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PubMed2006

A natural inter-genotypic (2b/1b) recombinant of hepatitis C virus in the Philippines.

The prevalence study and the characterization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was carried out in the Philippines and the sequence determination of the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR)-Core and the NS5B regions of HCV was carried out in this study. An HCV strain (SE-03-07-1689) collected in Metro Manila, Philippines, belonged to discordant subtypes, 2b and 1b in 5'-UTR-Core and NS5B regions, respectively. The 9.3 kb sequence of this strain including the entire open reading frame was compared with those of the reference strains retrieved from the HCV sequences database (GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ) and indicated a recombination event. The computation of the sequence similarity mapped a crossover point within the NS3 region. This is the second report on the inter-genotype recombinant of HCV and the third when an intra-genotype recombinant is included. This recombinant strain, SE-03-07-1689, is designated tentatively as RF3_2b/1b according to the suggestions used for the other two HCV recombinants.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2000

Comparison of nucleotide sequences between northern and southern philippine isolates of rice grassy stunt virus indicates occurrence of natural genetic reassortment.

Rice grassy stunt virus is a member of the genus Tenuivirus, is persistently transmitted by a brown planthopper, and has occurred in rice plants in South, Southeast, and East Asia [corrected]. We determined the complete nucleotide (nt) sequences of RNAs 1 (9760 nt), 2 (4069 nt), 3 (3127 nt), 4 (2909 nt), 5 (2704 nt), and 6 (2590 nt) of a southern Philippine isolate from South Cotabato and compared them with those of a northern Philippine isolate from Laguna (Toriyama et al., 1997, 1998). The numbers of nucleotides in the terminal untranslated regions and open reading frames were identical between the two isolates except for the 5' untranslated region of the complementary strand of RNA 4. Overall nucleotide differences between the two isolates were only 0.08% in RNA 1, 0.58% in RNA 4, and 0.26% in RNA 5, whereas they were 2.19% in RNA 2, 8.38% in RNA 3, and 3.63% in RNA 6. In the intergenic regions, the two isolates differed by 9.12% in RNA 2, 11.6% in RNA 3, and 6.86% in RNA 6 with multiple consecutive nucleotide deletion/insertions, whereas they differed by only 0.78% in RNA 4 and 0.34% in RNA 5. The nucleotide variation in the intergenic region of RNA 6 within the South Cotabato isolate was only 0.33%. These differences in accumulation of mutations among individual RNA segments indicate that there was genetic reassortment in the two geographical isolates; RNAs 1, 4, and 5 of the two isolates came from a common ancestor, whereas RNAs 2, 3, and 6 were from two different ancestors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1981

Urban Philippine healers and their contrasting clienteles.

This paper is concerned with medical pluralism in a Philippine setting. It reports on results of a study of four indigenous healers and their patients in Cebu City. The city is a modern medical center in the Philippines, with more than 500 practicing physicians. But its indigenous healers also treat numerous patients, and many patients utilize both physicians and healers during the course of an illness. Of the four healers discussed in this paper, two had the largest followings of any healers in the city at the time of the study, the other two had very modest practices. Significant social and medical contrasts between the clienteles of these healers are described in the paper, and the implications of these differences are discussed with respect to decisions people make about their health care in an area with diverse medical resourses.

Anthropology, Cultural↗

PubMed1982

Migration regions of the Philippines.

"In contrast to results for several other nations, hierarchical regionalizations based upon 1960 Philippine lifetime migration do not indicate that islands act as migration regions....Inter-island links seem to be more important than intra-island ties. Northern Luzon, the Bicol Peninsula and the Southern Philippines are among the regions that appear. Manila and its suburban province of Rizal are exceptional both for the breadth and strength of their interprovincial migration ties."

Asia↗

PubMed1985

Rheumatic pain in a Philippine village. A WHO-ILAR COPCORD Study.

In initiating a community oriented programme for the control of rheumatic disease (COPCORD), 1685 people of all ages from a rural area in the Philippines were questioned by primary health care workers (PHW) for limb and spinal rheumatic pain and disability. The total complaint rate was 15.3% for men and 18.5% for women. For those 15 years and older the age adjusted rheumatic pain rates for pain present at the time of survey were 28.4% for the Philippines and 22.6% for Lawrence's UK population. The most common rheumatic pain sites in this community were knee, lumbar spine, neck and the trapezius muscle. The disability rate was 4.5% for those 15 years and older. One quarter of those with pain had received medical attention and the remainder, herbal treatment, massage, various faith and/or self-treatment methods.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Causes of blindness in children attending four schools for the blind in Thailand and the Philippines. A comparison between urban and rural blind school populations.

