Twenty-four distinct outbreaks of probable chikungunya (CHIK) etiology were identified throughout Indonesia from September 2001 to March 2003, after a near 20-year hiatus of epidemic CHIK activity in the country. Thirteen outbreak reports were based on clinical observations alone, and 11 confirmed by serological/virological methods. Detailed epidemiological profiles of two investigated outbreaks in Bogor and Bekasi are presented. Human sera were screened using an ELISA for IgM and IgG anti-CHIK antibodies. Additionally, reverse transcriptase PCR and virus isolation were attempted for virus identification. The mean age of cases was 37 +/- 18 years in Bogor and 33 +/- 20 years in Bekasi. There was no outstanding case-clustering, although outbreak-affected households were observed to be geographically grouped within villages. The attack rates in Bogor and Bekasi were 2.8/1000 and 6.7/1000 inhabitants respectively. Both outbreaks started in the rainy season following increased Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus densities.

Abstract. The importance of leptospirosis in Southeast Asia was assessed in conjunction with other studies supported by the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 (US NAMRU-2), Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia. These included studies of hospital-based, acute clinical jaundice in Indonesia, Lao PDR, and Socialist Republic of Vietnam; nonmalarial fever in Indonesia; and hemorrhagic fever in Cambodia. Background prevalence estimates of leptospiral infection were obtained by a cross-sectional, community-based study in Lao PDR. Laboratory testing methods involved serology, microscopic agglutination test, and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Suggestive evidence of recent leptospiral infections was detected in 17%, 13%, and 3% of patients selected on the basis of non-hepatitis A through E jaundice, nonmalarial fever, and hemorrhagic fever (in the absence of acute, dengue viral infections). Leptospiral IgG antibody, reflective of prior infections, was detected in 37% of human sera, collected in Lao PDR. The predominant leptospiral serogroups identified from cases with clinical jaundice were Hurstbridge, Bataviae, and Icterohaemorrhagiae tonkini LT 96 69. Among the nonmalarial febrile cases, Bataviae was the most frequently recognized serogroup. Pyrogenes and Hurstbridge were the principal serogroups among the hemorrhagic fever case subjects. These findings further attest to the relative importance of clinical leptospirosis in Southeast Asia. The wide spectrum of clinical signs and symptoms associated with probable, acute, leptospiral infections contributes to the potential of significant underreporting.

Abstract. An evaluation of three new rapid diagnostic test kits for human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV-1/2), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and syphilis involved a two-phase comparison of rapid diagnostic assays using prospectively collected from hospitals and clinics in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. After specificity and sensitivity testing, three new rapid diagnostic test kits were tested in parallel with six commonly used diagnostic test kits. The Determine HIV-1/2 test had fewer indeterminate or equivocal results than the Capillus HIV-1/HIV-2 or HIV Blot 2.2 tests. However, the Determine HIV-1/2 test yielded one false-positive result when compared with the Serodia HIV, HIV Blot 2.2, and microparticle enzyme immunoassay (IMx) HIV tests. The Serodia HBsAg test yielded more false-negative results when compared with the Determine HBsAg diagnostic test kit. The results of the syphilis diagnostic tests evaluated in this clinical trial consistently agreed with those of the rapid plasma reagin test for syphilis. The Determine Syphilis Treponema pallidum (TP) test had three false-positive results compared with the Serodia TP and the Serodia TP•particle agglutination (PA) tests, which had two false-positive results that were confirmed as negative by an ELISA. Application of these serologic tests within this comparative evaluation framework, using the World Health Organization alternative testing strategies, proved to be an effective way to determine serostatus related to HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis.In many developing areas worldwide, field and clinic laboratory capabilities may be insufficient for the detection of infectious agents for definitive clinical diagnostic purposes. The absence of simple, rapid diagnostic testing methods for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and hepatitis has significantly hampered public health efforts to retard the spread of these diseases. The inability to provide tests for quick recognition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, and syphilis has allowed infected individuals to unknowingly spread the disease through sexual contacts, blood donations, and intravenous needle sharing. In cities throughout Asia, current laboratory evaluation of blood specimens may preclude case follow-up and counseling due to a long time lag between initial sample collection and conventional test completion. High-risk populations typically seek treatment during clinic visits in association with acute episodes and are not likely to return a second time for test results.Diagnostic technology is adapting itself for application in developing countries. Advancements in the laboratory diagnosis of HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis B, and syphilis have considered the following conditions, including: 1) speed of results; 2) test validity and accuracy; 3) minimal specimen requirement; 4) variable type of specimen, including whole blood; 5) ease of test kit use, with few requirements for specialized laboratory equipment; and 6) stable reagents, requiring no refri...

The ecology of hepatitis E virus (HEV) transmission in South-East Asia was assessed from a review of 6 published and 3 unpublished NAMRU-2 reports of hepatitis outbreak investigations, cross-sectional prevalence studies, and hospital-based case-control studies. Findings from Indonesia and Viet Nam show epidemic foci centred in jungle, riverine environments. In contrast, few cases of acute, clinical hepatitis from cities in Indonesia, Viet Nam and Laos could be attributed to HEV. When communities in Indonesia were grouped into areas of low (< 40%), medium (40-60%), and high (> 60%) prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies, uses of river water for drinking and cooking, personal washing, and human excreta disposal were all significantly associated with high prevalence of infection. Conversely, boiling of river drinking water was negatively associated with higher prevalence (P < 0.01). The protective value of boiling river water was also shown in sporadic HEV transmission in Indonesia and in epidemic and sporadic spread in Viet Nam. Evidence from Indonesia indicated that the decreased dilution of HEV in river water due to unusually dry weather contributed to risk of epidemic HEV transmission. But river flooding conditions and contamination added to the risk of HEV infection in Viet Nam. These findings attest to a unique combination of ecological and environmental conditions predisposing to epidemic HEV spread in South-East Asia.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of hepatitis. We evaluated five HEV antibody diagnostic assays by using outbreak specimens. The Abbott immunoglobulin G (IgG), Genelabs IgG, and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) IgM assays were about 90% sensitive; the Abbott IgG and WRAIR total Ig and IgM assays were more than 90% specific.Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the principal cause of acute hepatitis on the Indian subcontinent, in southeastern and central Asia, in the Middle East, in Mexico, and in parts of Africa. It is associated with the consumption of fecally contaminated drinking water (7,8,12,15). Recent outbreaks have occurred in Iraq, Chad, Sudan, and India (2, 9). Although HEV is associated with a low case fatality rate in the general population, pregnant women in the second and third trimesters are at greater risk (case fatality rates of 10 to 24%) for fulminant hepatitis and fetal loss (14, 18).HEV has not been cultured in vitro, and most enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for HEV infection are based on either recombinant HEV proteins or synthetic peptides. These assays have varied significantly (16), and assays based on open reading frame 2 (ORF2) were shown to be more sensitive in detecting anti-HEV than those based on ORF3 (1,11,17). These recombinant-protein-based tests have detected anti-HEV in 90 to 95% of symptomatic HEV cases (3,10