Background Vaginal candidiasis is frequent in women of reproductive age. Accurate identification Candida provides helpful information for successful therapy and epidemiology study; however, there are very limited data from the Vietnam have been reported. This study was performed to determine the prevalence, species distribution of yeast causing vaginal discharge and antifungal susceptibility patterns of Candida albicans among symptomatic non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Methods Vaginal discharge samples were collected from 462 women of reproductive age in Hanoi, Vietnam between Sep 2019 and Oct 2020. Vaginal swabs from these patients were examined by direct microscopic examination (10% KOH). CHROMagar™ Candida medium and Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.5 g/l) were used to isolate yeast, and species identification was performed using morphological tests and molecular tools (PCR and sequencing). Antifungal susceptibility testing was determined according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines (M27-A3 and M27-S4). Results The prevalence of vaginal yeast colonization in non-pregnant women was 51.3% of 462 participants. Nine different yeast species were identified. Among these isolates, C. albicans (51.37%) was the most frequent, followed by C. parapsilosis (25.88%), C. glabrata (11.37%), C. tropicalis (4.31%), C. krusei (3.92%), C. africana (1.57%), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (0.78%), C. nivariensis (1 isolates, 0.39%), and C. lusitaniae (1 isolates, 0.39%), respectively. Among C. albicans, all 46 isolates were 100% susceptible to micafungin, caspofungin, and miconazole. The susceptibility rates to amphotericine B, 5-flucytosine, fluconazole, itraconazole and voriconazole were 95.65, 91.30, 91.30, 82.61 and 86.95%, respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of VVC among symptomatic non-pregnant women of reproductive age in Vietnam was higher than many parts of the world. The high frequency of non-albicans Candida species, which were often more resistant to antifungal agents, was a notable feature. Resistance rates of vaginal C. albicans isolates to antifungal agents was low. Our findings suggest that continued surveillance of changes in species distribution and susceptibility to antifungals should be routinely screened and treated.

Fascioliasis—a disease caused by Fasciola spp. (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda: Digenea)—is considered as the most important helminthic infection of bovine, sheep, and buffalo in Vietnam. The aim of this study is to detect the genotype of Fasciola spp. isolated from bovine and buffalo in the Nghe An province, central Vietnam, using PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis of the first nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1). Adult Fasciola spp. were isolated from bile ducts of bovine and buffalo in Nghe An province, Vietnam. Overall, 96 adult flukes from livers of slaughtered animals were collected from abattoirs of different areas. They included 7 samples from infected bovine and 89 samples from infected buffalo. 96/96 samples were identified as Fasciola species by ITS1 of rDNA. In this study, a PCR-RFLP method was used to distinguish between F. hepatica and F. gigantica in ITS1 of rDNA (680 bp) with RsaI restriction enzyme. RFLP pattern with RsaI produced a consistent pattern of 360, 100, and 60 bp fragments in F. hepatica, whereas F. gigantica worms had a profile of 360, 170, and 60 bp in size, respectively. The results showed that using PCR-RFLP based on the first internal transcribed spacers (ITS1) of the ribosomal RNA revealed that 93 out of 96 isolates were of Fasciola gigantica type, whereas three isolates presented an intermediate Fasciola. In the present study, F. gigantica and intermediate form were coexisting in bovine and buffalo in the Nghe An province of central Vietnam, whereas F. hepatica was not detected.

A patient with extensive burn injuries was admitted to the National Hospital of Burns in Hanoi, Vietnam, and diagnosed with fungal wound infection by histological examination of skin biopsy samples. Fusarium solani was isolated and identified by analysis of its morphological features and the sequence of the internal transcribed spacer region. The isolation showed in vitro resistant to fluconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin B, and caspofungin. Invasive fusariosis is difficult to treat due to its angioinvasive property and its lacking amenability to treatment with antifungal drugs. This infection is rare and has not been reported so far in Vietnam.

