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Health status of aboriginal children in Post Brooke, Kelantan

Tengku Ariff, R.H., Mohd Nazi, M.Z., Mohd Rizam, M.Z., Mohd Shahriman, M.S., Zakaria, Y., Kamal Nazmir, K., et al.

Malaysian Journal of Child Health, 1997;9(1):60-65.
MyJurnal

This study was conducted to determine the health status of aboriginal ("Orang Asli') children aged 0-12 years in Post Brooke, Gua Musang, Kelantan. This is done by appraising the environmental status, patterns of illnesses including communicable diseases and usage of health resources. Six villages were selected randomly from 12 villages in the area; 179 families were interviewed, 200 under-12-year-olds were examined and their blood samples taken for haemoglobin (HB) estimation as well as malarial screening. Water supply through Gravity Feed System (GFS) was used by 134 families (70.2%) whilst the rest obtained water direct from the river for the purpose. Only 63.6% of families boiled their drinking water 56.4% families threw rubbish indiscriminately, while 82.1% used the river as their toilets. Eighty-seven percent of the families saw the village medicine man first when ill. Forty (22.2%) children had had serious illnesses including malaria and 24 were admitted to hospitals. 15% of the children had never been immunized. A total of 102 (51%) children were pale and 90 (45%) had brown hair. Eighty nine (44.5%) of the children were anaemic (Hb < 10 gm/di). Sixty-nine children (34%) had dental caries. Forty-two (21%) had distended abdomen and 37 (18.5%) had hepatomegaly. Out of 84 stool samples examined, 67 (79.8%) had helminthic ova. Of all families, 47.1% gave a past history of at least one baby among their children who had died due to one reason or another. The health status of this community (especially children) was low that it warrants special attention.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
The effect of providing expressed breast milk on infection rates, mortality and breast feeding of preterm babies

Ram, S.P., Zabidi Azhar M Hussin

Malaysian Journal of Child Health, 1997;9(1):83-87.
MyJurnal

Two active interventions were carried out in order to encourage breast feeding of low birth weight (LBW) neonates who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Universiti Sains Malaysia. These were the establishment of (a) an effective transport system for conveying expressed breast milk (EBM) from the motherk home to the neonatal intensive care unit and (b) providing rooming-infacilities in the neonatal ward. The EBM was transported by a male health assistant, by the parents themselves or by the local bus company. A total of 473 babies were admitted from April 1994 to September 1995. Thirty-three babies weighed between 540-1000g and 440 were between 1001-2000g. A total of 226 (47.8%) babies were given mixed formula (less than 20% of daily needs) and EBM feeds (Group A) and 247 (52.2%) were given only formula feeds (Group B). A total of 79 babies died of which 5 were in Group A and 74 were in group B. (P value is 0.00). In Group A, 45 babies had clinical sepsis, 9 of whom were blood culture positive. Four of these babies died. In group B, out of 108 babies with clinical sepsis 36 were blood culture positive. 29 died because of the sepsis This study shows that by providing an effective transport system for breast milk expressed at home and the availability of roomingfacilities in the neonatal ward a significant number of LBW babies admitted to the NICU continue to receive their mothers' milk. The incidence of nosocomial sepsis and the over all mortality due to sepsis was significantly higher in those on full formulafeeding compared to those given mixed formula and expressed breast milk.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
Fulltext Potential of fermented papaya beverage in the prevention of foodborne illness incidence

Koh, S.P., Aziz, N., Sharifudin, S.A., Abdullah, R., Hamid, N.S.A., Sarip, J.

