Willingness to use and pay for options of care for community-dwelling older people in rural Vietnam.

Background: The proportion of people in Vietnam who are 60 years and over has increased rapidly. The emigration of young people and impact of other socioeconomic changes leave more elderly on their own and with less family support. This study assesses the willingness to use and pay for different models of care for community-dwelling elderly in rural Vietnam.

A prospective cohort study of dengue infection in schoolchildren in Long Xuyen, Viet Nam.

A dynamic school-based cohort of 2-15 year-olds was established in Long Xuyen, Viet Nam to provide epidemiological data for a dengue vaccine efficacy trial. Active surveillance of febrile episodes identified clinically-suspected dengue and acute and convalescent sera were collected. IgG seroconversion between annual seroprevalence surveys identified sub-clinical infections.

Epidemiologic and virologic investigation of hand, foot, and mouth disease, southern Vietnam, 2005.

During 2005, 764 children were brought to a large children's hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with a diagnosis of hand, foot, and mouth disease. All enrolled children had specimens (vesicle fluid, stool, throat swab) collected for enterovirus isolation by cell culture. An enterovirus was isolated from 411 (53.

An outbreak of severe infections with community-acquired MRSA carrying the Panton-Valentine leukocidin following vaccination.

Background: Infections with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are emerging worldwide. We investigated an outbreak of severe CA-MRSA infections in children following out-patient vaccination.

Methods And Findings: We carried out a field investigation after adverse events following immunization (AEFI) were reported.

Influenza A/H5N1 virus infection in humans in Cambodia.

Background: Between January 2005 and April 2006, six patients of influenza A/H5N1 virus infection were reported in Cambodia, all with fatal outcome.

Objectives: We describe the virological findings of these six H5N1 patients in association with clinical and epidemiologic findings.

Study Design: Broncho-alveolar lavage, nasopharyngeal, throat and rectal swabs and sera were cultured for virus isolation and viral load quantified in clinical specimens by real-time RT-PCR.

Impact of a community sexually transmitted infection/HIV intervention project on female sex workers in five border provinces of Vietnam.

Objectives: To determine changes in the prevalence of sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV in female sex workers (FSWs) after a community HIV prevention intervention project in five border provinces of Vietnam.

Methods: The project focused on providing user-friendly STI services for FSWs using mobile teams operating at multiple sites depending on local client preferences. 911 FSWs were enrolled at baseline and 982 in the exit survey.

Risk factors for human infection with avian influenza A H5N1, Vietnam, 2004.

To evaluate risk factors for human infection with influenza A subtype H5N1, we performed a matched case-control study in Vietnam. We enrolled 28 case-patients who had laboratory-confirmed H5N1 infection during 2004 and 106 age-, sex-, and location-matched control-respondents. Data were analyzed by matched-pair analysis and multivariate conditional logistic regression.

Rapid diagnosis of H5N1 avian influenza virus infection by newly developed influenza H5 hemagglutinin gene-specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification method.

Reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) is a unique gene amplification method that can be completed within 35 min at 62.5 degrees C. In the present study, RT-LAMP was used to develop a rapid and sensitive laboratory diagnostic system for the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The importance of leptospirosis in Southeast Asia.

The importance of leptospirosis in Southeast Asia was assessed in conjunction with other studies supported by the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No.