Displaying publications 701 - 720 of 837 in total

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  1. Halim NFAA, Ali MSM, Leow ATC, Rahman RNZRA
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2021 Jun 01;180:242-251.
    PMID: 33737181 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.03.072
    Fatty acid desaturase catalyzes the desaturation reactions by insertion of double bonds into the fatty acyl chain, producing unsaturated fatty acids. Though soluble fatty acid desaturases have been studied widely in advanced organisms, there are very limited studies of membrane fatty acid desaturases due to the difficulty of generating recombinant desaturase. Brassica napus is a rapeseed, which possesses a range of different membrane-bound desaturases capable of producing fatty acids including Δ3, Δ4, Δ8, Δ9, Δ12, and Δ15 fatty acids. The 1155 bp open reading frame of Δ12 fatty acid desaturase (FAD12) from Brassica napus codes for 383 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 44 kDa. It was expressed in Escherichia coli at 37 °C in soluble and insoluble forms when induced with 0.5 mM IPTG. Soluble FAD12 has been purified using Ni2+-Sepharose affinity chromatography with a total protein yield of 0.728 mg/mL. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that desaturase activity of FAD12 could produce linoleic acid from oleic acid at a retention time of 17.6 with a conversion rate of 47%. Characterization of purified FAD12 revealed the optimal temperature of FAD12 was 50 °C with 2 mM preferred substrate concentration of oleic acid. Analysis of circular dichroism (CD) showed FAD12 was made up of 47.3% and 0.9% of alpha-helix and β-sheet secondary structures. The predicted Tm value was 50.2 °C.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  2. Noviany N, Samadi A, Yuliyan N, Hadi S, Aziz M, Purwitasari N, et al.
    Phytochem Lett, 2020 Feb;35:211-215.
    PMID: 32863985 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytol.2019.12.008
    A new 2-arylbenzofuran, sesbagrandiflorain C (1), together with four known compounds, 2-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)-4-hydroxy-6-methoxybenzofuran-3-carbaldehyde (2), 2-(4-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)-5,6-dimethoxybenzofuran-3-carboxaldehyde (3), sesbagrandiflorain A (4) and sesbagrandiflorain B (5), have been isolated from the stem bark of an Indonesian plant, Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. The chemical structure of compound 1 was elucidated by UV, IR, MS, and NMR spectroscopic techniques. The proton and carbon NMR resonances of 1 were also compared with the predicted chemical shifts obtained from DFT quantum mechanical calculations with Gaussian. None of the compounds showed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus in an agar diffusion assay. However, sesbagrandiflorains A (4) and B (5) exhibited moderate activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. In addition, compounds 1 - 5 have moderate cytotoxicity against HeLa, HepG2, and MCF-7 cancer cell lines.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  3. Basit MA, Kadir AA, Loh TC, Abdul Aziz S, Salleh A, Zakaria ZA, et al.
    Animals (Basel), 2020 Nov 19;10(11).
    PMID: 33227911 DOI: 10.3390/ani10112150
    The current experiment was designed to estimate the comparative efficacy of selected phytobiotics Persicaria odorata leaf meal (POLM) and Piper betle leaf meal (PBLM) with halquinol, and tetracycline in broiler chickens. The 150-day-old broiler chickens were randomly assigned to five dietary groups. The dietary supplementation groups were the basal diet (BD), which served as the negative control (NC), and BD + 0.2 g/kg tetracycline, which served as the positive control (PC); BD + 0.03 g/kg halquinol (HAL), BD + 8 g/kg POLM (Po8), and BD + 4 g/kg PBLM (Pb4) were the treatment groups. Growth performance, gut morphology, ileal digestibility, and cecal microbiota composition were measured. On day 21, the body weight gain (BWG) was enhanced (p < 0.05) in the broiler chickens fed on phytobiotics (Po8 and Pb4) relative to the NC group, however, on day 42 and in terms of overall growth performance, BWG was enhanced (p < 0.05 in diets (Po8, Pb4, HAL and PC) in comparison with the NC group. Conversely, feed conversion ratio (FCR) was recorded reduced (p < 0.05) in Pb4, Po8, HAL, and PC group in comparison with the NC group. Supplementation of phytobiotics (Po8 and Pb4), HAL and PC, positively improved the gut morphology compared to the NC group. Furthermore, the maximum (p < 0.05) villus height (VH) in duodenum and jejunum was observed in broilers fed on diet Pb4. Supplementation of phytobiotics, HAL and PC, improved (p < 0.05) the digestibility of dry matter (DM) (except for HAL), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and ash compared to the NC group. Dietary supplementation of phytobiotics (Po8 and Pb4), HAL and PC, significantly reduced the E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus (except for HAL) counts compared to the NC group. However, supplementation of Pb4 resulted in significantly decreased total anaerobic bacteria and Clostridium spp. counts compared to the NC group. In addition, supplementation of phytobiotics significantly increased the Lactobacillus count compared to HAL, PC, and NC groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of phytobiotics improved the gut morphology, positively modulated and maintained the dynamics of cecal microbiota with enhanced nutrient digestibility, thus, increased the growth performance. Based on current results, phytobiotics could be used as an alternative to AGPs for sustainable broiler chicken production.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  4. Seder N, Abu Bakar MH, Abu Rayyan WS
    PMID: 33488102 DOI: 10.2147/AABC.S292143
    Introduction: Malaysian stingless bee honey (Trigona) has been aroused as a potential antimicrobial compound with antibiofilm activity. The capability of the gram-negative bacillus P. aeruginosa to sustain a fatal infection is encoded in the bacterium genome.

