International Dermoscopy Society (IDS) Criteria for Skin Tumors: Validation for Skin of Color Through a Delphi Expert Consensus by the "Imaging in Skin of Color" IDS Task Force.

INTRODUCTION: A structured set of eight basic dermoscopic parameters (lines, clods, dots, circles, pseudopods, structureless, else, and vessels) including a total of 77 variables with corresponding descriptive and metaphoric vocabulary has been released for evaluation of skin tumors by the International Dermoscopy Society (IDS). OBJECTIVES: To validate the aforementioned criteria for the use in darker phototypes (phototypes IV-VI) via an expert consensus. METHODS: The two-round "Delphi method" was adopted, with an iterative process including two rounds of email questionnaires. Potential panelists were asked to take part in the procedure via email on the basis of their expertise in the dermoscopy of skin tumors in dark phototypes. RESULTS: A total of 17 participants were involved. All the original variables of the eight basic parameters reached agreement during the first round, except for "pink small clods" ("milky red globules") and "structureless pink zone" ("milky red areas"). Moreover, during the first round, panelists proposed a change of three existing items and the introduction of four new items, i.e., "black, small clods" ("black globules"), "follicular plugs", "erosions/ulcerations", and "white color around vessels" ("perivascular white halo"). All such proposals achieved agreement, thus being included in the final list, for a total of 79 items. There was consistency between the descriptive and metaphoric approaches in terms of scoring. CONCLUSIONS: Albeit most of the original items were considered applicable even for skin of color, there are some points of differences that physicians need to know. No significant preference was found between descriptive and metaphoric terminology among panelists.

Integrated Approach to Facilitate Stakeholder Participation in the Control of Endemic Diseases of Livestock: The Case of Peste Des Petits Ruminants in Mali.

In Mali, small ruminants (SRs) are an important means for enhanced livelihood through income generation, especially for women and youth. Unfortunately, opportunities for livestock farmers to tap into these resources for economic growth are hindered by high burden of endemic diseases such as peste des petits ruminants (PPR). A key component for the control of PPR is vaccination of SRs. However, low participation of farmers to vaccination was identified by stakeholders of the livestock value chains as a key constraint to successful vaccination programs. This study was implemented in the framework of a project which aimed at improving the domestic ruminant livestock value chains in Mali by upscaling proven interventions in animal health, feeds and feeding and livestock marketing. The objectives of the study were to review the context of livestock vaccination in Mali and evaluate the impact of innovation platforms (IP) as a means for engaging stakeholders in the vaccination process. Desk review, key informant interviews (KII) and net-mapping were used to understand the context of livestock vaccination, while vaccination coverage and sero-monitoring together with group interviews were used to measure the impact of the intervention. IPs were created in 24 communes in three regions: 15 IPs in Sikasso, 4 IPs in Mopti and 5 IPs in Timbuktu. They developed work plans and implemented activities focusing on improving interaction among key vaccine chain delivery stakeholders such as farmers, private veterinarians, vaccine manufacturers, local leaders and public veterinary services; involving them in the planning, implementation and evaluation of vaccination programs and fostering knowledge sharing, communication and capacity building. After 2 years of implementation of IPs, vaccination coverage for SRs increased significantly in target communes. During the first year, seroprevalence rate for PPR increased from 57% (CI95: 54-60%) at baseline to 70% (CI95: 67-73%) post-vaccination in Sikasso region, while in Mopti region, seroprevalence increased from 51% (CI95: 47-55%) at baseline to 57% (CI85: 53-61%) post-vaccination. Stakeholder engagement in the vaccination process through facilitated IPs was successful in fostering participation of farmers to vaccination. However, a sustainable vaccination strategy for Mali would benefit from consolidating the IP model, supported by Government investment to strengthen and adjust the underlying public-private-partnership.

Do tsetse flies only feed on blood?

Tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) are the vectors of trypanosomes causing sleeping sickness in humans, and nagana (animal trypanosomosis) in domestic animals, in Subsaharan Africa. They have been described as being strictly hematophagous, and transmission of trypanosomes occurs when they feed on a human or an animal. There have been indications however in old papers that tsetse may have the ability to digest sugar. Here we show that hungry tsetse (Glossina palpalis gambiensis) in the lab do feed on water and on water with sugar when no blood is available, and we also show that wild tsetse have detectable sugar residues. We showed in laboratory conditions that at a low concentration (0.1%) or provided occasionally (0.1%, 0.5%, 1%), glucose had no significant impact on female longevity and fecundity. However, regular provision of water with 1% glucose increased the mortality and reduced the fecundity of female G. p. gambiensis. The proportion of wild tsetse caught by traps, which have detectable sugar residue in their midgut varied between 5 and 10% according to species (p<10(-3)) and sex, with more females being found with sugar residues than males (p<10(-3)). We also observed a higher frequency of sugar residues in the dry season than in the rainy season (p<10(3)). The infection status did not affect the frequency of sugar residues found (p=0.65), neither did age (p=0.23). These observations represent a fundamental change in our knowledge of this insect vector. They open the way for further research on the field to know more on tsetse feeding behavior regarding other sources of meal than blood, in particular with plants, and may constitute future new means of controlling this vector of neglected tropical diseases.

Reducing Human-Tsetse Contact Significantly Enhances the Efficacy of Sleeping Sickness Active Screening Campaigns: A Promising Result in the Context of Elimination.

BACKGROUND: Control of gambiense sleeping sickness, a neglected tropical disease targeted for elimination by 2020, relies mainly on mass screening of populations at risk and treatment of cases. This strategy is however challenged by the existence of undetected reservoirs of parasites that contribute to the maintenance of transmission. In this study, performed in the Boffa disease focus of Guinea, we evaluated the value of adding vector control to medical surveys and measured its impact on disease burden. METHODS: The focus was divided into two parts (screen and treat in the western part; screen and treat plus vector control in the eastern part) separated by the Rio Pongo river. Population census and baseline entomological data were collected from the entire focus at the beginning of the study and insecticide impregnated targets were deployed on the eastern bank only. Medical surveys were performed in both areas in 2012 and 2013. FINDINGS: In the vector control area, there was an 80% decrease in tsetse density, resulting in a significant decrease of human tsetse contacts, and a decrease of disease prevalence (from 0.3% to 0.1%; p=0.01), and an almost nil incidence of new infections (<0.1%). In contrast, incidence was 10 times higher in the area without vector control (>1%, p<0.0001) with a disease prevalence increasing slightly (from 0.5 to 0.7%, p=0.34). INTERPRETATION: Combining medical and vector control was decisive in reducing T. b. gambiense transmission and in speeding up progress towards elimination. Similar strategies could be applied in other foci.

Epidemiology of sleeping sickness in Boffa (Guinea): where are the trypanosomes?

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) in West Africa is a lethal, neglected disease caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense transmitted by the tsetse Glossina palpalis gambiensis. Although the littoral part of Guinea with its typical mangrove habitat is the most prevalent area in West Africa, very few data are available on the epidemiology of the disease in such biotopes. As part of a HAT elimination project in Guinea, we carried a cross-sectional study of the distribution and abundance of people, livestock, tsetse and trypanosomes in the focus of Boffa. An exhaustive census of the human population was done, together with spatial mapping of the area. Entomological data were collected, a human medical survey was organized together with a survey in domestic animals. In total, 45 HAT cases were detected out of 14445 people who attended the survey, these latter representing 50.9% of the total population. Potential additional carriers of T. b. gambiense were also identified by the trypanolysis test (14 human subjects and two domestic animals). No trypanosome pathogenic to animals were found, neither in the 874 tsetse dissected nor in the 300 domestic animals sampled. High densities of tsetse were found in places frequented by humans, such as pirogue jetties, narrow mangrove channels and watering points. The prevalence of T. b. gambiense in humans, combined to low attendance of the population at risk to medical surveys, and to an additional proportion of human and animal carriers of T. b. gambiense who are not treated, highlights the limits of strategies targeting HAT patients only. In order to stop T. b. gambiense transmission, vector control should be added to the current strategy of case detection and treatment. Such an integrated strategy will combine medical surveillance to find and treat cases, and vector control activities to protect people from the infective bites of tsetse.

