1.Trichuriasis among Orang Asli Children at Pos Lenjang, Pahang, Malaysia
Hartini Yusof ; Mohamed kamel Abd Ghani
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2012;10(1):49-52
A cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2006 to determine the prevalence of Trichuris trichiura infection among Orang Asli (Aborigine) children at Pos Lenjang, Pahang. A total of 71 faecal samples were collected from the children (40 girls and 31 boys) aged between 1-12 years. The samples were examined for the presence of Trichuris trichiura ova using direct smear and formalin-ether concentration techniques. The result revealed that the overall prevalence of Trichuris trichiura infection was 43.7%. The infection was higher in males (51.6%) compared to females (37.5%), though not statistically significant (p > 0.05). According to age group, the school-aged children had higher prevalence of infection (56.8%) than preschool children (29.4%) (p < 0.05). Low socioeconomic status, large family size, poor environmental sanitation and poor personal hygiene are possible contributing factors that increase the prevalence of infection among the Orang Asli children at Pos Lenjang. In 31 samples positive for Trichuris trichiura, a detection rate of 100% was obtained using formalin-ether concentration, compared to 25.8% with direct smear technique. Thus, it is recommended that both techniques be performed in routine faecal examination for a more accurate diagnosis.
2.Entamoeba histolytica Infection Among Aborigines at Pos Lenjang, Pahang
Hartini Yusof ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani.
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2009;7(1):59-64
Entamoeba histolytica infection is widespread worldwide and higher prevalence is usually seen among the indigenous under priviledged people living in the tropics and subtropics. Seventy one Orang Asli children from Pos
Lenjang, Pahang participated in this study and were grouped according to age and gender. Faecal samples were collected and examined for the presence
of Entamoeba histolytica using 3 different diagnostic techniques namely the direct faecal smear, formalin ether concentration and trichrome staining.The
prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica infection among the Orang Asli children at Pos Lenjang, Pahang was high at 22.5%. According to gender, female
children showed higher prevalence (32.5%) compared to male at only 9.7%. Infection was also apparently higher among the school going children at 32.4% compared to preschool children (11.8%). The high prevalence of
Entamoeba histolytica infection amongst the Orang Asli children at Pos Lenjang is related to several factors including low socioeconomic status, lack
of basic amenities, culture, and poor knowledge on healthy life practice.
3.Giardiasis Among Orang Asli Children at Pos Lenjang, Pahang
Hartini Yusof ; Mohamed Kamel Abd. Ghani.
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2009;7(2):97-102
Giardia intestinalis is a cosmopolitan parasite and the infection is widely distributed worldwide especially in the developing countries with poor
sanitation and lack of potable water. Seventy one Orang Asli children from Pos Lenjang, Pahang participated in this study and stool specimens were
collected and examined for G. intestinalis using three diagnostic techniques ie; Direct fecal smear, Formalin-ether concentration and Trichrome staining.
The prevalence of G. intestinalis infection among the Orang Asli children in Pos Lenjang, Pahang was as high as 43.7%. According to gender, the prevalence was almost similar between the female and male children with 45.0% and 41.9%, respectively. The infection was more prevalent in school going children (48.6%) as compared to the pre-school children (38.2%).
4.Temperature Tolerance of Clinical and Environmental isolates of Acanthamoeba spp.
Nurul Farhana Jufri ; Anisah Nordin ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani ; Yusof Suboh ; Noraina Abd Rahim
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2010;8(2):1-3
Acanthamoeba is a free living protozoa that can cause keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Physiological characteristics of this amoeba are found to have a medical importance and related to the pathogenic potential of the organism. This study was carried out to investigate the physiological characteristic from the aspect of temperature tolerance. Six Acanthamoeba strains from three clinical isolates (HSB 1, HKL 48 and HKL 95) and three environmental isolates (PHS 2, PHS 11 and PHS 15) were used in this study. Test was done by culturing cysts at 30°C, 37°C and 42oC for
two weeks and the ability of cysts to change to trophozoites were observed. The result showed all strain was able to change to trophozoites at 30°C and 37oC. However, no trophozoites were observed at 42oC. This indicate that there is a similarity in the physiological trait of strains from both isolates are the same and strains from the environment are
able to show the pathogenic potential thus capable of causing infection to human.