Food Research, 2017;1(4):109-113.
MyJurnal

Foodborne illness is recognized as an emerging infectious disease. The incidence of foodborne
infections is common and the majority cases are undiagnosed or unreported. Apart from some
diarrhea or minor gastrointestinal problem, some foodborne pathogenic microbes may cause
death, particularly to those people with weakened immune system. In this study, we have
developed a new fermented papaya beverage using symbiotic culture of yeast and acetic acid
bacteria under controlled biofermentation process. An in-vitro assessment of fermented papaya
beverage against few foodborne pathogenic microorganism was conducted to determine
its minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC>99). Three types of foodborne pathogen:
Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 53648, Salmonella
enterica serovar Enteritidis (isolated from infectious chicken) were selected. From minimum
bactericidal concentration (MBC>99) assay, both fermented papaya pulp and leaves beverages
have shown 100% killing rate against three selected foodborne pathogenic microbes. Inversely,
non-fermented papaya pulp and leaves beverages indicated no inhibition at all. In fact, further
dilution of fermented papaya pulp and leaves beverages demonstrated different degree of
MBC>99 and brix value, but the pH value remained less than 3.5. These findings indicated
the combination of soluble solid compounds presents in both fermented papaya beverage and
product acidity play an important role in the inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms. The
preliminary promising results of this work have shown that the great potential of fermented
papaya beverages as a preventive measure to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases, Emerging
Malaysian society and health: issues and challenges in the 21st century

Wong YL, Mohd Amin J

JUMMEC, 2005;8:53-58.

Malaysia, like many aspiring developing countries, is undergoing a health transition that has seen the concomitant decrease in communicable diseases and increase in chronic diseases due to urbanization, modernization and ageing population. Health in the Malaysian society will thus increasingly focus on emerging problems that are both chronic and infectious in nature, such as, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, mental health, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. Re-emerging diseases previously well-controlled, such as, tuberculosis for instance is another addition to these immediate health issues facing Malaysian society today. Despite the tremendous health gains and above average health status that Malaysians now enjoy, we are compelled to take stock of these urgent issues as well as to anticipate and handle serious challenges to our health in the 21st century. In this paper, we review the changing trends and discuss related challenges in disease pattern, environmental health, demographic impacts on health, migration influxes and health, effects of globalization on health, mental health and wellness as well as fundamental access and equality in health care. Being proactive, resilient and innovative, Malaysian society would forge ahead towards our Vision for Health in this new era. KEYWORDS: Society and health, health trends and issues, Vision for Health, Malaysia

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
Fulltext Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception of Community Pharmacists to Zika Virus Infection in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Lim KY, Tham HW

Health services insights, 2020;13:1178632920921425.
PMID: 32528223 DOI: 10.1177/1178632920921425

Background: Zika fever is a mosquito-borne disease with global health concern. It has been underreported or misdiagnosed due to its unspecific clinical manifestations, including mild-influenza like and subclinical symptoms. However, its associated serious complications which include fetal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome remained a challenge to the public health sectors. This research aimed to evaluate the knowledge, awareness, and perception toward Zika virus infection among community pharmacists in the Klang Valley of Malaysia and to determine the association between the knowledge of Zika virus infectious disease and years of community practice experience among community pharmacists in this region.
Methods: This survey research was conducted from August to December 2018 through a pre-tested, self-administration, and cross-sectional random convenient sampling at various districts in the Klang Valley. A total of 275 registered community pharmacists were involved in this study by completing a pilot-tested questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to analyze the data.
Results: The knowledge toward Zika virus infection of respondents was classified into "poor" (5.1%), "basic" (70.9%), and "broad" (24.0%). Most of the participants (n = 195, 70.9%) presented with basic knowledge toward Zika virus infection. A total of 268 (97.5%) participants presented with high awareness toward Zika virus infection. The mean score of respondents' knowledge and awareness was 15.88 ± 3.61 (maximum score = 28) and 13.96 ± 1.60 (maximum score = 16), respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the years of practice of community pharmacists and the level of knowledge toward Zika virus infection.
Conclusions: In conclusion, our respondents demonstrated a basic level of knowledge and high awareness toward Zika virus infection. Also, we highlighted some possible pitfalls in the knowledge of Zika virus infection, including the virus transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and complications of the disease.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
Fulltext Rare Clinical Presentation of Tuberculous Meningitis: A Case Report

Tan JL, Nordin S, Besari AM

Malays J Med Sci, 2017 Oct;24(5):119-123.
PMID: 29386980 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/mjms2017.24.5.14

