Herbal medicines and natural herb extracts are widely used as alternative treatments for various parasitic diseases, and such extracts may also have potential to decrease the side effects of the standard regimen drugs used to treat toxoplasmosis (sulfadiazine-pyrimethamine combination). We evaluated how effective the Thai piperaceae plants Piper betle, P. nigrum and P. sarmentosum are against Toxoplasma gondii infection in vitro and in vivo. Individually, we extracted the piperaceae plants with ethanol, passed them through a rotary evaporator and then lyophilized them to obtain crude extracts for each one. The in vitro study indicated that the P. betle extract was the most effective extract at inhibiting parasite growth in HFF cells (IC50 on RH-GFP: 23.2 μg/mL, IC50 on PLK-GFP: 21.4 μg/mL). Furthermore, treatment of experimental mice with the P. betle extract for 7 days after infection with 1,000 tachyzoites of the T. gondii PLK strain increased their survival (survival rates: 100% in 400 mg/kg-treated, 83.3% in 100 mg/kg-treated, 33.3% in 25 mg/kg-treated, 33.3% in untreated mice). Furthermore, treatment with 400 mg/kg of the P. betle extract resulted in 100% mouse survival following infection with 100,000 tachyzoites. The present study shows that P. betle extract has the potential to act as a medical plant for the treatment of toxoplasmosis.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is one of the most important transboundary and emerging diseases in cattle. The disease causes significant economic losses in animal production and trade worldwide. The first LSD outbreak was recorded in March 2021, at Roi‐Et province in the northeastern region of Thailand. Thereafter, the disease had rapidly spread into neighbouring provinces and throughout the country. The aim of the present study was to provide information regarding to the molecular detection and characterization of LSD viruses from outbreaks in Thailand in 2021. There were 1,748,112 susceptible and 604,404 affected animals (n = 588,512 [36.30%], beef cattle; n = 12,367 [15.74%], dairy cattle and n = 3524 [7.35%], buffaloes). The morbidity and mortality rates were 34.57% and 3.47%, respectively, and the case fatality rate was 10.05% (60,713 deaths). Based on real‐time polymerase chain reaction results, the p32 gene of LSD virus (LSDV) was detected more frequently in skin nodule samples (54/77, 70.13%) than in nasal swabs (26/55, 42.57%) and EDTA blood (16/77, 20.78%) samples. Moreover, the copy number of the p32 gene was higher in skin nodule samples than in nasal swab and EDTA blood samples (cycle threshold value = 21.94 ± 0.62 vs. 31.52 ± 0.66 and 34.27 ± 0.32, respectively). Furthermore, 29 (53.70%) of 54 capripoxvirus‐positive skin nodule samples were successfully isolated from Madin–Darby bovine kidney cells, and the cytopathic effect was observed 72 h after inoculation. Based on the phylogenetic trees of the GPCR, ANK and RPO30 gene sequences, the LSDV isolates from Thailand were distinct from both the LSDV‐field and LSDV‐vaccine groups and were closely correlated with the LSDV strains isolated from mainland China, Hong Kong territory and Vietnam in 2020. Additionally, they could be a potential virulent vaccine‐recombinant LSDV strain.

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The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae), and the horse fly, Tabanus megalops (Diptera: Tabanidae), are important ectoparasites of livestock in Thailand. These species affect animal health and cause economic losses. This study investigated the insecticidal activity of Plectranthus amboinicus essential oil against S. calcitrans and T. megalops through contact and fumigant toxicity tests and evaluated the effects of the essential oil on these flies through histopathological and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies. The results of the contact toxicity test indicated that the median lethal dose against S. calcitrans and T. megalops was 12.05 and 131.41 µg/fly, and the 90% lethal dose was 45.53 and 200.62 µg/fly, respectively. The results of the fumigant toxicity test showed that the median lethal concentration against S. calcitrans and T. megalops was 1.34 and 7.12 mg/L air, and the 90% lethal concentration was 4.39 and 30.37 mg/L air, respectively. Histopathology revealed neuronal degeneration in the brain of S. calcitrans and interstitial neuronal edema of the brain and ovarian necrosis in T. megalops. No external morphological changes were observed via SEM. Given its insecticidal properties against S. calcitrans and T. megalops, P. amboinicus essential oil could be developed into a natural insecticide to control these fly species.