Objective: To investigate the cause of a foodborne outbreak that occurred in Dong Nai province, Viet Nam, in 2024, and implement control measures. Methods: An initial investigation was conducted to confirm the outbreak, which was followed by epidemiological and environmental investigations to find the plausible causative food item. Clinical specimens and food samples were tested to identify the pathogen. Results: A total of 547 symptomatic cases were recorded, of whom two were in severe condition requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventilation, one of whom died. Among 99 interviewed cases, the mean incubation time was 9 hours (range 2–24 hours), with the main symptoms being fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. All patients had eaten banh mi from a local bakery. Salmonella spp. were identified in food samples and clinical specimens. The bakery halted production, and the outbreak ended after 1 week. Discussion: All the patients were exposed to only one food in common, which facilitated the investigation process. This outbreak is a reminder to small retailers and take-away shops of the importance of food safety management in preventing similar future outbreaks. All food handlers must comply with food hygiene principles, especially in hot temperatures, which boosts bacterial growth.

MENTAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF STUDENTS AT HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM Abstract Objective: Today’s life with changes in many aspects has brought people significant advantages and conveniences, but at the same time it has also caused physical and mental consequences for each person, especially mental health problems. Science has had many studies showing the impact of mental health on the quality of life, work efficiency, learning outcomes, etc. Therefore, when facing mental health problems, individuals need help to overcome the psychological problems they are facing to have healthier and more positive mental health. The scope of this study refers to the need for mental health care of students at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. Methodology: This study, based on theories of mental health, models and solutions to support mental health care, we built a questionnaire with 05 groups of basic needs to help students improve their physical and mental health for healthy mental health. Specifically, the care needs for self-satisfaction; The care needs for healthy emotional expression; the need to care for satisfaction in relationships with others; the full care needs are able to maintain a stable psychological state in life and the care needs for improving the ability to cope with difficulties in learning and working. After completion, we conducted a pilot survey on a small sample to check the reliability of the questionnaire and calibrate the scale. With an alpha coefficient of 0.98-meaning that the scale has a high reliability coefficient. Results: The mean score results show that all 05 groups of needs included in the study are of interest to the subjects and all have a desire to be met. Specifically: (1) The care needs for self-satisfaction has an mean score of 3.13 and a standard deviation of 0.73, a high level of need on the rating scale; care needs for expressing healthy emotions has an mean score of 3.45 and a standard deviation of 0.58, a very high level of need on the rating scale; the care needs for satisfaction in relationships with others has an mean score of 3.34 and a standard deviation of 0.65, a very high level of need on the rating scale; the full care needs are able to maintain a stable psychological state in life has an mean score of 4.42 and a standard deviation of 0.60, a very high need level in the assessment scale and the care needs for improving the ability to cope with difficulties in learning and working has an mean score of 3.19 and a standard deviation of 0.74, a high need level in the assessment scale. Conclusion: The research results show that students of Ho Chi Minh City Open University have a very high level of mental health care needs. Students clearly show mental health care needs in all the contents that need to be cared for. Among the component needs of mental health care needs, the need that students pay more attention than the remaining needs is the full care needs are able to maintain a stable psychological state in life. The need that students care less about than the remaining needs is the care needs for self-satisfaction. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 25 (10) December, 2024; 1-13.

OBJECTIVES: The average alcohol consumption per capita among Vietnamese adults has consistently increased. Although alcohol-related disorders have been extensively studied, there is a paucity of research shedding light on this issue among Internet users. The study aimed to examine the severity of alcohol-related disorders and other associated factors that might predispose individuals towards alcohol usage in a sample of youths recruited online. METHODS: An online cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,080 Vietnamese youths. A standardized questionnaire was used. Respondent-driven sampling was applied to recruit participants. Multivariate logistic and Tobit regressions were utilized to identify the associated factors. RESULTS: About 59.5% of the males and 12.7% of the total youths declared that they were actively using alcohol. From the total sample, a cumulative total of 32.3% of the participants were drinking alcohol, with 21.8% and 25.0% of the participants being classified as drinking hazardously and binge drinkers, respectively. The majority of the participants (60.7%) were in the pre-contemplative stage. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of hazardous drinking was recognized among online Vietnamese youths. In addition, we found relationships between alcohol use disorder and other addictive disorders, such as tobacco smoking and water-pipe usage. Our results highlighted that the majority of the individuals are not receptive to the idea of changing their alcohol habits, and this would imply that there ought to be more government effort towards the implementation of effective alcohol control policies.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcohol-Related Disorders ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drinking ; Humans ; Internet ; Male ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors* ; Smoking ; Surveys and Questionnaires* ; Vietnam