Novel Porous Carbon Material for the Detection of Traces of Volatile Organic Compounds in Indoor Air.

A highly sensitive and selective silicon-based microanalytical prototype was used to identify a few ppb of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air. Herein, a new nonactivated tannin-derived carbon synthesized by an environmentally friendly method, DM2C, a MIL-101(Cr) MOF, and a DaY zeolite were selected for the preconcentration of BTEX compounds (i.e., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes). Integrating a small amount of these nanoporous solids inside a miniaturized preconcentration unit led to excellent preconcentration performance. By taking advantage of the high adsorption-desorption capacities of the DM2C adsorbent, concentrations as low as 23.5, 30.8, 16.7, 25, and 28.8 ppb of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, ortho- and para-xylene, respectively, were detected in a short analysis time (∼10 min) even in the presence of 60% relative humidity at 25 °C. The DM2C showed excellent stability over a period of 4 months and more than 500 tests, as well as repeatability, which makes it a very reliable adsorbent for the detection of trace VOCs in indoor air under realistic conditions in the presence of humidity.

Role of Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes in Malaria Outbreak, Djibouti, 2019.

Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes share urban breeding sites with Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes in the Republic of Djibouti. We present evidence that A. stephensi mosquitoes might be responsible for an increase in malaria incidence in this country. We also document resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to dihydroartemisinin/piperaquine.

Nanostructured tin oxide materials for the sub-ppm detection of indoor formaldehyde pollution.

Interesting sensing performances of indoor formaldehyde pollution were obtained when small amounts of zinc were introduced in tin oxides. Nanostructured Sn oxide-based porous materials doped with Zn or not, were synthesized using hydrothermal routes. The physicochemical properties of the as-prepared metal-oxide materials were characterized using nitrogen adsorption, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Gas sensors were prepared using the aforementioned tin oxide materials and they exhibited a high sensitivity to formaldehyde at 230 °C, as well as a good repeatability over the time. Their limit of formaldehyde detection was as low as 8 ppb in dry air and 50 ppb in air with 60% RH at 25 °C. These results were much better that those reported in the open literature and they were attributed to both higher area BET, around 180 m2/g, and smaller crystallite size, 3.1 nm.

Reptiles in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) are a reservoir of major human Salmonella enterica serovars.

The epidemiology of human Salmonella enterica infections in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) appears to be specific, with a higher prevalence of the subspecies enterica serovars Panama and Arechavaleta (Panama and Arechavaleta) than in other regions. A study was performed in Guadeloupe to identify the reservoir of Salmonella serovars by comparing their distribution in warm- and cold-blooded animals and in humans living in Guadeloupe and mainland France. Furthermore, a case-control study was conducted in 2012-2013 to identify the main epidemiologic risk factors for S. enterica infection among children under 15 years of age. Between June 2011 and December 2014, feces from 426 reptiles (322 anoles, 69 iguanas and 35 geckos) and 50 frogs distributed throughout Guadeloupe and nearby islands were investigated. The frequency of S. enterica carriage was 15.0% (n = 64) in reptiles but varied by species. The only significant risk factor for S. enterica infection was a more frequent presence of frogs in the houses of cases than in those of controls (P = 0.042); however, isolates were not collected. Panama and Arechavaleta were the two serovars most often recovered between 2005 and 2014 from humans living in Guadeloupe (24.5% (n = 174) and 11.5% (n = 82), respectively), which is in contrast to the low prevalence in mainland France (0.4%). Their presence at low frequencies in wild reptiles (4.6% (n = 3) and 3.1% (n = 2), respectively) and pigs (7.5% (n = 5) and 1.5% (n = 1), respectively) suggests a broad host range, and humans may be infected by indirect or direct contact with animals. These serovars are probably poorly adapted to humans and therefore cause more severe infections. The unusual subspecies houtenae serovar 43:z4,z32:- was a major subspecies in wild reptiles (24.6%, n = 16) and humans (9.4%, n = 67) but was not recovered from warm-blooded animals, suggesting that reptiles plays a key role in human infection.

Use of MALDI-TOF MS for the Identification of Chad Mosquitoes and the Origin of Their Blood Meal.

Matrix-assisted desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a clinical microbiology tool for the systematic identification of microorganisms. It has recently been presented as an innovative tool for the rapid and accurate identification of mosquitoes and their blood meal. To evaluate the capacity of this tool to identify mosquitoes collected in a tropical environment and preserved with silica gel, we analyzed 188 mosquitoes of different species collected in Chad, which were preserved with silica gel for 2 months. The MALDI-TOF MS analysis correctly identified 96% of the mosquitoes and 37.5% of their blood meals. Using MALDI-TOF MS and molecular biology, eight mosquito species were identified, including Anopheles gambiae s.l., Anopheles rufipes, Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex neavei, Culex pipiens, Culex perexiguus, Culex rima, and Culex watti. Blood meal identification revealed that mosquitoes fed mainly on humans, birds, and cows. Matrix-assisted desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry appears to be a promising, fast, and reliable tool to identify mosquitoes and the origin of their blood meal for samples stored with silica gel.

