Sekong Province Research Articles

Perilimnastes aura (Sonerileae, Melastomataceae), a new species from Dak Cheung Plateau, Sekong province, Southern Laos

Perilimnastes aura, a species found in Sekong province, Laos, is described as new. Its habit and morphology of leaves, inflorescences, flowers, and capsules match all diagnostic features of Perilimnastes. It most closely resembles P. suberalata in the quadrangular stems, unequal leaves, and glabrescent, oblanceolate to broadly elliptic leaf blade, but differs in the acute leaf apex (vs. acuminate), 1–3-flowered inflorescence (vs. 1-flowered), quadrangular hypanthium (vs. obtusely quadrangular) and broadly triangular, 1.8–2.2 mm long calyx lobes (vs. linear, 8–10 mm long). Information on habitat, ecology, and a preliminary assessment of the conservation status are also provided for the new species.

A recent record of the Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi in a local market in southern Lao P.D.R.

Abstract The Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi is an endangered lagomorph restricted to the Annamite mountains of Viet Nam and Lao P.D.R. Much remains unknown about the species, especially in its unexplored range in southern Lao P.D.R. Here, we report two market specimens from Dak Cheung district in Sekong province. Both animals were killed by firearms, and were reportedly hunted in the mountain range along the Viet Nam border. The specimens represent the southernmost records known from Lao P.D.R., and indicate that hunting with firearms may be a localized threat in some areas, along with the widespread threat of snares across the region.

Two new distribution records of Dendrobium (Orchidaceae), with an updated checklist of Dendrobium for Laos

Two new records of Dendrobium, D. daklakense, and D. metrium, are reported for the flora of Laos for the first time. Photographs, information on habitat and ecology, vernacular names and additional notes for each species are given based on collections from Dak Cheung Plateau, Sekong Province (D. daklakense), and Phou Khao Khouay National Park, Vientiane Province (D. metrium). An updated checklist with classification section of Dendrobium in Laos is also provided.

It was not the Government that did it: it was us! Water Supply in Kandon as an Example of Living Lao Socialism

ABSTRACT The core argument of this paper is that English-language scholarly understandings of socialism in Laos have been hampered by implicit ethnocentrism and denial of coevalness. Lingering but pervasive legacies of the Cold War include an equation of ‘true’ socialism with models of socialism that were practised in Europe, and a triumphalist tone that equates socialism with the past, the fake and the crumbling, even when it is (as with Laos) so evidently a tangible part of the lived present and the imagined future. Better understanding of socialism in Laos requires the kind of work that was done by an earlier generation of scholars on power in Southeast Asia, where concepts were translated across difference by rooting them in local terminology, contextualisations and usage. Following this inspiration, I approach socialism in Laos through the example of how the problem of water supply was addressed in a resettled, ethnic Kantu village in Sekong Province, Lao PDR. Why was the village resettled? Why was water a problem? What strategies did people use to obtain safe water? Answering these questions reveals some of what socialism means in lives as lived in this self-identified socialist state.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza in Sekong province Lao PDR 2018 – Potential for improved surveillance and management

Highly pathogenic avian influenza in Sekong province Lao PDR 2018 – Potential for improved surveillance and management

A Palang Among the Kantu: Or, Difference is a Medicine

ABSTRACT Palang is a word used in an ethnic Kantu village in Sekong Province, Lao PDR meaning people of a broadly white appearance. It is similar, in sound and semantic range, to words found in many Asia Pacific languages of indicating the West, Westerners, and things originating in the West. The Kantu palang is furthermore linked to other categories of human difference, including ethnicity, possession, sorcery, witchcraft and the dead. Health and a good life are understood as requiring judicious incorporation of difference, but the power of difference is understood as ambivalent and difference is thus also potentially dangerous. Often, difference is understood in terms of material things, the position of these things inside or outside (of bodies, the village, the region), and their resulting capacity to heal or harm. This materiality troubles any easy classification of these concerns as mimetic, suggesting instead a distinct outlook on difference.