Background and Objectives: Identification of GBS serotypes provides helpful information for appropriate the develop- ment of suitable vaccines; however, no reports from Vietnam have been published. This study has been performed to find the prevalence and serotypes of group B Streptococcus isolated from vagina of pregnant women in Nghe An province, Vietnam. Materials and Methods: Vaginal swabs were collected from pregnant women at 35-37 weeks of gestation at the Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Vietnam between May 2018 and July 2019. The swabs were cultured on 5% sheep blood agar for isolation of GBS. All isolates were identified using the Gram staining, CAMP test and specific PCR. GBS strains were serotyped using the multiplex PCR assays. Results: The prevalence of vaginal GBS colonization was 9.20% of 750 participants. Among the isolates, serotypes III (39.13%) and V (31.89%) were the most frequent, followed by serotypes Ia (11.59%), VI (11.59%), Ib (2.90%), II (1.45%) and VII (1.45%), respectively. Serotypes IV, VIII and IX were not found. Conclusion: The prevalence of GBS in the Nghe An province of central Vietnam was similar to reports from other parts of the world. The predominat GBS serotypes (III, V, Ia and VI) were slightly different from those previously described from other regions around the world. The high frequency of serotype VI was a notable feature of the strains from pregnant women in Vietnam.

The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of Candida species isolated from vaginal discharge of women undergoing IVF-ET in Vietnam.Materials and Methods: 83 strains isolated from women undergoing IVF-ET in Military Institute of Clinical Embryology and Histology were collected between November 2017 and December 2018. 83/83 strains were identified as Candida species by several phenotypic methods (i.e., germ tube test, culture on Brilliance™ Candida Agar) and molecular (PCR-RFLP and sequencing). Results:The results showed that, C. albicans (n = 33, 39.76%) was the most common species, followed by C. glabrata (n = 32, 38.56%), C. tropicalis (n = 9, 10.84%), C. krusei (n = 7, 8.43%), C. parapsilosis (n = 2, 2.41%), respectively. Conclusion:In the present study, the most common species in women undergoing IVF-ET were C. albicans, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis, respectively. The frequency of the non-albicans Candida species were increasing, especially C. glabrata.

Background and Purpose: Burn injuries are prone to infection caused by bacteria, fungi, or other pathogens. Fungal wound infection usually has non-specific clinical symptoms.Nevertheless, in some cases, the fungal burden is so substantial that can easily be seen by the naked eyes, but this phenomenon has rarely been reported with Fusarium. Case report: A 53-year-old patient with severe burn injury was admitted to the intensive care unit of the National Hospital of Burn, Ha Noi, Vietnam. His wound was dressed with a traditional herbal product before the hospital admission. On the 5th day after the admission, some white patches suspected of fungal colonies appeared on burn lesions where the herbal medicine was placed. Histological examination (Periodic acidSchiff) and culture of biopsy samples taken from those lesions revealed fungus that was identified as Fusarium equiseti after analysis of the internal transcribed spacer and D1/D2 region of the large subunit of the 28S rDNA. The isolated strain showed susceptibility to voriconazole but resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole, caspofungin,and amphotericin B in vitro. The patient received aggressive treatment, including IV voriconazole (400 mg daily from day five); however, he could not recover. Conclusion: Fusarium should be suspected in burn patients with white patches on lesions. Antifungal susceptibility testing is important since multidrug resistance is common among Fusarium strains.

Background and Objectives: Identification of yeasts provides helpful information for appropriate administration of an- ti-fungal treatments; however, few reports from the Vietnam have been published. This study has been performed to find the prevalence of Candida blood stream isolates from patients in two hospitals in Vietnam. Materials and Methods: Candida spp. were isolated from blood cultures in two hospitals, Vietnam between May 2013 and May 2015. Participating hospitals were 103 Military Hospital, Ha Noi city (550 beds) and Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh city (1800 beds). All the bloodstream isolates were identified to species level by the germ tube test and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). In addition, unknown isolates were subjected to PCR sequencing. Results: A total of 93 Candida isolates were isolated from blood cultures during the study period. The results of this study showed that C. tropicalis (n = 47, 50.54%) was the most common agent, followed by Candida albicans/dubliniensis (n = 18, 19.35%), C. parapsilosis (n = 16, 17.20%), C. glabrata (n = 6, 6.45%), C. mesorugosa (n = 5, 5.38%) and C. krusei (n = 1, 1.08%), respectively. Conclusion: The frequency of the non-albicans Candida species in blood is increasing, especially C. tropicalis. Addi- tional investigations should be made to clarify the epidemiological profile of invasive Candida bloodstream in Vietnam.

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