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.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective review concerned data for patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the years 1995 to 2011 collected from the Wilayah Persekutuan Health Office, taken from the cancer notification form (NCR-2), and patient medical records from the Surgical Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). A total of 146 cases were analyzed. All the data collected were analysed using ArcGIS version 10.0 and SPSS version 19.0.
RESULTS: Patients aged 60 to 69 years accounted for the highest proportion of cases (34.2%) and males slightly predominated 76 (52.1%), Chinese had the highest number of registered cases at 108 (74.0%) and staging revealed most cases in the 3rd and 4th stages. Kernel density analysis showed more cases are concentrated up in the northern area of Petaling and Kuala Lumpur subdistricts. Spatial global pattern analysis by average nearest neighbour resulted in nearest neighbour ratio of 0.75, with Z-score of -5.59, p value of <0.01 and the z-score of -5.59. Spatial autocorrelation (Moran's I) showed clustering significant with p<0.01, Z score 3.14 and Moran's Index of 0.007. When mapping clusters with hotspot analysis (Getis-Ord Gi), hot and cold spots were identified. Hot spot areas fell on the northeast side of KL.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated significant spatial patterns of cancer incidence in KL. Knowledge about these spatial patterns can provide useful information to policymakers in the planning of screening of CRC in the targeted population and improvement of healthcare facilities to provide better treatment for CRC patients.
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: The first strain isolated from each MSSA infection in HCTM during the year 2009 was included into the study. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and agr group typing were carried out for all strains; virulence gene (cna, seh, TSST-1 and PVL) typing results of the strains were obtained from a previous study. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was done on selected strains from the orthopedic ward. Relationship(s) between different typing methods used in the study was investigated, where a p value of <0.05 indicated significant association between typing methods.
Results: A total of 880 MSSA strains were included into the study. The strains were generally susceptible to most antibiotics, with most of them carrying cna and agr-I (51.6%, n=454; 39.8%, n=350, respectively). A total of 17 PFGE pulsotypes were identified using an 80% similarity cut-off value, where the main pulsotype (pulsotype E) consisted of 24 isolates (23.5%). agr-III strains were found to be usually positive for both cna and seh (p<0.05). In addition, some PFGE pulsotypes were also characteristic of certain virulence genes or agr groups.
Conclusions: We did not identify a dominant MSSA clone circulating in HCTM in 2009. Nevertheless, results from this molecular surveillance will provide good baseline data for the hospital's second S. aureus surveillance planned for the year 2020.