[Post-transfusion malaria. Current state of the problem]. / Le paludisme post-transfusionnel. Etat actuel de la question.

A global review of the problem of malaria accidentally transmitted by blood transfusion is reported in France during these last twenty years. A survey by IFA test of possible reservoir hosts of Plasmodium among 2571 donors from the blood transfusion Centers of Marseille and Nice is reported. The incidence of the stay (frequency and longtime) in infested countries and the interval from the last infestation possible to the IFA test are very important factors. Several preventive methods are discussed. The author proposes this scheme: the donors frequently going to infested countries will be used only for preparing chemical plasma fractions. For the other donors the blood will be used for preparing whole blood, red cells, fresh or frozen plasma, platelet and leucocyte preparations in which a few parasites can be present, only if IFA test is negative 4 months after their coming back in our country. Nevertheless this screening beginning by an interrogation can be fallible. Therefore, there is no absolute preventive method. Physicians, Surgeons and Anesthetists must be forewarned.

[Imported malaria in Marseilles area and epidemiological aspects of 164 hospitalized cases from 1973 to 1978 (author's transl)]. / Paludisme importé dans la région marseillaise et aspects épidémiologiques de 164 cas hospitalisés de 1973 à 1978.

In Marseilles, 250 medical practitioners have been questioned about imported malaria cases observed in their medical practice. In 1978, they confirmed parasitologically 18 malaria cases of which only 2 cases were admitted to an hospital; in 44 other suspected cases, the diagnosis was probable from epidemiological, clinical, immunological and therapeutical arguments. Considering the number of medical practitioners in the city and the number of confirmed hospital cases of imported malaria during the same year, more cases have been treated outside the city hospitals. Between 1973 and 1978, 164 confirmed hospital cases of imported malaria occurred in Marseilles. The collected epidemiological data indicate the recent increase of the annual incidence and an equal number of cases in immigrants and in people returning from the topics. Among them, tourists, servicemen and merchant seamen are the groups most at risk. A high proportion of infections are with P. falciparum (67 p. 100), mainly from Africa, Malagasy and Comores. The diagnosis is only confirmed on an average of 5 days after the first medical advice and 2 patients died from P. falciparum infections. Travellers to tropical countries are often careless about taking prophylactic drugs.

[Growth of Leishmania infantum in continuous culture]. / Etude de la croissance de Leishmania infantum en culture continue.

It has been studied the continuous growth of a Leishmania infantum canine strain from Marseille. The authors used a modified liquid medium with Panmed : foetal calf serum and calf serum. They used a bench to chemistat at 24 degrees C. With an optimum concentration inoculum they obtained a diphasic growth curve with a first exponential phase from the third to the fifth day, in which the average time of generation is 15 hours and 20 minutes, and a second growth phase from the ninth to the eleventh day. It is a--diauxie growth--(according to the J. Monod Theory). If some medium is added on the third day this first exponential growth phase continues up to the eleventh day.

[Persistence of visceral leishmaniasis in the southeast of France and recorded frequency of the disease in adults. Apropos of recent cases]. / Persistance de la leishmaniose viscérale dans le sud-est de la France et fréquence marquée de l'affection a l'age adulte. A propos d'observations récentes.

The authors report on 9 cases of mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-Azar) collected in the south-eastern part of France in 1978. They emphasize the more frequent occurrence of this disease in adults than children. Out of the 40 cases detected in this region between January 1975 and December 1978, 22 affected adults (55 percent) moreover, Kala-Azar appears to occur particularly in adults with decreased general resistance and diagnosis may be difficult because classical clinical features are no complete.

[Biological diagnosis of leishmaniasis (author's transl)]. / Le diagnostic biologique des leishmanioses.

Serochematological, immunological and direct parasitological methods used in the diagnosis of man, dog and wild host reservoirs of Leishmaniasis are described. From their own investigations of more than 5.000 cases, the authors compare the respective technical advantages and the specific indications of each method.

The micro-ELISA technique in the serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.

The micro-scale Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (micro-ELISA) technique, with alkaline phosphatase as a marker enzyme, has been used for the serodiagnosis of human and canine visceral leishmaniasis, from foci in southern France. This technique which uses a soluble antigen is highly sensitive, with a degree of specificity slightly higher than that of the IFA. It is suggested that the micro-ELISA procedure can be added to the battery of serological techniques and would be particularly useful for large scale epidemiological studies of leishmaniasis.

