Chikungunya virus was isolated in Thailand, 2010

Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) is an acute febrile illness caused by a mosquito-borne alphavirus, chikungunya virus (CHIKV). This disease re-emerged in Kenya in 2004, and spread to the countries in and around the Indian Ocean. The re-emerging epidemics rapidly spread to regions like India and Southeast Asia, and it was subsequently identified in Europe in 2007, probably as a result of importation of chikungunya cases. On the one hand, chikungunya is one of the neglected diseases and has only attracted strong attention during large outbreaks. In 2008–2009, there was a major outbreak of chikungunya fever in Thailand, resulting in the highest number of infections in any country in the region. However, no update of CHIKV circulating in Thailand has been published since 2009. In this study, we examined the viral growth kinetics and sequences of the structural genes derived from CHIKV clinical isolates obtained from the serum specimens of CHIKF-suspected patients in Central Thailand in 2010. We identified the CHIKV harboring two mutations E1-A226V and E2-I211T, indicating that the East, Central, and South African lineage of CHIKV was continuously circulating as an indigenous population in Thailand. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11262-014-1105-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Helminth Infections in Cattle and Goats in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, with Focus on Strongyle Nematode Infections

Gastrointestinal helminths are major enteric parasites affecting the health of important livestock ruminants, such as cattle and goats. It is important to routinely survey these animals for helminth infections to allow effective management and control programs to be implemented. A cross-sectional helminth survey carried out in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, revealed the infection rate of gastrointestinal helminths in cattle (n = 157) and goats (n = 117) to be 35.7% and 88%, respectively, by microscopic fecal examination, and a 100% herd prevalence was observed in goats. Eggs of strongyle nematodes, Strongyloides spp., Trichuris spp., Capillaria spp., Paramphistomum spp., and Moniezia spp. were detected, with a relatively high rate of strongyle nematode infection in both cattle (28.7%) and goats (86.3%). Mixed infections were observed in 14.3% and 35.9% of egg-positive samples from cattle and goats, respectively. Risk factor analysis showed that dairy cattle were 5.1 times more likely to be infected with strongyles than meat cattle. In contrast, meat goats were 9.3 times more likely to be infected with strongyles than dairy goats. The inverse findings in cattle and goats are discussed. Female gender was associated with a higher risk of strongyle infection in goats. DNA sequencing and in-house semi-nested PCR with primers specific to a region in the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) were successfully used to identify strongyle genera in randomly selected egg-positive cattle (n = 24) and goat (n = 24) samples. Four strongyle genera, i.e., Cooperia spp., Haemonchus spp., Oesophagostomum spp., and Trichostrongylus spp. were identified by DNA sequencing. By semi-nested PCR, Cooperia spp. were detected as a major parasite of cattle (70.8%), whereas Haemonchus spp. were abundant in goats (100%). The majority of samples from cattle (58.3%) and goats (95.8%) were found to coinfect with at least two strongyle genera, suggesting that coinfection with multiple strongyle genera was more common than single infection in these animals

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 and Variants in Hospital Wastewater in a Developing Country

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a beneficial tool for comprehensive health information on communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In developing countries, including Thailand, the application of WBE is limited. Few SARS-CoV-2 detections and variants have been monitored in wastewater in these countries. This is because of the time-consuming, low recovery of viruses in the concentration techniques and difficulties in finding the proper primers and amplification kits. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration using a commercial clinical kit. We identified the SARS-CoV-2 variants and estimated the detection costs in the wastewater samples. One hundred and fifty hospital wastewater samples were filtered with commercial ultrafiltration (UF) and then detected for the SARS-CoV-2 concentration using a Sansure Biotech SARS-CoV-2 kit. The recovery of the virus concentration technique in UF was studied using a surrogate (porcine epidemic diarrhea virus). The virus detection in wastewater was quantified by RT-qPCR. In addition, the mutation sites in the partial spike glycoprotein (S) gene of SARS-CoV-2 were verified using short nested RT-PCR. The results showed a high recovery of the commercial UF (80.53%), and 24.6% of hospital wastewater contained SARS-CoV-2. The detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater cost USD 35.43 per sample. The virus variants revealed V70del, H69del, and V144del mutations in the partial S gene of SARS-CoV-2 in B.1.1.7 (SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant), and T95I and G142D mutations in B.1.617.2 (Delta variant)

PREVALENCE OF INTESTINAL PARASITE AND RELATED FACTORS AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN IN SUAN PHUENG SUBDISTRICT, RATCHABURI, THAILAND

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections are still regarded as the major public health problems in Thailand, especially in rural areas. The presence of intestinal parasites in school children is a wellaccepted indicator of poor personal hygiene and low economic standards. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and its associated risk factors among primary school children (Grade 4 to 6) in Suan Phueng sub-district, Ratchaburi, Thailand, where is located atThai-Myanmar border areas. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at three selected governmental primary schools. A total of 252 school children (130 boys, 51.6% and 122 girls, 48.4%) were recruited in this study. Intestinal parasites were detected from their stool samples by using formalin ethyl-acetate concentration technique. Socio-demographic status and personal hygiene were assessed by a validated structured questionnaire. Results: An overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was 19%. Poly-parasitism was found in 4% of school children. The most common parasite was Entamoeba coli (6.4%) followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (4.5%), Endolimax nana cyst (4.0%), and Giadia lumbria (1.8%). Additionally, family income, drinking water sources from school and home, hand-washing habit after using toilet, anal cleansing after defecation, and parents’ education level were significantly associated with intestinal parasitic infections.  Conclusions: High prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections was found in primary school children at Suan Phueng sub-district, Ratchaburi, Thailand. Therefore, health promotion, modern health education, water sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs are crucial for prevention of intestinal parasitic infections in primary schools, particularly in Thai-Myanmar border areas. Reducing theprevalence of parasitic infections in school children may be of immense benefits on child growth, development, and educational  outcomes. &nbsp