Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) mainly affects children below 􀏐ive years of age. The disease can be prevented by focusing on hand hygiene, disinfection of premises, and cough etiquette. Teachers at pre-school play a vital role in inculcating good hygiene habits among children. This project aimed to determine pre and post-intervention level of knowledge, attitude and practices on HFMD among pre-schools teachers. This study involved pre-school teachers from Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia who were invited to a 5-hour event ”HFMD: Infection Control Workshop”. Questionnaires on knowledge, attitude and practice on HFMD were distributed before and immediately after the event. A total of 112 teachers were recruited. All were female, mostly (90%) from government pre-schools with the mean age of 35.8. Post-intervention total means a score of knowledge increased significantly, notably on the causative agent (23%) and complications of HFMD (26-45%). Mean attitude scores were also significantly increased, especially regarding the cleaning of toys and sharing of utensils. Meanwhile, practice scores were very high during pre-intervention but were insignificantly reduced post-intervention. The intervention improved respondents’ knowledge and attitude significantly. Findings from this study highlighted the need to provide more HFMD program focusing on the basic information of the disease, including mode of transmission and clinical manifestation. We hope that the knowledge gained will be imparted to fellow teachers and children under their care towards minimising the spread of HFMD.

Introduction: Foodborne diseases have caused a significant morbidity and mortality around the world. Food safety is an increasingly important public health issue since years ago until now. Food handlers have a major role in the prevention of food poisoning during food production and distribution. However, food contamination by food handlers could occur and leading to foodborne diseases if they lack knowledge and neglect of their personal hygiene on food handling practices in their premises. This study was aimed to assess the level knowledge, attitude and practices among food handlers in Kuala Lumpur. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out on 30 food handlers. The information consisting of demographic, knowledge, attitude and practices on personal hygiene was collected using self-administered questionnaire. Results :Overall results showed that the majority of the food handlers had a good knowledge, attitude and practices on personal hygiene. Analyzed data obtained stated that mean score for knowledge is 2.84±0.10 out of total 3 respectively, attitude is 4.38±0.25 and practices is 4.37±0.68 out of total 5 respectively. Discussion :This study revealed that, although food handlers personal hygiene knowledge, attitude and practices were good, some of the hygiene aspects need to be emphasized. However, more effort is needed such as continuous education and food safety training should be provided periodically and frequently in order to minimize foodborne hazards

Introduction: Maintaining high levels of vaccinations is important for public health success in any vaccination planning. Success requires a better understanding of the public’s perceptions of diseases and consequent decisions about vaccinations. This study aims to gather exploratory qualitative data on public opinion on the Malaysian Government’s COVID-19 immunization campaigns. Methods: Open-ended question on Google Form was advertised online between 2 to 17 December 2020. The questionnaire form was deactivated when saturation has been reached. The free text questions were analysed by qualitative thematic analysis by all authors on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Results: Six hundred and sixty-one participants replied to the online questionnaire. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis on suggestions for future National COVID-19 Immunisation Program. First, COVID-19 vaccine administration policy; secondly, knowledge dissemination and plan to address obstacles of public acceptances towards the vaccine proactively; thirdly, better implementation programs by the government and fourthly, using local research expertise for vaccine development and alternative medicines. Participants believe all this are essential in increasing their trust and uptake for the government’s future national COVID-19 Immunisation Program. Conclusion: This study highlights the suggestions made by the public for the Malaysian Government. These findings will help develop education and intervention strategies for new vaccine introduction to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.