Prevalence of <i>Trichomoniasis</i> in Hue City, Vietnam: a serological study

The overall objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of trichomoniasis in Hue City, Vietnam. The study included 249 symptomatic and 534 asymptomatic women, 38 healthy men, and 50 children. All women were subjected to standard clinical examination and vaginal samples were collected for identification of T. vaginalis by wet mount and cultivation. Sera from 46 women affected by trichomoniasis and 8 male sexual partners were used to set up immunoenzymatic techniques for epidemiological studies. Serological reactivity of patients affected by trichomoniasis was studied for a 5 months period after treatment to estimate persistence of anti-trichomonas antibodies after eradication of infection. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction has been used for detection of T. vaginalis, M. hominis, U. urealyticum after treatment. The prevalence of trichomoniasis by microscopic examination in symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were 19.3% (42/243, 95% CI = 12.8% - 22.7%) and 0.7% (4/534, 95% CI = 0.18% - 1.8%), respectively. ELISA assay using whole cells for detection of antibody in sera yielded high sensitivity and specificity (93.48% and 84.88%, respectively). Seroprevalence was 18.9% in women (31.3% in symptomatic, 13.3% in asymptomatic women) and 8.7% in men. Serological follow-up by ELISA showed the trending line of sera T. vaginalis antibody going down after 4-5 months in the group of recovered patients, while unrecovered/re-infected patients kept the high level of antibody.</br

Prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic women in Central Vietnam

Introduction: The diffusion of trichomoniasis in Vietnam has been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of trichomoniasis in a group of symptomatic and asymptomatic women in Central Vietnam. Relationships between education, socioeconomical and marital status, and sexual behavior with infection have also been investigated. Methodology: 249 symptomatic and 534 asymptomatic women from Hue City, Vietnam, were enrolled in this study. All women were interviewed about socioeconomical and behavioral status. They underwent clinical examination, and vaginal swabs were taken to assess T. vaginalis infection by wet mount microscopy examination. In addition, an ELISA test to detect antibodies to T. vaginalis in patients' sera was used. Results: The overall prevalence of trichomoniasis assessed by microscopic examination was 6.6%. A significant difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups was observed, resulting in 19.3% and 0.7%, respectively. Anti-T.vaginalis antibodies were detected in 31.3% of symptomatic and in 13.3% of asymptomatic women. High-risk sexual behaviour, residence in urban areas, and low level of education were positively associated with infection. Conclusion: This is the first report on the diffusion of trichomoniasis in Central Vietnam on symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects. Data demonstrated that T. vaginalis is a common cause of vaginal infection in the Hue province. The prevalence detected by microscopic examination was high in symptomatic subjects, while serological ELISA test detected infection also in asymptomatic patients, who tested negative by microscopy. The ELISA test may be useful to detect infection, especially in asymptomatic population

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

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Cladophialophora bantiana and Candida albicans mixed infectio

Cladophialophora bantiana and Candida albicans mixed infection in cerebral abscess of an HIV-negative patient

Cladophialophora bantiana is a black fungus recorded rarely as a cause of brain abscess. We describe the first case seen in Vietnam. A 35-year-old, previously healthy male, HIV negative, came to the hospital with a clinical diagnosis of brain tumor. He underwent surgery to remove the well-delineated circumscribed lesion. Pathology, directed physical examination and mycological examination revealed an abscess due to Cladophialophora bantiana, and Candida albicans. After two weeks of treatment with Fluconazole 400 mg per day intravenously, the clinical response remained unsatisfactory. Therapy was then withheld per the family’s request

Exploring Learning Styles in Students Attended Problem-Based Learning Package at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Purpose Learning style differs among students; 4 were identified by David A. Kolb (1984). Learning style identification plays a vital role in enhancing learning performance in response to choice of approaches to engaging students, particularly for Problem-based learning (PBL) methods used in Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy. This research aimed to identify the learning styles of those students responding to PBL packages and investigate relationships between their learning styles and academic performance. Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted nursing students (N=135) who engaged with PBL packages in the subject Fundamental Nursing 3 in the second semester of the academic year 2016-2017. A questionnaire consisted of items on general characteristics, a learning style scale (Kolb LSI 3.1), and details around academic performance. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 22.0 program. Results The findings indicated that the diverging is the descriptor of the preferred learning style of 43.7% nursing students; 24.4% represented the converging style; the accommodating style accounted for 18.5% and assimilating style was 13.3%. Our study had not yet found the effect of learning methods on the academic performance of nursing students (toward Formative result: F=0.872, p=0.235; toward Summative result: F=1.116, p=0.345). Conclusion A majority of nursing students chose the diverging learning style over others but there was no significant difference between academic performance and learning styles. Therefore, teachers should be flexible and use different stimuli for learning in order to attempt to engage learners in stimuli for learning about different situations, irrespective of their preferred style for learning. It is important to provide optimal learning environments for most students