Using WHO definitions of visual loss and a standardised methodology, 256 children were examined in schools for the blind in Thailand (1 school) and the Philippines (3 schools). 244 (95%) were blind (BL) or severely visually impaired (SVI). Causes of SVI and blindness were classified anatomically and aetiologically, and avoidable causes identified. Causes of visual loss in Khon Kaen, Thailand (n = 65) and Manila, Philippines, (n = 113) were similar, with conditions of the whole globe accounting for 27.7 and 27.4% of SVI/BL; retinal disease 29.2 and 23.0%; cataract 16.9 and 16.8%; corneal disease 12.3 and 13.4%; and optic nerve disease and glaucoma 6.2 and 8.8%. Perinatal factors accounted for 20.0 and 23.0% of SVI/BL; hereditary disease 13.8 and 17.7%; and 12.3 and 15.0% was due to events occurring during childhood. The underlying aetiology could not be determined in 50.8 and 41.6% of cases, respectively. In the two schools together twenty six children (15%) were blind from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and 16 (9%) from corneal scarring attributed to Vitamin A deficiency. 103 of 178 (58%) children had avoidable causes of visual loss. In the Filipino towns of Baguio and Davao (n = 66), the causes of visual loss were different from those in Khon Kaen and Manila, with 54.8 and 42.9% of SVI/BL being due to corneal disease, and only 3.2 and 8.5% to retinal disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Prevalence and genetic diversity of Entamoeba histolytica in an institution for the mentally retarded in the Philippines.

A total of 113 mentally retarded patients residing in a mental institution in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines, were screened for the presence of Entamoeba histolytica based on microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Anti-E. histolytica antibodies were also screened in 97 serum samples collected using immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) test. Parasitological examination showed E. histolytica/Entamoeba dispar in 43 cases (38.05%), while PCR detected 74 cases (65.48%) positive for E. histolytica and 6 cases (5.30%) positive for E. dispar. Interestingly, these 6 samples were coinfected with E. histolytica. IFA test revealed that 80.41% (78/97) of the respondents possessed significant antibody titers for intestinal infection of E. histolytica. Of this number, there were 5 patients negative in IFA test but positive in PCR. The genetic diversity of E. histolytica isolates was also investigated by analyzing polymorphism in the serine-rich gene by nested PCR on DNA directly extracted from stool specimens. A combination of the nested PCR results and the AluI digestion of the PCR products examined yielded six distinct DNA banding patterns among the 74 stool isolates. An apparent clustering of E. histolytica strains was observed in patients living in different residential cottages of the institution. These results indicate the high prevalence of E. histolytica in an institution for the mentally retarded in the Philippines.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Molecular characterization of Blastocystis isolates in the Philippines by riboprinting.

Extensive genomic polymorphism has been demonstrated among morphologically identical Blastocystis isolates. To this end, 32 Blastocystis isolates from the Philippines (12 from humans, 12 from pigs and 8 from chickens) were analyzed genetically by riboprinting or restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified small subunit rDNA. Three distinct riboprint patterns were observed from the HinfI digestion, while four patterns resulted from the RsaI digestion of Blastocystis SSU rDNA. Restriction fragment profiles between Blastocystis isolates from different hosts were generally different from each other. However, Blastocystis isolates within each host group were practically the same. Cluster analysis of the riboprint patterns revealed seven distinct groups of the Blastocystis isolates, including a zoonotic strain. These results demonstrate the genetic heterogeneity of Blastocystis in the Philippines and a support to the idea of the organism's zoonotic potential.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Detection of bancroftian filariasis in human blood samples from Sorsogon province, the Philippines by polymerase chain reaction.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for diagnosing Wuchereria bancrofti infection in a small village in the province of Sorsogon, the Philippines. Of 54 night-time blood samples collected, 4 (7.4%) were found to be microfilaremic as determined by combined direct blood film examination and membrane filtration of blood followed by blood film examination. However, utilization of the SspI PCR assay to detect repeated W. bancrofti DNA sequences in human blood doubled the number of microfilaremic individuals to 8 (13.0%). The results of this survey suggest that utilization of diagnostic tools based on microscopy could underestimate the true prevalence of W. bancrofti in the Philippines.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Genetic diversity of rice tungro spherical virus in tungro-endemic provinces of the Philippines and Indonesia.

