Development of a diagnostic scar marker for Vibrio shilonii caused acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease in whiteleg shrimp

Background: In a previous report, we showed that Vibrio shilonii was found on whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) with acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. This study was performed to develop a diagnostic molecular marker generated by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) for V. shilonii rapid detection.Methods: Pathogen Vibrio spp. were isolated from shrimps and fishes, and were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Genetic diversity of Vibrio strains was analysis by RAPD technique. Specific PCR product for V. shilonii was cloned and sequenced. SCAR marker was developed from specific PCR product.Result: Twenty random primers were evaluated for RAPD to identify DNA polymorphisms between Vibrio species. The random primer OPN-06 generated a 468-bp DNA fragment specific for V. shilonii. This was then converted into a sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker designated N6-441.Conclusion: Specific primers (Vshi-441F/Vshi-441R) amplified a unique DNA fragment in all V. shilonii isolates but not in the other Vibrio spp. This PCR assay showed significantly sensitive to the target DNA and reliably for the amplification the V. shilonii genome.Keywords: AHPND; RAPD; SCAR; Vibrio shilonii; Vietna

A facilitated social innovation: stakeholder groups using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles for perinatal health across levels of the health system in Cao Bang province, Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Universal coverage of evidence-based interventions for perinatal health, often part of evidence-based guidelines, could prevent most perinatal deaths, particularly if entire communities were engaged in the implementation. Social innovations may provide creative solutions to the implementation of evidence-based guidelines, but successful use of social innovations relies on the engagement of communities and health system actors. This proof-of-concept study aimed to assess whether an earlier successful social innovation for improved neonatal survival that employed regular facilitated Plan-Do-Study-Act meetings on the commune level was feasible and acceptable when implemented on multiple levels of the health system (52 health units) and resulted in actions with plausibly favourable effects on perinatal health and survival in Cao Bang province, northern Vietnam. METHODS: The Integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) framework guided the implementation and evaluation of the Perinatal Knowledge-Into-Practice (PeriKIP) project. Data collection included facilitators' diaries, health workers' knowledge on perinatal care, structured observations of antenatal care, focus group discussions with facilitators, their mentors and representatives of different actors of the initiated stakeholder groups and an individual interview with the Reproductive Health Centre director. Clinical experts assessed the relevance of the identified problems and actions taken based on facilitators' diaries. Descriptive statistics included proportions, means, and t-tests for the knowledge assessment and observations. Qualitative data were analysed by content analysis. RESULTS: The social innovation resulted in the identification of about 500 relevant problems. Also, 75% of planned actions to overcome prioritised problems were undertaken, results presented and a plan for new actions to achieve the group's goals to enhance perinatal health. The facilitators had significant roles, ensuring that the stakeholder groups were established based on principles of mutual respect. Overall, the knowledge of perinatal health and performance of antenatal care improved over the intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: The establishment of facilitated local stakeholder groups can remedy the need for tailored interventions and grassroots involvement in perinatal health and provide a scalable structure for focused efforts to reduce preventable deaths and promote health and well-being

Health services for reproductive tract infections among female migrant workers in industrial zones in Ha Noi, Viet Nam: an in-depth assessment

