The First 100 Days of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Control in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: One hundred days after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in Vietnam on 23 January, 270 cases were confirmed, with no deaths. We describe the control measures used by the government and their relationship with imported and domestically acquired case numbers, with the aim of identifying the measures associated with successful SARS-CoV-2 control. METHODS: Clinical and demographic data on the first 270 SARS-CoV-2 infected cases and the timing and nature of government control measures, including numbers of tests and quarantined individuals, were analyzed. Apple and Google mobility data provided proxies for population movement. Serial intervals were calculated from 33 infector-infectee pairs and used to estimate the proportion of presymptomatic transmission events and time-varying reproduction numbers. RESULTS: A national lockdown was implemented between 1 and 22 April. Around 200 000 people were quarantined and 266 122 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests conducted. Population mobility decreased progressively before lockdown. In total, 60% (163/270) of cases were imported; 43% (89/208) of resolved infections remained asymptomatic for the duration of infection. The serial interval was 3.24 days, and 27.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.7%-40.0%) of transmissions occurred presymptomatically. Limited transmission amounted to a maximum reproduction number of 1.15 (95% CI, .·37-2.·36). No community transmission has been detected since 15 April. CONCLUSIONS: Vietnam has controlled SARS-CoV-2 spread through the early introduction of mass communication, meticulous contact tracing with strict quarantine, and international travel restrictions. The value of these interventions is supported by the high proportion of asymptomatic and imported cases, and evidence for substantial presymptomatic transmission.

Transmission of SARS-CoV 2 During Long-Haul Flight.

To assess the role of in-flight transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we investigated a cluster of cases among passengers on a 10-hour commercial flight. Affected persons were passengers, crew, and their close contacts. We traced 217 passengers and crew to their final destinations and interviewed, tested, and quarantined them. Among the 16 persons in whom SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected, 12 (75%) were passengers seated in business class along with the only symptomatic person (attack rate 62%). Seating proximity was strongly associated with increased infection risk (risk ratio 7.3, 95% CI 1.2-46.2). We found no strong evidence supporting alternative transmission scenarios. In-flight transmission that probably originated from 1 symptomatic passenger caused a large cluster of cases during a long flight. Guidelines for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection among air passengers should consider individual passengers' risk for infection, the number of passengers traveling, and flight duration.

Quantifying the non-equilibrium activity of an active colloid.

Active matter systems exhibit rich emergent behavior due to constant injection and dissipation of energy at the level of individual agents. Since these systems are far from equilibrium, their dynamics and energetics cannot be understood using the framework of equilibrium statistical mechanics. Recent developments in stochastic thermodynamics extend classical concepts of work, heat, and energy dissipation to fluctuating non-equilibrium systems. We use recent advances in experiment and theory to study the non-thermal dissipation of individual light-activated self-propelled colloidal particles. We focus on characterizing the transition from thermal to non-thermal fluctuations and show that energy dissipation rates on the order of ∼kBT s-1 are measurable from finite time series data.

Active Lifestyle Patterns Reduce the Risk of Colorectal Cancer in the North of Vietnam: A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study.

A hospital-based, case-control study was conducted to investigate the association between lifestyle patterns and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the north of Vietnam. Demographic factors employed for the models were age, sex, marital status, occupation, education, income, smoking status, alcohol consumption, vegetable consumption, tea, coffee consumption, and physical activity (PA). Individuals of both groups (n = 154 for the control group and n = 136 for the CRC group) were interviewed using a questionnaire by trained interviewers. The findings showed that moderate PA was inversely associated with CRC risk: odds ratio (OR) = 0.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.10 to 0.36 with P < .01. The total PA showed that the highest tertile (>2.7 MET-h/d) was associated with the reduced risk of CRC compared with the lowest tertile one after controlling for confounding factors: adjusted OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.09 to 0.74, P < .01. Sedentary time was associated with an increased level of CRC risk by 57% as compared between the highest tertile and the lowest one after controlling for confounding factors. Daily consumption of vegetables and 1 to 3 cups of tea per day or more were also associated with decreased risk of CRC. Despite promising findings, a limitation of this research is that it did not establish a temporal relationship between risk factors and CRC due to its retrospective design. However, this is the first analytic study highlighting the role of the active lifestyle pattern associated with reduced CRC risk in Vietnamese adults.