Molecular Identification and Appraisal of the Genetic Variation of Taenia saginata in Central Regions of Vietnam

Taenia saginata is a globally distributed tapeworm responsible for human taeniasis due to the ingestion of raw or undercooked beef. T. saginata is present in several Asian countries, including China, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam, but little is known about its genetic variation. Studying the tapeworm&rsquo;s phylogeographic patterns is crucial to better understanding their association with the geographic distribution of taeniasis/cysticercosis in human populations. In the present study, 38 specimens of this putative species were collected in central regions of Vietnam and analysed using the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I (COI) as a molecular marker to assess the correct species identification and investigate the level of genetic variation at different geographic scales. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses were carried out on a dataset that included COI sequences from Vietnamese specimens and from all conspecifics available in GenBank to date. The results showed that the collected Vietnamese specimens belonged to the species T. saginata. In Southeast Asia, signs of a possible founder effect were discovered, with the most common haplotypes frequent and present in many countries, except Lao PDR, which shares its most common haplotype only with individuals from Thailand. Remarkably, a unique taxonomic entity was found worldwide, even though the available COI sequences of T. saginata belonging to non-Asiatic countries are, at present, limited. Therefore, future studies including more COI sequences from a higher number of countries and the use of a combined molecular approach with multiple genetic markers would be useful to provide deeper insight into the global genetic variation of this species

Effect of the Symbiosis with <i>Mycoplasma hominis</i> and <i>Candidatus</i> Mycoplasma Girerdii on <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> Metronidazole Susceptibility

Trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide, is caused by the protozoon Trichomonas vaginalis. The 5- nitroimidazole drugs, of which metronidazole is the most prescribed, are the only effective drugs to treat trichomoniasis. Resistance against metronidazole is increasingly reported among T. vaginalis isolates. T. vaginalis can establish an endosymbiosis with two Mycoplasma species, Mycoplasma hominis and Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii, whose presence has been demonstrated to influence several aspects of the protozoan pathobiology. The role of M. hominis in T. vaginalis resistance to metronidazole is controversial, while the influence of Ca. M. girerdii has never been investigated. In this work, we investigate the possible correlation between the presence of Ca. M. girerdii and/or M. hominis and the in vitro drug susceptibility in a large group of T. vaginalis isolated in Italy and in Vietnam. We also evaluated, via RNA-seq analysis, the expression of protozoan genes involved in metronidazole resistance in a set of syngenic T. vaginalis strains, differing only for the presence/absence of the two Mycoplasmas. Our results show that the presence of M. hominis significantly increases the sensitivity to metronidazole in T. vaginalis and affects gene expression. On the contrary, the symbiosis with Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii seems to have no effect on metronidazole resistance in T. vaginalis

Clinical impact of the two ART resistance markers, K13 gene mutations and DPC3 in Vietnam.

BackgroundIn Vietnam, a rapid decline of P. falciparum malaria cases has been documented in the past years, the number of Plasmodium falciparum malaria cases has rapidly decreased passing from 19.638 in 2012 to 4.073 cases in 2016. Concomitantly, the spread of artemisinin resistance markers is raising concern on the future efficacy of the ACTs. An evaluation of the clinical impact of the artemisinin resistance markers is therefore of interest.MethodsThe clinical effectiveness of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine therapy (DHA-PPQ) has been evaluated in three districts characterized by different rates of ART resistance markers: K13(C580Y) mutation and delayed parasite clearance on day 3 (DPC3). Patients were stratified in 3 groups a) no markers, b) one marker (suspected resistance), c) co-presence of both markers (confirmed resistance). In the studied areas, the clinical effectiveness of DHA-PPQ has been estimated as malaria recrudescence within 60 days.ResultsThe rate of K13(C580Y) ranged from 75.8% in Krong Pa to 1.2% in Huong Hoa district. DPC3 prevalence was higher in Krong Pa than in Huong Hoa (86.2% vs 39.3%). In the two districts, the prevalence of confirmed resistance was found in 69.0% and 1.2% of patients, respectively. In Thuan Bac district, we found intermediate prevalence of confirmed resistance. Treatment failure was not evidenced in any district. PPQ resistance was not evidenced. Confirmed resistance was associated to the persistence of parasites on day 28 and to 3.4-fold higher parasite density at diagnosis. The effectiveness of malaria control strategies was very high in the studied districts.ConclusionNo treatment failure has been observed in presence of high prevalence of ART resistance and in absence of PPQ resistance. K13(C580Y) was strongly associated to higher parasitemia at admission, on days 3 and 28. Slower parasite clearance was also observed in younger patients