The increasing number of prevalence infertility cases is becoming a major public health problem in developing countries due to changes in diet and lifestyle. Melicope ptelefolia (M.ptelifolia) is known for its health benefit as a sex enhancing effect among the Malays folk however there is no clinical data to prove it until these days. The main aim of the present study is to identify the effects of Melicope ptelifolia Aqueous extract (MPAE) on Sperm Parameters and Testosterone Level . A total of 30 male Sprague Dawley rats were divided equally into five different groups. MPAE was given by orally gavage for 28 days at a dose of 100mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight to the animals of group II (n=6), III (n=6) and IV (n=6), respectively. The animals of group I (control, n=6) had distilled water and group V had sildenafil citrate. Sperm Parameters were carried include sperm count, motility, mobility and morphology together with serum testosterone level for Testosterone level result. Results were analyzed using one way ANOVA test followed by Tukey test and the data were considered significant at p
Abdominal obesity (AO) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus in adults. There is a lack of data on the magnitude and socio-demographic profile of AO among Malaysian adults at the national level. In the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) conducted in 2006, AO of adults aged 18 years and above was determined based on the waist circumference as part of the nutritional status assessment. This article reports the prevalence of AO in relation to socio-economic factors and demographic characteristics of adult subjects. Out of a total of 33,465 eligible individuals 18 years and above, waist circumference was measured in 32,900 (98.3%) individuals. The prevalence of AO was assessed using the cut-off points recommended by World Health Organization. The mean waist circumference in men and women was 84.0cm [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 83.8, 84.3] and 80.3cm (95% CI: 80.1, 80.6) respectively. The national prevalence of AO was 17.4% (95% CI: 16.9, 17.9). The identified risks of AO were women (OR: 4.2, 95% CI: 3.8, 4.6), aged 50-59 years (OR: 5.6, 95% CI: 4.0, 7.7), Indians (OR: 3.0, 95% CI: 2.4, 3.8), housewives (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.7), subjects with primary education (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.5) and ever married (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2, 1.6). Being the largest population-based study on AO among Malaysians, these findings have important public health implications. There is an urgent need to revise public health policies and programmes aimed at prevention of abdominal obesity especially in the groups at risk.
Study name: National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-2006)
Introduction: Child malnutrition continues to be a major public health problem in developing countries. This study aims to determine the current nutritional status of Malaysian school children using the anthropometric indicators of weight for age (WAZ), height for age (HAZ), and body mass index for age (BAZ). Methods: A nationwide school-based survey was undertaken in all Malaysian
states and territories, which included 18,078 children aged 8-10 years attending 445 primary schools. The software WHO AnthroPlus was used to calculate zscores for the nutritional status (WAZ, HAZ and BAZ) of the target population relative to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2007 reference. Results: The national prevalence of underweight among school children was 13.6% and in
rural areas, this rate was nearly double that of urban areas. The national prevalence rate for stunting was 10.9%, double among rural school children compared to their urban counterparts. As for thinness, the national prevalence was 6.5%. Using the WAZ indicator, we found that the national prevalence of overweight children was 7.6%. Additionally, we found that urban areas showed a higher
prevalence of overweight children (8.8%) than rural areas (5.9%). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that Malaysian school children face the burden of malnutrition, suffering from both undernourishment and overweight. Malaysia must make a concerted effort to overcome the problems of malnutrition among children.
Parasites and bacteria are reported in the faeces of birds in the current study. Fresh faecal samples of the large-billed crow (Corvus spp.) were collected from the study site at Bangsar, an urban setting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These samples were transported to laboratory and analysed for parasites and bacteria. Pre-prepared XLD agar plates were used for culturing the bacteria in the laboratory. Using the API 20ETM Test Strips, 9 different species of bacteria were identified belonging to the family Enterobacteriacea. They were Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Kluyvera ascorbata, Salmonella arizonae, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei. The protozoan parasites detected include Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora spp., Blastocystis spp., and Capillaria hepatica and Ascaris lumbricoidus ova. Environmental air samples collected on agar plates using an air sampler in the area only produced fungal colonies. Some of these pathogens found in the crows are of zoonotic importance, especially Cryptosporidium, Blastocystis, Cyclopsora, Salmonella, Shigella and Kluyvera. The finding of Kluyvera spp. in crows in our current study highlights its zoonotic potential in an urban setting.
