Vaccines, used appropriately and efficiently, have changed the landscape of infectious diseases. Poliomyelitis is almost completely eliminated globally. In many industrialised countries, there has been over 99 percent reduction in incidence of diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, Haemophilus in-fluenzae b meningitis and over 97 percent reduction in whooping cough.',2Unlike anti-biotics, most vaccines have remained equally effective despite years of continuous usage.
The prevalence of ocular abnormalities was studied in 165 children from a Malaysian school for the deaf. Ninety-five children (57.6%) had one or more ocular abnormalities. Rubella retinopathy was the commonest form of ocular abnormality (35.2%). Refractive errors were found in 23 children (13.9%). Refractive errors in the rubella group were significantly more common than in the non-rubella group of deaf children (p < 0.001) (chi 2 test). Thirteen children had congenital anomalies causing significantly impaired vision. Ophthalmological examination of deaf children helps in the detection of cases with rubella eye signs and thus helps to identify the cause of deafness. Since deaf children are at greater risk of visual and ocular abnormalities, periodical ophthalmological examination should be carried out in these children.
One hundred and sixty-five children from the school for the deaf were screened to find out the aetiology of deafness. The screening included routine ophthalmological examination. Aetiology was unknown in 33 children (20%). Prenatal infection was found to be the cause of deafness in 61 cases (36.96%). Rubella eye signs were found in 59 children (35.76%), whereas the history of rubella infection during the first trimester of pregnancy was found in only 33 of these cases (55.93%). Perinatal complications were seen in 20 children (12.12%). Twenty children (12.12%) had meningitis during their early childhood period. Routine ophthalmological examination helped us to pick up cases with rubella eye signs. Ophthalmological examination should be included as part of any study done to find out the cause of deafness.
Consideration. is gzven to the recognition and prevention of carious types of mental retardation due to hazards of environmental origin. Observations are presented on congenital syphilis, congenital toxoplasmosis, congenital rubella, Singapore kernicterus, Japanese B encephalitis, and tuberculous meningitis. Appropriate preventiue measures have resulted in a significant reduction in Singapore of these conditions, and hence in a decreased frequency of environmentally determined mental retardation. and related disabilities.
On August 26, 2011, California public health officials notified CDC of a suspected measles case in an unvaccinated male refugee aged 15 years from Burma (the index patient), who had lived in an urban area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is experiencing ongoing measles outbreaks. Currently, approximately 92,000 such refugees are living in urban communities in Malaysia. Resettlement programs in the United States and other countries are ongoing. The health and vaccination status of urban refugees are largely unknown.
OBJECTIVES: To assess US availability and use of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination documentation for refugees vaccinated overseas.
METHODS: We selected 1500 refugee records from 14 states from March 2013 through July 2015 to determine whether overseas vaccination records were available at the US postarrival health assessment and integrated into the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices schedule. We assessed number of doses, dosing interval, and contraindications.
RESULTS: Twelve of 14 (85.7%) states provided data on 1118 (74.5%) refugees. Overseas records for 972 (86.9%) refugees were available, most from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Electronic Disease Notification system (66.9%). Most refugees (829; 85.3%) were assessed appropriately for MMR vaccination; 37 (3.8%) should have received MMR vaccine but did not; 106 (10.9%) did not need the MMR vaccine but were vaccinated.
CONCLUSIONS: Overseas documentation was available at most clinics, and MMR vaccinations typically were given when needed. Further collaboration between refugee health clinics and state immunization information systems would improve accessibility of vaccination documentation.
This was a 28-year-old mentally-challenged girl with underlying congenital Rubella syndrome. She was bilaterally aphakic after congenital cataract surgery. She then developed bilateral aphakic glaucoma and had to undergo multiple glaucoma filtering surgeries. The most recent procedure she had undergone for her left eye was a second Ahmed valve implantation with an overlying sclera patch. Postoperatively, intraocular pressure was well controlled. However, nine months later, slit lamp examination revealed the tube was adherent to the overlying cornea with surrounding deep and superficial cornea vascularization. Siedel test was negative and intraocular pressure was normal. Subsequently the tube was removed but the plate was left in situ.
