Article
Nursing
Rachel M. Smith, Boe Calvert, Eleni Kata, Senimelia Hataogo, Tareti Ruaia Ioane, Monica Tarabo, Maile Kiritome, Jyothi Abraham, Taua'itala Lees, Clara Devi, Leila Ross, Lower Leaving Mafi, Telesia Tuitupou, Kara Blackburn, Caroline S. E. Homer
Summary: Strengthening midwifery education programs in Pacific Island countries is crucial for meeting maternal and newborn health targets. By supporting existing programs to meet global standards, the midwifery workforce can be enhanced and the quality of care improved.
Article
Virology
Nasreen Akhtar, Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, Himmat Singh
Summary: This study aimed to assess the positivity of Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) in field-collected mosquitoes from 2016 to 2021, and positive results were found in mosquito samples from India.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Daniela Santander-Gordon, Gabriel A. Iturralde, Byron Freire-Paspuel, Marlon S. Zambrano-Mila, Diana Morales-Jadan, Paolo A. Vallejo-Janeta, Barbara Coronel, Heberson Galvis, Tatiana Jaramillo-Vivanco, Christian D. Bilvao, Maria Belen Paredes-Espinosa, Angel S. Rodriguez, Juan C. Laglaguano, Henry Herrera, Ana M. Tito-Alvarez, Esteban Ortiz-Prado, Ismar A. Rivera-Olivero, Aquiles R. Henriquez-Trujillo, Tannya Lozada, Miguel Angel Garcia-Bereguiain
Summary: Ecuadorian universities played a vital role in enhancing COVID-19 surveillance, providing free testing for underserved communities and contributing to high-quality, low-cost diagnostic services in the country.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Michael J. Loftus, Richard J. Everts, Allen C. Cheng, Perenise Eti, Timote Fakasiieiki, Lupeoletalelei Isaia, Enita Isopo, Adam W. J. Jenney, Viali Lameko, Hinauri Leaupepe, Folototo Leavai, Sue J. Lee, Mele Moungaevalu, Andrew J. Stewardson, Rosemary Tekoaua, Douglas Tou, Geoffrey Wuatai, Anton Y. Peleg
Summary: This study retrospectively analyzed antimicrobial susceptibility results from the national microbiology laboratories of four Pacific Island countries from 2017 to 2021. It found variations in the prevalence of methicillin resistance among Staphylococcus aureus isolates and high susceptibility of ceftriaxone against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
LANCET REGIONAL HEALTH-WESTERN PACIFIC
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Vanessa Zubach, Alberto Severini, Joanne Hiebert
Summary: The developed multiplex rRT-PCR assay for measles virus detection showed high sensitivity and specificity in detecting the virus in clinical samples, with no cross-reactivity with other viruses, indicating good reproducibility.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGICAL METHODS
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Anna Esman, Dmitry Dubodelov, Kamil Khafizov, Ivan Kotov, German Roev, Anna Golubeva, Gasan Gasanov, Marina Korabelnikova, Askar Turashev, Evgeniy Cherkashin, Konstantin Mironov, Anna Cherkashina, Vasily Akimkin
Summary: This article presents the experience of tracing the Omicron variant in Russia using molecular diagnostic methods, including multiprimer panels for RT-PCR and Sanger and NGS sequencing methods. The VGARus database was developed for centralized collection and analysis of samples, currently containing over 300,000 viral sequences.
Article
Virology
K. Alagarasu, M. B. Kakade, R. V. Bachal, M. Bote, D. Parashar, P. S. Shah
Summary: The study found that detecting viral RNA from whole blood is more effective for dengue virus detection compared to plasma, especially in cases of secondary infections. Therefore, it is recommended to use one-step real-time RT-PCR with RNA from whole blood combined with NS1 ELISA for dengue diagnosis in dengue vaccine trials.
