Background: Previous studies showed that B hepatitis prevalence in Vietnam was very high and the rate of mother-to-child transmission was range from 44.7% to 45.2%. Objectives: Study on the efficacies of the interventional methods with anti-HBV immunoglobulin and hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours after birth for neonates in Hanoi. Subjects and method: This interventional study was carried out on 163 neonates of positive-HBsAg mothers who were admitted to Hanoi Obstetrical Hospital from 6/2005 to 3/2007. These neonates received anti-HBV immunoglobulin and hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours after birth, then were followed up for 11 to 18 months. Results: Among these 163 neonates that received interventions, there were 135 neonates that underwent HBsAg tests after 11 to 18 months. The results showed that only one newborn baby had positive HBsAg (0.74%) and 134 neonates with non-HBV (99.26%). 81.5% of neonates had hepatitis B surface antibody that can protect against HBV. Conclusion: Early interventions with anti-HBV immunoglobulin and HBV vaccination were effective in preventing HBV for neonates of positive-HBsAg mothers.
anti-HBV immunoglobulin ; hepatitis B vaccination ; neonate

Background: Previous studies showed that B hepatitis prevalence in Vietnam was very high, and the rate of mother-to-child transmission ranged from 44.7% to 45.2%. And nearly 90% of infected babies will become chronic carriers in later life. Objectives: To determine the rates of the HBeAg, DNA-HBV markers and capacity of mother-to-child transmission among the positive-HBsAg pregnant women in Hanoi. Subjects and method: The cross-sectional study was carried out on 163 positive-HBsAg pregnant women admitted to the Hanoi Obstetrical Hospital from 6/2005 to 3/2007. Blood samples were collected from both mothers and neonates immediately after birth for analysis of HBeAg and DNA-HBV markers. Results:66/163 (40.5%) mothers had HBeAg marker. Among 67 positive-HBsAg pregnancies, 38 women (56.7%) had DNA-HBV marker. The rate of mother-to-child transmission of positive-HBsAg mothers was 55.2%. 96.3% of mothers with HBsAg(+)/HBeAg(+) transmitted HBV to their babies. The risk of HBsAg(+) increased 68.6 times in babies of mothers with HBsAg(+)/HBeAg(+) versus babies of mothers with HBsAg(+) alone. Among babies of mothers with DNA(+), 89.5% had HBsAg(+). The risk of HBsAg(+) in babies of mothers with DNA(+) was 73.7 times higher than that in babies of mothers with DNA(-). Conclusion: Babies that were born from HBsAg(+)/HBeAg(+) mothers had high risk of becoming chronic carriers.
HBeAg marker ; DNA-HBV marker ; mother-to-child transmission ; positive HBsAg pregnant women

Background: Beer is produced to meet people\u2019s demands. Sanitation, old technology, poor knowledge on hygiene and safety of workers is still limited. Objectives: This study aims to learn the real situation and solution to improve the practical knowledge on food hygiene and the safety of workers at beer-producing enterprises in Ha Noi. Subjects and method: The descriptive, cross-sectional study on wokers at beer-producing enterprises in Ha Noi.The data were collected from designed questionaires and analysed by Epi.infor 6.04 software. Results: The general knowledge rate on hygiene food safety of workers is 42.5%; In there, the knowledge rate on environmental hygiene of workers is 45.6%; the knowledge rate on work instrument hygiene of workers is 46.4%; the knowledge rate on personal hygiene of workers is 37.7%; the knowledge rate on food hygiene of workers is 50.9%; the knowledge rate on food poisoning of workers is 76.3%; Conclusion: There is a relationship between the practical knowledge on hygiene food safety, age and work duration.
practical knowledge ; food hygiene safety ; beer-producing enterprises