Rubella is an acute and contagious disease which is mainly characterized by fever, rash, and cervical lymphadenopathy. This contagious disease spreads easily through nasopharyngeal secretions, droplet or direct contact with patients. Meanwhile clinical features of scarlet fever include a sore throat, skin rash and strawberry tongue. A descriptive study was conducted to describe the epidemiological characteristic of diseases at a Training Camp in Mersing. Data obtained on demographic details, onset and time of fever and rash or contact with ill person 14 to 21 days prior to symptoms. Screening and interview conducted for all suspected cases of Rubella. 47.4% of the cases presented on 5th June 2012 followed by 15.8% on 11th June 2012 and 13.5% on 12th June 2012. Maculo papular rash was the predominant presenting symptom among students with acute infection in this outbreak (100%) followed by fever (36.8%). Measles specific IgM was not detected in the serum taken but rubella specific IgM was detected in 66.7% (6/19) of samples. 55% (11/20) were positive for ASOT. 4 trainees had Rubella and Scarlet Fever co-infection. It was found out that the outbreak occurred among 391 residents in the camp who shared common places for activities such as lecture, physical activity and meal. Rapid dissemination was due to overcrowded environment and close contact during common activities of the residents. Theoretically co-infection would be presented with severe clinical symptoms but not in this outbreak where all affected trainees only presented with mild fever and rashes.
From November 1996 to December 1997, 24 infants with neonatal cholestasis were referred to the Department of Paediatrics, University of Malaya Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur for further investigations. Nineteen had neonatal hepatitis. There was considerable delay in referral of infants with cholestasis; the mean age of referral was 63.7 days. None had a positive family history of neonatal hepatitis. All infant had hepatomegaly and ten had splenomegaly. The stools were slightly pale in thirteen, persistently acholic in three and normally pigmented in three infants. Liver synthetic functions were normal in most of the infants. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgM antibodies were positive in seven but none were positive for toxoplasma or rubella. al - antitrypsin deficiency, hypothyroidism, and galactosaemia were excluded in all infants. DISIDA scans were performed in seventeen infants, being non-excretory in eight. Liver biopsies were performed in fifteen infants, showing neonatal hepatitis in fourteen, while histological features of large duct obstruction was seen in one. In majority of infants (eight out of ten) the jaundice disappeared by six months. Two infants had progressive jaundice and liver function impairment.
In Malaysia, the two dose measles - mumps - rubella (MMR) vaccine was introduced in the Expanded Program on Immunization in 2002. The Ministry of Health then initiated a measles elimination strategy which included enhanced case-based surveillance with laboratory testing of all suspected cases. The objective of our study was to analyse national measles laboratory data from 2004 to 2008 to study the impact of the nationwide strategy on measles case incidence. Blood samples collected from suspected measles cases during the acute stage of the illness were investigated for measles specific IgM. The estimated incidence of measles ranged from 22.3 cases (in 2004) to 2.27 cases (in 2006) per 100,000 population. During this time, the measles vaccination coverage was above 85%. Laboratory confirmed measles cases dropped from 42.2% in 2004, when sporadic outbreaks were reported, to 3.9% in 2007. Screening for measles IgG levels in 2008 showed that 82.8% of those > 7 years old had adequate immunity. The measles control strategy appears to have been successful in reducing the incidence of measles. Continuing high vaccination coverage rates and ongoing measles surveillance are necessary to achieve our goal of measles elimination.
Measles is a highly communicable, acute viral illness with potential for severe complications, including death. Although endemic measles was eliminated in the United States in 2000 as a result of widespread vaccination, sporadic measles outbreaks still occur, largely associated with international travel from measles-endemic countries and pockets of unvaccinated persons. On August 26, 2011, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) was notified of suspected measles in a refugee from Burma who had arrived in Los Angeles, California, on August 24, after a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Passengers on the flight included 31 other refugees who then traveled to seven other states, widening the measles investigation and response activities. In California alone, 50 staff members from LACDPH and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) interviewed and reinterviewed 298 contacts. Measles was diagnosed in three contacts of the index patient (patient A). The three contacts with measles were two passengers on the same flight as patient A and a customs worker; no secondary cases were identified. Delayed diagnosis of measles in patient A and delayed notification of health officials precluded use of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine as an outbreak intervention. This outbreak emphasizes the importance of maintaining a high level of vaccination coverage and continued high vigilance for measles in the United States, particularly among incoming international travelers; clinicians should immediately isolate persons with suspected measles and promptly report them to health authorities.
