Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 36 in total

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  1. Kaplan W, Arnstein P, Ajello L, Chandler F, Watts J, Hicklin M
    Mycopathologia, 1975 Jul 30;56(1):25-9.
    PMID: 1097931
    Spontaneous fatal aspergillosis occurred in several species of parrots imported from Latin America, Australia, Malaya and Ghana for studies on the control of psittacosis. Over a period of 4 years, 655 parrots were imported for use in these studies. All birds that died during these investigations were necropsied, and the internal organs of 45 were found to have macroscopic lesions suggestive of aspergillosis. Of these 45 suspected cases, 32 were confirmed as aspergillosis by both histopathology and culture, and three others by histopathology alone. There was no evidence that the remaining 10 had this disease. Of the 32 culturally confirmed cases, 13 were found to be caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, 16 by A. oryzae, and three by both fungi. In this series, three sets of circumstances appear to have been associated with the development of fatal aspergillosis. Their capture and transport to the United States, the administration of chlortetracycline used in the control of psittacosis, and the administration of cortisone acetate in an attempt to activate existent latent psittacosis infections. The possible causal relationship of these factors are discussed.
  2. Arianayagam S, Jayalakshmi P, Tuck Soon SH
    Mycopathologia, 1986 Mar;93(3):151-3.
    PMID: 3520330
    Pulmonary aspergilloma is by no means uncommon in Malaysia. The lack of documentation of its occurrence in Malaysia, is mainly due to the lack of clinical awareness, and the absence of facilities for the proper diagnosis of the infection.
  3. Jayalakshmi P, Looi LM, Soo-Hoo TS
    Mycopathologia, 1990 Jan;109(1):27-31.
    PMID: 2325747
    Nine cases of histologically diagnosed chromoblastomycosis are reported from Malaysia. All the patients were males and ranged in age from 56 to 65 years. The duration of symptoms varied from 5 months to 13 years. All the lesions were noted in the lower limbs. Malignancy was suspected clinically in 5 cases. The diagnosis was established by finding characteristic brown muriform cells in the tissue sections.
  4. Soon SH
    Mycopathologia, 1991 Mar;113(3):155-8.
    PMID: 2067562
    Two hundred and thirty soil samples from different localities were examined for the presence of geophilic keratinophilic fungi. Six species namely Microsporum gypseum--34 isolates, Chrysosporium keratinophilum--29, C. tropicum--20, Keratinophyton terreum--4, Trichophyton terrestre--8 and Chrysosporium species--3--were isolated. Most of these fungi were recovered from garden, field and river bank soil. The importance of these findings is briefly discussed.
  5. Abdullah N, Nawawi A, Othman I
    Mycopathologia, 1998;143(1):53-8.
    PMID: 10205885
    In a survey of starch-based foods sampled from retail outlets in Malaysia, fungal colonies were mostly detected in wheat flour (100%), followed by rice flour (74%), glutinous rice grains (72%), ordinary rice grains (60%), glutinous rice flour (48%) and corn flour (26%). All positive samples of ordinary rice and glutinous rice grains had total fungal counts below 10(3) cfu/g sample, while among the positive rice flour, glutinous rice flour and corn flour samples, the highest total fungal count was more than 10(3) but less than 10(4) cfu/g sample respectively. However, in wheat flour samples total fungal count ranged from 10(2) cfu/g sample to slightly more than 10(4) cfu/g sample. Aflatoxigenic colonies were mostly detected in wheat flour (20%), followed by ordinary rice grains (4%), glutinous rice grains (4%) and glutinous rice flour (2%). No aflatoxigenic colonies were isolated from rice flour and corn flour samples. Screening of aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1 and aflatoxin G2 using reversed-phase HPLC were carried out on 84 samples of ordinary rice grains and 83 samples of wheat flour. Two point four percent (2.4%) of ordinary rice grains were positive for aflatoxin G1 and 3.6% were positive for aflatoxin G2. All the positive samples were collected from private homes at concentrations ranging from 3.69-77.50 micrograms/kg. One point two percent (1.2%) of wheat flour samples were positive for aflatoxin B1 at a concentration of 25.62 micrograms/kg, 4.8% were positive for aflatoxin B2 at concentrations ranging from 11.25-252.50 micrograms/kg, 3.6% were positive for aflatoxin G1 at concentrations ranging from 25.00-289.38 micrograms/kg and 13.25% were positive for aflatoxin G2 at concentrations ranging from 16.25-436.25 micrograms/kg. Similarly, positive wheat flour samples were mostly collected from private homes.