Monitoring of returnees from Ebola-affected areas: lessons learned based on the experience of French armed forces deployed in Guinea, 2015.

Introduction: During the 2014-15 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, French armed forces were involved in the treatment and management of Ebola patients in Guinea. The constant flow of military personnel returning from their deployment posed a risk of secondary dissemination of the Ebola virus. Our objective was to describe the follow-up of returning service members that was implemented to prevent this risk of dissemination in France. Method: For the French military, a specific complementary follow-up was added to the national monitoring to take into account the need for a detailed record for follow-up of returning military personnel and to keep the military chain of command informed. Results: All the 410 service members deployed in Guinea underwent monitoring among whom 22 were suspected of EVD. Three of them were considered as possible EVD cases but none of them was tested positive for EVD. Conclusion: The monitoring organized for French service members deployed in Guinea made it possible to follow all exposed military personnel after their return, know their health status on a near real-time basis and be aware of all alerts. To reach this goal the collaboration with French national health agencies was necessary and should be improved in the future.

[The study of social representations of alcohol within French Navy]. / Représentations sociales de l'alcool au sein de la Marine nationale.

INTRODUCTION: The misuse of alcohol has harmful social and health impacts within a population. The French military must be particularly vigilant with alcohol, due to specificities linked with weaponry. This study was designed to explore social representations of alcohol based on a sample of the French Navy in order to prioritize prevention focuses on alcohol misuses in a military environment. METHODS: A semi-directed interview-based exploratory study was conducted in the south of France at the end of 2015. Data was submitted to manual categorical analysis and textual analysis (Iramuteq software). RESULTS: Sixty-two marines from the French Navy were interviewed including 30 Navy and 32 Marine Firefighters. Data analysis indicated that the motivation to consume alcohol comes more from a social influence (extrinsic motivations) than for pleasure induced by alcohol effects (intrinsic motivations). For Navy personnel, the sense of belonging to the Navy is strengthened by drinking habits with a strong social cohesion. In contrast, the Marine Firefighters had a negative perception of alcohol because of a possible degradation of their professional image for the civilian population. CONCLUSION: The identification of social representations of alcohol allows for a better apprehension of drinking behavior within a French military population, particularly by focusing on content and organization of discourses about alcohol. Following this survey, a quantitative study is currently being drawn up among military personnel from the French Navy in order to clarify some of the elements identified and presented within this article.

Medical Entomology: A Reemerging Field of Research to Better Understand Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases.

In the last decade, the Chikungunya and Zika virus outbreaks have turned public attention to the possibility of the expansion of vector-borne infectious diseases worldwide. Medical entomology is focused on the study of arthropods involved in human health. We review here some of the research approaches taken by the medical entomology team of the University Hospital Institute (UHI) Méditerranée Infection of Marseille, France, with the support of recent or representative studies. We propose our approaches to technical innovations in arthropod identification and the detection of microorganisms in arthropods, the use of arthropods as epidemiological or diagnostic tools, entomological investigations around clinical cases or within specific populations, and how we have developed experimental models to decipher the interactions between arthropods, microorganisms, and humans.

Acute acoustic trauma in the French armed forces during 2007-2014.

CONTEXT: Despite existing preventive measures, the number of acute acoustic trauma (AAT) cases reported to the French Military Epidemiological Surveillance System (MESS) remains high. AIMS: The objective of this study was to describe AAT and the preventive measures already implemented. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional analysis of AAT using data from the MESS for the period 2007-2014. In addition, we reviewed the current prevention measures that exist in the French armed forces. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Comparisons between different incidence rates were made by Poisson and quasi-Poisson regression. RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2014, 10,487 AAT cases were reported to the MESS, with a significant decrease in 2013 (P < 0.001). AAT incidence rates were the highest among those aged <25 years - 14.3 per 1000 person-years (PYs) (P < 0.001), and those in the army; with 8.1 per 1000 PYs (P < 0.001), and men had almost twice the risk of women (P < 0.001). AAT mainly occurred in training schools or at camps during exercises. The main prevention actions identified were the following: official regulations, education, making hearing protection devices (HPDs) available for all service members, and regular hearing monitoring. A working group has been set up and has proposed an informative chapter in the weapon handling instruction book, an AAT simulator, and a new HPD, the 3M® earplug, with an information brochure. CONCLUSIONS: AAT rates decreased from 2007 to 2014 in the French armed forces. Further analysis is needed to identify the underlying factors involved to improve the prevention actions proposed. The MESS and targeted surveys will assess the impact of the different prevention measures implemented.

