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Acaricide susceptibility of Amblyomma variegatum (Acari:Ixodidae) from Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe.

Base-line data on acaricide susceptibility of larvae and of larvae and nymphs of the tropical bont tick, Amblyomma variegatum (Fabricius), from Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe were collected on 14 and six compounds, respectively. Nymphs 7-8 weeks old from Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe, and larvae 3-4 weeks old from Guadeloupe, were exposed for 24 or 48 h to residues of acetone dilutions of technical-grade or commercial formulations of acaricides on disposable glass pipettes. Effectiveness of the acaricides in killing nymphs (LC50) from Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico ranged from 0.0001% for deltamethrin2 to 0.269% for malathion. For Puerto Rico, the susceptibility to toxaphene and amitraz, but not to dioxathion, increased with increasing age of nymphs. Nymphs from Guadeloupe were 9.5 times more susceptible to chlorpyrifos than nymphs from Puerto Rico. The susceptibility of larvae from Guadeloupe to acaricides tested ranged from LC50 0.000012% for deltamethrin to 0.0141% for ethion. There was no evidence of development of acaricide resistance in ticks from Guadeloupe or Puerto Rico.

Animals↗

Sickle cell disorder, beta-globin gene cluster haplotypes and alpha-thalassemia in neonates and adults from Guadeloupe.

We have studied haplotype of beta(S) chromosome and alpha-globin gene status in 534 patients (255 adults and 279 children of whom 159 neonates) from Guadeloupe with various sickle cell-related conditions, namely SS (n = 298), SC (n = 170), S-beta-thal (n = 56), and other rare forms (n = 10). Haplotype data on beta(S) chromosomes confirm our previous observation that Benin type is the most prevalent (75%) beta(S) chromosome in Guadeloupe, in disagreement with the historical records. Comparison of the frequency of distribution of various beta(S) haplotypes between neonates and adults on the one hand and between SS and SC cases on the other shows that the current beta(S) haplotype distribution in this island is not distorted by haplotype-related differential survival. We also show that the frequency of alpha-thalassemia (-3.7 kb) in Guadeloupe is one of the highest recorded in this region involved in Atlantic slave trade and also failed to reveal any age-dependent increase in frequency. We conclude that the African component of Guadeloupe is distinct from that of Brazil and Cuba but is close to that of Jamaica.

Adult↗

Geographical clustering of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I in Guadeloupe, an endemic Caribbean area.

Between January 1989 and December 1996, 59,426 blood donors from Guadeloupe (French West Indies) were screened for antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). Of these, 195 were confirmed as being positive for HTLV-I, yielding an overall prevalence of 0.33% [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28-0.38]. On multiple logistic regression analysis, risk factors for HTLV-I were female gender [odds ratio (OR) 1.8; CI 1.3-2.4], increasing age (30-39 years, OR 2.2, CI 1.4-3.4; 40-49 years, OR 3.1, CI 2.1-4.7; > or =50 years, OR 5.6, CI 3.6-8.6) and positive hepatitis B core antibodies (OR 2.0; CI 1.5-2.8). HTLV-I seropositivity was also significantly associated with current residence in certain areas, highlighting microgeographic clustering: individuals living along the Atlantic Facade of Guadeloupe, which is a traditional sugar cane plantation area where Africans were brought during slave trading, were at increased risk for HTLV-I infection (OR 1.9; CI 1.3-2.7) compared with other areas in Guadeloupe devoted to other activities. Our report of HTLV-I cluster identification in Guadeloupe probably reflects both its low spread and its highly intrafamilial restricted transmission within this endemic Caribbean population.

Adolescent↗

Atypical unclassifiable parkinsonism on Guadeloupe: an environmental toxic hypothesis.

