Publications by authors named "Yiu-Wing Kam"

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become a major threat to global public health, with the disease burden particularly severe in developing countries, China being one of them. The preventive and control effects of traditional treatment methods on NCDs are limited, and innovative strategies are urgently needed. In recent years, vaccine technology has expanded from the field of infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

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Cervical cancer remains a significant global public health challenge, with human papillomavirus (HPV) as its primary cause. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030 and, in its 2022 position paper, recommended a single-dose vaccination schedule. The objective of this review is to critically examine the current HPV vaccination landscape in China, including vaccination policies, immunization schedules, supply-demand dynamics, and the feasibility of transitioning to a single-dose regimen.

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: Resistance to vaccinations continues to pose a considerable challenge to attaining widespread vaccination, especially among the college student demographic, who are pivotal in championing public health initiatives. This systematic review investigates the elements that influence reluctance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among university students globally. Utilizing the WHO's 3C model, which encompasses confidence, complacency, and convenience, this review seeks to pinpoint the main factors and suggest focused strategies to address them.

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The emergence and re-emergence of RNA viruses pose a constant, significant global health problem [...

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Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) have posed a significant pandemic threat since their discovery. This review mainly focuses on the epidemiology, virology, pathogenesis, and treatments of avian influenza viruses. We delve into the global spread, past pandemics, clinical symptoms, severity, and immune response related to AIVs.

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Infectious diseases represent one of the major public health concerns on the global level [...

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Objectives: Little is known about the prevalence of febrile illness in the Arabian region as clinical, laboratory and immunological profiling remains largely uncharacterised.

Methods: A total of 2018 febrile patients from Jazan, Saudi Arabia, were recruited between 2014 and 2017. Patients were screened for dengue and chikungunya virus, , , , group A streptococcus and .

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Objectives: Recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks challenged existing laboratory diagnostic standards, especially for serology-based methods. Because of the genetic and structural similarity of ZIKV with other flaviviruses, this results in cross-reactive antibodies, which confounds serological interpretations.

Methods: Plasma from Singapore ZIKV patients was screened longitudinally for antibody responses and neutralising capacities against ZIKV.

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Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infections have reemerged as a global health issue due to serious clinical complications. Development of specific serological assays to detect and differentiate ZIKV from other cocirculating flaviviruses for accurate diagnosis remains a challenge.

Methods: We investigated antibody responses in 51 acute ZIKV-infected adult patients from Campinas, Brazil, including 7 pregnant women who later delivered during the study.

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Animal models that recapitulate the human pathophysiology have been developed as useful research tools. Although laboratory mice are widely used, they are phylogenetically "distant" to humans. New world monkeys, such as the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) have steadily gained prominence.

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Although individuals with Zika virus (ZIKV) antibodies were reported in Malaya in mid-1950s, entomological and human surveillance in Singapore did not identify autochthonous transmission until the outbreak of August-November, 2016. A total of 455 cases from 15 separate clusters were identified. We asked if this ZIKV outbreak increased the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and aimed to characterize these cases.

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Background: Since its unexpected reemergence, Zika virus (ZIKV) has caused numerous outbreaks globally. This study characterized the host immune responses during ZIKV infection.

Methods: Patient samples were collected longitudinally during the acute, convalescence and recovery phases of ZIKV infection over 6 months during the Singapore outbreak in late 2016.

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Article Synopsis
  • Zika virus (ZIKV) is linked to increased cases of congenital microcephaly and accurate diagnosis is essential for patient care.
  • Researchers developed a new ZIKV NS5 qRT-PCR assay, which outperformed an existing assay by detecting more positive cases in both blood and urine samples.
  • The study showed strong agreement between the new and existing assays, highlighting the importance of validated tests for accurate ZIKV diagnosis.
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The arthropod-transmitted chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes a flu-like disease that is characterized by incapacitating arthralgia. The re-emergence of CHIKV and the continual risk of new epidemics have reignited research in CHIKV pathogenesis. Virus-specific antibodies have been shown to control virus clearance, but antibodies present at sub-neutralizing concentrations can also augment virus infection that exacerbates disease severity.

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Objectives: We determined the seroprevalence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection in the adult resident population in Singapore following local outbreaks of chikungunya fever (CHIKF) in 2008-2009.

Methods: Our cross-sectional study involved residual sera from 3,293 adults aged 18-79 years who had participated in the National Health Survey in 2010. Sera were tested for IgG antibodies against CHIKV and dengue virus (DENV) and neutralizing antibodies against CHIKV.

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Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) infections have been linked to different levels of clinical outcomes, ranging from mild rash and fever to severe neurological complications and congenital malformations.

Methods: We investigated the clinical and immunological response, focusing on the immune mediators profile in 95 acute ZIKV-infected adult patients from Campinas, Brazil. These patients included 6 pregnant women who later delivered during the course of this study.

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Zika virus (ZIKV) infections have been linked with neurological complications and congenital Zika syndrome. Given the high level of homology between ZIKV and the related flavivirus dengue virus (DENV), we investigated the level of cross-reactivity with ZIKV using a panel of DENV human mAbs. A majority of the mAbs showed binding to ZIKV virions, with several exhibiting neutralizing capacities against ZIKV in vitro.

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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging vector-borne alphavirus, and there is no approved effective antiviral treatment currently available for CHIKV. We previously reported the discovery of thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole 1b that displayed good antiviral activity against CHIKV infection in vitro. However, it has a short half-life in the presence of human liver microsomes (HLMs) (T = 2.

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Background:  Dengue virus infection typically causes mild dengue fever, but, in severe cases, life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) occur. The pathophysiological hallmark of DHF and DSS is plasma leakage that leads to enhanced vascular permeability, likely due to a cytokine storm.

Methods:  Ninety patients with dengue during 2010-2012 in Singapore were prospectively recruited and stratified according to their disease phase, primary and secondary infection status, and disease severity, measured by plasma leakage.

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Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) is a global infectious disease which can affect a wide range of age groups. The pathological and immunological response upon Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection have been reported over the last few years. However, the clinical profile and immune response upon CHIKV infection in children remain largely unknown.

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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging vector-borne alphavirus and is transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes. Despite the re-emergence of CHIKV as an epidemic threat, there is no approved effective antiviral treatment currently available for CHIKV. Herein, we report the synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies of a class of thieno[3,2-b]pyrroles and the discovery of a trisubstituted thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole 5-carboxamide 15c that exhibits potent inhibitory activity against in vitro CHIKV infection.

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Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) has re-emerged as an arboviral disease that mimics clinical symptoms of other diseases such as dengue, malaria, as well as other alphavirus-related illnesses leading to problems with definitive diagnosis of the infection. Herein we describe the development and evaluation of a sensitive epitope-blocking ELISA (EB-ELISA) capable of specifically detecting anti-chikungunya virus (CHIKV) antibodies in clinical samples. The assay uses a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds an epitope on the E2 protein of CHIKV and does not exhibit cross-reactivity to other related alphaviruses.

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Unlabelled: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne arthralgic alphavirus that has garnered international attention as an important emerging pathogen since 2005. More recently, it invaded the Caribbean islands and the Western Hemisphere. Intriguingly, the current CHIKV outbreak in the Caribbean is caused by the Asian CHIKV genotype, which differs from the La Réunion LR2006 OPY1 isolate belonging to the Indian Ocean lineage.

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