Dear Editor,Toxoplasma gondii was discovered more than 100 years ago and has a broad-spectrum of intermediate hosts in addition to its definitive host,felids.Although it does not cause symptomatic illness in most adults,it can lead to mental retardation in congenitally infected children and
Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia and borders Thailand,Myanmar and Cambodia,the three countries in this region that have been hardest hit by human immunodeficiency virus(HIV).Laos has been regarded as a low-HIVprevalence country for decades.To understand the status of HIV in Laos in recent years,a retrospective study was performed among 2851 patients visiting a hospital in Vientiane,the capital of Laos,from November 2011 to May 2012.Whole blood samples were obtained from the patients,and DNA was extracted.HIV status was determined by HIV gag fragment-specific PCR assay.Sixty-nine samples were detected as HIV proviral DNA positive with a positive rate of 2.4%(69/2851).Sixty-one near full-length genomic sequences were obtained from the positive samples.The results of phylogenetic analysis showed that the vast majority(91.8%)of the HIV strains belonged to CRF01AE,and the other five(8.2%)strains were identified as a new HIV circulating recombinant form CRF9701B,which had a CRF01AE backbone with an insertion of subtype B in the gag-pol region.Phylogeographic analysis revealed that HIV CRF01AE circulating in Laos were multiply introduced from Thailand.These results indicated that Laos might be suffering a considerably more serious impact of HIV than previously believed.To keep this country from undergoing the same increase in HIV prevalence observed in its neighbors,immediate intervention measures and sufficient epidemiological research are urgently needed.
Background:Network analyses have been widely utilized to evaluate large datasets,but have not yet been used to explore factors associated with risk behaviours.In combination with traditional regression analysis,network analyses may provide useful information and highlight key factors for reducing needle sharing behaviours among people who inject drugs(PWID).Methods:Sociodemographic data,and information on injection behaviour and sexual practices were collected from a cross-sectional survey that was conducted with PWID in five prefectures of Yunnan province,China.A combination of logistic regression and correlation network analyses were used to explore key factors for reducing needle-sharing behaviours among PWID.Results:In a total of 1049 PWID,37.5%had a history of needle or syringe sharing.The logistic analysis showed that Zhaotong,Qujing,Dehong,or Lincang residents,diazepam use,longer injection duration,needle reuse,and infection with HIV,viral hepatitis,tuberculosis and/or malaria were independently associated with needle sharing.The correlation network analyses showed that,compared to PWID who had never shared needles,PWID who did share needles would achieve harm reduction goals faster and more permanently.HIV serostatus and marital status were found to be closely associated with other risk factors.By combining regression analyses with network analyses,it was shown that PWID who are HIV seropositive will be an ideal target group for harm reduction programs.Conclusion:Needle-sharing behaviours are common among PWID in Yunnan,and harm reduction programs may help PWID who are HIV seropositive reduce risk behaviours and prevent blood borne diseases.
China’s AIDS epidemic started among people who inject drugs(PWID)in Ruili county-level city,a China–Myanmar border city of Yunnan Province,in 1989(Fig.1).Since then HIV has spread rapidly across the country(He and Detels 2005).China launched a‘‘Four Frees and One Care’’policy in 2003 to fight against HIV/AIDS.As one
