This is a retrospective descriptive study of the chest imaging findings of 118 patients with confirmed A(H1N1) in a tertiary referral centre. About 42% of the patients had positive initial chest radiographic (CXR) findings. The common findings were bi-basal air-space opacities and perihilar reticular and alveolar infiltrates. In select cases, high-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging showed ground-glass change with some widespread reticular changes and atelectasis.

The Medical Faculty of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) aims to produce good Muslim doctors (GMD) who are able to practise medicine that is integrated with Islamic values. Islamic courses and Medical Ethics are integrated into the curriculum in its effort to provide adequate Islamic knowledge and nurturing professionalism as a process of personal and professional development (PPD) within the framework of Islamic teaching. The objective of the study was to evaluate the perception of graduates and students of characteristics of a GMD. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the participants. The respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement or disagreement on the statements that represent the characteristics of a GMD. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using SPSS version 18.0. The mean, median and inter quartile ranges of the characteristics were determined and differences between the groups were analysed using Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Results showed significant difference between gender for the item “Conscious of professional ethics” (p=0.021). Significant differences were seen in the median scores between the graduates and the final year students in four out of six items for personal characteristic. Conclusion: Islamic input in the medical curriculum and the teaching of professionalism has an impact on graduate perception of characteristics of a GMD. Further improvement in the teaching of professionalism among undergraduates is necessary in order to promote greater impact on the understanding and internalization of characteristics of a GMD. The Islamic input in the medical curriculum can thus be regarded as the blueprint for PPD of medical undergraduates to become a GMD.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rapidly progressive demyelinating disease caused by the reactivation of JC papova virus usually in immunocompromised hosts.1 The disease is a chronic viral infection resulting in mortality within a year.2 The condition characterized by white matter changes in multiple locations of the brain is caused by destruction of the oligodendrogliocytes.2 We report a case of AIDS associated PML presenting with progressive cerebellar symptoms, with the unusual feature of imaging abnormalities limited to the posterior fossa.

Melioidosis is a disease of public health importance associated with high case-fatality rates in animals and humans caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei (B. pseudomallei), a gramnegative bacterium that lives in tropical soil environments. This study determined the seropositivity for melioidosis among patients admitted to healthcare centres in Malaysia, from 2015 to 2019 and identified factors related to it. A total of 26,665 serum samples of suspected melioidosis patients from Malaysia hospitals were tested for IgM against B. pseudomallei. About 16.4% of total samples were seropositive and majority of them were 55 years old and above. However, younger people aged less than 15 years old were the most susceptible to the infection (AOR 3.04, p <0.001, 95% CI: 2.73, 3.39). Melioidosis infection was the highest in Sarawak (15.1%) while Perlis was the least exposed to the infection (0.9%). Further analyses showed that patients with chronic lung disease (adjusted OR: 4.03, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 2.77, 5.86) were more susceptible to melioidosis infection. In conclusion, although serology testing is not a gold standard test in diagnosing melioidosis, it has been used as a tool in treatment monitoring and disease surveillance among patients and at-risk community in the endemic hot-spots regions.

Some filarial nematodes, such as Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori, cause lymphatic diseases in humans in the tropics, whereas other filarial parasites from wild animals cause zoonotic diseases in humans worldwide. To elucidate the prevalence and diversity of filarial parasites in Malaysia, we investigated the filarial parasites from wild animals in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. To find adult filarial parasites, we dissected 26 animals, which included five frogs, one skink, one snake, two birds, six common treeshrews, and 11 rats. Then, we examined microfilariae in the blood smears and skin snips obtained from each animal. We found two types of microfilariae in the blood smears of common treeshrews: one was very similar to Malayfilaria sofiani and the other closely resembled Brugia tupaiae. These findings indicate an additional distribution of these filarial parasites in Gemas.