The study was carried out in 102 children (52 males, 50 females). The investigatived parameters were the Hegu’s location, the intensity, and the relation between the area of point and dermic area. The results are following: The Hegu in 58 - 66% children in the same location and 42% of them had different location (about 2.2- 2.8mm) in comparision between two methods (traditional medicine’s method and used neurometer, RB - 65 made in Japan). The intensity inside Hegu was 95- 100 A and the outside was 20-25 A. There was significiant difference between inside and outside of point (P< 0.001). There was no diffirence of the Hegu’s intensity between the males and females, the left and the rightside (P>0.05). Hegu is described as a round point, the area from 2.7-3.7mm2. There was no difference of Hegu’s area between the males and females (P>0.05). There was the crrelation between the area of point and the dermic area in both hands (r= 0.38 for males; r= 0.54 for females).
Medicine, Traditional ; Child

The study was carried out in 217 persons (129 males, 88 females). The investigative parameters were: the hegu's location, the intensity, the area, the relation between the area of point and the dermal area. The results showed that the hegu in 30-34% persons was in the same location and 60-68% of them had different location (about 3-4.5mm) in comparison between two methods (traditional medicine's method and used Neurometer, RB-65 made in Japan). The intensity inside hegu was 111.1913.46A and the outside was 10.138.23A. There was significant difference between inside and outside of point (P<0.001). There was no difference of the intensity between the left and the right hand (P>0.05). Hegu is described as a round point, the mean area was 5.011.40mm2. There was no difference between males and females (P>0.05). There was no the correlation between the area of point and the dermal area in both hands and sex (r = 0.25 for males, r=0.15 for females).
Medicine, Traditional ; Epidemiologic Study Characteristics

40 health male students from 19-26 of age were studied on the change of ciriculation parameters between before and after the exact Hegu electroacupuncture outside the Hegu. The investigated parameters included systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate, ECG (electrocardiogram). The results are following: + After the Hegu electroacupuncture one and eight times, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate reduced rather markly (P< 0.01), QT and PT interval are longer (P<0.01). + There were no differences of the others (the time and amplitudes of P wave, PR interval, QRS complex, T wave) between before and after the Hegu electroacupuncture on and eight times (p<0.05).
Electroacupuncture ; blood

40 healthy male students from 19-26 years of age were studied on the changes of ECG before and after the exact Hegu electroacupuncture once and 8 times. 20 among 40 these students were done electroacupuncture outside the Hegu. The investigated parameters included: frequency, amplitude, rate of alpha, beta, theta-delta waves in the occipital and temporal regions. The results are following: + After the Hegu electroacupuncture once and 8 times, amplitude and rate of alpha waves increased remarkably in the occipital and temporal regions. After the Hegu electroacupuncture 8 times, amplitude of beta and thetadenta waves reduced in the occipital region. + After the Hegu electroacupuncture once and 8 times, rates of beta and theta-delta waves reduced significationtly in the occipital and temporal regions.
Electroencephalography ; Electroacupuncture

Introduction: Antiviral resistance has been reported in seasonal influenza A viruses and avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses in Viet Nam, raising concerns about the efficacy of treatment. Methods: We analysed specimens from two sources during the period 2009–2012: influenza-positive samples from influenza-like illness patients at sentinel clinics in northern Viet Nam and isolates from patients with confirmed A(H5N1) infections. Pyrosequencing was used to detect mutations: H275Y [for A(H1N1) and A(H5N1)], E119V [for A(H3N2)] and I117V [for A(H5N1)]. A neuraminidase inhibition assay was used to determine the Inhibitory Concentration 50 (IC50) values for all influenza A and B isolates. Results: There were 341 influenza A positive samples identified; influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was identified most frequently (n = 215). In 2009, oseltamivir resistance was observed in 100% (19 of 19) of seasonal A(H1N1) isolates and 1.4% (3/215) of A(H1N1)pdm09 isolates. This H275Y mutation was not found in influenza subtypes A(H5N1) or A(H3N2) isolates. Discussion: In Viet Nam, seasonal and A(H5N1) influenza vaccines are not currently available; thus, effective treatment is required. The presence of oseltamivir-resistant viruses is therefore a concern. Active surveillance for oseltamivir resistance among influenza viruses circulating in Viet Nam should be continued.

