Ngo Thi Hoa

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit · Zoonosis Group

The expansion and intensification of livestock production is predicted to promote the emergence of pathogens. As pathogens sometimes jump between species, this can affect the health of humans as well as livestock. Here, we investigate how livestock microbiota can act as a source of these emerging pathogens through analysis of Streptococcus suis, a...

Talaromycosis, a severe and invasive fungal infection caused by Talaromyces marneffei, is difficult to treat and impacts those living in endemic regions of southeast Asia, India, and China. While 30% of infections result in mortality, our understanding of the genetic basis of pathogenesis for this fungus is limited. To address this, we apply popula...

The expansion and intensification of livestock production is predicted to promote the emergence of pathogens. As pathogens sometimes jump between species this can affect the health of humans as well as livestock. Here we investigate how livestock microbiota can act as a source of these emerging pathogens through analysis of Streptococcus suis , a u...

Background Escherichia coli is an opportunistic pathogen which colonizes various host species. However, to what extent genetic lineages of E. coli are adapted or restricted to specific hosts and the genomic determinants of such adaptation or restriction is poorly understood. Results We randomly sampled E. coli isolates from four countries (Germany...

Talaromycosis, a severe and invasive fungal infection caused by Talaromyces marneffei , is difficult to treat and impacts those living in endemic regions of southeast Asia, India, and China. While 30% of infections result in mortality, our understanding of the genetic basis of pathogenesis for this fungus is limited. To address this, we apply popul...

Background: Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance is a cornerstone of action plans to tackle this global One Health challenge. Tools that can reliably assess levels of awareness of antibiotic resistance (ABR) among human or animal healthcare professionals (HCPs) are required to guide and evaluate interventions. Methods: We designed and t...

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is one of the greatest global health concerns. The growth of food animal farming has challenged efforts to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use (ABU) and is linked to the rapid increases in ABR. This mixed-methods sociological study was conducted between 2016 and 2017, in a sample of 100 animal farmers in southern Vietnam,...

Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) infections are predicted to be the leading cause of death by 2050, with a substantial proportion of these caused by AMR bacterial pathogens. The JPIAMR environmental AMR surveillance network brought together 23 partners from 15 countries to discuss the need for, and necessary approaches to implement a surveillance prog...

Vietnam has been identified as a country at high-risk for emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases. The government of Vietnam recognized five priority zoonoses, including highly pathogenic avian influenza, rabies, leptospirosis, anthrax, and Streptococcus suis, and established a framework for One Health investigation and response to these di...

Escherichia coli is an opportunistic pathogen that can colonize or infect various host species. There is a significant gap in our understanding to what extent genetic lineages of E. coli are adapted or restricted to specific hosts. In addition, genomic determinants underlying such host specificity are unknown.By analyzing a randomly sampled collect...

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is among the gravest threats to human health and food security worldwide. The use of antimicrobials in livestock production can lead to emergence of AMR, which can have direct effects on humans through spread of zoonotic disease. Pigs pose a particular risk as they are a source of zoonotic diseases and re...

Purpose: Mental health is an important component of the protection strategy for healthcare workers (HCWs). However, it has not been well described in Vietnam during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study aims to measure the psychological distress and health-related quality-of-life among frontline healthcare workers during the peak of the outbreak in Vi...

Objectives Central nervous system (CNS) infections are common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. We aimed to discover protein biomarkers that could rapidly and accurately identify the likely cause of the infections, essential for clinical management and improving outcome. Methods We applied liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry...

Background: Talaromycosis is an invasive mycosis endemic in Southeast Asia and causes substantial morbidity and mortality in individuals with advanced HIV disease. Current diagnosis relies on isolating Talaromyces marneffei in cultures, which takes up to 14 days and is detectable only during late-stage infection, leading to high mortality. Method...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is among the gravest threats to human health and food security worldwide. Pigs receive more antimicrobials than most other livestock, and are a known source of zoonotic disease. We studied AMR in Streptococcus suis, a commensal found in most pigs, but which can also cause serious disease in both pigs and humans. We ob...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Background Central nervous system (CNS) infections are common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Rapid, accurate identification of the likely cause is essential for clinical management and the early initiation of antimicrobial therapy, which potentially improves clinical outcome. Methods We applied liquid chromatography tandem mass-spect...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Objectives To investigate the risk of colonization with ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) in humans in Vietnam associated with non-intensive chicken farming. Methods Faecal samples from 204 randomly selected farmers and their chickens, and from 306 age- and sex-matched community-based individuals who did not raise poultry were collected. A...

