Deficiency of mannose-binding lectin is a risk of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in a natural history cohort of people living with HIV/AIDS in Northern Thailand.

Background: Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) plays a pivotal role in innate immunity; however, its impact on susceptibility to opportunistic infections (OIs) has not yet been examined in a natural history cohort of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Methods: We used archived samples to analyze the association between MBL expression types and risk of major OIs including Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP), cryptococcosis, talaromycosis, toxoplasmosis, and tuberculosis in a prospective cohort in Northern Thailand conducted from 1 July 2000 to 15 October 2002 before the national antiretroviral treatment programme was launched.

Results: Of 632 patients, PCP was diagnosed in 96 (15.

Impact of HLA Allele-KIR Pairs on Disease Outcome in HIV-Infected Thai Population.

Background: Class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules contribute to HIV control through antigen presentation to both cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Contribution of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to HIV clinical outcome by HLA alleles has been well studied. However, reports about the role of natural killer cells in HIV clinical outcome, particularly, about the effect of HLA-killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) pairs, remain incomplete.

Isolation and phylogenetic analysis of Bartonella species from Rusa deer (Rusa timorensis) in Thailand.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the prevalence of Bartonella infection in deer in Thailand and to characterize the isolates by biochemical, morphological and genetic analysis. A total of 247 blood samples were collected from Rusa deer (Rusa timorensis) in a livestock breeding facility in Thailand. Bartonella bacteria were isolated in 3.

Pathogen lineage-based genome-wide association study identified CD53 as susceptible locus in tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is known to be affected by host genetic factors. We reported a specific genetic risk factor through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) that focused on young age onset TB. In this study, we further focused on the heterogeneity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.

Association of BAK1 single nucleotide polymorphism with a risk for dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Background: Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a severe life-threatening form of dengue infection. Low platelet count is one of the characteristic clinical manifestations in patients with severe dengue. However, little is known about genetic factors in the host that cause low platelet count in patients with dengue.

Comparison of genetic variation in drug ADME-related genes in Thais with Caucasian, African and Asian HapMap populations.

The objectives of this study are to investigate allele frequencies of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME)-related genes in the Thai population and to compare these genes to HapMap populations including Caucasians (CEU), Africans (YRI) and Asians (CHB/JPT). Genetic variations of drug ADME-related genes in 190 Thais were investigated using drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters (DMET) plus genotyping system. We examined 1936 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of 225 genes that have documented functional and clinical significances in phase I and phase II drug metabolism enzymes, drug transporters and other genes involved in ADME processes.

The effect of KIR2D-HLA-C receptor-ligand interactions on clinical outcome in a HIV-1 CRF01_AE-infected Thai population.

Objective: Class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles interact with both cytotoxic T lymphocytes through their T-cell receptors, and natural killer cells through their killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). Compared with the reported protective effect of KIR3DL1/S1-HLA-Bw4 interactions in HIV-infected patients, the effect of KIR2D-HLA-C combinations on HIV control remains unclear. Here, we investigate the effect of KIR2D-HLA-C combinations on HIV disease progression.

Strengthening the influenza vaccine virus selection and development process: Report of the 3rd WHO Informal Consultation for Improving Influenza Vaccine Virus Selection held at WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, 1-3 April 2014.

Despite long-recognized challenges and constraints associated with their updating and manufacture, influenza vaccines remain at the heart of public health preparedness and response efforts against both seasonal and potentially pandemic influenza viruses. Globally coordinated virological and epidemiological surveillance is the foundation of the influenza vaccine virus selection and development process. Although national influenza surveillance and reporting capabilities are being strengthened and expanded, sustaining and building upon recent gains has become a major challenge.

Incidence and predictors of regimen-modification from first-line antiretroviral therapy in Thailand: a cohort study.

Background: Antiretroviral therapy markedly reduced mortality in HIV-infected individuals. However, in the previous studies, up to 50% of patients are compelled to modify their regimen in middle and low-income countries where salvage drug is still limited. This cohort study aimed to investigate the incidence and predictors of regimen modification from the first-line antiretroviral regimen in northern Thailand.

A human monoclonal antibody derived from a vaccinated volunteer recognizes heterosubtypically a novel epitope on the hemagglutinin globular head of H1 and H9 influenza A viruses.

Most neutralizing antibodies elicited during influenza virus infection or by vaccination have a narrow spectrum because they usually target variable epitopes in the globular head region of hemagglutinin (HA). In this study, we describe a human monoclonal antibody (HuMAb), 5D7, that was prepared from the peripheral blood lymphocytes of a vaccinated volunteer using the fusion method. The HuMAb heterosubtypically neutralizes group 1 influenza A viruses, including seasonal H1N1, 2009 pandemic H1N1 (H1N1pdm) and avian H9N2, with a strong hemagglutinin inhibition activity.

High rate of A(H1N1)pdm09 infections among rural Thai villagers, 2009-2010.

Background: Pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 emerged in Thailand in 2009. A prospective longitudinal adult cohort and household transmission study of influenza-like illness (ILI) was ongoing in rural Thailand at the time of emergence. Symptomatic and subclinical A(H1N1)pdm09 infection rates in the cohort and among household members were evaluated.

A replication study confirms the association of GWAS-identified SNPs at MICB and PLCE1 in Thai patients with dengue shock syndrome.

Background: Dengue shock syndrome (DSS), a severe life-threatening form of dengue infection, mostly occurs in children. A recent genome wide association study (GWAS) identified two SNPs, rs3132468 of major histocompatibility complex class I polypeptide-related sequence B (MICB) and rs3765524 of phospholipase C, epsilon 1 (PLCE1), associated with DSS in Vietnamese children. In this study, to examine whether an identical association is found in a different population, the association of these two SNPs with DSS was assessed in Thai children with dengue.

