Parental decision-making on vaccination for daughters in Japan.

Background: In June 2013, the fear of adverse events compelled the government to withdraw its recommendation of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Since then, the rate of vaccination among Japanese girls has dropped dramatically.

Objective: This study aims to assess how the Japanese government's policy change against HPV vaccination influenced the degree to which parents in remote areas in Japan accepted the vaccine for their daughters, and to analyze related factors.

Factors associated with pneumococcal vaccination in elderly people: a cross-sectional study among elderly club members in Miyakonojo City, Japan.

Background: Pneumonia is the third leading cause of death in Japan. All elderly people aged 65 years or older are recommended to receive a pneumococcal vaccine. A subsidy for part of the cost of routine pneumococcal vaccination in this age group was introduced in 2014.

Comparison of contact patterns relevant for transmission of respiratory pathogens in Thailand and The Netherlands using respondent-driven sampling.

Understanding infection dynamics of respiratory diseases requires the identification and quantification of behavioural, social and environmental factors that permit the transmission of these infections between humans. Little empirical information is available about contact patterns within real-world social networks, let alone on differences in these contact networks between populations that differ considerably on a socio-cultural level. Here we compared contact network data that were collected in The Netherlands and Thailand using a similar online respondent-driven method.

Factors influencing preventive behaviors for dengue infection among housewives in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Dengue is an infectious disease prevalent in Sri Lanka. Some factors may influence preventive behaviors. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and preventive behaviors associated with dengue and analyzed the factors influencing preventive behaviors among housewives in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever knowledge, perception, and preventive behavior among secondary school students in Bangkok.

Objective: To explore dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) knowledge, perception, and preventive behavior among secondary school students in Nong-Kheam, Bangkok, Thailand.

Material And Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 300 students between 12 and 16 years old currently attending secondary schools in the Bangkok metropolitan areas using self-administered questionnaires. Data were subsequently summarized using descriptive statistics.

Online respondent-driven sampling for studying contact patterns relevant for the spread of close-contact pathogens: a pilot study in Thailand.

Background: Information on social interactions is needed to understand the spread of airborne infections through a population. Previous studies mostly collected egocentric information of independent respondents with self-reported information about contacts. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a sampling technique allowing respondents to recruit contacts from their social network.

Clinical features and differences between child and adult dengue infections in Rayong Province, southeast Thailand.

A retrospective study was conducted among patients with dengue infection admitted to Rayong Hospital during September 2004-September 2005. Data were collected from medical charts and outpatient records created when the patients came to the hospital. Of the patients diagnosed with dengue, only 301 who met the WHO criteria for dengue fever and DHF/DSS were selected.

Duplex PCR-hybridization based detection of pathogenic Leptospira in environmental water samples obtained from endemic areas in northeast region of Thailand.

Leptospirosis, a major health problem worldwide, is known to be endemic in the northeastern part of Thailand with the risk of infection by exposure to pathogenic Leptospira in contaminated aquatic environment. A method based on PCR-hybridization detection of pathogenic Leptospira in water was established. The method included filtration of water sample through membrane filters of two pore sizes, DNA extraction from filters using a guanidine thiocyanate extraction method, a duplex-PCR assay with two primer pairs, and hybridization with a synthetic LipL32 DNA probe.

An enrichment broth culture-duplex PCR combination assay for the rapid detection of enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens in fecal specimens.

An enrichment broth culture-duplex PCR combination assay was devised to identify Clostridium perfringens directly from fecal samples. The method consists of a combination of short enrichment of samples in selective media, DNA isolation, and performing duplex PCR using two pairs of primers which identify C. perfringens strains that harbor the virulence enterotoxin gene.