Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease

321-326

Authors: Panupong Upala, Tawatchi Apidechkul, Wipob Suttana, Ratakorn Aimkosa

Objective: To determine the correlations between the meteorological data and the number of hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) cases in 2016 in Northern Thailand, and to estimate the medical costs. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted. Data on numbers of HFMD cases were collected from 49 hospitals in three different provinces in Northern Thailand: 16 hospitals from Chiang Rai Province, 7 hospitals from Pha Yao Province, and 26 hospitals from Chiang Mai Province. A questionnaire had been developed and tested for validity and reliability before used. The specific form for collecting meteorological data was developed and used in the field. All information was recorded in the same data spread sheet before analysis. Chi-square and correlation tests were used for explaining the epidemiology of HFMD in the areas. An alpha error at 0.05 was used to determine the statistical significance level. Results: A total of 8 261 cases were analyzed in the study. 56.0% were males, 97.5% aged less than 6 years, 82.6% were out-patient department (OPD) cases, 75.5% were reported in raining season, and 43.2% were from Chiang Mai Province. The number of HFMD cases had statistically significant correlations with temperature, air pressure, relative humidity, and rainfall amount. Averagely, 216 baht and 3 678 baht per case per visit had to be expended for medical cost in OPD and IPD cases, respectively. Most of the cases had been reported in the border areas: Thai-Myanmar, and Thai-Lao. Conclusions: Thailand health care system should provide a concrete schedule for taking care of HFMD patients during raining season, and should develop an effective preventive and control program for HFMD particularly among children less than 6 years.

332-340

Authors: Siti Nur Anis Hasnan, Nazri Che Dom, Zulkiflee Abd Latif, Faiz Madzlan

Objective: To determine the infestation profile by performing ovitrap surveillance in four types of residential areas in central zone of Shah Alam, Selangor. Methods: 600 ovitraps were exposed for 4 days in intradomiciliary environments within 20 residential areas including independent houses, inter-connected houses, commercial buildings and mixed houses areas. The ecological conditions of the surrounding environment were observed and recorded. The distributions and abundances of the Aedes mosquitoes were presented in terms of positive ovitrap index (POI) and mean eggs per trap (MET). One-way ANOVA test was used to determine the association between the type of residential areas and the number of ovitrap with eggs and the egg count. Results: The result implied that Seksyen 7 has the highest reading of both ovitrap index and egg count (POI = 86.21%, MET = 41.68 eggs). There was no significant difference in the POI and MET of Aedes mosquitoes between the type of housing areas (P > 0.05). The surrounding environmental conditions were believed to be the main influence of the abundance and distribution of the Aedes mosquitoes in Shah Alam. Unhygienic conditions were observed in all type of residential areas. These included the abandoned kitchen utensils and flower pots stored at the backyard which lead to collected stagnant water that later served as the favourable places for female Aedes to oviposit. Conclusions: The key to effectively control the dengue outbreak is to have an advance understanding to all the high potential transmission areas or habitat which are generally the areas with the densest human and vector population.

344-346

Authors: Anucha Sirimalaisuwan, Pradthana Teeraruk, Penpisoot Kanjanapitakchai, Thattawan Kaewsakhorn, Panyisa Potibut, Surachai Pikulkaew

Objective: To detect Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum) infections in healthy Siamese fighting fish from ornamental fish shops in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Methods: Mycobacterium spp. were isolated from 380 internal organs of healthy Siamese fighting fish using Löwenstein-Jensen and Middlebrook 7H10 culture media. A 924-bp DNA fragment from mycobacterial 16S rRNA was amplified and digested with BanI and ApaI restriction enzymes to yield unique restriction patterns for each mycobacterial specie. Results: Thirty-five mycobacterial isolates (8.42%) were recovered from 380 Siamese fighting fish; 21 isolates (5.5%) and 11 isolates (2.29%) were identified as M. marinum and Mycobacterium chelonae, respectively. Conclusions: The results demonstrated the presence of M. marinum zoonotic bacterial pathogens in healthy Siamese fighting fish, and underlined the infection risk to humans of not only exposure to infected fish, but also when they manipulate clinically asymptomatic fish.

352-355

Authors: Victor Baba Oti*, Grace Rinmecit Pennap, Ochiche Dennis, Abimiku Samuel Ajegena, Moses Peter Adoga

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and predictors of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection among patients attending a healthcare facility in Nigeria. Methods: Blood samples were collected between July–August, 2016 from 240 patients who gave informed consent and completed self-administered questionnaires. Out of the 240 subjects, 101 (42.1%) were male and 139 (57.9%) were female. Plasma samples were examined for anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies using a commercial antibody-based kit. Results: Out of the 240 subjects, 135 (56.3%) were seropositive. Of these, 53 (52.5%) males and 82 (59.0%) females were infected. Age and alcohol consumption were significant predictors of infection (P < 0.05). Although subjects who were female, married, full time house wives and lived in urban areas were more likely to be infected, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Infection with H. pylori was found among patients attending a tertiary healthcare facility in Nigeria. High proportions of patients (56.3%) were infected in the study area. Our findings have public health significance for the prevention and control of the infection in Nigeria.

362-363

Authors: Hazrat Bilal, Zia Ullah, Saboor Ahmad, Sumrin Sahar

No.

366-373

Authors: Fatmawati, Hengki Tasman

In this paper we presented a mathematical model of the spread of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) co-infection considering the resistance of HIV to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The model also included anti-TB and ARV treatments as system control variables. For the model without controls, we investigated the existence and stability of equilibria based on three basic reproduction numbers corresponding to the TB and two strains HIV infection. We also performed sensitivity analysis to determine the dominant factor controlling the spread. Then, the optimal control condition was derived using Pontryagin Maximum Principle on the model to achieve the goal of minimizing the number of infected population. The numerical simulations of the optimal control were also performed to illustrate the results.