On 6 December 2013, two laboratory-confirmed cases of chikungunya without a travel history were reported on the French part of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, indicating the start of the first ...documented outbreak of chikungunya in the Americas. Since this report, the virus spread to several Caribbean islands and French Guiana, and between 6 December 2013 and 27 March 2014 more than 17,000 suspected and confirmed cases have been reported. Further spread and establishment of the disease in the Americas is likely, given the high number of people travelling between the affected and non-affected areas and the widespread occurrence of efficient vectors. Also, the likelihood of the introduction of the virus into Europe from the Americas and subsequent transmission should be considered especially in the context of the next mosquito season in Europe. Clinicians should be aware that, besides dengue, chikungunya should be carefully considered among travellers currently returning from the Caribbean region.
We report two cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome who had concomitant Zika virus viruria. This viruria persisted for longer than 15 days after symptom onset. The cases occurred on Martinique in January ...2016, at the beginning of the Zika virus outbreak. Awareness of this possible neurological complication of ZikV infection is needed.
We report two cases of encephalopathy (one with seizures, one with electroencephalogram changes) in patients with Zika virus infection. The cases occurred on Martinique in February 2016, during the ...Zika virus outbreak. Awareness of the various neurological complications of Zika virus infection is needed for patients living in areas affected by Zika virus infections or for travellers to these areas.
Arboviruses are viral diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and tick bites. They are a major cause of morbidity and sometimes mortality. Their expansion is constant and due in part to climate change and ...globalization. Mostly found in tropical regions, arboviruses are sometimes the source of epidemics in Europe. Recently, the Chikungunya virus and the Zika virus were responsible for very large epidemics impacting populations that had never been in contact with those viruses. There are currently no effective antiviral treatments or vaccines. Ocular manifestations due to those infections are thus more frequent and increasingly better described. They are sometimes, as with Zika, complicated by a congenital ocular syndrome. The goal of this review is to describe the ophthalmological manifestations of Dengue fever, Chikungunya virus, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and yellow fever.
Arboviruses are viral diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and tics bites. They are a major cause of morbidity and sometimes mortality. Their expansion is constant and due in part to climate change and ...globalization. Mostly found in tropical regions, arboviruses are sometimes the source of epidemics in Europe. Recently, the Chikungunya virus and the Zika virus were responsible for very large epidemics impacting populations that had never been in contact with those viruses. There are currently no effective antiviral treatments or vaccines. Ocular manifestations due to those infections are thus more frequent and increasingly better described. They are sometimes, as with Zika, complicated by a congenital ocular syndrome. The goal of this review is to describe the ophthalmological manifestations of Dengue fever, Chikungunya virus, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and yellow fever.
Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer in women in French Guiana. Studies have shown that populations living in the remote areas of the interior have early sexual debut and that multiple ...sexual partnerships are common. The objective of the present study was thus to determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in these areas. A study was conducted in women aged 20–65 years with previous sexual activity. Women were included on a voluntary basis after using local media and leaders to inform them of the visit of the team. HPV infection was defined by the detection of HPV DNA using the Greiner Bio-One kit. In addition to HPV testing cytology was performed. The overall age-standardized prevalence rate was 35%. There was a U-shaped evolution of HPV prevalence by age with women aged >50 years at highest risk for HPV, followed by the 20–29 years group. Twenty-seven percent of women with a positive HPV test had normal cytology. Given the high incidence of cervical cancer in French Guiana and the high prevalence of HPV infections the present results re-emphasize the need for screening for cervical cancer in these remote areas. Vaccination against HPV, preferably with a nonavalent vaccine, also seems an important prevention measure. However, in this region where a large portion of the population has no health insurance, this still represents a challenge.
A retrospective study investigating all the infectious encephalitis cases hospitalized at the pediatric intensive care unit of Edouard Herriot University Hospital in Lyon, France, was carried out in ...order to estimate the prevalence of
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
in acute childhood encephalitis. From January 2001 to December 2005, the cases of 29 children were selected and reviewed.
M. pneumoniae
related encephalitis was considered as probable in five cases (17%) on the basis of positive serological tests or positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in throat or nasopharyngeal swab while the PCR tests performed from the cerebrospinal fluid were negative. This study suggests that
M. pneumoniae
may be a major cause of infectious encephalitis in children as well as enteroviruses or Epstein-Barr virus detected in five and three cases, respectively.
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