IVAC's seasonal, trivalent influenza vaccine was safe and well tolerated and induced high levels of seroconversion and seroprotection rates. These clinical data are a first step towards demonstrating the feasibility of producing the vaccine locally and that seasonal vaccine production in Vietnam may be an effective strategy for enhancing the global influenza vaccine supply. ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02598089, October 15, 2015.
Viet Nam has an increasing need for building materials, including refractory bricks. Little is known regarding the occupational hazards incurred in brick manufacturing. To determine the occupational health hazards posed by a refractory brick operation in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, a cross-sectional occupational risk survey was conducted, focusing on respirable dust hazards. It included an industrial hygiene walk-through and gravimetric dust analysis. Noise, heat, lack of head protection, and dust exposure were hazards identified at the brick-manufacturing site. Respiratory protection involved a three-layer cloth mask that had not been tested for efficacy. Silica dust exposure levels exceeded the Vietnamese permissible exposure level by almost fivefold based on gravimetric assessment and estimated silica content. This brick manufacturing site contains significant injury and respiratory illness hazards. Further investigations are necessary to begin to develop occupational safety measures at the site.
Workers in this plant demonstrate a consistent pattern of radiographic evidence of pneumoconiosis, which appears to be related to duration of work. Future studies should assess exposure control measures that are appropriate to countries undergoing rapid industrialization such as Vietnam.
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