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PubMed2004

A review of the legislative mechanisms available to protect the social participation rights of people with depression in the Asia Pacific region.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a review of the legislative mechanisms potentially available to protect the social participation rights of people with depression in the Asia Pacific region. METHODS: Questions were sent to the SEBoD International Advisory Board and Internet and legal database searches were conducted to supplement responses from advisors. RESULTS: While it cannot be said that comprehensive antidiscrimination legislation in relation to disability exists in all countries in the Asia Pacific region, most countries have commenced the process. Many have implemented either human rights or antidiscrimination legislation and most have set up a Human Rights Commission to protect social participation rights and allow complaints to be lodged. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlighted the difference between legislation and practice. While many countries have enacted laws, insufficient resources have been committed to support the objectives to realise the protection of rights enshrined in legislation. Additionally, many people may not know that the laws exist or do not have the money or social supports to fight for their rights. Many countries, however, have commenced a concerted approach to tackling the larger issues and have developed comprehensive action plans to address the social participation rights of people with disability.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed2005

The dual origin of the Malagasy in Island Southeast Asia and East Africa: evidence from maternal and paternal lineages.

Linguistic and archaeological evidence about the origins of the Malagasy, the indigenous peoples of Madagascar, points to mixed African and Indonesian ancestry. By contrast, genetic evidence about the origins of the Malagasy has hitherto remained partial and imprecise. We defined 26 Y-chromosomal lineages by typing 44 Y-chromosomal polymorphisms in 362 males from four different ethnic groups from Madagascar and 10 potential ancestral populations in Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific. We also compared mitochondrial sequence diversity in the Malagasy with a manually curated database of 19,371 hypervariable segment I sequences, incorporating both published and unpublished data. We could attribute every maternal and paternal lineage found in the Malagasy to a likely geographic origin. Here, we demonstrate approximately equal African and Indonesian contributions to both paternal and maternal Malagasy lineages. The most likely origin of the Asia-derived paternal lineages found in the Malagasy is Borneo. This agrees strikingly with the linguistic evidence that the languages spoken around the Barito River in southern Borneo are the closest extant relatives of Malagasy languages. As a result of their equally balanced admixed ancestry, the Malagasy may represent an ideal population in which to identify loci underlying complex traits of both anthropological and medical interest.

Africa↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Etiology and epidemiology of travelers' diarrhea in Asia.

Travelers' diarrhea in Asia has been studied among Peace Corps volunteers in Thailand, Japanese travelers, foreign residents in Bangladesh, guests in hotels, and members of various tour groups. Rates of diarrheal attack of greater than 50% during four- to six-week sojourns were reported for these groups. Among travelers with diarrhea, the most commonly isolated pathogen was enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (20%-34%), followed by Salmonella (11%-15%), Shigella (4%-7%), Campylobacter (2%-5%), and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (1%-13%). In 9%-22% of diarrheal episodes, multiple pathogens were recovered. Among Japanese travelers, Salmonella was more commonly acquired in the Far East; Shigella and Campylobacter, in the Indian subcontinent; and V. parahaemolyticus, in Southeast Asia. Aeromonas hydrophila and Plesiomonas shigelloides were commonly isolated from ill travelers in Thailand but less frequently from other travelers. Protozoa and Vibrio species other than V. parahaemolyticus were isolated in less than 5% of episodes.

Asia↗
PubMed2026

Financing and health system capacity for precision medicine in Asia: a six country landscape analysis.

BACKGROUND: Precision medicine (PM) adoption is accelerating across Asia, but implementation remains uneven due to differences in financing, infrastructure, governance, and health-system readiness. OBJECTIVES: To examine how six Asian countries (Singapore, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia) adopt, finance, and integrate PM technologies, and identify common implementation patterns and challenges. METHODS: A landscape review of peer-reviewed literature, government publications, and HTA reports (2010-2026) was conducted, supplemented by stakeholder consultations. PM applications were grouped into public health screening (hereditary breast and ovarian cancer [HBOC] and familial hypercholesterolemia [FH] cascade testing), next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications (rare diseases, oncology, pharmacogenomics), and AI-enabled PM. Evidence was synthesized across access, awareness, reimbursement, and implementation. RESULTS: Public health genomic screening demonstrated the highest implementation readiness, followed by precision oncology, while rare disease diagnostics remained infrastructure-dependent and pharmacogenomics and AI-enabled PM platforms were at earlier stages. Four readiness profiles emerged: highly aligned systems; reimbursement-constrained systems with strong governance and infrastructure; systems strengthening governance, public financing and infrastructure; and strategy-led systems expanding implementation through pilot programs and referral centers. CONCLUSIONS: PM implementation across Asia remains heterogeneous. The identified readiness profiles highlight governance, financing, and infrastructure priorities for sustainable and equitable PM diffusion.