    Methods: In the current study, a transcriptome investigation was performed to explore the mechanism underlying the biofilm dispersal of P. aeruginosa after the exposure to Trigona honey.

    Results: Microarray analysis of the Pseudomonas biofilm treated by 20% Trigona honey has revealed a down-regulation of 3478 genes among the 6085 screened genes. Specifically, around 13.5% of the down-regulated genes were biofilm-associated genes. The mapping of the biofilm-associated pathways has shown an ultimate decrease in the expression levels of the D-GMP signaling pathway and diguanylate cyclases (DGCs) genes responsible for c-di-GMP formation.

    Conclusion: We predominantly report the lowering of c-di-GMP through the down-regulation of DGC genes as the main mechanism of biofilm inhibition by Trigona honey.

    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli Proteins
  5. Tabassam, Q., Mehmood, T., Anwar, F., Saari, N., Qadir, R.
    MyJurnal
    The present work studies the profiling of phenolic bioactive and in vitro biological (anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial) activities of different solvent extracts from Withania
    somnifera fruit. Anticancer activity was performed using potato-disc assay and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. While antibacterial and antifungal evaluation was done by using disc diffusion method against bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and
    Klebsiella pneumonia) and fungal (Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium oxysporum) strains.
    Among different extraction solvents used, n-hexane extract exhibited the highest inhibition of
    tumour initiation (64%), whereas ethyl acetate (15%) was the lowest by using potato-disc
    assay. Highest total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were noted for methanolic (69.10
    GAE mg/g DW%) and n-hexane (29.45 CE mg/g DW%) extracts, respectively. For antioxidant potential, 2,2,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging (IC50) and reducing power EC50 were noted to be superior (0.6 and 2.0 mg/mL, respectively) for n-hexane
    extract. All the tested extracts showed considerable antibacterial and antifungal activity with
    the highest growth inhibition zones for K. pneumoniae (31.70 mm) and A. flavus (27.09 mm)
    were shown by n-hexane extract. High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) analysis of individual phenolics (gallic acid, 2,288.48 mg/kg) indicated the highest contents of these
    compounds in n-hexane extract, which might explain the potent biological activities of this
    extract. Our findings revealed that the bioactive present in the tested fruit had significant
    potential as anticancer, antibacterial, and antifungal agents. Further studies are needed to
    elucidate the mechanism of actions of isolated bioactive against specific diseases such as
    cancer, especially in the case of n-hexane fraction.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  6. Masri A, Khan NA, Zoqratt MZHM, Ayub Q, Anwar A, Rao K, et al.
    BMC Microbiol, 2021 Feb 17;21(1):51.
    PMID: 33596837 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-021-02097-2
    BACKGROUNDS: Escherichia coli K1 causes neonatal meningitis. Transcriptome studies are indispensable to comprehend the pathology and biology of these bacteria. Recently, we showed that nanoparticles loaded with Hesperidin are potential novel antibacterial agents against E. coli K1. Here, bacteria were treated with and without Hesperidin conjugated with silver nanoparticles, and silver alone, and 50% minimum inhibitory concentration was determined. Differential gene expression analysis using RNA-seq, was performed using Degust software and a set of genes involved in cell stress response and metabolism were selected for the study.

