Serology surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among healthcare workers in COVID-19 designated facilities in Malaysia.

Background: Asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections are well documented. Healthcare workers (HCW) are at increased risk of infection due to occupational exposure to infected patients. We aim to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCW who did not come to medical attention.

Correction: Development of a reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification assay for rapid and direct visual detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors for severe COVID-19 infections in Malaysia: A nationwide observational study.

Background: COVID-19 emerged as a major public health outbreak in late 2019. Malaysia reported its first imported case on 25th January 2020, and adopted a policy of extensive contact tracing and hospitalising of all cases. We describe the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 cases nationwide and determine the risk factors associated with disease severity.

Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of anogenital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) carriage in a cross-sectional, multi-ethnic, community-based Asian male population.

Background: Addressing the burden of HPV-associated diseases among men is increasingly becoming a public health issue. The main objective of this study was to determine HPV prevalence among a healthy community-based Malaysian men.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study that recruited 503 healthy males from 3 community-based clinics in Selangor, Malaysia.

Development of a reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification assay for rapid and direct visual detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Rapid diagnosis is an important intervention in managing the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak. Real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) remains the primary means for diagnosing the new virus strain but it is time consuming and costly. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is an isothermal amplification assay that does not require a PCR machine.

Tracking the early depleting transmission dynamics of COVID-19 with a time-varying SIR model.

The susceptible-infectious-removed (SIR) model offers the simplest framework to study transmission dynamics of COVID-19, however, it does not factor in its early depleting trend observed during a lockdown. We modified the SIR model to specifically simulate the early depleting transmission dynamics of COVID-19 to better predict its temporal trend in Malaysia. The classical SIR model was fitted to observed total (I total), active (I) and removed (R) cases of COVID-19 before lockdown to estimate the basic reproduction number.

A Sensitive Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for Direct Visual Detection of SARS-CoV-2.

A simple and rapid reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The RT-LAMP assay was highly specific for SARS-CoV-2 and was able to detect one copy of transcribed SARS-CoV-2 RNA within 24 minutes. Assay validation performed using 50 positive and 32 negative clinical samples showed 100% sensitivity and specificity.

Real-time reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Highly sensitive real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) methods have been developed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, they are costly. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay has emerged as a novel alternative isothermal amplification method for the detection of nucleic acid.

Updates on malaria incidence and profile in Malaysia from 2013 to 2017.

Background: To date, most of the recent publications on malaria in Malaysia were conducted in Sabah, East Malaysia focusing on the emergence of Plasmodium knowlesi. This analysis aims to describe the incidence, mortality and case fatality rate of malaria caused by all Plasmodium species between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) over a 5-year period (2013-2017).

Methods: This is a secondary data review of all diagnosed and reported malaria confirmed cases notified to the Ministry of Health, Malaysia between January 2013 and December 2017.

Financial Toxicity After Cancer in a Setting With Universal Health Coverage: A Call for Urgent Action.

Background: Financial toxicity negatively affects the well-being of cancer survivors. We examined the incidence, cost drivers, and factors associated with financial toxicity after cancer in an upper-middle-income country with universal health coverage.

Methods: Through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Costs in Oncology study, 1,294 newly diagnosed patients with cancer (Ministry of Health [MOH] hospitals [n = 577], a public university hospital [n = 642], private hospitals [n = 75]) were observed in Malaysia.

The Malaysian cataract surgery registry: incidence and risk factors of postoperative infectious endophthalmitis over a 7-year period.

Aim: To report the incidence, risk factors and visual outcomes for postoperative endophthalmitis (POE) based on 7-year data from the Malaysian Ministry of Health Cataract Surgery Registry (MOH CSR).

Methods: Data was collected from the web-based MOH CSR. All consecutive cataract surgery patients from 1 June 2008 to 31 December 2014 were identified.

Estimating dengue incidence and hospitalization in Malaysia, 2001 to 2013.

Background: Epidemiologic measures of the dengue burden such as prevalence and incidence are important for policy-making and monitoring the progress of disease control. It is a common practice where epidemiologic and economic research estimate dengue burden based on notification data. However, a basic challenge in estimating the incidence of dengue is that a significant proportion of infected population are asymptomatic.

Estimates of visual impairment and its causes from the National Eye Survey in Malaysia (NESII).

Background: Population-based data on prevalence, causes of blindness and extent of ophthalmological coverage is required for efficient implementation and evaluation of ocular health programs. In view of the scarcity of prevalence data for visual impairment and blindness in Malaysia, this study aims to estimate the prevalence and causes of visual impairment (VI) in the elderly, using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey technique.

Methods: Malaysia was divided into six regions, with each region consisting of 50 clusters.

