Communicable Disease

What is Japanese Encephalitis? Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a virus-disease that is transmitted by mosquitos. It lives in humans, pigs and birds. When a mosquito bites an infected animal, it can then transmit the disease by biting someone else. An infected person is unable to infect another person through mosquito bites. This virus then infects the brain causing inflammation of the brain. Approximately 1 in 4 cases of JE is…

This article is a follow-up to the article on Diphtheria and why is it deadly. Vaccination against diphtheria is usually combined with vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus under the name of DTaP or TDaP. Recently, DTaP or TDaP is further combined in with the polio vaccine known as DTaP-IPV or TDaP-IPV. It is a single injection that is recommended to be administered at 1, 2, 5 and 18…

Recently, there was a very unfortunate case of a girl who passed away in Miri Hospital, Sarawak due to diphtheria at the age of two. This raised much concern over this archaic disease that, of late, is making a comeback. This is due to the drop in vaccination rates because parents are worried about various negative health impacts of vaccines, and the girl who passed away, was unvaccinated.   Corynebacterium…

“You’ve got red eyes? Don’t come near me or it will “jump” to me!” Let’s be honest, you’ve probably heard that before. I’m going to say that’s pure hoax, if not folklore my parents used to tell me. Mind you, it would be really scary if it is that contagious!   What is conjunctivitis? Conjunctivitis commonly known as the ‘red eyes’ or ‘pink eyes’ is a form of inflammation affecting…

Credit to Union Quay Medical Centre for the infographic. To know more about STI screening, you can visit http://www.unionquaymedicalcentre.ie/sti-screening.html

Having recently recovered from dengue fever myself, I have decided to share a number of dengue-related FAQs. I hope these would encourage all to seek early medical attention so that proper and timely interventions can be carried out.    What are the common signs and symptoms of dengue? Sudden-onset, continuous high fever and two or more of the following: severe headache, severe pain in the bones and joints as well…

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HMFD) is a viral infection that produces sores at, as the name suggests, hands, feet and mouth. However, other areas such as buttocks and genitals may also be affected by sores. This disease is known to commonly affect children, but adults may catch this disease too.   Who is the culprit? HMFD may be caused by a range of viruses known as enterovirus but coxsackievirus…

Prepared by: Hui Ling Lau PhD, M.Pharm, R.Ph   Reference: Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

For the first time in history, Penang has been badly hit by the floods. Never have I witnessed so many of our loved ones and friends being hit as badly as this time. Rain water and floods can cause an increased risk of potentially fatal diseases such as dengue fever. According to an article statement by our DG (Director-General) of Health, floodwaters are contaminated and can cause various infectious diseases…

As mentioned previously, the active component in a vaccine is the ‘antigen’. This can be in the form of weakened (attenuated live vaccine) or inactivated microbes, parts of microbes, or modified microbial toxins (toxoid vaccine). Vaccines are made up not only of the antigen, but also multiple excipients that improve the effectiveness of vaccines and provide a longer expiry date. The following Figure shows a summary of the multiple vaccine…