Gastro-oesophageal reflux disorders (GORD) are common in Western countries and has been reported to be increasing in the East. This study assessed the prevalence of GORD among the Nepalese residing in the Brunei Darussalam.
The genera Odontacolus Kieffer and Cyphacolus Priesner are among the most distinctive platygastroid wasps because of their laterally compressed metasomal horn; however, their generic status has remained unclear. We present a morphological phylogenetic analysis comprising all 38 Old World and four Neotropical Odontacolus species and 13 Cyphacolus species, which demonstrates that the latter is monophyletic but nested within a somewhat poorly resolved Odontacolus. Based on these results Cyphacolus syn. n. is placed as a junior synonym of Odontacolus which is here redefined. The taxonomy of Old World Odontacolus s.str. is revised; the previously known species Odontacolus longiceps Kieffer (Seychelles), Odontacolus markadicus Veenakumari (India), Odontacolus spinosus (Dodd) (Australia) and Odontacolus hackeri (Dodd) (Australia) are re-described, and 32 new species are described: Odontacolus africanus Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe), Odontacolus aldrovandii Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Nepal), Odontacolus anningae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Cameroon), Odontacolus australiensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus baeri Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus berryae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island), Odontacolus bosei Valerio & Austin sp. n. (India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka), Odontacolus cardaleae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus darwini Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Thailand), Odontacolus dayi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Indonesia), Odontacolus gallowayi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus gentingensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Malaysia), Odontacolus guineensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Guinea), Odontacolus harveyi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), Odontacolus heratyi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus heydoni Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Malaysia, Thailand), Odontacolus irwini Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus jacksonae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Cameroon, Guinea, Madagascar), Odontacolus kiau Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Papua New Guinea), Odontacolus lamarcki Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Thailand), Odontacolus madagascarensis Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Madagascar), Odontacolus mayri Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Indonesia, Thailand), Odontacolus mot Valerio & Austin sp. n. (India), Odontacolus noyesi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (India, Indonesia), Odontacolus pintoi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island), Odontacolus schlingeri Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus sharkeyi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Thailand), Odontacolus veroae Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Fiji), Odontacolus wallacei Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia, Indonesia, Malawi, Papua New Guinea), Odontacolus whitfieldi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (China, India, Indonesia, Sulawesi, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam), Odontacolus zborowskii Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Australia), and Odontacolus zimi Valerio & Austin sp. n. (Madagascar). In addition, all species of Cyphacolus are here transferred to Odontacolus: Odontacolus asheri (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Sri Lanka), Odontacolus axfordi (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus bhowaliensis (Mani & Mukerjee) comb. n. (India), Odontacolus bouceki (Austin & Iqbal) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus copelandi (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Thailand), Odontacolus diazae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Kenya), Odontacolus harteni (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Yemen, Ivory Coast, Paskistan), Odontacolus jenningsi (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus leblanci (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Guinea), Odontacolus lucianae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Ivory Coast, Madagascar, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe), Odontacolus normani (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (India, United Arab Emirates), Odontacolus sallyae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus tessae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus tullyae (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Australia), Odontacolus veniprivus (Priesner) comb. n. (Egypt), and Odontacolus watshami (Valerio, Masner & Austin) comb. n. (Africa, Madagascar). Two species of Odontacolus are transferred to the genus Idris Förster: Idris longispinosus (Girault) comb. n. and Idris amoenus (Kononova) comb. n., and Odontacolus doddi Austin syn. n. is placed as a junior synonym of Odontacolus spinosus (Dodd). Odontacolus markadicus, previously only known from India, is here recorded from Brunei, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The relationships, distribution and biology of Odontacolus are discussed, and a key is provided to identify all species.
This review describes the morphological, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Cinnamomum iners Reinw. ex Blume (Lauraceae). The plant grows wild in the lowland of Malaysia, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Philippines. This plant is commonly used for its carminative, analgesic and antipyretic properties, for postpartum treatment, rheumatism and digestive ailments. This article enumerates an overview of phytochemical and pharmacological aspects that is useful to researchers for further exploration necessary for the development of this potential herb.
