While general lockdowns have proven effective to control SARS-CoV-2 epidemics, they come with enormous costs for society. It is therefore essential to identify control strategies with lower social ...and economic impact. Here, we report and evaluate the control strategy implemented during a large SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in June-July 2020 in French Guiana that relied on curfews, targeted lockdowns, and other measures. We find that the combination of these interventions coincided with a reduction in the basic reproduction number of SARS-CoV-2 from 1.7 to 1.1, which was sufficient to avoid hospital saturation. We estimate that thanks to the young demographics, the risk of hospitalisation following infection was 0.3 times that of metropolitan France and that about 20% of the population was infected by July. Our model projections are consistent with a recent seroprevalence study. The study showcases how mathematical modelling can be used to support healthcare planning in a context of high uncertainty.
While some clinical signs may point to COVID-19 or dengue in case series, at the individual patient scale, the imperfect positive predictive value and clinical variability do not guarantee a ...diagnosis of certainty (Table 1). ...some studies report 25% of patients with confirmed dengue having a cough and 20% with upper respiratory tract symptoms 14. Because of this great disruption in the organization of care, until recently it was only after receiving the results (24–48 hours for negative results) that further explorations were performed, which for a while led to potentially dangerous diagnostic delays in patients with dengue. According to the context and clinical presentation, physicians may prescribe a malaria test, blood and urine cultures, serologies, or molecular diagnosis of differential diagnoses. The extinction of the dengue virus epidemic is less likely when increased human movement enhances the rescue effect. ...modeling suggests that infection hubs and reservoirs can be locations people
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Outbreak of Oropouche Virus in French Guiana Gaillet, Mélanie; Pichard, Clara; Restrepo, Johana ...
Emerging infectious diseases,
10/2021, Letnik:
27, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Oropouche fever is a zoonotic dengue-like syndrome caused by Oropouche virus. In August-September 2020, dengue-like syndrome developed in 41 patients in a remote rainforest village in French Guiana. ...By PCR or microneutralization, 23 (82.1%) of 28 tested patients were positive for Oropouche virus, documenting its emergence in French Guiana.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Context
Tropical areas and small islands are identified as highly vulnerable to climate change, and already experiencing shifts in their temperature distribution. However, the knowledge on the health ...impacts of temperatures under tropical marine climate is limited.
We explored the influence of temperature on mortality in four French overseas regions located in French Guiana, French West Indies, and in the Indian Ocean, between 2000 and 2015.
Method
Distributed lag non-linear generalized models linking temperature and mortality were developed in each area, and relative risks were combined through a meta-analysis. Models were used to estimate the fraction of mortality attributable to non-optimal temperatures. The role of humidity was also investigated.
Results
An increased risk of mortality was observed when the temperature deviated from median. Results were not modified when introducing humidity. Between 2000 and 2015, 979 deaths confidence interval (CI) 95% 531:1359 were attributable to temperatures higher than the 90th percentile of the temperature distribution, and 442 CI 95% 178:667 to temperature lower than the 10th percentile.
Discussion
Heat already has a large impact on mortality in the French overseas regions. Results suggest that adaptation to heat is relevant under tropical marine climate.
Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligosaccharides used in many fields. Grafting polymers onto CDs enables new structures and applications to be obtained. Polylactide (PLA) is a biobased, biocompatible ...aliphatic polyester that can be grafted onto CDs by -OH-initiated ring-opening polymerization. Using 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as an organocatalyst, a quantitative functionalization is reached on native α-, β-, γ- and 2,3-dimethyl- β-cyclodextrins. Narrow molecular weight distributions are obtained with the native CDs (dispersity < 1.1). The DMAP/β-CD combination is used as a case study, and the formation of an inclusion complex (1/1) is shown for the first time in the literature, which is fully characterized by NMR. The inclusion of DMAP into the cavity occurs via the secondary rim of the β-CD and the association constant (K
) is estimated to be 88.2 M
. Its use as an initiator for ring-opening polymerization leads to a partial functionalization efficiency, and thus a more hydrophilic β-CD-PLA conjugate than that obtained starting from native β-CD. Polymerization results including also the use of the adamantane/β-CD inclusion complex as an initiator suggest that inclusion of the DMAP catalyst into the CD may not occur during polymerization reactions.
-lactide does not form an inclusion complex with β-CD.
