One hundred seventy-one patients suffering from chronic renal diseases at Kuala Lumpur Hospital participated in a crosssectionalstudy with purposive sampling to ascertain prevalence rates of Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum), Giardiaintestinalis (G. intestinalis), Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis) and Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis). The patientswere divided into 2 groups: post-transplant group (138 patients) and pre-transplant group (33 patients). In this study, theparasite infection is linked to the aspects of race, gender, renal patient’s group and the postrenal transplantation period.Immunofluorescence staining was performed on fecal slides for the detection of C. parvum oocysts and G. intestinalis cysts.Sand charcoal culture technique was also used to detect the presence of S. strongyloides in fecal samples. The findingsshowed that the prevalence of C. parvum, G. intestinalis dan B. hominis among post-transplant patients was 18.1%,10.9% and 22.5%, respectively but none of the pretransplant patient was infected. Meanwhile, both patient groups werefree of S. stercoralis infection. Furthermore, there was no significant association between post-transplantation periodand pattern in prevalence of the studied parasites, however, it was noted that the prevalence rates of C. parvum and G.intestinalis had declined after 6 months post transplantation.

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

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.

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

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis 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 kind 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. Trichomonas vaginalis was detected in 7.7% (23/300) of the specimens. This infection occurred in all ethnic groups and the infections were more frequently seen among 20 to 29 years age group. All the cases presented with clinical signs and symptoms. The results of this study revealed the importance of undergoing Pap smear screening for Trichomonas vaginalis infection detection besides screening for the early detection of cervical cancer.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.