Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine

147-152

Authors: Rinku Rozera, Surajpal Verma, Ravi Kumar, Anzarul Haque, Anshul Attri

Dengue fever is a disease that is caused by five dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. It is endemic in more than 128 countries. Millions of people are affected by this disease. But still, there is no specific treatment available till now to combat it. Some of the preventive measures using plant extracts showed certain promising ovicidal activity against Aedes aegypti. There are some vaccines as preventive measure and antiviral agents to cure the dengue fever, which are under clinical trials but their results have not been reported or approved yet. Dengvaxia is the only licensed vaccine to prevent dengue fever in some South American countries, but it is not approved by other regulatory authorities worldwide. Scientific research has been going on to find a permanent cure for dengue fever, but till now, no successful invention has been done. There are some general treatments for dengue patient by employing analgesics and fluid replacement; however, specific treatment is needed to overcome the lethal effect of dengue fever. Since this disease has affected millions of people and not much invention has been made in this field; therefore, advancement in dengue therapy is required for the safety and well-being of dengue patients. Herein we collectively describe the different chemotherapeutics agents, alternative methods like vaccines and antiviral agents to prevent and cure this lethal disease. Furthermore, the future perspective for the treatment of dengue is discussed in this review.

163-169

Authors: Izumi Mashima, Citra F. Theodorea, Boonyanit Thaweboon, Sroisiri Thaweboon, Tippanart Vichayanrat, Frank A. Scannapieco, Futoshi Nakazawa

Objective: To investigate the composition of the salivary microbiome of 50 healthy Thai children. Methods: A total 76 provinces in Thailand are grouped into 5 geographical clusters based on unique economics, foods and lifestyles. Geographical locations and the results of an oral assessment were also considered. Genomic DNA was extracted from stimulated saliva samples. Subsequently, amplicon libraries were prepared by 16S Metagenomic Sequencing Library Preparation. The amplicons were sequenced using an Illumina Miseq platform followed by bioinformatics and statistical analyses. Results: The correlation between oral hygiene status and caries history varied from r 2 =0.887 to r 2 =0.999 in the geographical groups, suggesting oral hygiene status a strong association between caries history. Twenty taxonomic groups were found in all subjects and constituted 93.6%-96.5% of the microbiome. Of these, genus Veillonella and Prevotella showed significant differences in their proportions between the geographical groups (P<0.05). Furthermore, the proportion of Veillonella parvula, as well as Rothia aeria and Rothia dentocariosa tended to increase with worse oral hygiene status, which was also related to higher dental caries history. Conclusions: The differences in the salivary microbiome as related to geographic regions suggest that environmental factors, which may include dietary habits, could influence the predominant bacteria found in the mouth of Thai children, especially the genus Veillonella and Prevotella. The ratio of Veillonella parvula, Rothia aeria and Rothia dentocariosa may be indicators of worse oral hygiene status and future caries in this population.

175-180

Authors: Ahmed Dahiru Balami, Hadiza Umar Meleh

Objective: To determine the spread of misinformation on salt water among Nigerians, salt water use for Ebola prophylaxis, and the role played by the social media during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Methods: Information was collected from the general Nigerian population through online Google forms which were majorly disseminated via Facebook and WhatsApp platforms. The data retrieved was analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. Results: A total of 703 questionnaires were included in the final analysis. The respondents’ mean age was (30.2±6.7) years, predominantly male (73.2%). Almost all of them (95.0%) had received some message to use salt water, 37.4% of whom received such message on social media. Around a half of them ever made an attempt to verify the health information they received on social media (50.9%), and about a quarter (24.0%) of them had used salt water during the outbreak. Many of them had used salt water because they believed it would not harm them (52.0%). Salt water was less likely to be used by those who had received such message on social media, as well as by those who had received some contrary information to salt use. Conclusions: Social media could serve as an effective tool in propagating health information and should be actively engaged by health agencies, to spread accurate information.

185-194

Authors: Shu-Wei Zheng

Rationale: Disseminated nocardiosis due to Nocardia otitidiscaviarum is rarely reported in immunocompetent hosts. Patient concerns: A 59 year old male patient complained of painful soft tissue swellings and fever for two days. Diagnosis: Disseminated nocardiosis due to Nocardia otitidiscaviarum. Interventions: Initial antimicrobial therapy with imipenem and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was switched to 6 weeks of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, linezolid and tigecycline after sensitivity test results were available. Thereafter, the patient was switched to maintenance trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and moxifloxacin. Prednisolone was gradually tapered. Outcomes: Soft tissue swelling and pain disappeared and the patient was discharged uneventfully. Lessons: Disseminated nocardiosis due to Nocardia otitidiscaviarum should be suspected in immunocompetent hosts with risk factors such as medication with prednisolone. Early identification of the causative species and susceptibility results is crucial given the diverse resistance patterns amongst various Nocardia species.