Two Human Cases of Echinococcus ortleppi Infection in the Lung and Heart in Vietnam

This is a report of 2 cases of human hydatidosis caused by Echinococcus ortleppi in Vietnam. The patients were a 12-year-old male (case 1) having a cyst of 10.0×9.0 cm size in the lung and a 50-year-old female with a 3.0×3.3 cm-sized cyst in the heart. Eosinophilia was 33.7% in the male and 45.8% in the female patient. C-reactive protein was increased to 16.5 mg/L in the male and 18.2 mg/L in the female. Both patients were positive for ELISA at OD=2.5 and 3.1, respectively. Echinococcus protoscolices were collected from the cysts by amniocentesis and surgery. The protoscolices were identified as E. ortleppi by morphology and analysis of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase 1 (nad1) gene sequence. Both patients were cured by surgical resection of the hydatid cyst combined with albendazole medication. The E. ortleppi infection in lung is the second report, and the other in the heart is the first in Vietnam.

Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminths and Molecular Clarification of Hookworm Species in Ethnic Ede Primary Schoolchildren in Dak Lak Province, Southern Vietnam

To know the infection status of helminths in primary schoolchildren of southern parts of Vietnam, we performed an epidemiological study in Krong Pac district, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. A total of 1,206 stool specimens were collected from ethnic Ede schoolchildren in 4 primary schools in 2015 and examined by the Kato-Katz technique. In addition, stool cultures were done by the Harada-Mori method to obtain hookworm larvae and then to clarify the species of hookworms infected. The results showed that the helminth infection rate was 25.0%, including 2.0% Ascaris lumbricoides, 0.33% Trichuris trichiura, and 22.8% hookworm infections. The average intensity of infection was 102.0 eggs per gram of feces (EPG) for Ascaris, 36.0 EPG for Trichuris, and 218.0 EPG for hookworms. ITS1 gene sequences of the hookworm larvae were identical with those of Necator americanus (100% homology) reported in GenBank. It has been confirmed in this study that the hookworm, N. americanus, is a dominant helminth species infected in primary schoolchildren of a southern part of Vietnam. Public health attention is needed for control of hookworm infections among schoolchildren in surveyed areas of Vietnam.

A Case of Ocular Angiostrongyliasis with Molecular Identification of the Species in Vietnam

A 23-year-old female residing in a village of Cao Bang Province, North Vietnam, visited the Hospital of Hanoi Medical University in July 2013. She felt dim eyes and a bulge-sticking pain in her left eye for some days before visiting the hospital. In the hospital, a clinical examination, an eye endoscopy, and an operation were carried out. A nematode specimen was collected from the eye of this patient. The body of this worm was thin and long and measured 22.0x0.3 mm. It was morphologically suggested as an immature female worm of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. By a molecular method using 18S rRNA gene, this nematode was confirmed as A. cantonensis. This is the first molecular study for identification of A. cantonensis in Vietnam.

Molecular Diagnosis of an Ocular Toxocariasis Patient in Vietnam

An ocular Toxocara canis infection is reported for the first time in Vietnam. A 34-year-old man residing in a village of Son La Province, North Vietnam, visited the National Eye Hospital (NEH) in August 2011. He felt a bulge-sticking pain in his left eye and loss of vision occurred over 3 months before visiting the hospital. The eye examination in the hospital showed damage of the left eye, red eye, retinal fibrosis, retinal detachment, inflammation of the eye tissues, retinal granulomas, and a parasitic cyst inside. A larva of Toxocara was collected with the cyst by a medical doctor by surgery. Comparison of 264 nucleotides of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of ribosomal DNA was done between our Vietnamese Toxocara canis and other Toxocara geographical isolates, including Chinese T. canis, Japanese T. canis, Sri Lankan T. canis, and Iranian T. canis. The nucleotide homology was 97-99%, when our T. canis was compared with geographical isolates. Identification of a T. canis infection in the eye by a molecular method was performed for the first time in Vietnam.

An Outbreak of Trichinosis with Molecular Identification of Trichinella sp. in Vietnam

The 5th outbreak of trichinosis occurred in a mountainous area of North Vietnam in 2012, involving 24 patients among 27 people who consumed raw pork together. Six of these patients visited several hospitals in Hanoi for treatment. Similar clinical symptoms appeared in these patients within 5-8 days after eating infected raw pork, which consisted of fever, muscle pain, difficult moving, edema, difficult swallowing, and difficult breathing. ELISA revealed all (6/6) positive reactions against Trichinella spiralis antigen and all cases showed positive biopsy results for Trichinella sp. larvae in the muscle. The larvae detected in the patients were identified as T. spiralis (Vietnamese strain) by the molecular analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit III (cox3) gene.