A survey of retail prices of antimicrobial products used in small-scale chicken farms in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

Background: In the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, high quantities of products containing antimicrobial are used as prophylactic and curative treatments in small-scale chicken flocks. A large number of these contain antimicrobial active ingredients (AAIs) considered of 'critical importance' for human medicine according to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, little is known about the retail prices of these products and variables associated with the expense on antimicrobials at farm level.

Assessment of Drivers of Antimicrobial Usage in Poultry Farms in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam: A Combined Participatory Epidemiology and Q-Sorting Approach.

In the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, poultry farmers use high amounts of antimicrobials, but little is known about the drivers that influence this usage. We aimed to identify these drivers using a novel approach that combined participatory epidemiology (PE) and Q-sorting (a methodology that allows the analysis of the subjectivity of individuals facing a common phenomenon). A total of 26 semi-structured collective interviews were conducted with 125 farmers representative of the most common farming systems in the area (chickens, meat ducks, and mobile grazing ducks), as well as with 73 farmers' advisors [veterinarians, veterinary drug shop owners, and government veterinarians/commune animal health workers (CAHWs)] in five districts of Dong Thap province (Mekong Delta).

Utility of a set of conserved mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene primers for Mansonia annulata identification.

DNA-based identification system using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene has enabled validation of many species in certain taxonomic groups. These primer combinations were able to work universally across Insecta. Here, a set of three primer pairs were successful in amplifying COI of Mansonia annulata mosquito, a potential vector of Brugia malayi.