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BACKGROUND: Protection against infection by the bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a subject of controversy. We investigated the association between BCG vaccination at birth and infection by M. tuberculosis.MATERIAL and METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of data from tuberculin skin test (TST) surveys in Vietnamese schoolchildren between 1988 and 2001. We investigated whether a BCG scar was associated with a lower prevalence of TST positivity, adjusting for BCG-induced variation by varying cut-off values for a positive TST.RESULTS: We found a positive association between BCG scar and TST positivity. The strength of the association decreased with increasing TST cut-off values; however, it never inverted significantly, irrespective of geographic region and survey year.CONCLUSION: In Vietnam, BCG vaccination was not associated with reduced M. tuberculosis infection prevalence as measured using TST. This in contrary to a similar study conducted in Tanzania. These contradictory findings may be explained by geographical differences and the relatively high prevalence in Vietnam of the M. tuberculosis Beijing genotype, which is reported to be capable of circumventing BCG-induced immunity.

To study the association between TB and household expenditure in a nationwide TB prevalence survey in Viet Nam using nine household characteristics. To assess the prevalence of TB in Viet Nam, a nationwide stratified cluster sample survey was conducted from 2006 to 2007. Nine household characteristics used in the second Viet Nam Living Standards Survey (VLSS) were scored per household. In the VLSS dataset, we regressed these nine characteristics against household expenditure per capita, and used the coefficients to predict household expenditure level (in quintiles) in our survey and assess its relation with TB prevalence. The prevalence of bacteriologically confirmed TB was 307 per 100 000 population in persons aged ≥15 years (95%CI 249-366). After adjustment for confounders, prevalence was found to be associated with household expenditure level: the rate was 2.5 times higher for those in the lowest household expenditure quintile (95%CI 1.6-3.9) than those in the highest quintile. With a set of nine household characteristics, we were able to predict household expenditure level fairly accurately. There was a significant association between TB prevalence rates and estimated household expenditure level, showing that TB is related to poverty in Viet Nam

BACKGROUND: There is a need for low-technology, inexpensive screening tools for active tuberculosis (TB) case finding. OBJECTIVE: To assess the potential usefulness of measuring exhaled nitric oxide (eNO). DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparison in Hanoi, Viet Nam, comparing 90 consecutive smear-positive, culture-confirmed TB patients presenting at a referral hospital with office workers (no X-ray confirming TB) at this hospital (n = 52) and at a construction firm (n = 84). eNO levels were analysed using a validated handheld analyser. RESULTS: eNO levels among TB patients (median 115 parts per billion [ppb], interquartile range [IQR] 10-20) were equal to those among construction firm workers (15 ppb, IQR 12-19, P = 0.517) but higher than those among hospital workers (8.5 ppb, IQR 5-12.5, P

Aan de hand van achttien vragen en antwoorden wordt het begrip MRSA (methicilline resistente Staphylococcus aureus) in landbouwhuisdieren behandelt

Sporadic reports from centres in the south and east of the Mediterranean have suggested that the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in this region appears to be considerable, yet pan-regional studies using comparable methodology have been lacking in the past. Susceptibility test results from invasive isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecium and faecalis routinely recovered from clinical samples of blood and cerebrospinal fluid within participating laboratories situated in Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey were collected as part of the ARMed project. Preliminary data from the first two years of the project showed the prevalence of penicillin non-susceptibility in S. pneumoniae to range from 0% (Malta) to 36% (Algeria) [median: 29%] whilst methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus varied from 10% in Lebanon to 65% in Jordan [median: 43%]. Significant country specific resistance in E. coli was also seen, with 72% of isolates from Egyptian hospitals reported to be resistant to third generation cephalosporins and 40% non-susceptible to fluoroquinolones in Turkey. Vancomycin non-susceptibility was only reported in 0.9% of E. faecalis isolates from Turkey and in 3.8% of E. faecium isolates from Cyprus. The preliminary results from the ARMed project appear to support previous sporadic reports suggesting high antibiotic resistance in the Mediterranean region. They suggest that this is particularly the case in the eastern Mediterranean region where resistance in S. aureus and E. coli seems to be higher than that reported in the other countries of the Mediterranean.

Alcohol is a probable risk factor with regard to colorectal neoplasm and is metabolized to the carcinogen acetaldehyde by the genetically polymorphic alcohol dehydrogenase 3 (ADH3) enzyme. We evaluated whether the association between alcohol and colorectal adenomas is modified by ADH3 polymorphism. We recruited 433 cases with adenomatous polyps and 436 polyp-free controls among Caucasians undergoing endoscopy between 1995 and 2000. Frequency and amount of habitual alcohol consumption were assessed by beverage type, using a validated self-administered food frequency questionnaire. All participants provided blood for genotyping of ADH3. Multivariate analyses adjusting for gender, age, and indication for endoscopy showed that alcohol increased the risk of colorectal adenomas among women [odds ratio (OR), 1.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0-3.2, greater than or equal to10 versus 21 drinks/week (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.9-3.8, compared with men drinking

Het doel van de studiereis was om kennis uit te wisselen tussen de Nederlandse onderzoekers in opleiding en hun Zuid-Afrikaanse collegae, op het gebied van voeding, gezondheid en epidemiologie