Five new species of Notosacantha are described from Borneo (Sabah): N. flaviventris Borowiec and Takizawa sp. nov. (also described from Sumatra), N. flavosuturata Świętojańska and Takizawa sp. nov., N. minuta Świętojańska and Takizawa sp. nov., N. obscuricornis Borowiec and Takizawa sp. nov. and N. ovoidea Borowiec and Świętojańska sp. nov. New records for nine other species, a check list and key to Bornean Notosacantha are given. Myrsinaceae and Myristicaceae are new host plant families for tortoise beetles and Ardisia elliptica Thunb., Ardisia sp., Embelia sp., Gironiema sp. (all Myrsinaceae) and Knema sp. (Myristicaceae) are new host plants for Notosacantha.
A Case Report on Gender Identity Disorder with Recurrent Depressive Disorder is presented. Individuals having this disorder often exhibit discomfort about their actual anatomic gender, and they may have wished to alter their bodies. Sex role-stereotypes adopted during childhood are the beliefs, characteristics and behaviors of individual cultures that are considered normal and appropriate for boys and girls to possess. These "norms" are influenced by one's family and friends, the mass-media, and their community. Since some cultures disapprove of cross-gender behavior, it often results in significant problems for affected individuals and those in close relationships with them. The importance of treatment is not only because of the high rate of mental-health problems, including Depression but with higher suicide rate among untreated transsexual people than in the general population. These problems are not usually related to the gender identity issues themselves, but the social and cultural responses to gender-deviated individuals. An example which classically illustrates Gender Identity Disorder is the case of a young man from Brunei Darussalam, who was seen and treated. This
contribution will highlight the cultural and religious perspective of this Disorder.
Tuberculosis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in underdeveloped and developing nations. Manifestations could be nonspecific and may mimic many other conditions, including malignancies. Oesophageal involvement is surprisingly rare despite the high prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis and the close proximity of these two structures. We report two cases of oesophageal tuberculosis; a 73-year-old man with simultaneous oesophageal, stomach and duodenal involvement, and a 45-year-old man with isolated oesophageal involvement. Underlying malignancies were initially suspected in both cases, but they were eventually diagnosed as tuberculosis.
Introduction Cervical cancer caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) is a common cancer in women. There is no published data on the recent incidence of cervical dysplasia, cervical cancer and genital warts caused by the different types of HPVs in Brunei Darussalam.
Methods A cross-sectional, retrospective study was conducted utilising data from patients diagnosed with cervical cancer during the period 2005–2009 in Brunei Darussalam. The varying incidences of different types of cervical lesions among various ethnic and age groups, and in the overall population, were determined.
Results The mean age-standardised incidence of invasive cervical cancer during the five-year period was 24.9 per 100,000 women per year (95% confidence interval [CI] 21.7, 28.1). Age-specific invasive cervical cancer incidence peaked in the age group 45–59 years. Chinese females tended to have a higher incidence of invasive cervical cancer (28.2 per 100,000 women per year; 95% CI 17.8, 38.7) than Malay females (20.6 per 100,000 women per year; 95%
CI 17.1, 24.2), while other ethnic groups in Brunei Darussalam had a significantly lower incidence (6.5 per 100,000 women per year; 95% CI 3.0, 10.0).
Conclusion The results suggest that Brunei Darussalam has a relatively higher incidence of cervical cancer compared to its neighbouring countries. The findings support the need for more comprehensive screening, public education programmes and vaccination against HPV in the country.
