Antimicrobial use and resistance data in human and animal sectors in the Lao PDR: evidence to inform policy.

Objectives: To review the scientific evidence base on antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human and animal sectors in the Lao PDR (Laos).

Methods: We reviewed all publications from July 1994 (the first article describing AMR in Laos) to December 2020. Electronic searches were conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed with specific terms relating to AMR and AMU in Lao, French and English languages.

Nasal or throat sampling is adequate for the detection of the human respiratory syncytial virus in children with acute respiratory infections.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is one of the most important causes of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in young children. HRSV diagnosis is based on the detection of the virus in respiratory specimens. Nasopharyngeal swabbing is considered the preferred method of sampling, although there is limited evidence of the superiority of nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) over the less invasive nasal (NS) and throat (TS) swabs for virus detection by real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Global Burden and Challenges of Melioidosis.

Melioidosis, an infectious disease caused by the environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, has remained in the shadows for far too long[...

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the identification of Burkholderia pseudomallei from Asia and Australia and differentiation between Burkholderia species.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is increasingly used for rapid bacterial identification. Studies of Burkholderia pseudomallei identification have involved small isolate numbers drawn from a restricted geographic region. There is a need to expand the reference database and evaluate B.

Global and regional dissemination and evolution of Burkholderia pseudomallei.

The environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei causes an estimated 165,000 cases of human melioidosis per year worldwide and is also classified as a biothreat agent. We used whole genome sequences of 469 B. pseudomallei isolates from 30 countries collected over 79 years to explore its geographic transmission.

A retrospective analysis of melioidosis in Cambodian children, 2009-2013.

Background: Melioidiosis, infection by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is an important but frequently under-recognised cause of morbidity and mortality in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the tropics. Data on the epidemiology of paediatric melioidosis in Cambodia are extremely limited.

Methods: Culture-positive melioidosis cases presenting to Angkor Hospital for Children, a non-governmental paediatric hospital located in Siem Reap, Northern Cambodia, between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013 were identified by searches of hospital and laboratory databases and logbooks.

Predicted global distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei and burden of melioidosis.

Burkholderia pseudomallei, a highly pathogenic bacterium that causes melioidosis, is commonly found in soil in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia(1,2). Melioidosis can be difficult to diagnose due to its diverse clinical manifestations and the inadequacy of conventional bacterial identification methods(3). The bacterium is intrinsically resistant to a wide range of antimicrobials, and treatment with ineffective antimicrobials may result in case fatality rates (CFRs) exceeding 70%(4,5).

Survival and Growth of Orientia tsutsugamushi in Conventional Hemocultures.

Orientia tsutsugamushi, which requires specialized facilities for culture, is a substantial cause of disease in Asia. We demonstrate that O. tsutsugamushi numbers increased for up to 5 days in conventional hemocultures.

Predicted global distribution of and burden of melioidosis.

a highly pathogenic bacterium that causes melioidosis, is commonly found in soil in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Melioidosis can be difficult to diagnose due to its diverse clinical manifestations and the inadequacy of conventional bacterial identification methods. The bacterium is intrinsically resistant to a wide range of antimicrobials, and treatment with ineffective antimicrobials may result in case fatality rates (CFRs) exceeding 70%.

Land use and soil type determine the presence of the pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei in tropical rivers.

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the bacterium that causes melioidosis in humans. While B. pseudomallei is known to be endemic in South East Asia (SEA), the occurrence of the disease in other parts of the tropics points towards a potentially large global distribution.

Human melioidosis reported by ProMED.

Objective: There are limited sources describing the global burden of emerging diseases. A review of human melioidosis reported by ProMED was performed and the reliability of the data retrieved assessed in comparison to published reports. The effectiveness of ProMED was evaluated as a source of epidemiological data by focusing on melioidosis.

Case report: Actinomycetoma caused by Nocardia aobensis from Lao PDR with favourable outcome after short-term antibiotic treatment.

Background: Mycetoma is a neglected, chronic, localized, progressively destructive, granulomatous infection caused either by fungi (eumycetoma) or by aerobic actinomycetes (actinomycetoma). It is characterized by a triad of painless subcutaneous mass, multiple sinuses and discharge containing grains. Mycetoma commonly affects young men aged between 20 and 40 years with low socioeconomic status, particularly farmers and herdsmen.

