Autonomous Continuation of Community Health Workers' Activities in Thegon Township, Bago Region, Myanmar.

Few studies have reported on the autonomous continuation of Community Health Worker (CHW) activities after external supervision and support have ended. The study reports CHW activity continuation in Thegon Township, Bago Region, Myanmar, observed after the supervision by the external organization is completed. Following the completion of a child nutrition program in Thegon Township, CHWs were left unsupervised and uninformed of a follow-up at 10, 23, and 40 months from the end of the program survey due to unforeseen circumstances.

[Satisfaction with hospital care among diabetic outpatients and its associated factors. Secondary use of official statistics].

Objectives: Generalizable data on current satisfaction levels are required to establish a scientific basis for the political advancement of measures to improve satisfaction with hospital care among patients with diabetes. The present study made secondary use of existing official statistics in order to demonstrate the range of satisfaction levels with hospital care among diabetic outpatients and to closely examine related factors.

Methods: Data sets that consolidated the Patient Survey, the Survey of Medical Care Institutions, and the Patient Behavior Survey (all from 2008) were created.

Ischemic heart disease and its related factors in Mongolia: a nationwide survey.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) remains one of the most important disorders associated with disability and mortality worldwide, and is one of the major causes of cardiovascular diseases in Mongolia. The objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of IHD and its related factors in a general population in Mongolia. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey between March and September, 2009.

Molecular characteristics of outbreaks of nosocomial infection with influenza A/H3N2 virus variants.

Objective: To describe outbreaks of nosocomial influenza infection with molecular methods and to elucidate the viral linkages among outbreak case patients including both inpatients and healthcare workers (HCWs).

Setting: A 180-bed acute and long-term care hospital in Japan.

Methods: Retrospective observational study of nosocomial outbreaks of infection with influenza A/H3N2.

Geodemographics profiling of influenza A and B virus infections in community neighborhoods in Japan.

Background: The spread of influenza viruses in a community are influenced by several factors, but no reports have focused on the relationship between the incidence of influenza and characteristics of small neighborhoods in a community. We aimed to clarify the relationship between the incidence of influenza and neighborhood characteristics using GIS and identified the type of small areas where influenza occurs frequently or infrequently.

Methods: Of the 19,077 registered influenza cases, we analyzed 11,437 influenza A and 5,193 influenza B cases that were diagnosed by the rapid antigen test in 66-86 medical facilities in Isahaya City, Japan, from 2004 to 2008.

New genotypes within respiratory syncytial virus group B genotype BA in Niigata, Japan.

Phylogenetic analysis of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) group B genotype BA strains from the 2002-2003 to 2009-2010 seasons collected in Niigata, Japan, revealed four distinct clusters, designated new BA genotypes BA7, BA8, BA9, and BA10. These new genotypes were not associated with large outbreaks in the community.

Reduced effectiveness of oseltamivir in children infected with oseltamivir-resistant influenza A (H1N1) viruses with His275Tyr mutation.

Background: Little is known about whether neuraminidase inhibitors are effective for children infected with oseltamivir-resistant influenza A(H1N1) viruses.

Methods: Children aged 15 years and younger having influenza-like illness and who visited outpatient clinics within 48 hours of fever onset were enrolled from 2006-2007 to 2008-2009 influenza seasons in Japan. Patients received oseltamivir, zanamivir, or no treatment after screening by a rapid antigen test.

Emergence of H274Y oseltamivir-resistant A(H1N1) influenza viruses in Japan during the 2008-2009 season.

Background: A substantial increase in oseltamivir-resistant A(H1N1) influenza viruses was reported in Europe in late 2007.

Objectives: To monitor the antiviral susceptibility profile of human A(H1N1) influenza viruses in Japan during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons.

Study Design: Viruses were obtained from respiratory samples of patients with influenza collected in Japan between December 2007 and April 2008 (n=1046) and between December 2008 and April 2009 (n=1789).

Epidemiology of human influenza A and B viruses in Myanmar from 2005 to 2007.

Objectives: To perform genetic analysis of influenza A and B viruses in Myanmar from 2005 to 2007 and to determine the prevalence of amantadine-resistant influenza A viruses.

Methods: Phylogenies of the HA and NA genes were analyzed and mutations in M2 that confer resistance to amantadine were screened.

Results: Influenza in Myanmar exhibited seasonality, which coincided during the rainy season from June to August.

Emerging genotypes of human respiratory syncytial virus subgroup A among patients in Japan.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a common etiological agent of acute lower respiratory tract disease in infants. We report the molecular epidemiology of HRSV in Niigata, Japan, over six successive seasons (from 2001 to 2007) and the emerging genotypes of HRSV subgroup A (HRSV-A) strains. A total of 488 HRSV samples were obtained from 1,103 screened cases in a pediatric clinic in Niigata.

Molecular evolution of human influenza A viruses in a local area during eight influenza epidemics from 2000 to 2007.

A total of 1,041 human influenza A virus isolates were collected at a clinic in Niigata, Japan, during eight influenza seasons from 2000 to 2007. The H3N2 subtype accounted for 75.4% of the isolates, and the rest were H1N1.

Effectiveness of oseltamivir treatment among children with influenza A or B virus infections during four successive winters in Niigata City, Japan.

Oseltamivir has been used for treatment of influenza A and B infections, but recent reports documented that it was less active against the latter. We compared the effectiveness of oseltamivir in children between laboratory confirmed influenza A and B over 4 influenza seasons from 2001 to 2005 in a pediatric clinic in Japan. Among 1,848 patients screened, 299 influenza A and 209 influenza B patients were administered oseltamivir (treated groups), and 28 influenza A and 66 influenza B patients were assigned as non-treated groups.