Kesatuan Ekonomi ASEAN (AEC) merupakan realisasi matlamat akhir integrasi ekonomi yang diasaskan pada pemusatan keinginan negaranegara ASEAN untuk meluaskan intergrasi ekonomi melalui inisiatif baru dan sedia ada dalam kerangka masa yang telah ditetapkan. Dalam merealisasikan salah satu tindakan AEC yang telah dikenal pasti iaitu memperkasakan perlindungan pengguna ASEAN, pengharmonian undang-undang kontrak pengguna dilihat sebagai salah satu agenda penting ASEAN. Dengan berobjektifkan pengharmonian undang-undang kontrak ASEAN yang mengkhusus kepada penggunaan terma tidak adil dalam pasaran pengguna seterusnya mencadangkan ASEAN Model Law on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts, makalah ini mengadoptasi metodologi analisis kandungan berteraskan literatur undang-undang primer dan sekunder. Mengguna pakai undang-undang kes dan perundangan di enam negara ASEAN terpilih iaitu Malaysia, Singapura, Indonesia, Thailand, Filipina dan Brunei, penyelidikan ini mendapati wujud persamaan dalam mekanisme yang digunakan di negara-negara ASEAN ini dalam menangani permasalahan penggunaan terma tidak adil dalam kontrak pengguna. Namun walaupun perundangan dilihat sebagai mekanisme yang mampu menangani permasalahan ini, wujud perbezaan pendekatan dalam perundangan yang diadaptasi oleh negara-negara ASEAN tersebut. Penggunaan perundangan berorientasikan perlindungan pengguna bagi mengawal penggunaan terma tidak adil dalam kontrak pengguna jelas kelihatan di Malaysia, Singapura, Indonesia, Thailand dan Filipina. Penggunaan perundangan kontrak yang mengkhusus kepada terma tidak adil sebagai instrumen kawalan pula kelihatan di Singapura, Thailand dan Brunei. Dalam aspek ini, keunikan Singapura dan Thailand yang menangani permasalahan terma tidak adil dalam kontrak pengguna dengan mengadakan perlindungan melalui dua jenis perundangan yang berbeza menampakkan korpus perlindungan pengguna yang lebih mapan. Pendekatan yang berbeza yang diamalkan di beberapa negara ASEAN terpilih ini memperlihatkan satu korpus perlindungan pengguna yang unik dalam aspek kontrak pengguna tidak adil.
Sejarah awal negara Malaysia yang terdapat dalam pensejarahan Asia Tenggara telah menjadi sumber rujukan di peringkat sekolah dan juga universiti. Periode dari 100EU hingga 1400EU lazimnya mengandungi naratif ringkas mengenai kerajaan tua. Semenanjung Tanah Melayu mewarisi negeri-kerajaan tua Kataha (Kedah), Langkasuka, Panpan, Chihtu dan Baruas yang telah lama terdapat dalam buku sejarah. Bagaimanapun Sarawak kini tidak mewaris apa-apa sedangkan pesisir pantai Borneo di sebelah barat, selatan dan timur terdapat banyak negeri-kerajaan tua seperti Sambas, Mempawah, Pontianak, Landak, Sukadana, Sampit, Banjarmasin, Kutei, Pasri, Bolongan dan Brunei. Terdapat kekosongan dari segi masa dan ruang dalam pensejarahan negeri Sarawak kini. Kajian yang lebih teliti terhadap beberapa sumber primer peribumi di Arkipelago Melayu seperti Silsilah Raja-Raja Brunei dan karya Jawa, Nagarakertagama, telah membongkar beberapa toponim seperti Sarawak, Samarahan, Saribas, Kalaka dan Malanau yang kini merupakan pusat pentadbiran negeri itu. Sumber primer peribumi telah menyatakan bahawa toponim ini adalah negeri yang pernah menjadi jajahan takluk Majapahit selepas itu di bawah Brunei pula. Karangan ini tuba memaparkan naratif ringkas seperti pendekatan yang terdapat dalam pensejarahan Asia Tenggara dan Semenanjung Malaysia. Akhirnya karangan ini mencadangkan negeri kerajaan awal yang diwarisi oleh negeri Sarawak sekarang dinobatkan ke dalam buku sejarah kurikulum sejarah Negara.
Objectives: Tuberculosis remains a common infection and is often associated with non-specific constitutional symptoms or laboratory investigations regardless of site of manifestations. This study compares the profiles of abdominal tuberculosis (ATB) and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).