Post-Settlement Rural Livelihoods in Laos: A Case Study of a Resettled Village in Sekong Province

Post-Settlement Rural Livelihoods in Laos: A Case Study of a Resettled Village in Sekong Province

Detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Sekong Province Lao PDR 2018—Potential for improved surveillance and management in endemic regions

Significant global efforts have been directed towards understanding the epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) across poultry production systems and in wild-bird reservoirs, yet understanding of disease dynamics in the village poultry setting remains limited. This article provides a detailed account of the first laboratory-confirmed outbreak of HPAI in the south-eastern provinces of Lao PDR, which occurred in a village in Sekong Province in October 2018. Perspectives from an anthropologist conducting fieldwork at the time of the outbreak, clinical and epidemiological observations by an Australian veterinarian are combined with laboratory characterization and sequencing of the virus to provide insights about disease dynamics, biosecurity, outbreak response and impediments to disease surveillance. Market-purchased chickens were considered the likely source of the outbreak. Observations highlighted the significance of a-lack-of pathognomonic clinical signs and commonness of high-mortality poultry disease with consequent importance of laboratory diagnosis. Sample submission and testing was found to be efficient, despite the village being far from the national veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Extensively raised poultry play key roles in ritual, livelihoods and nutrition of rural Lao PDR people. Unfortunately, mass mortality of chickens due to diseases such as HPAI and Newcastle disease (ND) imposes a significant burden on smallholders in Lao PDR, as in most other SE Asian countries. We observed that high mortality of chickens is perceived by locals as a new 'normal' in raising poultry; this sense of it being 'normal' is a disincentive to reporting of mortality events. Establishing effective people-centred disease-surveillance approaches with local benefit, improving market-biosecurity and veterinary-service support to control vaccine-preventable poultry diseases could all reduce mass-mortality event frequency, improve veterinary-producer relationships and increase the likelihood that mortality events are reported. Priority in each of these aspects should be on working with smallholders and local traders, appreciating and respecting their perspectives and local knowledge.

Potential factors associated with institutional childbirth among women in rural villages of Lao People\u2019s Democratic Republic: a preliminary study

BackgroundThe provision of quality health services has been a global priority to reduce neonatal and maternal deaths. In Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the coverage of institutional childbirth stayed at a low level regardless of a sharp increase in the coverage of antenatal care (ANC) and fee exemption. The aim of the present study was to preliminary explore factors associated with increased institutional childbirth and the association between ANC attendance and maternal knowledge among women in rural villages of Lao PDR.MethodsA secondary data analysis was conducted using data collected through a pilot survey in Sekong province in Lao PDR. The study participants were women with children under 5 years of age in villages within 10 km (km) from health centers staffed with skilled birth attendants. Data were collected via a face-to-face interview using a semi-structured questionnaire and were analysed using logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for having institutional childbirth in relation to potential factors.ResultsA total of 302 women, 203 (67.2%) of whom gave birth at a health facility. 277 (91.7%) attended ANC at least once. Sixty-nine women (22.9%) had received no formal education, 272 (90.1%) were of an ethnic minority, 174 (57.6%) were unwaged and 99 (32.8%) lived more than 6 km from the nearest health facility. 51 (16.6%) did not know about birth complications at interview. Institutional childbirth was negatively associated with a lack of maternal knowledge about birth complications (OR, 0.27; 95% Cl, 0.14–0.54) after adjusting for covariates. Although there were few women who did not received ANC, the results suggested ANC might not be associated with maternal knowledge about birth complications (OR, 1.87; 95% Cl, 0.43–8.12).ConclusionsThe present study suggests that maternal knowledge about birth complications is an important factor in increasing the institutional childbirth in rural villages of Lao PDR where majority of residents were ethnic minority. Improving quality of ANC and attitude among health care providers may be key to increasing health-seeking behavior. However, further research is needed to understand factors influencing choice of place of childbirth.

First report of Coniella hibisci causing leaf and stem canker in the Lao P.D.R.

Coniella hibisci is reported for the first time in Lao P.D.R. The pathogen was isolated from roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa var. sabdariffa) stem and leaf samples from a farm in Thateng district, Sekong province, and deposited with the International Collection of Microorganisms from Plants (ICMP). The identification of the pathogen was based on morphological features and the results of sequencing the ITS, LSU, and tef1 genetic loci. Pathogenicity tests on four-week-old roselle plants reproduced field symptoms, satisfying Koch’s postulates.

Rural Household’s Coping Strategies and Food Insecurity in the Upland Areas, Sekong province, Lao PDR

Rural Household’s Coping Strategies and Food Insecurity in the Upland Areas, Sekong province, Lao PDR

Prevalence and Determinants of Household Food Security in Resettled Areas in Sekong Province, Lao PDR

Prevalence and Determinants of Household Food Security in Resettled Areas in Sekong Province, Lao PDR

Is staying overnight in a farming hut a risk factor for malaria infection in a setting with insecticide-treated bed nets in rural Laos?