Asia↗
PubMed2004

Service accountability and community participation in the context of health sector reforms in Asia: implications for sexual and reproductive health services.

This paper examines the concept and practice of community participation in World Bank-supported health sector reforms in Asia, and how far such participation has strengthened accountability with regard to provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. It argues that the envisaged scope of community participation within a majority of reforms in Asia has been limited to programme management and service delivery, and it is occurring within the boundaries of priorities that are defined through non-participatory processes. Setting up of community health structures, decentralization and community financing are three important strategies used for promoting participation and accountability within reforms. The scant evidence on the impact of these strategies suggests that marginalized groups and sexual and reproductive rights based groups are poorly represented in the forums for participation, and that hierarchies of power between and amongst health personnel and the public play out in these forums. Community financing has not lead to enhanced service accountability. As a result of the above limitations, community participation in health sector reforms has rarely strengthened accountability with respect to provision of comprehensive SRH services. In this context, rights (including sexual and reproductive) based groups and researchers need to engage with design, monitoring and evaluation of health sector reforms, both from inside as participants and outside as pressure groups. Participation contracts enhancing powers of civil society representatives, quotas for participation (for women, other marginalized groups and rights-based organizations), and investment in capacity building of these stakeholders on leadership and sexual reproductive rights and health are pre-requisites if participation is to lead to health and SRH service accountability. Community participation and service accountability hence requires more and not less investment of resources by the state.

Asia↗
PubMed1995

Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal infections among tourists to Southeast Asia: an intercontinental foodborne outbreak.

To determine the source and extent of an outbreak of Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal infections among 630 cruise ship passengers to Southeast Asia, a retrospective cohort study was done. Questionnaires were sent to all passengers from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and serum samples were requested from all passengers reporting diarrhea. A case was defined as diarrheal illness with onset between 8 and 28 February 1994 and a cholera antitoxic antibody titer > or = 800. Six passengers, including 1 with bacteremia, met the case definition. Illness was associated with eating yellow rice at a buffet restaurant in Bangkok on 10 February (relative risk undefined, P = .005). This international outbreak demonstrates foodborne transmission of Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal, an emerging cause of epidemic cholera in Asia, to tourists from Western countries. Physicians should suspect infection with either V. cholerae O1 or O139 in any patient with severe watery diarrhea after travel to the developing world.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Resistance surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis isolated in Asia and Europe, 1997-1998.

A multicentre, collaborative study was performed in Asia and Europe during the winter of 1997-1998 to determine the in vitro activity of selected antimicrobial agents against common respiratory pathogens. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis isolates were collected from 48 sites in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the UK and tested in a central laboratory in the USA. Broth microdilution MICs were determined for beta-lactams (penicillin, amoxycillin/clavulanate, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone), macrolides (azithromycin, clarithromycin), sulphonamides (co-trimoxazole), glycopeptides (vancomycin) and fluoroquinolones (levofloxacin). The percentage of isolates susceptible to each antimicrobial class varied substantially by country. Penicillin susceptibility amongst pneumococci ranged from 34% in France and Spain to 92% in Germany, and macrolide susceptibility varied between 26% in China and 91% in the UK. In most countries beta-lactam, macrolide and cotrimoxazole resistance was more prevalent amongst penicillin-intermediate and -resistant S. pneumoniae isolates. However, little or no resistance was detected to levofloxacin (0.3% intermediate and resistant) or vancomycin (0% intermediate and resistant). For H. influenzae the prevalence of beta-lactamase production varied from 6% in China and Germany to 32% in Spain, and for M. catarrhalis, from 79% in Germany to 98% in Japan. With the exception of ampicillin, beta-lactamase production had a minimal effect on beta-lactam activity against H. influenzae or M. catarrhalis. Our findings demonstrate that antimicrobial resistance profiles of common respiratory isolates differ dramatically between countries in Asia and Europe.

