ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The use of herbal tea with Artemisia annua by travelers and traditional communities in Africa has increased in recent years as a supposed form of malaria prophylaxis, although its use is not recommended due to lack of efficacy. The risk of severe malaria complications that can lead to death is real regarding said behavior, and awareness needs to be raised. We report a case of severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria imported in the Amazon rainforest by a traveler returning from Cameroon who treated himself with Artemisia annua herbal tea.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Background: 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. Methods: This study summarized the epidemics of COVID-19 in FG. Results: 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. Conclusions: Currently, vaccine hesitancy hinders the rapid expansion of vaccine coverage.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Q fever is a major public health problem in French Guiana. In recent years, a considerable number of cases has been reported in French Guiana's penitentiary center. The main objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of these cases. A retrospective study was conducted at the prison to identify cases of acute Q fever in people incarcerated between 2010 and 2021. During the study period, 16 patients were diagnosed with acute Q fever. The positivity rate varied between 13 and 57%. The annual incidence rate in 2019, 2020 and 2021 was 269 (95% CI: 0-640) 1,120 (95% CI: 290-1950) and 1,931 (95% CI: 60-3810) per 100,000 person-years, respectively. While several vertebrate species have already been shown to play an important role in the transmission of Coxiella burnetii, the full epidemiology picture in the tropics is far from clear, and the prison context, with its controlled environment, could help provide answers.
ABSTRACT
The border between Brazil and French Guiana is a place of economic, cultural, social and sexual exchange. Female sex workers represent a high risk population for HIV in this area where sexual tourism is particularly developed. HIV testing seems to be an important element in the fight against the epidemic. Indeed, early HIV testing gives access to treatments and prevention. An HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and practices survey was conducted in 2011 among sex workers along the border between Brazil and French Guiana. A total of 213 female sex workers were interviewed. One third (31.5%) of the interviewed had never tested for HIV. Factors associated with non HIV-testing were the lack of knowledge of places where to do an HIV test, to be 30 or older, feeling at risk of HIV, not evaluating one's own risk towards HIV, and living in Oiapoque. These results clearly suggest that targeted interventions are needed to encourage and assist female sex workers to get tested regularly.
A fronteira entre Guiana Francesa e Brasil é um lugar de intercâmbio econômico, cultural, social e sexual. Nessa área, onde o turismo sexual é particularmente desenvolvido, as mulheres profissionais do sexo representam uma população de alto risco de contágio pelo HIV. Os testes de HIV parecem ser um elemento importante da luta contra a epidemia. De fato, os primeiros testes de HIV dão acesso à prevenção e aos tratamentos. Foi realizada em 2011 uma pesquisa de conhecimento, atitudes, comportamentos e práticas sobre HIV/AIDS com mulheres profissionais do sexo ao longo da fronteira da Guiana Francesa com o Brasil. Foram entrevistadas 213 mulheres profissionais do sexo. Um terço (31,5%) delas nunca tinha feito o teste de HIV. Fatores associados a não realização do teste de HIV foram: a falta de conhecimento dos locais onde fazer o teste, ter idade igual ou acima de 30 anos, sentir-se em risco de contágio pelo HIV, falta de avaliação do risco de contágio pelo HIV e habitante do Oiapoque. Esses resultados sugerem claramente que intervenções direcionadas às mulheres profissionais do sexo são necessárias para que os testes sejam feitos regularmente.
La frontera entre la Guyana Francesa y Brasil es un lugar de intercambio económico, cultural y sexual. En esta zona, donde se desarrolla sobre todo el turismo sexual, las trabajadoras del sexo son una población de alto riesgo de VIH. La prueba del VIH parece ser un elemento en la lucha de esta epidemia. Además, la prueba inmediata del VIH permite el acceso a los tratamientos y la prevención. Se realizó una Encuesta de Conocimientos, Actitudes y Prácticas sobre el VIH/SIDA en 2011 entre las trabajadoras de sexo, trabajando en la frontera entre la Guyana Francesa y Brasil. Se entrevistaron a un total de 213 trabajadoras del sexo. Un tercio (31,5%) de las entrevistadas nunca se había hecho la prueba del VIH. Los factores asociados con no haberse hecho la prueba del VIH son la ausencia de conocimientos sobre los lugares, donde se realiza la prueba del VIH, tener 30 años o más, sentirse en riesgo de VIH, no evalúan su propio riesgo frente al VIH y viviendo en el Oiapoque. Estos resultados muestran claramente que las intervenciones específicas necesitan incentivos para estimular el uso regularmente de la prueba del VIH.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , HIV Infections/diagnosis , HIV Infections/prevention & control , Sex Workers/statistics & numerical data , Brazil/epidemiology , French Guiana/epidemiology , HIV Infections/epidemiology , Predictive Value of Tests , Risk Factors , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
In recent years, several rapid diagnostic tests for falciparum malaria have been developed. KAT test results were compared with microscopy on 90 consecutive patients hospitalized at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Bangkok, Thailand. Fifty-one patients had P. falciparum infections while 49 had malaria due to other plasmodium species. For a geometric mean +/-SD (Min;Max;range) parasitemia of 11,481 +/- 5.0 (88;713,838;713,750), the sensitivity of the KAT test was 96% (95% CI = 86-99.5), the specificity was 92% (95% CI = 80-99), the accuracy was 94% and the reliability was 85%. These findings suggest that the KAT test is of potential interest in the diagnosis of falciparum malaria in Thailand.
Subject(s)
Animals , Antibodies, Protozoan/analysis , Confidence Intervals , Humans , Malaria, Falciparum/diagnosis , Microscopy/methods , Plasmodium falciparum/isolation & purification , Protozoan Proteins/analysis , Reagent Kits, Diagnostic , Sensitivity and Specificity , Serologic Tests/methods , ThailandABSTRACT
To determine if intestinal helminths and the CD23/nitric oxide pathway had an influence on liver size, we conducted a cross-sectional study on 438 patients with confirmed P. falciparum malaria admitted at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Bangkok. For all patients the liver size was measured as number of centimeters below the rib cage, a stool examination was conducted, and CD23 and reactive nitrogen intermediates were measured. The median liver size was smaller in helminth-infected patients than in helminth-free patients (chi2 for trend = 9.1, p = 0.003). Liver size significantly increased with the concentration of sCD23 (p < 0.0001). The median sCD23 concentration (OD) was significantly lower in helminth-infected patients than in helminth-free patients, respectively 0.33 (quartiles 0.24-0.57) and 0.45 (quartiles 0.27-0.59), (p = 0.01). There was a negative correlation between sCD23 concentrations and RNI (Spearman's rho = -0.40, p < 0.0001). All the above results remained significant after controlling for potential confounders. These results are compatible with a CD23/NO-mediated decrease in liver size in helminth-infected patients.