    RESULTS: 50% minimum inhibitory concentration with silver-conjugated Hesperidin was achieved with 0.5 μg/ml of Hesperidin conjugated with silver nanoparticles at 1 h. Differential genetic analysis revealed the expression of 122 genes (≥ 2-log FC, P

    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  7. Akbar N, Siddiqui R, Iqbal M, Sagathevan K, Kim KS, Habib F, et al.
    ACS Omega, 2021 May 11;6(18):12261-12273.
    PMID: 34056379 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c01137
    Among several animals, Rattus rattus (rat) lives in polluted environments and feeds on organic waste/small invertebrates, suggesting the presence of inherent mechanisms to thwart infections. In this study, we isolated gut bacteria of rats for their antibacterial activities. Using antibacterial assays, the findings showed that the conditioned media from selected bacteria exhibited bactericidal activities against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli K1, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, and Salmonella enterica) and Gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes) pathogenic bacteria. The conditioned media retained their antibacterial properties upon heat treatment at boiling temperature for 10 min. Using MTT assays, the conditioned media showed minimal cytotoxic effects against human keratinocyte cells. Active conditioned media were subjected to tandem mass spectrometry, and the results showed that conditioned media from Bacillus subtilis produced a large repertoire of surfactin and iturin A (lipopeptides) molecules. To our knowledge, this is the first report of isolation of lipopeptides from bacteria isolated from the rat gut. In short, these findings are important and provide a platform to develop effective antibacterial drugs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  8. JIAZHEN LIM, YANG LEE, BADIOZAMAN SULAIMAN, LESLEY MAURICE BILUNG, YEE LING CHONG
    MyJurnal
    The epidermal mucus of fish contains antimicrobial agents that act as biological defence against disease. This study aims to identify antibacterial activity and protein concentration of epidermal mucus of Barbodes everetti, a Bornean endemic freshwater fish. The epidermal mucus was extracted with 3% acetic acid, 0.85% sodium chloride and crude solvents. The mucus activity against eight strains of human pathogenic bacteria, including Bacillus cereus ATCC 33019, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Salmonella braenderup ATCC BAA 664, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25933, and Vibrio cholerae, were tested. The acetic acid mucus extract of B. everetti was able to inhibit five strains of bacteria and show no activity toward E. coli O157:H7, B. cereus ATCC 33019 and L. monocytogenes ATCC 7644. Moreover, the highest protein concentration was quantified in crude extract, followed by aqueous and acetic acid extracts. This study provides a preliminary knowledge on the activity of epidermal mucus of B. everetti towards five out of the eight human pathogens tested, therefore it may contain potential sources of novel antibacterial components which could be further extracted for the production of natural antibiotics towards human-related pathogenic bacteria.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli O157
  9. Masri A, Abdelnasir S, Anwar A, Iqbal J, Numan A, Jagadish P, et al.
    Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 2021 Apr;105(8):3315-3325.
    PMID: 33797573 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11221-1
    BACKGROUND: Conducting polymer based nanocomposites are known to be effective against pathogens. Herein, we report the antimicrobial properties of multifunctional polypyrrole-cobalt oxide-silver nanocomposite (PPy-Co3O4-AgNPs) for the first time. Antibacterial activities were tested against multi-drug-resistant Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, while antiamoebic effects were assessed against opportunistic protist Acanthamoeba castellanii (A. castellanii).

