Outbreak of foodborne disease in a boarding school, Negeri Sembilan state, Malaysia, 2021.

Objective: Foodborne disease is a significant global public health concern, with Bacillus cereus being a frequent cause of outbreaks. However, due to the relatively mild symptoms caused by infection with B. cereus, the shorter duration of illness and the challenges of testing for it in both stool and food samples, outbreaks are often underreported. This report describes the epidemiology of cases of foodborne illness, the causative agent and risk factors associated with an outbreak in a boarding school in Seremban district, Negeri Sembilan state, Malaysia, that occurred in November 2021. Methods: Epidemiological, environmental and laboratory investigations were performed. A case was defined as any person with abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhoea that occurred after consuming food served by the canteen at the school. The data were analysed using Microsoft Excel and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: A total of 152 cases were identified among the 597 students, giving an attack rate of 25.5%. All cases were females aged 13-17 years. They presented with abdominal pain (100%), nausea (97.4%, 148), vomiting (78.3%, 119) or diarrhoea (61.8%, 94), or a combination of these. The mode of transmission of the outbreak was a continual common source. The foods associated with becoming a case were beef rendang (a dry curry) (odds ratio [OR]: 20.54, 95% CI: 4.89-86.30), rice (OR: 19.62, 95% CI: 2.62-147.01), rice cubes (OR: 18.17, 95% CI: 4.31-76.55) and vermicelli (OR: 17.02, 95% CI: 4.03-71.86). Cross-contamination and inadequate thawing and storage temperatures contributed to the outbreak. Discussion: This outbreak of foodborne illness at a boarding school was likely caused by B. cereus. The findings highlight the importance of proper food preparation, temperature monitoring, hygiene practices among food handlers and compliance with food safety guidelines.

Epidemiology of COVID-19 cases and vaccination coverage in Seremban District, Malaysia, 2021.

Objective: Malaysia's first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was reported in January 2020, with the first case in the state of Negeri Sembilan diagnosed on 17 February 2020. The National COVID-19 Immunization Programme commenced in early March 2021 in Negeri Sembilan. This study describes the COVID-19 cases and vaccination coverage in Seremban District, Negeri Sembilan, during 2021. Methods: The demographic and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 cases and the district's vaccination coverage were described. Vaccination coverage was plotted against COVID-19 cases on the epidemic curve. The χ2 test was used to examine the differences between the vaccination status of COVID-19 cases and severity category, hospitalization status and mortality. Results: In Seremban District, there were 65 879 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 2021. The data revealed that the 21-30-year age group had the highest proportion of cases (16 365; 24.8%), the majority of cases were male (58.3%), and most cases were from the subdistrict of Ampangan (23.1%). The majority of cases were Malaysian. Over half (53.5%) were symptomatic, with fever (29.8%) and cough (22.8%) being the most frequently reported symptoms. COVID-19 vaccination status was significantly associated with severity category, hospitalization and mortality (P < 0.001 for all categories). Discussion: This is the first study to describe two-dose vaccination coverage and the trend in COVID-19 cases in Seremban District. It was observed that COVID-19 cases had been reduced following more than 60.0% vaccination coverage.

Analysing Public Health Impact of Misinformation During COVID-19 Pandemic using the Socio-Ecological Model: A Systematic Review

@#Introduction: Social media and Internet use during disasters have been proven to be useful tools in helping public health agencies to respond to pandemics. However, this tool can also be the culprit in the spread of misinformation to the public. This study aims to identify the public health impact of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic using the socio-ecological model. Methods: A systematic review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was initially undertaken by searching relevant articles published from January to November 2020 in several electronic databases including Medline, PubMed, and Springer link. All publications produced in English regarding the impact of misinformation during the COVID-19 outbreak were included except review articles. Results: Eleven articles were identified from these databases. The public health impact of misinformation from these articles was analysed and discussed according to the domains of the socio-ecological model. It was found that various elements of misinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant impact on the individual, interpersonal, organisational, community, and policy levels across various nations. Conclusion: This study concludes that addressing misinformation during a pandemic such as the COVID-19 phenomenon is an important measure to improve public health response in mitigating the spread of pandemics.

Cognitive Determinants of Health Information Seeking Behavior through Social Media Platforms among Malaysian Adults

@#Introduction: Health information-seeking behaviour is a process of gathering information for individuals to understand and cope with his/her health problems. Apart from the Internet or Web 1.0, Web 2.0 tools has been increasingly used as alternative to seek health information and one such tool is social media platform. This study aims to identify cognitive determinants of health information-seeking behaviour through social media platforms among Malaysian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study by means of convenience sampling was conducted during a nationwide pandemic lockdown. Cognitive determinants were defined as respondent’s perceived usefulness, perceived ease of user, perceived benefit, perceived costs, perceived behavioural control, and perceived risk towards social media use. Questionnaires were distributed via Google Form link to multiple social media platforms and cross-platform messaging app. Differences between group of sociodemographic factors and other independent variables were tested with nonparametric tests while multiple linear regression was employed to determine the significant predictors of the health information seeking behavior. Results: A total of 705 individuals responded to the survey invitation, the majority of which were females (65%), Malay (93.6%), married (52.1%), and received tertiary education (88.5%). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that perceived benefit (β= 0.612, 95% CI: 0.517-0.708, p<0.001), perceived usefulness (β= 0.653, 95% CI: 0.453-0.853, p<0.001), and perceived risk (β= 0.131, 95% CI: 0.03-0.259, p=0.044) significantly predict health information seeking behavior through social media platform. Conclusion: Our findings provide fundamental grounds for stakeholders to better understand and influence online behavior. Staying abreast of the current online trend is crucial as more people have begun to rely on social media for health information.