Prevention of combat-related infections: antimicrobial therapy in battlefield and barrier measures in French military medical treatment facilities.

Infection is a major complication associated with combat-related injuries. Beside immobilization, wound irrigation, surgical debridement and delayed coverage, post-injury antimicrobials contribute to reduce combat-related infections, particularly those caused by bacteria of the early contamination flora. In modern warfare, bacteria involved in combat-related infections are mainly Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the late contamination flora. These bacteria are frequently resistant or multiresistant to antibiotics and spread through the deployed chain of care. This article exposes the principles of war wounds antimicrobial prophylaxis recommended in the French Armed Forces and highlights the need for high compliance to hygiene standard precautions, adapted contact precautions and judicious use of antibiotics in French deployed military medical treatment facilities (MTF).

Salmonella serotypes in reptiles and humans, French Guiana.

In French Guiana, a French overseas territory located in the South American northern coast, nearly 50% of Salmonella serotypes isolated from human infections belong to serotypes rarely encountered in metropolitan France. A reptilian source of contamination has been investigated. Between April and June 2011, in the area around Cayenne, 151 reptiles were collected: 38 lizards, 37 snakes, 32 turtles, 23 green iguanas and 21 caimans. Cloacal swab samples were collected and cultured. Isolated Salmonella strains were identified biochemically and serotyped. The overall carriage frequency of carriage was 23.2% (95% confidence interval: 16.7-30.4) with 23 serotyped strains. The frequency of Salmonella carriage was significantly higher for wild reptiles. Near two-thirds of the Salmonella serotypes isolated from reptiles were also isolated from patients in French Guiana. Our results highlight the risk associated with the handling and consumption of reptiles and their role in the spread of Salmonella in the environment.

Elaboration of ammonia gas sensors based on electrodeposited polypyrrole--cobalt phthalocyanine hybrid films.

The electrochemical incorporation of a sulfonated cobalt phthalocyanine (sCoPc) in conducting polypyrrole (PPy) was done, in the presence or absence of LiClO4, in order to use the resulting hybrid material for the sensing of ammonia. After electrochemical deposition, the morphological features and structural properties of polypyrrole/phthalocyanine hybrid films were investigated and compared to those of polypyrrole films. A gas sensor consisting in platinum microelectrodes arrays was fabricated using silicon microtechnologies, and the polypyrrole and polypyrrole/phthalocyanine films were electrochemically deposited on the platinum microelectrodes arrays of this gas sensor. When exposed to ammonia, polymer-based gas sensors exhibited a decrease in conductance due to the electron exchange between ammonia and sensitive polymer-based layer. The characteristics of the gas sensors (response time, response amplitude, reversibility) were studied for ammonia concentrations varying from 1 ppm to 100 ppm. Polypyrrole/phthalocyanine films exhibited a high sensitivity and low detection limit to ammonia as well as a fast and reproducible response at room temperature. The response to ammonia exposition of polypyrrole films was found to be strongly enhanced thanks to the incorporation of the phthalocyanine in the polypyrrole matrix.

High performance of histidine-rich protein 2 based rapid diagnostic tests in French Guiana are explained by the absence of pfhrp2 gene deletion in P. falciparum.

BACKGROUND: Care for malaria patients in endemic areas has been improved through the increasing use of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs). Most RDTs target the histidine-rich protein-2 antigen (PfHRP2) to detect P. falciparum, as it is abundant and shows great heat stability. However, their use in South America has been widely questioned following a recent publication that pinpoints the high prevalence of Peruvian field isolates lacking the gene encoding this protein. In the remote rural health centers of French Guiana, RDTs are the main diagnosis tools. Therefore, a study of PfHRP2 RDT performances and pfhrp2 genotyping was conducted to determine whether a replacement of the current pLDH-based kit could be considered. METHODS: The performance study compared the SD Malaria Ag test P.f/Pan® kit with the current gold standard diagnosis by microscopy. The prevalence of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 deletions were evaluated from 221 P. falciparum isolates collected between 2009 and 2011 in French Guiana. RESULTS: Between January 2010 and August 2011, 960 suspected cases of malaria were analyzed using microscopy and RDTs. The sensitivity of the SD Malaria Ag test P.f/Pan® for detection of P. falciparum was 96.8% (95% CI: 90.9-99.3), and 86.0% (95% CI: 78.9-91.5) for the detection of P. vivax. No isolates (95% CI: 0-4.5) lacking either exon of the pfhrp2 gene were identified among the 221 P. falciparum isolates analyzed, but 7.4% (95% CI: 2.8-15.4) lacked the exon 2 part of the pfhrp3 gene. CONCLUSIONS: Field isolates lacking either exon of the pfhrp2 gene are absent in this western part of South America. Despite its sensibility to detect P. vivax, the SD Malaria Ag test P.f/Pan® kit is a satisfying alternative to microscopy in remote health centers, where it is difficult to provide highly skilled microscopists and to maintain the necessary equipment.

