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This study assessed the goat-fattening system among households, its economic efficiency, and farmers` constraints in goat fattening. A survey was conducted with 30 goat farmers randomly 21 selected in Nghe An province. The results showed that goats are kept confined and fed a high level of commercial concentre (46-60%) in the diet. Two types of goats have been used for fattening: growing goats and culled female goats and two types of breeds (Co breed/Lao goat and Boer crossbred). The average fattening farm size was 88.2 goats/period. The weight of fattened goats for selling was from 29.0 to 38.3kg/head and live weight gain was from 3.7-5.4 kg/head/month. The profit of goat fattening was relatively good, from 494-590.8 thousand VND/goat/period (2-4 months). The goat fattening was a profitable alternative income opportunity for farmers in the study areas. Most of the farmers are facing difficulties in disease control, high prices of commercial concentrate, and unstable markets. The study suggests that extension programs need to improve the capacity of farmers in goat fattening techniques and disease management, as well as establish a sustainable linkage in the goat value chains for the sustainable development of goat farming.

This article argues that local adaptive capacity of the smallholder farmers determines their decision to adopt climate change adaptation strategies in the upland farming communities in the Philippines. This argument is based on the research conducted in the selected upland farming communities in the Philippines, Vietnam and Timor-Leste in 2017-2018 using the Local Adaptive Capacity (LAC) framework as the theoretical foundation. The study involved a survey of 637 upland farmers who were selected using simple random sampling; focus group discussion; key informant interviews; and, farm visits. Results revealed that the smallholder farmers across the three countries had low level of adaptive capacity. Binary logistics regression also indicates that leadership (p=.078) and innovations (p=.000) are the factors that influence farmers to adopt climate change adaptation strategies in the Philippines, while knowledge (p=0.000) and community assets (p=0.000) as the determinants among the smallholder farmers in Vietnam. In Timor-Leste, the decision to adopt climate change adaptation strategies are community assets (p=0.001), knowledge (p=0.000), and innovations (p=0.007). These results suggest an urgent need of enhancing the local adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers to be able to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Background: We determined the occurrence frequency of Clinical signs, subclinical characteristics on positive anti-IgG Toxocara ELISA cases, and clinical response results after 1 month of albendazole-specific treatment. Methods: A number of 103 clinically treated patients were studied between 2018 and 2019 in two hospitals. Relevant data are collected from examination and medical records such as age, sex, job, resident, clinical and sub-clinical signs. Sera samples were subjected to anti-IgG Toxocara antigen using ELISA. Results: The median age of the patient was 43.6 ± 14.4 years. The most common symptom groups were the skin and mucosa (88.3%), followed by neurological symptoms (44%). There are 76.7% of patients with risk factors for contact with pet dogs and cats. The majority of eosinophils in the normal range (< 8%) accounted for 85.4%, the major results of the OD value of ELISA were in the group (≥ 0.3-< 1.5) accounted for 75.7%. The skin and mucosa lesions in toxocariasis patients related to IgE values were statistically significant (P

This study explores the use of mobile phones for farm-related activities of ethnic minority farmers in Quang Tri province, Central Vietnam, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A random sampling strategy was used to select 180 ethnic farmers, different by gender, age, and education level, to interview using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results indicate ethnic minority farmers used mobile phones for various purposes related to agriculture through phone calls and social media platforms (Facebook, Zalo, YouTube, etc.). Mobile phones have become essential for farmers to access and exchange market information, receive weather information, get extension advisories, learn new farming practices and technologies, contact and buy farm inputs, etc. There was a statistically significant association between gender, age, and education level with the purposes of mobile phone usage. Young and highly educated farmers should be prioritized in digital service development strategies since they are the pioneers who will be the leading groups of farmers in terms of using mobile phones for farm-related activities. Furthermore, the significance of female farmers' mobile phone use should not be overlooked, as when women have access to these devices, they can use them for various farming tasks to improve their agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trombiculid "chigger" mites (Acari) are ectoparasites that feed blood on rodents and another animals. A crosssectional survey was conducted in 7 ecosystems of southern Vietnam from 2015 to 2016. Chigger mites were identified with morphological characteristics and assayed by polymerase chain reaction for detection of rickettsiaceae. Overall chigger infestation among rodents was 23.38%. The chigger index among infested rodents was 19.37 and a mean abundance of 4.61. A total of 2,770 chigger mites were identified belonging to 6 species, 3 genera, and 1 family, and pooled into 141 pools (10-20 chiggers per pool). Two pools (1.4%) of the chiggers were positive for Orientia tsutsugamushi. Ricketsia spp. was not detected in any pools of chiggers. Further studies are needed including a larger number and diverse hosts, and environmental factors to assess scrub typhus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Description of the general development concept guiding the long-term Master Plan for HCMC to the year 2010 approved in 1993, and identification of specific major planning priorities for further study on preservation, upgrading of rare natural resources, existing valuable urban features, organized territorial expansion and corresponding infrastructure which would eventually lead to a non-centralized metropolis: The need for jointly addressing issues related to regional socio-economic planning and national urban development strategies.

