MyMedR

The Heath government and British defence policy in Southeast Asia at the end of empire (1970-71)

Andrea B

20 Century Br Hist, 2009;20(1):53-73.

PMID: 19569309

This article examines the rationale behind the Heath government's 1970 decision to negotiate a Five Power Defence agreement with Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia and to maintain a small British military contingent in Southeast Asia as a part of this new politico-military framework. It argues that while its overriding foreign policy concern was to end Britain's problematic relationship with the European Economic Community and to make membership of this grouping the cornerstone of its foreign policy, the Heath government was careful not to cast Britain's post-imperial future in purely European terms. The successful negotiation of the Five Power Defence Arrangements in 1970-71 was instrumental in achieving this by ensuring that London would maintain close links with key Commonwealth partners in the Asian region. In what was not only an attempt to neutralize potential domestic opposition to Britain's entry into the EEC, but also a lingering reluctance to do away with the rhetoric of Britain as a leading power with extra-European interests, Heath was eager to show that by making a contribution to the stability of Southeast Asia, Britain still had a role to play outside Europe.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Sex tourism in Thailand

Van Kerkwijk C

AIDS Soc, 1992 Oct-Nov;4(1):6-7.

PMID: 12286018

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Global overview of injecting drug use and HIV infection among injecting drug users

Aceijas C, Stimson GV, Hickman M, Rhodes T, United Nations Reference Group on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care among IDU in Developing and Transitional Countries

AIDS, 2004 Nov 19;18(17):2295-303.

PMID: 15577542

OBJECTIVE: To provide global estimates of the prevalence of injecting drug use (IDU) and HIV prevalence among IDU, in particular to provide estimates for developing and transitional countries.

METHODS: Collation and review of existing estimates of IDU prevalence and HIV prevalence from published and unpublished documents for the period 1998-2003. The strength of evidence for the information was assessed based on the source and type of study.

RESULTS: Estimates of IDU prevalence were available for 130 countries. The number of IDU worldwide was estimated as approximately 13.2 million. Over ten million (78%) live in developing and transitional countries (Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 3.1 million; South and South-east Asia, 3.3 million; East-Asia and Pacific, 2.3 million). Estimates of HIV prevalence were available for 78 countries. HIV prevalence among IDU of over 20% was reported for at least one site in 25 countries and territories: Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Libya, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Viet Nam, China, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, USA and Canada.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings update previous assessments of the number of countries with IDU and HIV-infected IDU, and the previous quantitative global estimates of the prevalence of IDU. However, gaps remain in the information and the strength of the evidence often was weak.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern/epidemiology

Responding to local needs. Self-help groups

Jayaseelan J

AIDS Action, 1993 Mar-May;[nil](20):4.

PMID: 12288933

PIP: Pink Triangle, the only community-based group in Malaysia which works with men who have sex with men, took initial steps in August 1992 to establish a self-help project for people who are HIV-seropositive. Supporting people who are HIV-positive and fighting for their rights is new in Malaysia. The group has thus far been publicized through its public education events, hospitals, and other nongovernmental organizations. For the first time, information is being published specifically by and for people living with HIV/AIDS. The project also has a phone line to allow people to speak anonymously with someone who shares their experience. Many callers are men who have sex with men in the social context of intense prejudice and discrimination. Afraid to openly acknowledge their sexuality with strangers, the callers have yet to accede to meeting each other face-to-face in a group setting. The author notes in closing that Pink Triangle must be realistic about what can be achieved in Malaysia and allow the group to develop according to people's needs and not on the basis of a model imported from outside of the country.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Malaysia urges ASEAN to tackle AIDS crisis

AIDS Wkly, 2000 Aug 7.

PMID: 12349742

Urgent action is needed to fight the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS that infected 1.3 million people in Southeast Asia last year alone, Malaysia's foreign minister said July 24, 2000. Syed Hamid said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should tackle at regional and national level an epidemic that was taking its most drastic toll among the region's youth. "HIV/AIDS not only represents a major public health and social problem but is a serious challenge to development as well," Syed Hamid told the opening ceremony of ASEAN's 33rd annual foreign ministers' meeting. The crisis requires commitment at the "highest political level," he said, warning that HIV/AIDS could become a transnational problem within the 10-member group. Foreign ministers have recommended their leaders discuss the crisis later this year at an informal summit in Singapore and hold a summit on HIV/AIDS in conjunction with the 7th ASEAN Summit in Brunei next year. "I think people recognized the importance and the adverse impacts on our social development," Syed Hamid told reporters later. "I think it is a real issue that we cannot run away from." Among ASEAN members, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar have some of the highest infection rates in Asia of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Changes in Thai sexual behavior lower HIV spread

AIDS Wkly Plus, 1997 Jun 2.

