Genomic epidemiology of Plasmodium knowlesi reveals putative genetic drivers of adaptation in Malaysia.

Sabah, Malaysia, has amongst the highest burden of human Plasmodium knowlesi infection in the world, associated with increasing encroachment on the parasite's macaque host habitat. However, the genomic make-up of P. knowlesi in Sabah was previously poorly understood.

Antimicrobials in serious illness and end-of-life care: lifting the veil of silence.

Global rates of antimicrobial consumption increased by 65% between 2000 and 2015, by 16% between 2016 and 2023, and are estimated to increase by an additional 52% by 2030. Antimicrobial use and misuse remains high among people with serious illness and at end of life, despite scarce evidence of benefit. In addition, the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials at end of life further exacerbate antimicrobial resistance, which is a substantial public and global health concern.

Mycotic Aneurysm Due to Burkholderia pseudomallei: A Case Report From Malaysia.

Melioidosis is a potentially life-threatening infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium . Its clinical manifestations are highly diverse, including pneumonia, abscesses in internal organs, non-healing ulcers, bone and joint infections, and encephalomyelitis. Mycotic aneurysms, a rare but serious complication of melioidosis, arise as sequelae of bacteremia involving the arterial wall.

Improved limit of detection for zoonotic Plasmodium knowlesi and P. cynomolgi surveillance using reverse transcription for total nucleic acid preserved samples or dried blood spots.

Background: Zoonotic P. knowlesi and P. cynomolgi symptomatic and asymptomatic infections occur across endemic areas of Southeast Asia.

A virus associated with the zoonotic pathogen causing human malaria is a member of a diverse and unclassified viral taxon.

The Apicomplexa are a phylum of single-celled eukaryotes that can infect humans and include the mosquito-borne parasite , the cause of malaria. Viruses that infect non- spp. disease-causing protozoa affect the pathogen life cycle and disease outcomes.

Plasmodium cynomolgi Infections Not Found in Microscopy-Diagnosed Malaria Cases across Sabah, Malaysia.

Zoonotic malaria presents a major public health challenge in Southeast Asia. Plasmodium cynomolgi coinfects the same macaque hosts and mosquito vectors as the most common cause of zoonotic malaria, Plasmodium knowlesi. Plasmodium cynomolgi appears morphologically similar to Plasmodium vivax on microscopy and can amplify P.

Reduced red blood cell deformability in vivax malaria.

Reduced deformability of both infected and uninfected red blood cells (RBC) contributes to pathogenesis in falciparum malaria. Whole blood RBC-deformability is not well-characterised in vivax malaria. We used a laser-assisted optical rotational cell analyzer to measure the RBC deformability in fresh whole blood from Malaysian patients with vivax malaria (n=25).

A virus associated with the zoonotic pathogen causing human malaria is a member of a diverse and unclassified viral taxon.

Apicomplexa are single-celled eukaryotes that can infect humans and include the mosquito-borne parasite , the cause of malaria. Increasing rates of drug resistance in human-only species are reducing the efficacy of control efforts and antimalarial treatments. There are also rising cases of , the only zoonotic species that causes severe disease and death in humans.

Neutrophil activation, acute lung injury and disease severity in Plasmodium knowlesi malaria.

The risk of severe malaria from the zoonotic parasite Plasmodium knowlesi approximates that from P. falciparum. In severe falciparum malaria, neutrophil activation contributes to inflammatory pathogenesis, including acute lung injury (ALI).

At-admission prediction of mortality and pulmonary embolism in an international cohort of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 using statistical and machine learning methods.

By September 2022, more than 600 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported globally, resulting in over 6.5 million deaths. COVID-19 mortality risk estimators are often, however, developed with small unrepresentative samples and with methodological limitations.

Longitudinal changes in iron homeostasis in human experimental and clinical malaria.

Background: The interaction between iron status and malaria is incompletely understood. We evaluated longitudinal changes in iron homeostasis in volunteers enrolled in malaria volunteer infection studies (VIS) and in Malaysian patients with falciparum and vivax malaria.

Methods: We retrieved data and samples from 55 participants (19 female) enrolled in malaria VIS, and 171 patients (45 female) with malaria and 30 healthy controls (13 female) enrolled in clinical studies in Malaysia.

The economic burden of zoonotic malaria on households in Sabah, Malaysia compared to malaria from human-only species.