Background: Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic disease mainly affecting men of working age and can result in death or long-term sequelae, including severe hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. We aimed to quantify the burden of disease and economic impact of this infection in Viet Nam. Methods: The annual disease incidence for the period 2011-2...

Streptococcus suis is a major pathogen of swine, responsible for a number of chronic and acute infections, and is also emerging as a major zoonotic pathogen, particularly in South-East Asia. Our study of a diverse population of S. suis shows that this organism contains both Type I and Type III phase-variable methyltransferases. In all previous exam...

Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS), particularly Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, is among the leading etiologic agents of bacterial enterocolitis globally and a well-characterized cause of invasive disease (iNTS) in sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast, S. Typhimurium is poorly defined in Southeast Asia, a known hot spot for zoonotic disease with a...

To understand the dynamics behind the worldwide spread of the mcr-1 gene, we determined the population structure of Escherichia coli and of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) carrying the mcr-1 gene. After a systematic review of the literature we included 65 E. coli whole genome sequences (WGS), adding 6 recently sequenced travel related isolates, and...

To understand the dynamics behind the worldwide spread of the mcr-1 gene, we determined the population structure of Escherichia coli and of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) carrying the mcr-1 gene. After a systematic review of the literature we included 65 E. coli whole genome sequences (WGS), adding 6 recently sequenced travel related isolates, and...

Objectives: Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic cause of severe meningitis and sepsis in humans. We aimed to assess the long-term outcomes in patients who survived S. suis infection, in particular the progress and impact of vestibulocochlear sequelae. Methods: This case-control study evaluated outcomes of S. suis infection at discharge and 3 and 9...

Viral pathogens account for a significant proportion of the burden of emerging infectious diseases in humans. The Wellcome Trust-Vietnamese Initiative on Zoonotic Infections (WT-VIZIONS) is aiming to understand the circulation of viral zoonotic pathogens in animals that pose a potential risk to human health. Evidence suggests that human exposure an...

We investigated the consequences of colistin use in backyard chicken farms in Vietnam by examining the prevalence of mcr-1 in fecal samples from chickens and humans. Detection of mcr-1–carrying bacteria in chicken samples was associated with colistin use and detection in human samples with exposure to mcr-1–positive chickens.

Detailed materials and methods describing the selection and recruitment of study subjects, data collection, sample analyses, real-time PCR detection of the mcr-1 gene, adjustment of prevalence estimates, whole-genome sequencing analyses, and risk factor analyses. Univariate analyses of the risk factors associated with the presence of mcr-1–carrying...

Characteristics of mcr-1–positive Escherichia coli from chickens and farmers, Vietnam, 2012–2013.

Background: Enteroaggregative (EAEC) and Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a major cause of diarrhea worldwide. E. coli carrying both virulence factors characteristic for EAEC and STEC and producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase caused severe and protracted disease during an outbreak of E. coli O104:H4 in Europe in 2011. We asse...

Importance statement: Our study provides accurate baseline information on levels of antimicrobial use, as well as on the dynamics of phenotypic and genotypic resistance for antimicrobials of critical importance amongE. coliover the different stages of production in emerging pig and poultry production systems in Vietnam.E. coliisolates showed a hig...

Salmonellosis is a public health concern in both the developed and developing countries. Although the majority of human non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica (NTS) cases are the result of foodborne infections or person-to-person transmission, NTS infections may also be acquired by environmental and occupational exposure to animals. While a considerable...

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is one of the most important pathogens to cause acute bacterial meningitis in Viet Nam and other Asia countries including Thailand and Hongkong. We investigated the potential of using ELISA with the SAO protein as antigen to detect for S. suis specific sero positive. An SAO specific antibody collected from hyperimmunise...