    RESULTS: The ternary nanocomposite containing conducting polymer polypyrrole, cobalt oxide, and silver nanoparticles showed potent antimicrobial effects against these pathogens. The antibacterial assay showed that PPy-Co3O4-AgNPs exhibited significant bactericidal activity against neuropathogenic E. coli K1 at only 8 μg/mL as compared to individual components of the nanocomposite, whereas a 70 % inhibition of A. castellanii viability was observed at 50 μg/mL. Moreover, PPy-Co3O4-AgNPs were found to have minimal cytotoxicity against human keratinocytes HaCaT cells in vitro even at higher concentration (50 μg/mL), and also reduced the microbes-mediated cytopathogenicity against host cells.

    CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that PPy-Co3O4-AgNPs hold promise in the development of novel antimicrobial nanomaterials for biomedical applications.

    KEY POINTS: •Synthesis of polypyrrole-cobalt oxide-silver (PPy-Co3O4-AgNPs) nanocomposite. •Antimicrobial activity of nanocomposite. •PPy-Co3O4-AgNPs hold promise for biomedical applications.

    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  10. Tiongco RE, Arceo E, Dizon D, Navarro A, Rivera N, Salita C, et al.
    Trop Biomed, 2018 Dec 01;35(4):1064-1074.
    PMID: 33601853
    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.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  11. Loong SK, Lim FS, Khoo JJ, Lee HY, Suntharalingam C, Ishak SN, et al.
    Trop Biomed, 2020 Sep 01;37(3):803-811.
    PMID: 33612793 DOI: 10.47665/tb.37.3.803
    Ticks are vectors of bacteria, protozoa and viruses capable of causing serious and life threatening diseases in humans and animals. Disease transmission occurs through the transfer of pathogen from tick bites to susceptible humans or animals. Most commonly known tick-borne pathogens are obligate intracellular microorganisms but little is known on the prevalence of culturable pathogenic bacteria from ticks capable of growth on artificial nutrient media. One hundred and forty seven ticks originating from dairy cattle, goats and rodents were collected from nine selected sites in Peninsular Malaysia. The culture of surfacesterilized tick homogenates revealed the isolation of various pathogenic bacteria including, Staphylococcus sp., Corynebacterium sp., Rothia sp., Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Bacillus sp. and its derived genera. These pathogens are among those that affect humans and animals. Findings from this study suggest that in addition to the regular intracellular pathogens, ticks could also harbor extracellular pathogenic bacteria. Further studies, hence, would be needed to determine if these extracellular pathogens could contribute to human or animal infection.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  12. Hajar, S., Hamid, T.H.T.A.
    MyJurnal
    Lactic acid bacteria is well known for it uses as starter culture in various fermented food, and it functions as a good natural antimicrobial agent. Cincaluk, a Malaysian fermented shrimp product commonly found in traditional dishes is commonly enriched with LAB. Out of 50 colonies from a local cincaluk, 7 strains were successfully isolated and shown to be positive in lactose utilization and catalase tests. The majority of the isolates from cincaluk showed Gram-positive cocci morphology and belonged to the group Staphyloccoccus spp. By using agar disc diffusion method, the anti-bacterial properties of these isolates (namely isolate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) moderately inhibited the growth of several pathogenic strains, i.e., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus subtilis which were used as indicator bacteria. Other than isolates 1, 2, 3 and 5; the 16S rRNA gene for isolate 6 and 7 were successfully amplified. The 16S rRNA gene fragment from isolate 7 was successfully cloned and sequenced. Based on rRNA sequences, both isolates 6 and 7 belonged to the group Staphylococcus piscifermentans, a rare strain previously reported to be specifically isolated exclusive from fish sources.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  13. Noordiana N., Fatimah A.B., Mun, A.S.
    MyJurnal
    Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are non-pathogenic bacteria that have an important role in human daily life. LAB produce antimicrobial agents, such as bacteriocins, diacetyl and hydrogen peroxide which help to extend the shelf life of food products. In this study, LAB were isolated from selected seafood; threadfin salmon and grass shrimp. Antibacterial activity of LAB extracts against Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli were determined using the disc diffusion method. Three strains of LAB were selected for the characterization of antibacterial agents produced by LAB. The parameters such as pH, heat, incubation period and medium, were analyzed in this experiment. Changes in environmental parameters affected the activity of antibacterial agents. The antibacterial agents produced by LAB were generally heat stable and stable in a wide range of pH levels. However, the inhibition activity of LAB was destroyed with a heat treatment of 121°C, and the antibacterial effect was reduced at a pH of 12, which occurs in most strains. The medium containing NaCl enhanced the
    antibacterial activity of P1S1 and P3S3 strains against S. typhimurium, L. monocytogenes and E. coli. Moreover, the antibacterial agents exhibited the greatest inhibition activity at incubation times between 24 and 72 h. The antibacterial activity was reduced after an incubation time of 96 h. The characterization of antibacterial agents aids in the improvement of food products safety
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  14. Suria, M. S., Adlin Azlina, A. K., Mohd Afendy, A. T., Zamri, I.
    MyJurnal
    Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is an important foodborne pathogen causing diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in humans. STEC is an implicated in the vast majority of outbreaks, widely via consumption of STEC contaminated beef, as important vehicle of transmission of this organism to human. The E. coli O157:H7 serotype is traditionally identified by serological identification of the somatic antigen (O157) and structural flagella (H7). In this study, the bacteria were identified as STEC serotype O157:H7 with three primer pairs that amplified fragments of secD, rfbE and fliC genes in PCR assays. These primer pairs specifically amplified different sizes of target genes: a 244bp region of the E. coli diagnostic marker gene (secD); a 317bp region of the O157 lipopolysacharide (LPS) gene (rfbE); and a 381bp region of the H7 flagellin gene (fliC). The singleplex, duplex and triplex PCR assay developed in this study have a sensitivity limit at 2.8 x 103, 2.8 x 105 and 2.8 x 107 CFU/ml of E. coli O157:H7, respectively. Sensitivity to detect trace amount of E. coli O157:H7 DNA was reduced as the number of primer used was increased for competing to the same DNA template.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli O157
  15. Wong, C.M.V.L., Chung, H.H., Aisyah, S., Omar, S., Cheah, Y.K., Maria de, L.G., et al.
    ASM Science Journal, 2009;3(2):107-112.
    MyJurnal
    There are relatively little data on bacteria with antimicrobial activities from Antarctic, especially from the South Shetland Islands when compared to the other parts of the world. Hence, this project was set to isolate and characterize bacteria that produce anti-microbial compounds from Greenwich Island (one of the South Shetland Islands), Antarctica. A total of 356 strains of bacteria were isolated from Greenwich Island. They were screened for antimicrobial activities against 13 Gram-negative and one Gram-positive indicator food-borne pathogens. Two out of the 356 Antarctic bacterial strains exhibited an antagonistic effect on the indicator strains, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Bacillus cereus. The two Antarctic bacterial strains were designated as SS157 and SR13. Biochemical and 16S rDNA analysis indicated that the strain SS157 was closely related to Pseudomonas congelans while the strain SR13 was closely related to Pseudomonas tremae. The anti-microbial compounds produced by the two Antarctic bacteria were not sensitive to temperature and were not degraded by trypsin or pronase indicating that they were likely to be chemical compounds or antibiotics. Antimicrobial compounds from strains SS157 and SR13 were broad spectrum, and targeted both Gram-positive and negative pathogens.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  16. Roszaman Ramli, Mokhtar Awang, Ghazali Ismail
    MyJurnal
    Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a common cause of morbidity and accounts for 1 in 60 GP consultations by women under the age of 45 in the UK. Pelvic inflammatory disease encompases a broad category of disease including endometritis, salphingitis, salphingo-oopheritis, tuboovarian abscess and pelvic peritonitis. It most commonly occurs as a result of Chlamydia trachomatis or Nesseria gonorrhea 1,2 infection of the endocervix that eventually spread into the upper genital tract. Direct spread from a nearby infection such as appendicitis and diverticulitis is not that common. Hematogenous spread is rare except in cases of tuberculous pelvic inflammatory disease. This case illustrates atypical presentation of pelvic inflammatory disease in a previously healthy single unmarried lady. The presence of ascites, bilateral ovarian mass and constitutional symptoms closely mimics that of malignant ovarian tumour. This was preceded by empyema which grew E coli.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  17. Md Rajuna, A.S., Norazema, S.