Methods: Patients with ATB (n=34, male-21, mean age 43.3 ± 16.0 years) diagnosed over a nine year period were identified from the National Tuberculosis registry and retrospectively reviewed. Comparisons were made with patients treated for PTB (n=163).
Results: The most commonly affected sites were the ileocecal regions, peritoneum and hepatobiliary system. Common clinical presentations were abdominal pain (61.8%), anorexia (44.1%), weight loss (55.9%), fever (41.1%) and abdominal distension (29.4%). Four patients had concomitant active PTB. Compared to PTB, patients with ATB had significantly lower serum haemoglobin (11.6 ± 2.4 vs. 12.6 ± 2.0 gm/dL, p=0.036) and higher rate of adverse events of antituberculous treatment (50% vs. 15.4%, p<0.001). There were no difference in prevalence of constitutional symptoms (fever, weight loss and anorexia), platelet level, albumin, total protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Importantly, there was no difference in the treatment
response. More patients with ATB and concomitant active PTB had reported weight loss (100% vs. 36.7%, p=0.017).
Conclusion: There are differences in the profiles of ATB and PTB. Awareness of such differences can help to improve the understanding and management of this infection.
Lower gastrointestinal bleeding is usually due to haemorrhoids, diverticular disease, or colorectal cancer. Infective causes of gastrointestinal bleeding are rare. A 70-year-old lady was admitted with septic shock secondary to community acquired pneumonia. She later developed massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to colonic mucormycosis. Her condition deteriorated rapidly and she died of septicemia. Mucormycosis of the colon is extremely rare and is still associated with a high mortality.
In this article, we have investigated the pattern of road fatality in Brunei. It is seen from this analysis that road fatality in Brunei was one of the highest in the world in the early 1990s, but has been significantly reduced over the years, and is now one of the lowest in the world. Preliminary investigation shows that young male drivers are responsible for most road fatalities in Brunei. We have also fitted a linear regression model and found that road fatality is significantly positively related to people aged 18-24 years and new registered vehicles, both of which are expected to grow with the growth of population and economic development. Hence, road fatality in Brunei is also expected to grow unless additional effective road safety countermeasures are introduced and implemented to reduce road toll. Negative coefficient is observed for trend variable, indicating the reduction of road fatality due to the combined effects of improvements of vehicle safety, road design, medical facilities and road safety awareness among road user groups. However, short-term road fatality analysis based on monthly data indicates that the coefficient of the trend variable is positive, implying that in recent months road fatalities are increasing in Brunei, which is supported by media reports. We have compared Brunei's road fatality data with Australia, Singapore and Malaysia and found that Brunei's road fatality rate is lower than Singapore and Malaysia, but higher than Australia. This indicates that there are still opportunities to reduce road fatalities in Brunei if additional effective road safety strategies are implemented like in Australia without interfering in the economic and social development of Brunei.
The report World Population Ageing 1950-2050 (United Nations, 2002) estimated that in 2005 there were 37.3 million elderly people (i.e. aged 65 years or more) in South-East Asia (a region incorporating Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). There are only a few epidemiological studies on mental disorders among elderly people in this region and the published data are mainly from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Using Singapore's prevalence rate of 3% for dementia and 5.7% for depression, the numbers of elderly people with dementia in this region would be 1.2 million and with depression 2.12 million (Kua, 1992; Kua & Ko, 1995). However, even in Singapore, we have identified only 10% of all potential cases of dementia and depression - meaning that the large majority of elderly people with mental disorders are not detected, although they may be known, for other reasons, to the health services.
Little or no information is available on the prevalence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) among different ethnic groups in Brunei, or how useful plasma IgA antibodies are against viral capsid antigen (VCA) and early antigen (EA) in the diagnosis of NPC, even though they are routinely measured in patients suspected to have NPC.