The two adjacent genes of coat protein 1 and 2 of rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV) were amplified from total RNA extracts of serologically indistinguishable field isolates from the Philippines and Indonesia, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Digestion with HindIII and BstYI restriction endonucleases differentiated the amplified DNA products into eight distinct coat protein genotypes. These genotypes were then used as indicators of virus diversity in the field. Inter- and intra-site diversities were determined over three cropping seasons. At each of the sites surveyed, one or two main genotypes prevailed together with other related minor or mixed genotypes that did not replace the main genotype over the sampling time. The cluster of genotypes found at the Philippines sites was significantly different from the one at the Indonesia sites, suggesting geographic isolation for virus populations. Phylogenetic studies based on the nucleotide sequences of 38 selected isolates confirm the spatial distribution of RTSV virus populations but show that gene flow may occur between populations. Under the present conditions, rice varieties do not seem to exert selective pressure on the virus populations. Based on the selective constraints in the coat protein amino acid sequences and the virus genetic composition per site, a negative selection model followed by random-sampling events due to vector transmissions is proposed to explain the inter-site diversity observed.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Method of cooking and risk of breast cancer in the Philippines.

OBJECTIVE: Among Asian countries, the highest age-standardized rates of breast cancer have been reported for the Philippines. The influence of diet and lifestyle factors as possible contributors to these high rates has not been well-studied. We conducted a case-control study in Manila to examine the association between methods of cooking and the risk of breast cancer. METHODS: Eligible subjects were women undergoing evaluation at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Manila for a breast problem. All of the women completed a risk factor questionnaire prior to the determination of their case (n = 240) or control (n = 240) status. Information regarding current, as well as usual method of cooking in the household at 12 years of age was obtained. RESULTS: Boiling food in coconut milk was associated with a significantly increased risk of breast cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 2.2; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-3.8). There were positive associations between boiling food in coconut milk and the risk of breast cancer currently (OR = 1.9; 95% CI 1.0-3.3), and at 12 years of age (OR = 2.9; 95% CI 1.6-5.5). A positive association between frying food and breast cancer risk was restricted to women whose household fried food at 12 years of age (OR = 1.89; 95% CI 1.1-3.4). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that various cooking methods during adolescence and possibly in adulthood may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. These findings require confirmation.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Modeling effects of environment, insect damage, and Bt genotypes on fumonisin accumulation in maize in Argentina and the Philippines.

Fumonisins are common contaminants of maize (Zea mays L.) grain products, especially in countries where maize is a major constituent of the diet and are harmful to human and animal health. There is a need to better define environmental conditions that favor fumonisin accumulation in the grain of maize. The impacts of biotic and abiotic factors, and hybrids containing the Cry1Ab protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), were associated with fumonisin accumulation in the grain of maize across contrasting environments in Argentina and the Philippines between 2000 and 2002. Average fumonisin concentrations in grain samples varied from 0.5 to 12 microg g(-1) across field locations in Argentina, and from 0.3 to 1.8 microg g(-1) across locations in the Philippines. The ratio of fumonisin B1 to fumonisin B2 was <3.0 in four of nine locations in Argentina, which proved to be due to a higher prevalence of Fusarium proliferatum in those locations. Most of the variability of total fumonisins among maize grain samples was explained by location or weather (47%), followed by insect damage severity in mature ears (17%), hybrid (14%), and with the use of Bt hybrids (11%). In Argentina, where conditions were more favorable for accumulation of fumonisin in the years considered, fumonisin concentrations were lower in Bt hybrids compared to their genetic isolines by an average of 40%. A model was developed to predict fumonisin concentration using insect damage to ears and weather variables as predictors in the model. Four periods of weather around silking were identified as critical for fumonisin concentrations at harvest. The model accounted for 82% of the variability of total fumonisin across all locations in 2 years of the study.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers highly conserved between Chinese and Philippine Schistosoma japonicum.

Geographical isolates of S. japonicum, and particularly isolates from China and the Philippines, were examined at the molecular level for genetic divergence. Sequences from both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes were selected as markers of evolutionary divergence and S. mekongi and S. mansoni were included in the study for comparison purposes. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and PCR-RFLP analysis of the rDNA repeat unit and sequence analysis of the second internal transcribed spacer region (ITS2) within the rDNA repeat and the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene of the mitochondrial genome were performed. No intra-specific variation in S. japonicum was found in the rDNA repeat and only very slight variation was detected within the COI sequence. A survey of the entire genome, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, again showed that Chinese and Philippine S. japonicum are remarkably similar at the DNA sequence level. We were thus unable to obtain direct molecular evidence in support of previous findings, particularly those based on isoenzyme analysis, that a very high level of intra-specific variation exists in S. japonicum.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Experimental infection of Philippine Taenia in domestic animals.

