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Fulltext Corrigendum: Predicting Plasmodium knowlesi transmission risk across Peninsular Malaysia using machine learning-based ecological niche modeling approaches

Phang WK, Hamid MHBA, Jelip J, Mudin RNB, Chuang TW, Lau YL, et al.

Front Microbiol, 2023;14:1178864.
PMID: 37007492 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1178864

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1126418.].
Fulltext Comparative evaluation of two commercial real-time PCR kits (QuantiFast™ and abTES™) for the detection of Plasmodium knowlesi and other Plasmodium species in Sabah, Malaysia

Nuin NA, Tan AF, Lew YL, Piera KA, William T, Rajahram GS, et al.

Malar J, 2020 Aug 27;19(1):306.
PMID: 32854695 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-020-03379-2

BACKGROUND: The monkey parasite Plasmodium knowlesi is an emerging public health issue in Southeast Asia. In Sabah, Malaysia, P. knowlesi is now the dominant cause of human malaria. Molecular detection methods for P. knowlesi are essential for accurate diagnosis and in monitoring progress towards malaria elimination of other Plasmodium species. However, recent commercially available PCR malaria kits have unpublished P. knowlesi gene targets or have not been evaluated against clinical samples.
METHODS: Two real-time PCR methods currently used in Sabah for confirmatory malaria diagnosis and surveillance reporting were evaluated: the QuantiFast™ Multiplex PCR kit (Qiagen, Germany) targeting the P. knowlesi 18S SSU rRNA; and the abTES™ Malaria 5 qPCR II kit (AITbiotech, Singapore), with an undisclosed P. knowlesi gene target. Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using 52 P. knowlesi, 25 Plasmodium vivax, 21 Plasmodium falciparum, and 10 Plasmodium malariae clinical isolates, and 26 malaria negative controls, and compared against a validated reference nested PCR assay. The limit of detection (LOD) for each PCR method and Plasmodium species was also evaluated.
RESULTS: The sensitivity of the QuantiFast™ and abTES™ assays for detecting P. knowlesi was comparable at 98.1% (95% CI 89.7-100) and 100% (95% CI 93.2-100), respectively. Specificity of the QuantiFast™ and abTES™ for P. knowlesi was high at 98.8% (95% CI 93.4-100) for both assays. The QuantiFast™ assay demonstrated falsely-positive mixed Plasmodium species at low parasitaemias in both the primary and LOD analysis. Diagnostic accuracy of both PCR kits for detecting P. vivax, P. falciparum, and P. malariae was comparable to P. knowlesi. The abTES™ assay demonstrated a lower LOD for P. knowlesi of ≤ 0.125 parasites/µL compared to QuantiFast™ with a LOD of 20 parasites/µL. Hospital microscopy demonstrated a sensitivity of 78.8% (95% CI 65.3-88.9) and specificity of 80.4% (95% CI 67.6-89.8) compared to reference PCR for detecting P. knowlesi.
CONCLUSION: The QuantiFast™ and abTES™ commercial PCR kits performed well for the accurate detection of P. knowlesi infections. Although the QuantiFast™ kit is cheaper, the abTES™ kit demonstrated a lower LOD, supporting its use as a second-line referral-laboratory diagnostic tool in Sabah, Malaysia.
Fulltext Changing epidemiology of malaria in Sabah, Malaysia: increasing incidence of Plasmodium knowlesi

William T, Jelip J, Menon J, Anderios F, Mohammad R, Awang Mohammad TA, et al.

Malar J, 2014;13:390.
PMID: 25272973 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-13-390

While Malaysia has had great success in controlling Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, notifications of Plasmodium malariae and the microscopically near-identical Plasmodium knowlesi increased substantially over the past decade. However, whether this represents microscopic misdiagnosis or increased recognition of P. knowlesi has remained uncertain.
Case Report: Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning in Sabah, Malaysia

Suleiman M, Jelip J, Rundi C, Chua TH

Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2017 Dec;97(6):1731-1736.
PMID: 29016314 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0589

During the months of January-February and May-June 2013 coinciding with the red tide occurrence in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, six episodes involving 58 cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) or saxitoxin (STX) poisoning and resulting in four deaths were reported. Many of them were intoxicated from consuming shellfish purchased from the markets, whereas others were intoxicated from eating shellfish collected from the beach. Levels of STX in shellfish collected from the affected areas were high (mean 2,920 ± 780 and 360 ± 140 µg STX equivalents/100 g shellfish meat respectively for the two periods). The count of toxic dinoflagellates (Pyrodinium bahamense var compressum) of the sea water sampled around the coast was also high (mean 34,200 ± 10,300 cells/L). Species of shellfish containing high levels of STX were Atrina fragilis, Perna viridis, and Crassostrea belcheri. The age of victims varied from 9 to 67 years. Symptoms presented were typical of PSP, such as dizziness, numbness, vomiting, and difficulty in breathing. Recommended steps to prevent or reduce PSP in future red tide season include better monitoring of red tide occurrence, regular sampling of shellfish for determination of STX level, wider dissemination of information on the danger of eating contaminated shellfish among the communities, fishermen, and fishmongers.
Fulltext Author Correction: Vector compositions change across forested to deforested ecotones in emerging areas of zoonotic malaria transmission in Malaysia

Hawkes FM, Manin BO, Cooper A, Daim S, R H, Jelip J, et al.

Sci Rep, 2019 Nov 20;9(1):17510.
PMID: 31745193 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53744-8

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
AN OUTBREAK OF TETRODOTOXIN POISONING FROM CONSUMING HORSESHOE CRABS IN SABAH

Suleiman M, Muhammad J, Jelip J, William T, Chua TH

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 2017 Jan;48(1):197-203.
PMID: 29644840

The horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda) is consumed by those
residing near the coastal areas of Kota Marudu District in Malaysia, as it is considered
a delicacy. During June to August, 2011 thirty cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning
were reported from Kota Marudu District following ingestion of horseshoe
crabs caught in Kota Marudu Bay. The purpose of this study is to describe this
case series in order to determine risk factors to prevent further outbreaks. There
were six confirmed and 24 probable cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning identified in
the study area during the study period as diagnosed by clinical presentation and
laboratory findings. Symptoms included dizziness (80%), circumoral and lingual
numbness (80%), hand and feet numbness (63.3%), nausea and vomiting (30%)
and weakness and difficulty in breathing (26.6%). Three cases (10%) died while 27
cases recovered. Forty-seven percent of the cases had onset of symptoms within
30 minutes of ingestion and 14% 31-60 minutes after ingestion of horseshoe crab
meat. Urine samples were collected from the cases, while horseshoe crabs, cockles
and sea water from the epidemic area were also taken for analysis. Tetrodotoxin
was detected in the urine of six cases; the highest concentrations recorded were
among the three cases who died. High tetrodotoxin concentrations were found
in the hepatic cecum and eggs of the tested horseshoe crabs. Dinoflagellates were
not detected in the sea water or cockle samples. Intensive health education was
initiated quickly to stop other members of the Marudu Bay community from
consuming the horseshoe crabs. This is the first documented epidemic of tetrodotoxin
poisoning in Sabah.