Risk factors associated with soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection in two indigenous communities in Malaysia

@#Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) could possibly cause mild to severe health effects such as diarrhea, weakness, intestinal blood loss, and impaired cognitive development and growth. In Malaysia, previous studies depicted a high prevalence rate of STH was due to poor hygiene practice and low efficacies of anthelminthic drugs. This study was conducted to investigate hand hygiene practice and WASH criteria’s (Water, sanitation and hygiene) related to STH infection among two indigenous tribes in Peninsular Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was carried out to study the relationship among STH infection compared to water quality, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. A total of 190 individuals from two indigenous villages participated in the study, with ages ranging from 5 to 60 years old. In addition, Pearson’s Chisquare (X2) test was utilized to test the relationship among STH with demographic socioeconomic and behavioral factors. The confidence interval (CI) of 95% is used to estimate the precision of the odds ratio (OR). Multivariate logistic regression models were also used to identify the risk factors associated with STH infections. The overall findings indicated a prevalence rate of 72% for STH, and distributed mainly among children aged < 12 years. Furthermore, multivariate analyses using logistic regression revealed chronic health problems, incorrect hand washing, and walking bare footed were associated with STH infection. Overall results indicated high prevalence of STH among the indigenous villagers, which aligns with the published literature and proves to be a problem need to be addressed as neglected disease. Interestingly, there was a significant relationship between the presences of chronic diseases and STH infection, which prompted other questions the awareness needs to be educated and the simple and low-cost intervention on the proper way of hand washing may help to reduce STH infection in these indigenous communities.

Profile of bacterial pneumonia during Hajj.

Background & objectives The congregation of a large number of people during Hajj seasons from different parts of the world in overcrowded conditions within a confined area for a long period of time presents many public health challenges and health risks. One of the main health problems of the crowding is ease transmission of pneumonia by air droplets. This study was aimed to determine the most common causes of bacterial pneumonia during the 2005 Hajj season and to relate the findings with clinical conditions. Methods A total of 141 patients with suspected pneumonia from the three main tertiary care hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, were investigated during Hajj season, 2005. Sputum and serum samples were collected and investigated for the possible presence of typical or atypical causative agents. Results Of the 141 clinically suspected pneumonia cases, 76 (53.9%) were confirmed positive by microbiological tests. More than 94 per cent of the confirmed cases were in the age group >50 yr, and 56.6 per cent of the cases were men. The most frequent isolates were Candida albicans (28.7%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.8%), followed by Legionella pneumophila (14.9%) and Klabsiella pneumoniae (9.2%). More than one causative pathogens were isolated in 15 patients (16.3%), and 55 per cent of patients were diabetic. Interpretation & conclusions Clinicians should be aware that typical pneumonia treatment regimens may not work well during the Hajj season due to the wide variety of isolated organisms. This necessitates taking a sputum sample before starting treatment for identification and sensitivity testing. Special precautions need to be taken for >50 yr old patients.

Prevalence and antibiotic resistance among helicobacter pylori clinical isolates from main hospitals in the western region of Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns amongst H. pylori clinical strains isolated from the main hospitals in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for 137 clinical isolates of H. pylori recovered from 368 Saudi patients undergoing endoscopic examination. The antibiotics used were amoxicillin, tetracycline, clarithromycin and metronidazole. A high percentage of resistance were observed against metronidazole [48.2%] followed by clarithromycin [27.7%], amoxicillin [14.6%] and tetracycline [9.5%]. A total of 12 [8.8%] multidrug-resistant H. pylori isolates were observed in this study. Moreover, a warning sign of emerging resistance to amoxicillin, tetracycline and clarithromycin were noted. The clinician need to be aware about resistance pattern in their region when they select empiric antibiotics regimen for H. pylori

Methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolates from Saudi hospitals

To determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] strains among clinical isolates collected from the 4 tertiary hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and to test the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of S. aureus isolates against 9 antimicrobial agents. A total of 512 S. aureus clinical isolates were collected during a period of 1 year starting in April 2003 in AI-Noor, King Abdul-Aziz, Hera and King Faisal Hospitals, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The sensitivity patterns of these isolates were determined using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The prevalence of MRSA among S. aureus isolates was 38.9% [199/512]. Among 199 MRSA isolates, 78.8% showed multidrug resistance to erythromycin, gentamicin and oxytetracycline. The rate of MRSA resistance in this study was much higher than what had been reported in other areas of Saudi Arabia emphasizing the need for local or country-based surveillance to characterize and monitor MRSA and to develop strategies that will improve MRSA treatment and control

Relationship between helicobacter pylori VacA genotypes status and risk of peptic ulcer in Saudi patients

To determine if there is a significant correlation between different Helicobacter pylori [H. pylori] vacA genotypes strains and severe gastric clinical outcomes. A total of 1104 gastric biopsies from 368 patients who presented with symptoms suggestive of chronic gastritis or peptic ulcer were taken from the main hospitals in the western region of Saudi Arabia from July 2004 to July 2005. These samples were cultured for H. pylori, and a polymerase chain reaction [PCR] was carried out to determine vacA genotypes status. One hundred and three [28%] patients were positive for H. pylori using culture technique. The distribution of vacA genotypes was 13 for vacAs1m1, 47 for vacAs1m2 and 43 for vacAs2m2. None of the clinical isolates were vacAs2m1 positive. The study showed a significant correlation between the vacAs1m2 genotype and gastritis cases, and a significant correlation between vacAs1m1 genotype and ulcer cases. The results of this study might be used for the identification of high-risk patients who are infected by vacAs1m1 genotype H. pylori strains

Chlamydia pneumoniae seropositivity and risk of developing coronary heart disease in Western Saudi Arabia

To estimate the seroprevalence of IgG and IgA antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae [C. pneumoniae] among a sample of the Saudi population, and to evaluate whether there is a relationship between seropositivity to chronic infection with C. pneumoniae and the manifestation of symptomatic coronary heart disease [CHD]. We collected 273 sera samples from CHD patients and 273 sera samples from healthy matched controls from the Western region of Saudi Arabia during the period from November 2004 to May 2005. We tested anti-chlamydial IgG and IgA antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. We found 239 [87.5%] patients and 213 [78%] controls positive for C. pneumoniae IgG antibodies. However, 58 [21.2%] patients and 55 [23.9%] controls were positive for C. pneumoniae IgA antibodies. These results indicate a significant correlation between the presence of IgG antibodies and the development of CHD [p=0.003]. Data of this study showed that the presence of IgG antibodies has a 2-fold increase risk in development of CHD. We found no significant correlation between the existence of IgA antibodies and CHD. Our study indicates that C. pneumoniae infection plays an important role in the development of CHD in the Saudi community, emphasizing the importance of developing strategies for prevention and control against this type of bacterial infection. However, we need further study throughout the Kingdom to approve these results in all regions