MyMedR

Fulltext Acariasis on pet Burmese python, Python molurus bivittatus in Malaysia

Mariana A, Vellayan S, Halimaton I, Ho TM

Asian Pac J Trop Med, 2011 Mar;4(3):227-8.

PMID: 21771459 DOI: 10.1016/S1995-7645(11)60075-8

OBJECTIVE: To identify the acari present on pet Burmese pythons in Malaysia and to determine whether there is any potential public health risk related to handling of the snakes.

METHODS: Two sub-adult Burmese pythons kept as pets for a period of about 6 to 7 months by different owners, were brought to an exotic animal practice for treatment. On a complete medical examination, some ticks and mites (acari) were detected beneath the dorsal and ventral scales along body length of the snakes. Ticks were directly identified and mites were mounted prior to identification.

RESULTS: A total of 12 ticks represented by 3 males, 2 females and 7 nymphal stages of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (R. sanguineus) were extracted from the first python while the other one was with 25 female Ophionyssus natricis (O. natricis) mesostigmatid mites. Only adult female mites were found. These mites are common ectoparasites of Burmese pythons.

CONCLUSIONS: Both the acarine species found on the Burmese pythons are known vectors of pathogens. This is the first record that R. sanguineus has been reported from a pet Burmese python in Malaysia.

Effects of microwave radiation on house dust mites, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae (Astigmata: Pyroglyphidae)

Ernieenor FC, Ho TM

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 2010 Nov;41(6):1335-41.

PMID: 21329308

Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae mites are commonly found in house dust, and are important sources of allergens affecting humans. Various approaches to killing the mites have been examined. This study investigated the mortalities of adult mites exposed to 2,450 MHz microwave radiation produced by 3 ovens at various exposure times and power settings. The ovens all had 3 power settings. The average maximum water temperatures generated at high, medium and low power settings were 99.4 +/- 0.2, 84.1 +/- 0.4 and 44.8 +/- 0.9 degrees C, respectively. At high and medium settings, there was 100.0% mortality in both species when exposed for 300 seconds. The mean mortality rates at low power were 10.8 +/- 0.7% for D. pteronyssinus and 9.7 +/- 2.6% for D. farinae. When mites were exposed in the presence of culture media, the mortality rates decreased with increasing weight of media. The mean mortality with the largest amount of media tested at high power setting was 61.4%.

Fulltext Acarine ectoparasites of Panti Forest Reserve in Johore, Malaysia

Mariana A, Mohd KB, Halimaton I, Suhaili ZA, Shahrul-Anuar MS, Nor ZM, et al.

Asian Pac J Trop Biomed, 2011 Jan;1(1):1-5.

PMID: 23569714 DOI: 10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60057-9

To identify the presence of acarine ectoparasites and determine whether there is any potential public health risk in Panti Forest Reserve, Johore, Malaysia.

Laboratory evaluation of four commercial repellents against larval Leptotrombidium deliense (Acari: Trombiculidae)

Hanifah AL, Ismail SH, Ho TM

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 2010 Sep;41(5):1082-7.

PMID: 21073028

Four commercial repellents were evaluated in the laboratory against Leptotrombidium deliense chiggers. Both in vitro and in vivo methods were used to determine repellency of the compounds. The repellents were Kellis (containing citronella oil, jojoba oil and tea tree oil), Kaps (containing citronella oil), BioZ (containing citronella oil, geranium oil and lemon grass oil) and Off (containing DEET). The combination of three active ingredients: citronella oil, geranium oil, lemon grass oil gave the highest repellency (87%) followed by DEET (84%). In vitro repellencies ranged from 73% to 87%. There was no significant difference between the four products. All the repellents had 100% in vivo repellency compared to 41-57% for the controls.

Residual activity of benzyl benzoate against Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Acari: Pyroglyphidae)

Suhaili ZA, Ho TM

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 2008 May;39(3):507-10.

PMID: 18564691

The residual effect of a commercial spray containing 2.0% benzyl benzoate against Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus was evaluated in the laboratory. Filter papers treated with benzyl benzoate were dried for 2 hours and placed in Petri dishes. Adult mites were then added and mortality was assessed following 24 hour contact and at succeeding 4 weeks intervals up to week 28 post-treatment using the same treated filter papers. There was 100% mortality at 24 hours post-treatment, declining progressively to 71% by week 28. Probit analysis estimated a median lethal time (LT50) of 59 weeks.

A survey of acarine ectoparasites of bats (Chiroptera) in Malaysia

Ahamad M, Ibrahim H, Bujang MK, Sah SA, Mohamad N, Nor SM, et al.

J Med Entomol, 2013 Jan;50(1):140-6.

