A parasitological investigation on trematode metacercariae was made on 62 freshwater fishes of 13 species in northern Thailand; Cyclocheilichthys apogon, Puntioplites proctozysron, Labiobarbus siamensis, Barbodes gonionotus, Barbodes altus, Henicorhynchus siamensis, Osteochilus hasselti, Notopterus notopterus, Mystacoleucus marginatus, Anabas testudineus, Systomus orphoides, Morulius chrysophykadian, and Hampala macrolepidota. The fish were caught over the summer period (February-May 2007) from 2 Chiang Mai water reservoirs, i.e., the Mae Ngad (UTM 47Q E 503200, 47Q N 2119300) and the Mae Kuang Udomtara (UTM 47Q E 513000, 47Q N 2092600) Reservoirs in Chiang Mai province, Thailand. The prevalence of heterophyid (Haplorchis taichui and Haplorchoides sp.) metacercariae in these fish was 83.9% and 74.2% in the Mae Ngad and Mae Kuang Udomtara Reservoirs, respectively. The highest intensity of heterophyid metacercariae in H. siamensis in the Mae Ngad was 120.4 and that in P. proctozysron in the Mae Kuang Udomtara was 180.0. The fish, A. testudineus, C. apogon, and M. chrysophykadian, were not found to be infected with H. taichui metacercariae. The results show that the freshwater fish in Chiang Mai water reservoirs are heavily infected with H. taichui and Haplorchoides sp. metacercariae.
Animals ; Fish Diseases/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Fishes/*parasitology ; Fresh Water/*parasitology ; Heterophyidae/*isolation & purification ; Thailand/epidemiology ; Trematode Infections/epidemiology/parasitology/*veterinary

The study of inherited metabolic disorders (IMD) in Thailand is in its infancy when compare with developed countries. Prior to 1987, majority of these disorders were clinically diagnosed since there were only a handful of clinicians and scientists with expertise in inborn errors of metabolism, lack of well-equipped laboratory facilities and government support. In developing countries, inherited metabolic disorders are not considered a priority due to the prevalence of infectious diseases such as HIV infection and congenital infections. A multicentre survey conducted in 1994 and 2001 revealed the existence of numerous cases of IMD from all over the country. Case reports and publications on IMD in Thai (and international) medical journals in past 20 years had undoubtedly raised its awareness among Thai paediatricians and scientists. In 2001, the Genetic Metabolic Centre was first established in Siriraj Hospital Faculty of Medicine, Thailand. Numerous new cases of IMD had been identified since then.
Child ; Humans ; Metabolism, Inborn Errors ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; genetics ; Thailand ; Time Factors

COVID-19/transmission* ; Communicable Disease Control/organization & administration* ; Humans ; Thailand/epidemiology*

We retrospectively examined the charts of travelers admitted to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Bangkok, Thailand, with malaria during the years 2000-2005. Twenty-one cases of malaria were identified, of which 12 (57%) were Plasmodium vivax infections and 9 (43%) were P. falciparum infections. There was one mixed case with vivax and falciparum infection. Only 1 P. falciparum case had complications. All cases were successfully treated with standard antimalarial drugs. Only 3 of the 21 cases were thought to be acquired in Thailand, the rest were regarded to be imported.
*Travel ; Thailand/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; *Plasmodium vivax ; *Plasmodium falciparum ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Malaria/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Humans ; Animals ; Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of SF-36 scale being applied in different countries under different culture and to describe the quality of life of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in China and Thailand.

METHODSSF-36 scale was applied to pulmonary tuberculosis patients in both countries using face to face interview.

RESULTSMany coefficients among domains were greater than 0.5 when quality of life of tuberculosis patient in both countries was measured. Cronbach's coefficient of all domains were greater than 0.7 for tuberculosis patients in China while cronbach's Coefficient of most domains were equal or greater than 0.7 for tuberculosis patients in Thailand except for vitality and social domains. The score of social domain for patients in Thailand was greater than that of China.

CONCLUSIONStructure validity was not good for tuberculosis patients in both countries since there were some items overlapped in different domains. However, the reliability was good for measuring quality of life of tuberculosis patients both in China and in Thailand.

China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Quality of Life ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Thailand ; epidemiology ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; physiopathology ; psychology

Background Hospitalizations for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations frequently occur in Thailand. National trends in hospital outcomes are essential for planning preventive strategies within the healthcare system. We examined temporal trends in in-hospital outcomes, including mortality rate, length of stay (LOS), and expenses for reimbursement in adults hospitalized for asthma and COPD exacerbations in southern Thailand.Methods A retrospective, population-based study on adults hospitalized for exacerbations of asthma and COPD was carried out using data from the National Health Security Office in southern Thailand. Baseline demographic and in-hospital outcome assessments were conducted on 19,459 and 66,457 hospitalizations for asthma and COPD, respectively, between 2017 and 2021.Results Significant reductions in hospital admissions for exacerbations of asthma and COPD were observed over time, particularly in 2020/2021. From 2017 to 2021, the in-hospital mortality rate for asthma rose from 3.2 to 3.7 deaths per 1,000 admissions (P<0.05). The rates for COPD admissions, on the other hand, reduced from 20.3 to 16.4 deaths per 1,000 admissions between 2017 and 2020, but subsequently increased to 21.8 in 2021 (P<0.05). The prominent contributor to the higher mortality rate was found to be increasing age. Nonetheless, the average LOS for both asthma and COPD decreased slightly over the study period. The total expenses for reimbursing exacerbations of asthma and COPD per hospitalisation have risen significantly each year, with a particularly notable increase in 2020/2021.Conclusion During 2017-2021, exacerbations of asthma and COPD in Thailand continued to account for significant in-hospital mortality rates and reimbursement expenses, despite the overall decrease in hospitalizations and slight fluctuations in the LOS.
Adult ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Hospital Mortality ; Thailand/epidemiology* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Asthma/epidemiology* ; Hospitals ; Disease Progression

