www.Teo-Education.Com

KOTA KINABALU: About 40 per cent of 10,000 people screened last year showed no symptoms of Tuberculosis (TB) in the state, said Sabah State Health Department (TB/Leprosy) principal assistant director Dr Richard Avoi.

Dr Richard said the key strategy to TB control is to ensure the general public are aware of the deadly disease and know that the TB situation in Sabah is still not under control.

He added that compared to other infectious diseases, the airborne TB is actually the main disease to tackle.

“One of the main activities to control this disease is to diagnose it as early as possible. Those with the disease must take the medication and get cured from the disease. Now the challenge is to diagnose the disease as early as possible. That is where the awareness comes in,” said Dr Richard, who is also Sabah Anti-Tuberculosis Association (SABATA) medical advisor.

“One of the activities done is mobile TB screening through our mobile bus X-ray. We have screened more than 10,000 last year and we picked up a number of TB cases through these activities by doing X-ray among the high risk group population.

“What I found from our data so far, of the number of TB cases detected through these activities, about 40% do not have the symptoms but they have TB. That is why it is important that, even though you do not have symptoms, you must come forward for TB screening, especially if you have history of exposure to TB,” he stressed.

Dr Richard disclosed that a total of 4,953 newly diagnosed TB cases were detected in Sabah last year, which is 19 per cent of the national 25,739 figure.

From January to May 2017 there were 1,875 newly diagnosed cases, only 109 short of the 1,984 within the same period last year.

“It is almost the same. That means if the trend continues, at the end of the year, we will hit almost 5,000 cases of newly diagnosed TB cases (in Sabah),” he said.

“You see the burden of TB cases in Sabah is still high. Therefore a lot of activities must be carried out to control TB in the state.

“If people don’t come forward to check, the detection will be late. People must come forward as soon as possible if they experience chronic and prolonged cough for more than two weeks, that is the standard.

“Once diagnosed, they must take medication for at least six months without interruption as failure to do so would not cure them from the disease and they will continue to be the source of infection for other people,” he explained.

Dr Richard said 1,264 foreigners and 3,689 Malaysians were diagnosed with TB last year, and 255 foreigners and 732 Malaysians were found TB positive between January to March 20 this year.

He noted both foreigners and Malaysians alike have resisted coming forward to get tested for TB in the past.

“We have experienced a contact of a TB patient who did not want to come forward for check-up. We have to beg and tell them to come but yet they refused.

“The more activities we do to find TB cases, the more cases we pick up. It just means there are still a lot of TB cases out there that had not been detected, so the detection activities must go on.

“From our experience, to control TB among immigrant population is very challenging. I think most people know they are not coming forward and majority of them, once they are diagnosed, are not able to complete the six-month treatment because either they are sent back home or they just disappear and you cannot trace them, especially those with the status of illegal immigrants. These are the group of people who will not come forward until the disease become very severe and they have no choice but to come to us for check-up. We have seen a lot of situations where the patient ends up dying because of the late detection,” he disclosed.

Read more @ http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/06/25/tuberculosis-still-a-threat-in-sabah-doctor/

MALAYSIA recently received the questionable honour of being the most obese country in Southeast Asia.

Presented at the Asia Roundtable on Food Innovation for Improved Nutrition in Kuala Lumpur, the Tackling Obesity in Asean report said this is mainly due to Malaysians’ strong love for food and lack of exercise – it revealed that only a third of Malaysian adults had ever exercised, while only 14% exercised adequately.

Critically, said Nutrition Society of Malaysia’s president Dr Tee E. Siong, Malaysian children risk growing up obese unless parents tackle their unhealthy lifestyle – in 2011, the National Health and Morbidity Survey showed that almost 500,000 children in Malaysia were obese, and childhood obesity is likely to continue into adulthood.

Dr Tee attributed this growing problem to the society’s emphasis on academic excellence, which he said had resulted in additional tuition hours and academic work among children to the detriment of physical activities.

Malaysia also scored D (on a scale of A for excellent to F for failing) for overall physical activity, active transportation and sedentary behaviour in its 2016 Active Healthy Kids report card.

Comparing 38 countries, the study by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance analysed the physical activity of children and youth according to nine indicators: overall physical activity, organised sport participation, active play, active transportation, sedentary behaviour, family and peers, school, community and the built environment, and government strategies and investments.

