Background: Use rationally alcohol has many benefits for health. Whereas, the abuse of alcohol can cause danger for both users and the community.\r\n', u'Objectives: To describe alcohol use among young people and the related factors. \r\n', u'Subjects and methods: The study was conducted from March to September 2007 in 7 communes and towns under the demographic surveillance system at Chilinh district Haiduong province (CHILILAB). Quantitative survey data was collected in combination with qualitative data. \r\n', u'Results: The key findings showed that 43.8% of the young people age 10-24 have drunk alcohol (the rate for the specific age group 15-24 was 55.6%, of which 57.4% were male and 30.7% were female). Of this alcohol usage sample, 46.3% reported that they have been drunk. Also, 49.19 % of the respondents admitted have been drunk in the last 12 months. Respondents reported that 40.7% of them had family members who drank alcohol frequently. Older age group, higher educational level, better economic status was found to be associated with alcohol use. Also, those who had close friend who drink and those whose father drink frequently are statistically more likely to use alcohol. \r\n', u'Conclusions: Some preliminary recommendations were discussed, focusing on comprehensive intervention at family and community level, with strong focus on the role of the father and peers. \r\n', u'
Alcohol use ; related factors ; adolescent ; youth

Background: Surveys in disability are getting more and more attention from the Governments and contributes towards improve service provision for people with disabilities. Objective: To describe the prevalence of people with disabilities at The Chi Linh demographic and epidemiological surveillance system (CHILILAB), Hai Duong province in 2007. Subject and Method: The cross - cutting survey conducted in the CHILILAB which has a population of 65.438 people, the WHO questionnaire of disability screening was used. Result and conclusion: Disability prevalence in Chi Linh occurs in 28.2% of the population. It is noted that the disability prevalence increases significantly with age groups: 81.8% of those who are over 60, 58.2% those aged of 40 - 59 and only 8 - 9% of those aged under 40. In addition, the disability prevalence is higher in the rural areas, women, the poor and the illiterate. It is necessary to have more study on the prevalence of people with disabilities in wider ranges. \r\n', u'\r\n', u'\r\n', u'
Prevalence ; Disability prevalence ; Disability

Background: People with disabilities have been coping with barriers that make it difficult for them to access public services. Many of them are poor, illiterate and out of work. Objective: To describe some characteristics of disabled people living in the communities of Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province. Subject and methods: Interview all of the 18.473 disabled people living in the seven communities of Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province. The contents of the interviews includes: economic-social information (income, education, job and martial status) and disability status (disability form and cause). Results: Nearly three fourths of disabled people are at the age of 45 and over. There are more women than men, with the male/female ratio at 1:1.8. Almost all of the disabled people are the Kinh in Chi Linh and 10.8% of them belong to the poor households. One in ten disabled people are illiterate and two thirds of disabled adolescents are at lower secondary school or lower. Difficulty in seeing is the most common among the kinds of disabilities, accounting for 81.9% of disabled people and about three fourths with one disability. Among the causes of disability, aging accounts for 71.5%, this is followed by illness. Conclusion: There is the need to reduce the rate of disability at the age of 45 and over, reducing the rate of sight related difficulties and increasing the accessibility of disabled people to educational services.
disability persons ; characteristics

The aim of this study is to delineate ‘admixed hybrid’ and ‘introgressive’ Fasciola genotypes present in the Fasciola population in Vietnam. Adult liver flukes collected from ruminants in 18 Provinces were morphologically sorted out by naked eyes for small (S), medium (M) and large (L) body shapes; and human samples (n=14) from patients. Nuclear ribosomal (rDNA) ITS1 and ITS2, and mitochondrial (mtDNA) nad1 markers were used for determination of their genetic status. Total 4,725 worm samples of ruminants were tentatively classified by their size: 6% (n=284) small (S)-, 13% (n=614) medium (M)-, and 81% (n=3,827) large (L)-forms. All the representative (n=120, as 40 each group) and 14 human specimens, possessed maternal mtDNA of only F. gigantica and none of F. hepatica. Paternally, all (100%) of the L-(n=40) and 77.5% (n=31) of the M-flukes had single F. gigantica rDNA indicating ‘pure’ F. gigantica. A majority (90%, n=36) of the S- and 15% (n=6) of the M-worms had single F. hepatica rDNA, indicating their introgressive; the rest (10%, n=4) of the S- and 7.5% (n=3) of the M-flukes had mixture of both F. gigantica and F. hepatica rDNAs, confirming their admixed hybrid genetic status. Fourteen human samples revealed 9 (64%) of pure F. gigantica, 3 (22%) of introgressive and 2 (14%) of admixed hybrid Fasciola spp. By the present study, it was confirmed that the small worms, which are morphologically identical with F. hepatica, are admixed and/or introgressive hybrids of Fasciola spp., and able to be the pathogens of human fascioliasis.
Adult ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; DNA, Ribosomal ; Fasciola hepatica ; Fasciola ; Fascioliasis ; Genotype ; Humans ; Liver ; Ranunculaceae ; Ruminants ; Vietnam