We characterize the clinical features of Parkinson's syndrome on Guadeloupe and describe possible environmental causes. Consecutive patients who were referred to the University Hospital at Pointe a Pitre with parkinsonism from September 1996 to May 2002 were included. All cases were examined in a standardized manner by a neurologist with a special interest in movement disorders and independently by 3 external movement disorders specialists, using standard operational clinical diagnostic criteria. The subjects were 265 patients with Parkinson's syndrome living on Guadeloupe, four fifths of whom had been referred by primary care physicians and one fifth by neurologists. The levodopa response was assessed after a minimum period of 1 month of continuous treatment. All patients had brain computed tomography or brain magnetic resonance imaging scans and detailed neuropsychological examinations. Of 265 patients, only 66 were classified as Parkinson's disease, whereas 58 fulfilled the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and Society for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (SPSP) criteria for progressive supranuclear palsy, 100 had unclassifiable parkinsonism, characterized by dopa-unresponsiveness, marked axial rigidity, relative symmetry of parkinsonian features, early dysarthria, and frontolimbic cognitive impairment. Within this group, early postural instability, dysarthria, a frontal behavior disorder, cortical or subcortical atrophy, pyramidal signs, axial rigidity, and family history of neurodegenerative disorders were associated with poorer prognosis. A very large number of unclassifiable cases of atypical parkinsonism that do not fulfill operational criteria for Parkinson's disease or other defined motor neurodegenerations has been observed on Guadeloupe. Most patients closely resemble descriptions of bodig from Guam. In both geographic isolates, an environmental cause has been discussed. Annonaceae fruits and herbal teas are consumed on both islands. These plants contain several neurotoxins, particularly acetogenins, which induce dopaminergic neuron loss in animals. Neuronal death involves cholinergic and dopaminergic cells of the substantia nigra and GABAergic neurons of the striatum, associated with microglial proliferation. The development of atypical parkinsonism in Guadeloupe and probably elsewhere, could result from synergistic toxicity, but acetogenins are probably the most potent neurotoxin, acting as mitochondrial complex I inhibitor.

Adult↗

[The prevention of dengue in Guadeloupe].

Dengue is the only disease transmitted by mosquitoes in the Guadeloupe islands of French Antilles. Two dengue outbreaks were reported in 1992 and 1994. Aedes aegypti is recognized the only vector of dengue in Guadeloupe, and the 200 l drums are the most important breeding-sites. Vector control in Guadeloupe includes community health education, larvicide and adulticide spraying, and the destruction of the breeding-sites. However, Ae. aegypti control has limitations such as the lack of participation from the local population, and the resistance of Ae. aegypti to the insecticides. Prevention of dengue in Guadeloupe will rely on a reinforcement of the community education, the development of new tools to control Ae. aegypti, mechanical tools and biological control, and the improvement of the epidemiological surveillance.

Aedes↗

Amblyomma variegatum and associated diseases in the Caribbean: strategies for control and eradication in Guadeloupe.

Amblyomma variegatum, introduced into Guadelopue 150 years ago, has recently spread in the Lesser Antilles and threatens North America. Two important diseases are associated with the tick: heartwater and dermatophilosis. Heartwater occurs in Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante and Antigua; acute dermatophilosis exists almost everywhere the tick is present. Both are very pathogenic for upgraded or newly-infested cattle. After 15 years of A. variegatum control in Guadeloupe, a balance is established between a tick population maintained at a low level by spraying acaricides and an animal population either completely resistant to heartwater and dermatophilosis (creole cattle) or regularly treated against ticks (upgraded cattle). An eradication campaign against A. variegatum in Guadeloupe, to avoid the spread of the associated diseases, appears technically difficult but possible, economically profitable, but socially completely utopian. We suggest for Guadeloupe a reinforced control of the tick with a persistent acaricide, hoping that a general decrease of the tick infestation rate on cattle will eliminate heartwater and acute dermatophilosis.

Animal Husbandry↗

Prostate cancer incidence in guadeloupe, a French Caribbean archipelago.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence rate of prostate cancer in Guadeloupe, a French Caribbean archipelago with 420,000 inhabitants, 90% of whom are of African descent. METHODS: All new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed from 1995 to 2003 were identified from the records of all public and private pathology laboratories. We studied changes in incidence rate over time by calculating incidence rates and cumulative risk, standardized to the World Standard Population, and comparing them with the rates in other countries. RESULTS: 2531 new cases of prostate cancer, all pathologically confirmed, were recorded from 1995 to 2003. For 2003, there were 427 new cases, corresponding to a world age-standardized incidence rate, and cumulative risk up to 74 years of age of 168.7 per 100,000 and 20%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Guadeloupe has one of the highest incidences of prostate cancer in the world. The geographic and environmental characteristics of Guadeloupe make this area unique and should shed new light on the role of genetic and environmental factors in prostate cancer.

Adult↗

Curing the colonizers: highland hydrotherapy in Guadeloupe.