ARCHIVES OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Helene Schulz, Mackenzie Neale, Vanessa Zubach, Alberto Severini, Joanne Hiebert
Summary: A validated multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection of rubella virus was developed. The assay showed good sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility, and successfully detected nine viral genotypes.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGICAL METHODS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Amanda Gabrielle da Silva, Luiz Ricardo Goulart, Philipp Loffler, Christian Code, Adriana Freitas Neves
Summary: This study proposed a method using aptamers to capture viral RNA in combination with RT-PCR, which can improve the detection rate of dengue and Zika viruses. Experimental results demonstrate the potential application of this method in rapid molecular detection.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jaime E. Castellanos, Nayeli Jaimes, Carolina Coronel-Ruiza, Juan Pablo Rojas, Luis F. Mejia, Victor H. Villarreal, Luz E. Maya, Luz M. Claros, Cielo Orjuela, Eliana Calvo, Maria Victoria Munoz, Myriam L. Velandia-Romero
Summary: A study conducted in a pediatric clinic in Cali, Colombia, identified CHIKV as the arbovirus causing febrile cases in children, potentially leading to double infections. The results emphasize the importance of clinical tests to determine the arbovirus involved in infectious diseases for better treatment and surveillance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Xue-Lian Luo, Xiu-Dan Zhang, Bei-Jie Li, Tian Qin, Zhi-Jie Cao, Qian-Jin Fan, Jing Yang, Dong Jin, Shan Lu, Ya-Yun Zheng, Xue-Fang Xu, Ji Pu, Jianguo Xu
Summary: Lassa virus is an important human pathogen causing hemorrhagic fever in West Africa, with an increasing risk of imported cases to other countries due to increased traveling. The high nucleotide diversity of the virus strains complicates the development of diagnostic assays. The GPC RT-PCR/2007 assay and the Mabsky kit showed good sensitivity and specificity for detecting most LASV strains.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Swetha Mariam Stanley, Harvinder Kour Khera, Sindhulina Chandrasingh, Carolin Elizabeth George, Rakesh K. Mishra
Summary: This comprehensive review focuses on diagnostic techniques for dengue, including environmental and clinical surveillance, virus detection, and diagnostics. It highlights the increasing incidence of dengue and the importance of addressing it to reduce morbidity and mortality. The review delves into the complexities of diagnostic methods, considering their challenges and potential for accuracy and accessibility. It should be noted that clinical aspects and regional variations of the disease are not extensively covered.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2024)
Review
Agronomy
Randy Carlie Pierre-Louis, Md Abdul Kader, Nandakumar M. Desai, Eleanor H. John
Summary: Vermicompost improves soil quality, crop yield, and disease resistance. Despite its potential benefits, lack of awareness hinders its adoption in South Pacific island countries.
Article
Economics
Nikeel N. Kumar, Arvind Patel, Rup Singh
Summary: The study demonstrates that Fiji and Vanuatu face strong bilateral competition from other PICs while Tonga has insignificant cross-price elasticities. Cook Islands and Samoa generally face negative cross-price elasticities. Fiji and Vanuatu are competing destinations for the Cook Islands, while the Cook Islands is a complementary destination for Fiji and Vanuatu.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yun-Young Lee, WonMoo Kim, Soo-Jin Sohn, Bo Ra Kim, Sunny K. Seuseu