Willingness to Pay for a Quality-Adjusted Life Year among Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Hospital of Vietnam, 2022.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer burden in Asia is increasing, and Vietnam is no exception. Assessing the affordability of achieving a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in gastrointestinal cancer patients Vietnam, as well as identifying predictors of willingness to pay (WTP) per QALY, is crucial to decision-making around medical intervention prioritization and performing medical technology assessments for these cancers. OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to estimate WTP/QALY gained and associated factors among patients diagnosed with GI cancer at a tertiary hospital in Hue, Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study, using contingent valuation methodology was conducted among 231 patients at tertiary hospital in 2022. A double limited dichotomous choice and the EQ-5D-5L were utilised to estimate WTP and QALY, respectively. Quantile regression was applied to determine predictors of WTP/QALY. RESULTS: The mean and median maximum WTP/QALY gained among GI patients was $15,165.6 (42,239.6) and $4,365.6 (IQR: 1,586.5-14,552.0), respectively, which was equal to 3.68 times the 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Vietnam.  Additionally, cancer severity was found to have a significant impact  on WTP per QALY gained, with a higher amount identified among patients with earlier stages of GI cancer. Furthermore, living in an urban dwelling and patients' treatment modalities were significantly associated with WTP/QALY. CONCLUSION: Evidence from our study can be used to inform how decision-makers in Vietnam to determine the cost-effectiveness of GI cancer interventions.

Assessing the knowledge and practice toward food safety: An investigation of food selection and processing among primary food caregivers in a town of Ha Tinh province, Vietnam.

The food selection and processing stage are important stages to prevent food poisoning. A good level of knowledge and practice regarding food selection and processing among people who are responsible for the family meals are important. In this study, we aimed to investigate the knowledge and practice of primary food caregivers regarding food poisoning prevention in food selection and processing and identify the factors that influence these outcomes. The current study applied a cross-sectional study to investigate 422 primary food caregivers in urban areas in Vietnam. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and knowledge and practice were assessed based on pre-defined criteria. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and logistic regression. Our study found that 78.9% of people had good knowledge regarding food poisoning prevention in food selection and processing. Furthermore, 84.4% of people had correct practice in this regard. Our study also revealed that household income level and educational level were associated with knowledge and practice, respectively. The proportion of correct practice was higher in the group with good knowledge (90.4%) compared to the remaining group (61.8%). The results indicated that the proportion of good knowledge and practice were high among food caregivers, but further efforts are needed to improve the knowledge and practice of food caregivers with lower household income and educational levels. The findings also emphasize the importance of communication campaigns to enhance knowledge related to food poisoning prevention.

Approaches to Clinical Complete Response after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Possibilities and Limitations.

In the surgical oncology field, the change from a past radical surgery to an organ preserving surgery is a big trend. In muscle-invasive bladder cancer treatment, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by radical cystectomy (RC) is the standard of care for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients eligible for cisplatin. There is a growing interest in bladder preserving strategies after NAC because good oncologic outcome has been reported for pathologic complete response (pCR) patients after NAC, and many studies have continued to discuss whether bladder preservation treatment is possible for these patients. However, in actual clinical practice, decision-making should be determined according to clinical staging and there is a gap that cannot be ignored between clinical complete response (cCR) and pCR. Currently, there is a lack in a uniform approach to post-NAC restaging of MIBC and a standardized cCR definition. In this review, we clarify the gap between cCR and pCR at the current situation and focus on emerging strategies in bladder preservation in selected patients with MIBC who achieve cCR following NAC.

Assessment of Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Surgical Patients and Association Factors at Thu Duc District Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2018.

Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) is considered an important interventional tool for antimicrobial resistance. Guideline compliance was poor across different countries and this results in an inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics. The study was cross-sectional, combining qualitative and quantitative. The Research used the MOH's Antibiotic Preventive Medicine Guidelines as the standard to verify surgical preventive treatment compliance from patient medical records. Research performed on 373 medical records with surgical indications. The study was conducted from January to June 2019. Data were entered using Epidata software and processed by SPSS software version 19.0. Analysis: calculating OR for related factors. The compliance rate of using prophylactic antibiotics was 83.1%. There is a relationship between the type of incision, the length of time surgery, and compliance with surgical prophylactic use of antibiotics (P < .05). Barriers to adherence to prophylactic antimicrobial therapy include: overcrowding patients, health-care workers "broad-spectrum antibiotic use habits, and health-care workers" views on surgical and muscle environment, the material was not completely sterilized.

