METHODS: A total of 2598 serum samples (1417 urban samples, 1181 rural samples) were randomly collected from adults ages 35-74 y. The presence of the dengue IgG antibody and neutralising antibodies to dengue virus (DENV) 1-4 was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the plaque reduction neutralisation test assay, respectively.
RESULTS: The prevalence of dengue IgG seropositivity was 85.39% in urban areas and 83.48% in rural areas. The seropositivity increased with every 10-y increase in age. Ethnicity was associated with dengue seropositivity in urban areas but not in rural areas. The factors associated with dengue seropositivity were sex and working outdoors. In dengue IgG-positive serum samples, 98.39% of the samples had neutralising antibodies against DENV3, but only 70.97% of them had neutralising antibodies against DENV4.
CONCLUSION: The high seroprevalence of dengue found in urban and rural areas suggests that both urban and rural communities are vital for establishing and sustaining DENV transmission in Malaysia.
METHODS: C. tropicalis isolates from sterile specimens were collected over a 12-month period. Conclusive identification was achieved biochemically with the ID 32 C kit. Susceptibility to nine antifungal agents was carried out using the colourimetric broth microdilution kit Sensititre YeastOne YO10. Biofilm-producing capability was evaluated by quantifying biomass formation spectrophotometrically following staining with crystal violet.
RESULTS: Twenty-four non-repetitive isolates of C. tropicalis were collected. The resistance rates to the triazole agents were 29.2% for fluconazole, 16.7% for itraconazole, 20.8% for voriconazole and 8.3% for posaconazole-the pan-azole resistance rate was identical to that of posaconazole. No resistance was recorded for amphotericin B, flucysosine or any of the echinocandins tested. A total of 16/24 (66.7%) isolates were categorized as high biomass producers and 8/24 (33.3%) were moderate biomass producers. None of our isolates were low biomass producers.
CONCLUSION: The C. tropicalis isolates from our centre were resistant only to triazole agents, with the highest resistance rate being recorded for fluconazole and the lowest for posaconazole. While this is not by itself alarming, the fact that our isolates were prolific biofilm producers means that even azole-susceptible isolates can be paradoxically refractory to antifungal therapy.
RESULTS: 96.6% (n=85) of H. pylori isolates were cagPAI-positive with 22.4% (19/85) having an intact cagPAI, whereas 77.6% (66/85) had a partial/rearranged cagPAI. The frequency of cag2 and cag14 were found to be significantly higher in H. pylori isolated from Malays, whereas cag4 was predominantly found in Chinese isolates. The cag24 was significantly found in higher proportions in Malay and Indian isolates than in Chinese isolates. The intactness of cagPAI region showed an association with histopathological scores of the gastric mucosa. Significant association was observed between H. pylori harbouring partial cagPAI with higher density of bacteria and neutrophil activity, whereas strains lacking cagPAI were associated with higher inflammatory score.
CONCLUSIONS: The genotypes of H. pylori strains with various cagPAI rearrangement associated with patients' ethnicities and histopathological scores might contribute to the pathogenesis of H. pylori infection in a multi-ethnic population.
METHODS: C. elegans was aliquoted onto the center of assay plates and allowed to migrate towards sepsis (T) or control (C) urine samples spotted on the same plate. The number of worms found in either (T) or (C) was scored at 10-minute intervals over a 60-minute period.
RESULTS: The worms were able to identify the urine (<48 hours) of sepsis patients rapidly within 20 minutes (AUROC=0.67, p=0.012) and infection within 40 minutes (AUROC=0.80, p=0.016).
CONCLUSIONS: CESDA could be further explored for sepsis diagnosis.