High vaccination rates are integral to reducing infection and severity rates of COVID-19 infections within a community. We examine the role of social expectations in COVID-19 vaccination take-ups and its interaction with potential government actions in Malaysia. We find that individuals' expectations of others in their social groups towards vaccination predicts those individuals' vaccination registrations. Using a vignette experiment, we examine the extent of normative expectations in normalizing pro-vaccination behavior beyond an individual's reference group. We find that unless moderated by a high level of public trust, individuals prefer punitive policies as a way to increase vaccination rates in their communities.
Malaysia is a rapidly developing country with a very young population, about 36% of which are below the age of 15 years. The standard of child health has improved greatly. However, there are great changes in the morbidity and mortality patterns of childhood diseases relating mainly to an improved standard of living; availability of safe water supply and adequate sanitary latrines; a higher literacy rate; rapid industrialisation and urban migration. The infant mortality rate has droppedfrom 50.1 per 1,000 livebirths in 1986 to 10.4 in 1995, and similar trends apply also to neonatal, perinatal and toddler mortality rates. Nevertheless, current major child health problems are those relating to events in the perinatal period and to infections. Despite improvements in the standard of neonatal care with the use ofhigh technology, the commonest cause of certified deaths still occur in the neonatal period. A rapid and inexpensive screening test for G6PD deficiency, a disease present in 2-3% of the population, is now widely available and, together with the use of phototherapy is largely responsible for the declining incidence of kernicterus in the country. Infections remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality although their patterns have changed. The very high (>95%) WHO-EPI-vaccines coverage rate is linked to the great reduction in the incidence of diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis and measles. Childhood tuberculosis is less common now, with about 250 - 300 reported cases per year and TB meningitis is rare with about 30-40 reported cases/year. The hepatitis B carrier rate is high (5%) and the introduction of routine newborn hepatitis B vaccination in 1989 is expected to have a positive impact as is the immunisation of young girls against rubella introduced in 1985 in reducing the incidence of congenital rubella syndrome. The incidence of malaria has declined but remains prevalent in the interiors of PeninsularMalaysia and in Sabah and Sarawak. Filariasis is largely under control. Unfortunately, despite great efforts at mosquito control, dengue virus infection remains a major problem with thousands of cases reported every year. Children are most susceptible to dengue haemorrhagic fever with many dying from the shock syndrome. The incidence of acute gastroenteritis has also dropped with most cases being due to a viral aetiology. Acute respiratory infections, mostly viral in origin, account for most attendances at paediatric outpatient services. Although staphylococcal and streptococcal impetigo and pneumonia are common, the incidence of streptococcal related diseases like rheumatic fever and acute glomendonephritis is rapidly declining. The nutritional status of children has improved in tandem with the rise in the standard of living, but subclinical malnutrition is prevalent, particularly among urban squatters and the rural poor. There is a disturbing decline in breastfeeding among urban working mothers. Poor weaning practices and food habits are responsible for the common occurrence of nutritional anaemia (5%) among infants and young children. Greater prosperity, rapid industrialisation and urbanisation have resulted in changes in the childhood disease pattern where non-communicable diseases assume greater importance as the problems of malnutrition and infection are gradually overcome. Road traffic accidents are a major killer and home accidents, largely preventable, are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Childhood cancer, with about 550 new cases a year, is an important cause of death beyond infancy. Major congenital malformations, with a 1% prevalence rate, cause much ill-health. Thalassaemia is a particularly common genetic disease with fl thalassaemia gene frequency of about 5%. The prevalence of asthma is increasing, with a rate of 13.9% in the Kiang Valley but the prevalence of asthma-related symptoms is much higher. Physical, sexual child abuse and neglect, abandoned babies, substance abuse are but signs of stress of modern city living and peoples inability to cope with it. Although the general standard of child health has greatly improved, there are several states where it is still not satisfactory. In Sabah where there is a large illegal immigrant population, the infant mortality and infection rates are relatively high. In Kelantan and Trengganu, it is common for parents to refuse permission for a lumbar puncture required to treat meningitis. Other still deeply entrenched, culturally-related adverse health practices include : a fatalistic attitude to illness; a preference for traditional practitioners of medicine resulting in late treatment; and 'doctor-hopping' with unrealistic expectations of 'instant cure'. Childhood illnesses that are uncommon in Malaysia include: cystic fibrosis, coeliac disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohns disease, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Encopresis, enuresis and epiglottitis due to Haemophilus Influen:ae.