The report card demonstrated that Malaysian children and adolescents are engaging in low levels of physical activity and active commuting, high levels of screen time, and have extremely low compliance with dietary recommendations.

More efforts are needed to address the root causes of physical inactivity while increasing the opportunities for children and adolescents to be more physically active, it said.

Malaysian school and government strategies and investment were interestingly graded B, but to no one’s surprise, diet was assigned the lowest grade of F.

Malaysia has been looking at emulating Finland’s academic record, perhaps we should also look at its initiative to improve students’ physical activity – Finnish Schools on the Move.
Read more @  http://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2017/06/18/malaysian-children-need-to-start-young-too/#3EYgqkFFritlDuUi.99

by YUEN MEIKENG, MARTIN CARVALHO, and FATIMAH ZAINAL
Read more @ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/06/18/making-it-cheaper-for-patients-ministry-wants-pharmaceutical-firms-to-display-prices-on-medicines/#tTpLCBy0jltC0qOR.99

MALAYSIA recently received the questionable honour of being the most obese country in Southeast Asia.

Presented at the Asia Roundtable on Food Innovation for Improved Nutrition in Kuala Lumpur, the Tackling Obesity in Asean report said this is mainly due to Malaysians’ strong love for food and lack of exercise – it revealed that only a third of Malaysian adults had ever exercised, while only 14% exercised adequately.

Critically, said Nutrition Society of Malaysia’s president Dr Tee E. Siong, Malaysian children risk growing up obese unless parents tackle their unhealthy lifestyle – in 2011, the National Health and Morbidity Survey showed that almost 500,000 children in Malaysia were obese, and childhood obesity is likely to continue into adulthood.

Dr Tee attributed this growing problem to the society’s emphasis on academic excellence, which he said had resulted in additional tuition hours and academic work among children to the detriment of physical activities.

Malaysia also scored D (on a scale of A for excellent to F for failing) for overall physical activity, active transportation and sedentary behaviour in its 2016 Active Healthy Kids report card.

Comparing 38 countries, the study by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance analysed the physical activity of children and youth according to nine indicators: overall physical activity, organised sport participation, active play, active transportation, sedentary behaviour, family and peers, school, community and the built environment, and government strategies and investments.

The report card demonstrated that Malaysian children and adolescents are engaging in low levels of physical activity and active commuting, high levels of screen time, and have extremely low compliance with dietary recommendations.

More efforts are needed to address the root causes of physical inactivity while increasing the opportunities for children and adolescents to be more physically active, it said.

Malaysian school and government strategies and investment were interestingly graded B, but to no one’s surprise, diet was assigned the lowest grade of F.
Read more @ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2017/06/18/malaysian-children-need-to-start-young-too/#D3Cgaqx0uKqQ6qEt.99

Spoilt for choice: Malaysians buying food before breaking fast at the Mampan Ramadan Bazaar in Rawang.

by dr shaikh mohd saifuddeen shaikh mohd salleh
Read more @ http://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/ikim-views/2017/06/13/consume-food-in-moderation-prophet-muhammad-set-the-example-of-how-to-break-fast-and-overeating-goes/#G1Idxi02wSZemPY7.99
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/ikim-views/2017/06/13/consume-food-in-moderation-prophet-muhammad-set-the-example-of-how-to-break-fast-and-overeating-goes/#G1Idxi02wSZemPY7.99

KOTA KINABALU: Adult male farmers are more than twice as likely to contract Plasmodium knowlesi (P. knowlesi) – a malaria parasite usually found only in monkeys – than other people in their communities, according to a report.

The study was conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, and the Sabah Health Department.

The research team found that farmers in Sabah who work in plantations, clear vegetation and take part in forestry work are the most at risk.

P. knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria parasite which is common in forest-dwelling macaque monkeys and transmitted between hosts by mosquitoes. It has a rapid growth rate in the blood that can lead to a high level of parasites in a short time and can cause severe and fatal disease.

Recent deforestation in the Sabah region has brought humans into closer contact with the forest.

P. knowlesi is now the most common form of human malaria in many areas of Malaysia, and has also been reported across South-East Asia.

In 2014, the Health Ministry reported that 2,584 out of the country’s 3,923 malaria cases derived from P. knowlesi, and that proportion is known to have risen further.

The researchers conducted a large case control study of more than 1,000 people in the Sabah districts of Kudat and Kota Marudu. Individuals with P. knowlesi were compared with those with other types of human malaria and a control group without malaria.

