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Background: Achromobacter spp. are opportunistic pathogens, mostly infecting immunocompromised patients and patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and considered as difficult-to-treat pathogens due to both intrinsic resistance and the possibility of acquired antimicrobial resistance. Species identification remains challenging leading to imprecise descriptions of resistance in each taxon. Cefiderocol is a broad-spectrum siderophore cephalosporin increasingly used in the management of Achromobacter infections for which susceptibility data remain scarce. We aimed to describe the susceptibility to cefiderocol of a collection of Achromobacter strains encompassing different species and isolation sources from CF or non-CF (NCF) patients. Methods: We studied 230 Achromobacter strains (67 from CF, 163 from NCF patients) identified by nrdA gene-based analysis, with available susceptibility data for piperacillin–tazobactam, meropenem and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of cefiderocol were determined using the broth microdilution reference method according to EUCAST guidelines. Results: Strains belonged to 15 species. A. xylosoxidans represented the main species (71.3%). MICs ranged from ≤ 0.015 to 16 mg/L with MIC50/90 of ≤ 0.015/0.5 mg/L overall and 0.125/2 mg/L against 27 (11.7%) meropenem-non-susceptible strains. Cefiderocol MICs were not related to CF/NCF origin or species although A. xylosoxidans MICs were statistically lower than those of other species considered as a whole. Considering the EUCAST non-species related breakpoint (2 mg/L), 228 strains (99.1%) were susceptible to cefiderocol. The two cefiderocol-resistant strains (A. xylosoxidans from CF patients) represented 3.7% of meropenem-non-susceptible strains and 12.5% of MDR strains. Conclusions: Cefiderocol exhibited excellent in vitro activity against a large collection of accurately identified Achromobacter strains, irrespective of species and origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In French Guiana, a French overseas territory in South America, 6 to 10 thousands undocumented persons work illegally in gold mining sites in the Amazonian forest. Precarious life conditions lead to poor health but few data exist on the health status of illegal gold miners in French Guiana. The objective of this article was to describe the sociodemographic and health status of this vulnerable population.Method: A prospective cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015 on gold mine supply sites at the border between French Guiana and Suriname. Health status was assessed through medical examination, past medical history, haemoglobin concentration, and HIV and malaria testing. A questionnaire was used to collect data about the migration itinerary and life conditions on mining sites.Results: Among the 421 adults included in the study, 93.8% (395/421) were Brazilian, mainly from Maranhão (55.7%, 220/395), the poorest Brazilian state. The sex ratio was 2.4. Overall, 48% of persons never went to school or beyond the primary level. The median time spent in gold mining was quite long (10 years), with a high turn-over. One third of the surveyed population (37.1%, 156/421) had high blood pressure, and only two had a medical follow-up. Most persons had experienced malaria (89.3%, 376/421). They declared frequent arboviroses and digestive disorders. Active leishmaniasis was observed in 8.3% of gold miners. Among women, 28.5% were anemic. Concerning HIV, 36.6% (154/421) of persons, mainly men, never got tested before and 6 were tested positive, which represented an HIV prevalence of 1.43% (95%CI =0.29-2.5).Conclusion: These findings support the hypothesis that mining in remote areas is linked to several specific illnesses. Theoretically, gold miners would be presumed to start their economical migration to French Guiana as a healthy group. However, their strenuous working and living conditions there lead to poor health caused by infectious and non infectious diseases. This description of their health status is precious for health policy planners in French Guiana given the importance of controlling communicable disease, and the severity and range of specific illnesses acquired by this neglected population.Trial Registration: Clinical trial registration PRS N° NCT02903706 . Retrospectively registered 09/13/2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malaria is endemic in French Guiana, an overseas territory of France on the Guiana Shield. Since 2005, notified malaria cases are decreasing. However, new data show that malaria affects many Brazilian gold miners working illegally in French Guiana, the majority of whom are not counted in official data. In addition, one major concern is the usual practice of improper self-treatment in this mining population, raising fear of the development of antimalarial resistance. This prospective study, conducted in 2015, aimed to estimate the prevalence of Plasmodium spp. in illegal gold miners working in French Guiana. Methods: The recruitment of gold miners was carried out in resting sites along the French Guiana-Suriname border, where they go for supplies, medical care or leisure. After recording agreement, three malaria diagnostic methods were performed: rapid diagnostic test, microscopy and PCR. Results: Among 421 persons recruited in the study, malaria prevalence, detected by nested-PCR, was 22.3 % (CI [18.3-26.3], n = 94/421) of which 84 % were asymptomatic. Conclusions: This significant malaria reservoir in a mobile and illegal population with difficult access to a health care system raises the threat of artemisinin resistance and puts the population of the Guiana Shield at risk of new transmission foci while countries of the region aim at malaria elimination. Even though French legislation may hamper dealing with this population, France must face the reality of malaria in illegal gold miners in order to meet its commitment to malaria elimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The two main plasmodial species in French Guiana are Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum whose respective prevalence influences the frequency of mixed plasmodial infections. The accuracy of their diagnosis is influenced by the sensitivity of the method used, whereas neither microscopy nor rapid diagnostic tests allow a satisfactory evaluation of mixed plasmodial infections. Methods: In the present study, the frequency of mixed infections in different part of French Guiana was determined using real