Mass psychogenic illness following oral cholera immunization in Ca Mau City, Vietnam.

Introduction: Targeted cholera immunization of high-risk populations in Vietnam is conducted based on routine surveillance data. Following mass immunization of schoolchildren in Ca Mau City using an oral bivalent killed cholera vaccine, adverse reactions were noted.

Methods: Salient data were collected in a systematic fashion including the review of medical records; interview of the school principal, teachers, students, parents and doctors; and review of the storage and handling of the vaccine.

A review of Hib epidemiology in Asia.

Meningitis due to an invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infection, has been previously perceived to be relatively uncommon in Asia. However, the incidence of disease and its impact may have been underestimated. In addition to a lack of microbiological facilities in some hospitals, difficulties in culturing the organism and the widespread use of antibiotics may have hidden the true incidence of the disease in some countries.

The efficacy of a Salmonella typhi Vi conjugate vaccine in two-to-five-year-old children.

Background: Typhoid fever is common in developing countries. The licensed typhoid vaccines confer only about 70 percent immunity, do not protect young children, and are not used for routine vaccination. A newly devised conjugate of the capsular polysaccharide of Salmonella typhi, Vi, bound to nontoxic recombinant Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (rEPA), has enhanced immunogenicity in adults and in children 5 to 14 years old and has elicited a booster response in children 2 to 4 years old.

Control of dengue fever with active surveillance and the use of insecticidal aerosol cans.

An interventional study was conducted in southern Vietnam to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a new approach to control dengue fever. The approach consisted of active surveillance of dengue patients and the use of insecticidal aerosol cans. Febrile patients were tested serologically at local health centers and insecticidal aerosol cans were given to the family and employed in the neighborhood of dengue patients instead of ultra low volume (ULV) fogging with insecticide.