2 research outputs found
Methanol outbreak in the district of Hulu Langat, 2018
Introduction: A methanol outbreak occurred in the district of
Hulu Langat on 16 September 2018. The Hulu Langat District
Health Office received 25 notifications of a suspected
methanol poisoning from Kajang and Ampang Hospital. An
outbreak investigation was done to determine the source
followed by a preventive and control measure.
Method: Active case detection was done on cases living
quarters and workplaces. Patients were interviewed, and
their blood and urine samples were sent for methanol
analysis. Samples of suspected alcoholic beverages were
also sent for analysis. A suspected case was defined as any
person presented with clinical symptoms with a history of
consuming alcoholic beverages within five days before
symptoms and high anion gap metabolic acidosis. A
confirmed case was defined as a suspected case with
positive blood and urine methanol.
Results: In total, there were 25 suspected cases, of which 12
cases were confirmed. The calculated attack rate was 48%.
There were six mortalities (50%) secondary to severe
metabolic acidosis. The most common presenting symptom
was vomiting (75%) and abdominal pain (41.7%). These
cases were linked to consumption of illicitly produced
alcohol. Samples of the alcoholic drinks were positive
containing high level of methanol.
Conclusion: The methanol outbreak in the Hulu Langat was
successfully managed. Appropriate control and prevention
measures were taken, including health promotion and joint
enforcement activities. Steps were taken successfully
through collaborations with multiple agencies and
cooperation with Selangor Health Departments and the
Ministry of Health. Continuous surveillance on the product
of liquor, and health promotion are essential to prevent a
similar outbreak from happening again in future
A 10-week pedometer-based walking program induced weight loss and improved metabolic health in community-dwelling adults
Walking 10,000 steps daily is associated with beneficial health outcomes. Recent systematic reviews have suggested that pedometers may be an effective motivational tool to promote walking. The aim of this study was to study the effectiveness of a 10-week, pedometer-based walking intervention to improve physical activity, body composition and metabolic health indices in a sample of suburban community-dwelling adults not meeting current physical activity recommendations. After screening, 34 overweight/obese individuals (mean age: 46 ± 8 years, mean BMI: 28.3 ± 4.2 kg/m2) were accepted into the walking program conducted by the Health Promotion Community Centre, Bangi. Subjects were instructed to increase their steps by 3000 steps daily above their baseline values for 10 weeks. Daily step count, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, as well as blood pressure, fasting glucose and lipids were evaluated at baseline and following the 10-week intervention. Thirty-one participants completed the program with 100% adherence. The average daily steps recorded during the 10-week intervention was 9693 ± 2196 steps per day. Mean daily steps increased from 8679 ± 2567 steps in Week 1 to 10,766 ± 3200 steps in Week 10 (p = 0.040). Overall, there were reductions in body weight (-1.13%, p = 0.010), waist circumference (-3.5%, p = 0.001) and BMI (-1.41%, p = 0.008) as well as fasting blood glucose (-8.5%, p = 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (-4.8%, p = 0.007) following the intervention. The findings of this study demonstrated that a goal-driven, pedometer-based walking intervention for 10 weeks resulted in a modest reduction in body weight and improved metabolic health outcomes in overweight/obese, community-dwelling adults