Ngoc Linh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv.) is an endemic species in Vietnam and was discovered at the Ngoc Linh mountain (Kon Tum/Quảng Nam). Investigations showed that the soil with a thick layer of humus was the ideal condition for growth and development of Ngoc Linh ginseng. Therefore research on microbial flora as well as cellulose-de...

Background: Trypanosoma is a genus of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. Trypanosoma brucei species and Trypanosoma cruzi are the major agents of human trypanosomiasis; other Trypanosoma species can cause human disease, but are rare. In March 2015, a 38-year-old woman presented to a healthcare facility in southern Vietnam with fever, heada...

We investigated episodes of suspected highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)-like illness among 12 meat duck flocks in two districts in Tien Giang province (Mekong Delta, Vietnam) in November 2013. In total, duck samples from 8 of 12 farms tested positive for HPAI virus subtype A/haemagglutinin 5 and neuraminidase 1 (H5N1) by real-time RT-PCR. Se...

The Vietnam Initiative for Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS) includes community-based 'high-risk sentinel cohort' (HRSC) studies investigating individuals at risk of zoonotic infection due to occupational or residential exposure to animals. A total of 852 HRSC members were recruited between March 2013 and August 2014 from three provinces (Ha Noi, Dak L...

A recent survey of pigs in Dong Thap province, Vietnam identified a high frequency of enterovirus species G (EV-G) infection (144/198; 72.7%). Among these was a plethora of EV-G types (EV-G1, EV-G6 and four new types EV-G8 to -G11). To better characterize the genetic diversity of EV-G and investigate the possible existence of further circulating ty...

In Vietnam, commercial disinfectants containing quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are commonly used in pig and poultry farms to maintain hygiene during production. We hypothesized that sustained exposure to sub-bactericidal concentrations of QAC-based disinfectants may result in increased levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among Enterobact...

The effect of newly emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases of zoonotic origin in human populations can be potentially catastrophic, and large-scale investigations of such diseases are highly challenging. The monitoring of emergence events is subject to ascertainment bias, whether at the level of species discovery, emerging disease events, or d...

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Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) outbreaks in pigs are associated with increased susceptibility of pigs to secondary bacterial infections, including Streptococcus suis - an important zoonotic pathogen causing bacterial meningitis in humans. This case-control study examined the association between human S. suis infection and PRRS...

Streptococcus suis causes disease in pigs worldwide and is increasingly implicated in zoonotic disease in East and South-East Asia. To understand the genetic basis of disease in S. suis, we study the genomes of 375 isolates with detailed clinical phenotypes from pigs and humans from the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Here, we show that isolates associ...

We investigated the prevalence, diversity, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) and associated risk factors on 341 pig, chicken, and duck farms in Dong Thap province (Mekong Delta, Vietnam). Sampling was stratified by species, district (four categories), and farm size (three categories). Pooled faeces, colle...

To describe the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among commensal Escherichia coli isolates on household and small-scale chicken farms, common in southern Vietnam, and to investigate the association of antimicrobial resistance with farming practices and antimicrobial usage. We collected data on farming and antimicrobial usage from 208 chicken...

In Mekong Delta farms (Vietnam), antimicrobials are extensively used, but limited data are available on levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among Escherichia coli isolates. We performed a structured survey of AMR in E. coli isolates (n = 434) from 90 pig, chicken, and duck farms. The results were compared with AMR among E. coli isolates (n = 2...

We assessed consumption of raw pig blood, which is a risk factor for Streptococcus suis infection in Vietnam, by using a mix-method design. Factors associated with consumption included rural residency, age, sex, occupation, income, and marital status. We identified risk groups and practices and perceptions that should be targeted by communication p...

Antimicrobials are used extensively in chicken production in Vietnam, but to date no quantitative data are available. A 2012–2013 survey of 208 chicken farms in Tien Giang province, stratified by size (10–200 chickens; >200–2000), was carried out to describe and quantify the use of antibacterial antimicrobials (usage per week per chicken and usage...

Details on data collection, characteristics of participants, questionnaire, and data analysis for raw pig blood consumption and potential risk for Streptococcus suis infection, Vietnam.