This article explores attempts by French colonial doctors in Guadeloupe to treat tropical pathologies with water and altitude cures, between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. Assuming that high morbidity rates in the Caribbean were caused by the area's inherent 'toxicity', Europeans turned to mineral water and high-altitude spas, both for the reinvigoration of settlers and to 'season' new arrivals. Guadeloupean spas, though utilized by indigenous, black, creole, and white Guadeloupeans alike, soon emerged as replicas of France in the tropics, and served the socio-medical function of immersing the colonial body in familiar waters. The French obsession with 'healthful space' led to the creation of an 'administrative' quarter precisely in the region of Guadeloupe's spas around Basse- Terre (actually the highest part of the island). The arrival of germ theory in the nineteenth century did not fundamentally alter the rationale for water and altitude cures in Guadeloupe. Tracing the history of these 'folk-cures'--often admonished by colonial doctors as 'common sense', but in reality an integral part of the tropical medical canon--sheds light on some of the underlying dynamics, tensions, and continuities of French imperial medicine.

Colonialism↗

Island colonization and founder effects: the invasion of the Guadeloupe islands by ship rats (Rattus rattus).

The stepwise colonization of islands within an archipelago is typically punctuated by successive founder effects, with each newly founded population being a subsample of the gene pool of the source island. Thus, the genetic signature of successive bottlenecks should be detected when analysing the genetic structure between islands of an archipelago. To test this prediction, we investigated introduced ship rat populations, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758), in the Guadeloupe Archipelago. Three different methods, commonly named the heterozygosity excess, the mode-shift indicator and the M ratio method, were used to detect bottlenecks from genetic data obtained with eight microsatellite markers on Guadeloupe and two neighbouring islands, Petite-Terre and Fajou. Moreover, a recent eradication failure on Fajou allowed us to test the accuracy of the methods in an 'experimental-like' situation. The results indicate that rats were introduced on Guadeloupe first, which then became the source population for independent secondary colonization of Fajou and Petite-Terre. Moreover, the heterozygosity excess and the mode-shift indicator only detected bottlenecks for the recent colonization of Petite-Terre and the eradication failure on Fajou. However, bottlenecks were detected for all the populations using the M ratio method. This could be interpreted as the remaining signature of the early introduction of the ship rat in the archipelago.

Alleles↗

Genetic diversity of KIR natural killer cell markers in populations from France, Guadeloupe, Finland, Senegal and Réunion.

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) belong to a diverse family of natural killer (NK) cell receptors recognizing human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules. Due to this functional link, KIR molecules are expected to display a high polymorphism, such as their HLA ligands. Moreover, many studies conducted in mouse and human models have shown that NK-KIR receptors play an important role in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A beneficial impact of peculiar KIR ligand (HLA) mismatching has been reported suggesting a role to this combinatory HLA-KIR polymorphism. It is thus important to investigate KIR diversity in various human populations. To this end, we used polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers to evaluate KIR gene in five selected populations (France, Guadeloupe, Senegal, Finland and Réunion). Genotypic and haplotypic frequencies were computed, as well as genetic distances and dendrogram (phylip package). These data illustrate the genetic relationship of these five populations through the KIR polymorphism. Results revealed a wide diversity in KIR gene frequencies in Guadeloupe and Réunion, and a high specificity in Senegal. The obtained dendrogram indicated small genetic distances between France, Guadeloupe and Réunion as well as between France and Finland. Senegal showed a distant genetic relationship with the other countries and, interestingly, an inverted ratio of coding/non-coding (KIR2DS4/1D) alleles compared with Caucasians. These data expose the broad diversity in KIR genes worldwide and show that KIR genes are pertinent tools in human population genetics. If the role of KIR donor-recipient incompatibilities is confirmed, KIR diversity according to ethnicity should be taken into account during the selection of HSCT donors.

Alleles↗

Trends of AIDS in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) a longitudinal survey from 1988 to 1997.