  6. Ng KP, Madasamy M, Saw TL, Baki A, He J, Soo-Hoo TS
    Mycopathologia, 1999 10 26;144(3):135-40.
    PMID: 10531679
    The distribution of Candida species was examined using 1114 yeasts isolated from various clinical specimens. The isolates were identified by germ tube test, hyphal/pseudohyphae and chlamydoconidia production and carbohydrate assimilation test using ten carbohydrates (glucose, sucrose, trehalose, cellobiose, arabinose, galactose, mannitol, raffinose, lactose and maltose). Among the 1114 isolates studied, 9 species of Candida were identified and the relative frequency of isolation was C. albicans (44.2%), C. parapsilosis (26.0%), C. tropicalis (17.7%), C. glabrata (9.6%), C. krusei (1.2%), C. rugosa (0.6%), C. guilliermondii (0.2%), C. lusitaniae (0.08%) and C. kefyr (0.08%). Non-C. albicans was the most common Candida species isolated from blood, respiratory system, urine and skin. The isolate from vaginal swabs was predominantly C. albicans. 82.2% of C. glabrata and 64.2% of C. krusei isolated in this study were from vaginal swabs.
  7. Ng KP, Saw TL, Madasamy M, Soo Hoo T
    Mycopathologia, 1999;147(1):29-32.
    PMID: 10872513
    The common etiological agents of onychomycosis are dermatophytes, molds and yeasts. A mycological nail investigation of onychomycosis using direct microscopy and culture was conducted by the Mycology Unit, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Malaya from March 1996 to November 1998. The study involved 878 nail clippings or subungal scrapings from subjects with onychomycosis. On direct microscopy examination, 50% of the specimens were negative for fungal elements. On culture, 373 specimens had no growth; bacteria were isolated from 15 nail specimens. Among the 490 specimens with positive fungal cultures, 177 (36.1%) were dermatophytes, 173 (35.5%) were molds and 130 (26.5%) were Candida. There were 2% (10/490) mixed infections of molds, yeasts and dermatophytes. Trichophyton rubrum (115/177) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (59/177) were the main dermatophytes isolated. The molds isolated were predominantly Aspergillus niger (61/173), Aspergillus nidulans (30/173), Hendersonula toruloidea (26/173) and Fusarium species (16/173). 96.9% of the Candida species identified were Candida albicans.
  8. Ng KP, Saw TL, Na SL, Soo-Hoo TS
    Mycopathologia, 2001;149(3):141-6.
    PMID: 11307597
    A total of 102 Candida species were isolated from blood cultures from January 1997 to October 1999. Using assimilation of carbohydrate test, 52 (51.0%) of the Candida sp. were identified as C. parapsilosis, 25.5% (26) were C. tropicalis. C. albicans made up 11.8% (12), 6.9% (7) were C. rugosa, 3.8% (4) C. glabrata and 1% (1) C. guilliermondii. No C. dubliniensis was found in the study. In vitro antifungal susceptibility tests showed that all Candida species were sensitive to nystatin, amphotericin B and ketoconazole. Although all isolates remained sensitive to fluconazole, intermediate susceptibility was found in 3 C. rugosa isolates. Antifungal agents with high frequency of resistance were econazole, clotrimazole, miconazole and 5-fluorocytosine. Candida species found to have resistance to these antifungal agents were non-C. albicans.
  9. Ng KP, Soo-Hoo TS, Na SL, Ang LS
    Mycopathologia, 2002;155(4):203-6.
    PMID: 12650596
    A total of 576 dermatophytes were isolated from patients with a variety of skin infections from January 1993 to May 2000. Ten species of dermatophytes were identified: Epidermophyton floccosum (0.7%), Microsporum audouinii (1.1%), M. canis (3.1%), M. gypseum (0.3%), Trichophyton concentricum (3.5%), T. equinum (0.2%), T. mentagrophytes (36.1%), T. rubrum (53.8%), T. verrucosum (0.2) and T. violaceum (1.0%). The body sites most frequently affected by dermatophytes were the buttocks, nails and trunk. Anthropophilic dermatophytes made up 60.1% of the isolates; the most common species was T. rubrum, T. mentagrophytes and M. canis were the two main zoophilic dermatophytes. T. mentagrophytes was isolated from all body sites except the scalp. M. canis was found to be associated with domestic dogs and was not isolated from ethnic Malays. The only geophilic dermatophyte was M. gypseum, an uncommon dermatophyte associated with tinea pedis.
