MyMedR

METHODOLOGY: A retrospective review was performed of LRTI patients aged less than 24 months who were admitted to the University Malaya Medical Centre between 1982 and 1997. Respiratory viruses in their nasopharyngeal secretion were identified by indirect immunofluorescence, viral culture, or both.

RESULTS: A total of 5691 children were included in the study. The mean age was 8.6 +/- 6.6 months and the M:F ratio was 1.6:1. The most common diagnosis was pneumonia (52%) followed by bronchiolitis (45%) and croup (2%). Positive viral isolation rate was 22.0%. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was the commonest virus isolated (84%), followed by parainfluenza virus (8%), influenza virus (6%) and adenovirus (2%). Patients with positive virus isolation were younger (7.8 +/- 6.2 vs 8.7 +/- 6.7 months, P = 0.0001) and were more likely to have bronchiolitis.

CONCLUSION: Young Malaysian children admitted with LRTI had a 22% viral isolation rate and RSV was the commonest virus isolated.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext Understanding and reducing the fear of COVID-19

Ng KH, Kemp R

J Zhejiang Univ Sci B, 2020 9 8;21(9):752-754.

PMID: 32893533 DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B2000228

The world is now plagued by a pandemic of unprecedented nature caused by a novel, emerging, and still poorly understood infectious disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Wu and McGoogan, 2020). In addition to the rapidly growing body of scientific and medical literature that is being published, extensive public reports and stories in both the traditional media and social media have served to generate fear, panic, stigmatization, and instances of xenophobia (Zarocostas, 2020).

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology

Fulltext Experience of short-term hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in COVID-19 patients and effect on QTc trend

Hor CP, Hussin N, Nalliah S, Ooi WT, Tang XY, Zachariah S, et al.

J Infect, 2020 08;81(2):e117-e119.

PMID: 32474031 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.05.058

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Triage of urology referrals and outpatient service during COVID-19 pandemic: experience from a single centre in Malaysia

Ong LK, Sivaneswaran L, Mohd Najib A, Devindran M, Say BL, Rohan MJ

Med J Malaysia, 2020 07;75(4):400-402.

PMID: 32724002

In Malaysia, COVID-19 pandemic recorded considerable number of cases. Many hospitals have been converted into COVID-19 centres to manage these cases. The Penang General Hospital was designated as a hybrid hospital to manage both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cases. Consequently, services across specialties, including urology have been affected. Triage of referrals was necessary to ensure optimum patient care, thus we designed a triage system to address this situation. A record screening system of patients was also implemented to limit outpatient appointments. We share this early experience in managing urology patients during this pandemic.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext A single mass gathering resulted in massive transmission of COVID-19 infections in Malaysia with further international spread

Che Mat NF, Edinur HA, Abdul Razab MKA, Safuan S

J Travel Med, 2020 05 18;27(3).

PMID: 32307549 DOI: 10.1093/jtm/taaa059

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext The Post-Coronavirus World in the International Tourism Industry: Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Safer Destination Choices in the Case of US Outbound Tourism

Han H, Al-Ansi A, Chua BL, Tariq B, Radic A, Park SH

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 Sep 06;17(18).

PMID: 32899942 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17186485

The tourism industry has been seriously suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis ever since its outbreak. Given this pandemic situation, the major aim of this study is to develop a conceptual framework that clearly explains the US international tourists' post-pandemic travel behaviors by expanding the theory of planned behavior (TPB). By utilizing a quantitative process, the TPB was successfully broadened by incorporating the travelers' perceived knowledge of COVID-19, and it has been deepened by integrating the psychological risk. Our theoretical framework sufficiently accounted for the US tourists' post-pandemic travel intentions for safer international destinations. In addition, the perceived knowledge of COVID-19 contributed to boosting the prediction power for the intentions. The associations among the subjective norm, the attitude, and the intentions are under the significant influence of the tourists' psychological risks regarding international traveling. The comparative criticality of the subjective norm is found. Overall, the findings of this study considerably enhanced our understanding of US overseas tourists' post-pandemic travel decision-making processes and behaviors.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext Prediction of Epidemic Peak and Infected Cases for COVID-19 Disease in Malaysia, 2020

Alsayed A, Sadir H, Kamil R, Sari H

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 Jun 08;17(11).

