Impact of lockdown on cardiovascular disease hospitalizations in a Zero-COVID-19 country.

OBJECTIVES: There are concerns about the potential effect of social distancing used to control COVID-19 on the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: We examined the association between lockdown and CVD incidence in a Zero-COVID country, New Caledonia. Inclusion criteria were defined by a positive troponin sample during hospitalization. The study period lasted for 2 months, starting March 20, 2020 (strict lockdown: first month; loose lockdown: second month) compared with the same period of the three previous years to calculate incidence ratio (IR). Demographic characteristics and main CVD diagnoses were collected. The primary endpoint was the change in incidence of hospital admission with CVD during lockdown compared with the historical counterpart. The secondary endpoint included influence of strict lockdown, change in incidence of the primary endpoint by disease, and outcome incidences (intubation or death) analyzed with inverse probability weighting method. RESULTS: A total of 1215 patients were included: 264 in 2020 vs 317 (average of the historical period). CVD hospitalizations were reduced during strict lockdown (IR 0.71 [0.58-0.88]), but not during loose lockdown (IR 0.94 [0.78-1.12]). The incidence of acute coronary syndromes was similar in both periods. The incidence of acute decompensated heart failure was reduced during strict lockdown (IR 0.42 [0.24-0.73]), followed by a rebound (IR 1.42 [1-1.98]). There was no association between lockdown and short-term outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that lockdown was associated with a striking reduction in CVD hospitalizations, independently from viral spread, and a rebound of acute decompensated heart failure hospitalizations during looser lockdown.

Early Guillain-Barré Syndrome associated with acute dengue fever.

Various forms of neurological manifestations are reported in dengue fever. We describe here three cases of concomitant Guillain-Barré syndrome and dengue virus (DENV) infection during the largest DENV-1 outbreak in New Caledonia. Research of viral RNA was positive in both blood and CSF samples. All patients were treated with intravenous polyvalent immunoglobulins and recovered without sequelae within one week.

Isolation and partial characterization of bacteria (Pseudoalteromonas sp.) with potential antibacterial activity from a marine costal environment from New Caledonia.

UNLABELLED: Marine bacteria are a rich source of bioactive metabolites. However, the microbial diversity of marine ecosystem still needs to be explored. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize bacteria with antimicrobial activities from various marine coastal environment of New Caledonia. We obtained 493 marine isolates from various environments and samples of which 63 (12.8%) presented an antibacterial activity against a panel of reference pathogenic strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis). Ten out of the most promising strains were cultured, fractionated and screened for antibacterial activity. Four of them (NC282, NC412, NC272 and NC120) showed at least an activity against reference and multidrug-resistant pathogenic strains and were found to belong to the genus Pseudoalteromonas, according to the 16S phylogenetic analysis. The NC282 strain does not belong to any described Pseudoalteromonas species and might be of interest for further chemical and biological characterization. These findings suggest that the identified strains may contribute to the discovery for new sources of antimicrobial substances to develop new therapies to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: With the constant increasing of bacterial resistance against known antibiotics in worldwide public health, it is now necessary to find new sources of antimicrobials. Marine bacteria from New Caledonia were isolated, tested for antibacterial activity and characterized to find new active molecules against multidrug-resistant bacteria. This study illustrates the diversity of the marine ecosystem with potent new bacteria species. Also the potential of marine bacteria as a rich source of bioactive molecule, for example antibiotics, is highlighted.

Partial characterization of an exopolysaccharide secreted by a marine bacterium, Vibrio neocaledonicus sp. nov., from New Caledonia.

AIMS: Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are industrially valuable molecules with numerous useful properties. This study describes the techniques used for the identification of a novel Vibrio bacterium and preliminary characterization of its EPS. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bioprospection in marine intertidal areas of New Caledonia followed by screening for EPS producing brought to selection of the isolate NC470. Phylogenetic analysis (biochemical tests, gene sequencing and DNA-DNA relatedness) permitted to identify NC470 as a new member of the Vibrio genus. The EPS was produced in batch fermentation, purified using the ultrafiltration process and analysed by colorimetry, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and HPLC-size exclusion chromatography. This EPS exhibits a high N-acetyl-hexosamines and uronic acid content with a low amount of neutral sugar. The molecular mass was 672 × 10(3)  Da. These data are relevant for possible technological exploitation. CONCLUSIONS: We propose the name Vibrio neocaledonicus sp. nov for this isolate NC470, producing an EPS with an unusual sugar composition. Comparison with other known polymers permitted to select applications for this polymer. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study contributes to evaluate the marine biodiversity of New Caledonia. It also highlights the biotechnological potential of New Caledonia marine bacteria.