Background: Hypertension is a common disease in adults, also the leading cause of cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide. The prevalence of hypertension has increased, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, hypertension screening is important to provide the basis and evidence for the development of timely intervention policies and programs. The objective of the “May Measurement Month” 2022 program is to investigate the prevalence of hypertension, drug treatment and blood pressure control in people in Thua Thien Hue province and to assess the risk factors surrounding hypertension. Subjects and Methods: This cross–sectional study collected data from volunteer adults (≥ 18 years old) in Thua Thien Hue province from 7/2022 to 8/2022. Sitting blood pressure had been measured in triplicate according to standardized specified methods of the International Society of Hypertension. Results: Average age 54.07 ± 18.17, there were 627 people (23.4%) with hypertension at the time of screening, 245 of which (39.1%) had never been diagnosed with hypertension before screening at the time. 724 people were on treatment with 1 or more types of drug, however, there were 337 people (46.5%) having their blood pressure not controlled. The statistics showed that 84.9% of volunteers were using at least 1 drug to treat hypertension. Related factors of hypertension are age, sex, overweight/obesity status, smoking, medical history of diabetes and medical history of COVID-19. The rate of subjects who had history of COVID-19 was 36.4%, including 31.6% of hypertension patients. Conclusion: The hypertension percentage of Thua Thien Hue population is still high and the rate of blood pressure control is still limited. There is a relationship between hypertension proportion and history of COVID-19. It is necessary to publish timely intervention measures to reduce the rate of hypertension and its risks to people.

Objective: The purpose of this survey was to estimate the prevalence of viral load (VL) suppression and emergence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) among individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 36 months or longer in Viet Nam using a nationally representative sampling method. Methods: The survey was conducted between May and August 2014 using a two-stage cluster design. Sixteen ART clinics were selected using probability proportional to proxy size sampling, and patients receiving ART for at least 36 months were consecutively enrolled. Epidemiological information and blood specimens were collected for HIV-1 VL and HIVDR testing; HIVDR was defined by the Stanford University HIVDR algorithm. Results: Overall, 365 eligible individuals were recruited with a mean age of 38.2 years; 68.4% were men. The mean time on ART was 75.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 69.0–81.9 months), and 93.7% of the patients were receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens. Of the 365 individuals, 345 (94.7%, 95% CI: 64.1–99.4%) had VL below 1000 copies/mL and 19 (4.6%, 95% CI: 2.8-–7.5) had HIVDR mutations. Discussion Our nationally representative survey found a high level of VL suppression and a low prevalence of HIVDR among individuals who received ART for at least 36 months in Viet Nam. Continued surveillance for HIVDR is important for evaluating and improving HIV programs.

Background: Vietnamese herbs are considered as a botanical resource, a precious medicinal source of our country, and are widely used in the residential community in general. Phu Vang district is a coastal plain and lagoon in Thua Thien Hue province, where people’s living standards are not high, health facilities lack equipment. Therefore, the needs for primary health care are necessary to be strengthened, especially in the treatment of common diseases using Vietnamese herbs to reduce costs and improve health for the people. However, the knowledge of the local residents about Vietnamese herbs preventing and treating common diseases at home has not been surveyed. Objectives: (1) To describe the knowledge, attitude and practice on the use of Vietnamese herbs used in the treatment of common diseases of residents in some communes of Phu Vang district. (2) To determine some factors related to the use of Vietnamese herbs in the treatment of common diseases among the residents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 residents representing the heads of households in three communes of Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province, Thua Thien Hue province. Descriptive statistical analysis and multivariable logistic regression were performed with SPSS software. Results: Knowledge: Good: 45.2%; Fair: 30.8%; Average: 9.0%; Poor: 2.0%. Attitude: 97.0% of residents preferred using Vietnamese herbs in the treatment of common diseases, and 96.6% of residents agreed to continue using Vietnamese herbs to treat similar diseases later. Practice: Good: 7.8%; Fair: 16.7%; Average: 25.3%; Poor: 50.2%. Receiving information about Vietnamese herbs and growing them at home gardens were two factors related to the use of Vietnamese herbs to treat common diseases (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The practice of using Vietnamese herbs to treat common diseases of the residents in Phu Vang district is still low, it is necessary to strengthen educational propaganda to raise the awareness and practice among residents on the prevention and treatment of diseases with Vietnamese herbs at home.

As authorities braced for the arrival of the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), infrastructure investments and government directives prompted action in central Viet Nam to establish capacity for genomic surveillance sequencing. From 17 November 2021 to 7 January 2022, the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang sequenced 162 specimens from 98 150 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases in the region collected from 8 November to 31 December 2021. Of these, all 127 domestic cases were identified as the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, whereas 92% (32/35) of imported cases were identified as the B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant, all among international flight passengers. Patients were successfully isolated, enabling health-care workers to prepare for additional cases. Most (78%) of the 32 Omicron cases were fully vaccinated, suggesting continued importance of public health and social measures to control the spread of new variants.