Invasion of Aureobasidium Pullulans in kidney and eyes of immunosuppressed patients

There were series of proven cases revealing opportunistic fungal infections in the cornea, cutaneous, subcutaneous and renal transplantpatients. Renal involvements of opportunistic mold in immunocompromised especially in renal transplant recipients have remaineda significant problem and a major cause of death worldwide. However, extensive literature reviews revealed no case of invasion inurolithiasis and rarely reported in endophthalmitis. Here, we report the case series of two rare cases related to a dematiaceous fungus,Aureobasidium pullulans. Both had an atypical presentation. Possible modes of entry and dissemination were discussed. Invasivesurgical procedures, frequent uses of antibiotics and steroid could possibly predispose to its invasion in immunocompromised patients.This organism was identified through molecular techniques since culture yielded no growth. There was a good outcome followingsurgical intervention in both cases

Leptospirosis, an emerging zoonotic disease in Malaysia

Leptospirosis is an endemic disease in Malaysia and recently has received increasing attention mainly due to several recent incidents that have resulted in human mortality which have alarmed health professionals in Malaysia. The increasing incidence of leptospirosis in forested regions is associated with the bacteria infecting small wild mammals other than rats. Infection in wildlife could result in the introduction of new serovars to humans and domesticated animals. More research on leptospirosis and the screening of wildlife and humans near wildlife habitats is required to have a better understanding of the involvement of wildlife in the disease

Draft Genome Sequence of Candida pseudohaemulonii Isolated from the Blood of a Neutropenic Patient

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Pengesanan dan pencirian Leptospira spp. pada haiwan liar dan persekitaran di pusat pemuliharaan ex situ

Leptospirosis ialah penyakit berjangkit yang disebabkan oleh bakteria Leptospira yang boleh menjangkiti manusia dan haiwan. Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti jangkitan leptospirosis yang berkitar antara orang utan, roden dan persekitaran di Pulau Orang Utan Bukit Merah (BMOUI) dan Zoo Taiping, Perak. Sampel haiwan serta persekitaran yang diperoleh dari kedua-dua kawasan kajian diinokulasi dalam media Ellinghausen-Mccullough�Johnson-Harris (EMJH) untuk pengkulturan Leptospira. Pengesanan dan pencirian mudah spesies Leptospira melalui PCR dilakukan ke atas kultur serta sampel haiwan yang positif. Pencirian spesies yang lebih mendalam sehingga peringkat serovar menggunakan penjenisan jujukan multi-lokus (MLST) hanya dilakukan ke atas kultur patogenik sahaja. Sebanyak 8/14 kultur daripada sampel persekitaran BMOUI merupakan spesies saprofitik (L. yanagawae, L. meyeri dan L. idonii), 4/14 adalah spesies perantaraan (L. wolffii) dan 2/14 (dilabel sebagai ‘Soil2’ dan ‘BJ3 soil’) adalah spesies patogenik. Hasil MLST menunjukkan kultur ‘Soil2’ telah dikenal pasti sebagai L. interrogans serovar Lai Langkawi dengan nilai penjenisan jujukan, ST: 236. ‘BJ3 soil’ pula telah diberikan profil alel baharu yang menjana nilai ST baharu iaitu 262 di bawah spesies L. kmetyi. Kesemua 15/15 kultur daripada sampel persekitaran Zoo Taiping merupakan spesies saprofit (L. yanagawae dan L. meyeri). Leptospira yang dikesan secara langsung dalam sampel orang utan dan tikus dari BMOUI berkait rapat dengan spesies L. wolffii. Sampel orang utan dari Zoo Taiping pula berkait rapat dengan spesies L. kmetyi dan L. wolffii. Kajian ini berjaya membuktikan bahawa berlakunya transmisi leptospirosis di BMOUI dan Zoo Taiping yang sememangnya amat penting dalam menambahbaik strategi pencegahan penyakit ini sekaligus membantu dalam usaha pemuliharaan orang utan

Properties of biodegradable polymer from terrestrial mushroom for potential enhanced oil recovery

Polymer flooding could enhance the oil recovery by increasing the viscosity of water, thus, improving the mobility control and sweep efficiency. It is essential to explore natural sources of polymer, which is biologically degradable and negligible to environmental risks. This research aims to produce a biodegradable polymer from terrestrial mushroom, analyze the properties of the polymer and investigate the oil recovery from polymer flooding. Polysaccharide biopolymer was extracted from mushroom and characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), while the polymer viscosity was investigated using an automated microviscometer. The oil recovery tests were conducted at room temperature using a sand pack model. It was found that polymer viscosity increases with increasing polymer concentration and decreases when increase in temperature, salinity, and concentration of divalent ions. The oil recovery tests showed that a higher polymer concentration of 3000 ppm had recovered more oil with an incremental recovery of 25.8% after waterflooding, while a polymer concentration of 1500 pm obtained incremental 22.2% recovery of original oil in place (OOIP). The oil recovery from waterflooding was approximately 25.4 and 24.2% of the OOIP, respectively. Therefore, an environmentally friendly biopolymer was successfully extracted, which is potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) application, but it will lose its viscosity performance at certain reservoir conditions