[Post-tranfusional malaria in France]. / Societe nationale de tranfusion sanguine

A global review of the porblem of malaria accidentally transmitted by blood transfusion is reported in France during these ten last years. Biological and epidemiological studies of malariae are recorded. Among the factors involved in the transmission of malariae by blood transfuction, the persistence of the parasites in the donors is very important. It is often longer than usual in the subjects who have lived in endemic malarious areas for many years or are always travelling in these countries, because they are partly protected by their acquired immunity and may be carriers of asymptomatic infection. The viability of parasites in stored blood, red cells and preparations with platelets, leucocytes or plasma containing a few red cells with parasites is discussed. The prevention depended on the elimination of any blood donor who has ever had malaria appears to be the simplest method but it is also the most failible. The screening of donors by direct microscopy is obviously impracticable because of low density and often submicroscopic level of their parasitoemia. Screening donors by IFA test is the best method. If IFA test is negative four months after coming back from endemic areas and two months after ending suppressive therapeutic, whole blood, red cells, leucocytes, platelets and fresh plasma can be used on condition that the stay of donors in endemic areas had been not too long. If the stay in these countries was very long, blood will be only used for preparing lyophilized plasma, fibrinogen immunoglobulins or albumin.

[Trial serologic detection of Plasmodium carriers among blood donors of the Centre de Transfusion Sanguine de Marseiile]. / Essai de dépistage sérologique des porteurs de Plasmodium parmi les donneurs de sang du C.T.S. de Marseille

This paper is a survey of possible reservoir hosts of Plasmodium among donors of the blood transfusion Center of Marseille, by IFA test with P. falciparum and P. cynomolgi bastianellii antigens. It was found 15,7 per cent of positivity among 644 sera carefully selected during 6 months. Nord Africa and West Africa were the most dangerous countries, the former because of the great number of donors (332 of 744), the later because of the high rate (15,8 per cent) of positivity. The incidence of the say (frequency and long time) in infested countries and the interval from tate (15,8 per cent) of positivity. The incidence of the stay (frequency and long time) in infested countries and the interval from the last infestation possibility to the IFA test are very important factors. A prevention scheme is proposed: The donors staying during a very long time in infested countries will generally be used only for preparing plasma fractions by ethanol precipitations. For the others donors the blood will be used for preparing whole blood, red cells, fresh or frozen plasma, platelets and leucocytes preparation, in which a few parasites can be present, inly if a IFA test is negative 4 months after their coming back in our country.

[Immunocyte adherence and leukocyte migration inhibition tests in dogs infested with Leishmania donovani. Importance of lymphocyte conservation in liquid nitrogen]. / Réactions d'immunocyto adhérence et d'inhibition de la migration leucocytaire chez le chien parasité par Leishmania donovani. Intérêt de la conservation des lymphocytes en azote liquide

A method of canine lymphocytes isolation and storage in liquid azote with DMSO is described. It was possible to use these lymphocytes in the immunocytoadherence and leucocytes migration inhibition tests in dogs infected with Leishmania donovani. The sensitisation was made with a soluble antigen from promastigotes of L. donovani braid by ultrasounds. The dogs with Leishmaniasis gave positive results. The controls without Leishmaniasis were negative. The tests with conserved lymphocytes were as satisfactory as the same tests with fresh lymphocytes.

[Leishmaniasis in south-eastern France- -ecology, epidemiology, prophylaxis]. / Les leishmanioses du sud-est de la France ecologie - epidemiologie - prophylaxie

A study of the ecology, epidemiology and prophylaxis of Leishmaniasis in the southeast of France is reported; different methods of the survey are recorded. Between 1965 and 1975, 972 cases of canine Leishmaniasis and from 1968 to 1975 89 cases of visceral human Leishmaniasis and only 3 cases of oriental sore were observed in the "Bouches du Rhône", "Var" and "Vaucluse" Departments. The strains isolated from canine and human visceral Leishmaniasis had a malate dehydrogenase XI whereas Leishmania tropica had a MDH I; no wild animals have been found with Leishmaniasis. The suburbs of the towns, the hills in the center of Marseilles or surrounding Toulon as well as the villages are the principal foci of Phlebotomus perniciousus (96%) as the vector. The biotopes are isolated houses with little gardens surrounded by dry-stone walls exhibiting holes named "barbacanes", with chalky soil and xerophytes. The killing of infected dogs is the best protection of men whereas keeping dogs in sandfly-proof kennels from twilight until one hour after sunrise is best in order to protect this animal. This is quite different from the observations made by RIOUX in the Cevennes.