Cattle manure value chains play important biological and economic roles in smallholder crop–livestock systems in developing countries, but relative to other livestock products our understanding of the nature and impact of manure sales is limited. In regions with an active manure trade, farmers face a choice between manure use on-farm and sales, which affects nutrient flows and participant incomes. We analyzed the manure value chain operating in south-central Vietnam as an example of the function and role of manure trade in crop–livestock systems. Lowland cattle farmers sell manure through a network of chain participants, including small-scale collectors, lowland and highland traders, to pepper, coffee, dragon fruit and rubber farms in the central highlands and southeast coast. We collected and summarized quantitative data (e.g., manure-related labor, manure transactions, and fertilizer and manure use) gathered in semi-structured interviews with value-chain participants [lowland cattle owners (n = 101), traders (n = 27) and end users (n = 72)]. Lowland cattle owners were selected by stratified random sampling, and subsequent participants were identified in preceding interviews. One key finding concerns the seasonality of the manure value chain: most manure flowed between February and August (lowland dry season and period of peak highland demand) from lowland communes to highland coffee and pepper farms for use as organic soil amendments. Fewer sales occurred, at a lower price, to southeast coastal dragon fruit farms and rubber companies. Value addition to manure occurred via drying, bagging, collection, transport and composting. The presence of local traders facilitated market sales for smallholder cattle owners, and prices through the value chain generally reflected costs for value addition. The geographic distribution of cattle relative to agricultural land influenced the flow of manure, with net outflows from regions with higher animal density to regions with lower density and higher value crop production. Manure trade was an important source of supplementary income for farmers and a primary livelihood activity for traders. Value chain participant net incomes ranged from near US$100 yr−1 for lowland farmers to over US$13,000 yr−1 for traders, and returns to labor were just over US$0.50 h−1 for lowland farmers and US$2 h−1 for traders. The quantitative information generated during our descriptive assessment provides an important first step toward manure value chain improvement, indicates survey methods that can be applied in other areas, and identifies next steps necessary to evaluate chain evolution and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Background: Sexual risk and STDs are relatively high among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Vietnam. We sought to determine characteristics of sexually active IDUs and correlates of high-risk sexual practices among IDUs in Bac Ninh province in northern Vietnam., Methods: We used data collected for a community-based cross-sectional pilot study to identify correlates of recent high-risk sex (>1 sex partner and inconsistent/no condom use in the past year). Factors associated with high-risk sex were identified using logistic regression., Results: Among 216 sexually active male IDUs, one third (n=72) had engaged in high-risk sex within the last year. IDUs who reported injecting with others more frequently, having someone else inject their drugs at last injection, sharing needles or sharing any injection equipment were more likely to have reported recent high-risk sex. Factors independently associated with high-risk sexual activity were not injecting oneself [AOR: 2.22; 95% CI (1.09-4.51)], and sharing needles in the past 12 months [AOR: 2.57; 95% CI (1.10-5.99)]., Conclusions: IDUs who inject socially and IDUs who share needles are likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviours and may serve as an important bridge group for epidemic HIV transmission in Vietnam. In addition to messages regarding the dangers of sharing needles and other injection equipment, preventive interventions among newly initiated IDUs should also focus on reducing sexual risk.

Injection drug use (IDU) and HIV infection are important public health problems in Vietnam. The IDU population increased 70% from 2000 to 2004 and is disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS -- the country's second leading cause of death. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) share transmission routes with HIV and cause serious medical consequences. This study aimed to determine risk factors for acquisition of HIV, HBV, and HCV infections among IDUs in a northern province. We conducted a matched case-control study among active IDUs aged 18-45 who participated in a community-based survey (30-minute interview and serologic testing). Each HIV-infected IDU (case) was matched with one HIV-uninfected IDU (control) by age, sex (males only), and study site (128 pairs). Similar procedures were used for HBV infection (50 pairs) and HCV infection (65 pairs). Conditional logistic regression models were fit to identify risk factors for each infection. Among 309 surveyed IDUs, the HIV, HBV, and HCV prevalence was 42.4%, 80.9%, and 74.1%, respectively. Only 11.0% reported having been vaccinated against hepatitis B. While 13.3% of the IDUs reported sharing needles (past six months), 63.8% engaged in indirect sharing practices (past six months), including sharing drug solutions, containers, rinse water, and frontloading drugs. In multivariable models, sharing drugs through frontloading was significantly associated with HIV infection (odds ratio [OR]=2.8), HBV infection (OR=3.8), and HCV infection (OR=4.6). We report an unrecognized association between sharing drugs through frontloading and higher rates of HIV, HBV and HCV infections among male IDUs in Vietnam. This finding may have important implications for bloodborne viral prevention for IDUs in Vietnam.

Background: HIV prevalence in Vietnam is currently concentrated among injection drug users (IDUs). The extent to which this core risk group represents a potential for broader HIV transmission to the general population is currently unknown., Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study among IDUs in Vietnam assessed sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevalence and behavioral risk factors. Qualitative interview data enhanced quantitative findings., Results: The prevalence of any STDs among 272 IDUs was 30% (chlamydia, 9%; herpes simplex virus type 2 [HSV-2], 22%; gonorrhea, 0%; and syphilis, 1%). Part-time work or unemployment (odds ratio [OR] = 2.74, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1 to 6.9), sex with > or =2 sex workers in the past year (OR = 4.9, 95% CI: 1.91 to 12.6), having ever smoked heroin (OR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.1 to 18.3), and injecting less frequently than daily (OR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.43 to 10.6) were independently associated with chlamydial infection. Urban residency (OR = 4.0, 95% CI: 1.4 to 11.0) and daily injecting (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.4) were independently associated with HSV-2. Odds of HSV-2 among older (> or =28 years of age) IDUs who had sex with <2 sex workers in the past year was higher than among younger IDUs who had sex with more sex workers (OR = 6.4, 95% CI: 2.1 to 18.4)., Conclusions: High STD prevalence and high-risk sexual and parenteral behaviors among IDUs indicate the potential for HIV/STD transmission to the general Vietnamese population.