Frequent transmission of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing lineage and positive selection for the EsxW Beijing variant in Vietnam.

To examine the transmission dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) isolated from tuberculosis patients in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, we sequenced the whole genomes of 1,635 isolates and compared these with 3,144 isolates from elsewhere. The data identify an underlying burden of disease caused by the endemic Mtb lineage 1 associated with the activation of long-term latent infection, and a threefold higher burden associated with the more recently introduced Beijing lineage and lineage 4 Mtb strains. We find that Beijing lineage Mtb is frequently transferred between Vietnam and other countries, and detect higher levels of transmission of Beijing lineage strains within this host population than the endemic lineage 1 Mtb.

Author Correction: Genome-wide analysis of multi- and extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In the version of this article initially published, the URL listed for TubercuList was incorrect. The correct URL is https://mycobrowser.epfl.

Sensitivity, completeness and agreement of the tuberculosis electronic system in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Since 2011, tuberculosis (TB) clinics in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Viet Nam, have been entering data from a paper-based TB treatment register into an electronic database known as VITIMES (Viet Nam TB Information Management Electronic System), which is currently used in parallel with the paper system. To evaluate the sensitivity, completeness and agreement of data in VITIMES with that of paper-based registers among TB patients co-infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) being treated for TB in HCMC. This was a retrospective data review of all TB-HIV patients receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment in each of the 24 district TB clinics in HCMC in 2013.

Bacterial risk factors for treatment failure and relapse among patients with isoniazid resistant tuberculosis.

Background: Drug resistant tuberculosis (TB) is increasing in prevalence worldwide. Treatment failure and relapse is known to be high for patients with isoniazid resistant TB treated with standard first line regimens. However, risk factors for unfavourable outcomes and the optimal treatment regimen for isoniazid resistant TB are unknown.

Allergen sensitisation among chronic respiratory diseases in urban and rural areas of the south of Viet Nam.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for allergen sensitisation among patients with chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in southern Viet Nam.

Design: An environmental questionnaire and skin prick tests for airborne and food allergens were administered to patients with CRD, defined as individuals with respiratory symptoms and lung function defects.

Results: Of 610 CRD patients, 56% had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 31% were asthma patients; 80% were males.

Genome-wide analysis of multi- and extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

To characterize the genetic determinants of resistance to antituberculosis drugs, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 6,465 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from more than 30 countries. A GWAS approach within a mixed-regression framework was followed by a phylogenetics-based test for independent mutations. In addition to mutations in established and recently described resistance-associated genes, novel mutations were discovered for resistance to cycloserine, ethionamide and para-aminosalicylic acid.

Household-Contact Investigation for Detection of Tuberculosis in Vietnam.

Background: Active case finding is a top priority for the global control of tuberculosis, but robust evidence for its effectiveness in high-prevalence settings is lacking. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of household-contact investigation, as compared with standard, passive measures alone, in Vietnam.

Methods: We performed a cluster-randomized, controlled trial at clinics in 70 districts (local government areas with an average population of approximately 500,000 in urban areas and 100,000 in rural areas) in eight provinces of Vietnam.

Mortality and its determinants in antiretroviral treatment-naive HIV-infected children with suspected tuberculosis: an observational cohort study.

Background: Tuberculosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children, but is difficult to diagnose. We studied mortality and its determinants in antiretroviral treatment (ART)-naive HIV-infected children presenting with suspected tuberculosis.

Methods: In this observational cohort study, HIV-infected children aged 13 years or younger with suspected tuberculosis were followed up for 6 months as part of the ANRS 12229 PAANTHER 01 cohort in eight hospitals in four countries (Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, and Vietnam).

Prognostic Models for 9-Month Mortality in Tuberculous Meningitis.

Background: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most severe form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. We developed and validated prognostic models for 9-month mortality in adults with TBM, with or without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Methods: We included 1699 subjects from 4 randomized clinical trials and 1 prospective observational study conducted at 2 major referral hospitals in Southern Vietnam from 2001-2015.

Programmatic Evaluation of an Algorithm for Intensified Tuberculosis Case Finding and Isoniazid Preventive Therapy for People Living With HIV in Thailand and Vietnam.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) screening affords clinicians the opportunity to diagnose or exclude TB disease and initiate isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) for people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Methods: We implemented an algorithm to diagnose or rule out TB among PLHIV in 11 HIV clinics in Thailand and Vietnam. We assessed algorithm yield and uptake of IPT and factors associated with TB disease among PLHIV.

Molecular analysis of pyrazinamide resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Vietnam highlights the high rate of pyrazinamide resistance-associated mutations in clinical isolates.

Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a key antibiotic in current anti-tuberculosis regimens. Although the WHO has stressed the urgent need to obtain data on PZA resistance, in high tuberculosis burden countries, little is known about the level of PZA resistance, the genetic basis of such resistance or its link with Mycobacterium tuberculosis families. In this context, this study assessed PZA resistance through the molecular analysis of 260 Vietnamese M.

Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Drug-Resistant Tuberculous Meningitis Treated With an Intensified Antituberculosis Regimen.

