Antibiotic use and prescription and its effects on Enterobacteriaceae in the gut in children with mild respiratory infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A prospective observational outpatient study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Treatment guidelines do not recommend antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections (ARI), except for streptococcal pharyngitis/tonsillitis and pneumonia. However, antibiotics are prescribed frequently for children with ARI, often in absence of evidence for bacterial infection. The objectives of this study were 1) to assess the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions for mild ARI in paediatric outpatients in relation to available guidelines and detected pathogens, 2) to assess antibiotic use on presentation using questionnaires and detection in urine 3) to assess the carriage rates and proportions of resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae before, during and after consultation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were prospectively enrolled in Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and diagnoses, prescribed therapy and outcome were recorded on first visit and on follow-up after 7 days. Respiratory bacterial and viral pathogens were detected using molecular assays. Antibiotic use before presentation was assessed using questionnaires and urine HPLC. The impact of antibiotic usage on intestinal Enterobacteriaceae was assessed with semi-quantitative culture on agar with and without antibiotics on presentation and after 7 and 28 days. RESULTS: A total of 563 patients were enrolled between February 2009 and February 2010. Antibiotics were prescribed for all except 2 of 563 patients. The majority were 2nd and 3rd generation oral cephalosporins and amoxicillin with or without clavulanic acid. Respiratory viruses were detected in respiratory specimens of 72.5% of patients. Antibiotic use was considered inappropriate in 90.1% and 67.5%, based on guidelines and detected pathogens, respectively. On presentation parents reported antibiotic use for 22% of patients, 41% of parents did not know and 37% denied antibiotic use. Among these three groups, six commonly used antibiotics were detected with HPLC in patients' urine in 49%, 40% and 14%, respectively. Temporary selection of 3rd generation cephalosporin resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae during antibiotic use was observed, with co-selection of resistance to aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones. CONCLUSIONS: We report overuse and overprescription of antibiotics for uncomplicated ARI with selection of resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae, posing a risk for community transmission and persistence in a setting of a highly granular healthcare system and unrestricted access to antibiotics through private pharmacies. REGISTRATION: This study was registered at the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Number registry under number ISRCTN32862422: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN32862422.

South Vietnamese Rural Mothers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Child Health Care.

A study of 600 rural under-five mothers' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) in child care was performed in 4 southern provinces of Vietnam. The mothers were randomly selected and interviewed about sociodemographic factors, health seeking behaviour, and practice of home care of children and neonates. 93.2% of the mothers were literate and well-educated, which has been shown to be important for child health care. 98.5% were married suggesting a stable family, which is also of importance for child health. Only 17.3% had more than 2 children in their family. The mother was the main caretaker in 77.7% of the families. Only 1% would use quacks as their first health contact, but 25.2% would use a private clinic, which therefore eases the burden on the government system. Nearly 69% had given birth in a hospital, 27% in a commune health station, and only 2.7% at home without qualified assistance. 89% were giving exclusive breast feeding at 6 months, much more frequent than in the cities. The majority of the mothers could follow IMCI guideline for home care, although 25.2% did not deal correctly with cough and 38.7% did not deal correctly with diarrhoea. Standard information about Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) based home care is still needed.

A Malaysia 97 monovalent foot-and-mouth disease vaccine (>6PD50/dose) protects pigs against challenge with a variant FMDV A SEA-97 lineage virus, 4 and 7 days post vaccination.

Pigs play a significant role during outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) due to their ability to amplify the virus. It is therefore essential to determine what role vaccination could play to prevent clinical disease and lower virus excretion into the environment. In this study we investigated the efficacy of the double oil emulsion A Malaysia 97 vaccine (>6PD50/dose) against heterologous challenge with an isolate belonging to the A SEA-97 lineage at 4 and 7 days post vaccination (dpv). In addition, we determined whether physical separation of pigs in the same room could prevent virus transmission. Statistically there was no difference in the level of protection offered by 4 and 7 dpv. However, no clinical disease or viral RNA was detected in the blood of pigs challenged 4 dpv, although three of the pigs had antibodies to the non-structural proteins (NSPs), indicating viral replication. Viral RNA was also detected in nasal and saliva swabs, but on very few occasions. Two of the pigs vaccinated seven days prior to challenge had vesicles distal from the injection site, but on the inoculated foot, and two pigs had viral RNA detected in the blood. One pig sero-converted to the NSPs. In contrast, all unvaccinated and inoculated pigs had evidence of infection. No infection occurred in any of the susceptible pigs in the same room, but separated from the infected pigs, indicating that strict biosecurity measures were sufficient under these experimental conditions to prevent virus transmission. However, viral RNA was detected in the nasal swabs of one group of pigs, but apparently not at sufficient levels to cause clinical disease. Vaccination led to a significant decrease in viral RNA in vaccinated pigs compared to unvaccinated and infected pigs, even with this heterologous challenge, and could therefore be considered as a control option during outbreaks.