A study on the isolation and identification of bacterial flora from hot spring was carried out using water from Bentong hot spring in Pahang. In general most of the bacteria identified from the hot springs were from Bacillus sp. This was due to its ability to adapt to high temperature mainly by forming endospore. The objective of this study was to identify bacteria other than Bacillus that were able to survive in hot springs. Three hot spring pools were identified (A,B and C) with temperatures ranging from 36°C to 52°C and pH values between 7.88-8.65. This study has succesfully isolated two species of Gram positive cocci and three species of Gram negative bacilli. The two Gram positives were Streptococcus sp. and Staphylococcus sp. The three species of Gram negative rods were unidentified and were denoted as X, XI and XII.

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis among women of age 20 to 59 years at Sarawak General Hospital by examining the conventional Pap smear. The prevalence of this infection was studied among the five main ethnic groups comprising the Iban, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu. Microscopic screening of 300 conventional Pap smears which had been processed and stained with the Papanicolaou staining method was conducted. Based on the information provided in the Pap smear screening form, the clinical manifestations were observed which may provide some indications on the type of infection. The details of the clinical manifestations were very important because in an infection or inflammation, Pap smears would usually demonstrate changes on the cyto-morphology of the epithelial cells. The age factor among the different ethnics also played important role in the assessment of the infection frequency. Bacterial vaginosis was detected in 79.7% (239/300) of cases. The infection occurred in all ethnic groups and the infections were more frequently seen among the 20 to 39 years age group. Majority of the cases (93.9%) presented with clinical signs and symptoms. The results of this study revealed the importance of undergoing a Pap smear screening for bacterial vaginosis detection besides screening for the early detection of cervical cancer

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of candidiasis among women of 20 to 59 years of age at Sarawak General Hospital by examining the conventional Pap smear. The prevalence of this infection was studied among the five main ethnic groups comprising of Iban, Chinese, Malay, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu. Microscopic screening of 300 conventional Pap smears which had been processed and stained with the Papanicolaou staining method was conducted. Based on the information provided in the Pap smear screening form, the clinical manifestations were observed which may provide some indications on the type of infection. The details of the clinical manifestations were very important because in an infection or inflammation, Pap smears would usually demonstrate the cyto-morphological changes of the epithelial cells. The age factor among the different ethnics also plays important role in the assessment of the infection frequency. Candida sp. was detected in 12.7% of the specimens. The infection occurred in all ethnic groups as well as in all age groups. All cases presented with clinical signs and symptoms. The results of this study revealed the importance of undergoing Pap smear screening for candidiasis detection besides screening for the early detection of cervical cancer

Giardia intestinalis is among the protozoa that is commonly found in the human fecal samples throughout the world. Theprevalence of infection is higher among people living in developing countries than developed countries. One hundredand eleven Orang Asli children at Pos Titom, Pahang participated in this study. The prevalence study was conducted inaccordance to gender, age groups and the diagnostic techniques employed. Fecal samples were collected and examinedfor the presence of G. intestinalis using three diagnostic techniques ie; the direct fecal smear, formalin-ether concentrationand the trichrome staining technique. The overall prevalence of G. intestinalis infection among Orang Asli children at PosTitom was 23.42%. The infection was higher among females (25%) as compared to males (21.57%) eventhough it wasnot statistically significant (p > 0.05). In terms of age groups, no positive case was observed among preschoolers whoseage were below seven-years while the school aged children (7 to 12-years old) showed 24.53% infection. The trichromestaining technique was the most sensitive with a detection rate of 22.52% followed by the formalin-ether concentrationtechnique with a detection of 19.82% whilst the direct smear technique only detected 12.61% of cases. The prevalenceof giardiasis amongst the Orang Asli children at Pos Titom, Pahang was still high despite various efforts made andimprovements in basic infrastructural facilities undertaken for their community. The health care status and personalhygiene of Orang Asli children remains poor and needs to be further improved.

A study on the isolation and identification of bacterial flora from hot spring was carried out from Bentong hot springwater, Pahang. In general, many of the bacteria identified from the hot spring were from Bacillus sp. due to its abilityto adapt to high temperature mainly by forming endospore. The objective of this study was to identify bacteria otherthan Bacillus sp. that were able to survive this hot spring. Three hot spring pools were identified as A, B and C. Thetemperatures were ranging from 36°C to 52°C and their pH values were between 7.88-8.65. The result shows thattwo species of Gram positive cocci and three species of Gram negatives were isolated. The two Gram positives wereStreptococcus sp. and Staphylococcus sp. The three species of Gram negative rods were identified as Pseudomonas sp.,Klebsiella sp. and Proteus sp. In conclusion, non-sporulating species of bacteria other than Bacillus sp. have adaptedto survive in hot spring

The present study was conducted to investigate the clinical outcomes of Entamoeba histolytica infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic Orang Asli (aborigine) communities in Malaysia. Examination was performed on 500 stool samples obtained from Orang Asli communities in 3 different states using formalin-ether concentration, trichrome staining, and single-round PCR techniques. Out of 500 stool samples, single infection of E. histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, and Entamoeba moshkovskii was identified in 3.2%, 13.4%, and 1%, respectively. In addition, 10 samples had mixed infections with E. histolytica and E. dispar. Six samples containing E. dispar were also positive for E. moshkovskii, and only 2 samples had E. histolytica in association with E. dispar and E. moshkovskii. Seventeen E. histolytica-positive samples were from symptomatic subjects, whereas the remaining 11 samples came from asymptomatic subjects. These findings suggest a predominant distribution of pathogenic potential of E. histolytica strains in this community. Therefore, further studies on genotyping of E. histolytica is required, to find out association between E. histolytica genotype and the outcome of the infection.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Asymptomatic Diseases ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Coinfection/parasitology/pathology ; Entamoeba/*classification/isolation & purification/*pathogenicity ; Entamoebiasis/parasitology/*pathology ; Feces/parasitology ; Female ; *Genetic Variation ; Humans ; Malaysia ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To determine the morphological and molecular characterization of Acanthamoeba isolates from contact lens paraphernalia in Malaysia and to investigate their pathogenic potential based on the physiological tolerance. Methods: One hundred and eighty contact lens wearers donated their contact lens, lens storage cases and lens solutions between 2018 and 2019. The samples were inoculated onto 1.5% non-nutrient agar plates for 14 d. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed and the amplified PCR products were sequenced and compared with the published sequences in GenBank. The pathogenic potential of positive isolates was further tested using temperature-tolerance and osmo-tolerance assays. Acanthamoeba species were categorized into three distinct morphological groups established by Pussard and Pons. Results: Acanthamoeba was successfully isolated from 14 (7.8%) culture-positive samples in which 11 belong to morphological group II and 3 belong to morphological group III, respectively. The sequencing of 18S ribosomal RNA gene led to the identification of the T4 genotype in all the isolated strains. In vitro assays revealed that 9 (64.3%) Acanthamoeba isolates were able to grow at 42 °C and 1 M mannitol and were thus considered to be highly pathogenic. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report identifying the Acanthamoeba genotype and their pathogenic potential among contact lens wearers in Malaysia. The potentially pathogenic T4 genotype isolated in this study is the most predominant genotype responsible for human ocular infection worldwide. Hence, increasing attention should be aimed at the prevention of contamination by Acanthamoeba and the disinfection of contact lens paraphernalia.