PMID: 12347937

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Asia needs political commitment to fight AIDS

AIDS Wkly Plus, 1997 Jun 2.

PMID: 12347936

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Indonesia and Vietnam may face AIDS pandemic

AIDS Wkly Plus, 1996 Oct 28.

PMID: 12320487

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Migrant workers spreading HIV in Southeast Asia

AIDS Wkly Plus, 1996 Oct 21.

PMID: 12320478

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Condom use still unacceptable to many in Singapore regions

AIDS Wkly Plus, 1996 Oct 21.

PMID: 12320477

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Testing (HIV). Quick test receives Singapore approval

AIDS Wkly Plus, 1996 Apr 22.

PMID: 12290908

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Country watch: South-East Asia

Bagasao TM

AIDS STD Health Promot Exch, 1996.

PMID: 12347180

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Global update: Malaysia

AIDSlink, 1993 Jun-Aug;?(23):15.

PMID: 12159245

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Evolving a common surgical curriculum for ASEAN nations with a public health approach

Lum SK

ANZ J Surg, 2013 Mar;83(3):118-21.

PMID: 23320799 DOI: 10.1111/ans.12055

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on medical practitioners' agreement will become a reality in the year 2015. Doctors registered in one ASEAN country will be given reciprocal recognition in another country under this agreement. Rapid and excessive movement of human resources between countries in a short span of time is undesirable and can be destabilizing. The surgical fraternity in the ASEAN countries should plan for a common surgical curriculum, a common examination and an ASEAN Board of Surgery so that standards of future trainees in different countries are comparable. The curriculum should take into consideration the diversity of the countries in socio-economic development. Ideally, it should be based on a public health approach to bring affordable quality surgical care to the masses in an efficient and effective manner.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

RACS and its Fellows: a contribution to sustainable healthcare improvement in South East Asia

Hollands M, Hisham AN, Kong J, Moss D, Pusponegro A, Wora-Urai N, et al.

ANZ J Surg, 2021 03;91(3):245-248.

PMID: 33580574 DOI: 10.1111/ans.16534

The question of whether small non-government organizations with comparatively small budgets can make a substantial contribution to sustainable improvement in health care in low- and middle-income countries is crucial to funding global surgical projects. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and its Fellows have partnered with local organizations and clinicians to deliver a wide range of projects in South East Asia. These projects have proved sustainable and have increased healthcare capacity in these nations. This provides strong evidence that small non-government organizations such as the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons can make a major contribution to global surgeryI.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Occurrence of a mosquito vector in bird houses: Developmental consequences and potential epidemiological implications

Dieng H, Hassan RB, Hassan AA, Ghani IA, Abang FB, Satho T, et al.

Acta Trop, 2015 May;145:68-78.

PMID: 25617636 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.01.004

Even with continuous vector control, dengue is still a growing threat to public health in Southeast Asia. Main causes comprise difficulties in identifying productive breeding sites and inappropriate targeted chemical interventions. In this region, rural families keep live birds in backyards and dengue mosquitoes have been reported in containers in the cages. To focus on this particular breeding site, we examined the capacity of bird fecal matter (BFM) from the spotted dove, to support Aedes albopictus larval growth. The impact of BFM larval uptake on some adult fitness traits influencing vectorial capacity was also investigated. In serial bioassays involving a high and low larval density (HD and LD), BFM and larval standard food (LSF) affected differently larval development. At HD, development was longer in the BFM environment. There were no appreciable mortality differences between the two treatments, which resulted in similar pupation and adult emergence successes. BFM treatment produced a better gender balance. There were comparable levels of blood uptake and egg production in BFM and LSF females at LD; that was not the case for the HD one, which resulted in bigger adults. BFM and LSF females displayed equivalent lifespans; in males, this parameter was shorter in those derived from the BFM/LD treatment. Taken together these results suggest that bird defecations successfully support the development of Ae. albopictus. Due to their cryptic aspects, containers used to supply water to encaged birds may not have been targeted by chemical interventions.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern/epidemiology

Genetic characterization of the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (cox 1) gene of the zoonotic parasitic nematode, Ancylostoma ceylanicum from humans, dogs and cats

Ngui R, Mahdy MA, Chua KH, Traub R, Lim YA

Acta Trop, 2013 Oct;128(1):154-7.