The study objective was to describe morbidity and mortality from HIV infection and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Guadeloupe from 1988 to 1997 and to evaluate survival and prognostic factors. The HIV infected patients database of Guadeloupe included 1771 adult patients up to December 31, 1997. Annual incidence of AIDS defining illnesses was calculated and compared using Poisson regression. Survival analysis with log-rank test and multivariate analysis with Cox's model were performed for patients with AIDS. At the end of December 1997, 599 cases of AIDS (33.8%) and 367 deaths (20.7%) were reported. For 32.1% of the patients, AIDS was diagnosed before inclusion. Incidence of most AIDS-defining events decreased over time, especially after the introduction of protease inhibitor therapy. Before the introduction of protease inhibitors in September 1996, overall median survival after AIDS diagnosis was 11.8 months (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 95% CI 10.2-14.1). After this date median survival increased to 17.8 months (95% CI 18.6-22.5) and probability of survival was significantly higher for patients treated with protease inhibitor in combination regimen (mean 19.0 months, Standard deviation (SD) 1.3) compared to those who were not (mean 7.9 months, SD 0.6, p < 0.0001). Prognosis factors of death after AIDS were older age (Relative Hazard, RH: 1.17, 95% CI 1.07-1.28), occurrence of two or more AIDS-defining events at the beginning of the disease (RH: 1.70, 95% CI 1.32-2.19), and a CD4 cell count less than 50/mm3 (RH: 2.33, 95% CI 1.71-3.17). On the other hand, occurrence of AIDS during follow-up had a better prognosis (RH: 0.68, 95% CI 0.52-0.89) and protease inhibitor therapy was strongly associated with a longer survival (RH 0.26, 95% CI 0.13-0.53). We concluded that HIV infection in Guadeloupe was frequently diagnosed at the stage of AIDS. However, survival of patients and trends of major AIDS defining illnesses were more similar to the European pattern than to the Caribbean one, as a consequence of the availability of modern therapy.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

[Leprosy in Guadeloupe (French West Indies): declining disease, increasing diagnosis delay].

INTRODUCTION: Endemic for nearly three centuries, leprosy is declining in Guadeloupe: its prevalence has decreased by 75 p. 100 over the last decade. Because it has become rare, it may well be overlooked. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of all the new cases of leprosy diagnosed in Guadeloupe from May 1996 to May 2001. RESULTS: In 10 cases of the 41 reported in this study, diagnosis had been delayed by more than 6 months. Nine of these 10 cases presented with classical clinical signs. The mean delay before diagnosis in these 10 cases was of 22 months (range: 7-36 months); the mean number of consultations with a physician before the final diagnosis was of 3.2 (range: 2-8). The mean age at the time of diagnosis in patients in whom diagnosis was delayed was significantly greater than those in whom diagnosis was confirmed rapidly (55 vs. 37 years). DISCUSSION: In Guadeloupe, one patient out of 4 presenting with leprosy is diagnosed with a delay of more than 6 months, despite a classical clinical presentation. This is deleterious to the patients and health economics. The patients in whom diagnosis was delayed were older. This epidemiological tendency appears inherent to this form of "residual leprosy". The present rareness of the disease is responsible for a lack of knowledge of the disease by the physicians through lack of experience. This phenomenon is also observed for syphilis and measles. There is a real risk of underestimation or erroneous diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

Malaria in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) 1991-2000.

The only islands in the Caribbean that still have endemic malaria are Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Cases of imported malaria occur on the other islands, particularly Martinique and Guadeloupe, due to the movement of people to and from endemic regions that are geographically and/or culturally close. The re-emergence of transmission cannot be ruled out due to the local persistence of the potential vectors, the anopheles mosquitoes. This retrospective study, over a ten year-period (1991-2000), included all of the cases of malaria confirmed by blood tests at Pointe-à-Pitre University Hospital. This hospital is the main healthcare facility in Guadeloupe. Fifty-nine bouts of malaria occurred in 56 patients. The annual incidence was estimated at 2 to 2.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Plasmodium falciparum largely predominated, accounting for over 80% of cases. The only pernicious case observed resulted in the death of the patient. In all cases the patient had recently travelled to an endemic region, except in one case, caused by P ovale which has never been endemic in the Caribbean. African countries accounted for 43% of cases. No Asian or Pacific strains were identified. In all cases, anti-malarial drugs were not taken, taken incorrectly or were inappropriate. All of the cases of malaria reported in Guadeloupe in the last decade were imported and this region cannot be considered to be at risk of malaria infection. However, long-term epidemiological monitoring is necessary, together with specific entomological monitoring.

Adolescent↗

Experimental host-induced selection in Schistosoma mansoni strains from Guadeloupe and comparison with natural observations.

Allelic frequency variation at the malate dehydrogenase (E.C.1.1.1.37) polymorphic locus (Mdh-1) was analysed during several successive generations in four strains of Schistosoma mansoni from Guadeloupe, maintained experimentally on mice. A rapid evolution of the frequency of the Mdh-1a allele is interpreted as being the result of an interaction between experimental drift and selection induced by the murine laboratory host. These experimental results are compared to the genetic structures observed among the corresponding natural populations of S. mansoni in Guadeloupe (West Indies). They strengthen the hypothesis of a natural host-induced selection by the murine host (Rattus rattus), which, in Guadeloupe, plays the role of host reservoir for this human schistosome.