Introduction: Tuberculosis is the second leading cause of death under the category of infectious diseases, after the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) constitutes about 5% of all extrapulmonary disease worldwide. This report describes a case of Tuberculous meningitis with rare presentation in a 28-year-old woman, who was treated based on a collection of her social background, clinical findings and Multiplex PCR of tuberculosis.
Case presentation: A 28-year-old Malay woman with no significant medical history presented to HUSM with one month history of on and off fever, two weeks history of generalised limbs weakness and one week history of dysphagia. She was reported to have experienced visual hallucination and significant weight loss. Her laboratory result is significant for leukocytosis, elevated ESR and hypernatremia. Non-enhanced and contrast CT scan of the brain showed severe bilateral frontal cerebral atrophy. Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) for multiplex PCR for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex was positive. She was promptly started on anti-TB regime combined with dexamethasone. Subsequent follow-up showed significant improvement.
Conclusion: This is a rare clinical manifestation of Tuberculous meningitis that demonstrates the importance of recognising and initiating the treatment early to reduce disabilities and improve clinical outcome.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
Fulltext Public awareness of HIV/AIDS: how media play a role?

Tham JS, Zanuddin H

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 2015 Jul;46(4):669-79.
PMID: 26867387

Abstract. This paper examines the effectiveness of media in public awareness of the HIV/AIDS issue among the public in an area in central Selangor, comprising Kuala Lumpur and its surroundings and suburbs in Malaysia. Cross-sectional survey questionnaires were distributed to 384 respondents about accessing the public awareness of modes of HIV transmission, perceptions and attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as people's understanding about government policies to curb HIV/AIDS. Health care practitioners and newspapers were the preferred sources of information seeking on HIV/AIDS among the public. Most of the respondents were aware of the modes of HIV transmission. However, they were some respondents who still have misconceptions about the modes of transmission. Most of the respondents were not aware about the government's significant policies to address HIV/AIDS in the region. Overall, the respondents had certain knowledge about HIV transmission modes and moderate positive perceptions and attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS. Future studies should be conducted to examine about who sets the agenda in the media, and apart from gatekeepers, who are the real decision makers in deciding what is important to inform the public.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
Emerging viral diseases

Nichol ST, Arikawa J, Kawaoka Y

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2000 Nov 07;97(23):12411-2.
PMID: 11035785
Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases, Emerging/virology*
Cytotoxicity and Toxicological Studies of Artocarpus altilis Extracts, Inducing Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest via CASPASE-3 and CASPASE-8 Pathways Against Human Breast MCF-7 Cells

Jalal T, Natto HA, Wahab RA

Comb Chem High Throughput Screen, 2021 Mar 01.
PMID: 33653245 DOI: 10.2174/1386207324666210302095557

In recent biomedical research, the area of cancer and infectious diseases has a leading position in the utilization of medicinal plants as a source of drug discovery. Malaysia has a diversity and a large number of underutilized fruits that are rich in phenolic compounds. Artoarpus altilis consider an underutilized fruit that is rich in phenolic compounds. Methanol extracts of A. altilis have been previously found to contain a high content of antioxidant phytochemicals. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and toxicological effect of methanol fruit extracts against MCF-7 cells. To determine the least concentration that might kill or suppress the growth of the cancer cells was in a concentration-dependent manner approach. The variation in the cytotoxic activity among the extracts was indicated by determining the IC50 of each extract against cells at 72 h. The IC50 of the samples was measured using a trypan blue exclusion assay. The methanol extract of the pulp part showed the least inhibition concentration of 15.40±0.91 μg/mL on MCF-7 cells. In the study, the molecular mechanism of methanol extracts-induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrested in human cancer cells were investigated in a time-dependent-manners approach by using flow cytometry. The treated cells were stained with nexin to detect early and late apoptosis and with propidium iodide (PI) for cell cycle arrest associated with the DNA fragmentation, various cell arrests occurred at G1/S, S, and G2/M phases. Lastly, the gene expression analysis by (RT-qPCR) method was carried out by analyzing the expression of the gene of interest for the quantification of mRNA levels. Results after cells treated with IC50 were revealed by upregulating anti-apoptotic genes/downregulated of pro-apoptotic BCL-2 gene expressions were triggered the treated cells into CASPASE-3, intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. These findings suggest that the methanol extracts of three parts of A. altilis fruit have potential anticancer activity against MCF-7 cells mainly the pulp part of the fruit.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
Fulltext Clinical manifestation and genetic analysis of familial rare disease genodermatosis xeroderma pigmentosum

Yuniati R, Sihombing NRB, Nauphar D, Tiawarman B, Kartikasari DS, Dewi M, et al.