Rabies Risk: Difficulties Encountered during Management of Grouped Cases of Bat Bites in 2 Isolated Villages in French Guiana.

In French Guiana, from 1984 to 2011, 14 animal rabies cases and 1 human rabies case (2008) were diagnosed. In January 2011, vampire-bat attacks occurred in 2 isolated villages. In mid-January, a medical team from the Cayenne Centre for Anti-Rabies Treatment visited the sites to manage individuals potentially exposed to rabies and, in April, an anti-rabies vaccination campaign for dogs was conducted. Twenty individuals were bitten by bats in 1 month, most frequently on the feet. The median time to start management was 15 days. The complete Zagreb vaccination protocol (2 doses on day 0 and 1 dose on days 7 and 21) was administered to 16 patients, 12 also received specific immunoglobulins. The antibody titration was obtained for 12 patients (different from those who received immunoglobulins). The antibody titers were ≥0.5 EU/mL for all of them. The serology has not been implemented for the 12 patients who received immunoglobulins. Accidental destruction of a vampire-bat colony could be responsible for the attacks. The isolation and absence of sensitization of the populations were the main explanations for the management difficulties encountered. Sensitization programs should be conducted regularly.

Investigation of a sudden malaria outbreak in the isolated Amazonian village of Saul, French Guiana, January-April 2009.

Malaria is endemic in French Guiana. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the predominant species responsible and Anopheles darlingi is described as the major vector. In mid-August 2008, an increase in malaria incidence was observed in Saül. A retrospective cohort survey was performed. In vitro susceptibility profiles to antimalarials were determined on P. falciparum isolates. Collections of mosquitoes were organized. The malaria attack rate reached 70.6/100. The risk of malaria increased for people between 40 and 49 years of age, living in a house not subjected to a recent indoor residual insecticide spraying or staying overnight in the surrounding forest. All isolates were susceptible. Anopheles darlingi females and larvae were collected in the village suggesting a local transmission. Our results strongly support a role of illegal mining activities in the emergence of new foci of malaria. Therefore, public health authorities should define policies to fight malaria at a transborder level.

First human rabies case in French Guiana, 2008: epidemiological investigation and control.

BACKGROUND: Until 2008, human rabies had never been reported in French Guiana. On 28 May 2008, the French National Reference Center for Rabies (Institut Pasteur, Paris) confirmed the rabies diagnosis, based on hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction on skin biopsy and saliva specimens from a Guianan, who had never travelled overseas and died in Cayenne after presenting clinically typical meningoencephalitis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Molecular typing of the virus identified a Lyssavirus (Rabies virus species), closely related to those circulating in hematophagous bats (mainly Desmodus rotundus) in Latin America. A multidisciplinary Crisis Unit was activated. Its objectives were to implement an epidemiological investigation and a veterinary survey, to provide control measures and establish a communications program. The origin of the contamination was not formally established, but was probably linked to a bat bite based on the virus type isolated. After confirming exposure of 90 persons, they were vaccinated against rabies: 42 from the case's entourage and 48 healthcare workers. To handle that emergence and the local population's increased demand to be vaccinated, a specific communications program was established using several media: television, newspaper, radio. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This episode, occurring in the context of a Department far from continental France, strongly affected the local population, healthcare workers and authorities, and the management team faced intense pressure. This observation confirms that the risk of contracting rabies in French Guiana is real, with consequences for population educational program, control measures, medical diagnosis and post-exposure prophylaxis.

Discordant temporal evolution of Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 genotypes and Plasmodium falciparum in vitro drug susceptibility to 4-aminoquinolines after drug policy change in French Guiana.

Analysis of the evolution of drug target genes under changing drug policy is needed to assist monitoring of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance in the field. Here we genotype Pfcrt and Pfdmr1 of 700 isolates collected in French Guiana from 2000 (5 years after withdrawal of chloroquine) to 2008, i.e., the period when the artemether-lumefantrine combination was progressively introduced and mefloquine was abandoned. Gene sequencing showed fixation of the 7G8-type Pfcrt SMVNT resistance haplotype and near fixation of the NYCDY Pfdmr1 haplotype. Pfdmr1 gene copy number correlated with 50% inhibitory concentrations of mefloquine and halofantrine (r = 0.64 and 0.47, respectively, n = 547); its temporal changes paralleled changes in in vitro mefloquine susceptibility. However, the molecular parameters studied did not account for the regained in vitro susceptibility to chloroquine and showed a poor correlation with susceptibility to artemether, lumefantrine, or quinine. Identification of novel markers of resistance to these antimalarials is needed in this South American area.