Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), an emerging tick-borne viral disease, is prevalent in East Asia and has also been reported in Southeast Asia since 2019. SFTS patients in Vietnam were first reported in 2019. However, the seroprevalence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) in Vietnam has not been reported. To investigate the seroprevalence of SFTSV in Vietnam, we collected serum samples from 714 healthy residents in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, and the seroprevalence of SFTSV was assessed using immunofluorescence antibody assay (IFA), Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) and the 50% focus reduction neutralization test (FRNT50) assay. The seroprevalence of anti-SFTSV IgM or IgG was observed to be 3.64% (26/714), high IgM positivity was >80 (0.28%, 2/714) and the titer of neutralizing antibodies against SFTSV ranged from 15.5 to 55.9. In Pakistan, SFTSV infection confirmed using a microneutralization test (MNT) assay (prevalence is 2.5%) and ELISAs showed a high seroprevalence (46.7%) of SFTSV. Hence, the seroprevalence rate in Vietnam is similar to that in Pakistan and the number of SFTS patients could increase in Vietnam.

Dengue, affecting over 3.9 billion people, is a significant health threat globally. Despite a tenfold increase in reported cases from 2000 to 2020, underreporting remains an issue. Our study utilized traveler data from the five Western Pacific countries and territories as sentinel sites, to examine dengue surveillance in Southeast and South Asia. We reported dengue cases among returning travelers (2010-2018) and computed dengue incidence per 100,000 travelers for each destination country. We compared officially reported dengue incidence per 100,000 inhabitants of the destination country with estimated incidence per 100,000 travelers, using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Key findings revealed eight Southeast and South Asia countries as popular destinations for our sentinel sites, with Australia exhibiting the highest incidence (40.7 per 100,000 travelers). Dengue incidence variations were evident, with Malaysia showing a sharp increase over time. Correlation analysis showed strong links in Malaysia (r = 0.66-0.92) and weaker connections in India (r = -0.54-0.76) between dengue incidence among inhabitants and travelers. Systematically collected dengue surveillance data from returning travelers can serve as a proxy for dengue incidence in the destination country and can be used to assess the robustness of the country's dengue surveillance.

Background: Dengue fever is hyperendemic in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), where transmission is driven by Aedes mosquitoes and influenced by large-scale climatic phenomena, including the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). As a landlocked nation, the Lao PDR experiences sharper winter temperature declines than coastal regions, which may impose a seasonal “bottleneck” on vector survival and dengue transmission. This study examined whether winter minimum temperatures act as a seasonal transmission bottleneck, alongside the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) and the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), during 2014–2023. Methods: Monthly dengue case counts reported to the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR, from January 2014 to December 2023 were analyzed using region-specific quasi-Poisson distributed lag nonlinear models. Models incorporated 3-month-lagged ONI/DMI cross-basis functions, winter minimum temperature hinges, long-term trends, and seasonality, with population as an offset. Region-specific estimates were pooled using multivariate meta-analysis to generate best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs). Optimal lag structures and temperature thresholds were selected by minimizing the quasi-Akaike information criterion and residual sum of squares. Results: A total of 134,093 dengue cases were reported, with substantial regional heterogeneity. The Capital Region had the highest burden (40,672 cases; annual incidence 35.4 per 100,000), followed by the Southern Mountains and Tropical Rainforests region (20,176 cases; 23.3 per 100,000). Annual incidence in each region appeared constrained by region-specific winter minimum temperature thresholds. Pooled BLUPs analyses adjusted for covariates revealed monotonic cumulative relative risk increases with ONI [RR = 2.83 at ONI = 2.0; 95% confidence interval ( CI ): 1.46–5.49) and decreases with DMI (RR = 0.37 at DMI = 1.5; 95% CI: 0.24–0.59). Conclusions: Winter cold functions as a primary bottleneck for dengue transmission in the Lao PDR, with ENSO amplifying and IOD suppressing outbreak risk. These findings support the development of climate-integrated, region-specific early warning systems. Incorporating 3-month-lagged climate indices may enhance public health preparedness for future dengue outbreaks. Graphical

The purpose of this study was to systematically review published articles on Yaksun studies and provide understanding on current and future studies with Yaksun and medical treatment with food. We performed systematic review on the Yaksun studies published recent 16 years from 2000 to 2016 using seven Korean database on research articles. We found 90 articles are relevant for the analysis. The articles on Yaksun were significantly increased since 2005. As for the research field, Food Science (39 articles, 31.0%) and Tourism (20 articles, 15.9%) were dominant throughout the years. Researchers from Science of cookery (35 articles, 35.0%) and Food and Nutrition (32 articles, 32.0%) were found to be most frequent. The prime type of research on Yaksun were the We found that the Survey (49 articles, 52.7%) was the most frequent research method and basic research for providing related data (41 articles, 45.6%) was easily found as for the purpose of the article. We found that there were insufficient reports on clinical efficacy of Yaksun, especially with the treatment of diseases. The interest of medical professionals is needed for the better understanding on the medical use of Yaksun and therapeutic diet which has potentials for integrative medicine.

Background: Despite progress in maternal health in Lao PDR, timely access and the completeness of antenatal care (ANC) services remain uneven, particularly in remote provinces with high maternal mortality. Understanding the patterns of ANC utilization and barriers to receiving adequate care is essential to inform targeted interventions.Objective: This study examined factors associated with early ANC initiation (≤12 weeks’ gestation), adequate ANC (≥4 visits), and the coverage of essential ANC components among women in two northern provinces.Methods: In February 2023, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in Xiengkhuang and Huaphanh provinces, using stratified three-stage cluster sampling to recruit 380 women with children under 2 years. Face-to-face interviews collected data on ANC timing and frequency, receipt of 13 Ministry-of-Health-defined ANC services, and education on five key pregnancy danger signs. Descriptive statistics summarized utilization, and multivariable logistic regression identified predictors of timely and adequate ANC.Results: While 95% of participants reported at least one ANC visit and 77.1% had four or more, only 34.5% began ANC within the first trimester. Lack of road access was associated with lower odds of timely and adequate ANC up to 59% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] for adequate ANC: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.19–0.90). Ethnic minorities, specifically Hmong-Lu Mien women, were associated with 87% reduced odds of having adequate ANC e (aOR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.02–0.71). Service completeness remained low: just 10.7% reported receiving all essential 13 ANC components, and comprehensive education on all five key pregnancy danger signs was rare (1.5%), and 1.5% reported receiving full education on danger signs; counseling on life-threatening symptoms reached 5.7%. Laboratory services (anemia screening 82.2%, HIV testing 78.4%) and iron supplementation (98%) were common, but only 24.4% reported folic acid provision.Conclusion: Despite significant improvements in overall ANC coverage in Lao PDR, critical gaps persist in timely initiation and completeness of ANC services, particularly among geographically and ethnically marginalized groups. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions that address both geographic and cultural barriers and enhance the timeliness and completeness of ANC services to reduce disparities and maximize maternal health benefits in resource-limited settings.

We report a case of Taenia solium taeniasis in a 10-year-old child in Timor-Leste, confirmed by molecular analysis, suggesting T. solium transmission to humans is occurring in Timor-Leste. Proactive measures are needed to improve public understanding of prevalence, geographic spread, and health implications of human taeniasis and cysticercosis in Timor-Leste.