An outline is given of a simple cost-effective strategy aimed at the immunization of all children and pregnant women residing in the plantation sector of Malaysia. It is based on a partnership between government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector, and is supported by UNICEF.
PIP: A cost-effective strategy aimed at the immunization of all children and pregnant women residing in the plantation sector of Malaysia is outlined. It is based on a partnership between government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector, and is supported by UNICEF. Over a million people reside on the Malaysian plantation estates: only 17% of the estates have their own hospitals; immunization services exist on only 1.5%; 40% of the estates are at least 5 kilometers from the nearest government health facility; and 64% lack transport for workers and their dependents to seek care away from the plantations. Two nongovernmental organizations, the Malaysian Paediatric Association and the Malaysian Society of Health, initiated discussions with the United Planting Association of Malaysia. A pilot study was undertaken by the groups on 6 estates in Selangor State, which included all the children at their first birthday. Tuberculosis, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus, poliomyelitis, and measles immunization coverages were 88%, 44%, 59%, and 66%, respectively. The association of plantations accepted the organizations' proposals for all estates to: register all births; provide free transportation to government health clinics for the immunization of all eligible children and pregnant women; and enforce immunization schedules and record-keeping. The Ministry of Health agreed to provide free immunization of children and pregnant women; send mobile teams to estates that could assemble 20 or more eligible people for immunization; provide the estates with educational materials dealing with immunization; arrange that the maintenance of the cold chain be supervised by local medical officers of health; consider the training of estate hospital assistants with the help of the nongovernmental organizations. The total immunization plan was launched in September 1990. A manual was distributed to the estate managers, hospital assistants on the estates, and the medical officers who would implement and monitor the program. It is expected that total child immunization will be achieved in the foreseeable future in the estate sector.
Intracranial haemorrhage is a major cause of severe morbidity and mortality in child abuse cases in developed countries. However, similar data are not available in most developing countries. This study therefore aimed to determine the incidence of intracranial haemorrhage amongst all cases of child physical abuse, the nature of the injuries incurred, and the morbidity and mortality resulting therefrom. Among 369 cases of physical abuse seen over a 4-year period, 41 (11.4%) had intracranial haemorrhage, of whom 37 (90%) were 2 years old or less. A history of trauma was present in only eight (20%), of which only two were compatible with the injuries incurred. Subdural haemorrhages accounted for 80% of the cases, with skull fractures present in only nine cases. Fifty-four per cent of the 37 children aged 2 years of age or less had no external signs of trauma, but 11 of them had retinal haemorrhages. This is in contrast to the children older than 2 years of age who all had external signs of trauma. The overall prognosis was dismal with an early mortality of almost 30% (13 cases) and at least seven cases with severe neurological sequelae. These findings are comparable with studies from developed countries which have established that non-accidental injury must be considered as a cause of intracranial haemorrhage in any young child, despite the absence of external signs of trauma.
Fifty cases of septicaemic melioidosis were reviewed. There was a preponderance of disease among males (male:female ratio 3.2:1) and those aged over 30 years. The presenting clinical features were very varied and not pathognomonic, ranging from fever, cough and septicaemia to fulminant septicaemia and shock. Pulmonary involvement was recorded in 58% of the patients. Skin and soft tissue sepsis was seen in 24%, but many had signs and symptoms of multiorgan involvement. Associated underlying illness was identified in 76% of patients, diabetes mellitus being the commonest (38%), while 34% had more than one predisposing factor. The mortality of 65% in our series is a reflection of the less than satisfactory status of the diagnosis and therapy of septicaemic melioidosis. Only 24% of our patients received appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy. A high index of suspicion of melioidosis in endemic areas and the use of appropriate empirical antimicrobial therapy would be a step towards reducing the high mortality rate.
We reviewed 31 cases (19 males and 12 females) of spinal tuberculosis seen at the National Tuberculosis Centre from 1985 to 1989. The mean age was 35.4 years. The predominant clinical feature was backache (90.3%), while neurological features were found in 30.9%. An elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (in 80.0%) and a positive Mantoux test (in 70.9%) served as useful investigations. Spinal x-ray was abnormal in all cases, the lumbar spine being most commonly involved. Bacteriological or histopathological confirmation was obtained in only 29.0% of cases. The mainstay of treatment was anti-tuberculous chemotherapy with surgery being performed in 41.9% of patients.
Ninety five patients with perennial rhinitis were examined clinically and various investigations were done in order to find out the common allergens and to assess the value of various tests in perennial rhinitis. In this study group 94% of cases were proven to be cases of allergic rhinitis. Cat fur was found to be the commonest allergen. Grass pollen which is a common allergen in European countries was found in only 18% of cases in the present study. X-ray of the paranasal sinuses as a routine investigation was not found to be of much use in perennial rhinitis. There was significant correlation between results for allergens tested by enzyme immunoassay and skin prick test.
The gastrointestinal helminth infection status of 1574 children living in a slum area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was assessed by quantitative coprology. Almost two-thirds were infected with Trichuris trichiura, 49.6% with Ascaris lumbricoides, and 5.3% with hookworm. Infection prevalence rose rapidly to a stable asymptote at 7 years of age, and the age-intensity profile was convex with maximal values in the 5-10 year age classes. This pattern was the same for males and females, but differed markedly between different ethnic groups. The frequency distributions of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura were highly overdispersed (k values were 0.21 and 0.27, respectively), and age-dependent over the 0-8 year age classes. This suggests that the force of infection with these nematodes is lower in infants than in older children.