Resistant and enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus strains are considered to be one of the major causes of foodborne diseases due to the consumption of sweet. The present research was done to study the distribution of enterotoxin types, enterotoxigenic genes and antibiotic resistance pattern of S. aureus strains isolated from traditional sweet samples. Eight-hundred and fifteen sweet samples were cultured and S. aureus strains were identified. Antibiotic resistance, enterotoxigenicity and enterotoxigenic gene profile were studied using disk diffusion, Enzyme Link Immunosorbent Assay and PCR, respectively. One-hundred and seven out of 815 (13.12%) sweet samples were positive for S. aureus. Prevalence of S. aureus in dried and semi-dried sweet samples were 15.08% and 11.13%, respectively (P <0.05). Forty-six out of 107 S. aureus strains (42.99%) were determined as enterotoxigenic. A (41.30%) and C (17.39%) were the most commonly detected enterotoxin types. Sea (20.56%), sec (14.95%) and seb (11.21%) were the most commonly detected enterotoxigenic genes. There were no positive sample for the sej enterotoxin gene. S. aureus strains harbored the highest prevalence of resistance against penicillin (88.78%), tetracycline (83.17%), ceftaroline (75.70%) and doxycycline (71.02%). Simultaneous presence of enterotoxins and enterotoxigenic genes in multi-drug resistant S. aureus strains indicates important public health issue regarding the consumption of contaminated traditional sweet samples.
Toxoplasmosis is a protozoal infection of zoonotic potential with worldwide geographical distribution which affects nearly all warm-blooded animals including mammals and birds. Keeping in view, this study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis along with associated risk factors and its haematological impacts in small ruminants of district Multan, Pakistan. In this study, a total of 250 sera samples collected from sheep (n=125) and goats (n=125) from three tehsils of Multan were examined using commercially available Latex agglutination test kit for the presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies. The haematological profiles of Toxoplasma seropositive and seronegative animals were determined by using automated haematology analyser. Overall seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants was 42.80% with a higher prevalence rate (44.80%) in sheep as compared to goats (40.80%). Sex, existence of co-morbid conditions, feeding pattern and presence of pet cats and dogs were identified as significant (P<0.05) risk factors associated with the presence of antibodies against toxoplasmosis. The breed was found to be a significant (P=0.026) risk factor for the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in goats but not in sheep. Haematological analysis revealed significantly altered leukocytic counts (P<0.05) in seropositive sheep and goats as compared to seronegative ones. Our findings showed that small ruminants of the Multan District in Pakistan are toxoplasma seropositive and may pose a serious threat of public health concern in the region.
Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide public health concern. Rise in the number of antimicrobial resistant organisms, such as extended spectrum β-lactamase- (ESBL) and carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, continue to burden millions of people worldwide. E. coli and K. pneumoniae were isolated and collected for four months from a teaching hospital in the Philippines. All isolates were subjected to ESBL and carbapenemase testing using the double disk synergy test and modified Hodge test, respectively. Their pattern of resistance among different classes of antimicrobial agents was also investigated using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test. Among the 32 clinical isolates tested, 28.1% were positive for ESBL production and 6.3% were positive for carbapenemase production. Species-specific classification showed that E. coli (44.4%) has the highest rate of ESBL production whereas both E. coli (5.6%) and K. pneumoniae (7.1%) showed almost similar rates of carbapenemase production. Antimicrobial resistance pattern of drug resistant isolates showed that all organisms were resistant to ampicillin, and majority showed resistance towards ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. ESBL production is seen highest among E. coli isolates while similar rates of carbapenemase production was observed to both E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates. Overall, antimicrobial resistance continues to rise and poses a huge threat in public health worldwide. Efforts should be made in developing rapid tests for antimicrobial resistance and to search for effective treatment from infections caused by multidrug resistant organisms.