BackgroundOvernight stays in farming huts are known to pose a risk of malaria infection. However, studies reporting the risk were conducted in the settings of poor net coverage. This study sought to assess whether an overnight stay in a farming hut is associated with an increased risk of malaria infection if insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) are properly used.MethodsA pair of cross-sectional surveys was carried out in the Lamarm district of Sekong province, Laos, in March (dry season) and August (rainy season) in 2008. Questionnaire-based interviews and blood examinations were conducted with farmers and their household members from three randomly selected villages in March (127 households, 891 people) and August (128 households, 919 people). Logistic regression analysis, adjusted for potential confounding factors, was used to assess the association between malaria infection status and frequency of overnight stays for the two weeks prior to the study in both the seasons.ResultsIn March, 13.7% of participants reported staying overnight in a farming hut at least once in the previous two weeks. The percentage increased to 74.6% in August. Not only adults but also young children stayed overnight as often as adults. The use of an ITN the preceding night was common both in farming huts (66.3% in March, 95.2% in August), and in main residences (85.8% in March, 92.5% in August). Logistic regression analysis showed no statistical association between malaria infection status and frequency of overnight stays in farming huts in either study period. However, people sharing one family type net with five people or more were significantly more likely to have malaria than those sharing a net with up to two people in the dry season.ConclusionsThis study showed that staying overnight in farming huts was not associated with an increased risk of malaria infection in the setting where ITNs were widely used in farming huts. It suggests that malaria infection during overnight stays in farming huts might be preventable if ITNs are properly used in rural Laos.

A Cholera Epidemic in Sekong Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic, December 2007–January 2008

Recent large-scale outbreaks in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) were reported in 1993 and 1994 and from 2000 to 2002. On December 23, 2007, a drastic increase in acute watery diarrhea patients at a health center in Sekong Province was reported to the provincial health office. An outbreak investigation was initiated to understand the magnitude of the outbreak, identify new cases, identify the suspected causal agent, implement control measures, and prevent new cases. Through active village based surveillance, 370 cases and 3 deaths were reported from 31 villages between December 15, 2007 and January 29, 2008. Of these reported cases, 29% were under the age of 5. From 28 fresh stool samples taken, 17 (58.6%) were positive for Vibrio cholerae O1 Ogawa strain. Two water sources close to affected villages were found to be contaminated with the same strain of V. cholerae. Control measures implemented included health education for safe household water consumption and early identification and treatment of suspected cholera patients at village level. The cause of the outbreak was suspected to be a combination of contaminated drinking water and person-to-person transmission.

Public and private sector treatment of malaria in Lao PDR

This study aimed to examine the care-seeking choices for treatment of a febrile illness compatible with malaria in the public and private sectors in Lao PDR. We conducted interviews with 745 heads of household in 14 villages in the Sekong province, using a structured-questionnaire. We asked each about who the care-providers were for febrile illness episodes affecting their household members during the past year. If patients used more than one care-provider for a single episode over a period of time, we identified patterns of the care-sequences for the initial and subsequent care choices. Then, we analyzed the relationship between the initial care choices and secondary care choices for care-providers by Chi-square test, categorizing care-providers into public (hospital, health centre, and village health volunteer) and private care-providers (private pharmacy, informal retailer, faith healing and herbs). As a result, we found that 624 patients sought care at least once, 255 (40.9%) twice, and 66 (10.6%) three times or more during a single episode. Of 138 patients who started with a public care-provider and then sought a secondary care, 71 (51.4%) switched to a private care-provider. In contrast, of 117 patients who started with a private care-provider and then sought a secondary care, 82 (70.1%) switched to a public care-provider ( p < 0.001). In conclusion, although most patients who failed being treated by a private care-provider switched to a public one, some exclusively relied on care within the private sector. An intervention is necessary to make the private sector an integral component of malaria treatment in Lao PDR.