The full-length genomes of two DENV-1 viruses isolated during the 2005-2006 dengue incidents in Brunei were sequenced. Twenty five primer sets were designed to amplify contiguous overlapping fragments of approximately 500-600 base pairs spanning the entire sequence of the genome. The amplified PCR products were sent to a commercial laboratory for sequencing and the nucleotides and the deduced amino acids were determined. Sequence analysis of the envelope gene at the nucleotide and amino acid levels between the two isolates showed 92 and 96 % identity, respectively. Comparison of the envelope gene sequences with 68 other DENV-1 viruses of known genotypes placed the two isolates into two different genotypic groups. Isolate DS06/210505 belongs to genotype V together with some of the recent isolates from India (2003) and older isolates from Singapore (1990) and Burma (1976), while isolate DS212/110306 was clustered in genotype IV with the prototype Nauru strain (1974) and with some of the recent isolates from Indonesia (2004) and the Philippines (2002, 2001). In the full-length genome analysis at the nucleotide level, isolate DS06/210505 showed 94 % identity to the French Guyana strain (1989) in genotype V while isolate DS212/110306 had 96 % identity to the Nauru Island strain (1974) in genotype IV. This work constitutes the first complete genetic characterization of not only Brunei DENV-1 virus isolates, but also the first strain from Borneo Island. This study was the first to report the isolation of dengue virus in the country.
Enterovirus 71 (EV71) outbreaks occur periodically in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2006, Brunei reported its first major outbreak of EV71 infections, associated with fatalities from neurologic complications. Isolated EV71 strains formed a distinct lineage with low diversity within subgenogroup B5, suggesting recent introduction and rapid spread within Brunei.
The genetic population structure of red snapper Lutjanus malabaricus and orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coiodes in Brunei and Sabah was investigated using allozyme electrophoresis. Samples were collected from three sites in Brunei for E. coiodes and from three sites in Brunei and Sabah for L. malabaricus. A total of 22 loci and 16 loci were scored, respectively. The index of fixation (F(ST) ) for the E. coiodes population was 0.176 but, in general, it lacked within-population structuring. The F(ST) was particularly high between Brunei Bay/Jerudong and Brunei Bay/ Kuala Belait, suggesting genetic subdivision on a small spatial scale. Isolation of Brunei Bay from the South China Sea may constrain the movement of adult fishes and larval dispersal, thereby reducing homogeneity among subpopulations. All variable loci for E. coiodes were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium except for MDH* and GTDHP* (P < 0.01), in which two subpopulations showed an excess of heterozygotes (P < 0.01). The study on the L. malabaricus population showed a heterozygote deficit of approximately 60% in variable loci (F(ST) genetic variation within population = 0.45; P < 0.05); however, the mean observed heterozygosity for the population far exceeded L. malabaricus populations in Australia and Indonesia. A F(ST) value of 0.076 revealed moderate genetic differentiation among subpopulations of L. malabaricus. The genotypes were likely to be drawn from the same distribution in Jerudong and Kuala Belait. This study infers that sustainable management of snapper and grouper resources in Brunei waters must take into account the presence of a single stock and two stocks, respectively.
In a previous study, we have reported the detection and isolation of dengue virus in Brunei (Osman, O., Fong, M.Y., Devi, S., 2007. A preliminary study of dengue infection in Brunei. JJID 60 (4), 205-208). DEN-2 was the predominant serotype followed by DEN-1. The full genomic sequences of 3 DEN-2 viruses isolated during the 2005-2006 dengue incident in Brunei were determined. Twenty-five primer sets were designed to amplify contiguous overlapping fragments of approximately 500-600 base pairs spanning the entire sequence of the viral genome. The amplified PCR products were sent for sequencing and their nucleotides and the deduced amino acids were determined. All three DEN-2 virus isolated were clustered in the Cosmopolitan genotype of the DEN-2 classification by Twiddy et al. This work constitutes the first complete genetic characterization of three Brunei DEN-2 virus strains.
Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum Linn.) is a tropical, exotic fruit that has a rapidly expanding niche market in Hawaii. Diseased rambutan fruit was commonly observed in orchards in the Hilo and Kona districts of Hawaii Island during 2006. In surveys conducted in January, symptoms appeared as dark brown-to-black spots on mature fruit and blackened areas at the base of spinterns (hair-like projections) of mature and immature fruits. Pieces of infected fruit (cv. R167) were surface sterilized for 2 min in 0.5% NaOCl, plated on potato dextrose agar, and incubated at 24 ± 1°C for 7 days. The fungus growing on PDA was pale buff with sparse, aerial mycelium and acervuli containing black, slimy spore masses. All isolates had five-celled conidia. Apical and basal cells were hyaline, while the three median cells were olivaceous; the upper two were slightly darker than the lower one. Conidia (n = 40) were 20.3 ± 0.1 × 6.8 ± 0.1 μm. There were typically three apical appendages averaging 16.8 ± 0.2 μm long. The average basal appendage was 3.8 ± 0.1 μm long. The fungus was initially identified as Pestalotiopsis virgatula (Kleb.) Stey. on the basis of conidial and cultural characteristics (3). The identification was confirmed by molecular analysis of the 5.8S subunit and flanking internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of rDNA amplified from DNA extracted from single-spore cultures with the ITS1/ITS4 primers (1,4) and sequenced (GenBank Accession No. EU047943). To confirm pathogenicity, agar pieces, 3 mm in diameter, from 7-day old cultures were used as inoculum. Five mature fruit from rambutan cv. R134 were rinsed with tap water, surface sterilized with 0.5% NaOCl for 2 min, wounded with a needle head, inoculated in the laboratory, and maintained in a moist chamber for 7 days. Lesions resembling symptoms that occurred in the field were observed on fruit after 7 days. No symptoms were observed on fruit inoculated with agar media. The fungus reisolated from diseased fruit was identical to the original isolates, confirming Koch's postulates. The disease appears to be widespread in Hawaii. Preharvest symptoms may have the potential to affect postharvest fruit quality if fruits are not stored at the proper conditions. Pestalotiopsis spp. have been reported on rambutan in Malaysia, Brunei, and Australia (2). To my knowledge, this is the first report of P. virgatula causing fruit spots on rambutan in Hawaii. References: (1) G. Caetano-Annolles et al. Curr. Genet. 39:346, 2001. (2) D. F. Farr et al. Fungal Databases. Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. On-line publication. ARS, USDA, 2007. (3) E. F. Guba. Monograph of Pestalotia and Monochaetia. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1961. (4) T. J. White et al. PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, CA. 1990.
Informal discussion started in 1996 and the South East Asian Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP) was officially accepted as a regional chapter of the IOMP at the Chicago World Congress in 2000 with five member countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Professor Kwan-Hoong Ng served as the founding president until 2006. Brunei (2002) and Vietnam (2005) joined subsequently. We are very grateful to the founding members of SEAFOMP: Anchali Krisanachinda, Kwan-Hoong Ng, Agnette Peralta, Ratana Pirabul, Djarwani S Soejoko and Toh-Jui Wong.The objectives of SEAFOMP are to promote (i) co-operation and communication between medical physics organizations in the region; (ii) medical physics and related activities in the region; (iii) the advancement in status and standard of practice of the medical physics profession; (iv) to organize and/or sponsor international and regional conferences, meetings or courses; (v) to collaborate or affiliate with other scientific organizations.SEAFOMP has been organizing a series of congresses to promote scientific exchange and mutual support. The South East Asian Congress of Medical Physics (SEACOMP) series was held respectively in Kuala Lumpur (2001), Bangkok (2003), Kuala Lumpur (2004) and Jakarta (2006). The respective congress themes indicated the emphasis and status of development. The number of participants (countries in parentheses) was encouraging: 110 (17), 150 (16), 220 (23) and 126 (7).In honour of the late Professor John Cameron, an eponymous lecture was established. The inaugural John Cameron Lecture was delivered by Professor Willi Kalender in 2004. His lecture was titled "Recent Developments in Volume CT Scanning".