Asia↗
PubMed2004

Genetic relatedness of ciprofloxacin-resistant Shigella dysenteriae type 1 strains isolated in south Asia.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to determine the clonal relationships of ciprofloxacin-resistant Shigella dysenteriae type 1 strains isolated from south Asia, and S. dysenteriae 1 strains associated with epidemics in 1978, 1984 and 1994. METHODS: The antimicrobial susceptibilities were examined by NCCLS methods. Molecular epidemiological characterization was performed by plasmid profiling, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and mutation analysis of the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of gyrA by sequencing. RESULTS: Plasmid patterns of the current ciprofloxacin-resistant strains from India, Nepal and Bangladesh were very similar to those of the 1978, 1984 and 1994 epidemic isolates of S. dysenteriae 1, except for the presence of a new plasmid of approximately 2.6 MDa, which was found in one recent ciprofloxacin-resistant strain isolated in Bangladesh. PFGE analysis showed that the ciprofloxacin-resistant strains isolated in Bangladesh, India and Nepal belonged to a PFGE type (type A), which was possibly related to that of the 1984 and 1994 clone of S. dysenteriae 1, but different from 1978 epidemic strains. The current ciprofloxacin-resistant strains belong to five subtypes (A3-A7), all of which were found in India, but in Bangladesh and Nepal, only A3 existed. Mutation analysis of the QRDR of gyrA revealed that amino acid substitutions at positions 83 and 87 of ciprofloxacin-resistant strains isolated in Bangladesh were similar to those of the strains isolated in Nepal, but different (at position 87) from ciprofloxacin-resistant strains isolated in India. CONCLUSIONS: PFGE and mutation analysis of gyrA showed differences between the current ciprofloxacin-resistant S. dysenteriae 1 strains isolated in south Asia and those associated with epidemics in 1978, 1984 and 1994.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed2005

Mitochondrial sequence reveals high levels of gene flow between breeds of domestic sheep from Asia and Europe.

Sequence variation present within the mitochondrial genome was used to investigate genetic diversity within sheep breeds from Asia and Europe. Comparison of 2027 bp of sequence from 121 animals revealed 44 phylogenetically informative nucleotide positions and a single insertion/deletion. A total of 57 haplotypes were observed which formed two distinct clades. Type A haplotypes were found in breeds from Asia (India, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Tibet), while type B haplotypes were observed at the highest frequency in breeds sourced from Europe (nine breeds from Austria, Aland, Finland, Spain, and northwestern Russia). The distribution of haplotypes indicates sheep appear to have the weakest population structure and the highest rate of intercontinental dispersal of any domestic animal reported to date. Only 2.7% of the sequence variation observed was partitioned between continents, which is lower than both goat (approximately 10%) and cattle (approximately 50%). Diagnostic restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) tests which distinguish type A and B haplotypes were used to test an additional 223 animals from 17 breeds of European and Asian origin. A mixture of the two lineages was found in every breed except Suffolk and the Indian Garole, indicating introgression has played a major part during breed development and subsequent selection.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Quantitative and morphological characteristics of the human corneal endothelium in relation to age, gender, and ethnicity in cataract populations of South Asia.

PURPOSE: To describe the differences of corneal endothelial cell densities, cell size variability and cell hexagonality in cataract populations of south Asia between sexes and ethnic groups. METHODS: 1,235 eyes of 1,235 male and female patients 40-75 years of age with senile cataract were examined with non contact specular microscopy with semi-automated analysis technique. The cell data of the study population was analyzed in relation to age, sex, and ethnic groups. Mean arithmetic differences and the coefficient of variation of repeated observations were calculated to estimate precision of the technique utilized. The main outcome measures were corneal endothelial cell density, cell size variability and cell hexagonality. RESULTS: The mean corneal endothelial cell density was 2,720 cells/mm2, mean cell size variability was 37.8% and percent cell hexagonality 40%. We found statistical significant difference between the three ethnic populations in all the corneal endothelial cell measurements (p<0.0001). Females had a 2.9% greater cell density than males (p = 0.0001). There was no significant difference in mean cell density according to age. Variability of cell size, however, increased with age (p<0.001). These findings were consistent across the three ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: In a total sample of 1,235 eyes distributed evenly in three cataract patient populations of south Asia, we found statistically significant differences of corneal endothelial cell densities of cell size variability and cell hexagonality between sexes and ethnic groups.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Genes, diet and serum lipid concentrations: lessons from ethnically diverse populations and their relevance to coronary heart disease in Asia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The burden of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Asia has risen in tandem with socio-economic development and urbanization. Although all ethnic groups have been affected, some appear to be at particularly high risk. The basis of these ethnic differences remains poorly understood. RECENT FINDINGS: Differing levels of risk factors for CHD have been observed between ethnic groups. Previous studies, however, may be confounded by a large ethnic variation in socio-economic status and place of residence. Few studies have taken dietary factors into account. Recent studies involving Chinese, Malays and Asian Indians living in Singapore suggest that neither dietary nor genetic factors, taken in isolation, sufficiently explain ethnic differences in serum lipid profiles. Several genetic variants in key candidate genes (apolipoprotein E, APOE, cholesteryl ester transfer protein, CETP and hepatic lipase, LIPC) have recently been found to modulate the association between dietary factors and serum lipid concentrations in these ethnic groups and in other populations. SUMMARY: To fully evaluate the differences in CHD risk between ethnic groups, environmental exposures, including dietary factors need to be carefully evaluated, and gene-environment interactions that may give rise to these differences need to be taken into account. These are critical steps in the development of targeted strategies to contain the epidemic of coronary heart disease in Asia. An understanding of the basis of these differences may also provide insights into the pathogenesis of disease that one cannot get through the examination of more homogenous populations.