BACKGROUND: Rural-to-urban migration involves a high proportion of females because job opportunities for female migrants have increased in urban industrial areas. Those who migrate may be healthier than those staying in the village and they may benefit from better health care services at destination, but the 'healthy' effect can be reversed at destination due to migration-related health risk factors. The study aimed to explore the need for health care services for reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among female migrants working in the Sai Dong industrial zone as well as their services utilization. METHODS: The cross sectional study employed a mixed method approach. A cohort of 300 female migrants was interviewed to collect quantitative data. Two focus groups and 20 in-depth interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. We have used frequency and cross-tabulation techniques to analyze the quantitative data and the qualitative data was used to triangulate and to provide more in-depth information. RESULTS: The needs for health care services for RTI were high as 25% of participants had RTI syndromes. Only 21.6% of female migrants having RTI syndromes ever seek helps for health care services. Barriers preventing migrants to access services were traditional values, long working hours, lack of information, and high cost of services. Employers had limited interests in reproductive health of female migrants, and there was ineffective collaboration between the local health system and enterprises. These barriers were partly caused by lack of health promotion programs suitable for migrants. Most respondents needed more information on RTIs and preferred to receive these from their employers since they commonly work shifts--and spend most of their day time at work. CONCLUSION: While RTIs are a common health problem among female migrant workers in industrial zones, female migrants had many obstacles in accessing RTI care services. The findings from this study will help to design intervention models for RTI among this vulnerable group such as communication for behavioural impact of RTI health care, fostered collaboration between local health care services and employer enterprises, and on-site service (e.g. local or enterprise health clinics) strengthenin

Factors affecting corporate social responsibilities disclosure of listed companies in Vietnam

AbstractThis paper aims to research factors that affect corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in the context of listed companies in Vietnam. Our research uses data from listed companies in the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchanges from 2015 to 2020. We conduct the quantitative research by analyzing regression models therefore the relation between factors and CSR disclosure is found. We measure CSR disclosure in two ways: by total score and percentage. The result found that in both ways of measuring, the percentage of women on board and company age have a positive impact on CSR disclosure. In contrast to this, board size and board age have a negative effect on CSR disclosure. The other independent variables have no impact on CSR disclosure. Therefore, we have given some practical implications for companies that want to improve their CSR disclosure

XÁC ĐỊNH SỰ CÓ MẶT CỦA CÁC GEN ĐỘC TỐ Ở CÁC CHỦNG Vibrio GÂY BỆNH HOẠI TỬ GAN TỤY CẤP TÍNH TRÊN TÔM THẺ CHÂN TRẮNG TẠI THỪA THIÊN HUẾ

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is a disease caused by bacteria, with the death ratio up to 100% in the population of Litopenaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon, and causes great economic losses to many shrimp‐producing countries in Asia. Previous studies have shown that not all strains of Vibrio can cause AHPND because they contain different toxin genes, such as pirAvp, pirBvb, tlh, trh, and tdh. In this study, we evaluate the presence of several toxic genes on Vibrio isolates from Thua Thien Hue province and analyze the sequence of these genes. The results show that in 14 Vibrio strains carrying pirABvp gene, the tlh and toxR genes occur in 14/14 and 7/14 strains, respectively, while none of them have the two genes of trh and tdh. Analyzing the sequence of four DNA fragments shows that these genes have high similarity (98–100%) compared with the genes announced on the Genbank. Genes pirAvp and pirBvp are less different, while tlh and toxR genes are more different. The results could be used for further studies in the production of bioproducts for the prevention and treatment of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease in shrimp.Bệnh hoại tử gan tụy cấp tính (Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease – AHPND) là một bệnh do vi khuẩn gây ra. Bệnh này dẫn đến tỷ lệ chết lên đến 100% trong quần thể tôm thẻ chân trắng, tôm sú và gây những tổn thất kinh tế đáng kể cho ngành nuôi tôm ở nhiều nước châu Á. Các nghiên cứu trước đây cho thấy không phải chủng Vibrio nào cũng có khả năng gây bệnh do chúng mang các gen độc tố khác nhau. Chúng tôi đã đánh giá sự có mặt của các gen độc tố trên các chủng Vibrio phân lập tại Thừa Thiên Huế đồng thời phân tích trình tự các gen này. Kết quả cho thấy trong 14 chủng Vibrio mang gen pirABvp nghiên cứu, gen tlh xuất hiện ở tất cả các chủng, gen toxR xuất hiện ở 7/14 chủng trong khi đó các gen trh và tdh không xuất hiện trong các chủng vi khuẩn Vibrio phân lập được. Giải trình tự đoạn chỉ thị các gen độc tố cho thấy các gen này đều có độ tương đồng khá cao (98–100%) so với các gen đã công bố trên ngân hàng gen, trong đó 2 gen pirAvp và pirBvp ít sai khác còn các gen tlh và toxR có sự sai khác nhiều hơn. Đây là cơ sở để thực hiện các nghiên cứu tiếp theo trong việc sản xuất các chế phẩm phòng và trị bệnh hoại tử gan tụy cấp tính trên tôm

