Background: Saliva is a readily accessible biofluid that is important for the overall quality of life, func-tionally essential in the chewing, swallowing, tasting, regulation mouth flora and prevention of caries. The aim of this study is to assess the global metabolomic profile of saliva in healthy Malaysian adults. Methods: As a first step to determining and understanding the metabolomic profile of saliva in healthy Malaysian adults, we have collected saliva samples of 50 adults and measured the salivary metabolite to establish a profiling metabolite data, Human Metabolome Database (HMDB). Metabolites concentrations of saliva in healthy subjects were measured by using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Results: The results showed there was no significant inter-individual variations of the key metabolites observed among the healthy Malaysian adults and there was no significant variation of the metabolites between female and male subjects. Conclusion: The metabolomic profile of saliva in healthy Malaysian adults could be used to establish the metabolomic database and used as a comparison for future study of the saliva of specific diseases.
Macacine herpesvirus 1 (MaHV1; B virus) naturally infects macaques (Macaca spp.) and can cause fatal encephalitis in humans. In Peninsular Malaysia, wild macaques are abundant, and translocation is used to mitigate human-macaque conflict. Most adult macaques are infected with MaHV1, although the risk for transmission to persons who handle them during capture and translocation is unknown. We investigated MaHV1 shedding among 392 long-tailed macaques (M. fascicularis) after capture and translocation by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Peninsular Malaysia, during 2009-2011. For detection of MaHV1 DNA, PCR was performed on urogenital and oropharyngeal swab samples. Overall, 39% of macaques were shedding MaHV1 DNA; rates of DNA detection did not differ between sample types. This study demonstrates that MaHV1 was shed by a substantial proportion of macaques after capture and transport and suggests that persons handling macaques under these circumstances might be at risk for exposure to MaHV1.