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Forage legumes have the potential to provide high quality feed to small land-holder farmers’ swine production, but forage management schemes that ensure both quantity and suitable quality as a swine feed are needed. Five forage legumes (aeschynomene [Aeschynomene histrix ‘BRA 9690’], canavalia [Canavalia brasiliensis ‘CIAT 17009’], stylo ‘CIAT 184’ and ‘Composite’ [Stylosanthes guianensis ‘CIAT 184’, ‘Composite’] and vigna [Vigna unguiculata ‘CIAT 1088-4’]) were grown during 2009–2010 in Lao PDR, and subjected to three harvesting interval treatments (21, 30 and 45 days). The yield and chemical composition of these legumes were determined. Stylo ‘Composite’ produced the highest average dry matter (DM) yield, followed by stylo ‘CIAT 184’, aeschynomene, canavalia and vigna. Harvesting every 45 days produced higher DM yields than the other treatments. Differences in crude protein (CP) content between species and treatments were small with stylo ‘CIAT 184’ and stylo ‘Composite’ having the lowest values. CP content was highest with the shortest harvesting interval, while the opposite was true for the fiber content (crude fiber, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber). All legumes produced a higher DM yield with a higher CP content in the wet season than in the dry season. The array of essential amino acids in relation to requirements for growing swine was excellent for all forage legumes except for canavalia. In conclusion, stylo (‘Composite’ and ‘CIAT 184’) and aeschynomene can be recommended for use by swine land-holder farmers in Lao PDR.

Objective To assess the safety, acceptability, and feasibility of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) followed by immediate treatment with cryotherapy as a single-visit approach for the prevention of cervical cancer among women in rural Laos. Methods In 2009, women from 2 provinces in Laos were recruited for cervical cancer screening using VIA. If the inspection of the cervix showed a well-defined acetowhite lesion close to the os, immediate cryotherapy was offered. Results Of the 1926 women who were included, 134 (7.0%) tested positive on VIA. Of these, 113 (84.3%) underwent immediate cryotherapy and none declined treatment. One year after immediate cryotherapy, 77 (68.1%) women returned for a follow-up assessment and 68 (88.3%) were now VIA-negative. There was no report of a major complication during or after treatment. The acceptance of both VIA and cryotherapy was high. Conclusion Visual inspection with acetic acid is a simple test that requires minimal infrastructure and expenditure. Integration of VIA with cryotherapy at the primary care level may constitute a feasible program for the prevention of cervical cancer in Laos.

The aims were to investigate the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation among school-aged children residing in Vientiane capital city; and to assess the impact of its infestation on nutrition status of those children. The school-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2005 to February 2006. The systemic random samplings were employed to select schools and schoolchildren. Five hundred and thirty-six schoolchildren (350 high-school children and 186 parents of elementary-school children) were completely interviewed by semistructured questionnaire and performed anthropometric measurement. The direct faecal smear was employed to analyse 299 (55.8%) stool samples. The SPSS version 12.01 and Epi Info version 6.0 were used for data analysis The overall prevalence of parasitic infestation was 38.1% with 18.1% of Opisthorchis viverrini and 14.7% of Ascaris lumbricoides. The prevalences of stunting and underweight were 20.2% and 20.0% respectively. The prevalences of stunting (OR = 3.28; P < 0.01) and underweight (OR = 2.69; P < 0.05) were higher among high-school children who were infested by intestinal parasites. Approximately one-third of schoolchildren in Vientiane capital city were infested by intestinal parasites. The persistent parasitic infestation seemed to be associated with growth rate pattern among those children. School-based parasite control programme and health promotion are needed to eliminate this major public health problem in Lao People Democratic Republic. (authors)