Health-related quality of life and psychological distress among cancer survivors in a middle-income country.

Objectives: Quality of life and psychological well-being are important patient-centered outcomes, which are useful in evaluation of cancer care delivery. However, evidence from low-income and middle-income countries remains scarce. We assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and prevalence of psychological distress (anxiety or depression), as well as their predictors, among cancer survivors in a middle-income setting.

Validity of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) coding for dengue infections in hospital discharge records in Malaysia.

Background: Hospitalization due to dengue illness is an important measure of dengue morbidity. However, limited studies are based on administrative database because the validity of the diagnosis codes is unknown. We validated the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD) diagnosis coding for dengue infections in the Malaysian Ministry of Health's (MOH) hospital discharge database.

Catquest-9SF questionnaire: validation of Malay and Chinese-language versions using Rasch analysis.

Background: Catquest questionnaire was originally developed in Swedish to measure patients' self-assessed visual function to evaluate the benefit of cataract surgery. The result of the Rasch analysis leading to the creation of the nine-item short form of Catquest, (Catquest-9SF), and it had been translated and validated in English. The aim is therefore to evaluate the translated Catquest-9SF questionnaire in Malay and Chinese (Mandarin) language version for measuring patient-reported visual function among cataract population in Malaysia.

Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of cervicovaginal human papillomavirus (HPV) carriage in a cross-sectional, multiethnic, community-based female Asian population.

Objectives: Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease, and the strategic implementation of a cervical cancer prevention programme is partly dependent on the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection interpreted within the context of the country's sociodemographic attributes. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of cervicovaginal HPV infection among a healthy, community-based, multiethnic Malaysian population. The HPV prevalence was subsequently correlated to the individual's sociodemographics and sexual/reproductive history.

Prevalence and Factors Associated With Second Eye Cataract Surgery and the Trend in the Time Interval Between the Two Eye Surgeries Based on the Malaysian National Eye Database.

Purpose: To study the prevalence of second eye cataract surgery (SECS), trend in time interval between subsequent surgeries over the years, and factors associated with SECS utilization among patients who underwent cataract surgeries in the Ministry of Health (MOH), Malaysia.

Design: Secondary cross-sectional analysis of the Malaysian National Eye Database (NED) data.

Methods: The Malaysian Cataract Surgery Registry collected data on patients who had cataract surgery from 2002-2004 and 2007-2012.

The Malaysian Cataract Surgery Registry: risk Indicators for posterior capsular rupture.

Aim: To identify the risk indicators for posterior capsular rupture (PCR) in the Malaysian Cataract Surgery Registry (CSR).

Methods: Data from the web-based CSR were collected for cataract surgery performed from 2008 to 2013. Data was contributed by 36 Malaysian Ministry of Health public hospitals.

Rural-urban comparisons of dengue seroprevalence in Malaysia.

Background: Each year an estimated 390 million dengue infections occur worldwide. In Malaysia, dengue is a growing public health concern but estimate of its disease burden remains uncertain. We compared the urban-rural difference of dengue seroprevalence and determined age-specific dengue seroprevalence in Malaysia.

Attitudes and factors affecting acceptability of self-administered cervicovaginal sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping as an alternative to Pap testing among multiethnic Malaysian women.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the attitudes and acceptability of self-administered cervicovaginal sampling compared with conventional physician-acquired Papanicolaou (Pap) smear among multiethnic Malaysian women.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out via interviewer-administered surveys from August 2013 through August 2015 at five government-run, urban health clinics in the state of Selangor. Subjects were participants from an ongoing community-based human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence study who answered a standard questionnaire before and after self-sampling.

Messages from the Malaysian Diabetes Registries on Diabetes Care in Malaysian public healthcare facilities.

A persistent and increasing prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus has recently been reported in the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015. This commentary recapitulates the relevant and valuable lessons in the Malaysian national diabetes registries to inform the healthcare stakeholders and policy makers on potential areas of clinical practice improvement and future researches. Under performance of the process measures and sub-optimal control of HbA1c, blood pressure and lipids profile were prevalent (<40% achieved treatment targets).

LEPTOSPIROSIS INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY IN MALAYSIA.

Leptospirosis is endemic in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Oceania. Malaysia was categorized as a probable endemic country without any available data. Thus, this study was conducted to determine incidence, case fatality rate and mortality rate of leptospirosis.

Dengue in Malaysia: Factors Associated with Dengue Mortality from a National Registry.

Background: The increasing incidence and geographical distribution of dengue has had significant impact on global healthcare services and resources. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with dengue-related mortality in a cohort of Malaysian patients.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients in the Malaysian National Dengue Registry of 2013.