An epidemiological survey of filariasis and malaria in Banggi Island and Upper Kinabatangan, Sabah, revealed microfilarial rates of 7.2% and 8.6% respectively and malaria prevalence of 9.7% and 16.9% respectively. Wuchereria bancrofti was a rural nocturnally periodic type with a periodicity index of 137.2 and average peak hour at 01.32 hrs; 9.2% of microfilaremic carriers as compared to 2.4% amicrofilaremic subjects had clinical filariasis. The Plasmodium falciparum: P. vivax: P. malariae ratios were 1:1:0.17 and 1.4:1:0.12 for Banggi and Upper Kinabatangan respectively. Anopheles flavirostris was incriminated as a new malaria vector in Banggi where the well-known primary malaria vector is An. balabacensis. The latter was also found for the first time to be a vector of rural W. bancrofti in Upper Kinabatangan. Experimental feeding also showed that L3 larvae of W. bancrofti were recovered at low rates from An. balabacensis. Aedes togoi appeared to be a suitable laboratory vector for W. bancrofti.
A 70 million population for Malaysia by the year 2010 has been officially targetted for in the Mid-Term Review of the Fourth Malaysia Plan, 1981-1985. In response to this, a preliminary investigation was undertaken into the health aspects of population growth. For this exercise, infant mortality rate was used as the health indicator. From trends seen vis-a-vis population growth, it appears that thus far, population growth has not been associated negatively with health (as measured by IMR). In recognition of the relevance of the medical, economic and education factors to health, trends in Malaysia's population ratio, per capita GNP and rates of school enrolment were also drawn; the selection of these as proxies being based on completeness of time-serial records. Although statistical regressions established the high correlation between medical doctors.population ratio and school enrolment rate with IMR, the limitations in this analysis did not permit any reliable inferences. In view of the difficulties in projections of trends, a comparison of health and related variables was carried out for several countries with high populations as near to 70 million as were available. The characteristics associated with low mortality and high life expectancy (health indices) were identified as low population growth, high literacy and high per capita GNP; this being stated with explicit qualifications. Other determinants of health were also discussed in brief, and the need for careful planning in the distribution of human and material resources was noted.
A three and a half year old boy with shigellosis developed fulminant hepatic failure. The hepatic derangements rapidly improved over a period of two weeks after treatment of the shigellosis with parenteral gentamicin. We believe this is the first documented report of fulminant hepatic failure due to shigella sepsis.
An interesting case is described here in which partial airway obstruction resulted in sleep apnoea and which was relieved by adeno-tonsillectomy. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids causing upper airway obstruction represent one facet of a continuum of hypoventilation - sleep disorders and clinical examination with x-rays will help in determining patients at risk of developing these syndromes.
M-mode echocardiograms of six patients with a diagnosis of Ebstein's anomaly and confirmed by cardiac catheterization were reviewed. All the patients (5 females and 1 male) were Caucasians with their ages ranging from one day to twenty-six years. The tricuspid valve was easily located in all the echo cardiographic studies. There was a 45 to 100 msec delay in tricuspid valve closure as compared to the mitral valve closure, in all patients. The amplitude of the anterior tricuspid valve was found to be greater than the amplitude of the anterior mitral valve in all but one case. Paradoxical septal movement type A was observed in four cases. None of the cases had a right ventricular end diastolic diameter that was larger than the left ventricular end diastolic diameter. The study found that it was extremely difficult to specifically diagnose Ebstein's anomaly with M-mode echocardiography alone, as each case has not been able to meet with all the criteria for diagnosis, described by various investigators.
The status of P. falciparum resistance to chloroquine in Sabah, Malaysia were not know until 1971-1972. Several in-vivo and on in-vivo studies were conducted from 971-1975, and the result showed 51% out of total 57 cases studied were resistant to chloroquine. The latest in-vitro study (collaborative with WHO) started in July 1978, to continue till 1980, to cover the whole State. The preliminary result shows 65 cases (85%) out of a total 76 successful tests are resistant to chloroquine. On the basis of this preliminary result, the radical treatment for P. falciparum infection was changed from chloroquine to Fansidar from June 1979 throughout the State.
In the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, from 1984 to 1990, 184 patients with acute conjunctivitis were examined for chlamydial infection by direct immunofluorescence. Overall, 52 (28.3%) were found to be positive for chlamydial antigen. There was no significant difference in the detection rate between men and women and among the 3 major ethnic groups. The detection rate was highest among sexually active adults. Epidemiological and clinical features suggest that most of the chlamydial ocular infections seen were inclusion conjunctivitis and not classical trachoma.
Study site: Eye clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Rosalind Benster and Judith Stanton went to Sarawak to study child health care. Their aim was to highlight areas of most need so that the tiny health budget could be channelled in the relevant directions. They found cultural and environmental differences to account for significant differences in the nutritional status of children from different tribes. They suggest remedies to this situation.