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Begin New Search Political Geography Vietnam Author Sumeet Saksena

1. New Findings on Links between Urban Expansion and Viral Disease in Vietnam Offer Lessons for COVID-19

Author:
James H. Spencer, Sumeet Saksena, and Jefferson Fox
Publication Date:
04-2020
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
The current COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, underscores what the public health community has warned about for more than two decades—the risk of viral diseases capable of spreading from animal to human hosts. The first outbreaks of “bird flu” (highly pathogenic avian influenza—HPAI, subtype H5N1)—raised similar concerns 20 years ago, concerns that have persisted with the outbreak of SARS in 2002–2004 and COVID-19 today. A recent study compared information on infrastructure and other aspects of economic development in Vietnam with outbreaks of avian influenza. While this research focuses on avian influenza in Vietnam, the study of links between infrastructure characteristics and new and reemerging health risks has broad applicability, especially given the global importance of today’s rapidly expanding urban landscapes.
Topic:
Infectious Diseases, Urban, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and Vietnam

2. Policy Implications for Prevention of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Subtype H5N1 in Conjunction with Risk Factors in the Red River Delta, Vietnam

Author:
Jefferson Fox, Chinh C. Tran, John F. Yanagida, and Sumeet Saksena
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
The challenge is to develop the vaccination program that is more successful in containing and preventing the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza subtype H5N1 from recurrence in the Red River Delta, Vietnam and reducing vaccination costs. This study addresses the tradeoff between the current policy which implements an annual two-round vaccination for the entire geographical area of the Delta and an alternative policy which involves more frequent vaccination in higher probability areas for the disease occurrence within the Delta. The ex-ante analysis framework is used to identify the location of higher probability areas for the alternative policy and evaluate the accuracy of the analysis. The efficacy and cost analysis of vaccination programs are then implemented for the tradeoff between the current and the alternative policies. The ex-ante analysis suggests that the focus areas for the alternative vaccination program include 1137 communes, corresponding to 50.6% of total communes in the Delta and mostly located in the coastal areas to the east and south of Hanoi. The efficacy and cost analyses suggests that the alternative policy would be more successful in reducing the rate of disease occurrence and the costs of vaccination as compared to the current policy.
Political Geography:
Vietnam and United Nations

3. Perceived Risk of Avian Influenza in Poultry Varies with Urbanization in Vietnam

Author:
Jefferson Fox, Melissa L. Finucane, Sumeet Saksena, Nghiem Tuyen, James H. Spencer, Nguyen Lam, Trinh Dinh Thau, Tran Duc Vien, and Nancy D. Lewis
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is an important public health concern because of its potential to cause widespread morbidity and mortality in humans and poultry and associated devastating economic losses. In this study we examined how perceptions of and response to the risk of HPAI in poultry vary across communes/wards in the north of Vietnam at different levels of urbanization (rural, transitional, urban). We conducted a quantitative household survey with 1073 respondents. Results suggested that the perceived risk of HPAI in poultry was highest in transitional and rural settings. Respondents in these settings were more likely than respondents in urban settings to agree that the process of change (in urbanization, agricultural practices, or natural habitat) increased the likelihood of an outbreak of HPAI in poultry. Compared with others, respondents in transitional areas reported that they do less planning and perceive vaccines to be more effective, while respondents in rural areas reported less perceived ability to separate infected poultry from others. We also found that the inability to respond is not necessarily because of an inability to perceive change but because, rapid and extensive change poses different challenges for poultry management as communes move from rural to transitional to urban settings. Our results suggest that public and animal health campaigns could be tailored in a way that recognizes the needs of poultry raisers in different settings.
Topic:
Health, Infectious Diseases, and Urbanization
Political Geography:
Asia and Vietnam