Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia

Introduction: Lyme disease has been well-described in the North America and European countries. However, information is still very limited in the developing countries including Malaysia. The Orang Asli (OA), the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia reside mostly in the forest and forest fringe...

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Main Authors: Chee-Sieng Khor, Habibi Hassan, Nurul-Farhana Mohd-Rahim, Josephine Rebecca Chandren, Siti-Sarah Nore, Jefree Johari, Shih-Keng Loong, Juraina Abd-Jamil, Jing-Jing Khoo, Hai-Yen Lee, Brian L Pike, Wong Li-Ping, Yvonne Ai-Lian Lim, Sazaly AbuBakar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2019-05-01
Series:Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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Online Access:https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/11001
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author Chee-Sieng Khor
Habibi Hassan
Nurul-Farhana Mohd-Rahim
Josephine Rebecca Chandren
Siti-Sarah Nore
Jefree Johari
Shih-Keng Loong
Juraina Abd-Jamil
Jing-Jing Khoo
Hai-Yen Lee
Brian L Pike
Wong Li-Ping
Yvonne Ai-Lian Lim
Sazaly AbuBakar
author_facet Chee-Sieng Khor
Habibi Hassan
Nurul-Farhana Mohd-Rahim
Josephine Rebecca Chandren
Siti-Sarah Nore
Jefree Johari
Shih-Keng Loong
Juraina Abd-Jamil
Jing-Jing Khoo
Hai-Yen Lee
Brian L Pike
Wong Li-Ping
Yvonne Ai-Lian Lim
Sazaly AbuBakar
author_sort Chee-Sieng Khor
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Lyme disease has been well-described in the North America and European countries. However, information is still very limited in the developing countries including Malaysia. The Orang Asli (OA), the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia reside mostly in the forest and forest fringe areas abundant with the vector for Lyme disease. Here, we described the seroprevalence of Borellia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) among the OA and demographic variables that could be associated with seroprevalence. Methodology: A total of 16 OA villages distributed across 8 states in Peninsular Malaysia participated in this study. Sera obtained from 904 OA volunteers were screened for anti-B. burgdorferi IgG antibodies. ELISA results obtained and demographic information collected were analysed to identify possible variables associated with seroprevalence. Results: A total of 73 (8.1%) OA tested positive for anti-B. burgdorferi IgG antibodies. Among all the variables examined, village of residence (p = 0.045) was the only significant predictor for seropositivity. High (> 10.0%) prevalence was associated with three OA villages. Those living in one particular village were 1.65 times more likely to be seropositive as compared to other OA villages. Age, gender, marital status, household size, level of education, monthly household income and occupation were not significant predictors for seropositivity. Conclusion: Results of the present study support earlier findings that B. burgdorferi infection among Malaysians is currently under-recognized. Further studies will be needed at these locations to confirm the presence of Lyme disease among these populations.
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spelling doaj-art-819f84a966e6441dbd44a0d85fb4d2662025-08-20T02:57:52ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802019-05-01130510.3855/jidc.11001Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular MalaysiaChee-Sieng Khor0Habibi Hassan1Nurul-Farhana Mohd-Rahim2Josephine Rebecca Chandren3Siti-Sarah Nore4Jefree Johari5Shih-Keng Loong6Juraina Abd-Jamil7Jing-Jing Khoo8Hai-Yen Lee9Brian L Pike10Wong Li-Ping11Yvonne Ai-Lian Lim12Sazaly AbuBakar13Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaU.S. Naval Medical Research Center - Asia, SingaporeDepartment of Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Introduction: Lyme disease has been well-described in the North America and European countries. However, information is still very limited in the developing countries including Malaysia. The Orang Asli (OA), the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia reside mostly in the forest and forest fringe areas abundant with the vector for Lyme disease. Here, we described the seroprevalence of Borellia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) among the OA and demographic variables that could be associated with seroprevalence. Methodology: A total of 16 OA villages distributed across 8 states in Peninsular Malaysia participated in this study. Sera obtained from 904 OA volunteers were screened for anti-B. burgdorferi IgG antibodies. ELISA results obtained and demographic information collected were analysed to identify possible variables associated with seroprevalence. Results: A total of 73 (8.1%) OA tested positive for anti-B. burgdorferi IgG antibodies. Among all the variables examined, village of residence (p = 0.045) was the only significant predictor for seropositivity. High (> 10.0%) prevalence was associated with three OA villages. Those living in one particular village were 1.65 times more likely to be seropositive as compared to other OA villages. Age, gender, marital status, household size, level of education, monthly household income and occupation were not significant predictors for seropositivity. Conclusion: Results of the present study support earlier findings that B. burgdorferi infection among Malaysians is currently under-recognized. Further studies will be needed at these locations to confirm the presence of Lyme disease among these populations. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/11001Lyme diseaseBorrelia burgdorferiMalaysiaOrang Asliticksinfectious diseases
spellingShingle Chee-Sieng Khor
Habibi Hassan
Nurul-Farhana Mohd-Rahim
Josephine Rebecca Chandren
Siti-Sarah Nore
Jefree Johari
Shih-Keng Loong
Juraina Abd-Jamil
Jing-Jing Khoo
Hai-Yen Lee
Brian L Pike
Wong Li-Ping
Yvonne Ai-Lian Lim
Sazaly AbuBakar
Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
Lyme disease
Borrelia burgdorferi
Malaysia
Orang Asli
ticks
infectious diseases
title Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia
title_full Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia
title_fullStr Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia
title_short Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people (Orang Asli) of Peninsular Malaysia
title_sort seroprevalence of borrelia burgdorferi among the indigenous people orang asli of peninsular malaysia
topic Lyme disease
Borrelia burgdorferi
Malaysia
Orang Asli
ticks
infectious diseases
url https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/11001
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