Helminth infections (HIs) are an important public health problem in tropical countries, and the associated problems have been neglected in rural areas of Thailand. Therefore, this study reports the prevalence and intensity of HIs among inhabitants of the Khon Sawan district, Chaiyaphum province, and Kaeng Samnam Nang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, which are located near the Chi River and Lahanna water reservoir, northeastern Thailand. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between July 31, 2018, and June 30, 2019, among rural villagers from 40 rural villages in 4 subdistricts. The participants were selected from the village enrolment list after proportional allocation of the total sample size. Faecal samples from 691 inhabitants were prepared using solvent-free faecal parasite concentrator, and helminths were then detected using a light microscope. Statistical analysis included the Chi-square test with Yates correction, and multivariable logistic regression was performed. A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The prevalence of HIs was 2.03%. The most prevalent helminths were Opisthorchis viverrini (1.31%), followed by Strongyloides stercoralis (0.44%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.29%), hookworm (0.15%), Teania spp. (0.15%) and one minute intestinal fluke (0.15%). Coinfections were identified in 2 cases for S. stercoralis and hookworm and 1 case for O. viverrini and S. stercoralis infection. All infected participants had a light intensity of HI. There was no significant difference between general characteristics for all HIs. The prevalence of HIs was not significantly associated with general characteristics. This study indicates that the infections result mainly from foodborne helminths and skin-penetrating nematodes. Therefore, interventions should concentrate on the personal hygiene of the population and improving sanitation to reduce HIs in this area.
Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease caused by rabies virus (RABV) and remains a public health problem in Malaysia. Malaysia was declared rabies-free in 2012, however rabies outbreaks occurred at few states in Peninsular Malaysia three years later; and for the first time, in Sarawak (East Malaysia) in 2017 which has caused more than 20 human deaths. This study describes the phylogenetic analysis of the complete nucleoprotein (N) gene of RABV from animal samples in Malaysia from year 2015 to 2018. The N gene of 17 RABVs from Perlis, Kedah and Sarawak were amplified and sequenced. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid similarities of N gene analysis indicated that there is high similarity among the local RABVs. Phylogenetic analysis of the N gene revealed that all Malaysia RABVs belonged to the Asian clade. Among these, RABVs from Peninsular Malaysia were clustered together with RABVs from Thailand, Vietnam and other Southeast Asia countries except Indonesia. However, RABVs from Sarawak were grouped together with Indonesian strains from Kalimantan. Our study provides baseline genetic information of the potential origins of the circulating RABVs in Malaysia. This crucial information helped the authority in policies making and strategies to be taken in outbreak control. Continuous surveillance program to monitor the disease trend, strict border control, vaccination of dog and cat population and public awareness are important steps to control the spread of the RABV.
Cancer is a community health hazard which progress at a fatal rate in various countries across the globe. An agent used for chemotherapy should exhibit ideal properties to be an effective anticancer medicine. The chemotherapeutic medicines used for treatment of various cancers are, gemcitabine, paclitaxel, etoposide, methotrexate, cisplatin, doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil. However, many of these agents present nonspecific systemic toxicity that prevents their treatment efficiency. Of all, gemcitabine has shown to be an active agent against colon, pancreatic, colon, ovarian, breast, head and neck and lung cancers in amalgamation with various anticancer agents. Gemcitabine is considered a gold-standard and the first FDA approved agent used as a monotherapy in management of advanced pancreatic cancers. However due to its poor pharmacokinetics, there is need of newer drug delivery system for efficient action. Nanotechnology has shown to be an emerging trend in field of medicine in providing novel modalities for cancer treatment. Various nanocarriers have the potential to deliver the drug at the desired site to obtain information about diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This review highlights on various nanocarriers like polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, micelles, liposomes, dendrimers, gold nanoparticles and combination approaches for delivery of gemcitabine for cancer therapy. The co-encapsulation and concurrent delivery of Gem with other anticancer agents can enhance drug action at the cancer site with reduced side effects.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus in humans, has expanded globally over the past year. COVID-19 remains an important subject of intensive research owing to its huge impact on economic and public health globally. Based on historical archives, the first coronavirus-related disease recorded was possibly animal-related, a case of feline infectious peritonitis described as early as 1912. Despite over a century of documented coronaviruses in animals, the global animal industry still suffers from outbreaks. Knowledge and experience handling animal coronaviruses provide a valuable tool to complement our understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we present an overview of coronaviruses, clinical signs, COVID-19 in animals, genome organization and recombination, immunopathogenesis, transmission, viral shedding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. By drawing parallels between COVID-19 in animals and humans, we provide perspectives on the pathophysiological mechanisms by which coronaviruses cause diseases in both animals and humans, providing a critical basis for the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against these deadly viruses.