Background: The emergence of the zoonotic monkey parasite as the dominant cause of malaria in Malaysia has disrupted current national WHO elimination goals. Malaysia has free universal access to malaria care; however, out-of-pocket costs are unknown. This study estimated household costs of illness attributable to malaria due to against other non-zoonotic species infections in Sabah, Malaysia.

The Rapid Emergence of Hypervirulent Species and as Major Health Threats in Southeast Asia: The Urgent Need for Recognition as Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The World Health Organization (WHO)'s list of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) highlights conditions that are responsible for devastating health, social and economic consequences, and yet, they are overlooked and poorly resourced. The NTD list does not include conditions caused by Gram-negative bacilli (GNB). Infections due to GNB cause significant morbidity and mortality and are prevalent worldwide.

Improved limit of detection for zoonotic and surveillance using reverse transcription for total nucleic acid preserved samples or dried blood spots.

Background: Zoonotic and symptomatic and asymptomatic infections occur across endemic areas of Southeast Asia. Most infections are low-parasitemia, with an unknown proportion below routine microscopy detection thresholds. Molecular surveillance tools optimizing the limit of detection (LOD) would allow more accurate estimates of zoonotic malaria prevalence.

Updating estimates of Plasmodium knowlesi malaria risk in response to changing land use patterns across Southeast Asia.

Background: Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic parasite that causes malaria in humans. The pathogen has a natural host reservoir in certain macaque species and is transmitted to humans via mosquitoes of the Anopheles Leucosphyrus Group. The risk of human P.

Longitudinal changes in iron homeostasis in human experimental and clinical malaria.

Background: The interaction between iron deficiency and malaria is incompletely understood. We evaluated longitudinal changes in iron homeostasis in volunteers enrolled in malaria volunteer infection studies (VIS) and in Malaysian patients with falciparum and vivax malaria.

Methods: We retrieved samples and associated data from 55 participants enrolled in malaria VIS, and 171 malaria patients and 30 healthy controls enrolled in clinical studies in Malaysia.

Evaluation of a point-of-care haemozoin assay (Gazelle device) for rapid detection of Plasmodium knowlesi malaria.

Plasmodium knowlesi is the major cause of zoonotic malaria in Southeast Asia. Rapid and accurate diagnosis enables effective clinical management. A novel malaria diagnostic tool, Gazelle (Hemex Health, USA) detects haemozoin, a by-product of haem metabolism found in all Plasmodium infections.

Quantification of parasite clearance in Plasmodium knowlesi infections.

Background: The incidence of zoonotic Plasmodium knowlesi infections in humans is rising in Southeast Asia, leading to clinical studies to monitor the efficacy of anti-malarial treatments for knowlesi malaria. One of the key outcomes of anti-malarial drug efficacy is parasite clearance. For Plasmodium falciparum, parasite clearance is typically estimated using a two-stage method, that involves estimating parasite clearance for individual patients followed by pooling of individual estimates to derive population estimates.

Quantifying human-animal contact rates in Malaysian Borneo: Influence of agricultural landscapes on contact with potential zoonotic disease reservoirs.

Changing landscapes across the globe, but particularly in Southeast Asia, are pushing humans and animals closer together and may increase the likelihood of zoonotic spillover events. Malaysian Borneo is hypothesized to be at high risk of spillover events due to proximity between reservoir species and humans caused by recent deforestation in the region. However, the relationship between landscape and human-animal contact rates has yet to be quantified.

Diagnostic accuracy and limit of detection of ten malaria parasite lactate dehydrogenase-based rapid tests for and .

Background: causes zoonotic malaria across Southeast Asia. First-line diagnostic microscopy cannot reliably differentiate from other human malaria species. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) designed for and are used routinely in co-endemic areas despite potential cross-reactivity for species-specific antibody targets.

Plasmodium vivax malaria serological exposure markers: Assessing the degree and implications of cross-reactivity with P. knowlesi.

Serological markers are a promising tool for surveillance and targeted interventions for Plasmodium vivax malaria. P. vivax is closely related to the zoonotic parasite P.

Identification of warning signs in Malaysian patients having COVID-19 infection who progress to severe form of the illness.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus, now widely known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has caused 3 major pandemic waves in Malaysia. We aimed to identify the warning signs as indicators that predict the progression of disease.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of adult patients more than 12 years of age presenting with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted in three separate hospitals around the country.