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Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. UMR 1058 INSERM/EFS/University of Montpellier, Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic Infection, Montpellier University Hospital, Department of Bacteriology-Virology, Montpellier, France. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. CRB Amazonie (Biological Resource Center), Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / Aix-Marseille University, INSERM, IRD, SESSTIM—Economic and Social Sciences, Health Systems, and Medical Informatics, F-13005, Marseille, France. Centres Délocalisés de Prévention et de Soins (CDPS), Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Centres Délocalisés de Prévention et de Soins (CDPS), Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / TBIP, University of French Guiana, University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR9017-CIIL Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / TBIP, University of French Guiana, University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR9017-CIIL Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France. Foundation for the Advancement of Scientific Research in Suriname (SWOS), Paramaribo, Suriname. UMR 1058 INSERM/EFS/University of Montpellier, Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic Infection, Montpellier University Hospital, Department of Bacteriology-Virology, Montpellier, France. Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / TBIP, University of French Guiana, University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR9017-CIIL Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France. Objectives Common representations of the world of gold mining–especially illegal–are usually negative: the activity conjures up images of drug trafficking, human exploitation, the sex trade, environmental destruction, and infectious diseases, in particular sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The aim of the present article is to describe the levels of risk behaviors such as transactional sex, multiple sexual partners, and the frequency of condom use, addictive substance consumption, and the prevalence of STIs among the population of illegal gold miners in French Guiana (FG), a French overseas entity in Amazonia, in order to guide potential interventions. Methods An observational multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out from October to December 2019 along the two borders of FG with Suriname and Brazil at rest sites used by the miners. Results Among the 499 participants, transactional sex was very prevalent, declared by 33.5% of men and 8.4% of women. Condoms were more frequently used for transactional sex than with a non-commercial partner (93.4% versus 42.1%). More women were tested for HIV than men (91.1% versus 55.2%). Excessive alcohol consumption (57.3%%) and tobacco use (41.2%) were very frequent, but cocaine or crack consumption was low (1.2%), which refuted our initial assumption. Consumers of alcohol had more sexual partners and reported condom use more frequently. Prevalence of HIV, HCV, HBV, and syphilis was respectively 0.5% (95% CI: 0.1–2.1), 2.1% (95% CI: 0.7–3.6), 1.6% (95% CI: 0.3–2.8), and 12.4% (95% CI: 9.0–15.7), which was higher than in the local population, especially for syphilis. Conclusion This study documents for the first time the risk behaviors of gold miners in FG. Although the level of condom use was high, the prevalence of STIs combined with the high rate of transactional sex should encourage an increase in prevention and screening, in particular through rapid tests, given the mobility of the population concerned.

International audience; The taxonomic challenge posed by cryptic species underlines the importance of using multiple criteria in species delimitation. In the current paper we tested the use of acoustic analysis as a tool to assess the real diversity in a cryptic species complex of Neotropical ants. In order to understand the potential of acoustics and to improve consistency in the conclusions by comparing different approaches, phylogenetic relationships of all the morphs considered were assessed by the analysis of a fragment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b. We observed that each of the cryptic morph studied presents a morphologically distinct stridulatory organ and that all sympatric morphs produce distinctive stridulations. This is the first evidence of such a degree of specialization in the acoustic organ and signals in ants, which suggests that stridulations may be among the cues used by these ants during inter-specific interactions. Mitochondrial DNA variation corroborated the acoustic differences observed, confirming acoustics as a helpful tool to determine cryptic species in this group of ants, and possibly in stridulating ants in general. Congruent morphological, acoustic and genetic results constitute sufficient evidence to propose each morph studied here as a valid new species, suggesting that P. apicalis is a complex of at least 6 to 9 species, even if they present different levels of divergence. Finally, our results highlight that ant stridulations may be much more informative than hitherto thought, as much for ant communication as for integrative taxonomists.

Mutant forms of the Plasmodium falciparum transporter PfCRT constitute the key determinant of parasite resistance to chloroquine (CQ), the former first-line antimalarial, and are ubiquitous to infections that fail CQ treatment. However, treatment can often be successful in individuals harboring mutant pfcrt alleles, raising questions about the role of host immunity or pharmacokinetics vs. the parasite genetic background in contributing to treatment outcomes. To examine whether the parasite genetic background dictates the degree of mutant pfcrt-mediated CQ resistance, we replaced the wild type pfcrt allele in three CQ-sensitive strains with mutant pfcrt of the 7G8 allelic type prevalent in South America, the Oceanic region and India. Recombinant clones exhibited strain-dependent CQ responses that ranged from high-level resistance to an incremental shift that did not meet CQ resistance criteria. Nonetheless, even in the most susceptible clones, 7G8 mutant pfcrt enabled parasites to tolerate CQ pressure and recrudesce in vitro after treatment with high concentrations of CQ. 7G8 mutant pfcrt was found to significantly impact parasite responses to other antimalarials used in artemisinin-based combination therapies, in a strain-dependent manner. We also report clinical isolates from French Guiana that harbor mutant pfcrt, identical or related to the 7G8 haplotype, and manifest a CQ tolerance phenotype. One isolate, H209, harbored a novel PfCRT C350R mutation and demonstrated reduced quinine and artemisinin susceptibility. Our data: 1) suggest that high-level CQR is a complex biological process dependent on the presence of mutant pfcrt; 2) implicate a role for variant pfcrt alleles in modulating parasite susceptibility to other clinically important antimalarials; and 3) uncover the existence of a phenotype of CQ tolerance in some strains harboring mutant pfcrt., Author Summary Plasmodium falciparum resistance to the antimalarial drug chloroquine has been found to result primarily from point mutations in PfCRT, which provide a highly sensitive marker of in vivo treatment failure and in vitro resistance. Debate has nonetheless continued about the singular role of mutant PfCRT and the contribution of the parasite genetic background. To address this, we have generated recombinant P. falciparum lines expressing a mutant pfcrt allele, or the reference wild type allele, in three distinct chloroquine-sensitive strains. Their analysis reveals a spectrum of responses ranging from high-level resistance to a previously unrecognized tolerance phenotype. The latter is characterized by virtually unchanged chloroquine IC50 values, significantly elevated IC90 values, and the ability to recrudesce after exposure to drug concentrations that are lethal to chloroquine-sensitive parasites. This tolerance phenotype was also observed in an isolate from French Guiana, confirming its presence in malaria-endemic regions. Mutant PfCRT significantly affected parasite responses to other antimalarials, including ones used in artemisinin-based combination therapies, in a strain-dependent manner. Our data suggest that successful CQ treatment of drug-resistant parasites is dependent on both host immunity and the strain-dependent extent to which mutant pfcrt imparts resistance.