Borneo Epidemiology Journal

Rabies Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: A Systematic Review on Safety, Immunogenicity and Booster Recommendations

Mohd Fazeli bin Sazali — 2024-12-11

Rabies infection is a serious and fatal disease that disproportionately affects children and low socioeconomic groups. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a preventive strategy to protect high-risk groups. Timely updating recommendations for rabies PrEP are needed, especially to meet the needs of the underserved population. This review aimed to find recent evidence available to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of rabies PrEP of reduced dose and duration; intramuscular (IM) and intradermal (IM) administration; and to assess booster recommendations following rabies PrEP. The literature review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. A literature search of PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus was performed from the database for studies in the past five years (1st Jan 2017-30th May 2021). Of 45 studies identified, 15 publications met the inclusion criteria for safety, dosage, immunogenicity and booster recommendations. Most studies identified that the recommended dose and duration is safe and immunogenic for children and adults. Rabies vaccine booster is indicated for occupational exposure. The current recommendation on rabies PrEP is safe for adults and children, and the immunogenicity is not inferior to the 1-dose 3-visit regime, with equivalent effectiveness via both routes (ID and IM).

Distribution and Trend of COVID-19 Cases and Death among Population in Northeast Malaysia in 2021

Che Muhammad Nur Hidayat Che Nawi — 2024-12-11

Objective: The COVID-19 infection has been widely spread since it was first declared as a pandemic in late 2019. The trend of COVID-19 cases and death varies across regions. The study sought to describe the distribution and trend of COVID-19 cases and death in the Northeast Malaysia region for 2021

Material and methods: This study analyzed data on COVID-19 infection cases and death in 2021 from the COVID-19 surveillance database (eCOVID system). Confirmed COVID-19 cases and death in Bachok, Kelantan from 1 January 2021 until 31 October 2021 were included in the study. Descriptive analysis of trend and distribution of COVID-19 cases and deaths were conducted using R software.

Results: A total of 8384 and 151 COVID-19 cases and death were respectively recorded between the study period. Age less than thirty (34%), females (57%), unemployment (44%), clinical category 2 (86%), and unvaccinated individuals (47%) contributed mostly to COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, only the age category more than 50 (51-60: 22%, 61-70: 30%, > 70: 36%) contributed most to the COVID-19 deaths in Bachok, Kelantan. The COVID-19 cases and deaths peaked in August 2021.

Conclusions: The distribution and trend of COVID-19 cases and death vary across different sociodemographic categories and echoed the national and global trends, respectively.