Background: Worldwide, the beer industry has developed from 2% to 8% per year during 1990 and 2000 and the number of production surpassed 140 billion liters per year in 2001. Beer is not widely recommended for the population but the fact is consumption is on the increase. Objective: To evaluate the real situation of food safety conditions and hygiene safety requirements for beer at beer production enterprises in Hanoi and study various related factors to propose appropriate solutions to improving the food safety hygiene. Subject and methods: A cross-sectional, analysis investigation was conducted in 70 private beer-production enterprises in Hanoi in 2007. Results and Conclusion: The general rate with good food hygiene safety condition was 68.6%. Among them, the good environmental hygiene condition was 82.9%; good drainage condition was 75.7%; the work area hygiene condition meeting requirements was about 74.3% (with wall and floor hygiene regulation at 57.1%); food hygiene condition meet requirement about 95.7%; good work instrument hygiene condition was 72.9% and the lowest rate of work instrument hygiene regulation was 68.8%; good personal hygiene was 80%. The bad personal hygiene and environmental hygiene condition increased the risk of food hygiene quality that did not meet the requirement by ten-folds and thirteen-folds, respectively. The bad personal hygiene condition increased the risk of tool hygiene that did not meet the requirement by 5.5 folds.
food safety ; food safety hygiene ; beer-production enterprises

Background: hepatitis due to virus B is now one of the leading concerns in the community health care throughout the world. Vietnam was a country located in high risk areas for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with rate of HBV infection in the community ranged from 11.3 to 25.5%, the rate of HBsAg positive in pregnant women from 12-16%. Objectives: to evaluate knowledge and practice on HBV prevention among pregnant women in Hanoi in 2005-2006 period; to study on some related factors of HBsAg positive rate. Subjectives and Method: a cross sectional study (with analysis on knowledge and practice about HBV prevention) was carried out on 1.300 pregnant women above 28 gestational weeks at Hanoi Obstetrics/Gynecology Hospital in 2005. Results: the rates of women with knowledge about HBV prevention were 38.5% at good level, 24.4% at acceptable level, and 37.7% at unacceptable level. The rates of practice on HBV prevention were 58.5% at satisfied level and 41.5% at notsatified level. Knowledge was likely related to practice, age, educational level, and HBV positive rate. Practice on HBV prevention was also related to HBV infection. Conclusions: the rates of women with knowledge about HBV prevention at good level were relatively high. The rates of practice on HBV prevention at satisfied level were relatively low. Related factors of HBsAg positive rate: knowledge and practice about HBV prevention.
Hepatitis B/ prevention & ; control ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Health Knowledge ; Attitudes ; Practice ; Pregnant Women ;

Endophytic fungi are promising sources for the production of podophyllotoxin-an important anticancer compound, replacing depleted medical plants. In this study, the endophytes associated with Dysosma difformis-an ethnomedicinal plant species were isolated to explore novel sources of podophyllotoxin. Fifty-three endophytic fungi were isolated and identified by morphological observation and ITS-based rDNA sequencing, assigning them to 27 genera in 3 divisions. Fusarium was found the most prevalent genus with a colonization frequency of 11.11%, followed by Trametes (9.26%) and Penicillium (7.41%). Phylogenetic trees were constructed for the endophytic fungi community in two collection sites, Ha Giang and Lai Chau, revealing the adaptation of the species to the specific tissues and habitats. Cytotoxic activity of endophytic fungal extracts was investigated on cancer cell lines such as SK-LU-1, HL-60, and HepG2, demonstrating strong anti-cancer activity of six isolates belonging to Penicillium, Trametes, Purpureocillium, Aspergillus, and Ganoderma with IC 50 value of lower than 10 10 µg/mL. The presence of podophyllotoxin was indicated in Penicillium, Trametes, Aspergillus and for the first time in Purpureocillium and Ganoderma via high-performance liquid chromatography, which implied them as a potential source of this anticancer compound.