The misuse of medicine is a serious public health issue worldwide. An important factor that contributes to the misuse of medicine is the lack of medication label viewing by consumers. The objective of the present study is to examine the socio-economic, demographic and lifestyle factors associated with medication label viewing among Malaysian adults. The empirical analysis is based on a nationally representative data set of 30,992 respondents. An ordered probit model is used to examine different types of medication label viewers. The results of this study suggest that socio-economic (i.e. age, income level, education level, location of residence), demographic (i.e. gender, ethnicity, marital status) and lifestyle factors (i.e. physical activity, smoking) have significant effects on medication label viewing. It is found that age, low-income and low-education level reduce the likelihood of viewing medication label. Based on these findings, several policy implications are suggested. The present study provides policy makers with baseline information regarding which cohorts of individuals to focus on in efforts to increase the frequency of medication label viewing.
The state of Johore, Malaysia had been hit by the worst flood in the Malaysian modern history on the 19th December 2006 (first wave) and the 12th January 2007 (second wave) affecting all the eight districts. A total number of 157,018 and 155,368 Johore population had been displaced by the first and the second wave event respectively. The Johore State Health Department activated the Flood Action Plan which include mobilising medical teams to conduct daily clinical examinations on the flood victims and health teams to inspect flood relief centres, food premises and homes at flood-hit areas with regard to prevent and control communicable diseases. The spreadsheet format was used to collect data on diseases, injury and death throughout the Johore flood disaster period starting from the 19th December 2006 until 19th February 2007. Analyses showed that 19,670 flood victims (36.3%) had communicable diseases and 34,530 (67.0%) had non-communicable diseases. As for the communicable diseases and symptoms/syndromes related to communicable disease, 41.3% were acute respiratory infections (ARI) followed by 25.9% skin infections, 19.1% fever, 10.1% acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and 3.0% acute conjunctivitis. Other infectious diseases include 61 notifiable diseases (46 food poisoning, 14 dengue fever and one tuberculosis), 20 leptospirosis (with two deaths), 20 chicken pox and two melioidosis cases. The Batu Pahat district had the highest incidence for the majority of the communicable diseases because of the prolonged flooding period. No cholera, typhoid, malaria, measles or hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) cases were detected among the Johore flood victims. Trends of disease incidence follow the number of evacuees placed in the relief centres corresponding to respective wave. A total of 507 flood victims had physical injuries related to flood mostly due to fall onto wet floor at the relief centres. Fifteen deaths due to drowning were mainly caused by accidental fall into the flood water. The incidence of communicable diseases encountered had been appropriately anticipated and managed attributed to enhanced public health control programmes augmented by syndromic and laboratory surveillance on potentialy fatal infectious diseases. Equal emphasis should be given to the surveillance and control of chronic diseases.
Background and Objective : Johor was affected by the worst flood in 100 years in December 2006 and again in January 2007. The concern that improper sanitary facilities and contaminated water supply at relief centres would result in contaminated food made monitoring of food hygiene vital. The objective of this paper is to describe food hygiene surveillance activities carried out in flood relief centres and flood affected areas and the challenges faced in carrying out these activities.
Methodology : The food hygiene surveillance activities were carried out by the Assistant Environmental Health Officers (AEHO) in the districts. Among the surveillance activities carried out are inspection of food preparation areas in relief centres, inspection of food premises in flood affected areas and food sampling. Premise inspections were carried out using a specific inspection format. Food samples taken were sent to Public Health Laboratory, Johor Bahru for microbiological analysis. Anti typhoid vaccination for food handlers were also carried out. Apart from that, observations made by the health teams were alsotaken into account.
Results : A total of 3,159 food preparation areas in relief centres were inspected. During the same period, a total of 2,317 food premises in flood affected areas were inspected as soon these premises started operating after the floods. Inspections showed that 69 food preparation areas in relief centres and 181 food premises in flood affected areas had unsatisfactory hygiene. A total of 1,566 holding samples were taken and 425 samples were sent to the laboratory for analysis. Forty-six of the samples analysed were found to be positive for pathogenic bacteria such as e. coli, staphylococcus aureus and salmonella.
