In Children, -Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Antibody Encephalitis Incidence Exceeds That of Japanese Encephalitis in Vietnam.

Background: The recognition of autoimmune causes of encephalitis has led to epidemiological shifts in the worldwide characteristics of encephalitis. -methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibody encephalitis leads to well-established complex neuropsychiatric manifestations. In low- and middle-income countries, including Vietnam, its relative incidence, especially in children, is unknown and most neurologists currently consider infectious encephalitis prior to autoimmune etiologies.

A Cost of Illness Analysis of Children with Encephalitis Presenting to a Major Hospital in Vietnam.

Encephalitis is a significant global health problem, especially in children. Knowledge of its economic burden is essential for policymakers in prioritizing the development and implementation of interventions but remains limited. An observational study was prospectively conducted at a major children's hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 2020 to 2022.

Emerging Enterovirus A71 Subgenogroup B5 Causing Severe Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, Vietnam, 2023.

We report on a 2023 outbreak of severe hand, foot, and mouth disease in southern Vietnam caused by an emerging lineage of enterovirus A71 subgenogroup B5. Affected children were significantly older than those reported during previous outbreaks. The virus should be closely monitored to assess its potential for global dispersal.

Clinical and laboratory factors associated with neonatal sepsis mortality at a major Vietnamese children's hospital.

Sepsis is a major cause of neonatal mortality and children born in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at greater risk of severe neonatal infections than those in higher-income countries. Despite this disparity, there are limited contemporaneous data linking the clinical features of neonatal sepsis with outcome in LMICs. Here, we aimed to identify factors associated with mortality from neonatal sepsis in Vietnam.

Risk factors for disease severity and mortality of children with Covid-19: A study at a Vietnamese Children's hospital.

Introduction: To find out risk factors for disease severity and mortality of pediatric COVID-19 in the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Vietnam.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed at Children's Hospital 1 from July to December 2021. All children with COVID-19 confirmed by a positive Realtime RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 result and treated at COVID-19 department for at least 72 h were included.

Absence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in pre-pandemic plasma from children and adults in Vietnam.

We tested pre-pandemic (2015--2019) plasma samples from 148 Vietnamese children and 100 Vietnamese adults at high risk of zoonotic infections for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins. None was positive. The data thus demonstrated no evidence of prior serological cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV-2 that might explain the low numbers of COVID-19 in Vietnam.

Antibiotic use and prescription and its effects on Enterobacteriaceae in the gut in children with mild respiratory infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A prospective observational outpatient study.

Background And Objectives: Treatment guidelines do not recommend antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections (ARI), except for streptococcal pharyngitis/tonsillitis and pneumonia. However, antibiotics are prescribed frequently for children with ARI, often in absence of evidence for bacterial infection. The objectives of this study were 1) to assess the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions for mild ARI in paediatric outpatients in relation to available guidelines and detected pathogens, 2) to assess antibiotic use on presentation using questionnaires and detection in urine 3) to assess the carriage rates and proportions of resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae before, during and after consultation.

A multi centre randomized open label trial of chloroquine for the treatment of adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vietnam.

: COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and causes substantial morbidity and mortality. There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19 or therapeutic agent to treat COVID-19. This clinical trial is designed to evaluate chloroquine as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of hospitalised people with COVID-19.

Superspreading Event of SARS-CoV-2 Infection at a Bar, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

We report a superspreading event of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection initiated at a bar in Vietnam with evidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission, based on ministry of health reports, patient interviews, and whole-genome sequence analysis. Crowds in enclosed indoor settings with poor ventilation may be considered at high risk for transmission.

The Natural History and Transmission Potential of Asymptomatic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection.

Background: Little is known about the natural history of asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study at a quarantine center for coronavirus disease 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We enrolled quarantined people with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, collecting clinical data, travel and contact history, and saliva at enrollment and daily nasopharyngeal/throat swabs (NTSs) for RT-PCR testing.

Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Dengue Infection in Adults in the 2017 Outbreak in Vietnam.

Purpose: The clinical features and laboratory results of dengue-infected adult patients admitted to the hospital during the 2017 outbreak were analyzed in this study.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study. 2922 patients aged 18 years or more with dengue fever in National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (NHTD) in the North and Hospital for Tropical Disease (HTD) in the South of Vietnam were recruited in this study.

Investigation of early antibiotic use in pediatric patients with acute respiratory infections by high-performance liquid chromatography.

In this study, we developed and validated two reliable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for the qualitative detection of six oral β-lactams, which are commonly used in pediatric patients with acute respiratory infections (ARIs). Two distinct reverse-phase chromatographic separations of six β-lactams were obtained. Four β-lactams (cefadroxil, cephalexin, cefaclor and cefixime) in urine were separated using a gradient program with a mobile phase consisting of K HPO buffer (20 mm, pH 2.

