Genome sequences of a novel Vietnamese bat bunyavirus

To document the viral zoonotic risks in Vietnam, fecal samples were systematically collected from a number of mammals in southern Vietnam and subjected to agnostic deep sequencing. We describe here novel Vietnamese bunyavirus sequences detected in bat feces. The complete L and S segments from 14 viruses were determined

The implications of rural perceptions of water scarcity on differential adaptation behaviour in Rajasthan, India

Water scarcity is one of the most critical issues facing agriculture today. To understand how people manage the risk of water scarcity and growing pressures of increased climate variability, exploring perceptions of risk and how these perceptions feed into response behaviour and willingness to adapt is critical. This paper revisits existing frameworks that conceptualise perceptions of environmental risk and decision-making, and uses empirical evidence from an in-depth study conducted in Rajasthan, India, to emphasise how individual and collective memories, and experience of past extreme events shape current definitions and future expectations of climatic risks. In doing so, we demonstrate the value of recognising the role of local perceptions of water scarcity (and how they vary between and within households) in constructing social vulnerability. We also discuss the implications of these perceptions of risk when understanding and incentivising local adaptation pathways

Age-proofing a traffic saturated metropolis – Evaluating the influences on walking behaviour in older adults in Ho Chi Minh City

Walking is an essential mode of travel for older adults, offering significant health benefits. However walking as a travel mode in Vietnam is constrained by poor built environment quality and safety, which act as a psychological barrier to pedestrians in a traffic saturated environment. This study explores an extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by incorporating built environment quality and safety constructs, along with proximity to destination types and vehicle availability indicators. A survey of active older adults (n = 832, aged 55 to 72) was designed and administered within four inner districts in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to elicit socio-demographic, travel characteristics and psychometric data about past walking behaviour and future intention. A partial-least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was used to conduct path and multi-group analyses (MGA) on main activity segments (retired, working at home and working outside), revealing statistically significant paths with satisfactory variance explained in a conceptual extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (eTPB) framework. The results show that intention to walk can be explained by past behaviour, with mediating effects from other factors, such as built environment and safety, via the standard TPB constructs (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control). A clear relationship emerges between the factors examined, but with some exceptions and difference in MGA. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding older adults through examination of their main activity status. We also call for the development of travel behaviour and urban intervention programs to improve walking uptake and safety for older adults.No Full Tex

Groundwater governance: a review of the assessment methodologies¹

Groundwater, the world’s largest and most exploited freshwater resource is a crucial ingredient for global socio-economic development. However, the domination of human-induced drivers such as climate change, rapid demographic escalation, alteration in land use, industrialisation, and an increase in water demand has further stressed the unfrozen freshwater resources. This review provides a comprehensive literature-based analysis on different assessment methodologies for groundwater governance, and critically analysed the applicability and knowledge gaps in the assessment methodologies for evaluating groundwater governance under climatic and nonclimatic stresses. Furthermore, in the absence of a designated groundwater governance framework under stress, the study emphasized the need for developing a ready-to-use groundwater governance framework to assess the existing state of governance, tackling the prevailing knowledge gaps. A multidimensional framework consisting of key groundwater governance elements, the inclusion of the vulnerable and marginalised groups, current and future stressors, and an approach for aggregating multiple elements would overcome the limitations in previous assessment methodologies. Additionally, this framework would contribute to understanding current governance provisions and the capacity to manage those provisions, realise the strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement, and quantitatively visualise the prevailing state of groundwater governance for planning multiple strategies to possible threats and conflicts from the stresses

Temporal Fluctuation of Multidrug Resistant Salmonella Typhi Haplotypes in the Mekong River Delta Region of Vietnam

BACKGROUND: typhoid fever remains a public health problem in Vietnam, with a significant burden in the Mekong River delta region. Typhoid fever is caused by the bacterial pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), which is frequently multidrug resistant with reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolone-based drugs, the first choice for the treatment of typhoid fever. We used a GoldenGate (Illumina) assay to type 1,500 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and analyse the genetic variation of S. Typhi isolated from 267 typhoid fever patients in the Mekong delta region participating in a randomized trial conducted between 2004 and 2005. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: the population of S. Typhi circulating during the study was highly clonal, with 91% of isolates belonging to a single clonal complex of the S. Typhi H58 haplogroup. The patterns of disease were consistent with the presence of an endemic haplotype H58-C and a localised outbreak of S. Typhi haplotype H58-E2 in 2004. H58-E2-associated typhoid fever cases exhibited evidence of significant geo-spatial clustering along the Sông H u branch of the Mekong River. Multidrug resistance was common in the established clone H58-C but not in the outbreak clone H58-E2, however all H58 S. Typhi were nalidixic acid resistant and carried a Ser83Phe amino acid substitution in the gyrA gene. SIGNIFICANCE: the H58 haplogroup dominates S. Typhi populations in other endemic areas, but the population described here was more homogeneous than previously examined populations, and the dominant clonal complex (H58-C, -E1, -E2) observed in this study has not been detected outside Vietnam. IncHI1 plasmid-bearing S. Typhi H58-C was endemic during the study period whilst H58-E2, which rarely carried the plasmid, was only transient, suggesting a selective advantage for the plasmid. These data add insight into the outbreak dynamics and local molecular epidemiology of S. Typhi in southern Vietnam