  10. Lim HP, Fong YK
    Mycopathologia, 2005 Jan;159(1):171-9.
    PMID: 15750750
    Basidiospores were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma infecting oil palms from an estate in Johor and from ornamental palms (including oil palms) from Singapore. The spores were then germinated to obtain homokaryotic mycelia. Based on clamp connection formation in paired hyphal fusions, tester strains were identified from the homokaryons isolated. Compatibility tests were then carried out using these testers to determine the relatedness of the homokaryotic Ganoderma isolates, both from Johor and from Singapore. Results from the compatibility tests showed that Ganoderma from both locations belong to the same species, while the Ganoderma isolates from Singapore share some common alleles. The pathogenicity tests carried out on Chrysalidocarpus lutescens seedlings using inoculum growing on rubber wood blocks showed that dikaryotic mycelia can cause basal stem rot infection.
  11. Susanto A, Sudharto PS, Purba RY
    Mycopathologia, 2005 Jan;159(1):153-7.
    PMID: 15750748
    Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease caused by Ganoderma boninense is the most destructive disease in oil palm, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. The available control measures for BSR disease such as cultural practices and mechanical and chemical treatment have not proved satisfactory due to the fact that Ganoderma has various resting stages such as melanised mycelium, basidiospores and pseudosclerotia. Alternative control measures to overcome the Ganoderma problem are focused on the use of biological control agents and planting resistant material. Present studies conducted at Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute (IOPRI) are focused on enhancing the use of biological control agents for Ganoderma. These activities include screening biological agents from the oil palm rhizosphere in order to evaluate their effectiveness as biological agents in glasshouse and field trials, testing their antagonistic activities in large scale experiments and eradicating potential disease inoculum with biological agents. Several promising biological agents have been isolated, mainly Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride, Gliocladium viride, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Bacillus sp. A glasshouse and field trial for Ganoderma control indicated that treatment with T. harzianum and G. viride was superior to Bacillus sp. A large scale trial showed that the disease incidence was lower in a field treated with biological agents than in untreated fields. In a short term programme, research activities at IOPRI are currently focusing on selecting fungi that can completely degrade plant material in order to eradicate inoculum. Digging holes around the palm bole and adding empty fruit bunches have been investigated as ways to stimulate biological agents.
  12. Sariah M, Choo CW, Zakaria H, Norihan MS
    Mycopathologia, 2005 Jan;159(1):113-7.
    PMID: 15750742
    Basal stem rot of oil palm caused by Ganoderma boninense is of major economic importance. Observations of the low incidence of disease due to Ganoderma species in natural stands, suggest that the disease is kept under control by some biological means. Trichoderma spp. are saprophytic fungi with high antagonistic activities against soil-borne pathogens. However, their abundance and distribution are soil and crop specific. Trichoderma species have been found to be concentrated in the A1 (0-30 cm) and Be soil horizons (30-60 cm), although the abundance of Trichoderma was not significantly different between the oil palm and non-oil palm ecosystems. Characterisation of Trichoderma isolates based on cultural, morphological and DNA polymorphism showed that T. harzianum, T. virens, T. koningii and T. longibrachiatum made up 72, 14, 10 and 4% of the total Trichoderma isolates isolated. As Trichoderma species are present in the oil palm ecosystem, but at lower numbers and in locations different from those desired, soil augmentation with antagonistic Trichoderma spp. can be developed as a strategy towards integrated management of basal stem rot of oil palm.
  13. Tay ST, Chai HC, Na SL, Ng KP
    Mycopathologia, 2005 Apr;159(3):325-9.
    PMID: 15883714
    The genotypes of 221 recent isolates of Candida albicans from various clinical specimens of 213 patients admitted to the University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia was determined based on the amplification of a transposable intron region in the 25 S rRNA gene. The analyses of 178 C. albicans isolated from nonsterile clinical specimens showed that they could be classified into three genotypes: genotype A (138 isolates), genotype B (38 isolates) and genotype C (2 isolates). The genotyping of 43 clinical isolates from sterile specimens showed that they belonged to genotype A (29 isolates), genotype B (10 isolates), genotype C (2 isolates) and genotype D (2 isolates). The overall distribution of C. albicans genotypes in sterile and nonsterile specimens appeared similar, with genotype A being the most predominant type. This study reported the identification of C. dubliniensis (genotype D) in 2 HIV-negative patients with systemic candidiasis, which were missed by the routine mycological procedure. The study demonstrated the genetic diversity of clinical isolates of C. albicans in Malaysia.
