Phung Dac Cam

Faecal and protozoan parasite contamination of water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) cultivated in urban wastewater in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Objectiveu2002 To identify the level of contamination with thermotolerant coliforms (ThC), intestinal helminth eggs and protozoan parasites in water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) cultivated in a wastewater‐fed lake in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Helminth infections among people using wastewater and human excreta in peri-urban agriculture and aquaculture in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Objectiveu2002 To assess the prevalence of helminth infections and their associated risks in a community using both wastewater and human excreta in agriculture and aquaculture.

Epidemiology and aetiology of diarrhoeal diseases in adults engaged in wastewater‐fed agriculture and aquaculture in Hanoi, Vietnam

Objectivesu2002 To determine the occurrence of and risk factors for diarrhoea in an adult population exposed to wastewater used for agricultural and aquacultural productions.

Skin disease among farmers using wastewater in rice cultivation in Nam Dinh, Vietnam.

Objectiveu2002 To assess the risk of skin disease among farmers occupationally exposed to wastewater.

Evaluation of restriction enzymes for standardizing pulsed-field gel electrophoresis protocol for rapid subtyping of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the restriction enzymes with rare-cutting sites in the genome of Vibrio parahaemolyticus RIMD 2210633 for pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis. The evaluation indicated that PFGE with both NotI and SfiI was discriminatory, but NotI was more cost-effective. Based on the results of this study, we suggest using NotI and SfiI as the 1st and the 2nd restriction enzyme for standardizing the PulseNet PFGE protocol for molecular subtyping and global surveillance of V. parahaemolyticus.

Peri-urban aquatic plant culture and skin disease in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

A cross-sectional study with follow-up was done in five communities involved in aquaculture in peri-urban Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to assess the association between skin disease, particularly dermatitis and occupational wastewater exposure. From 200 selected households 650 household members aged > or = 15 years were visited and examined dermatologically three times in July 2004, January and May 2005. Overall dermatitis prevalence was 6.1%. However, all cases (116) were found in the two wastewater villages involved in aquatic plant culture. Risk factor analysis restricted to the two wastewater villages showed that involvement in wastewater-fed aquatic plant production increased the risk of dermatitis in the univariable analysis but not in the multivariable analysis. Among family members involved in wastewater-fed aquatic plant production a longer duration of daily wastewater contact did not increase the risk of dermatitis in the multivariable analysis. Wet season, older age and having a history of skin problems in the three months prior to each survey were associated significantly with dermatitis. Very few aquaculture workers applied personal protection and the factor had no significant effect on dermatitis. The present study did not show a consistent association between occupational exposure to wastewater and dermatitis, unlike similar Vietnamese studies.

The use of an IpaC-specific ELISA to identify enteroinvasive Escherichia coli strains of unusual serogroups

Twenty five Escherichia coli isolates expressing O antigens different from the conventionally recognized enteroinvasive E. coli were tested in the Sereny test, with an invasion plasmid-specific DNA probe, and by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay recognizing the secreted IpaC antigen. These results indicate that the IpaC enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is a sensitive method to recognize enteroinvasive E. coli, irrespective of their serogroups.