A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition, though literature showed that there are various factors affecting the intention to purchase and consume healthy food. Technology integration is known to be useful in various aspects, but findings from studies on the efficacy of technology integration to improve healthy food consumption and purchase have largely been inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to examine the efficacy of interventions that use technology apps to improve healthy food purchasing and consumption in adults. Relevant studies were identified through PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, SportDiscuss and ACM Digital Library. Twenty studies were included in the systematic review. The majority of studies (n = 18) used a smartphone in the intervention, and only two studies used a personal digital assistant. The results showed that technology integration-based intervention favoured healthy changes in household food purchases, and increased consumption of healthy food and healthy eating outcomes – albeit to different extents. Overall, technology apps are convenient and user-friendly tools to encourage a change in healthy food purchase and consumption among people.

The COVID-19 is difficult to contain due to its high transmissibility rate and a long incubation period of 5 to 14 days. Moreover, more than half of the infected patients were young and asymptomatic. Virus transmission through asymptomatic patients is a major challenge to disease containment. Due to limited treatment options, preventive measures play major role in controlling the disease spread. Gargling with antiseptic formulation may have potential role in eliminating the virus in the throat. Four commercially available mouthwash/gargle formulations were tested for virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2 in both clean (0.3 g/l BSA) and dirty (0.3 g/l BSA + 3 mL/L human erythrocytes) conditions at time points 30 and 60 s. The virus was isolated and propagated in Vero E6 cells. The cytotoxicity of the products to the Vero E6 was evaluated by kill time assay based on the European Standard EN14476:2013/FprA1:2015 protocol. Virus titres were calculated as 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50/mL) using the Spearman-Karber method. A reduction in virus titer of 4 log₁₀ corresponds to an inactivation of ≥ 99.99%. Formulations with cetylperidinium chloride, chlorhexidine and hexitidine achieved > 4 log10 reduction in viral titres when exposed within 30 s under both clean and dirty conditions. Thymol formulations achieved only 0.5 log₁₀ reduction in viral titres. In addition, salt water was not proven effective. Gargle formulations with cetylperidinium chloride, chlorhexidine and hexetidine have great potential in reducing SAR-CoV-2 at the source of entry into the body, thus minimizing risk of transmission of COVID-19.

Introduction: Several countries have started mass vaccination programs to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. With an R naught value of 2 to 3, about 70% of the population needs to be immunized to achieve herd immunity. This study aimed to investigate the reasons for acceptance or refusal of COVID-19 vaccines among the Malaysian population. Methodology: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative design was performed. The cross-sectional survey used a non-probability convenient sampling technique to recruit the respondents, who were required to answer an open-ended question: Either "If you are willing to get the vaccine, please state your reason" or "If you are not willing to get vaccinated, please state your reason." The survey also included questions on demography such as age, gender, and place of residence. According to the Health Belief Model, the data was transcribed, translated, and analyzed: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barrier, and cues for action. Results: A total of 1091 respondents who completed the online survey comprised 685 (62.8%) females, 406 (37.2%) males, with a mean age of 38.16 (SD = 16.44). The majority (81.1%) were willing to get vaccinated. Thematic analysis showed that most respondents perceived that the vaccine is safe, effective, protective and will provide herd immunity. Barriers to vaccination include unknown long-term side effects, rapid vaccine production, inadequate information and concerns regarding halal status. Cues to vaccination included individual desire, social responsibility, economic concerns and wait-and-see behavior. Conclusions: The public should be well informed about the vaccine, its efficacy, side effects, and halal status to increase vaccine acceptability and achieve herd immunity.

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotyping is important for treatment and epidemiological purposes. The objective was to determine HCV genotype and their associations with certain risk factors at University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC).Methods: A total of 89 samples were collected from December 2009 to January 2011. Demographic data of patients were collected from medical record. Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) was performed and sixty-four samples yielded positive for HCV. Sequencing was performed and analyzed based on sequence information in GenBank. Statistical analysis were done using SPSS version 15.Results: HCV genotype 3 (73%) was the most frequent genotype, followed by genotype 1(27%). The distribution of HCV genotype/ subtype was as follows: 3a (64.8%), 1a (13.5%), 1 (10.8%), 3 (8.1%) and 1b (2.7%).Conclusions: HCV subtypes 3a, 1a, and 1b were identified in patients at UKMMC, Malaysia with subtype 3a being the most prevalent. No significant association was found between HCV genotypes and patients

Background: Gargling had been reported to have significant roles in the prevention and treatment of respiratory tract infections. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of regular gargling to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 in the oropharynx and nasopharynx. Methodology: This pilot, open labeled, randomized, parallel study compared the effect of 30 seconds, 3 times/day gargling using 1% povidone-iodine (PVP-I), essential oils and tap water on SARS-CoV-2 viral clearance among COVID-19 patients in a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Progress was monitored by day 4,6 and 12 PCR (Ct value), gargling and symptoms diary as well as clinical observations. Results: Five confirmed Stage 1 COVID-19 patients were recruited for each arm. The age range was from 22 to 56 years old. The majority were males. Two respondents had co-morbidities, which were asthma and obesity. Viral clearance was achieved at day 6 in 100%, 80%, 20% and 0% for 1% PVP-I, essential oils, tap water and control group respectively. Analysis of 1% PVP-I group versus control group showed significant p-value for comparison of PCR results on Day 4, Day 6 and Day 12. Conclusions: This preliminary study showed that gargling with 1% PVP-I and essential oils show great potential to be part of the treatment and management of Stage 1 COVID-19. Larger studies are required to ascertain the benefit of gargling for different stages of COVID-19 patients. This study was registered in clinicaltrial.gov ( NCT04410159 ).

Background: Vaccine hesitancy has been around since the introduction of smallpox vaccine. Vaccine hesitancy has become more intense due to the rise of vaccine information in social media and mass adult vaccination during COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated knowledge, perception, and reasons for rejection of the COVID-19 vaccine among Malaysian adults who refused to get free COVID-19 vaccination. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey using an embedded mixed-method study [QUAN(quali)] was conducted among Malaysian adults. The quantitative section consisted of a 49-item questionnaire, whereas the qualitative sections consisted of two open-ended questions (1) "Please state your reason why you have not registered or have no intention to register at all for COVID-19 vaccines?" and (2) "Please tell us if you have any suggestions for improvement about COVID-19 vaccine delivery". Data from respondents who were not willing to get vaccination were extracted from the overall data and further analyzed in this paper. Result: Sixty-one adults completed the online open-ended survey with a mean age of 34.28 years (SD = 10.30). Among factors that influenced them to get vaccinated was information on vaccine effectiveness (39.3%), death due to COVID-19 (37.7%), and recommendations from the Ministry of Health (36.1%). Most of the respondents (77.0%) were knowledgeable about vaccines, with half having high-perceived risks (52.5%) to COVID-19. While 55.7% and 52.5% had, high perceived barriers and benefits to COVID-19 vaccines respectively. The reasons for vaccine rejections included vaccine safety, indecisiveness, underlying medical conditions, herd immunity, non-transparent data, and use of traditional or complementary medicine. Conclusion: The study explored the multitude factors that drive perception, acceptance, and rejection. The qualitative approach with a small sample size provided more data point for interpretations and allowed participants to express themselves. This is important to develop strategies to create public awareness on vaccines not just for COVID-19 but any infectious diseases that can be curbed through vaccination.