Alleles↗

Risk factors associated with hepatitis B or C markers or elevated alanine aminotransferase level among blood donors on a tropical island: the Guadeloupe experience.

Donated blood is currently screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels to prevent posttransfusion hepatitis. A prospective study of 2368 blood donors was carried out in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) with a view to determining the risk factors associated with serologic abnormalities. Blood donors included in the study had to complete a questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed on the data thus obtained: 571 donations (24%) were positive for at least one of the four analyzed markers. The results were that 3.2 percent were positive for HBsAg, 22 percent for anti-HBc, and 0.8 percent for anti-HCV, and 1.4 percent had ALT > or = 45 IU per L. A good correlation was found between anti-HCV and elevated ALT. Transfusion history and two socioeconomic categories (working class, military personnel) were found to be risk factors. Other risk factors were lifelong residence in Guadeloupe (with risk increasing with the number of years), birthplace and current residence in the southern part of the island, and the existence of gastrointestinal discomfort unrelated to viral hepatitis (odds ratio = 2.98). The results of this study illustrate the difficulty of implementing a preventive policy against posttransfusion hepatitis in a tropical area. The unique epidemiologic situation of Guadeloupe as regards hepatitis B virus has led to more restrictive criteria for the acceptance of blood donors.

Adolescent↗

Study of growth of Biomphalaria glabrata Say and other Planorbidae in Guadeloupe West Indies.

The growth of Biomphalaria glabrata, B. schrammi, Drepanotrema lucidum and D. kermatoides was studied in three habitatis on Guadeloupe. Theortical growth curves were calculated for each species by applying the Walford method and the von Bertalanffy equation. On Guadeloupe, the growth of B. glabrata was faster in the ponds of Grand Terre than in the small high altitude streams of Basse Terre. There is good correlation between the observations made in Guadeloupe and previous data obtained on Pureto Rico and St Lucia.

Animals↗

The role of Amblyomma variegatum in the transmission of heartwater with special reference to Guadeloupe.

Heartwater has been diagnosed in Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, and Antigua; it induces important losses among goats and European or cross-bred cattle when local zebu creole are highly resistant to infection. Amblyomma variegatum is the vector of the disease in the Caribbean. The tick strain of Martinique, occurring in that island that has apparently been disease-free since 1948, has not lost its ability to experimentally transmit the disease. In Guadeloupe 97% of nymphs and nearly 100% of adults feed on cattle and goats. Some immature ticks (4.5%) feed on wildlife, including birds that may be involved in the spread of infected ticks. Only 1 to 4% of adult ticks are infected and only a proportion of infected ticks are really infective: 53%, 9%, and 50% of nymphs, males, and females, respectively. Nymphs play the major role in the transmission: they are more numerous than adults and engorge faster. Infected ticks have the same maximum longevity as noninfected ticks, that is, 18 months for nymphs and nearly 23 months for adults. Cowdria is not transmitted immediately after tick fixation but after a delay of 2-3 days for nymphs and 4 days for adults. The disease is more often fatal when transmitted by tick biting rather than by needle transmission. The daily infection rate that summarizes all the parameters is very low (0.14% and 0.20% for goats and cattle, respectively), resulting in an unstable epidemiological situation. The transmission of Cowdria by A. variegatum in Guadeloupe shows significant differences compared with the transmission by A. hebraeum in Africa.

Animals↗

A unique seroepidemiologic situation for hepatitis B markers in Guadeloupe. Results of a prospective study in blood donors.

Screening for HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HCV and ALAT levels is now performed on donated blood to prevent post-transfusion hepatitis. A prospective study of 2,368 blood donors was performed in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) to determine risk factors associated with serologic abnormalities: 571 donations (24%) were positive for at least 1 of the 4 analyzed markers with 3.2% positive for HBsAg, 22% for anti-HBc, 0.8% for anti-HCV and 1.4% with ALAT > or = 45 IU/L. The anti-HCV prevalence was significantly different according to ALAT levels (P < 10(-4)). Transfusion history and work status (worker or serviceman) were found to be risk factors, with an odds ratio of 1.94 for serviceman population. Other unexpected risk factors were: number of years residency in Guadeloupe (progressively increased risk with the number of years), birthplace and residence in southern part of the island as well as the existence of gastrointestinal discomfort unrelated to viral hepatitis (odds ratio = 2.91). The results of this study show a unique epidemiologic situation for hepatitis B virus in Guadeloupe necessitating careful selection of blood donors.

Adult↗