Summary: This study developed a hybrid seasonal prediction system to provide reliable national climate outlooks for Pacific Island Countries. By optimizing predictors and applying Bayesian regression methods, the system generated rainfall forecasts for 49 stations in 13 countries, with improved performance and temporal and spatial stability compared to existing systems.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fabien Aubry, Sofie Jacobs, Mailis Darmuzey, Sebastian Lequime, Leen Delang, Albin Fontaine, Natapong Jupatanakul, Elliott F. Miot, Stephanie Dabo, Caroline Manet, Xavier Montagutelli, Artem Baidaliuk, Fabiana Gambaro, Etienne Simon-Loriere, Maxime Gilsoul, Claudia M. Romero-Vivas, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Richard G. Jarman, Cheikh T. Diagne, Oumar Faye, Ousmane Faye, Amadou A. Sall, Johan Neyts, Laurent Nguyen, Suzanne J. F. Kaptein, Louis Lambrechts
Summary: The study finds that recent African ZIKV strains have higher transmissibility in mosquitoes and higher lethality in both adult and fetal mice when compared to their Asian counterparts. The authors emphasize the high epidemic potential of African ZIKV strains, suggesting that they may more easily go unnoticed by public health surveillance systems due to their tendency to cause fetal loss rather than birth defects.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Fatou Kine Fall, Maureen Laroche, Herve Bossin, Didier Musso, Philippe Parola
Summary: This study successfully identified mosquito colonies from French Polynesia using MALDI-TOF MS technology, achieving 100% correct identification at the species level. The technique also allowed differentiation between male and female mosquitoes, as well as specific identification of female mosquito colonies of the same species but different geographic origin.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemical Research Methods
Kerui Peng, Yana Safonova, Mikhail Shugay, Alice B. Popejoy, Oscar L. Rodriguez, Felix Breden, Petter Brodin, Amanda M. Burkhardt, Carlos Bustamante, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Martin M. Corcoran, Darragh Duffy, Macarena Fuentes-Guajardo, Ricardo Fujita, Victor Greiff, Vanessa D. Jonsson, Xiao Liu, Lluis Quintana-Murci, Maura Rossetti, Jianming Xie, Gur Yaari, Wei Zhang, Malak S. Abedalthagafi, Khalid O. Adekoya, Rahaman A. Ahmed, Wei-Chiao Chang, Clive Gray, Yusuke Nakamura, William D. Lees, Purvesh Khatri, Houda Alachkar, Cathrine Scheepers, Corey T. Watson, Gunilla B. Karlsson Hedestam, Serghei Mangul
Summary: Including a greater diversity of individuals in immunogenomics studies will enhance our understanding of human immunology by identifying variations in adaptive immune responses across populations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alasdair D. Henderson, Mike Kama, Maite Aubry, Stephane Hue, Anita Teissier, Taina Naivalu, Vinaisi D. Bechu, Jimaima Kailawadoko, Isireli Rabukawaqa, Aalisha Sahukhan, Martin L. Hibberd, Eric J. Nilles, Sebastian Funk, Jimmy Whitworth, Conall H. Watson, Colleen L. Lau, W. John Edmunds, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Adam J. Kucharski
Summary: After experiencing multiple dengue epidemics, Fiji showed evidence of multi-year Zika virus transmission between 2013 and 2017, likely influenced by seasonal effects and timing of introduction. This study highlights contrasting transmission dynamics of closely related flaviviruses in the same populations, emphasizing the importance of considering multiple factors in outbreak modeling.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maite Aubry, Iotefa Teiti, Anita Teissier, Vaea Richard, Teheipuaura Mariteragi-Helle, Kiyojiken Chung, Farah Deen, Tuterarii Paoaafaite, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau
Summary: In French Polynesia, measures were implemented to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19, including requiring travelers to undergo nucleic acid testing, screening through self-collection and pooling methods, and detecting virus variants.
