such as China, Thailand, and Japan, and distantly grouped with the vaccine strains. Regarding nucleotide and amino acid sequence analysis, the nucleotide and amino acid homology of 99.98–100% and 99.99–100% among obtained sequences, and showed high homology with reference sequences, accounting for 97.38–98.51% and 98.96–99.27%, respectively. Besides, the nucleotide and amino acid sequences were a homology of 98.51% and 99.26% with two vaccine strains in GenBank. Regarding amino acid translation, seven obtained sequences were closely related to FPV strains, meanwhile, they were different from CPV–2 strains in GenBank at amino acid substitutions of K80, K93 and V103. Overall, this is the first detection of FPV in diarrhea cats and illustrated the molecular characteristics of FPV in the cat population in Can Tho City of Vietnam.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of vitamin and β-glucan supplementations on growth performance of growing-finishing pigs in Ben Tre province. A total of 36 post-weaned piglets (Duroc x Yorkshire-Landrace) with the initial live weight of 17.42 kg±0.26, was allotted into 3 treatments and 4 replications in a completely randomized design. There were three diets, including basal diet (BD) without any addition of β-glucan or vitamin (diet CT), the BD supplemented with vitamin (diet Vit) and the BD supplemented with β-glucan (diet Glu). The results on growth parameters indicated that final live weight (kg), weight gain (kg), and average daily gain (g/head/day) of pigs in the experimental diets were significantly higher (P<0.01) than those in the control treatment. FCR was lowest in Glu and highest in the control (P<0.01). Financial benefit based on feed and veterinary expenses was higher in the vitamin and β-glucan supplement diets than that of the control from 15.74% to 18.98%, respectively.

Nghiên cứu cắt ngang trên 291 chó cái có biểu hiện bất thường ở cơ quan sinh dục từ tháng 12 năm 2020 đến tháng 06 năm 2021 tại Bệnh xá Thú y, Trường Đại học Cần Thơ với mục tiêu nhằm xác định tỷ lệ, triệu chứng lâm sàng thường gặp và đánh giá hiệu quả điều trị của các biện pháp can thiệp khi chó bị viêm tử cung tích mủ. Phương pháp chẩn đoán lâm sàng kết hợp với siêu âm được sử dụng để đánh giá trong nghiên cứu này. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy chó bị viêm tử cung tích mủ chiếm tỷ lệ 16,49%. Chó mắc bệnh thường xuất hiện các triệu chứng lâm sàng phổ biến như uống nhiều nước, chảy dịch âm đạo, bụng to bất thường, hay liếm âm hộ. Phân tích các yếu tố nguy cơ liên quan đến bệnh cho thấy có sự tương quan chặt chẽ giữa các yếu tố tiêm thuốc ngừa thai và chó nuôi thả rong đối với bệnh. Biện pháp điều trị bằng phẫu thuật đạt tỷ lệ thành công là 100% so với biện pháp điều trị bảo tồn (40%).

Infectious bursal disease is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease in the poultry industry worldwide caused by Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). However, the data on epidemiological and molecular characteristics of the IBDV outbreak in broiler flocks in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam is unclear. Herein, the epidemiological data of IBDV–positive flocks over a period of 2015–2018 were recorded and the hypervariable region of the VP2 gene of IBDV was amplified to analyze the local phylogeny. The current investigation showed that the overall morbidity and mortality rates of IBDV–positive flocks were 45% and 4.81%, respectively. The IBDV–positive birds occurred clinical signs and macroscopic findings involved with the very virulent (vv) IBDV outbreak. Epidemiological results revealed that IBDV was frequently infected in broiler flocks at 12–42 days, and birds belonging to Tau Vang and Binh Dinh breeds were more sensitive to IBDV. Also, the morbidity rate of IBDV was dramatically decreased in the open farming system. Flocks with complete vaccination significantly dropped morbidity in comparison with other groups. Regarding phylogenetic analysis, all identified IBDV sequences clustered in the same branch of vv phenotype and closely homology with prior strains circulated in Vietnam and other countries. These findings first indicated the epidemiological characteristics of the IBDV–positive broiler flocks in the Mekong Delta and highlighted the IBDV strain circulating in this region.