  14. Tay ST, Chai HC, Na SL, Hamimah H, Rohani MY, Soo-Hoo TS
    Mycopathologia, 2005 Jun;159(4):509-13.
    PMID: 15983736
    The occurrence of Cryptococcus neoformans in bird excreta in Klang valley, Malaysia was determined in this study. Of 544 samples of bird excreta collected from a local zoo, pet shops and public areas, 20 strains of C. neoformans were isolated. All C. neoformans strains were serotype A and thus identified as C. neoformans variety grubii. All did not produce color changes on canavanine-glycine-bromothymol blue agar. All were of alpha-mating types, as determined by a pheromone-specific PCR assay. The antifungal susceptibility testing using agar diffusion method Neo-sensitabs showed that all were susceptible to amphotericin B, fluconazole and itraconazole.
  15. Ng KP, Soo-Hoo TS, Na SL, Tay ST, Hamimah H, Lim PC, et al.
    Mycopathologia, 2005 Jun;159(4):495-500.
    PMID: 15983734
    Hortaea werneckii is an environmental dematiaceous fungus found in the halophilic environment. It causes tinea nigra. We report the isolation of H. werneckii from blood and splenic abscess of two patients with acute myelomonocytic leukaemia. H. werneckii grew at room temperature but not at 37 degrees C, it was identified by biochemical tests, growth characteristics and the presence of conspicuous collarette intercalary on dividing yeast cells. The use of specific oligonucleotide primer Hor-F (5'-TGGACACCTTCA TAACTCTTG-3') and Hor-R (5'-TCACAACGCTTAGAGACGG-3') confirmed the two isolates were H. werneckii. The sequence for 281 nucleotide of HW299 and HW403 were 99% identical but differed only in one nucleotide. In vitro anti-fungal susceptibility testing showed that the isolates were resistant to amphotericin B and flucytosine.
  16. Yong PV, Chong PP, Lau LY, Yeoh RS, Jamal F
    Mycopathologia, 2008 Feb;165(2):81-7.
    PMID: 18266075 DOI: 10.1007/s11046-007-9086-8
    The incidence of candidemia and invasive candidiasis have increased markedly due to the increasing number of immunocompromised patients. There are five major medically important species of Candida with their frequency of isolation in the diminishing order namely Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata and Candida krusei. In addition, there are numerous other species of Candida which differ in their genetic makeup, virulence properties, drug susceptibilities and sugar assimilation capabilities. In this report, an unusual Candida species was isolated from the blood of two leukaemic patients. Conventional culture and biochemical tests identified the Candida species as C. parapsilosis. Using fungal-specific oligonucleotide primers ITS1 and ITS4, we managed to amplify the ribosomal RNA gene and its internal transcribed spacer region from the genomic DNA of these isolates. The PCR products were then purified and subjected to automated DNA sequencing using BLAST and CLUSTAL sequence analysis identified these isolates to be Candida orthopsilosis. Candida orthopsilosis is a new species recently identified in 2005, being morphologically indistinguishable from C. parapsilosis and was previously classified as a subspecies of C. parapsilosis. This report highlights the importance of complementing traditional culture and biochemical-based identification methods with DNA-based molecular assays such as PCR as the latter is more superior in terms of its discriminatory power and speed.
  17. Nghia NA, Kadir J, Sunderasan E, Puad Abdullah M, Malik A, Napis S
    Mycopathologia, 2008 Oct;166(4):189-201.