Intractable Rare Dis Res, 2021 May;10(2):114-121.
PMID: 33996357 DOI: 10.5582/irdr.2020.03143

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by hypersensitivity of the skin to ultraviolet radiation and other carcinogenic agents. This ailment is characterized by increased photosensitivity, skin xerosis, early skin aging, actinic keratosis, erythematous lesions, and hyperpigmentation macules. In this serial case report, we presented four cases with XP from two families in Indonesia. Both families were referred from rural referral health centers, and each family has two affected siblings. They had freckle-like pigmentation on the face, trunk, and extremities, which progressed since childhood. One patient of family 2 died because of an infectious disease. Histopathological examination using cytokeratine (CK), CD10, and Ber-EP4 staining from available tissue biopsy of one affected case of family 1 identified basal cell carcinoma (BCC) on the cheek and melanoma on the right eye. Mutation analysis found ERCC2, c2047C>T and XPC, c1941T>A in the first and second families, respectively. We suppose that this is the first case report of XP in Indonesia that incorporates clinical examination, genetic analysis, and extensive histopathological examination, including immunohistochemistry staining, and a novel pathogenic variant of XPC was found in the second family.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases
Intracellular survival and innate immune evasion of Burkholderia cepacia: Improved understanding of quorum sensing-controlled virulence factors, biofilm, and inhibitors

Ganesh PS, Vishnupriya S, Vadivelu J, Mariappan V, Vellasamy KM, Shankar EM

Microbiol. Immunol., 2020 Feb;64(2):87-98.
PMID: 31769530 DOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.12762

Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) are opportunistic pathogens implicated with nosocomial infections, and high rates of morbidity and mortality, especially in individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). B. cepacia are naturally resistant to different classes of antibiotics, and can subvert the host innate immune responses by producing quorum sensing (QS) controlled virulence factors and biofilms. It still remains a conundrum as to how exactly the bacterium survives the intracellular environment within the host cells of CF patients and immunocompromised individuals although the bacterium can invade human lung epithelial cells, neutrophils, and murine macrophages. The mechanisms associated with intracellular survival in the airway epithelial cells and the role of QS and virulence factors in B. cepacia infections in cystic fibrosis remain largely unclear. The current review focuses on understanding the role of QS-controlled virulence factors and biofilms, and provides additional impetus to understanding the potentials of QS-inhibitory strategies against B. cepacia.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases, Emerging
Fulltext Evidence of Coronavirus (CoV) Pathogenesis and Emerging Pathogen SARS-CoV-2 in the Nervous System: A Review on Neurological Impairments and Manifestations

Jha NK, Ojha S, Jha SK, Dureja H, Singh SK, Shukla SD, et al.

J Mol Neurosci, 2021 Nov;71(11):2192-2209.
PMID: 33464535 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-020-01767-6

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an issue of global significance that has taken the lives of many across the world. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for its pathogenesis. The pulmonary manifestations of COVID-19 have been well described in the literature. Initially, it was thought to be limited to the respiratory system; however, we now recognize that COVID-19 also affects several other organs, including the nervous system. Two similar human coronaviruses (CoV) that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-1) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) are also known to cause disease in the nervous system. The neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection are growing rapidly, as evidenced by several reports. There are several mechanisms responsible for such manifestations in the nervous system. For instance, post-infectious immune-mediated processes, direct virus infection of the central nervous system (CNS), and virus-induced hyperinflammatory and hypercoagulable states are commonly involved. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and its variants, dysfunction of taste and smell, and muscle injury are numerous examples of COVID-19 PNS (peripheral nervous system) disease. Likewise, hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke, encephalitis, meningitis, encephalopathy acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, endothelialitis, and venous sinus thrombosis are some instances of COVID-19 CNS disease. Due to multifactorial and complicated pathogenic mechanisms, COVID-19 poses a large-scale threat to the whole nervous system. A complete understanding of SARS-CoV-2 neurological impairments is still lacking, but our knowledge base is rapidly expanding. Therefore, we anticipate that this comprehensive review will provide valuable insights and facilitate the work of neuroscientists in unfolding different neurological dimensions of COVID-19 and other CoV associated abnormalities.

Matched MeSH terms: Communicable Diseases, Emerging

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