Chrysomya bezziana in pet dogs in Hong Kong: a potential threat to Australia

Canine brucellosis, a worldwide zoonotic disease, is mainly caused by Brucella canis. In the present study, we isolated a Brucella strain (CD3) from a subclinically infected pet dog in Sichuan Province, Southwestern China. Classical biotyping methods and molecular biological tests (BCSP31 and BcSS PCR) proved that the strain belonged to B. canis. Furthermore, B. canis CD3 and another two B. canis strains (WJ5 and YA4), which were all isolated from pet dogs in Sichuan, were genotyped using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Our results showed that the three B. canis strains were identified as the same sequence type (ST21). The present study is the first to report B. canis strain from a subclinically infected pet dog in China, indicating a potential threat to public health posed by subclinical infections in pet dogs. We suggest that screening for B. canis should be incorporated into routine medical examination of pet dogs and other companion animals in areas with a history of animal or human brucellosis.

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Retrospective study of Old World screwworm fly (Chrysomya bezziana) myiasis in 59 dogs in Hong Kong over a one year period

Australian Veterinary Journal ◽

10.1111/j.1751-0813.2004.tb12677.x ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 82 (4) ◽

pp. 211-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

JC MCNAE ◽

SJ LEWIS

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Retrospective Study ◽

Old World ◽

Screwworm Fly ◽

One Year ◽

Chrysomya Bezziana

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Adaptive amino acid substitutions enable transmission of an H9N2 avian influenza virus in guinea pigs

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-56122-6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Liu Lina ◽

Chen Saijuan ◽

Wang Chengyu ◽

Lu Yuefeng ◽

Dong Shishan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Avian Influenza ◽

Avian Influenza Virus ◽

Reverse Genetics ◽

Amino Acid Substitutions ◽

Potential Threat ◽

Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus ◽

The Impact

AbstractH9N2 is the most prevalent low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) in domestic poultry in the world. Two distinct H9N2 poultry lineages, G1-like (A/quail/Hong Kong/G1/97) and Y280-like (A/Duck/Hong Kong/Y280/1997) viruses, are usually associated with binding affinity for both α 2,3 and α 2,6 sialic acid receptors (avian and human receptors), raising concern whether these viruses possess pandemic potential. To explore the impact of mouse adaptation on the transmissibility of a Y280-like virus A/Chicken/Hubei/214/2017(H9N2) (abbreviated as WT), we performed serial lung-to-lung passages of the WT virus in mice. The mouse-adapted variant (MA) exhibited enhanced pathogenicity and advantaged transmissibility after passaging in mice. Sequence analysis of the complete genomes of the MA virus revealed a total of 16 amino acid substitutions. These mutations distributed across 7 segments including PB2, PB1, PA, NP, HA, NA and NS1 genes. Furthermore, we generated a panel of recombinant or mutant H9N2 viruses using reverse genetics technology and confirmed that the PB2 gene governing the increased pathogenicity and transmissibility. The combinations of 340 K and 588 V in PB2 were important in determining the altered features. Our findings elucidate the specific mutations in PB2 contribute to the phenotype differences and emphasize the importance of monitoring the identified amino acid substitutions due to their potential threat to human health.

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In the last ten years in Hong Kong, there has been a lot of public concern about the images of young people. Have youth subcultures been manufactured as being 'victim' or being very 'deviant' because they are seen as a potential threat to public order?

10.5353/th_b3619500 ◽

1997 ◽

Author(s):

Yuk-kwan Chan

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Young People ◽

Public Order ◽

Public Concern ◽

Potential Threat ◽

Youth Subcultures

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Retrospective study of Old World screw-worm fly (Chrysomya bezziana) myiasis in 59 dogs in Hong Kong over a one year period

Australian Veterinary Journal ◽

10.1111/j.1751-0813.2004.tb11160.x ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 82 (8) ◽

pp. 478-478

Author(s):

R RUBIRA

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Retrospective Study ◽

Old World ◽

One Year ◽

Chrysomya Bezziana

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First report of the molecular detection of Ancylostoma caninum in Lahore, Pakistan: the threat from pets

Veterinární Medicína ◽

10.17221/14/2017-vetmed ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 62 (No. 10) ◽

pp. 559-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. Rehman ◽

R. Akhtar ◽

H. Akbar ◽

F. Riaz ◽

I. Rashid ◽

...