Asia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Third Asia-pacific regional meeting of the international working group on harmonization of dementia drug guidelines: meeting report summary.

The International Working Group on Harmonization of Dementia Drug Guidelines has held the third Asia-Pacific Chapter meeting in 2004. The committee concludes that the Neuropsychiatric Inventory and the Clinical Dementia Rating are culturally acceptable assessment tools. The epidemiology studies of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in Asia were discussed at the meeting. The committee encouraged a collaborative research in the region in the future.

Asia↗
PubMed1992

Recent human evolution in East Asia and Australasia.

In both East Asia and Australasia arguments for evolutionary continuity between middle-late Pleistocene hominid populations and modern Homo sapiens are of long standing. In both regions, however, problems of chronological distribution, dating and preservation of hominid skeletal materials provide an effective barrier to extending regional sequences back to 'archaic' Homo sapiens or Homo erectus. The earliest securely dated modern Homo sapiens in East Asia are currently represented by Zhoukoudian Upper Cave at a minimum of 29 ka BP. In Australia skeletal remains of modern Homo sapiens have been dated to 26 ka BP, with archaeological materials at 38 to 50 ka BP. Late Pleistocene human skeletons from sites like Coobool Creek are morphologically and metrically outside the range of recent Australian Aboriginal populations. Similarly Liujiang and the Upper Cave crania can be distinguished from recent East Asian 'Mongoloids'. Evolutionary change within the Holocene needs to be taken into consideration when the evidence for regional evolutionary continuity is considered.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus sequence variants in South-East Asia.

The nature and distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypic variants present in south-east Asia have not been extensively investigated. We analysed HCV RNA obtained from 67 clinical serum samples from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea. All samples were amplified by semi-nested RT-PCR and the nucleotide sequence determined for four regions within the E1, E2/NS1, NS4 and NS5 genes. Each isolate had a unique nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence, consistent with the genetic heterogeneity of this virus. There was remarkably little amino acid sequence variation between isolates of the same genotype, apart from variable domains within putative envelope glycoproteins that are likely to be under immune pressure. All isolates could be classified according to the currently recognized genotypes of HCV, with the exception of one Singapore isolate that defined a new group 3 subtype. The 1b genotype, which predominates in Japan, was the most widely distributed genotype and accounted for 58% of all isolates sequenced. Regional variations in HCV genotype distribution were observed, with type 3a being found almost exclusively in Thailand. By contrast, the 1a genotype, which predominates in the USA was the most prevalent genotype in the Philippines. Genotype 1a was found less commonly among the Thai isolates, presumably having been introduced from the West in stored blood products or by sporadic transmission. The significant prevalence of HCV types 2 and 3 restates the need for variant genotypes to be included in immunodiagnostic and vaccine development strategies. This study reveals that the 1b genotype of HCV, previously found to be the major variant present in east Asia, also predominantes in the south-east Asian region, and may be the major HCV type found worldwide.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Distribution and characterization of tick-borne encephalitis viruses from Siberia and far-eastern Asia.

In this study, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) viruses from Siberia and far-eastern Asia were characterized in order to determine virus subtype distribution. TBE viruses were isolated from ticks (Ixodes persulcatus) collected in the far-eastern (Khabarovsk and Vladivostok) and Siberian (Irkutsk) regions of Russia in 1999. Phylogenetic analysis showed that isolates formed distinct clusters of far-eastern and Siberian subtypes. There was also a minor difference in antigenicity between the Irkutsk isolates and other TBE virus strains, as demonstrated by the reactivity of monoclonal antibodies. Amino acid alignments of the E gene showed that the Irkutsk isolates had a single amino acid change at position 234 (Q or H); this amino acid position is considered to be a 'signature' of Siberian subtype TBE viruses. Strains isolated in Irkutsk also exhibited equivalent or somewhat higher virulence in mice compared with far-eastern TBE virus isolates. All viruses isolated in this study (i.e. far-east Asian and Siberian isolates) have 3' non-coding regions (NCRs) of almost the same length, which contrasts with the various sizes of 3'NCRs of other TBE viruses strains reported previously. The data presented in this study show that the 3'NCR is uniform among TBE viruses isolated from Siberia and far-eastern Asia and that the 3'NCR is essential for TBE virus growth in tick and/or rodent host cells.

3' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed2004

Mitochondrial genome variation in eastern Asia and the peopling of Japan.

To construct an East Asia mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeny, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of 672 Japanese individuals (http://www.giib.or.jp/mtsnp/index_e.html). This allowed us to perform a phylogenetic analysis with a pool of 942 Asiatic sequences. New clades and subclades emerged from the Japanese data. On the basis of this unequivocal phylogeny, we classified 4713 Asian partial mitochondrial sequences, with <10% ambiguity. Applying population and phylogeographic methods, we used these sequences to shed light on the controversial issue of the peopling of Japan. Population-based comparisons confirmed that present-day Japanese have their closest genetic affinity to northern Asian populations, especially to Koreans, which finding is congruent with the proposed Continental gene flow to Japan after the Yayoi period. This phylogeographic approach unraveled a high degree of differentiation in Paleolithic Japanese. Ancient southern and northern migrations were detected based on the existence of basic M and N lineages in Ryukyuans and Ainu. Direct connections with Tibet, parallel to those found for the Y-chromosome, were also apparent. Furthermore, the highest diversity found in Japan for some derived clades suggests that Japan could be included in an area of migratory expansion to Continental Asia. All the theories that have been proposed up to now to explain the peopling of Japan seem insufficient to accommodate fully this complex picture.

DNA, Mitochondrial↗
PubMed2026

Hidden Diversity in the Sands: Genomic Footprints of Pleistocene Refugia and Fragile Futures of the Turkestan Ground-Jay (Podoces panderi) in Central Asia.

The Turkestan ground-jay (Podoces panderi), a corvid endemic to Central Asia's deserts and steppes, exemplifies how extreme environments drive speciation. Our study provides the first comprehensive high-resolution genomic analysis of this species, using complete mitochondrial genomes (49 individuals) to decode its population structure and demographic past. Our analyses revealed three highly divergent genetic clusters with strong geographic structure. The P. p. iliensis population (Cluster_3) showed particularly pronounced genetic distinctiveness, with significant differentiation from P. p. panderi (Cluster_2 and Cluster_1) populations. This clear genetic separation supports the taxonomic validity of P. p. iliensis as a distinct evolutionary lineage. Demographic reconstruction indicated that Cluster_2 likely represents the ancestral group, with subsequent southward expansion into the Karakum region. The isolated P. p. iliensis population exhibited signatures of long-term isolation, including reduced genetic diversity and absence of recent gene flow with other clusters. These results provide strong evidence that P. p. iliensis represents a distinct evolutionary unit. The genetic structuring into three clusters reflects historical isolation in desert refugia during Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. Notably, we detected asymmetric gene flow among three clusters. These findings redefine P. panderi as a model for desert adaptation, where climatic extremes forged genetic fragmentation amid limited dispersal. Beyond taxonomy, our work highlights how aridification sculpted biodiversity in Asia's interior, urging conservation attention for these evolutionarily distinct lineages.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Molecular variation, systematics and distribution of the Anopheles fluviatilis complex in southern Asia.

Species of the Anopheles fluviatilis James and Anopheles minimus complexes (Diptera: Culicidae) are difficult to distinguish morphologically. Members of the two complexes have been confused and, consequently, their distributions and roles in malaria transmission are uncertain. We identified numerous mosquitoes from China, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Iran by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and/or sequencing, and analysed the variation in the 28S D3 region of ribosomal DNA for members of the Minimus Subgroup and also the internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2) for members of the An. fluviatilis complex. The D3 region is highly conserved between taxa and therefore could serve as a standard for molecular diagnosis of the subgroup members. D3 sequence, bionomics and malaria transmission data provide further evidence that An. fluviatilis S in India is conspecific with An. minimus C in South-east Asia. An. fluviatilis T has three ITS2 haplotypes (designated T1, T2 and Y) and its distribution in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Iran is confirmed. An. fluviatilis U is well defined on cytogenetic grounds in Uttar Pradesh, India, but is very close to An. fluviatilis T and the two species may hybridize in some regions. Variant ITS2 sequences suggest the possible existence of two additional taxa within the An. fluviatilis complex, one in Iran and another in India, provisionally designated An. fluviatilis forms V and X, respectively. The distributions of members of the An. fluviatilis and An. minimus complexes in south-central Asia are summarized.

Animals↗