In recent work published from the Enterics group at OUCRU, non-typhoidal Salmonella were found to be an important cause of paediatric gastroenteritis in Ho Chi Minh City. Non-typhoidal Salmonella are an important but poorly characterised cause of paediatric diarrhoea in developing countries. From a large hospital based case-control study in Ho Chi Minh City, 5% (77/1419) of diarrhoeal cases were stool culture-positive for Salmonella and were more likely than non-diarrhoeal controls to be younger, to report a recent diarrhoeal contact and to live in a household with more children. These findings suggest that transmission of Salmonella may occur through direct human contact in the home.

Over the past two years scientists from The Netherlands and Vietnam have been collaborating in a project, funded by the Dutch government, to improve diagnostics of infectious diseases in the microbiology laboratory. Although the project reaches its final stages formally, its success has made participants decide to continue their joint activities.

The project was coordinated from the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City. Participants in Vietnam were Children’s Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, and the provincial hospitals in Dong Thap and Dak Lak provinces.

The main aim of the project was to increase knowledge and capacity in clinical microbiology in Vietnam using interactive media and novel techniques and consisted of two main parts: 1. Computer based training modules combined with workshops for laboratory technicians and doctors from all sites, developed by the Health[e]Foundation. 2. Installation of digital cameras at all sites specifically designed to make high-resolution images of bacterial cultures by Kiestra Lab Automation, a company in The Netherlands that recently became part of BD Diagnostics. These images are uploaded to a website, and are then discussed during two-weekly teleconferences in which all partners participate. Because of the interactive and online nature of the project, it was dubbed “TeleMicrobiology”.

The project has been very successful. All partners agree that the regular teleconferences contribute significantly to solving difficult problems related to diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases encountered by doctors and laboratory technicians on a daily basis. Participating sites benefit from each other’s expertise in dealing with complicated multi-drug resistant or hospital-acquired infections, and discover the different (local) infections which doctors encounter at the different sites. Sites have also commented that the digital images are very useful for training purposes. “Telemicrobiology helps us to improve immediately on our microbiology work. I hope that other hospitals can also receive the benefit of the program” says Dr. Nguyen Phu Huong Lan, head of Microbiology at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Although funding for the projects has officially stopped, all sites have expressed an interest to continue to support the regular teleconferences and to further explore the potential of the TeleMicrobiology concept to improve the diagnostics of infectious diseases in Vietnam.

On 6th June 1990 the Centre for Tropical Diseases, Cho Quan Hospital HCMC, the Health Services HCMC and the Wellcome Trust Tropical Medicine Research Unit based in Oxford University, UK signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on ‘medical research on serious infectious diseases in Viet Nam, and to foster improvement in the knowledge of these important tropical infections through cooperation and joint studies’. This was the start of what is currently known as The Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme – Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Viet Nam.

In January of the following year the research unit opened in a renovated leprosy ward, directed by Dr Nicolas White and Dr Tran Tinh Hien, Vice Director of the Centre for Tropical Diseases and Head of the Malaria research Ward, and Dr Nguyen Huu Tri Director of the Centre for Tropical Diseases. Many of the Vietnamese doctors who were instrumental in driving and facilitating the early research studies into cerebral malaria, tetanus and typhoid are still involved in research with OUCRU - Professor Tran Tinh Hien, Dr Nguyen Hoan Phu, Dr Tran Thi Hong Chau, Dr Nguyen Thi Hoang Mai...

Although many of the structural and logistical aspects of WT-MOP OUCRU have changed in 21 years, the remit and goals have not. Nor has the strong and essential partnership with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, HCMC. A summary of our current research interests can be found under the Research section of the website.

The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam will be hosting a workshop - ‘Working with the Human Genome Sequence’ in December 2012.  This workshop is part of the Open Door Workshop series of the Wellcome Trust Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences Programme.

The human genome is accessible to everyone who is involved in the present and future study of the human genome, including lab biologists, clinical staff, teachers, and other members of the general public, as well as other specialists in related disciplines. The purpose of the 'Open Door' Workshops is to enable participants to explore human genomic information that is freely available on the internet, and to understand both the strengths and the limitations of the underlying data.

This free 4-day workshop hosted by OUCRU, provides an intensive introduction to bioinformatics tools freely available on the internet, focusing primarily on the Human Genome data. Students will be given hands-on training in the use of public databases and web-based sequence analysis tools. All course materials will be available on the web and students will have the opportunity to ask questions of the instructors as they apply what they have learned.

The workshop is open to applicants from all over the Asia Pacific region. It is free to attend and bursaries are available to help with travel and accommodation costs (awarded on merit).

Course instructors
Jane Loveland Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK
Matthew Clark The Genome Analysis Centre, UK
Simon Gregory Duke University, USA
Bert Overduin European Bioinformatics Institute, UK
Charles Steward Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK

Deadlines
Application deadline: 7 September 2012
Workshop dates:  3-6 December 2012

Full details at:
http://www.sanger.ac.uk/resources/talksandtraining/opendoor/vietnam.html

Download poster (PDF): Working with the Human Genome Sequence