HLA-B*35: 05 is a protective allele with a unique structure among HIV-1 CRF01_AE-infected Thais, in whom the B*57 frequency is low.

Objective: To identify protective human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles in an HIV-infected south-east Asian population, in whom HLA-B*57 prevalence is lower than other ethnic groups, and HIV-1 CRF01_AE is the dominant circulating subtype.

Design: Cross-sectional study of Thai patients with chronic HIV infection.

Methods: Five hundred and fifty-seven HIV-1 CRF01_AE-infected Thais were recruited.

Molecular characterization of Clostridium botulinum isolates from foodborne outbreaks in Thailand, 2010.

Background: Thailand has had several foodborne outbreaks of botulism, one of the biggest being in 2006 when laboratory investigations identified the etiologic agent as Clostridium botulinum type A. Identification of the etiologic agent from outbreak samples is laborious using conventional microbiological methods and the neurotoxin mouse bioassay. Advances in molecular techniques have added enormous information regarding the etiology of outbreaks and characterization of isolates.

Association of IL1B -31C/T and IL1RA variable number of an 86-bp tandem repeat with dengue shock syndrome in Thailand.

Background: Dengue patients present a range of symptoms: dengue fever (DF), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). It is not clear whether this variability is due to their genetic background. Here we tested polymorphisms of interleukin 1 beta (IL1B) and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL1RA) genes for association with DSS in the Thai population.

Prevalence of zoonotic Bartonella species among rodents and shrews in Thailand.

We investigated the prevalence of Bartonella species in 10 rodent and one shrew species in Thailand. From February 2008 to May 2010, a total of 375 small animals were captured in 9 provinces in Thailand. Bartonella strains were isolated from 57 rodents (54 from Rattus species and 3 from Bandicota indica) and one shrew (Suncus murinus) in 7 of the 9 provinces, and identified to the species level.

Changing burden of HIV/AIDS to clinical settings in Northern Thailand over 15 years.

We conducted a hospital-based descriptive study to describe the changing pattern of patient numbers, characteristics, and mortality rates among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in northern Thailand over 15 years. The survival status on October 31, 2010 of all HIV-infected adults who attended an HIV center in a government hospital between 1995 and 2010 was ascertained. In total, 3,706 patients were registered, 2,118 (57.

Prospective study of avian influenza virus infections among rural Thai villagers.

Background: In 2008, 800 rural Thai adults living within Kamphaeng Phet Province were enrolled in a prospective cohort study of zoonotic influenza transmission. Serological analyses of enrollment sera suggested this cohort had experienced subclinical avian influenza virus (AIV) infections with H9N2 and H5N1 viruses.

Methods: After enrollment, participants were contacted weekly for 24 mos for acute influenza-like illnesses (ILI).

Pneumococcal Bacteremia Requiring Hospitalization in Rural Thailand: An Update on Incidence, Clinical Characteristics, Serotype Distribution, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility, 2005-2010.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Southeast Asia, but regional data is limited. Updated burden estimates are critical as pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) is highly effective, but not yet included in the Expanded Program on Immunization of Thailand or neighboring countries.

Methods: We implemented automated blood culture systems in two rural Thailand provinces as part of population-based surveillance for bacteremia.

Immune response in diarrheal patients and asymptomatic carrier with CS6-producing enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is one of the major causes of diarrhea in children and travelers in developing countries. ETEC colonization factors (CFs) are virulence determinants considered as protective antigens and major targets for vaccine development against ETEC infections. One of the most prevalent CFs, coli surface antigen 6 (CS6), a non-fimbrial polymeric protein consisting of two major subunits, CssA and CssB, is produced by approximately 25-35% of ETEC worldwide.

CRF01_AE-specific neutralizing activity observed in plasma derived from HIV-1-infected Thai patients residing in northern Thailand: comparison of neutralizing breadth and potency between plasma derived from rapid and slow progressors.

Background: Development of a protective vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is an important subject in the field of medical sciences; however, it has not yet been achieved. Potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies are found in the plasma of some HIV-1-infected patients, whereas such antibody responses have failed to be induced by currently used vaccine antigens. In order to develop effective vaccine antigens, it is important to reveal the molecular mechanism of how strong humoral immune responses are induced in infected patients.

Incidence and epidemiology of hospitalized influenza cases in rural Thailand during the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 pandemic, 2009-2010.

Background: Data on the burden of the 2009 influenza pandemic in Asia are limited. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was first reported in Thailand in May 2009. We assessed incidence and epidemiology of influenza-associated hospitalizations during 2009-2010.

Integrating genome-based informatics to modernize global disease monitoring, information sharing, and response.

The rapid advancement of genome technologies holds great promise for improving the quality and speed of clinical and public health laboratory investigations and for decreasing their cost. The latest generation of genome DNA sequencers can provide highly detailed and robust information on disease-causing microbes, and in the near future these technologies will be suitable for routine use in national, regional, and global public health laboratories. With additional improvements in instrumentation, these next- or third-generation sequencers are likely to replace conventional culture-based and molecular typing methods to provide point-of-care clinical diagnosis and other essential information for quicker and better treatment of patients.

Neutralization titers against influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B viruses among a non-vaccinated population from Thailand.

Influenza A and B viruses are viral respiratory pathogens that can cause severe infections among birds and mammals. Neutralization assays using human sera are useful to evaluate the risk of circulating viruses to humans. In this study, 359 serum samples from healthy Thai volunteers, who had not been vaccinated against influenza for at least five years, were investigated by microneutralization (MN) assays against influenza A H3N2 and influenza B viruses in 2009.