PLoS neglected tropical diseases
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Infantile beriberi (thiamine deficiency) occurs mainly in infants breastfed by mothers with inadequate intake of thiamine, typically among vulnerable populations. We describe possible and probable cases of infantile thiamine deficiency in northern Laos. ⋯ Thiamine deficiency may be a major cause of infant mortality among ethnic groups in northern Laos. Mothers' and children's symptoms are compatible with thiamine deficiency. The severity of this nutritional situation requires urgent attention in Laos.
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In the late twentieth century, emergence of high rates of treatment failure with antimonial compounds (SSG) for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused a public health crisis in Bihar, India. We hypothesize that exposure to arsenic through drinking contaminated groundwater may be associated with SSG treatment failure due to the development of antimony-resistant parasites. ⋯ This study indicates a trend towards increased treatment failure in arsenic exposed patients. The limitations of the retrospective study design may have masked a strong association between arsenic exposure and selection for antimonial resistance in the field. The unanticipated strong correlation between arsenic exposure and VL mortality warrants further investigation.
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Loiasis is currently receiving attention as a disease of public health importance because of the possibility of increased risk of developing neurologic serious adverse event following mass ivermectin treatment against onchocerciasis in individual co-infected with Onchocerca volvulus and Loa loa. ⋯ Low prevalence of onchocerciasis and loiasis co-infection in this study suggests that loiasis may not pose a serious epidemiological threat to the continuous distribution and sustainability of ivermectin for the treatment of onchocerciasis. Evaluation of the interruption of onchocerciasis transmissions in this region using all the indicators set forth by WHO is therefore suggested.