Successful containment of a flight-imported COVID-19 outbreak through extensive contact tracing, systematic testing and mandatory quarantine: Lessons from Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: The importation of SARS-CoV-2 through air travel poses substantial risks to generate new COVID-19 outbreaks. Timely contact tracing is particularly crucial to limit onwards transmission in settings without established community transmission. METHODS: We conducted an in-depth analysis of the response to a big flight-associated COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam in March 2020 that involved contact tracing, systematic testing and strict quarantine up to third generation contacts. RESULTS: 183 primary contacts from the flight as well as 1000 secondary and 311 third generation contacts were traced, tested, and quarantined across 15 provinces across Vietnam. The protracted confirmation of the index case at 3 days and 19 h after arrival resulted in isolation/quarantine delays of 6.8 days (IQR 6.3-6.8) and 5.8 days (IQR 5.8-7.0) for primary and secondary cases, respectively, which generated 84.0 and 26.4 person-days of community exposure from primary and secondary cases, respectively. Nevertheless, only 5 secondary cases occurred. CONCLUSIONS: A large flight-related COVID-19 cluster was successfully contained through timely, systematic and comprehensive public health responses despite delayed index case identification. Multiagency collaboration and pre-established mechanisms are crucial for low and middle income countries like Vietnam to limit community transmission after COVID-19 importation through air travel.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Rhodamine B in food using the plasmonic silver nanocube-based sensor as SERS active substrate.

The use of dye in food is harmful to human health and is prohibited nowadays. However, it is still used because of the benefits, such as cheap prices and abundant resources. Rhodamine B is usually used as the colorant in food such as chili powder, chili oil, etc. It is colorless at very low concentration 10-7 M. The sensitive detection of RhB at ultra-low concentration help to prevent some risk for human. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a great technique to detect the analytes at ultra-low concentration and provide the molecule's information as a fingerprint. In this study, silver nano-cube was facilely synthesized by reducing Ag+ in ethylene glycol and upgraded to thin-film as a SERS active substrate. RhB was detected at 10-10 M by a silver nano-cube sensor. The dynamic linear regression between the Raman intensity and RhB concentration over seven orders of magnitude (from 10-4 to 10-10 M) was excellent with high reliability (R2 = 0.99). Moreover, the substrate can be used after storing in a dark area for 60 days. This proposed nano-cube silver could serve as a potential substrate for detecting RhB in food at very low concentration.

The Level of Expression of Anxiety and Depression in Clinical Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in 2 Hospitals in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The disease caused by the SARS-Cov 2 virus has spread to most areas of the world with high rates of infection and deaths. Facing the complicated developments of the epidemic, clinical medical staff (CMS) are at risk of suffering psychological pressure. This study aimed to investigate the situation of anxiety, depression, and related factors affecting CMS during the COVID-19 pandemic at Dong Da General Hospital and Dong Anh General Hospital in Hanoi. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to July 2020 using self-administered questionnaires amongst 341 CMS. The participants' anxiety levels were assessed using the standardized General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) toolkit and levels of depression expression were assessed based on the standardized Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) toolkit. Of the CMS who completed the questionnaire, 33.1% had an anxiety disorder and 23.2% exhibited mild to very severe depression. The factors associated with anxiety and depression were department of work, shortage of human resources, and discrimination from the community that directly affects the family of the CMS. The study results highlight the need for a training session to equip CMS with the skills required to cope with psychological stress in all circumstances in general and during the pandemic in particular. This training is especially important for those working in at-risk departments which are susceptible to infection.

Describing the pattern of the COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam.

