Extent of misconceptions, negative prejudices and discriminatory behaviour to psoriasis patients in France.

BACKGROUND: The perception of stigmatization of patients with psoriasis is largely due to misconceptions and negative prejudice about this skin disease. 'Uneducated' judgments can give rise to discriminatory behaviours. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the prevalence, in France, of misconceptions, negative prejudice and discriminatory behaviour towards psoriasis patients. METHODS: Online survey conducted in June 2011, aimed at 1005 persons aged 16-64 years, representative of the French population. The representativeness of the sample was ensured by quota methodology (gender, age, occupation of the interviewed person) after stratification by region and location category. The respondents were asked to respond to a questionnaire on their knowledge of psoriasis, their attitude and main feelings/perceptions towards psoriasis patients. RESULTS: About 62.4% of respondents recognize a lack of information about psoriasis and 19.7% have misconceptions about this disease. About 16.5% believe that psoriasis is contagious, 6.8% believe this skin disease is related to personal hygiene and 3.2% believe that it affects more people with low personal hygiene. About 50.0% of respondents show discriminatory behaviour towards psoriasis patients, reflected by reluctance to maintain friendship ties/a relationship of friendliness (7.6%), to have lunch or dinner with a person with visible manifestations (17.9%), to give a kiss on the cheek in greeting (29.7%), to shake hands (28.8%) and to have sexual relations/intercourse (44.1%). Patients with negative prejudice about the psoriasis frequently have misconceptions towards psoriasis patients. About 52.8% of respondents do not know anyone with psoriasis. Socio-demographic indicators such as gender, education level and rural or urban way of life are not associated with an increased prevalence of misconceptions and/or discriminatory behaviour. CONCLUSION: The lack of knowledge about psoriasis in France is important. There is an urgent need to strengthen information campaigns about psoriasis intended for the General Public.

Histopathological changes caused by Enteromyxum leei infection in farmed sea bream Sparus aurata.

Histological examinations were carried out on the stomach, pyloric caeca and 4 different parts of the intestine, as well as the rectum, hepatopancreas, gall bladder and spleen of 52 sea bream Sparus aurata spontaneously infected by Enteromyxum leei. Fifteen fish from a non-infected farm were included as a control. Clinical signs appeared only in extensively and severely infected fish. We observed Enteromyxum leei almost exclusively in the intestinal tract, and very rarely in the intrahepatic biliary ducts or gall bladder. We observed heavily infected intestinal villi adjacent to parasite-free villi. Histological changes indicated a parasite infection gradually extending from villus to villus, originating from an initial limited infected area probably located in the rectum. The parasite forms were exclusively pansporoblasts located along the epithelial basement membrane. Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-Alcian blue was the most useful histological stain for identifying the parasite and characterising the degree of intestinal infection. We observed severe enteritis in infected fish, with inflammatory cell infiltration and sclerosis of the lamina propria. The number of goblet cells was considerably and significantly decreased in heavily infected fish. The intestines of 4 of the 5 survivor fish were totally free of parasites and showed severe chronic enteritis with a regenerative epithelium, suggesting that an acquired immune process may spontaneously eliminate parasites.