Comparison of heterologous neutralizing antibody responses of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)- and HIV-2-infected Senegalese patients: distinct patterns of breadth and magnitude distinguish HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections.

Neutralizing antibody responses against heterologous isolates in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2 infections were compared, and their relationships with established clinical markers of progression were examined. Neutralizing responses against 7 heterologous primary isolates and 1 laboratory strain were compared between 32 untreated HIV-1-infected subjects and 35 untreated HIV-2-infected subjects using a pseudotyped reporter virus assay. The breadth of the neutralizing response, defined as the proportion of panel viruses positively neutralized by patient plasma, was significantly greater among HIV-2-infected subjects than among HIV-1-infected subjects. Notably, for fully one-third of HIV-2 subjects, all viruses were effectively neutralized in our panel. Magnitudes of responses, defined as reciprocal 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) titers for positive reactions, were significantly greater among HIV-1-infected subjects than among HIV-2-infected subjects. When plasma samples from HIV-1 patients were tested for cross-neutralization of HIV-2 and vice versa, we found that these intertype responses are very rare and their prevalences comparable in both HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection. The significantly higher magnitude of heterologous responses for HIV-1 compared to HIV-2 prompted us to examine associations with viremia, which is known to be significantly higher in HIV-1 infection. Importantly, there was a significant positive correlation between the IC(50) titer and viral load within both the HIV-1 and HIV-2 groups, suggesting heterologous antibodies may be driven by viral replication. We conclude that HIV-2 infection is characterized by a broad, low-magnitude intratype neutralization response, while HIV-1 is characterized by a narrower but higher-magnitude intratype response and that a significant positive association between the IC(50) titer and viremia is common to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections.

The absence of anti-Tat antibodies is associated with risk of disease progression in HIV-2 infection.

The Tat protein of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is essential for viral replication and has extracellular pathogenic activity. We sought to determine whether the anti-Tat antibody response was predictive of disease progression in 144 HIV type 2 (HIV-2)-infected subjects observed longitudinally between 1985 and 2003. Sixty-eight percent of the subjects tested positive for anti-Tat antibodies, with reactivity notably established early after seroconversion and stably maintained over the course of infection. The risk and rate of progression to advanced HIV-2 AIDS was significantly higher in anti-Tat-negative subjects than in anti-Tat-positive subjects, extending the importance of this prognostic marker for HIV-2 AIDS.

Viral dynamics of primary HIV-1 infection in Senegal, West Africa.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have addressed primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 infection in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic is of a predominantly heterosexual character and is caused by different subtypes. The present study examines the dynamics of viral replication in subjects infected with various HIV-1 subtypes. METHODS: Seven hundred fifty-two HIV-negative Senegalese women at high risk for infection were monitored every 3 months for acute/early HIV infection; 26 infections were identified (23 HIV-1 and 3 HIV-2), with an HIV-1 incidence rate of 3.23 cases/person-years observation. Multiple viral-load measurements were taken for all seroconverters. RESULTS: The mean+/-standard deviation viral load for all subjects during the early stage of infection was 4.13+/-0.66 log10 copies/mL, with an overall decrease of 0.22 log10 copies/mL after the early stage; the viral set point was reached after 12 months of infection. Most subjects had relatively low viral loads during the early stage of infection. HIV-1 CRF02_AG-infected women had a significantly higher mean viral load during the early stage of infection (mean +/- SD, 4.45+/-0.60 log(10) copies/mL) than did non-HIV-1 CRF02_AG-infected women (mean+/-SD, 3.78+/-0.46 log(10) copies/mL) (P=.008). None of the subjects reported symptoms consistent with primary HIV-1 infection. CONCLUSION: Our findings in Senegalese women differ from what have been described for primary HIV-1 infection. Further investigations of primary infections with non-B subtypes are warranted, to better characterize their differences with primary infections with subtype B.