Letter
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Iotefa Teiti, Anita Teissier, Vaea Richard, Maite Aubry
TRAVEL MEDICINE AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Claude Flamand, Christelle Alves Sarmento, Antoine Enfissi, Sarah Bailly, Emmanuel Beillard, Melanie Gaillet, Celine Michaud, Veronique Servas, Nathalie Clement, Anais Perilhou, Thierry Carage, Didier Musso, Jean-Francois Carod, Stephanie Eustache, Celine Tourbillon, Elodie Boizon, Samantha James, Felix Djossou, Henrik Salje, Simon Cauchemez, Dominique Rousset
Summary: During the first epidemic wave in the first half of 2020, Latin America conducted only a few seroprevalence studies, showing an overall seroprevalence of 15.4% in a cross-sectional survey with 480 participants from 4 medical laboratories or 5 health centers. The results indicated high levels of infection across the territory but a low number of resulting deaths, possibly due to the young population structure in French Guiana.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Paul Bastard, Kuang-Chih Hsiao, Qian Zhang, Jeremy Choin, Emma Best, Jie Chen, Adrian Gervais, Lucy Bizien, Marie Materna, Christine Harmant, Maguelonne Roux, Nicola L. Hawley, Daniel E. Weeks, Stephen T. McGarvey, Karla Sandoval, Carmina Barberena-Jonas, Consuelo D. Quinto-Cortes, Erika Hagelberg, Alexander J. Mentzer, Kathryn Robson, Boubacar Coulibaly, Yoann Seeleuthner, Benedetta Bigio, Zhi Li, Gilles Uze, Sandra Pellegrini, Lazaro Lorenzo, Zineb Sbihi, Sylvain Latour, Marianne Besnard, Tiphaine Adam de Beaumais, Evelyne Jacqz Aigrain, Vivien Beziat, Ranjan Deka, Litara Esera Tulifau, Satupa'itea Viali, Muagututi'a Sefuiva Reupena, Take Naseri, Peter McNaughton, Vanessa Sarkozy, Jane Peake, Annaliesse Blincoe, Sarah Primhak, Simon Stables, Kate Gibson, See-Tarn Woon, Kylie Marie Drake, Adrian V. S. Hill, Cheng-Yee Chan, Richard King, Rohan Ameratunga, Iotefa Teiti, Maite Aubry, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Stuart G. Tangye, Shen-Ying Zhang, Emmanuelle Jouanguy, Paul Gray, Laurent Abel, Andres Moreno-Estrada, Ryan L. Minster, Lluis Quintana-Murci, Andrew C. Wood, Jean-Laurent Casanova
Summary: Autosomal recessive IFNAR1 deficiency is a rare inborn error of immunity that leads to susceptibility to viral diseases. This study reports the presence of this deficiency in seven children of western Polynesian ancestry, highlighting its higher prevalence in this population.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Virology
Didier Musso, Dominique Rousset, Christophe Peyrefitte
Article
Virology
Maite Aubry, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau
Summary: In French Polynesia, control measures, including population lockdown and testing and isolating travelers, successfully prevented the local transmission and importation of SARS-CoV-2 as well as other pathogens in isolated areas.
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Pradip Dashraath, Karin Nielsen-Saines, Citra Mattar, Didier Musso, Paul Tambyah, David Baud
Article
Infectious Diseases
Takahiro Nemoto, Maite Aubry, Yoann Teissier, Richard Paul, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Henrik Salje, Simon Cauchemez
Summary: This study analyzed 35 years of dengue data in French Polynesia, revealing the impact of serotype, age, and changes in surveillance systems on disease risk. The study found heterogeneity in reporting probabilities by serotype, as well as a correlation between reporting probabilities and age and number of infections.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Leonardo Lopez, Richard E. Paul, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Xavier Rodo
Summary: This study analyzed more than 20 years of monotypic epidemics in the isolated French Polynesian islands and found that incorporating waning immunity improved the accuracy of epidemiological models, revealing important aspects of the immune response to natural dengue virus infection. This has significant implications for vaccine development and implementation in dengue endemic areas.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Adam J. Kucharski, Kiyojiken Chung, Maite Aubry, Iotefa Teiti, Anita Teissier, Vaea Richard, Timothy W. Russell, Raphaelle Bos, Sophie Olivier, Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau, Philippa C. Dodd
Summary: The study shows that analyzing COVID-19 testing data from international arrivals can provide insights into the prevalence of the virus in different countries, and this method can serve as a scalable and accurate indicator of global infections during future pandemics.
Editorial Material
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Gabriel Luz Wallau
LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH
(2023)