Leptospirosis seropositivity and its serovars among cattle in Northeastern Malaysia

Background: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that infects human and livestock which causes economic losses to the farmers. It has been reported as one of the causes of reproductive failure in cattle and other ruminants, determining abortions,stillbirth, weak newborns, and decrease in their growth rate and milk production. Aim: The objectives of this study were to determine the leptospirosis seroprevalence and to identify the predominant infecting serovars among cattle. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 420 cattle from six randomly selected districts in Kelantan was conducted. A serological test using the microscopic agglutination test was conducted in the Institute of Medical Research with a cutoff titer for seropositivity of ≥1:100. Results: The overall prevalence of leptospirosis seropositivity among cattle in this study was 81.7% (95% confidence interval: 63.5, 80.1). The most common reaction obtained with the sera tested was from the serovar Sarawak with 78.8%. Conclusion: A high seroprevalence of leptospiral antibodies was found among cattle in Northeastern Malaysia. These findings urge that more studies are required to determine the reasons for the high seroprevalence among the cattle along with its transmission and pathogenicity of the local serovar Sarawak

Evaluation of a Rapid Kit for Detection of IgM against Leptospira in Human

Introduction. Leptospirosis is an acute febrile illness, known for its protean clinical manifestations and the challenge in differentiating from other infectious diseases. Standardized confirmatory test is antibody dependent and not accessible by the suburban community. This study measures efficiency of an immune-chromatographic assay, Leptocheck WB, in detecting acute leptospirosis. Methods. A total of 142 sera were used for kit evaluation. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated by comparing rapid kit results with gold standard laboratory, microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Results. We found this rapid kit to have a sensitivity and specificity of 66.6% and 78.9%, respectively, whereas the PPV and NPV of the kit appeared to be 73.3% and 73.2%, respectively. Discussion. Test efficiency of this rapid kit is reasonable. It is specific in detecting leptospiral antibody and assures clinician of accurate diagnosis by having higher PPV and NPV. It is prompt and efficient in comparison with conventional methods in assisting differential diagnosis. High sensitivity and specificity leptospirosis rapid test is indeed a crucial measure to assist the diagnosis of acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses

Multi locus sequence typing of clinical Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates from Malaysia.

BackgroundMelioidosis is a neglected tropical disease with rising global public health and clinical importance. Melioidosis is endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia and is of increasing concern in Malaysia. Despite a number of reported studies from Malaysia, these reports are limited to certain parts of the country and do not provide a cohesive link between epidemiology of melioidosis cases and the nation-wide distribution of the causative agent Burkholderia pseudomallei.Methodology/principle findingsHere we report on the distribution of B. pseudomallei sequence types (STs) in Malaysia and how the STs are related to STs globally. We obtained 84 culture-confirmed B. pseudomallei from confirmed septicaemic melioidosis patients from all over Malaysia. Prior to performing Multi Locus Sequence Typing, the isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and detection of the YLF/BTFC genes and BimA allele. Up to 90.5% of the isolates were sensitive to all antimicrobials tested while resistance was observed for antimicrobials typically administered during the eradication stage of treatment. YLF gene cluster and bimABp allele variant were detected in all the isolates. The epidemiological distribution patterns of the Malaysian B. pseudomallei isolates were analysed in silico using phylogenetic tools and compared to Southeast Asian and world-wide isolates. Genotyping of the 84 Malaysian B. pseudomallei isolates revealed 29 different STs of which 6 (7.1%) were novel. ST50 was identified as the group founder followed by subgroup founders ST376, ST211 and ST84. A low-level diversity is noted for the B. pseudomallei isolates described in this study while phylogenetic analysis associated the Malaysian STs to Southeast Asian isolates especially isolates from Thailand. Further analysis also showed a strong association that implicates agriculture and domestication activities as high-risk routes of infection.Conclusions/significanceIn conclusion, MLST analysis of B. pseudomallei clinical isolates from all states in Malaysia revealed low diversity and a close association to Southeast Asian isolates

Cyphellophora sp. Isolated from a Corneal Ulcer in the Human Eye

Cyphellophora is a black yeast-like fungus with most of the strains being isolated from soil and plants. It tends to cause sooty blotch and flyspeck disease in plants. In humans, it is known to cause superficial skin and nail infections. This report highlights the case of a patient who initially presented with a small corneal abrasion which rapidly progressed into a corneal ulcer after the patient did not respond to the initial conventional treatment. The laboratory results from the corneal scraping found it to be Cyphellophora sp