Objective Coronaviruses (CoVs) are natural commensals of bats. Two subgenera, namely Sarbecoviruses and Merbecoviruses have a high zoonotic potential and have been associated with three separate spillover events in the past 2 decades, making surveillance of bat-CoVs crucial for the prevention of the next epidemic. The study was aimed to elucidate the presence of coronavirus in fresh bat guano sampled from Wind Cave Nature Reserve (WCNR) in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Samples collected were placed into viral transport medium, transported on ice within the collection day, and preserved at − 80 °C. Nucleic acid was extracted using the column method and screened using consensus PCR primers targeting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene. Amplicons were sequenced bidirectionally using the Sanger method. Phylogenetic tree with maximum-likelihood bootstrap and Bayesian posterior probability were constructed. Results CoV-RNA was detected in ten specimens (47.6%, n  = 21). Six alphacoronavirus and four betacoronaviruses were identified. The bat-CoVs can be phylogenetically grouped into four novel clades which are closely related to Decacovirus-1 and Decacovirus-2, Sarbecovirus, and an unclassified CoV. CoVs lineages unique to the Island of Borneo were discovered in Sarawak, Malaysia, with one of them closely related to Sarbecovirus. All of them are distant from currently known human coronaviruses.

Several vaccines have been fast-tracked through clinical trials to mitigate the progression of the SARS‑CoV‑2 pandemic. We analyzed sequential blood samples from 314 recipients of Comirnaty and CoronaVac in East Malaysia for the spike-binding IgG (IgG-S), nucleocapsid-binding IgG (IgG-N), spike-binding IgM (IgM-S) and serum vitamin D (VitD). A subset of samples was analyzed for the neutralizing antibodies (Ig-RBD). Results showed that IgG-S due to Comirnaty was significantly higher than CoronaVac. IgM-S was detected in 80.0% Comirnaty and 69.5% CoronaVac recipients, while IgG-N was detected in 58.1% CoronaVac but not in Comirnaty recipients. All IgG-S-positive vaccines possessed detectable Ig-RBD after the second dose but with a weak to moderate correlation. The serum VitD levels did not influence the antibody magnitude in both vaccines. In essence, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is an IgG-S-dominant event, Comirnaty was more effective than CoronaVac in mounting IgG-S and Ig-RBD responses, independent of the patient’s VitD level.

Dear Editor, Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by an oncogenic fusion gene, BCR-ABL1. Most CML patients present at chronic phase, ~90%, 1 when BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is the recommended first-line treatment. Antibody response after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination in CML patients is concerned due to probable CML-induced and/or TKI-induced immunosuppression. To our knowledge, two studies reported antibody response post-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in CML patients. 2,3 A study reported anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 IgG (IgG-S) responses > 14 days after a dose of Comirnaty (Comirnaty or BNT162b2, Pfizer-BioNTech) (n = 1) or ChAdOx1 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or AZD1222, AstraZeneca-Oxford) (n = 11) vaccine. 2 Seroconversion rate post-ChAdOx1 was lower than control group, 8/11 (73%) versus 58/63 (92%). 2 A study reported response 3 weeks (W) after a dose of Comirnaty (n = 16) using a different laboratory methodology. 3 As data are scarce and less so on CoronaVac (Sinovac) vaccine in CML patients, we conducted a longitudinal study on antibody progression post-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in CML patients from southern Sarawak. We present the comparison of antibody response at 6 weeks (W6) and 16 weeks (W16) between Comirnaty and CoronaVac vaccine in the cohort.Titer of IgG-S was determined prior to vaccination (W0) and at 3 weeks (W3), 6 weeks (W6), 16 weeks (W16), 32 weeks (W32), and 52 weeks (W52) in reference to the first dose of vaccination. The second dose of vaccine was the same vaccine type as the first dose and it was scheduled at 3 weeks after the first dose for both vaccines. Vaccines were under Malaysia vaccination program and generally type of vaccine was not decided by patients.A total of 43 CML patients were enrolled from August 26, 2021, to November 30, 2021. Results presented were until December 9, 2021. At study entry, 23 (53%), 11 (26%), two (5%), one (2%), and two (5%) patients were on imatinib, nilotinib, dasatinib, bosutinib, and ponatinib, respectively; one (2%) patient on imatinib + peginterferon-α due to concomitant CML and essential thrombocythemia, and three (7%) patients were not on TKI as enrolled in Malaysia Stop TKI Trial (MSIT). 4 Most of them had completed second dose of vaccine during study entry.At W6, seroconversion rate post vaccination (IgG-S ≥ 50 AU/mL) was 42/43 (96.9%). The only nonseroconverted patient received ChAdOx1. Table 1 shows the comparison of IgG-S between Comirnaty and CoronaVac. After excluding patients with breakthrough COVID-19, median decline rate of IgG-S between W6 and W16 ([IgG-S W6 − IgG-S W16] / number of weeks between W6 and W16) was 165.2 (range = −155.8 to 334.0) and 67.8 (31.1 to 222.41) AU/ mL/week for Comirnaty (n = 6) and CoronaVac (n =7),

Background Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon are three mainly studied blood parasites known to cause malarial and pseudomalarial infections in avian worldwide. Although Sarawak is a biodiversity hotspot, molecular data on blood parasite diversity in birds are absent. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of blood parasite in Asian Glossy Starlings (AGS), an urban bird with high population density in Sarawak and to elucidate the phylogenetic relationship with other blood parasite. Methods Twenty-nine carcasses of juvenile AGS that were succumbed to death due to window collision were collected around the vicinity of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Nested-multiplex and nested PCR targeting the Cytochrome B gene were used to detect Plasmodium and Haemoproteus, and Leucocytozoon respectively. Two primer sets were used for Haemoproteus detection to increase detection sensitivity, with one being a genus-specific primer. Results Fourteen samples (prevalence rate: 48.28%) were found positive for avian Plasmodium. Phylogenetic analysis divided our sequences into five lineages, pFANTAIL01, pCOLL4, pACCBAD01, pALPSIS01 and pALPSIS02, with two lineages being novel. No Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon was found in this study. However, Haemoproteus-specific primer used amplified our Plasmodium samples, making the primer non-specific to Haemoproteus only. Conclusion This is the first blood parasite detection study on AGS using carcasses and blood clot as sample source in Sarawak. Due to the scarcity of longer sequences from regions with high genetic plasticity, usage of genus-specific primers should be validated with sequencing to ensure correct prevalence interpretation.

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