Severe enterovirus A71 associated hand, foot and mouth disease, Vietnam, 2018: preliminary report of an impending outbreak.

Since January 2018, over 53,000 hospitalisations and six deaths due to hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have occurred across Vietnam with most cases from September onward. In a large tertiary referral hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, enterovirus A71 subgenogroup C4 was predominant, while B5 was only sporadically detected. The re-emergence of C4 after causing a severe HFMD outbreak with > 200 deaths in 2011-12 among susceptible young children raises concern of another impending severe outbreak.

Nonannual seasonality of influenza-like illness in a tropical urban setting.

Background: In temperate and subtropical climates, respiratory diseases exhibit seasonal peaks in winter. In the tropics, with no winter, peak timings are irregular.

Methods: To obtain a detailed picture of influenza-like illness (ILI) patterns in the tropics, we established an mHealth study in community clinics in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Human Parainfluenza Viruses 1-4 in Children from Viet Nam.

HPIVs are serologically and genetically grouped into four species that account for up to 10% of all hospitalizations due to acute respiratory infection in children under the age of five. Genetic and epidemiological data for the four HPIVs derived from two pediatric cohorts in Viet Nam are presented. Respiratory samples were screened for HPIV1-4 by real-time PCR.

Enterovirus serotypes in patients with central nervous system and respiratory infections in Viet Nam 1997-2010.

Background: Enteroviruses are the most common causative agents of human illness. Enteroviruses have been associated with regional and global epidemics, recently, including with severe disease (Enterovirus A71 and D68), and are of interest as emerging viruses. Here, we typed Enterovirus A-D (EV) from central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory infections in Viet Nam.

Clinical features, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and genomics of bacteria causing neonatal sepsis in a children's hospital in Vietnam: protocol for a prospective observational study.

Introduction: The clinical syndrome of neonatal sepsis, comprising signs of infection, septic shock and organ dysfunction in infants ≤4 weeks of age, is a frequent sequel to bloodstream infection and mandates urgent antimicrobial therapy. Bacterial characterisation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing is vital for ensuring appropriate therapy, as high rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), especially in low-income and middle-income countries, may adversely affect outcome. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam is a rapidly expanding city in Southeast Asia with a current population of almost 8 million.

Retrospective analysis assessing the spatial and temporal distribution of paediatric acute respiratory tract infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Background: Acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young children in low/middle-income countries. Using routine hospital data, we aimed to examine the spatial distribution, temporal trends and climatic risk factors of paediatric ARIs in Vietnam.

Methods: Data from hospitalised paediatric (<16 years) patients with ARIs residing in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) between 2005 and 2010 were retrieved from the two main Children's Hospitals and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in HCMC.

Host Transcription Profile in Nasal Epithelium and Whole Blood of Hospitalized Children Under 2 Years of Age With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

Background: Most insights into the cascade of immune events after acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection have been obtained from animal experiments or in vitro models.

Methods: In this study, we investigated host gene expression profiles in nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs and whole blood samples during natural RSV and rhinovirus (hRV) infection (acute versus early recovery phase) in 83 hospitalized patients <2 years old with lower respiratory tract infections.

Results: Respiratory syncytial virus infection induced strong and persistent innate immune responses including interferon signaling and pathways related to chemokine/cytokine signaling in both compartments.

Enterovirus D68 in Viet Nam (2009-2015).

Background: Since 1962, enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been implicated in multiple outbreaks and sporadic cases of respiratory infection worldwide, but especially in the USA and Europe with an increasing frequency between 2010 and 2014. We describe the detection, associated clinical features and molecular characterization of EV-D68 in central and southern Viet Nam between 2009 and 2015.

Methods: Enterovirus/rhinovirus PCR positive respiratory or CSF samples taken from children and adults with respiratory/central nervous system infections in Viet Nam were tested by an EV-D68 specific PCR.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Other Viral Infections among Children under Two Years Old in Southern Vietnam 2009-2010: Clinical Characteristics and Disease Severity.

Background: Despite a high burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections among children, data on demographic and clinical characteristics of RSV are scarce in low and middle income countries. This study aims to describe the viral etiologies, the demographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of children under two years of age who were hospitalized with a lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), focusing on RSV (prevalence, seasonality, subgroups, viral load) and its association with disease severity.

Methods: A prospective study among children under two years of age, hospitalized with LRTI was conducted in two referral pediatric hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from May 2009 to December 2010.

Direct whole-genome deep-sequencing of human respiratory syncytial virus A and B from Vietnamese children identifies distinct patterns of inter- and intra-host evolution.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children ,2 years of age. Little is known about RSV intra-host genetic diversity over the course of infection or about the immune pressures that drive RSV molecular evolution. We performed whole-genome deep-sequencing on 53 RSV-positive samples (37 RSV subgroup A and 16 RSV subgroup B) collected from the upper airways of hospitalized children in southern Vietnam over two consecutive seasons.