time PCR, a sensitive and specific technique. Results: From 400 cases of malaria initially diagnosed by microscopy, real time PCR showed that 10.75 % of the cases were mixed infections. Their prevalence varied considerably between geographical areas. The presence, in equivalent proportions, of the two plasmodial species in eastern French Guiana was associated with a much higher prevalence of mixed plasmodial infections than in western French Guiana, where the majority of the population was Duffy negative and thus resistant to vivax malaria. Conclusion: Clinicians must be more vigilant regarding mixed infections in co-endemic P. falciparum/P. vivax areas, in order to deliver optimal care for patients suffering from malaria. This may involve the use of rapid diagnostic tests capable of detecting mixed infections or low density single infections. This is important as French Guiana moves towards malaria elimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria is a public health problem in French Guiana. Plasmodium vivax is the most frequent parasite. The objective of this analysis was to estimate the proportion of relapses in the burden of vivax malaria using the statistical rule stating that any case of vivax malaria occurring less than 90 days following a first episode is a relapse. A total of 622 subjects were followed for 2,9 years with 336 first single episodes of P. vivax malaria, and a total of 1,226 episodes of vivax malaria among which 559 were relapses (45.5%). For 194 patients having had falciparum malaria followed by vivax malaria it was estimated that 19% of the vivax episodes occurred less than 90 days following the falciparum episode and thus were possibly relapses due to the activation of latent hypnozoites. Despite the number of vivax cases and the number of relapses, there were only 28 recorded primaquine prescriptions (3.4% of vivax episodes, 4.5% of subjects). The present study points out that despite the fact that nearly half of the P. vivax cases, many of which in children, are caused by latent hypnozoites, only a minority of them benefit from primaquine radical cure. The obstacles to this are discussed and suggestions are made to reduce the burden of vivax malaria in Camopi and other remote health centres in French Guiana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High circulating parasite load is one of the WHO criteria for severe falciparum malaria. During a period of 11 years (2000-2010), the frequency of hyperparasitaemia (HP) (≥4% infected erythrocytes) during bouts of malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium malariae in patients referred to Cayenne General Hospital (CGH) in French Guiana and the frequency of their admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were evaluated. Methods: A mean of 1,150 malaria cases were referred to the Parasitology Laboratory of CGH each year over the last decade. During this period, malaria diagnostic (microscopy) and parasitaemia evaluation have remained unchanged: determination of the parasitized erythrocytes percentage with asexual forms on thin blood smears for all cases of parasitaemia exceeding 0.1%. Patients admitted to the ICU can be counted by origin of the request for malaria testing. All the data collected retrospectively were anonymized in a standardized case report form and in database. Results: Between 2000 and 2010, 12,254 bouts of malaria were confirmed at the Parasitology Laboratory of CHG: P. vivax: 56.2%, P. falciparum: 39.5%, co-infection with both species: 3.4%, P. malariae: 0.9%. HP was observed in 262 cases, at a frequency of 4.9% for P. falciparum and only 0.041% for P. vivax, with no recorded cases for P. malariae. The need for intensive care was correlated with P. falciparum parasite load: 12.3% of cases for parasitaemia of 4-9%, 21.2% for parasitaemia 10-19%, 50% for parasitaemia 20-29% and 77.8% for parasitaemia ≥30% (n=9). The patient with the highest parasitaemia (75% infected erythrocytes with asexual form) presented a major concomitant lupus flare-up treated with corticoids. He survived without obvious sequelae. Conclusions: In French Guiana during bouts of malaria, HP was observed at a frequency of ~ 5% for P. falciparum and two orders of magnitude less frequent for P. vivax. HP is a severity criterion for falciparum malaria in this endemic area. However, two of the patients with HP ≥30% were not admitted to the ICU and sequel-free cure in malaria patients with 75% parasitaemia is, therefore, possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The preventive treatment of Plasmodium vivax relapse recommended by the World Health Organization is primaquine at a dose of 15 mg/day for 14 days, except for malaria cases from Asia and Oceania. Since 2006, CDC recommends the use of primaquine at 30 mg/day for 14 days. In France, all cases of malaria due to P. vivax are treated with 30 mg of primaquine. This systematically increased dosage needs to be evaluated according to epidemiological context. The aim of the study was to compare relapses after 14 days of primaquine at 15 or 30 mg/day. Methods: All patients treated with primaquine after a vivax malaria episode in French Guiana, between 1 January, 2007 and 1 August, 2016, were studied. Based on the compulsory hospital pharmacy forms for primaquine delivery, adult patients who received 15 or 30 mg of primaquine during 14 days for hypnozoite eradication were included. The recommended dose was initially 15 mg and was changed to 30 mg in 2011. Vivax malaria recurrences within 2 months after primaquine treatment, and vivax malaria recurrences 2–6 months after primaquine in each treatment group were analysed using survival analysis at 2, 3 and 6 months. Results: Out of 544 patients included, 283 received 15 mg/day and 261 received 30 mg/day of primaquine. At 2 and 3 months after primaquine treatment, the number of recurrences was 7 (2.5%) and 19 (7.3%), and 9 (3.4%) and 15 (5.3%), in the 15 and 30 mg groups (p = 0.51 respectively 0.35), respectively. Within 3 months, the median time to recurrence was 2.05 months in the 15 and 30 mg groups. At 6 months after primaquine treatment, the number of recurrences was 25 (8.8%) and 31 (11.9%) at 15 and 30 mg, respectively (p = 0.24). The median time to recurrence was 2.38 months at 15 mg/day and of 2.64 months at 30 mg/day. Conclusions: There were no significant differences between primaquine at 15 or 30 mg/day for 14 days in the prevention of P. vivax relapses at 2, 3 and 6 months after primaquine treatment in French Guiana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]