This study investigated the occurrence of nine pharmaceuticals (amoxicillin, caffeine, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, dexamethasone, diclofenac, nitrofurazone, sulfamethoxazole, and triclosan) and to evaluate potential risks (human health and ecotoxicological) in Lui, Gombak and Selangor (Malaysia) rivers using commercial competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit assays. Physicochemical properties of these rivers showed the surface samples belong to Class II of Malaysian National Water Quality Standards which requires conventional treatment before consumption. All the pharmaceuticals were detected in all three rivers except for triclosan, dexamethasone and diclofenac which were not detected in few of sampling locations in these three rivers. Highest pharmaceutical concentrations were detected in Gombak river in line of being as one of the most polluted rivers in Malaysia. Ciprofloxacin concentrations were detected in all the sampling locations with the highest at 299.88 ng/L. While triclosan, dexamethasone and diclofenac concentrations were not detected in a few of sampling locations in these three rivers. All these nine pharmaceuticals were within the levels reported previously in literature. Pharmaceutical production, wastewater treatment technologies and treated sewage effluent were found as the potential sources which can be related with pharmaceuticals occurrence in surface water samples. Potential human risk assessment showed low health risk except for ciprofloxacin and dexamethasone. Instead, ecotoxicological risk assessment indicated moderate risks were present for these rivers. Nevertheless, results confirmation using instrumental techniques is needed for higher degree of specificity. It is crucial to continuously monitor the surface water bodies for pharmaceuticals using a cost-effective prioritisation approach to assess sensitive sub-populations risk.
The combination of imazapyr and imazapic herbicides was first introduced to increase the crop yields in agricultural areas around the world by killing unwanted plants. Unfortunately, previous literatures have proved that imazapyr is persistent in environmental media (soil and groundwater). In some studies, these herbicides have also been claimed to pose a potential risk to non-target organisms as well as causing possible health threats to humans. Therefore, developing a suitable extraction and detection method of these residues at low level in biological and environmental samples is highly necessary to ensure food safety and to protect the environment. Imazapyr and imazapic were extracted from water and fish tissues using solid phase extraction, whereas solid-liquid extraction was used for soil samples. The extracts were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Results showed that recoveries were found to range from 80% to 130%. These were the methods used to determine the residues from the actual samples collected in Sawah Sempadan. Analysis showed that a total of 86% of the samples revealed presence of imazapyr and imazapic. Therefore, these methods are proven to be sufficient in analyzing the environmental presence of these herbicides.
Tuberculosis (TB) has become one of the significant public health concerns with increasing mortality and morbidity rate in Malaysia. Undergraduate students of Health sciences are considered at high risk of getting TB. Lack of understanding about the source and transmission of the disease, as well as attitude and practices of the students may be a contributing factor. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards tuberculosis (TB) among Health Sciences undergraduate students studying in a public university in Penang, Malaysia. This study was conducted among undergraduate students from UiTM Penang Branch, Bertam Campus. A quantitative method was used to collect the data. Results show that the majority of the respondents were aware of TB causal agents, symptoms, mode of transmission and the curability of TB as well as the effectiveness of BCG vaccination in preventing TB. Furthermore, it was discovered that a huge number of them were having misconceived ideas regarding TB and that was shown through their attitude towards TB disease. Overall, findings indicate good knowledge but moderate level of attitude and practices on tuberculosis disease. These findings emphasize the need for educating health sciences undergraduate students on tuberculosis disease to improve the risk and their attitude and practices.
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