5.Isolation of Acanthamoeba spp. from Aquatic Environment
Nurul Fariza Rossle ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani ; Anisah Nordin ; Yusof Suboh ; Noraina Abd Rahim
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2010;8(2):15-19
This study was carried out to isolate Acanthamoeba spp. from various aquatic environments in Peninsular Malaysia. A
total of 160 samples were collected with 140 samples using direct swab method and 20 samples using water collection
method with 500 ml sterile Schott bottle. The swab samples were taken from water tap (50), sink (50), and swimming
pool (40) while the water samples were from seawater. Swab samples were inoculated directly onto non-nutrient agar
(NNA) seeded with heat-killed Escherichia coli using aseptic technique. Water samples were first filtered through a 0.45μm pore size membrane before the membrane was transferred aseptically onto NNA plate seeded with heat-killed E. coli.
All plates were incubated at 30°C and examined daily for the presence of Acanthamoeba spp. up to 14 days after
incubation before being declared negative. Overall, 20% samples were positive for the presence of Acanthamoeba.
Positive isolation of Acanthamoeba spp. from sink and swimming pool were 20% and 30%, respectively. All three
groups of Acanthamoeba genus in cyst form could be found from the collected samples.
6.Survivability of Acanthamoeba Strains Isolated from Clinical and Environmental Specimens During Axenization
Nurul Farhana Jufri ; Anisah Nordin ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani ; Yusof Suboh ; Noraina Abd Rahim
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2011;9(1):1-3
Acanthamoeba is a free living protozoa that can cause keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Physiological
characteristics of this amoeba are found to have a medical importance in which it can be related to the pathogenicity
potential of the organism. This study was carried out to investigate the physiological characteristics of survivability
during axenization. Six Acanthamoeba strains from three clinical isolates (HSB 1, HKL 48 and HKL 95) and three
environmental isolates (PHS 2, PHS 11 and PHS 15) were used in this study. Axenization test was done by treating cysts
with hydrochloric acid (3%) and Page saline containing Gentamicin (100 μg/ml). Cysts were then cultured into PYG
enrich media, incubated at 30oC and the presence and proliferation of trophozoites of Acanthamoeba were observed.
This study showed that PHS 15, HSB 1, HKL 48 and HKL 95 could be axenized but they have poor proliferation rate in PYG
enrich media. The result showed that the difference between both clinical and environmental isolates was observed in
two strains; PHS 2 and PHS 11. This indicates that there is a possibility that the physiological traits of strains from both
isolates are the same and strains from the environment are able to show the pathogenic potential and capable of
causing infection to human.
7.Cysticidal Effect of Chlorine Against Environmental and Clinical Isolates of Acanthamoeba
Nurul Farhana Jufri ; Anisah Nordin ; Yusof Suboh ; Noraina Abd Rahim ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2011;9(2):1-3
Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba that has been identified to cause Acanthamoeba keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Their physiological characteristics can be related to pathogenic potential which have a medical importance. This study was carried out to investigate the value of minimum cysticidal concentration of chlorine against them. Acanthamoeba strains tested were from clinical isolates from hospitals (HSB 1, HKL 48 and HKL 95) and environmental
isolates (PHS 2, PHS 11 and PHS 15). The minimum cysticidal concentration of chlorine was determined by dilution process using 12 wells microtitre plate starting with 2500 ppm. 100 μl cyst suspensions standardized at 105/ml were pipetted into all wells and incubated overnight at 30°C. Cysts were then washed using Page saline and cultured on non nutrient
agar overlaid with Escherichia coli. The presence of trophozoites was then observed. The lowest concentration able to prevent trophozoites formation was noted as the minimum cysticidal concentration. Minimum cysticidal concentration test showed the same concentration of 156 ppm (156 μg/ml) chlorine solution was needed to kill all cysts of Acanthamoeba isolates. This indicates that the physiological traits of environmental and clinical isolates are the same. Isolates from the environmental specimens are also able to show the pathogenic potential similar to clinical specimens, thus capable
of causing disease to human.
