BACKGROUND Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease with a worldwide distribution. In Vietnam, leptospirosis is considered endemic. In pigs, leptospirosis can result in reproductive problems (such as abortion and infertility) which lead to economic loss. In addition, transmission to people presents a public health risk. In Vietnam, few national studies have been conducted on sero-prevalenc...

To develop the large scale serological assay for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) infection, we evaluated two different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods using nucleocapsid protein (NP) and Gn proteins of CB1 (genotype B) SFTSV strains. The NP-based ELISA tests showed more sensitive with broad cross-reactivity between two different genotype A and B strai...

BACKGROUND Patients receiving maintenance haemodialysis (HD) are at higher risk for acquiring Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infections than the general population. Strict infection control measures are essential to prevent nosocomial transmission. We aimed to investigate the incidence and prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in the HD population of Libya as well as risk fac...

BACKGROUND A role for Epstein Barr virus (EBV) in multiple sclerosis (MS) has been postulated. Previous systematic reviews found higher prevalences of anti-EBV antibodies in MS patients compared to controls, but many studies have since been published, and there is a need to apply more rigorous systematic review methods. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We examined the link between EBV and MS by...

A serologic test for antibodies is useful for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori) infection in children. We evaluated the reliability of H.pylori IgG antibody titer in grading the severity of infection in children. We surveyed the sero-prevalence of H.pylori infection in 300 healthy school children (13 to 15 years old). Thirty-four percent(102 of 300 children) were sero-positive for H.py...

BACKGROUND Transfusion-transmissible viral infections, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), remain a major public health problem in developing countries. The prevalence of these viral infections among blood donors may reflect the burden of these diseases among populations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the sero-preval...

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer incidence in African Americans is twice that of whites, and differing prevalence of Helicobacter pylori strain-specific isolates may help explain the disparity. METHODS Serum levels of antibodies to each of 15 H. pylori proteins were assessed using multiplex serology for a sample of 689 African American and white participants from the Southern Community Cohort Study....

A community-based longitudinal study was performed in the Eastern Province of Zambia, in which repeated serological samplings were done to determine the incidence of human cysticercosis. Three sampling rounds were carried out at six months intervals. A total of 867 participants presented for all three samplings. All samples were tested for the presence of cysticercus antigens using a monoclonal...

BACKGROUND Using the aggregated data of all sentinel sero-surveys (1991 to 2007), this study aimed to report the HIV trend among Iranian prisoners. METHOD Overall, we analysed the aggregated data from 397 HIV sero-surveys conducted in 72 prisons (included 155,771 prisoners) from 1991 through 2007. RESULTS The overall HIV prevalence was 2.8% (95% CI: 1.8%-4.3%). In 1998, HIV prevalence drama...

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a contagious viral disease of cloven-footed animals. It is endemic in Pakistan with huge economic losses. The aim of the study was to estimate the sero-prevalence of FMD in small ruminants (sheep and goats) kept in proximity to large ruminants with a recent history of FMD outbreak. The study was conducted in seven purposively selected districts of Pakistan. A tot...