A Potential Way to Decrease the Know-Do Gap in Hospital Infection Control in Vietnam: “Providing Specific Figures on Healthcare-Associated Infections to the Hospital Staff Can ‘Wake Them Up’ to Change Their Behaviour”

Adequate infection control plays a key role in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This study aimed to explore staff perceptions of hospital infection control in a rural and an urban hospital in Vietnam. Individual interviews were conducted with hospital managers, and focus group discussions were conducted with doctors, nurses and cleaning workers separately. Content analysis was applied. An interview guide including discussion points on HAIs, hand hygiene and healthcare waste management was used. Generally, the staff were knowledgeable of hospital infection control, but they were not aware of the situation in their own hospital, and infection control practices in the hospitals remained poor. Reported difficulties in infection control included lack of resources, poor awareness and patient overload. A main theme emerged: ‘Making data on HAIs available for health workers can improve their awareness and motivate them to put their existing knowledge into practice, thus decreasing the know-do gap in infection control’. This could be a feasible intervention to improve infection control practice in the hospitals with limited resources, high workload and patient overload

Genomic epidemiological analysis of mcr-1-harboring Escherichia coli collected from livestock settings in Vietnam

International audienceLivestock has been implicated as a reservoir for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes that can spread to humans when antimicrobials are used in animals for food production to treat clinical diseases and prevent and control common disease events. In Vietnam, mcr-1 -harboring Escherichia coli (MCRPEC) strains have been isolated from humans, animals (chickens, pigs, and dogs) feces, flies, foods, and the environment (rainwater, well water, and irrigation water) in communities and from clinical specimens in hospitals. The relationship between levels of AMR in livestock and its occurrence in humans is complex and is driven by many factors. We conducted whole genome sequencing of MCRPEC to analyze the molecular epidemiological characteristics, history, and relatedness of 50 isolates obtained in 2019 from different reservoirs in farms and markets in Ha Nam province, Vietnam. 34 sequence types (STs) with 3 new STs were identified in multilocus sequence typing analysis: ST12945 and ST12946 from chicken feces, and ST12947 from flies. The AMR phenotypes of 50 MCRPEC isolates were as follows: ampicillin (100%, 50/50), cefotaxime (10%, 5/50), gentamicin (60%, 30/50), amikacin (8%, 4/50), meropenem (6%, 3/50), ceftazidime (18%, 9/50), colistin (24%, 12/50) and ciprofloxacin (80%, 40/50). All 50 MCRPEC isolates were identified as MDR. 100% (50/50) isolates carried AMR genes, ranging from 5 to 22 genes. The most prevalent plasmid replicon types carrying mcr-1 were IncP-1 (17/37, 45.9%), IncX4 (7/37, 18.9%), and IncHI2/IncHI2A (6/37, 16.2%). These data suggest that the epidemiology of the mcr-1 gene is mostly determined by plasmid spreading instead of clonal dissemination of MCRPE strains. The co-occurrence of several STs such as ST10, ST48, ST155, ST206, ST2705 in various sample types, joined to the higher prevalence of a few types of Inc plasmids, confirms the dissemination of the mcr-1 carrying plasmids in E. coli clones established in livestock. 5 over 8 STs identified in flies (ST206, ST2705, ST155, ST10, and ST48) suggested the fly contribution in the transmission of AMR bacteria in environments. These popular STs also occur in human samples and 100% of the human samples were positive for the mcr-1 gene