A survey on oral hygiene practices was conducted on 537 dentate adult patients aged 15 years and over. The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in dental behavior with regards to socio-demographic factors, namely age, sex, ethnicity, income, education and occupational status. Patients attending nine randomly selected government dental clinics were interviewed on their daily oral hygiene practices. The majority (89.7%) of the subjects reported that they brushed their teeth, 68% used toothpaste containing fluoride, but only 8.4% flossed their teeth. Generally the younger group had better oral hygiene habits. The higher the socioeconomic status of the adults, the better their toothcleaning practices. Awareness concerning dental floss was low regardless of all the socio-demographic variables. It was concluded that there is a need to improve the dental health practices of adults in Malaysia.
Forensically important entomological specimens recovered from 95 forensic cases of human cadavers from April 1993 to May 1996 in Malaysia were identified and analysed. The results indicated that 73.7% of these specimens were Chrysomya species, occurring either as single or mixed infestations. Of these, the most prominent species were Ch megacephala (F.) and Ch rufifacies (Macquart). Other fly maggots recovered included Sarcophaga spp., Lucilia spp. and Hermetia spp., mostly occurring together with other calliphorine flies. A member of Muscidae fly, Ophyra spp. was also recovered for the first time.
In Part 1 of her war diary, Brenda MacDuff, a nurse with the Colonial Nursing Service in Malaya, tells of her early experiences in the country at the outbreak of war in the East and of her subsequent capture by the Japanese Army.
The authors outline the steps being taken in Malaysia aimed at persuading people to avoid the unhealthy lifestyles commonly associated with socioeconomic development and increased affluence, and to adopt health dietary and other habits.
The Medical Department of Sabah, in collaboration with various governmental and non-governmental agencies and 'Surgeons International' conducted a state-wide campaign for the 'Early Detection of Cancer' over a period of 3 months from July 1992. The purpose of the campaign was to educate the population about the early signs and symptoms of common cancers, to remove the myth that cancer was incurable and to impress on the public the need to detect cancer early for a possible cure and a better prognosis.
The occurrence of tributyltin (TBT) is reported in the coastal waters of a few selected sites in Peninsular Malaysia. Water, bivalves and sediment samples collected were analysed specifically for TBT using sensitive analytical methods which involved a solvent extraction procedure with appropriate clean-up followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric measurements. The levels of TBT in the seawater in unexposed areas were found in the range from <3.4 to 20 ng litre(-1) as compared to coastal areas with high boat and ship activities where TBT levels in seawater were generally above 30 ng litre(-1), with the highest level found at 281.8 ng litre(-1). TBT levels in the tissues of random cockle and soft-shell clam samples from local markets were found in the range from <0.5 to 3.7 ng g(-1) wet weight. The levels of TBT found in green mussel samples both from the market (23.5 ng g(-1) wet weight) and those from a mussel farm (14.2 ng g(-1) wet weight) indicate slight accumulation of TBT. In sediments, TBT levels were found ranging from <0.7 ng g(-1) dry weight in unexposed coastal sites to as high as 216.5 ng g(-1) dry weight for a site within a port area.
A study to determine contamination of diluted disinfectants at different points in preparation and use in 6 Malaysian hospitals was done using the in-use test. A growth of > or = 250 organisms/ml was taken as an indication of contamination. A total of 342 (7.9%) of the 4316 freshly diluted samples collected from disinfectant bottles in the pharmacy were found to be contaminated. The bacterial isolates obtained were Pseudomonas spp. (42.4%), Moraxella spp. (22.0%), Flavobacterium spp. (11.6%) and Enterobacter spp. (4.2%). Three hundred and sixty seven out of 2278 ward stock were contaminated. The isolates were Pseudomonas spp. (48.6%), Moraxella spp. (17.8%), Acinetobacter spp. (8.9%) and Flavobacterium spp. (7.0%). Of the 9265 disinfectants in-use, 1519 (16.4%) were contaminated. Among the organisms isolated were Pseudomonas spp. (44.3%), Bacillus spp. (13.0%), Enterobacter spp. (9.5%) and Acinetobacter spp. (7.3%). The results indicated a high level of contamination of diluted disinfectants prepared in the pharmacy, stored and used in the wards. This gave a high index of suspicion that recommendations for cleaning of disinfectant containers before refilling, handling of diluted stock solutions and using of disinfectants were not closely adhered to. Standard disinfection procedures outlined in the disinfection and sterilization policy by the Ministry of Health should therefore be followed.
