What is it about?
The move to develop the tourism industry, lack of awareness among disadvantaged communities and heavy dependence on foreign workers has led to an influx of immigrants to Malaysia which resulted in the emergence and re-emergence of a plethora of parasitic infectious diseases.
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Why is it important?
Understanding the social, economic and health dynamics in Malaysia will help to anticipate and hopefully eliminate current and future risks of parasitic infectious diseases.
Perspectives
I have spent more than three years in writing this paper and it was totally worth the wait for two main reasons; firstly, it touched upon fundamental issues in parasitic infectious diseases and secondly it gave me the opportunity to work with one of the world’s leading parasitologists and academics.
Saad Alasil, PhD, MS, MPH
University at Buffalo - The State University of New York
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An Epidemiological Review on Emerging and Re-Emerging Parasitic Infectious Diseases in Malaysia, The Open Microbiology Journal, May 2019, Bentham Science Publishers,
DOI: 10.2174/1874285801913010112.
You can read the full text:
Resources
The Open Microbiology Journal
Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared in a population over a defined period of time whereas, re-emerging infectious diseases are those that were once a health problem in a particular region or a country and are now emerging again. Parasitic infectious diseases represent a serious health problem in many developing countries and recently have started spreading to developed nations via international traveling or immigration. Malaysia is facing many challenges caused by various parasitic pathogens. The lack of awareness among disadvantaged populations such as the Orang Asli community and the dependency on foreign workers has led to an influx of immigrants to Malaysia from countries endemic to various parasitic diseases. Understanding the social and economic dynamics of such diseases can help anticipate and subsequently control their emergence. Raising public awareness, developing robust public health infrastructure and implementing point-of-care diagnostics will help curb the spread of such diseases. This review provides epidemiological insights into the reported emerging and re-emerging parasitic infectious diseases in Malaysia over the past two decades.
EurekAlert
Malaysia is facing many challenges caused by various parasitic pathogens. The lack of awareness among disadvantaged populations such as the Orang Asli community and the dependency on foreign workers has led to an influx of immigrants to Malaysia from countries endemic with various parasitic diseases. Amoebiasis is mainly encountered in poor rural areas in Malaysia, however, it has the potential to re-emerge. Routine mass-drug administration on newly arriving foreign workers and health education programs are needed to prevent its re-emergence.
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