8.Keberkesanan Antibiotik Titisan Mata Neomycin, Gentamycin & Ciprofloxacin Terhadap Sista Acanthamoeba spp.
Noradilah Samseh Abdullah ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani ; Anisah Nordin ; Yusof Suboh ; Noraina Ab Rahim
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2009;7(2):39-46
if not treated. This study was therefore performed to evaluate the effectiveness
of eyedrop antibiotics on eight Acanthamoeba spp. isolates, of which four
were clinical isolates and the remaining four from the environment. Three
different eyedrop antibiotics (neomycin, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin)
currently available in the market and ready for use were tested. Cyst
suspension from all strains were tested against eyedrop antibiotics,
respectively. After 48 hours of incubation period, the solutions were filtered
and the filtered membranes were put onto non-nutrient agar lawn with E. coli.
Bab 3 The plates were examined daily for Acanthamoeba trophozoites under inverted
microscope until day 14. Neomycin, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin were found
to be effective against Acanthamoeba spp. cysts for all test strains.
9.The discrimination of d-tartrate positive and d-tartrate negative S. enterica subsp. enterica serovar Paratyphi B isolated in Malaysia by phenotypic and genotypic methods
Norazah Ahmad ; Shirley Tang Gee Hoon ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani ; Koh Yin Tee
The Malaysian Journal of Pathology 2012;34(1):35-39
Serotyping is not suffi cient to differentiate between Salmonella species that cause paratyphoid
fever from the strains that cause milder gastroenteritis as these organisms share the same serotype
Salmonella Paratyphi B (S. Paratyphi B). Strains causing paratyphoid fever do not ferment d-tartrate
and this key feature was used in this study to determine the prevalence of these strains among the
collection of S. Paratyphi B strains isolated from patients in Malaysia. A total of 105 isolates of S.
Paratyphi B were discriminated into d-tartrate positive (dT+) and d-tartrate negative (dT-) variants
by two lead acetate test protocols and multiplex PCR. The lead acetate test protocol 1 differed
from protocol 2 by a lower inoculum size and different incubation conditions while the multiplex
PCR utilized 2 sets of primers targeting the ATG start codon of the gene STM3356. Lead acetate
protocol 1 discriminated 97.1% of the isolates as S. Paratyphi B dT+ and 2.9% as dT- while test
protocol 2 discriminated all the isolates as S. Paratyphi B dT+. The multiplex PCR test identifi ed all
105 isolates as S. Paratyphi B dT+ strains. The concordance of the lead acetate test relative to that
of multiplex PCR was 97.7% and 100% for protocol 1 and 2 respectively. This study showed that
S. Paratyphi B dT+ is a common causative agent of gastroenteritis in Malaysia while paratyphoid
fever appears to be relatively uncommon. Multiplex PCR was shown to be a simpler, more rapid
and reliable method to discriminate S. Paratyphi B than the phenotypic lead acetate test.
10.The Presence of Heterogeneous Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (heteroVISA) in a Major MalaysianHospital
Norazah Ahmad ; Law Ngiik Ling ; Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani ; Salbiah Nawi
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2012;67(3):269-273
This study was conducted to detect the presence of
heterogenous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus
aureus (heteroVISA) among MRSA isolates in a major
hospital. Forty-three MRSA isolates with vancomycin MIC 2
μg/ml collected in 2009 was screened for heteroVISA using
Etest Glycopeptide Resistance Detection (GRD) and
confirmed by population analysis profile-area under curve
method. The genetic relatedness of heteroVISA strains with
other MRSA was examined by pulsed-field gel
electrophoresis (PFGE) method. Two isolates were shown to
be heteroVISA and derived from the same clone. This showed
that heteroVISA strains were already present among our
local strains since 2009 and were genetically related to other susceptible strains.