Evaluation of Molecular Methods To Improve the Detection of Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil and Water Samples from Laos.

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the cause of melioidosis, a severe and potentially fatal disease of humans and animals. It is endemic in northern Australia and Southeast Asia and is found in soil and surface water. The environmental distribution of B.

A novel technique for detecting antibiotic-resistant typhoid from rapid diagnostic tests.

Fluoroquinolone-resistant typhoid is increasing. An antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic test (RDT) can rapidly diagnose typhoid from blood cultures. A simple, inexpensive molecular technique performed with DNA from positive RDTs accurately identified gyrA mutations consistent with phenotypic susceptibility testing results.

Colonization with Enterobacteriaceae producing ESBLs in children attending pre-school childcare facilities in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Objectives: Intestinal carriage constitutes an important reservoir of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, with some of the highest rates reported from Asia. Antibiotic resistance has been little studied in Laos, where some antibiotics are available without restriction, but others such as carbapenems are not available.

Patients And Methods: We collected stools from 397 healthy children in 12 randomly selected pre-school childcare facilities in and around Vientiane.

Melioidosis diagnostic workshop, 2013.

Melioidosis is a severe disease that can be difficult to diagnose because of its diverse clinical manifestations and a lack of adequate diagnostic capabilities for suspected cases. There is broad interest in improving detection and diagnosis of this disease not only in melioidosis-endemic regions but also outside these regions because melioidosis may be underreported and poses a potential bioterrorism challenge for public health authorities. Therefore, a workshop of academic, government, and private sector personnel from around the world was convened to discuss the current state of melioidosis diagnostics, diagnostic needs, and future directions.

Orientia, rickettsia, and leptospira pathogens as causes of CNS infections in Laos: a prospective study.

Background: Scrub typhus (caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi), murine typhus (caused by Rickettsia typhi), and leptospirosis are common causes of febrile illness in Asia; meningitis and meningoencephalitis are severe complications. However, scarce data exist for the burden of these pathogens in patients with CNS disease in endemic countries. Laos is representative of vast economically poor rural areas in Asia with little medical information to guide public health policy.

Infective endocarditis in the Lao PDR: clinical characteristics and outcomes in a developing country.

Introduction: Data on infective endocarditis (IE) in Southeast Asia are scarce.

Objectives: To describe the clinical epidemiology of IE in Lao PDR, a lower middle-income country.

Methods: A single centre retrospective study at Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane.

Epidemiology of bacteremia in young hospitalized infants in Vientiane, Laos, 2000-2011.

As data about the causes of neonatal sepsis in low-income countries are inadequate, we reviewed the etiology and antibiotic susceptibilities of bacteremia in young infants in Laos. As Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of bacteremia in Lao infants, we also examined risk factors for this infection, in particular the local practice of warming mothers during the first weeks postpartum with hot coals under their beds (hot beds). Clinical and laboratory data regarding infants aged 0-60 days evaluated for sepsis within 72 h of admission to Mahosot Hospital in Vientiane, Laos, were reviewed, and 85 of 1438 (5.

Human melioidosis, Malawi, 2011.

A case of human melioidosis caused by a novel sequence type of Burkholderia pseudomallei occurred in a child in Malawi, southern Africa. A literature review showed that human cases reported from the continent have been increasing.

Systematic review and consensus guidelines for environmental sampling of Burkholderia pseudomallei.

Background: Burkholderia pseudomallei, a Tier 1 Select Agent and the cause of melioidosis, is a Gram-negative bacillus present in the environment in many tropical countries. Defining the global pattern of B. pseudomallei distribution underpins efforts to prevent infection, and is dependent upon robust environmental sampling methodology.

Evaluation of a simple blood culture amplification and antigen detection method for diagnosis of Salmonella enterica serovar typhi bacteremia.

In most areas where typhoid is endemic, laboratory diagnosis is not possible due to the lack of appropriate facilities. We investigated whether the combination of blood culture amplification of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi with an S. Typhi antigen rapid diagnostic test (RDT) could be an accurate and inexpensive tool for the accelerated diagnosis of patients with acute typhoid in Laos.