PMID: 23774318 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2013.06.003

Ancylostoma ceylanicum is the only zoonotic hookworm species that is able to produce patent infections in humans with the majority of cases reported in South East Asia. Over the past few years, there have been an increasing number of studies investigating the prevalence of this parasitic zoonosis using molecular diagnostic tools and a single genetic locus as marker for species identification. As there can be limitations in using a single genetic locus for epidemiological studies and genetic discrimination, the complementary use of a more variable locus will provide additional evidence to support the zoonotic exchange of hookworm species between humans and animals. In the present study, the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox 1) sequence of A. ceylanicum from positive human and animal fecal samples were determined and compared with published reference sequences. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that isolates of A. ceylanicum were divided into two clusters, one consisting 3 human isolates and the other comprising 19 isolates of human and animal origin from different geographical locations within Malaysia. The two groups of A. ceylanicum could be distinguished from one another through five fixed nucleotide differences at locations 891, 966, 1008, 1077 and 1083. The detection of genetically distinct groups and considerable level of genetic variation within the cox 1 sequence of A. ceylanicum might suggest potential haplotype-linked differences in zoonotic, epidemiological and pathobiological characteristics, a hypothesis that still needs further investigation.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

Molecular detection of Trypanosoma evansi in dogs from India and Southeast Asia

Nguyen VL, Iatta R, Manoj RRS, Colella V, Bezerra-Santos MA, Mendoza-Roldan JA, et al.

Acta Trop, 2021 Aug;220:105935.

PMID: 33930300 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.105935

Trypanosoma evansi, the causative agent of surra, is a hemoflagellate protozoan mechanically transmitted by hematophagous flies, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. This protozoan affects several mammalian hosts, including dogs, which are highly susceptible to the infection. To investigate the occurrence of T. evansi in dogs, a total of 672 DNA samples from India (n = 228), Indonesia (n = 57), Malaysia (n = 45), the Philippines (n = 103), Thailand (n = 120), and Vietnam (n = 119) were screened by using species-specific conventional PCR. Of the tested dogs, 10 (1.5%) scored positive to T. evansi. In particular, positive samples were detected in canine blood samples collected from India (n = 4; 1.8%), Indonesia (n = 4; 7%), and Malaysia (n = 2; 4.4%). All tested samples from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam were negative. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a high variation (i.e. from 0.4% to 6.2%) among the RoTat 1.2 variant surface glycoprotein (vsg) gene. Although the number of sequences included in this analysis is relatively small, this nucleotide variation may indicate the divergence of T. evansi RoTat 1.2 vsg gene among different strains. The high incidence of T. evansi previously reported in cattle and buffaloes in India and Southeast Asia suggests that these animals are the main source of infection to dogs.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern/epidemiology

An overview of rickettsiae in Southeast Asia: Vector-animal-human interface

Low VL, Tan TK, Khoo JJ, Lim FS, AbuBakar S

Acta Trop, 2020 Feb;202:105282.

PMID: 31778642 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.105282

Rickettsioses are emerging, and re-emerging diseases caused by obligate intracellular arthropod-borne bacteria that infect humans and animals worldwide. Various rickettsiae such as Orientia, Rickettsia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia have been circulated in companion, domesticated and wild animals through bites of infected ticks, fleas, lice or mites. This review summarizes the infections of rickettsiae, including the newly discovered regional species Rickettsia thailandii, Candidatus Rickettsia sepangensis, Candidatus Rickettsia johorensis, Candidatus Rickettsia laoensis, Candidatus Rickettsia mahosotii, Candidatus Rickettsia khammouanensis, Candidatus Anaplasma pangolinii, and other novel genotypes in vectors, humans and animals in Southeast Asia. Issues on some unidentified rickettsiae that elicit immune responses and production of antibodies that are cross-reactive with the antigens used are discussed. Knowledge gaps which required attention are also identified in this review.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern/epidemiology

Ticks and tick-borne pathogens in animals and humans in the island nations of Southeast Asia: A review

Sharifah N, Heo CC, Ehlers J, Houssaini J, Tappe D

Acta Trop, 2020 Sep;209:105527.

PMID: 32447029 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105527

Ticks are blood-feeding ectoparasites and major vectors of pathogens that cause infectious diseases in humans and animals worldwide including mammals, birds and reptiles. Despite the growing scientific effort in the 20th century, there is still limited information on ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Southeast Asia, especially concerning medical, veterinary, socioeconomic and agricultural aspects in the island nations. This review provides an overview of the current state of knowledge of ticks and their pathogens in the island nations of Southeast Asia and peninsular Malaysia. We aim to stimulate further research studies on ticks and tick-borne pathogens of human and veterinary importance in this geographical region.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern

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