BackgroundDengue is a clinically important arthropod-borne viral disease with increasing global incidence. Here we aimed to estimate the prevalence of dengue infections in Khanh Hoa Province, central Viet Nam, and to identify risk factors for infection.MethodsWe performed a stratified cluster sampling survey including residents of 3–60 years of age in Nha Trang City, Ninh Hoa District and Dien Khanh District, Khanh Hoa Province, in October 2011. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) against dengue were analyzed using a rapid test kit. Participants completed a questionnaire exploring clinical dengue incidence, socio-economic status, and individual behavior. A household checklist was used to examine environment, mosquito larvae presence, and exposure to public health interventions.ResultsIgG positivity was 20.5% (urban, 16.3%; rural, 23.0%), IgM positivity was 6.7% (urban, 6.4%; rural, 6.9%), and incidence of clinically compatible dengue during the prior 3 months was 2.8 per 1,000 persons (urban, 1.7; rural, 3.4). For IgG positivity, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was 2.68 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24–5.81) for mosquito larvae presence in water pooled in old tires and was 3.09 (95% CI, 1.75–5.46) for proximity to a densely inhabited area. For IgM positivity, the AOR was 3.06 (95% CI, 1.50–6.23) for proximity to a densely inhabited area.ConclusionsOur results indicated rural penetration of dengue infections. Control measures should target densely inhabited areas, and may include clean-up of discarded tires and water-collecting waste.
In order to evaluate the potential application of microsporidia as a microbial control agent against lepidopteran insect pests, microsporidian infection in a field population of the common cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius), was surveyed in vegetable crop fields in Can Tho City, Vietnam, in March 2007. The infection rate of microsporidia was 46.7% (99/212 individuals) in adult S. litura, and 16 samples of infected adults were used to characterize the microsporidia at the molecular level. Analysis of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) sequences indicated that microsporidian strains isolated from S. litura were closely related to Nosema bombycis from the silkworm, Bombyx mori (Linnaeus); however, phylogenetic analysis based on genome profiling produced a different result from the SSU rRNA sequences. Temperature gradient gel electrophoresis profiles of 12 microsporidian strains from S. litura were closely related to N. bombycis strains, while the profiles of three microsporidian strains formed a different cluster. The Vietnamese strains did not form a single group, but were classified into at least three groups. These results suggested that the microsporidia isolated from S. litura in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, are genetically diverse.
Cytochrome P450 enzymes play an important role in phase I drug metabolism, accounting for approximately 75% of the enzymatic processes. We investigated the allele and phenotypic distributions of five important CYP genes (CYP2B6, CYP3A5, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6) in the Vietnamese population by using Stargazer and the PharmCAT tool to call star alleles and translating them into phenotypes based on the available dataset of PharmGKB. We compared our computational analysis of the Vietnamese distributions with those of East Asia, Europe, America and other super populations, as well as with previous experimental research. The allele frequencies and phenotypic distributions of the five important CYP genes in the Vietnamese population are similar to those in East Asia while significantly different from other populations. In silico analysis also provided consistent results with previous experimental studies. In addition, the resultant data from our research contributes to the database of genetic variations in pharmacogenetics and constructs the fundamentals for future basic and applied research.
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