In the present study, six 34-44-day-old Small-Ear-Miniature pigs and one 14-day-old Holstein calf were each fed 10,000 Philippine Taenia eggs and sacrificed 27-43 days after inoculation. The infection rate was 100% for both pigs and calf with cysticerci recovery rates of 11 and 6%, respectively. A total of 6431 cysticerci were recovered only from the livers of the six pigs and 597 only from the liver of the calf; more occurred in the parenchyma (pigs 75%, calf 83%) than on the surface (pigs 25%, calf 17%). Mature cysticerci were found in four of the six pigs. A total of 317 cysticerci recovered from the pig livers were mature and the rest were either immature (926), degenerate or calcified (5188). All 597 cysticerci recovered from the liver of the calf were degenerate or calcified. Measurements of length, width, diameter of protoscolex, rostellum, and sucker and hooklet pattern indicated that Philippine Taenia is very similar to Taenia from Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand and very different from classical T. saginata and T. solium.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

Isolation of Japanese encephalitis virus from the Republic of the Philippines.

A total of 33, 274 mosquitoes was collected from Tagudin, Ilocos Sur Province, Philippines during July 1977. Isolates made from one pool of Culex tritaeniorhynchus and one pool of C. vishnui were identified as Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) by a micro-neutralization test using reference hyperimmune mouse ascitic fluids. This is the first known isolation of JEV from the Philippines.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Ecology of dogs in the Central Philippines in relation to rabies control efforts.

Rabies is endemic in dogs but has no other host as reservoir in the Philippines. Essential to programmes of rabies control is an understanding of the ecology of dogs and their relationships to human society. In the central Philippines, where this study was conducted before and during rabies control efforts, most households in rural 'barangays' or communities owned one or more dogs which served as guards, as scavengers and, in some, as a source of meat--but not as pets to be handled and played with. A second important category of dogs comprised those which foraged semi-self-sufficiently but were recognized by the barangay residents as belonging to the community. The number of these dogs was determined by the carrying capacity of the community, but their population was dependent upon cast-off owned dogs as their fecundity was below maintenance levels. Killing of any dogs, except for meat or in the event of suspicion of rabies, was of low social acceptance. In urban centres, upper class residents owned dogs as guards or pets but their employees, who often lived within their compounds, related to their dogs as did rural residents. Middle class families maintained greater control over their dogs. In lower class urban districts, a continual influx of dogs which on occasion were incubating rabies, plus the large size of many such districts, enabled them to serve as continual foci of infection. In this setting, rabies control was most effectively achieved by teams of vaccinators going house to house, capturing and injecting all dogs whether owned or belonging to the community. The immunization of 80% or more of the dogs was readily achieved and brought rabies under complete control.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

[Nutrition programs in a rural environment in the Philippines].

The study of the relationship between the nutrition programs and the villagers of the Municipality of Plaridel, the target population, reveals that the Philippine Nutrition Program, in the process of planning and implementing the intervention programs, keeps apart from the community. As a result, the barangay people consider that these programs don't meet their needs and very few participate on them. Furthermore, in Plaridel, the intervention programs did not modify the nutritional status of the pre-school children, and the main short-term objectives of the Philippine Nutrition Program are far from being achieved. However, in this Municipality, there are social forces susceptible to become the supports of the intervention programs if these are based on the articulation of the recognized community needs and the articulation of the community's capacities.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Field based evidence of enhanced healthcare utilization among persons insured by micro health insurance units in Philippines.

Underutilization of healthcare is common among rural and low-income population segments in countries with lower income or inequitable income distribution. Micro health insurance units (MIUs) are created by informal sector groups because people cannot access health insurance or are dissatisfied with the programmes they can access. The policy choice to support MIUs relies on evidence that affiliation with these schemes increases healthcare utilization. This article examines new evidence of the association between affiliation with MIUs and healthcare utilization. We analyzed field data collected in 6 MIUs in the Philippines in 2002 (through a household survey encompassing 890 insured- and 1063 uninsured households). The two cohorts did not differ in demographic parameters, and differed only marginally in income and education levels, both higher amongst the insured. Insured persons reported higher hospitalization rates, higher rates of professionally-attended deliveries, lower rates of delivery at home, a higher frequency of primary-care physician encounters, a higher rate of diagnosed chronic diseases, and better drug compliance among chronically ill. Increased utilization by the insured is not due to adverse selection, judging by two facts: morbidity of the two cohorts, as assessed by a proxy indicator (the reported number of episodes of illness) did not differ; and rates of deliveries were even slightly higher among the uninsured. We conclude that MIUs in the Philippines can alleviate underutilization of heath care.

Adolescent↗