Infant growth disparity in the Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam: a follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Surveys in Vietnam have indicated that wasting and stunting have been prevalent among children, but the country is undergoing rapid socio-economic changes and little has been known about the relative situation in the different areas of the country. In 2006, the WHO introduced new growth standards applicable to all infant and child populations, which facilitates for improved assessments of the prevalence of growth impairment, independent of time, place and ethnicity. The aim of our study was to assess the growth of singleton infants delivered at term in three main birth clinics in the Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam by using the new WHO standards as reference, and the association between growth and some maternal, birth and health factors. METHODS: A cohort of 237 singleton infants born in the period May-July 2005 in three main delivery clinics in the Khanh Hoa province were observed prospectively. Their anthropometrical measures a year later were compared to the WHO sex-specific growth standards for weight-for-age, length-for-age, weight-for-length, and BMI-for-age. These measures were analysed as dependent outcomes using multiple linear regression models including the following independent factors: urban vs. rural birth, 1-minute Apgar score, weight and length at birth, duration of lactation, ever had diarrhoea, dengue fever, pneumonia or dysentery, and maternal age, height, gestational duration and parity. RESULTS: Compared to the standard distributions, 79% were below the median for weight-for-length; 18.0% were within the 5th percentile for length-for-age, 9.6% for weight-for-age, 20.3% for weight-for-length, and 19.8% for BMI. A lower length- and weight-for-age were statistically associated with being born rurally. CONCLUSIONS: In this delivery-clinic based sample of children in the Khanh Hoa province in Vietnam, the proportions within the WHO-standard 5th percentiles for length-for-age, weight-for-length and BMI in late infancy were 3-4 times higher than expected, which indicate that deficient growth is prevalent. The infants born in a rural area had a lower weight- and length-for-age than their urban counterparts, independent of diarrhoea.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated in 2004-2006 in Bangui, Central African Republic; Yaoundé, Cameroon; Antananarivo, Madagascar; and Ho Chi Minh Ville and Nha Trang, Vietnam.

GOAL: To investigate the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated in 2004 and 2005 in Bangui, Central African Republic; Yaoundé, Cameroon; Antananarivo, Madagascar; and Ho Chi Minh Ville and Nha Trang, Vietnam. STUDY DESIGN: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by both disk diffusion and agar dilution methods according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommendations. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to 5 antimicrobials (penicillin G, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, spectinomycin, and tetracycline) were determined when feasible. Penicillinase-producing N. gonorrhoeae (PPNG) was analyzed by the paper acidometric method (nitrocefin test). RESULTS: Thirty N. gonorrhoeae isolates from Bangui could be studied, 79 from Yaoundé, 126 from Antananarivo, 56 from Nha Trang, and 126 from Ho Chi Minh Ville in 2004 and 2005. Unfortunately, because of problems of electricity supply, no strains could be recovered for the determination of MICs in Yaoundé, and only 68 strains could be tested in Antananarivo and 121 in Ho Chi Minh Ville. Patterns of resistance were similar in Antananarivo, Bangui, and Yaoundé but different from those observed in Vietnam. Ciprofloxacin was highly effective in Africa, but nearly all strains in Vietnam were resistant to this drug. Overall, ceftriaxon and spectinomycin were the best antibiotics, with one strain resistant to spectinomycin in Antananrivo and one strain resistant to ceftriaxon in Ho Chi Minh Ville. CONCLUSIONS: Ciprofloxacin remains highly efficient in Madagascar and Central Africa, ceftriaxone and spectinomycin should be used as the first-line antimicrobial agents in treating gonorrhea in Vietnam.