A study was carried out in theJengka Triangle in Pahang to find out the prevalence and a practical cum effective method of treatment and control of scabies. Scabies was the commonest skin lesion among the 5590 people examined. its prevalence being 11.6%. Both sexes were equally affected. Prevalence was high among children and teenagers, the worst affected being the 10 to 14. 2 to 4, 15 to 19 and 5 to 9 year olds. The problem of scabies in Jengka could be due to inadequate and irregular water supply, plus lack of mothers' supervision of the personal hygiene of their children aged > 2 years. The persistence of scabies since 1976 is very likely due to the people's non-compliance with standing instructions on treatment with Benzyl benzoate emulsion A comparative study of treatment of scabies with Gamma Benzene Hexachloride [GBH] and with Benzyl benzoate emulsion [BBE] showed GBH to be the medication of choice. It was more effective and convenient, giving 97.9% cure rate with one application. A hot bath was not necessary. The patients preferred GBH to BBE since it was painless and without side-effects. The cost of treatment with GBH [1 application] was also much less than that with BBE [2 applications]. Only 28.7% of the cases and contacts complied with instructions to do 2nd application of the medication on their own, making it imperative that application be done by the health Staff or under their direct supervision. The majority [87.2%] complied with instructions to place their used clothes in large polythene bags and air these in the sun for two days. This procedure should replace the instructions to boil personal clothes as it is just as effective. yet more convenient and economical. A regular, biannual screening of all kindergarten and primary school children is recommended. Application of GBH to all scabies cases and all close contacts should be done by the health worker. The whole body from neck to soles of feet should have the application, and the people should be instructed to bathe only after 24 hours. They are to go to the nearest clinic or hospital on the 7th day for second application of GBH, if the itchness or lesions persist or reappear. Such supervised medication is possible and will minimise misuse of GBH.
A case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria resistant to Fansidar (sulphadoxine plus pyrimethamine) at a level corresponding to R III and resistant to chloroquine is reported. The infection was most certainly acquired in Malaysia, but diagnosed and treated in a non-malarious area. Normal resorption and elimination rates of the Fansidar components excludes cure failure due to abnormal drug fate in the host. P. falciparum parasites from the patient have been maintained in vitro cultures. The patient was permanently cured with mefloquine.
Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against different epitope regions on three sexual stage-specific gamete surface proteins of Plasmodium falciparum, Pfs 25, Pfs 230, and Pfs 48/45, were used to study the genetic diversity of these epitopes among fresh isolates of P. falciparum from Malaysia, using immunofluorescence microscopy (IFA). Among 45 Malaysian isolates, one epitope of Pfs 25, designated region I, showed evidence of variable reactivity with MAbs among different isolates; the Pfs 25 epitope, region II, was universally recognized by MAbs in all isolates. Two apparently distinct epitope regions of Pfs 230 were defined by MAbs, one of which was universally recognized by MAbs among the 45 isolates; the other was conserved in all but three isolates. The epitope regions of gamete-surface protein Pfs 48/45, designated regions I, IIa, IIb, IIc, III, and IV, were examined for reactivity by IFA in 33 isolates. Epitope regions I, IIb, III, and IV were conserved in all isolates; regions IIa and IIc existed in variant forms.
When performed based on cytology, histological accuracy of the laser cone specimen improved with the more severe cytology. The incidence of adenocarcinoma in situ is 1.0%. With and without residual disease, the rate of abnormal cytology after laser excision cone are 0.6% and 1.6% respectively. There is good correlation between colposcopic biopsy and cone specimen in the more severe lesions. Out of 139 cases of incomplete excision, only 3 cases had abnormal cytology at follow-up. The complication rates are very low.
Stop the bleeding - digital pressure, packing. Once the bleeding has stopped, performed coagulation studies. Refer to an ENT surgeon for opinion particularly as you may be dealing with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Two high-copy-number insertion sequences, IS2404 and IS2606, were recently identified in Mycobacterium ulcerans and were shown by Southern hybridization to possess restriction fragment length polymorphism between strains from different geographic origins. We have designed a simple genotyping method that captures these differences by PCR amplification of the region between adjacent copies of IS2404 and IS2606. We have called this system 2426 PCR. The method is rapid, reproducible, sensitive, and specific for M. ulcerans, and it has confirmed previous studies suggesting a clonal population structure of M. ulcerans within a geographic region. M. ulcerans isolates from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Surinam, Mexico, Japan, China, and several countries in Africa were easily differentiated based on an array of 4 to 14 PCR products ranging in size from 200 to 900 bp. Numerical analysis of the banding patterns suggested a close evolutionary link between M. ulcerans isolates from Africa and southeast Asia. The application of 2426 PCR to total DNA, extracted directly from M. ulcerans-infected tissue specimens without culture, demonstrated the sensitivity and specificity of this method and confirmed for the first time that both animal and human isolates from areas of endemicity in southeast Australia have the same genotype.
In mid-January 2000, the reappearance of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus activity in the Australasian region was first demonstrated by the isolation of JE virus from 3 sentinel pigs on Badu Island in the Torres Strait. Further evidence of JE virus activity was revealed through the isolation of JE virus from Culex gelidus mosquitoes collected on Badu Island and the detection of specific JE virus neutralizing antibodies in 3 pigs from Saint Pauls community on Moa Island. Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the premembrane and envelope genes were performed which showed that both the pig and mosquito JE virus isolates (TS00 and TS4152, respectively) clustered in genotype I, along with northern Thai, Cambodian, and Korean isolates. All previous Australasian JE virus isolates belong to genotype II, along with Malaysian and Indonesian isolates. Therefore, for the first time, the appearance and transmission of a second genotype of JE virus in the Australasian region has been demonstrated.
The oil palm sector is one of the major plantation industries in Malaysia. Palm kernel cake is a byproduct of extracted palm kernel oil. Mostly palm kernel cake is wasted or is mixed with other nutrients and used as animal feed, especially for ruminant animals. Recently, palm kernel cake has been identified as an important ingredient for the formulation of animal feed, and it is also exported especially to Europe, South Korea, and Japan. It can barely be consumed by nonruminant (monogastric) animals owing to the high percentages of hemicellulose and cellulose contents. Palm kernel cake must undergo suitable pretreatment in order to decrease the percentage of hemicellulose and cellulose. One of the methods employed in this study is fermentation with microorganisms, particularly fungi, to partially degrade the hemicellulose and cellulose content. This work focused on the production of enzymes by Aspergillus niger and profiling using palm kernel cake as carbon source.
We present an interesting and rare case of a diabetic patient who developed extensive unilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) which was caused by fungal infection. The diagnosis was confirmed on computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen. Repeated urine cultures grew Candida albicans but no other organisms were isolated. The patient remained febrile and unwell despite parenteral broad spectrum antibiotics and antifungal treatment. She underwent nephrectomy and then made a good clinical recovery.
A plasmid construct was designed in which the gene of antimicrobial peptide melittin is controlled by the tetracycline-responsive promoter of human cytomegalovirus, aided by a constitutively expressed trans-activator protein gene. Its vaginal administration and induction of melittin gene transcription with doxycycline markedly suppressed subsequent genital tract infection of mice by Mycoplasma hominis and Chlamydia trachomatis. At least half of the melittin-protected animals proved free of either pathogen within 3-4 weeks. Recombinant plasmids expressing genes of antimicrobial peptides hold much promise as agents for prevention and control of urogenital latent infections.