The local Chow Kit market is the largest wet market in the city of Kuala Lumpur. It is very close to the biggest government hospital in the city centre. However, the level of cleanliness in this area is always questionable and a matter of concern. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of T. gondii oocyst in water samples used by hawkers in that market and tissue cysts in rats’ brains captured from the same area. Water samples were taken to the parasitology laboratory at the National Universtiy of MalaysiaUniversity and a sugar flotation concentration method was used. Supernatant microscopical examination was then performed. A total of 752 slides were screened for the presence of T. gondii oocyst. A hundred rats wandering in the same area were also captured by the hawkers using mousetraps. After each animal was sacrificed, and an electric microtome was used to cut out serial sections 5μ thick from the rat brains. The de-waxed tissue sections were stained by the progressive Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stain for microscopical examination. A total of 1000 slides were screened under a light microscope to detect the presence of T. gondii brain cysts. All the water samples were found to be negative for T. gondii oocyst. Out of the 100 rats captured, three rats were found to possess T. gondii cysts in their brains. Water samples reflect minimal or no solid food contamination, while the 3% of positive brain cysts influence the researchers to broaden their investigations for future projects., Amal R. Nimir, Tang Cher Linn, and Literatura 16
Legionářská nemoc je akutní bakteriální plicní onemocnění se závažným průběhem a vysokou mortalitou. Z epidemiologického hlediska má původ v komunitním, cestovním, nemocničním nebo pracovním prostředí. Nejvýznamnější rezervoáry legionel pro expozici osob představují chladicí věže a odpařovací kondenzátory, dále centrálně řešené vytápění a chlazení moderních budov. Autoři prezentují výsledky mikrobiologických vyšetření vody na přítomnost legionel v technologiích průmyslu plastikářského, sklářského, z chladicích věží. Ve vazbě na tyto výsledky vyhodnocují možné zdravotní dopady na exponované pracovníky. Ve všech vyšetřovaných provozech byly legionely nalezeny, a to kmeny patogenní i saprofytické. Největší potenciál možného zdravotního rizika má Legionella pneumophila séroskupina 1, podskupina A – Pontiac. Riziko expozice pracovníků je relativně nízké při běžném provozu, významně narůstá při operacích údržby a oprav. Se zjištěnou kolonizací prostředí legionelami korespondují v České republice sporadické případy hlášených profesionálních onemocnění legionelózou. Posuzování profesionality tohoto onemocnění musí vycházet z kritérií epidemiologické surveillance s využitím moderních diagnostických a identifikačních metod., Legionnaire's disease is an acute bacterial disease affecting the lungs, with severe course and high mortality rates. In epidemiological terms, the disease originates in communal, travel, hospital, or occupational environments. The most important potential reservoirs of Legionella causing human exposure are cooling towers and evaporative condensers, as well as central heating and cooling systems in modern buildings. The authors present the results of microbiological tests of water for the presence of Legionella in industrial technologies (plastic injection molding, glass and cooling towers) and their potential health effects on exposed workers. Pathogenic and saprophytic Legionella strains were found in all investigated plants. The highest potential health risks are connected to Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, subgroup A – Pontiac. During normal operation the risk of occupational exposure is relatively low, but it significantly increases during repairs and maintenance operations. The environmental Legionella colonization found in the Czech Republic corresponds to sporadic cases of reported occupational cases of legionellosis. Assessment of whether the disease is to be defined as occupational or not has to be based on criteria of epidemiological surveillance using modern diagnostic and identification methods., Markéta Petrovová, Vladimír Drašar, Radomír Polcar, and Literatura