Maternity waiting homes in Southern Lao PDR: The unique ‘silk home’

The concept of maternity waiting homes (MWH) has a long history spanning over 100 years. The research reported here was conducted in the Thateng District of Sekong Province in southern Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) to establish whether the MWH concept would be affordable, accessible, and most importantly acceptable, as a strategy to improve maternal outcomes in the remote communities of Thateng with a high proportion of the population from ethnic minority groups. The research suggested that there were major barriers to minority ethnic groups using existing maternal health services (reflected in very low usage of trained birth attendants and hospitals and clinics) in Thateng. Unless MWH are adapted to overcome these potential barriers, such initiatives will suffer the same fate as existing maternal facilities. Consequently, the Lao iteration of the concept, as operationalized in the Silk Homes project in southern Lao PDR is unique in combining maternal and infant health services with opportunities for micro credit and income generating activities and allowing non-harmful traditional practices to co-exist alongside modern medical protocols. These innovative approaches to the MWH concept address the major economic, social and cultural barriers to usage of safe birthing options in remote communities of southern Lao PDR.

Nutritional status of children in rural Lao PDR: who are the most vulnerable?

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to assess the nutritional status of children aged 3-15 y in remote villages of Lao PDR. Study sites were chosen from two provinces: Luang namtha (north) and Sekong province (south). All the sampled 1075 children were measured for anthropometry, following the standard methods. Dietary intake, morbidity and socio-economic data were obtained by interviews with parents. This study confirmed the high prevalence of growth retardation among children, as well as persistent food insecurity in the remote areas of Lao PDR. Prevalence of stunting was 74.1% in Luang namtha and 62.6% in Sekong province, with school-aged children being worse-off than under-five ones. Children's diets were inadequate in quality as well as in quantity, with very limited availability of rice and other food items throughout the year. Our findings also suggest the negative outcomes of government's development programme were often overlooked, and that more attention should be paid on the fragile living conditions in the resettlement villages, especially for the ethnic minority.

The ‘Hot Spot’ of Hb E [β26(B8)Glu→Lys] in Southeast Asia: β‐Globin Anomalies in the Lao Theung Population of Southern Laos

Hb E [β26(B8)Glu→Lys], is the most common abnormal hemoglobin (Hb) in Southeast Asian populations. The hitherto highest frequencies of the Hb E gene (HBB*E) in large population samples, ∼ 0.3, were observed in the southern part of northeastern Thailand. The finding of even higher frequencies in a small, isolated Austroasiatic group in Northeast Thailand prompted us to examine samples of three Austroasiatic populations in southern Laos (official designation: Lao Theung), an area inhabited by numerous ethnic groups belonging to the Mon–Khmer branch. Blood samples were collected from a total of 603 adult subjects. The HBB*E frequencies were 0.426 in the So of Khammuan Province, 0.433 in the Alak/Ngeh of Sekong Province and 0.253 in the Oy of Attapeu Province. The HBB*E frequencies in the So and Alak/Ngeh are the highest observed in Southeast Asia in representative population samples. None of the common Southeast Asian β‐thalassemia (thal) mutations were found. The results are discussed with respect to natural selection by malaria, selection time, effects of β‐thal and the ethnic history of the population of Southeast Asia.

The prevalence of Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes in Sekong Province, Lao PDR in relation to malaria transmission.

A longitudinal study was conducted on the prevalence of Anopheles in three malaria endemic villages in Sekong province, in the southern region of Lao PDR, from August 2000 to October 2001. All night, human landing collections took place in August and October 2000 and April and October 2001, and blood smears were taken for malaria parasites during the same period. Mosquitoes were tested for sporozoite antigen using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In August 2000 (wet season) and April 2001 (dry season) the ovaries of the mosquitoes were examined for parity. A total of 16 species of Anopheles were caught in the study sites of which An. dirus A, An. maculatus sl and An. jeyporiensis were positive for sporozoites. The entomological inoculation rate (EIR) ranged from 0.06 to 0.25. There was a good correlation between EIR and vectorial capacity in the wet season, especially in Pai Mai where the prevalence of malaria was also high during the wet seasons (11.8 and 10.53). An. dirus A showed ambivalence in their choice of feeding as approximately 50% attacked man indoors and an equal proportion outdoors. An dirus A was the main vector in Pai Mai. The parous rate did not significantly differ between the wet and dry season, although it was higher in the dry season. In Takaio the parasite prevalence ranged from 8.7% (dry season) to 37.1% (wet season) and An. jeyporiensis was the vector, and the risk of infection was 0.85 in the dry season while 0.99 in the wet season. In Toumgno An. maculatus sl was the vector and infection was found only in August and October 2000. However, malaria prevalence ranged from 9.69 to 20.4% and was equally high in the dry season. Cattle were also present close to the houses in all the villages and this might be a contributory factor in the prevalence of malaria.