From July 2008 to June 2009, livers of the swamp eels (Monopterus alba) were investigated for advanced third-stage larvae (AL3) of Gnathostoma spinigerum. Results revealed that 10.2% (106/1,037) and 20.4% (78/383) of farmed eels from Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province and those of wild-caught eels obtained from a market in Min Buri District of Bangkok, Thailand were infected, respectively. The prevalence was high during the rainy and winter seasons. The infection rate abruptly decreased in the beginning of summer. The highest infection rate (13.7%) was observed in September and absence of infection (0%) in March-April in the farmed eels. Whereas, in the wild-caught eels, the highest rate (30.7%) was observed in November, and the rate decreased to the lowest at 6.3% in March. The average no. (mean+/-SE) of AL3 per investigated liver in farmed eels (1.1+/-0.2) was significantly lower (P=0.040) than those in the caught eels (0.2+/-0.03). In addition, the intensity of AL3 recovered from each infected liver varied from 1 to 18 (2.3+/-0.3) in the farmed eels and from 1 to 47 (6.3+/-1.2) in the caught eels, respectively. The AL3 intensity showed significant difference (P=0.011) between these 2 different sources of eels. This is the first observation that farmed eels showed positive findings of G. spinigerum infective larvae. This may affect the standard farming of the culture farm and also present a risk of consuming undercooked eels from the wild-caught and farmed eels.
Animals ; Aquaculture ; Fish Diseases/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Gnathostoma/*isolation & purification ; Gnathostomiasis/epidemiology/parasitology/*veterinary ; Larva ; Liver/parasitology ; Parasite Load ; Prevalence ; Seasons ; Smegmamorpha/*parasitology ; Thailand/epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo determine the prevalence of infestation with head lice in primary schoolchildren in the eastern area of Bangkok, Thailand.

METHODSThe present study was to determine the head lice infestation (Pediculosis) levels in primary schoolchildren, during May, 2011 to July, 2011, A total of 3 747 schoolchildren aged 5-12 years old from 12 selected primary school of Ladkrabang district, the eastern area of Bangkok were examined for head lice. Pediculosis was defined as the presence of at least on living adult, nymph and viable egg.

RESULTSThe overall head lice infestation rate was 23.32% and infestation rate was higher in girls (47.12%) than in boys (0%). The infestation rate among schoolchildren varied from 12.62% to 29.76%. The infestation rate among girls varied from 26.07% (12 years old group) to 55.89% (8 years old group).

CONCLUSIONSPediculosis is a common public health problem affecting primary schoolchildren in eastern area of Bangkok and those levels are epidemic importance.

Animals ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Lice Infestations ; epidemiology ; Male ; Pediculus ; Prevalence ; Scalp Dermatoses ; epidemiology ; Students ; statistics & numerical data ; Thailand ; epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the epidemiological situation of cercarial trematodes infection in freshwater snails from different water resources in Chiang Mai province, Thailand.

METHODSThe snail specimens were collected from 13 districts of Chiang Mai province during April 2008 to February 2012. The prevalence of cercarial infection in snails was investigated using the crushing method. The drawing was done with the help of a camera lucida for the morphological study.

RESULTSA total of 2 479 snail individuals were collected and classified into 7 families, 11 genera, and 14 species, Among them, 8 snails species were found to be infected with an overall prevalence of 17.27% (428/2 479), which infected with nine groups of cercariae; gymnocephalous cercaria, strigea cercaria, megalurous cercaria, monostome cercaria, parapleurolophocercous cercaria (Haplorchis cercaria), pleurolophocercous cercaria, furcocercous cercaria (Transversotrema cercaria), xiphidiocercaria, and virgulate cercaria. The parapleurolophocercous cercaria was found to be the dominant type among the cercarial infection in the snails (64.25%).

CONCLUSIONSThe various species of snails found in the research location act as the intermediate hosts for the high prevalence of parasitic infection of many species of mammals. This work will provide new information on both the distribution and first intermediate host of trematodes.

Animals ; Cercaria ; growth & development ; isolation & purification ; Fresh Water ; Prevalence ; Snails ; parasitology ; Thailand ; epidemiology ; Trematoda ; growth & development ; isolation & purification

Recently, PCR-based typing would be of great value for Epidemiological investigation; to identify infectious source of leprosy, understand transmission pattern, and distinguish between relapse & re-infection. Variable TTC DNA repeats in non-coding region and 6bp(ACATCG) tandem repeats in rpoT gene revealed PCR products of different size may be useful to investigate the epidemiology of leprosy. Authors have typed clinical isolates of M. leprae in Korea using difference of TTC DNA repeats in non-coding region and 6bp(ACATCG) tandem repeats in rpoT gene. Of the sequence analysis of isolates(M. leprae) of 20 patients(17 Koreans, 3 foreigners; Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippine), M. leprae with 11 and 12 TTC repeats was showed most common and the isolates with 10 repeats were found in only two foreigners, and 16 Koreans isolates demonstrated four copies of 6bp(ACATCG) tandem repeats in rpoT gene and the isolates with three copies were found in only one Korea and 3 foreigners.
Bangladesh ; DNA ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Korea ; Leprosy* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Recurrence ; Sequence Analysis ; Tandem Repeat Sequences ; Thailand