Detailed questionnaires recorded information on daily activities, residence and the frequency with which participants saw monkeys.

Men are four times more likely to have P. knowlesi infection than women, and although male farmers are more likely to contract monkey malaria, they are not at higher risk of contracting other types of malaria.
Read more @ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/06/11/study-sabah-farmers-at-higher-risk-of-catching-monkey-malaria/#AwSkhohHwZFo8SMv.99

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of dengue cases reported has steadily increased over four consecutive weeks and people are reminded to take the necessary precautions, the Crisis Preparedness Response Centre (CPRC) said.

Its charts from April 30 to May 6 and May 28 to June 3 showed a weekly increase, totalling 477 cases or 26.1% nationwide.

“There has been persistent increase in dengue cases in the past four weeks.

“We’d like to advise the community to continue keeping their environment clean and free from Aedes breeding grounds in and around their homes,” CPRC said on Facebook yesterday.

CPRC’s chart showed 1,860 dengue cases between May 7 to 13, an increase of 35 cases (1.9%) compared with April 30 to May 6, which reported 1,825 cases.

Between May 14 and 20 reports continued of a higher number, with 2,020 cases, an increase of 160 (8.6%).

The following week – May 21 to 27 – showed the highest increase with 2,250 cases reported, an increase of 230 (11.4%).

From May 28 to June 3, as many as 2,302 dengue cases were reported, 2.3% (52 cases) higher than the previous week.

There were 19 deaths from April 30 to June 3.

The Health Ministry’s Vector Borne Disease Sector said the change of dominant dengue stereotype in the community from DEN1 to DEN3 at the end of last year could have contributed to the increase in cases.

“Those who have never been exposed to DEN3 will not be immune and that could lead to an increase in dengue cases and deaths,” it said in an email reply.

It also said that dirty surroundings such as illegal garbage dumping could be potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Movement of individuals and changes in weather, especially during warmer periods, were other possible causes, it said.

Despite the increase, CPRC recorded 41,574 cases from January to June 3 – as much as 17.8% (9,026 cases) less compared to 50,600 cases reported for the same period last year.

The total number of dengue deaths from January to June 3 was 97, compared with 111 during the same period last year, a reduction of 14 deaths.

CPRC advised those staying in outbreak areas to use repellents and limb-covering clothes besides using aerosol spray and installing nets on windows and grills.

by LOH FOON FONG

Read more @ http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/06/08/dengue-cases-on-a-steady-increase-total-number-of-deaths-stands-at-19/#83pqh6CYl6BPEfiP.99

LONDON: Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol is linked to changes in brain structure and an increased risk of worsening brain function, scientists said on Tuesday.

In a 30-year study that looked at the brains of 550 middle-aged heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers and teetotallers, the researchers found people drank more alcohol had a greater risk of hippocampal atrophy – a form of brain damage that affects memory and spatial navigation.

People who drank more than 30 units a week on average had the highest risk, but even those who drank moderately – between 14 and 21 units a week – were far more likely than abstainers to have hippocampal atrophy, the scientists said.

“And we found no support for a protective effect of light consumption on brain structure,” they added.

The research team – from the University of Oxford and University College London – said their results supported a recent lowering of drinking limit guidelines in Britain, but posed questions about limits recommended in the United States.

U.S. guidelines suggest that up to 24.5 units of alcohol a week is safe for men, but the study found increased risk of brain structure changes at just 14 to 21 units a week.

A unit is defined as 10 millilitres (ml) of pure alcohol. There are roughly two in a large beer, nine in a bottle of wine and one in a 25 ml spirit shot.

Killian Welch, a Royal Edinburgh Hospital neuropsychiatrist who was not directly involved in the study, said the results, published in the BMJ British Medical Journal, underlined “the argument that drinking habits many regard as normal have adverse consequences for health.”

“We all use rationalisations to justify persistence with behaviours not in our long term interest. With (these results) justification of ‘moderate’ drinking on the grounds of brain health becomes a little harder,” he said.

The study analysed data on weekly alcohol intake and cognitive performance measured repeatedly over 30 years between 1985 and 2015 for 550 healthy men and women with an average age of 43 at the start of the study. Brain function tests were carried out at regular intervals, and at the end of the study participants were given a MRI brain scan.

by Reuters.

Read more @ https://www.nst.com.my/node/246474