Conclusion : The health personnel from the Johor Health Department in various districts carried out an excellent job in ensuring food safety during the floods. There were no outbreaks of food poisoning. However analysis of food samples taken during the floods did show the presence of pathogenic organisms but probably their numbers were not high enough to cause any food poisoning. The promotion and enforcement of food hygiene requirements should be carried out continuously to ensure that every individual understands the need for hygiene and food safety during disaster situation such as flood.
Introduction: Specific health warning placed on the tobacco product packages is considered as an effective and low-cost method for increasing the knowledge and awareness among the community. Thus, a study was conducted to assess the perception of pictorial health warnings (PHWs) against smoking among the adult rural population of Sarawak.
Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 10 villages in Kota Samarahan and Kuching Division by face to face interview using modified Global Adult Tobacco Survey questionnaire. Nonprobability sampling method was adopted to select the villages. All the households of the selected villages were visited and an adult member was selected randomly from each house irrespective of the sex. After missing value imputation, 1000 data were analysed using statistical software IBM SPSS 20.0 version.
Results: Analysis showed that 28.8% of the respondents were current smokers, 7.8% were past smokers and the rest were non-smokers. Six items of pictorial health warnings were evaluated with five point Likert’s scales for attractiveness, fearfulness and adequacy of the information. Analysis revealed that the majority of the respondents had perceived awareness on PHWs, but the smokers believed that this was not adequate to make them quit smoking. Only one-fifth (19.7%) of them reported that current pictorial health warnings were sufficient to motivate people to quit smoking.
Conclusion: Though the PHWs on cigarette packages are appealing, it is not sufficient as a reason to stop smoking. Thus, an approach using an integrated anti-tobacco public health programme should be focused into the specific targeted community
Obesity is a growing epidemic due to an accelerated phase of industrialization and urbanization with the overfed people
now outnumbered the underfed. It is the major public health problem with a lot of research interest as it is associated
with many complicated chronic disorders such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancers. A global
estimation of 2.8 million deaths per year is due to obesity and there are tremendous on-going efforts to identify hosts
and environmental factors that infl uence the cause and pathogenesis of obesity. Concerted efforts from different research
groups had successfully shown that obese subjects have altered composition of gut microbiota and transplantation of this
microbiota infl uences body weight in the germ-free recipient mice. The advancement of technology had made possible
the study of gut microbiota which was unculturable for better understanding of their impact to human health. Rapid
deep sequencing of DNA at reasonable cost through various options of platforms followed by data analysis using robust
bioinformatic tools are an important way of analysing the gut microbiome. Here we review the role of gut microbiota
which modulates host’s metabolic functions and gene expression, facilitating the extraction and storage of energy from the
ingested dietary substances and leading to body-weight gain. We will discuss on the different techniques used, focusing
on the high-defi nition technologies for the determination of the composition, function and ecology of gut microbiota. This
allows the appropriate selection of platform which becomes the key for success of subsequent research.
Menthol brand cigarette has been found to be linked with early initiation of smoking and addiction of nicotine. This study was designed to find out the factors associated with smoking menthol brand cigarettes among adult population in Sarawak. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among the adult population in Sarawak. Data were collected from ten villages in Kota Samarahan and Kuching Division by face to face interview using modified Global Adult Tobacco Survey questionnaire. Non-probability purposive sampling method was adopted to select the villages. All the households of the villages were visited, and an adult member was selected randomly from each household irrespective of sex. After missing value imputation, 1000 data sets were analysed using statistical software SPSS 19.0 version. Analysis showed that 28.8% of the respondents were current smokers, and 7.8% were past smokers. Among the smokers, 56.3% were habituated with menthol brand cigarette. Logistic regression analysis revealed that age at initiation of smoking before 15 years of age (OR=11. 68, 95% CI: 4.25, 32.10), smoking within five minutes of wake up from sleep (OR=3. 20, 95% CI: 1.35, 7.54), nature of job as business (OR=4. 81, 95% CI: 2.13, 10.86) and service holders (OR= 3.85, 95% CI: 2.07, 7.16) and family size 5 and above (OR=2. 22, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.94) appeared to be important determinants of smoking any menthol brand cigarette (p< 0.05). Menthol is a prominent design feature to attract and retain younger smokers. It does not necessarily make the transition from experimenting with cigarettes, but to encourage early smokers to become a confirmed smoker. So, anti-tobacco public health programme should focus on age-specific community approach.