    MyJurnal
    Background : Safe potable water is critical during and post flood. In the pre-flood period, Johore has an excellent, systematic and comprehensive water supply system. More than 98.6% of Johore population received treated water supply from the water treatment plants.
    Methodology : Data collection was performed by conducting additional water sampling at routine sampling stations as well as the flood relief centres, water tankers (lorries) and static water tanks. Water treatment plant outlet and water tanker inlet shall have a minimum level of 2.0 mg/l of residual chlorine so that reticulation, water tanker outlets and static water tanks would have at least 0.5 mg/l as a measure to prevent the incidence of water borne diseases. Sampling was done everyday to monitor water quality at the flood relief centres as well as flood-hit areas. Inspections and surveillance on sanitation were also conducted on latrines, solid waste disposal systems and on the surrounding environment.
    Results : A total of 6,283 water samples had been collected during and post flood. Violations on E. coli, turbidity and residual chlorine were 0.8%, 0.6% and 4.0% respectively with the Kluang district recorded the highest percentages for all the three parameters. A number of 621 wells had been inspected with 378 of them (60.9%) had been chlorinated. In order to ensure environmental cleanliness, 26,815 houses in 708 villages had been visited. Out of them, 2,011 houses (7.5%) were not satisfactory. Sanitation inspections found that 1,778 latrines, 2,719 domestic water sewerage systems and 2,955 solid waste disposal systems were under substandard conditions thus remedial actions had been taken immediately.
    Conclusion : Although the flood disaster was massive with prolonged flooding period, however, an overall quality status on treated water supply was satisfactory whilst sanitary hygiene was under control. Hence, the incidence of communicable disease especially water borne diseases would not progress into serious outbreak, in fact, neither cholera nor typhoid was reported during the Johore flood disaster.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  18. Daud, A.R., Thayalan, R., Farhatun Najmi, M.G.
    MyJurnal
    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.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  19. Sahilah, A.M., Audrey, L.Y.Y., Ong, S.L., Wan Sakeenah, W.N., Safiyyah, S., Norrakiah, A.S., et al.
    MyJurnal
    Forty three (n=43) genomic DNA of Escherichia coli (11 isolates from eggs and 32 isolates from imported beef meats) were characterized by shiga toxin 1 (stx1), enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR) and random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR) analyses. In the shiga toxin 1 (stx1) gene detection with primer stx 1F (5’-TTCTTCGGTATCCTATTCCC-3’) and stx 1R (5’- CTGTCACAGTAACAACCGT-3’), 9 E. coli of beef meats isolates were positive toward sxt1 gene. The results of the ERIC-PCR and RAPD-PCR were analyzed using GelCompar II software. ERIC-PCR with primer ERIC1 (5’-CACTTAGGGGTCCTCGAATGTA -3’) and ERIC2 (5’-AAGTAAGTGACTGGGGTGAGCG-3’) discriminated the E. coli into 6 clusters and 10 single isolates at 80% similarity. RAPD-PCR with primer Gen8 and Gen9, produced 10 clusters and 15 single isolates and 12 clusters and 14 single isolates of 80%, respectively. These results demonstrated that both ERIC-PCR and RAPD-PCR are useful and suitable tools for molecular typing of those isolates examined.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
  20. MyJurnal
    This study was conducted to evaluate antimicrobial properties of ethanolic extracts of the leaves of Nephelium lappaceum, Curcuma longa, Cinnamomun cassia, Durio zibethinus, Vitex trifolia, Amaranthus tricolor, Syzygium samarangense and Manihot esculenta. Antibacterial properties of the extracts were studied against fifteen strains of different gram positive and gram negative pathogenic bacteria, including Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio para, and Escherichia coli using the agar disk diffusion method. Among the tested extracts, only Amaranthus tricolor exhibited specific inhibition of one of the tested bacteria; Bacillus cereus. Using the microdilution method, its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value was determined to be 20 mg/mL.
    Matched MeSH terms: Escherichia coli
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