An overview of foodborne illness and food safety in Malaysia

Abstract Foodborne disease has been associated with microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Most commonly, the outbreaks take place due to the ingestion of pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella Typhi, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholera, Campylobacter jejuni, and Listeria monocytogenes. The disease usually happens as a result of toxin secretion of the microorganisms in the intestinal tract of the infected person. Usually, the level of hygiene in the food premises reflect the quality of the food item, hence restaurant or stall with poor sanitary condition is said to be the contributor to food poisoning outbreak. In Malaysia, food poisoning cases are not rare because the hot and humid climate of this country is very suitable for the growth of the foodborne bacteria. The government is also implementing strict rules to ensure workers and owners of food premises prioritize the cleanliness of their working area. Training programme for food handlers can also help them to implement hygiene as a routine in a daily basis. A lot of studies have been done to reduce foodborne diseases. The results can give information about the types of microorganisms, and other components that affect their growth. The result is crucial to determine how the spread of foodborne bacteria can be controlled safely and the outbreak can be reduced

Leptospirosis in human: biomarkers in host immune responses

Leptospirosis remains one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira, which accounts for high morbidity and mortality globally. Leptospiral infections are often found in tropical and subtropical regions, with people exposed to contaminated environments or animal reservoirs are at high risk of getting the infection. Leptospirosis has a wide range of clinical manifestations with non-specific signs and symptoms and often misdiagnosed with other acute febrile illnesses at early stage of infection. Despite being one of the leading causes of zoonotic morbidity worldwide, there is still a gap between pathogenesis and human immune responses during leptospiral infection. It still remains obscure whether the severity of the infection is caused by the pathogenic properties of the Leptospira itself, or it is a consequence of imbalance host immune factors. Hence, in this review, we seek to summarize the past and present milestone findings on the biomarkers of host immune response aspects during human leptospiral infection, including cytokine and other immune mediators. A profound understanding of the interlink between virulence factors and host immune responses during human leptospirosis is imperative to identify potential biomarkers for diagnostic and prognostic applications as well as designing novel immunotherapeutic strategies in future

Elevated interleukin-25 and its association to Th2 cytokines in systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus nephritis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder that is associated with lupus nephritis, initiated by the deposition of immune complexes in the kidney; subsequently, this induces the overexpression of cytokines. Lupus nephritis is known as one of the major clinical manifestations that affect the disease severity in SLE patients. An increased number of resident periglomerular and immune cells in the kidney has the potential to affect the equilibrium of different immune cell subsets, such as Th1, Th2, Th17, and Tregs, which may be central to the induction of tissue damage in kidney by exerting either proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects, or both. This equilibrium has yet to be confirmed, as new players such as IL-25 remain undiscovered. IL-25 is a cytokine of the IL-17 family, which stimulates Th2-mediated immune response when overly expressed. Thus, the aim of this research is to determine the plasma levels of IL-25 and Th2-associated cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13) in SLE patients with (SLE-LN) and without lupus nephritis. Sixty-four (n = 64) SLE patients and fifteen (n = 15) healthy individuals were recruited. This study demonstrated that the IL-9, IL-10 and IL-25 had significantly increased expressions in SLE-LN, followed by SLE without LN, compared to healthy controls. Meanwhile, IL-5 and IL-6 had significantly reduced. No significant difference was observed with IL-13, while the level of IL-4 was undetectable. Furthermore, IL-9 and IL-10 were significantly correlated with the IL-25, and IL-25, IL-9 and IL-10 were positively correlated with the disease severity score, SLEDAI. In conclusion, IL-25 and its associated Th2 cytokines (IL-9 and IL-10) may be involved in SLE pathogenesis. These cytokines could be potential biomarkers in monitoring and predicting the disease severity during SLE pathogenesis

Public Awareness and Practices Towards Self-Medication with Antibiotics Among Malaysian Population: Questionnaire Development and Pilot Testing

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