A comprehensive study in efficacy of Vietnamese herbal extracts on whiteleg shrimp (<em>Penaeus vannamei</em>) against <em>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</em> causing acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND)

Traditional Vietnamese herbal species were examined for their antimicrobial activity and disease resistance in whiteleg shrimp. In-vitro screening, the extracts of ten herbs were conducted to test the inhibition ability against Vibrio parahaemolyticus, causing acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease. The results showed that five out of ten herbal species, including Pithecellobium dulce, Melaleuca leucadendron, Eucalyptus globulus, Mimosa pirga, and Hibiscus sabdariffa displayed potent antibacterial activity. Besides, three types of extracts of H. sabdariffa, E. globulus, and M. pirga were coated to the pellet feed at a concentration of 1%. After 30 days of feeding, the whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) were challenged by V. parahaemolyticus through immersion. The growth performance (such as growth rate in length and weight, survival rate), hematological parameters of total hemocytes (THC), hyaline hemocytes (HC), and granulocytes (GC), and hepatopancreas recovery under the treatments with herbal extracts of the whiteleg shrimp were significantly enhanced as compared with the control (without herbal extract). The mortality and the bacterial density in the hepatopancreas of shrimp decreased. Specifically, the mortality of shrimp in the treatment supplemented with the methanol extract of H. sabdariffa was the lowest, followed by M. pirga and E. globulus. The experimental results also indicated that H. sabdariffa, E. globulus, and M. pirga could improve immune parameters and disease resistance; therefore, they should be employed in sustainable shrimp, practical farming

Evaluation of Luminex xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel Assay for Detection of Multiple Diarrheal Pathogens in Fecal Samples in Vietnam.

Diarrheal disease is a complex syndrome that remains a leading cause of global childhood morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of enteric pathogens in a timely and precise manner is important for making treatment decisions and informing public health policy, but accurate diagnosis is a major challenge in industrializing countries. Multiplex molecular diagnostic techniques may represent a significant improvement over classical approaches. We evaluated the Luminex xTAG gastrointestinal pathogen panel (GPP) assay for the detection of common enteric bacterial and viral pathogens in Vietnam. Microbiological culture and real-time PCR were used as gold standards. The tests were performed on 479 stool samples collected from people admitted to the hospital for diarrheal disease throughout Vietnam. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for the xTAG GPP for the seven principal diarrheal etiologies. The sensitivity and specificity for the xTAG GPP were >88% for Shigellaspp.,Campylobacterspp., rotavirus, norovirus genotype 1/2 (GI/GII), and adenovirus compared to those of microbiological culture and/or real-time PCR. However, the specificity was low (∼60%) for Salmonella species. Additionally, a number of important pathogens that are not identified in routine hospital procedures in this setting, such as Cryptosporidiumspp. and Clostridium difficile, were detected with the GPP. The use of the Luminex xTAG GPP for the detection of enteric pathogens in settings, like Vietnam, would dramatically improve the diagnostic accuracy and capacity of hospital laboratories, allowing for timely and appropriate therapy decisions and a wider understanding of the epidemiology of pathogens associated with severe diarrheal disease in low-resource settings

Characterization of salmonella spp. Isolates from swine: Virulence and antimicrobial resistance

Salmonella is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens worldwide. Swine represent typical reservoirs of this bacterium and a frequent source of human infection. Some intrinsic traits make some serovars or strains more virulent than others. Twenty-nine Salmonella spp. isolated from pigs belonging to 16 different serovars were analyzed for gastric acid environment resistance, presence of virulence genes (mgtC, rhuM, pipB, sopB, spvRBC, gipA, sodCI, sopE), antimicrobial resistance and presence of antimicrobial resistance genes (blaTEM, blaPSE-1, aadA1, aadA2, aphA1-lab, strA-strB, tetA, tetB, tetC, tetG, sul1, sul2, sul3). A percentage of 44.83% of strains showed constitutive and inducible gastric acid resistance, whereas 37.93% of strains became resistant only after induction. The genes sopB, pipB and mgtC were the most often detected, with 79.31%, 48.28% and 37.93% of positive strains, respectively. Salmonella virulence plasmid genes were detected in a S. enterica sup. houtenae ser. 40:z4,z23:-strain. Fifteen different virulence profiles were identified: one isolate (ser. Typhimurium) was positive for 6 genes, and 6 isolates (3 ser. Typhimurium, 2 ser. Typhimurium monophasic variant and 1 ser. Choleraesuis) scored positive for 5 genes. None of the isolates resulted resistant to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin, while all isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime, colistin and gentamycin. Many strains were resistant to sulfonamide (75.86%), tetracycline (51.72%), streptomycin (48.28%) and ampicillin (31.03%). Twenty different resisto-types were identified. Six strains (4 ser. Typhimurium, 1 ser. Derby and 1 ser. Typhimurium monophasic variant) showed the ASSuT profile. Most detected resistance genes sul2 (34.48%), tetA (27.58%) and strA-strB (27.58%). Great variability was observed in analyzed strains. S. ser. Typhimurium was confirmed as one of the most virulent serovars. This study underlines that swine could be a reservoir and source of pathogenic Salmonella strains

Concomitant intramyocardial and hepatic hydatid cysts diagnosed by multi-modality imaging: A rare case report

Cardiac echinococcosis is a potentially fatal form of hydatid disease; yet, its diagnosis and treatment are challenging due to the variability in its clinical manifestations and due to its various unpredictable preoperative complications. Multi-modality imaging is shown to provide important guidance for the treatment and decision-making. We report a rare case of a 50-year-old woman who had concomitant cardiac and hepatic hydatid cysts. She presented with abdominal pain and elevated eosinophilic white blood cells. The initial abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography revealed a large cyst in the liver. An intramyocardial cyst was detected by two-dimensional echocardiography. Three-dimensional echocardiography increased the confidence level of two-dimensional echocardiography by displaying the three-dimensional volume of the cyst and allowing visualization of its spatial characteristics and the relationships with adjacent cardiac structures, which was subsequently confirmed at surgery. Multi-detector computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging helped localize and define the typical morphological features of the cyst. Serology and antigen detection were used for diagnosis. This rare case underlines the integration of clinical, multi-modality imaging, and pathological data in the diagnosis of concomitant intramyocardial and hepatic hydatid cysts. Surgical resection of cysts and anthelmintic medication were successful in the management of this patient