Given the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the huge negative impacts it is causing, researching on COVID-19-related issues is very important for designing proactive and comprehensive public health interventions to fight against the pandemic. We describe the characteristics of COVID-19 patients detected in the two phases of the epidemic in Vietnam. Data used in this paper were mainly obtained from the official database of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam. Descriptive statistics were carried out using Stata 16 software. As of 18 May 2020, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases detected in Vietnam was 324, 16 cases from 4 cities and provinces in the first phase (during 20 days, 0.8 cases detected per day) and 308 cases from 35 cities, provinces in the second phase (during 76 days, 4.1 cases detected per day). Vietnam has mobilized its entire political system to fight the COVID-19 and achieved some initial successes. We found both similarities and differences between the two phases of the COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam. We demonstrated that the situation of the COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam is getting more complicated and unpredictable.

Drinking & driving in Viet Nam: prevalence, knowledge, attitudes, and practices in two provinces.

OBJECTIVE: Viet Nam is experiencing a shift in its burden of disease profile with injuries becoming more prominent. A history of high alcohol involvement in road traffic crashes despite stringent laws led to increased enforcement by police, enhanced public education messaging and targeted social marketing campaigns in Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces in Viet Nam. This study aims to illustrate the changes in prevalence (November 2010 to December 2011) and knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) around alcohol use and drink-driving for the year 2011. METHODS: Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) was collected through police enforcement checkpoints in the two provinces. The proportion of drivers with BrAC above the legal limit was plotted over time for both provinces. The trend in prevalence of drink-driving over time was further assessed using Poisson regression models. Prevailing KAPs were determined through surveying randomly selected road users over the age of 17 years at gas stations at quarterly intervals. Cross tabulations of key variables as well Chi-Square statistic were used to assess associations. RESULTS: A total of 8,404 drivers were tested for BrAC levels of which less than 0.25% were female. Of 1,639 drivers displaying BrAC levels in excess of the legal limit, 87.3% were car drivers, 7.9% motorcyclists and 86% were between the ages of 25 and 44 years. KAP surveys captured 1,661 drivers over the study period. The prevalence of self-reported drink-driving increased 6 percentage points among respondents aged 27-36. Between 44% (January 2011) and 49% (December 2011) of respondents indicated awareness of a drinking and driving Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) or BrAC limit and only 25% of all study participants recalled being penalized for a traffic violation - none of which were for drink-driving. CONCLUSION: While there has been some reduction in drink-driving prevalence, inadequate or incorrect knowledge on drink-driving legislation appears to be an impediment to greater gains. Increased attention needs to be paid to enforcement activities and social marketing campaigns need to be part of a multi-faceted programme that also works on improving existing legislation, takes into consideration gender issues, and enhances visible enforcement of the laws.

Impacts of flood on health: epidemiologic evidence from Hanoi, Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Vietnam is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. The country suffers from many kinds of natural disasters, of which the most common and serious one is flooding. Long and heavy rainfall during the last days of October and the first week of November 2008 resulted in a devastating flood unseen for over three decades in the capital city of Hanoi. It caused a substantial health impact on residents in and around the city and compromised the capacity of local health services. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to ascertain the vulnerability and health impacts of the devastating flood in Hanoi by identifying the differences in mortality, injuries, and morbidity patterns (dengue, pink eye, dermatitis, psychological problems, and hypertension) between flood affected and non-affected households. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 871 households in four selected communes (two heavily flood affected and two comparatively less affected) from two severely flooded districts of Hanoi. Participants were interviewed and information collected on the social, economic, and health impacts of the devastation within 1 month after the flood. RESULTS: The self-reported number of deaths and injuries reported in this study within 1 month after the heavy rainfall were a bit higher in severely affected communes as compared to that of the less affected communes of our study. The findings showed higher incidences of dengue fever, pink eye, dermatitis, and psychological problems in communes severely affected by flood as compared to that of the controlled communes. CONCLUSIONS: For people in flood prone areas (at risk for flooding), flood prevention and mitigation strategies need to be seriously thought through and acted upon, as these people are exposed to greater health problems such as psychological issues and communicable diseases such as pink eye or dermatitis.

Live poultry exposures, Hong Kong and Hanoi, 2006.

Since 1997, the largest epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) ever recorded has caused 172 human and several billion bird deaths. Recently administered questionnaires determined that live poultry exposures have declined by approximately 63% in Hong Kong since 2004 and that, in Vietnam, domestic backyard exposures to poultry are likely more important than retail exposures.