Severe local and systemic haematotoxic envenoming caused by a Malayan pit viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma) in a pregnant woman in Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Snakebite envenoming in pregnant women is rare, accounting for approximately 0.5-1.8% of all snakebite cases.

Health care workers' knowledge on identification, management and treatment of snakebite cases in rural Malawi: A descriptive study.

Snakebite envenoming remains a public health threat in many African countries, including Malawi. However, there is a shortage of literature on the knowledge of Health Care Workers (HCWs) and the prevalence of snakebite cases in Malawi. We interviewed HCWs in Neno District to assess their knowledge of snake identification and management of snakebites.

Dengue virus detection in Lao PDR and Colombia: Comparative evaluation of PCR tests.

Objectives: Dengue virus (DENV) detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) facilitates diagnosis of dengue fever, which is the most frequent arboviral disease globally. Two studies were performed in countries with high dengue incidence, to assess the diagnostic performance of different PCR techniques.

Methods/results: Two hundred and seventy-nine acute phase blood samples from febrile patients were analyzed for DENV by the RealStar Dengue RT-PCR kit (Altona Diagnostics) as gold standard in comparison with the Tropical Fever Core multiplex PCR (Fast Track Diagnostics).

Serum IgE against galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose is common in Laotian patients with snakebite envenoming but not the major trigger for early anaphylactic reactions to antivenom.

Snake antivenom is the only specific treatment for snakebite envenoming, but life-threatening anaphylaxis is a severe side effect and drawback for the use of these typically mammalian serum products. The present study investigates the hypotheses whether serum IgE antibodies against the epitope galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (α-gal) located on the heavy chain of non-primate mammalian antibodies are a possible cause for hypersensitivity reactions to snake antivenom. Serum samples from 55 patients with snakebite envenoming were obtained before administration of snake antivenom and tested for serum IgE (sIgE) against α-gal and total IgE.

Incidence of snakebites in Can Tho Municipality, Mekong Delta, South Vietnam-Evaluation of the responsible snake species and treatment of snakebite envenoming.

Background: Data on incidence of snakebites and the responsible snake species are largely missing in Vietnam and comprehensive national guidelines for management of snakebite envenoming are not yet available. They are needed to estimate the scope of this health problem, to assess the demand for snake antivenom and to ensure the best possible treatment for snakebite victims.

Methodology/principle Findings: A cross-sectional community-based survey was conducted from January to April 2018.

Incidence of snakebites in 3 different geographic regions in Thua Thien Hue province, central Vietnam: Green pit vipers and cobras cause the majority of bites.

Background: The annual incidence of snakebites in Vietnam is not known and only few publications about snakebite envenoming and medically relevant snakes can be found in English language literature. The present community-based surveys provide data on incidence of snakebites in three different geographic regions of Thua Thien Hue (TT Hue) province, central Vietnam and snake species responsible for bites in this region.

Methodology/results: The cross-sectional community based surveys were conducted from March to July 2017.

Prospective, consecutive case series of 158 snakebite patients treated at Savannakhet provincial hospital, Lao People's Democratic Republic with high incidence of anaphylactic shock to horse derived F(ab')2 antivenom.

Snakebites are a seriously neglected public health problem in Lao PDR. Community-based cross-sectional surveys in two districts of Savannakhet province in Southern Laos revealed an incidence of up to 1105 snakebites per 100,000 persons per year. In contrast the number of snakebite patients treated in district and provincial hospitals are low.

Snakebites in Two Rural Districts in Lao PDR: Community-Based Surveys Disclose High Incidence of an Invisible Public Health Problem.

Background: The Lao PDR (Laos) is one of the least developed countries in Asia with an estimated 25% of the population living in poverty. It is the habitat of some highly venomous snakes and the majority of the population earns their living from agricultural activities. Under these circumstances the incidence of snakebites is expected to be high.

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.

Venomous snake bites in Lao PDR: a retrospective study of 21 snakebite victims in a provincial hospital.

