The WHO/START study in New Caledonia: A psychological autopsy case series.

BACKGROUND: Limited information is available about suicidal behavior in the Pacific Islands. Forty percent of the New Caledonian population is indigenous Kanak; insights into the characteristics of suicide deaths in this population compared to other ethnic groups would be valuable. The aim of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the cultural underpinnings of suicide in New Caledonia by presenting the results of the WHO/START psychological autopsy study. METHOD: A case-series psychological autopsy study was conducted based on medical, police files, and interviews with relatives of 52 individuals who died by suicide in 2014 and 2015 in New Caledonia. RESULTS: Kanak indigenous individuals represented more than half of suicides. Prevalence of mental disorders was identified in 62% of suicide decedents; a previous suicide attempt was frequent (37% of cases). A serious argument with a partner was the most prevalent life event (60%). Few warning signs were present among young people and Kanak in general. CONCLUSION: Comparison with information on the general population suggests indigenous Kanak are more vulnerable and that having a mental health disorder plays an important role in suicide. Violent arguments with a partner could also be a major risk factor. Traditional protective factors (being employed, living with their family or partner, religion) appeared to have limited effect on suicide. Mental health promotion, prevention, and care should be prioritized. Prevention strategies, including domestic violence prevention are recommended in New Caledonia. Further research is needed to better identify young and Kanak subjects at risk of suicide.

A novel HLA allele, HLA-B*56:67, identified in a Melanesian individual from New Caledonia.

Novel allele HLA-B*56:67 potentially formed by recombination between B*56:01:01:03 and B*40:01:01.

Dengue surveillance in the French armed forces: a dengue sentinel surveillance system in countries without efficient local epidemiological surveillance.

Surveillance of travel-acquired dengue could improve dengue risk estimation in countries without ability. Surveillance in the French army in 2010 to 2011 highlighted 330 dengue cases, mainly in French West Indies and Guiana: DENV-1 circulated in Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, New Caledonia, Djibouti; DENV-3 in Mayotte and Djibouti; and DENV-4 in French Guiana.

"Two colours, one people?": the paradoxes of the multiracial union Calédonienne in the commune of Koné (New Caledonia, 1951-1977).

Between the 1950s and the 1970s, New Caledonian politics were dominated by one major party, the Union Calédonienne (UC), supported by the vast majority of Kanak voters and a crucial minority of European voters. In retrospect, the multicultural project of the UC under the rubric 'two colours, one people' can seem quite surprising, as it was elaborated less than ten years after the end of a particularly oppressive colonial era and three decades before the emergence of radical Kanak demands for decolonisation. This paper analyses the ambiguous relationships between the UC and New Caledonia's colonial heritage through a micro-historical sociology of the party in the rural commune of Koné (northwest coast) that draws on both archival research and interviews. With regard to both colonial and socio-economic cleavages, the paper retraces the individual and collective trajectories of UC militants and elected members of the mairie (municipal council), to gain a better understanding of the local electoral success of the party. On the scale of Koné, the UC relied in practice on a complex articulation between diverse social logics of political affiliation: across colonial frontiers, within and among Kanak communities, 'little settlers' (petits colons), merchants, mining workers, and 'white' (or not so 'white') local populations.

[Hepatic amebiasis: an unusual clinical presentation]. / Amibiase hépatique: une présentation clinique inhabituelle.

BACKGROUND: Painful liver enlargement with fever are common signs of hepatic ambiasis. Exceptionally, atypical signs may also occur including symptoms suggesting renal sepsis. CASE REPORT: An 18-year-old woman from the New Caledonia was hospitalized in metropolitan France for suspected right-sided acute pyelonephritis. Urinalysis was normal and the kidney ultrasound suggested the need for an abdominal CT-scan which evidenced a voluminous 10-cm abscess pus. Serology for amebia was positive, confirming the diagnosis of hepatic amebic abscess. Outcome was rapidly favorable with intravenous anti-parasite treatment amebic abscess. Outcome was rapidly favorable with intravenous anti-parasite treatment and percutaneous drainage. DISCUSSION: Atypical signs of hepatic ambiasis may mislead diagnosis. The absence of a fetid odor at puncture helps guide diagnosis, confirmed by serology. Percutaneous drainage can hbe proposed for voluminous abscesses or if the risk of extrahepatic complications is eminent.

Unusual neurologic manifestations occurring during dengue fever infection.

This is a report on dengue fever in two young patients in France that were infected in New Caledonia and Thailand. Both presented with unusual neurologic manifestations. The first patient developed a focal subarachnoid hemorrhage that was associated with transient thrombocytopenia. No neurologic vascular malformation was detected; a mild dengue hemorrhagic fever after a previous dengue infection was suspected. The second patient showed peripheral facial palsy one week after apyrexia without any other etiology except the dengue infection. This case was probably a postinfectious syndrome associated with dengue virus. Both patients recovered spontaneously. The circumstances of the neurologic manifestations in these patients may be attributed to the dengue fever virus. However, although neurologic complications reported for dengue fever are unusual, it is reasonable to consider these manifestations as being due to immunopathologic consequences.

[Cancer of the cervix uteri in New Caledonia from 1977 to 1988. Epidemiological and histocytopathological data. Risk factors]. / Le cancer du col de l'utérus en Nouvelle-Calédonie de 1977 à 1988. Données épidémiologiques et histocytopathologiques. Facteurs de risques.

The study of 265 cervical carcinomas seen over a period of 11 years in the territory of New Caledonia reveals significant incidence rates according to ethnic groups. Standardized incidence rates (World population) are respectively 20.37 and 35.81 in the European and in the Melanesian ethnic groups. These results are confirmed by the indirect standardization method. The efficacy of screening programs has been estimated on a sample of 10,764 cytologies. 62% of cervical cancers were detected by cytology. The selection of populations at high risk is the most important condition to ensure optimal efficacy of gynecological cancer screening.