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is difficult to diagnose and treat. Mortality is high and optimal treatment is unknown. We compared clinical outcomes of drug-resistant and -susceptible TBM treated with either standard or intensified antituberculosis treatment.

Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase Genotype and HIV Infection Influence Intracerebral Inflammation and Survival From Tuberculous Meningitis.

Background: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most devastating form of tuberculosis, yet very little is known about the pathophysiology. We hypothesized that the genotype of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (encoded by LTA4H), which determines inflammatory eicosanoid expression, influences intracerebral inflammation, and predicts survival from TBM.

Methods: We characterized the pretreatment clinical and intracerebral inflammatory phenotype and 9-month survival of 764 adults with TBM.

Feasibility of the TBDx automated digital microscopy system for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Improved and affordable diagnostic or triage tests are urgently needed at the microscopy centre level. Automated digital microscopy has the potential to overcome issues related to conventional microscopy, including training time requirement and inconsistencies in results interpretation.

Methods: For this blinded prospective study, sputum samples were collected from adults with presumptive pulmonary tuberculosis in Lima, Peru and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Quadruple-first line drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Vietnam: What can we learn from genes?

In Vietnam, a country with high tuberculosis (137/100.000 population) and multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB burdens (7.8/100.

FIND Tuberculosis Strain Bank: a Resource for Researchers and Developers Working on Tests To Detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Related Drug Resistance.

The spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB hampers global efforts in the fight against tuberculosis. To enhance the development and evaluation of diagnostic tests quickly and efficiently, well-characterized strains and samples from drug-resistant tuberculosis patients are necessary. In this project, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) has focused on the collection, characterization, and storage of such well-characterized reference materials and making them available to researchers and developers.

A polymorphism in human MR1 is associated with mRNA expression and susceptibility to tuberculosis.

The MR1 antigen-presenting system is conserved among mammals and enables T cells to recognize small molecules produced by bacterial pathogens, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). However, it is not known whether MR1-mediated antigen presentation is important for protective immunity against mycobacterial disease.

MARCO variants are associated with phagocytosis, pulmonary tuberculosis susceptibility and Beijing lineage.

Macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) has an important role in the phagocytosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). We hypothesized that MARCO polymorphisms are associated with phagocytosis, tuberculosis (TB) disease susceptibility and presentation, and infecting lineage.

Infection control and tuberculosis among health care workers in Viet Nam, 2009-2013: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: Data on tuberculosis (TB) among health care workers (HCW) and TB infection control (TBIC) indicators are rarely available at national level. We assessed multi-year trends in notification data of TB among HCW and explored possible associations with TBIC indicators.

Methods: Notified TB incidence among HCW and 3 other TBIC indicators were collected annually from all 64 provincial and 3 national TB facilities in Vietnam.

Clinical presentations, diagnosis, mortality and prognostic markers of tuberculous meningitis in Vietnamese children: a prospective descriptive study.

Background: Tuberculous meningitis in adults is well characterized in Vietnam, but there are no data on the disease in children. We present a prospective descriptive study of Vietnamese children with TBM to define the presentation, course and characteristics associated with poor outcome.

Methods: A prospective descriptive study of 100 consecutively admitted children with TBM at Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages and anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in reference hospitals across Viet Nam.

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the tuberculosis (TB) pathogen, despite a low level of genetic diversity, has revealed a high variety of biological and epidemiological characteristics linked to their lineages, such as transmissibility, fitness and propensity to acquire drug resistance. This has important implications for the epidemiology of TB. We conducted this first countrywide cross-sectional study to identify the prevalent M.

Naïve-pooled pharmacokinetic analysis of pyrazinamide, isoniazid and rifampicin in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of Vietnamese children with tuberculous meningitis.

Background: Among the various forms of TB, tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most severe, with about 30% mortality and 50% of survivors left with neurological sequelae. Children suffer more frequently from TBM than adults and outcomes are often poor due to difficulties in making the diagnosis and uncertainty regarding the best anti-tuberculosis drug regimen. The aim of this prospective study was to describe the pharmacokinetics of pyrazinamide, isoniazid and rifampicin in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of children with tuberculous meningitis treated with the standard TBM regimen.

Simian virus 40 may be associated with developing malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is associated with a history of heavy, long-term exposure to asbestos. However, MPM may also be associated with simian virus 40 (SV40), a polyomavirus. The association between SV40 and MPM remains unclear.

Performance of Xpert MTB/RIF and Alternative Specimen Collection Methods for the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Children.

Background: The diagnosis of tuberculosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children is challenging. We assessed the performance of alternative specimen collection methods for tuberculosis diagnosis in HIV-infected children using Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert).

Methods: HIV-infected children aged ≤13 years with suspected intrathoracic tuberculosis were enrolled in 8 hospitals in Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, and Vietnam.

Yield of chest radiograph in tuberculosis screening for HIV-infected persons at a district-level HIV clinic.

Setting: An Hoa Clinic, a district-level human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Objective: To assess the performance of chest radiograph (CXR) in screening for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among HIV-infected individuals and identify misdiagnosed opportunities.

Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 397 HIV-infected patients consecutively enrolled at the An Hoa Clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, from August 2009 to June 2010.