This is a retrospective case series report of 21 snakebite victims admitted to a provincial hospital 80 km north of the capital city Vientiane between January 2007 and June 2008. There were 13 Malayan Pit Viper (MPV) and 6 Green Pit Viper (GPV) bites. Two patients could not identify the snake, but developed severe coagulopathy and were therefore most likely bitten by a MPV or GPV.

New insights into the phylogeny of Entamoeba species provided by analysis of four new small-subunit rRNA genes.

Sequences of small-subunit rRNA genes have been obtained for four new isolates of Entamoeba. Phylogenetic analyses give new insights into the evolution of these organisms. A novel Entamoeba from pigs in Vietnam that produces uninucleate cysts proved to be unrelated to other uninucleated cyst-producing species.

Ultrasound patterns and frequency of focal liver lesions after successful treatment of amoebic liver abscess.

Objective: To evaluate the frequency and morphology of residual liver lesions in patients successfully treated for amoebic liver abscess.

Methods: Retrospective ultrasound-based study of 240 adult males from an amoebiasis-endemic area in Vietnam with a documented clinical history of amoebic liver abscess. Subjects were re-examined by hepatic ultrasound 1-13 years after abscess treatment.

Epidemiology and treatment of amebiasis in Hué, Vietnam.

Hué, a city of about 300,000 inhabitants in Central Vietnam, is known as a "hot spot" for diseases caused by Entamoeba histolytica and in particular for amebic liver abscess (ALA), thus representing an excellent site for studies on the epidemiology and treatment of E. histolytica infections. Accordingly, during the last few years, various studies on this topic have been performed in Hué in close collaboration among the Hué Medical College, the Hué Central Hospital and the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.

Treatment of amoebic liver abscess with metronidazole alone or in combination with ultrasound-guided needle aspiration: a comparative, prospective and randomized study.

Thirty-nine patients with amoebic liver abscess (ALA), admitted to the Central Hospital of Hué (Vietnam), were evaluated in a comparative, prospective and randomized study for the treatment of ALA. Adult patients with an abscess located in the right liver lobe and an abscess diameter of 6 to 10 cm were included. Bacterial abscesses were excluded by microbiological examination of abscess fluid in all patients.

Longitudinal study of intestinal Entamoeba histolytica infections in asymptomatic adult carriers.

To gain insight into the dynamics of intestinal Entamoeba histolytica infection, a longitudinal study was performed over an observation period of 15 months with a group of 383 randomly selected adult individuals (mean age, 38.5 years) living in an area of amebiasis endemicity in central Vietnam. Ameba infection was diagnosed by using species-specific PCR and DNA extracted directly from fecal samples.

Hepatic ultrasound in a population with high incidence of invasive amoebiasis: evidence for subclinical, self-limited amoebic liver abscesses.

About 10% of successfully treated amoebic liver abscesses (ALA) do not completely resolve and can be detected by ultrasound as typical residual liver lesions. The frequency of these residues should be an indicator for the prevalence of ALA in a given population, and may help to solve the question whether non-clinical, self-healing ALAs occur. We have performed hepatic ultrasound in 1036 adult individuals living in a high-risk area for ALA in Central Vietnam and identified typical ALA residual lesions in about 1.

Real-time PCR for detection and differentiation of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar in fecal samples.

A closed-tube, real-time PCR assay was developed for sensitive and specific detection and differentiation of the two closely related intestinal protozoan parasites Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar directly from human feces. The assay is performed with the LightCycler system using fluorescence-labeled detection probes and primers amplifying a 310-bp fragment from the high-copy-number, ribosomal DNA-containing ameba episome. The assay was able to detect as little as 0.

Epidemiology of amebiasis in a region of high incidence of amebic liver abscess in central Vietnam.

The recent identification of Entamoeba dispar as a separate species, which is nonpathogenic for humans but morphologically indistinguishable from Entamoeba histolytica, has prompted the World Health Organization to recommend reinforced efforts for reassessment of the epidemiology of amebiasis and, in particular, of E. histolytica. In this regard, the distribution of amebic liver abscess (ALA) cases were analyzed in the province of Thua Thien Hué (TT Hué) in central Vietnam, a region known for its high incidence of invasive amebiasis.