PMID: 32521641 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17114076

The coronavirus COVID-19 has recently started to spread rapidly in Malaysia. The number of total infected cases has increased to 3662 on 05 April 2020, leading to the country being placed under lockdown. As the main public concern is whether the current situation will continue for the next few months, this study aims to predict the epidemic peak using the Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) model, with incorporation of the mortality cases. The infection rate was estimated using the Genetic Algorithm (GA), while the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model was used to provide short-time forecasting of the number of infected cases. The results show that the estimated infection rate is 0.228 ± 0.013, while the basic reproductive number is 2.28 ± 0.13. The epidemic peak of COVID-19 in Malaysia could be reached on 26 July 2020, with an uncertain period of 30 days (12 July-11 August). Possible interventions by the government to reduce the infection rate by 25% over two or three months would delay the epidemic peak by 30 and 46 days, respectively. The forecasting results using the ANFIS model show a low Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) of 0.041; a low Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 2.45%; and a high coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9964. The results also show that an intervention has a great effect on delaying the epidemic peak and a longer intervention period would reduce the epidemic size at the peak. The study provides important information for public health providers and the government to control the COVID-19 epidemic.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia: Actions taken by the Malaysian government

Shah AUM, Safri SNA, Thevadas R, Noordin NK, Rahman AA, Sekawi Z, et al.

Int J Infect Dis, 2020 Aug;97:108-116.

PMID: 32497808 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.093

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel pneumonia disease originating in Wuhan, was confirmed by the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020 before becoming an outbreak in all countries.

OUTBREAK SITUATION: A stringent screening process at all airports in Malaysia was enforced after the first case outside China was reported in Thailand. Up to April 14, 2020, Malaysia had reported two waves of COVID-19 cases, with the first wave ending successfully within less than 2 months. In early March 2020, the second wave occurred, with worrying situations.

ACTIONS TAKEN: The Government of Malaysia enforced a Movement Control Order starting on March 18, 2020 to break the chain of COVID-19. The media actively spread the hashtag #stayhome. Non-governmental organizations, as well as prison inmates, started to produce personal protective equipment for frontliners. Various organizations hosted fundraising events to provide essentials mainly to hospitals. A provisional hospital was set up and collaborations with healthcare service providers were granted, while additional laboratories were assigned to enhance the capabilities of the Ministry of Health.

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: An initial financial stimulus amounting to RM 20.0 billion was released in February 2020, before the highlighted PRIHATIN Package, amounting to RM 250 billion, was announced. The PRIHATIN Package has provided governmental support to society, covering people of various backgrounds from students and families to business owners.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology

Fulltext Providing a laboratory diagnostic service for pandemic SARS-CoV-2 in a developing country

Sam IC, Chong J, Kamarudin R, Jafar FL, Lee LM, Bador MK, et al.

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 2020 08 01;114(8):553-555.

PMID: 32497211 DOI: 10.1093/trstmh/traa037

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext Borderless collaboration is needed for COVID-19-A disease that knows no borders

Mohamed K, Rodríguez-Román E, Rahmani F, Zhang H, Ivanovska M, Makka SA, et al.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2020 Oct;41(10):1245-1246.

PMID: 32319878 DOI: 10.1017/ice.2020.162

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology

Fulltext Disinfection booth: blessing or curse for spreading of COVID-19 in Bangladesh

Rabby MII, Hossain F, Akter F, Rhythm RK, Mahbub T, Huda SN

Can J Public Health, 2020 10;111(5):660-662.

PMID: 32876931 DOI: 10.17269/s41997-020-00402-6

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext Meta-analysis of Effect of Statins in Patients with COVID-19

Kow CS, Hasan SS

Am J Cardiol, 2020 11 01;134:153-155.

PMID: 32891399 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2020.08.004

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology

COVID-19 - How prepared are emergency departments in embracing the new norm?