BACKGROUND: In the view of the epidemic growth of sensitization to indoor allergens in Southern Vietnam, there is a requirement to screen large population. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate skin prick tests (SPTs) as predictors of positive specific IgE (sIgE) to dust allergens, among patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs). METHODS: The sensitization to Blomia tropicalis (Blo t), Dermatophagoides pteronissinus (Der p), and Blattella germanica allergens (Bla g) were evaluated among 610 CRD, both SPT (≥4 mm) and sIgE by immuno-CAP (≥0.7 kUA/L). RESULTS: Based on sIgE, 45%, 32%, and 33% of patients with CRD were sensitized to Blo t, Der p, and Bla g, respectively, compared to 19%, 18%, and 13% by SPT. The association between SPT and sIgE was statistically significant, though the Kappa factor was fair (i.e., 0.39 to 0.23). While the specificity of SPT to detect sensitization (compared to sIgE) was >90% among the whole population, the sensitivity was only 34%, 41%, and 24% for Bo t, Der p, and Bla g, suggesting that SPT was not enough sensitive to screen the indoor allergen sensitization. Though, among the < 10 pack-year (PY) smokers, the sensitivity was 43% for Blo t, 52% for Der p, and 61% for Blo t and/or Der p, compared to 27%, 30%, and 35% among the ≥10 PY smokers. The sensitivity/specificity was not associated with the diagnosis of asthma compared to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CONCLUSION: In the present circumstance, SPT to dust mites allergens can be used to detect a sensitization among CRD population in Southern Vietnam.
Allergens ; Asthma ; Diagnosis ; Dust ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Mites ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Pyroglyphidae ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin Tests ; Skin ; Vietnam

Animals ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Blotting, Western ; Classical swine fever virus ; Classical Swine Fever ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Genotype ; Mortality ; Spleen ; Swine ; Vaccines ; Vaccines, Subunit ; Vietnam ; Virulence

Aims: Endophytic bacteria (EB) living inside plant tissues possess different beneficial traits including siderophore production and other plant growth-promoting (PGP) activities. Siderophore-producing EB promote host plant growth by secreting ferrum in iron-deficient conditions. This study screened 19 siderophore producers in vitro, isolated from upland rice roots grown in mountain farms of Tung Village, Nậm Có Commune, Mù Cang Chải District, Yên Bái Province, Vietnam, for PGP traits, including phosphate solubilisation, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), ammonia, gelatinase, amylase and catalase production. Methodology and results: The bacteria were identified by Matrix assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). All 19 isolates were identified as genera Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Pantoe, Bacillus, Burkholderia, Staphylococcus, Ralstonia and Cronotacter. The isolates produced catalase and ammonia. The amount of ammonia ranged from 60.74 ± 0.14 to 466.72 ± 0.18 mg/L. Out of the 19 siderophore producers, 17 (89.47%) were able to solubilise phosphate with solubilisation index (PSI) ranging from 1.12 ± 0.07 to 2.14 ± 0.15. The qualitative assays identified 12 isolates (63.15%) positive for IAA production with a tryptophan concentration of 5 mM, whereas 15 (78.94%) and 17 (89.47%) isolates were positive for gelatin and starch hydrolysis, respectively. Especially, 7 isolates were found to be positive for all tested assays in vitro including Pseudomonas rhodesiae (NC2), Enterobacter asburiae (NC50), Pantoea ananatis (NC63), Bacillus cereus (NC64), Burkholderia cenocepacia (NC110), Staphylococcus sciuri (NC112) and Ralstonia pickettii (NC122). Conclusion, significance and impact of study This study serves as crucial findings of multi-trait plant growth-promoting endophytic bacteria isolated from upland rice root in north-western Vietnam. The seven potential isolates positive for all tested assays could be effective PGP bacteria for bio-inoculants.
Oryza--microbiology ; Siderophores ; Plant Growth Regulators ; Vietnam

Objective: Female sex workers (FSWs) are at high risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and cervical cancer due to their high number of sexual partners. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of HPV and identify risk factors for high-risk HPV infection among FSWs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Viet Nam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hanoi and HCMC between December 2017 and May 2018. We surveyed and screened 699 FSWs aged ≥18 years for HPV infection and abnormal cytology. A multivariable modified Cox regression model was used to determine risk factors for high-risk HPV infection. Results The overall prevalence of any HPV, high-risk HPV and HPV-16/18 infection in the 699 FSWs was 26.3%, 17.6% and 4.0%, respectively, and were similar in both cities. Multiple infections were identified in 127 participants (69.0%).HPV-52 was the most prevalent (7%), followed by HPV-58 (6%). Abnormal cytology was detected in 91 participants (13.0%). FSWs who are divorced (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–3.81), widowed (aPR: 3.26, 95% CI: 1.49–7.12) or living alone (aPR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.01–3.39) were associated with a higher prevalence of high-risk HPV infection.