The lower percentage of water, sanitation and hygiene are the root causes of diarrhoea and cholera. Cholera is a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea which can progress to severe dehydration and death if untreated. The current pandemic, Vibrio Cholera O1 started in 1961. This study explores water, sanitation, hygiene and cholera and diarrhoea in three affected villages of Beluran District, Sabah Malaysia to support effective and timely public health intervention. This cross sectional study uses purposive sampling. All (114) households were interviewed and household water samples collected. The study reported lower coverage improved sanitation facilities (35.3% to 52.3%), no latrine at home (37% to 63%), improved water supply (52% to 60%), and prevalence of hand washing after toilet (57% - 74%). For water quality, Ecoli was present in household water (32% to 37%) but Vibrio cholerae was not isolated in any of the water samples tested. Statistically significant associations were found for; 1) occupation−nonagriculture and unimproved sanitation facility and 2) house ownership and correct knowledge of ORS preparation. Predictors for household water quality were: latrine at home, and improved household toilet. Aggressive strategies to improve water supply, sanitation and hygiene−hand washing after toilet−were recommended for future prevention of cholera and diarrhoea in the affected area.
Introduction: Obesity has been recognized as a major public health concern due to lack of physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out to determine the status of body mass index (BMI) and habitual physical activity level among staffs working in Military Hospital, Malacca using Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire (HPAQ). Results: About 120 HPAQ were distributed and only 82 responded with 23(28%) of them males and 59 (72%) females, aged between 21 to 59 (40.52 ± 9.38) years old. Anthropometry analysis showed the mean weight of male respondents was 79.48 (± 16.33) and 70.95 (± 15.66) for the females. Body mass index (BMI) for males (33.61 ± 2.82) was almost similar to females ( 33.20± 2.95).The mean waist circumference of men was 93.26 (± 10.94)cm compared to 94.03 (± 11.98)cm in the females. Following categorization of BMI, 59% (n=48) are in the obese group, 24% (n=20) are overweight and only 17% (n=14) have an ideal body weight or normal BMI. Relationship between BMI and HPAQ demonstrated strong and significant correlation coefficient for habitual physical activity at work (r = 0.775, p < 0.001), sports (r = 0.735, p < 0.05) and leisure ( r = 0.713, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The staffs working in the Hospital demonstrated poor habitual physical activity which explains for the high incidence of obesity among the staffs. This requires measures to be taken to promote a healthier lifestyle among them.
Antibiotic resistance in campylobacter is an emerging global public health problem after MRSA and VRE. Fluoroquinolone and macrolide resistance have been found to be more common in this world leading foodborne pathogen. A total of fifty-six isolates of Campylobacter jejuni obtained from raw vegetables
which are consumed as ulam (salad) in Malaysia, were tested with 12 antibiotics used clinically and
agriculturally. The resistance was determined using the disk diffusion method. Results were determined
by hierarchic numerical methods to cluster strains and antibiotics according to similarity profiles. Fifty
five C. jejuni isolates from different isolation sites were all clustered together into ten groups. This indicates that the commodities (raw salad vegetables/ulam) where the isolates originated might share a similar source of cross-contamination along the production route. All antibiotics tested correlated and there were four groupings reflecting their mode of actions. Generally, C. jejuni isolates were found to be highly resistant to erythromycin (91.1%) and tetracycline (85.7%). Both agents are popular antibiotics used clinically to treat bacterial infections. On the other hand, the C. jejuni isolates showed high percentage (80.4%) of resistance towards enrofloxacin, an extensively used antimicrobial agent in agriculture practices. This study showed that C. jejuni isolates were highly multi-resistance to as many as 10 antibiotics. Therefore, in terms of biosafety, the presence of antibiotic resistance strains in the food chain has raised concerns that the treatment of human infections will be compromised.