This survey explored patient-orientated services, beyond processing of prescriptions and dispensing of medications, provided by the Malaysian community pharmacist. The results revealed a trend towards the provision of such activities. Although this was not widely implemented by the pharmacists, activities such as patient counselling and providing drug information were part of their daily practice. Lack of time, large workload, and inadequate drug information sources were the constraints cited by the pharmacists for the provision of such activities. If willingness and abilities to perform such activities were the significant barriers, then educational programmes should be initiated to provide the missing competencies.
Anopheles maculatus Theobald sensu lato is a species complex now consisting of eight sibling species; An. maculatus is still represented by two cytologically distinct forms; i.e., the widely distributed sensu strictu or B, and E from southern Thailand and adjacent areas in northern Malaysia. Cuticular lipid profiles in conjunction with principal component analysis was used to separate An. maculatus form E from sensu stricto form B in a preliminary survey of the An. maculatus complex at five locations spanning peninsular Malaysia. The relative rank orders, from the areas of the five gas chromatographic peaks used to determine lipid differences for specimens from peninsular Malaysia, matched well with those from cytogenetically identified colony specimens of An. maculatus forms B and E. The two-dimensional principal component pattern of specimens identified as form E was highly clumped, which indicated that very similar cuticular lipids were present within this putative malaria vector. Both forms coexisted in peninsular Malaysia, but form E may be dominant except in the south.
Two hundred and seventy patients with schizophrenia (104 patients in Kelantan and 166 patients in Penang) were interviewed using the Present State Examination to elicit the differences in the phenomenology of their hallucinations. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the phenomenology of hallucinations between the Malays of Penang and Kelantan and also among some Chinese patients. These findings indicate that culture does affect the phenomenology of schizophrenia, even among people of the same race but of different regions.
In certain countries of east and south-east Asia, traditional Chinese medicine continues to be used by many people. However, the pattern of use favours the advance of the drug-retailing side of this sector rather than medical care, and there is consequently some concern about the professional status of practitioners in the long term.
An investigation of nine Malaysian dart poisons has confirmed that their main active components are cardenolides from Antiaris toxicaria (Pers.) Lesch. and alkaloids probably from different forms of Strychnos ignatii P. Bergius. It is not possible to determine the ethnic origin of the poisons from the results of the analyses on their own. Two new cardiac glycosides have been isolated and their structures determined as 12 beta-hydroxycannogenin 3 beta-O-beta-D-deoxygulopyranoside and 3 beta-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside, respectively.
During the period 1 January 1990-31 December 1990, 68 neonates with congenital abnormalities were successfully analysed for chromosome abnormalities in order to determine the contribution of chromosome aberrations to the aetiology of congenital abnormalities. The neonates were karyotyped employing the G-banding technique. Twenty-nine babies showed abnormal chromosome karyotypes. Twenty-six were observed to have classic trisomy syndromes; ie. trisomy 21 (32.3%), trisomy 18 (3.0%), and trisomy 13 (3.0%). The mean maternal age of the mothers with babies having normal karyotype was lower than the mean maternal age of the mothers having babies with abnormal karyotypes. From this study the incidence of congenital abnormalities due to chromosomal abnormalities is found to be 1:838 livebirths. Frequency of newborns having abnormal chromosomes is 0.14% for Malays, 0.12% for Chinese and 0.06% for Indians.