Knowledge of potential risk of blood-borne viral infections and tattooing practice among adults in Mandalay Region, Myanmar.

Introduction: Tattooing especially gains popularity among both men and women in adulthood from the wide range of socioeconomic groups and is noted as a risk taking behaviour in adults. Especially when tattooing does not perform to the highest standards, it can potentially be the hazardous practice. Myanmar has a paucity of evidence-based information on the estimated prevalence of tattoos and awareness of potential disease transmission from tattooing under insanitary conditions as well as the infection risk.

Consumption of fruits and vegetables and associations with risk factors for non-communicable diseases in the Yangon region of Myanmar: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To explore the intake of fruits and vegetables in the Yangon region, Myanmar, and to describe associations between intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) and established risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

Design: 2 cross-sectional studies, using the STEPs methodology.

Setting: Urban and rural areas of the Yangon region of Myanmar.

Phylogenic analysis of the genus Leishmania by cytochrome b gene sequencing.

In a previous report (Luyo-Acero et al., 2004), we demonstrated that cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene analysis is an effective method for classifying several isolates of the genus Leishmania; hence, we have further applied this method to other Leishmania species in an effort to enhance the accuracy of the procedure and to construct a new phylogenic tree. In this study, a total of 30 Leishmania and Endotrypanum WHO reference strains, clinical isolates from our patients assigned to 28 strains (human and non-human pathogenic species) and two species of the genus Endotrypanum were analyzed.

Case of chromoblastomycosis appearing in an Okinawa patient with a medical history of Hansen's disease.

Chromoblastomycosis is one of several chronic infectious skin diseases caused by various species of dematiaceous fungi. It is clinically characterized by verrucous skin eruptions and occurs most commonly in tropical and subtropical regions. In Okinawa, a subtropical area, there have been only three reported cases of chromoblastomycosis including the present one.

Polymorphisms of cytochrome b gene in Leishmania parasites and their relation to types of cutaneous leishmaniasis lesions in Pakistan.

The exact species and/or strains of Leishmania parasites involved strongly influence the clinical and epidemiological features of leishmaniasis, and current knowledge of those influences and relationships is inadequate. We report that cytochrome b (cyt b) gene sequencing identified causal Leishmania parasites of 69 cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in Pakistan over a 3-year period. Of 21 cases in highland areas (Quetta city, Balochistan province), 16 (76.