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[...

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%.