Objective To characterize viral co-infections among representative hospitalized measles cases during the 2014 Hanoi outbreak. Methods Throat swabs were collected from 54 pediatric patients with confirmed measles, and molecular diagnostics performed for 10 additional viral respiratory pathogens (Influenza A/H1N1pdm09; A/H3N2 and influenza B; Parainfluenza 1, 2, 3; Respiratory Synctial Virus, RSV; human Metapneumovirus, hMPV; Adenovirus and Picornavirus). Results Twenty-one cases (38.9%) showed evidence of infection with other respiratory viruses: 15 samples contained measles plus one additional virus, and 6 samples contained measles plus 2 additional viruses. Adenovirus was detected as a predominant cause of co-infections (13 cases; 24.1%), followed by RSV (6 cases; 11.1%), A/H1N1pdm09 (3 cases; 5.6%), PIV3 (3 cases; 3.7%), Rhinovirus (3 cases; 3.7%) and hMPV (1 case; 1.96%). Conclusions Viral co-infections identified from pediatric measles cases may have contributed to increased disease severity and high rate of fatal outcomes. Optimal treatment of measles cases may require control of multiple viral respiratory pathogens.

Background: Viet Nam confirmed its first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on 23 January 2020 among travellers from Wuhan, China, and experienced several clusters of community transmission until September. Viet Nam implemented an aggressive testing, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine strategy in response to all laboratory-confirmed cases. We report the results of SARS-CoV-2 testing during the first half of 2020 in northern Viet Nam. Methods: Between January and May 2020, 15 650 upper respiratory tract specimens were collected from 14 470 suspected cases and contacts in northern Viet Nam. All were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time RT-PCR. Individuals with positive specimens were tested every three days until two tests were negative. Positive specimens from 81 individuals were cultured. Results: Among 14 470 tested individuals, 158 (1.1%) cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were confirmed; 89 were imported and 69 were associated with community transmission. Most patients (122, 77%) had negative results after two tests, while 11 and 4 still tested positive when sampled a third and fourth time, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 was isolated from 29 of 81 specimens (36%) with a cycle threshold (Ct) value <30. Seven patients who tested positive again after testing negative had Ct values >30 and negative cultures. Conclusion Early, widespread testing for SARS-CoV-2 in northern Viet Nam identified very few cases, which, when combined with other aggressive strategies, may have dramatically contained the epidemic. We observed rapid viral clearance and very few positive results after clearance. Large-scale molecular diagnostic testing is a critical part of early detection and containment of COVID-19 in Viet Nam and will remain necessary until vaccination is widely implemented.

Objective: Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a primary cause of paediatric severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) worldwide, especially in developing countries. We investigated the genetic characteristics of RSV in northern Viet Nam to determine the prevalence and distribution of subtypes as well as the diversity and transmission patterns of genotypes. Methods: In two facilities, from January 2017 to December 2020, 1563 clinical specimens were collected from paediatric patients hospitalized with SARI and tested for RSV. Selected positive samples underwent sequencing analysis targeting the second hypervariable region of the G gene using next-generation sequencing. Results: The RSV positivity rate was 28.02% (438/1563 samples), and prevalence was highest in children aged <1 year (43.84%; 192/438). Subtype RSV-A accounted for 53.42% (234/438) of cases, RSV-B for 45.89% (201/438), and there was coinfection in 0.68% (3/438). Both subtypes cocirculated and peaked during August–September in each year of the study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that RSV-A samples belonged to the ON1 genotype, which has three subgenotypes: ON1.1, ON1.2 and ON1.3. However, we did not find the 72-nucleotide duplication in the second hypervariable region of the G gene, a characteristic of genotype ON1, in any RSV-A samples. RSV-B samples belonged to genotype BA9. Discussion: Our results provide additional molecular characterization of RSV infections in Viet Nam. Specially, our study is the first to report the absence of the 72-nucleotide duplication in the G gene of RSV-A genotype ON1 in Viet Nam, which may help in understanding the genetic evolution of RSV and be useful for vaccine development in the future.

The Omicron variant caused a surge of infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Viet Nam in early 2022, signalling community transmission. We report on active whole-genome sequencing surveillance of positive SARS-CoV-2 samples collected at that time in northern Viet Nam from international arrivals and community clusters. We used an amplicon protocol developed with 14 polymerase chain reaction products and the Illumina iSeq 100 platform. Overall, 213 nasopharyngeal or throat swabs were analysed, of which 172 samples were identified with the Omicron variant. Of these, 80 samples were collected from community cases in February 2022, among which 59 samples were sublineage BA.2 and one sample was the recombinant XE variant. Our results indicated that Omicron had replaced Delta as the dominant variant in a very short period of time and that continuously conducting active whole-genome sequencing surveillance is necessary in monitoring the evolution and genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Viet Nam.