Keyword(s):

The Novel ◽

Pcr Assay ◽

Potential Threat ◽

Ancylostoma Caninum ◽

Pet Dogs ◽

First Report ◽

Sedimentation Technique ◽

Routine Monitoring ◽

Faecal Samples ◽

Labrador Retrievers

The molecular prevalence of Ancylostoma caninum was determined in stray and pet dogs in Lahore, Pakistan from July 2014 to August 2015. A total of 500 dog faecal samples were first evaluated using a sedimentation technique and further through a PCR assay targeting the ITS-2 region of the A. caninum genome. Overall, 130 (26%) samples were positive for hookworm infestation by microscopic examination. Only microscopically positive samples were processed for PCR and 89 (17.6%) were positive for A. caninum. Sequence analysis of amplicons showed 100% homology with A. caninum and the genotypes clustered in one clade with Brazilian A. caninum hookworms. There was a significantly (P < 0.05) increased prevalence in male dogs younger than six months old. Labrador retrievers had higher A. caninum incidence compared to German shepherds and other breeds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the molecular prevalence of A. caninum in dogs in Pakistan. The novel results of the present study allow us to conclude that A. caninum is more prevalent in pet dogs, especially puppies, and this can be a potential threat for humans that come into contact with such animals. Therefore, the routine monitoring of pets, especially the more susceptible breeds, is essential for disease control.

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Neoliberal challenges in context: a case of Hong Kong

International Journal of Educational Management ◽

10.1108/ijem-06-2019-0220 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 641-652

Author(s):

Trevor Tsz-lok Lee ◽

Paula Kwan ◽

Benjamin Yuet Man Li

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Public Schools ◽

Performance Management ◽

School Leadership ◽

Government Expenditure ◽

Social Contexts ◽

School Education ◽

Potential Threat ◽

Content Type ◽

Social Good

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyze the neoliberal challenges and problems facing public schools in the particular Hong Kong context. Design/methodology/approach Based on a systematic and critical analysis on the history and socio-political context of Hong Kong’s school policies and practice as well as the official documents and statistics, this paper examines the impacts of neoliberalism in four main aspects of school education in Hong Kong: school governance, accountability, privatization and government expenditure. Findings Convergence, as well as deviation, on neoliberal globalization occurs in the particular Hong Kong context. School bureaucracy has irresistibly expanded. Policymakers have placed increasing emphasis on instrumentally evaluating schools while decentralizing, diversifying and privatizing education. School leadership has become focused solely on succeeding within those imposed performance management and metrics, pulling ahead of school competitions and prioritizing easily quantifiable and measurable tasks. Teachers have faced a potential threat from the loss of autonomy through the market logic and consumerist metrics. The rise of privatized education has further intensified school practices based on competitiveness and performativity. On the other hand, resource cutbacks and financial constraints – problems that are generally inflicted by neoliberal discourse – have rarely occurred in Hong Kong. Research limitations/implications This study is part of concerted efforts in research that adopts the comparative and critical perspectives emerging from different social contexts to consider and flesh out how neoliberalism look across the school systems, how it challenges the systems differently, and how it evokes various responses from within the systems (Apple, 2001). Taken all the efforts together, a finely nuanced understanding of the trails of neoliberalism can help collectively re-discover school education as a social good, and collectively re-imagine and reshape alternatives for the future. Originality/value This paper offers an international and comparative perspective and further nuances to an understanding of how neoliberal policies and ideology are recontextualized in countries across the globe given particularities of different local contexts.

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