    PMID: 18568417 DOI: 10.1007/s11046-008-9138-8
    Morphological features and Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) polymorphism were employed to analyse 21 Corynespora cassiicola isolates obtained from a number of Hevea clones grown in rubber plantations in Malaysia. The C. cassiicola isolates used in this study were collected from several states in Malaysia from 1998 to 2005. The morphology of the isolates was characteristic of that previously described for C. cassiicola. Variations in colony and conidial morphology were observed not only among isolates but also within a single isolate with no inclination to either clonal or geographical origin of the isolates. ISSR analysis delineated the isolates into two distinct clusters. The dendrogram created from UPGMA analysis based on Nei and Li's coefficient (calculated from the binary matrix data of 106 amplified DNA bands generated from 8 ISSR primers) showed that cluster 1 encompasses 12 isolates from the states of Johor and Selangor (this cluster was further split into 2 sub clusters (1A, 1B), sub cluster 1B consists of a unique isolate, CKT05D); while cluster 2 comprises of 9 isolates that were obtained from the other states. Detached leaf assay performed on selected Hevea clones showed that the pathogenicity of representative isolates from cluster 1 (with the exception of CKT05D) resembled that of race 1; and isolates in cluster 2 showed pathogenicity similar to race 2 of the fungus that was previously identified in Malaysia. The isolate CKT05D from sub cluster 1B showed pathogenicity dissimilar to either race 1 or race 2.
  18. Razak MF, Aidoo KE, Candlish AG
    Mycopathologia, 2009 May;167(5):273-86.
    PMID: 18991016 DOI: 10.1007/s11046-008-9167-3
    Twenty commercial mixed herbal drugs were examined for mycological profile. Aspergillus species were the predominant fungi found in the drugs. Other fungi harboured in the drugs with less frequency were Paecilomyces species, Eurotium species, Monascus species, Acremonium species, Penicillium species, Cladosporium species, Scopulariopsis species, Phialophora species and Fonseceae species. Fungal count was between 1.0 log(10) CFU and 2.4 log(10) CFU per gram of sample. When the drugs were incubated in 85% humidity at 25 degrees C, fungal colonies grew on only two of the drugs. The mixed herbal drugs were extracted with water and the extracts were used to grow Aspergillus parasiticus. All extracts reduced aflatoxin B(1) and aflatoxin G(1) production by 62-97%. All but two of the extracts reduced aflatoxin B(2) and aflatoxin G(2) production by 39-95%. It can be concluded that the commercial powdered mixed herbal drugs contained low number of endogenous fungi, and these drugs are inhibitory to the growth of its endogenous fungi and aflatoxins production by aflatoxigenic fungi.
  19. Khodavandi A, Alizadeh F, Aala F, Sekawi Z, Chong PP
    Mycopathologia, 2010 Apr;169(4):287-95.
    PMID: 19924565 DOI: 10.1007/s11046-009-9251-3
    Candidiasis is a term describing infections by yeasts from the genus Candida, and the type of infection encompassed by candidiasis ranges from superficial to systemic. Treatment of such infections often requires antifungals such as the azoles, but increased use of these drugs has led to selection of yeasts with increased resistance to these drugs. In this study, we used allicin, an allyl sulfur derivative of garlic, to demonstrate both its intrinsic antifungal activity and its synergy with the azoles, in the treatment of these yeasts in vitro. In this study, the MIC(50) and MIC(90) of allicin alone against six Candida spp. ranged from 0.05 to 25 microg/ml. However, when allicin was used in combination with fluconazole or ketoconazole, the MICs were decreased in some isolates. Our results demonstrated the existing synergistic effect between allicin and azoles in some of the Candida spp. such as C. albicans, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis, but synergy was not demonstrated in the majority of Candida spp. tested. Nonetheless, In vivo testing needs to be performed to support these findings.
  20. Jalili M, Jinap S, Radu S
    Mycopathologia, 2010 Oct;170(4):251-8.
    PMID: 20526682 DOI: 10.1007/s11046-010-9320-7
    The concentration of ochratoxin A (OTA) in 120 commercial pepper (84 pre-packed and 36 bulk samples), which consist of local and imported white and black pepper in powder and seed form in Malaysia were determined. The objective of the study was to investigate and compare OTA concentration in black pepper and white pepper being commercialized in Malaysia. Determination method was based on HPLC with fluorescence detection coupled with immunoaffinity column clean-up step. Mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water-acetic acid (49.5:49.5:1.0, v/v/v), and flow rate was 1 ml/min. The LOD was 0.02 ng/g, and the average recovery values of OTA ranged from 79.5 to 92.0% in black pepper and 81.2-90.3% in white pepper. A total of 57 samples (47.5%) were contaminated with OTA ranging from 0.15 to 13.58 ng/g. The results showed that there was a significant difference between type of pepper and brands. OTA concentration in black pepper was significantly higher than white pepper (p < 0.05). The highest concentration of ochratoxin, 13.58 ng/g, was detected in a sample of black pepper seed followed by 12.64 ng/g in a sample of black pepper powder, both were bulk samples purchased from open market.
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