As the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic continues to expand, healthcare resources globally have been spread thin. Now, the disease is rapidly spreading across ...South America, with deadly consequences in areas with already weakened public health systems. The Amazon region is particularly susceptible to the widespread devastation from Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because of its immunologically fragile native Amerindian inhabitants and epidemiologic vulnerabilities. Herein, we discuss the current situation and potential impact of COVID-19 in the Amazon region and how further spread of the epidemic wave could prove devastating for many Amerindian people living in the Amazon rainforest.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The border between the State of Amapa, Brazil, and French Guiana is mostly primary forest. In the Oyapock basin, socioeconomic circumstances have fueled sex work, gold mining and the circulation of ...sexually transmitted infections. Given the lack of comprehensive data on this border area, we describe the different sexually transmitted infections along the Brazil/French Guiana border and the testing and care activity.
We conducted a review of the available scientific and technical literature on sexually transmitted infections in this complex border area. Temporal trends were graphed and for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) we estimated incidence using the European Center for prevention and Disease Control modeling tool.
Until 2019, 26 of the 46 HIV-infected patients followed and treated in Saint Georges de l'Oyapock were residing on the Brazilian side in Oiapoque. Virological suppression was only achieved for 75% of treated patients; but dropped to 62% during the COVID-19 epidemic. In 2019, cooperation efforts allowed HIV care in Oiapoque, resulting in the transfer of Brazilian patients previously followed on the French side and a substantial increase in the number of patients followed in Oiapoque. The average yearly HIV serological testing activity at the health center in Saint Georges was 16 tests per 100 inhabitants per year; in Camopi it was 12.2 per 100 inhabitants. Modeling estimated the number of persons living with HIV around 170 persons, corresponding to a prevalence of 0.54% and about 40 undiagnosed infections. The model also suggested that there were about 12 new infections per year in Saint Georges and Oiapoque, representing an HIV incidence rate of 3.8 cases per 10,000 per year. HPV prevalence in Saint Georges ranges between 25 and 30% and between 35 and 40% in Camopi. Testing activity for other sexually transmitted infections markedly increased in the past 5 years; the introduction of PCR for chlamydiasis and gonorrhea also had a substantial impact on the number of diagnoses.
The ongoing cooperation between multiple partners on both sides of the border has led to remarkable progress in primary prevention, in testing efforts, in treatment and retention on both sides of the border. In a region with intense health professional turnover, nurturing cooperation and providing accurate assessments of the burden of sexually transmitted infections is essential to tackle a problem that is shared on both sides of the border.
French Guiana (FG) is an ultra-peripheral European region in the Amazon, and the COVID-19 epidemic has had very different kinetics from both its giant neighbors, Brazil or mainland France.
This study ...summarized the epidemics of COVID-19 in FG.
The tropical climate, multiethnicity, and remoteness of the population forced healthcare providers to accordingly adapt the management of the epidemic. Incidence and mortality have been lower than that in Europe and Latin America due to a combination of prevalence of the youth in the population and highly developed healthcare system.
Currently, vaccine hesitancy hinders the rapid expansion of vaccine coverage.
Purpose
The Maroni basin –delineating the border between Suriname and French Guiana— presents sociocultural, geographical and economic circumstances that have been conducive to the circulation of ...sexually transmitted infections and to delays in diagnosis and care. Given the scarcity of published data, we aimed to describe different sexually transmitted infections along the Maroni and to gain a broader understanding of the epidemiologic situation.
Methods
We conducted a scoping review of the efforts to approach the problem of sexually transmitted infections in this complex border area. Temporal trends were plotted and crude numbers were divided by local population numbers.
Results
For HIV, despite increasing testing efforts, most patients still present at the advanced HIV stage (median CD4 count at diagnosis is < 20 per mm
3
), and 25% of patients in Saint Laurent du Maroni were lost to follow-up within 6 years. However, progress on both sides has led to a decline in AIDS cases and mortality. Despite a rapid increase in the 1990’s along the Maroni, the current HIV prevalence seemed lower (0.52%) in the rural villages than in coastal urban centers (> 1%). High risk HPV infection prevalence among women reaches 23.3%. The incidence of gonorrhea was 4.2 per 1,000 population aged 15-59. For chlamydiasis it was 3.4 per 1,000 population aged 15-59. For syphilis, the incidence was 2.5 per 1,000 population aged 15-59. Gonorrhea, chlamydiasis, hepatitis B detection increased over time with greater testing efforts and new diagnostic tests. Since the COVID-19 epidemic, congenital syphilis has dramatically increased in Saint Laurent du Maroni reaching 808 per 100,000 live births.
Conclusion
Sexually transmitted infections seemed more prevalent in Saint Laurent du Maroni –the sole urban center—than in the remote villages along the Maroni. The syndromic approach and the heterogeneity of diagnostic platforms presumably overlook most infections in the region. Therefore, a concerted approach and a shared diagnostic upgrade with molecular diagnosis and rapid diagnostic tests seem necessary to reduce the burden of sexually transmitted infections on both sides of the Maroni. Congenital syphilis resulting from COVID-19 disruption of health services requires urgent attention.