PMID: 23427663

A comprehensive 8-yr survey of acarine ectoparasites (ticks and mites) of bats was carried out in 18 localities from 2002 to 2009. Most of the surveys were conducted during 14 national biodiversity scientific expeditions throughout Malaysia. The objective was to identify acarines of known public health importance from bats and thus determine whether there is any potential public health risk in Malaysia. Trapping of bats was conducted using Harp traps and Mist nets. In total, 1,579 individuals comprising of 6 families and 52 species of bats were examined alive. In general, 25.6% of the bats were infested with acarines. Infestation rates of ticks, mesostigmatid mites, and chiggers on bats examined were 0.4, 10.4, and 14.7%, respectively. Their prevalence and mean intensity were tabulated. Genera of ticks extracted were Amblyomma, Dermacentor, Ixodes, and Ornithodoros. Of these genera, only two species can be identified to species level and they are Amblyomma cordiferum and Ixodes simplex. In total, 8 genera and 15 species of mesostigmatid mites were found; the species were Ancystropus eonycteris, Ancystropus zeleborii, Echinonysus nasutus, Laelaps aingworthae, Laelaps nuttalli, Laelaps sanguisugus, Laelaps sculpturatus, Longolaelaps longulus, Longolaelaps whartonii, Meristaspis lateralis, Meristaspis macroglossi, Paraperiglischrus rhinolophinus, Spinturnix acuminatus, Spinturnix americanus, and Spinturnix bakeri. Chiggers on bats were represented by 12 genera and 6 species; the species identified were Gahrliepia fletcheri, Riedlinia lipoxena, Trombigastia cadei, Walchiella impar, Walchiella oudemansi, and Whartonia caobangensis. The study produced an up-to-date list of acarine ectoparasites of bats in Malaysia where a total of 38 genera and 47 species of acarines were listed. Findings of the study demonstrated that 5 genera and 1 species of acarines that may pose potential health risks, can be found on bats.

Fulltext First report of Suidasia pontifica (Acari : Acaridae) in milk powder

Ho TM

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1996 Dec;27(4):853-4.

PMID: 9253898

Occurrence of Austroglycyphagus malaysiensis on the egg laying bowl of Culex quinquefasciatus

Ho TM

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1984 Sep;15(3):426-7.

PMID: 6523179

Molecular identification of house dust mites and storage mites

Wong SF, Chong AL, Mak JW, Tan J, Ling SJ, Ho TM

Exp Appl Acarol, 2011 Oct;55(2):123-33.

PMID: 21468750 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-011-9460-6

Mites are known causes of allergic diseases. Currently, identification of mites based on morphology is difficult if only one mite is isolated from a (dust) sample, or when only one gender is found, or when the specimen is not intact especially with the loss of the legs. The purpose of this study was to use polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the ITS2 gene, to complement the morphological data for the identification of mites to the species level. For this, six species were cultured: Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, D. farinae, Blomia tropicalis, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Aleuroglyphus ovatus and Glycycometus malaysiensis. Genomic DNA of the mites was extracted, quantified, amplified and digested individually with restriction enzymes. Hinf I and Ple I differentiated the restriction patterns of D. pteronyssinus and D. farinae. Bfa I and Alu I enzymes differentiated B. tropicalis and G. malaysiensis. Ple I enzyme was useful for the differentiation between T. putrescentiae and A. ovatus. Bfa I was useful for the differentiation of G. malaysiensis from the rest of the species. In conclusion, different species of mites can be differentiated using PCR-RFLP of ITS2 region. With the established PCR-RFLP method in this study, identification of these mites to the species level is possible even if complete and intact adult specimens of both sexes are not available. As no study to date has reported PCR-RFLP method for the identification of domestic mites, the established method should be validated for the identification of other species of mites that were not included in this study.

Phoretic association between Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acari: Macrochelidae) and flies inhabiting poultry manure in Peninsular Malaysia

Ho TM

Exp Appl Acarol, 1990 Nov;10(1):61-8.

PMID: 2279455

The phoretic association between Macrocheles muscaedomesticae and flies that inhabited poultry manure in a poultry farm in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia was studied. The effects of temperature, relative humidity and fly abundance on phoretic rates also were investigated. The most abundant fly species found was Musca domestica; Musca sorbens, Chrysomyia megacephala and Ophyra chalcogaster were present in relatively large numbers. Representatives of ten families of mites were found on collected Mu. domestica. The most common mite was Ma. muscaedomesticae (Macrochelidae), found on all four species of flies mentioned above. The highest infestation (2.0%) occurred on O. chalcogaster but Mu. domestica had the highest average number infested (5.7). The ventral part of the housefly's abdomen was the most common site of mite attachment. Usually only one mite was found attached per fly. The highest phoretic rate recorded was 64.4 Ma. muscaedomesticae per 1000 Mu. domestica. There was no correlation between phoretic rates and Ma. muscaedomesticae abundance, nor was relative humidity a factor. However, a positive correlation was recorded in this host species between phoretic rates and temperature.

A titan in our midst - a tribute to Dato' Dr A. W. E. Moreira

Ho TM

Family Practitioner, 1981;4(2):48-49.

Vocational training programme in family medicine - identifying the needs

Ho TM

Family Practitioner, 1981;4(2):52-53.

The new general practice. New directions needed?

Ho TM

Family Practitioner, 1982;5(3):76-78.

General practice today: A profession in disarray?

Ho TM

Family Practitioner, 1982;5(1):99-101.