Iqhbal KM, Ahmad NH

Med J Malaysia, 2020 09;75(5):585-586.

PMID: 32918431

No abstract provided.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext Forecasting daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in Malaysia using ARIMA models

Singh S, Murali Sundram B, Rajendran K, Boon Law K, Aris T, Ibrahim H, et al.

J Infect Dev Ctries, 2020 09 30;14(9):971-976.

PMID: 33031083 DOI: 10.3855/jidc.13116

INTRODUCTION: The novel coronavirus infection has become a global threat affecting almost every country in the world. As a result, it has become important to understand the disease trends in order to mitigate its effects. The aim of this study is firstly to develop a prediction model for daily confirmed COVID-19 cases based on several covariates, and secondly, to select the best prediction model based on a subset of these covariates.

METHODOLOGY: This study was conducted using daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 collected from the official Ministry of Health, Malaysia (MOH) and John Hopkins University websites. An Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was fitted to the training data of observed cases from 22 January to 31 March 2020, and subsequently validated using data on cases from 1 April to 17 April 2020. The ARIMA model satisfactorily forecasted the daily confirmed COVID-19 cases from 18 April 2020 to 1 May 2020 (the testing phase).

RESULTS: The ARIMA (0,1,0) model produced the best fit to the observed data with a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) value of 16.01 and a Bayes Information Criteria (BIC) value of 4.170. The forecasted values showed a downward trend of COVID-19 cases until 1 May 2020. Observed cases during the forecast period were accurately predicted and were placed within the prediction intervals generated by the fitted model.

CONCLUSIONS: This study finds that ARIMA models with optimally selected covariates are useful tools for monitoring and predicting trends of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology*

Fulltext Doctors' Mental Health in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Work Demands and Recovery Experiences

Mohd Fauzi MF, Mohd Yusoff H, Muhamad Robat R, Mat Saruan NA, Ismail KI, Mohd Haris AF

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 10 08;17(19).

PMID: 33050004 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17197340

The COVID-19 pandemic potentially increases doctors' work demands and limits their recovery opportunity; this consequently puts them at a high risk of adverse mental health impacts. This study aims to estimate the level of doctors' fatigue, recovery, depression, anxiety, and stress, and exploring their association with work demands and recovery experiences. This was a cross-sectional study among all medical doctors working at all government health facilities in Selangor, Malaysia. Data were collected in May 2020 immediately following the COVID-19 contagion peak in Malaysia by using self-reported questionnaires through an online medium. The total participants were 1050 doctors. The majority of participants were non-resident non-specialist medical officers (55.7%) and work in the hospital setting (76.3%). The highest magnitude of work demands was mental demand (M = 7.54, SD = 1.998) while the lowest magnitude of recovery experiences was detachment (M = 9.22, SD = 5.043). Participants reported a higher acute fatigue level (M = 63.33, SD = 19.025) than chronic fatigue (M = 49.37, SD = 24.473) and intershift recovery (M = 49.97, SD = 19.480). The majority of them had no depression (69.0%), no anxiety (70.3%), and no stress (76.5%). Higher work demands and lower recovery experiences were generally associated with adverse mental health. For instance, emotional demands were positively associated with acute fatigue (adj. b = 2.73), chronic fatigue (adj. b = 3.64), depression (adj. b = 0.57), anxiety (adj. b = 0.47), and stress (adj. b = 0.64), while relaxation experiences were negatively associated with acute fatigue (adj. b = -0.53), chronic fatigue (adj. b = -0.53), depression (adj. b = -0.14), anxiety (adj. b = -0.11), and stress (adj. b = -0.15). However, higher detachment experience was associated with multiple mental health parameters in the opposite of the expected direction such as higher level of chronic fatigue (adj. b = 0.74), depression (adj. b = 0.15), anxiety (adj. b = 0.11), and stress (adj. b = 0.11), and lower level of intershift recovery (adj. b = -0.21). In conclusion, work demands generally worsen, while recovery experiences protect mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic with the caveat of the role of detachment experiences.

Matched MeSH terms: Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology

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