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International audience; We screened blood from 59 bats from French Guiana for Bartonella spp. PCRs were positive for 13.6% and culture was positive in one Noctilio albiventris and one Pteronotus parnellii, as well as in Ornithodoros hasei ticks collected from bats. Two isolated strains represent possible two new species.

International audience; In French Guiana, located on the northeastern coast of South America, bats of different species are very numerous. The infection of bats and their ticks with zoonotic bacteria, especially Rickettsia species, is so far unknown. In order to improve knowledge of these zoonotic pathogens in this French overseas department, the presence and diversity of tick-borne bacteria was investigated with molecular tools in bat ticks. In the beginning of 2013, 32 bats were caught in Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, an area close to the coast of French Guiana, and the ticks of these animals were collected. A total of 354 larvae of Argasidae soft ticks (Ornithodoros hasei) from 12 bats (Noctilio albiventris) were collected and 107 of them were analysed. DNA was extracted from the samples and quantitative real-time PCR was carried out to detect Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp. and Coxiella burnetii. All tested samples were negative for Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp. and Coxiella burnetii. Rickettsia DNA was detected in 31 (28.9%) ticks. An almost entire (1118 base pairs long) sequence of the gltA gene was obtained after the amplification of some positive samples on conventional PCR and sequencing. A Bayesian tree was constructed using concatenated rrs, gltA, ompA, ompB, and gene D sequences. The study of characteristic sequences shows that this Rickettsia species is very close (98.3-99.8%) genetically to R. peacockii. Nevertheless, the comparative analysis of sequences obtained from gltA, ompA, ompB, rrs and gene D fragments demonstrated that this Rickettsia is different from the other members of the spotted fever group. The sequences of this new species were deposited in GenBank as Candidatus Rickettsia wissemanii. This is the first report showing the presence of nucleic acid of Rickettsia in Ornithodoros hasei ticks from South American bats. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Diagnosis: lacaziosis, or lobomycosis [1]. The diagnosis was confirmed by direct examination of the skin biopsy, highlighting the presence of round or oval yeastlike organisms 6–12 μm in diameter, either isolated or in chains, with a birefringent membrane (Figure 1). The periodic acid-Schiff–stained and the Gomori-Grocott methenamine silver–stained sections of the sample revealed short chains of lemon-shaped fungal cells connected by thin, tubelike bridges (Figure 2). Morphology was consistent with the appearance of Lacazia loboi. There was a minor improvement of the lesion after pentamidine treatment, whereas the Leishmania research by microscopic examination, culture, and molecular biology was negative. However, these exams were done after treatment initiation, so an initial coinfection cannot be ruled out. Mycological culturesonSabouraud-gentamicin-cycloheximide withandwithout actidionewereperformedandwerenegativeafter 2 months. The patient is currently under treatment with terbinafine (250 mg twice daily), awaiting surgical excision of the lesion. Lacaziosis, or lobomycosis [1], is a chronic infectious disease that was first described in 1930 in Brazil by the dermatologist Jorge Lobo [2]. Since then, >500 human cases have been reported [3], mainly in Central and South America. The etiological agent, Lacazia loboi ( formerly known as Loboa loboi), an Onygenales dimorphic fungus [4], seems to be saprophytic in vegetation, soil, and water. It gains access to the skin following cutaneous traumatism, or animal bites [5]. After the initial lesion, there is a slow local dissemination period leading to pleomorphic lesions. The typical clinical aspect is generally multiple keloidal lesions, with a smooth, shiny aspect, but can also appear as papules, nodules, ulcers, sclerodermiform, or verrucous plaques [6]. These lesions are painless and hypoor hyperchromic. Clinical diagnosis is generally difficult because of pathology scarcity and frequently atypical cases. For example, infiltrated plaque-type lesions can be mistaken for cutaneous leishmaniasis; lesions with a keloidal aspect can be mistaken for lepromatous leprosy [7]; and lesions with a verrucous, vegetating, or nodular aspect can be mistaken for sporotrichosis, chromoblastomycosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, keloids, or neoplastic processes [6]. The diagnosis is based onmacroscopic examination of the lesions and on direct microscopic examination of biopsy or curettage. The diagnostic feature of Lacazia loboi is the chain of samesized buds, unlike Paracoccidioides, whose buds are smaller than the mother cell. Figure 1. Skin biopsy: round or oval yeast-like organisms from 6 to 12 μm in diameter, isolated or in chains with a bi-refringent membrane; direct microscopic examination (×1000 magnification). Figure 2. Skin biopsy section. Short chains of lemon-shaped fungal cells connected by thin, tubelike bridges (arrow). A, Periodic acidSchiff stain. B, Gomori-Grocott methenamine silver stain (×1000 magnification).

Introduction: Most studies on nematode-malaria interactions were conducted outside of the Americas. The objective of the present study was thus to study the relation between malaria and nematodes in a cohort of children in an Amazonian village. Methods: Odds ratios for intestinal nematode infections as an explanatory variable to malaria resistant vs. malaria sensitive were computed. Results: Ascaris lumbricoides was significantly more frequent in the ‘resistant’ malaria group than in the ‘sensitive’ one. Conclusions: Despite its low statistical power, the present results find that Ascaris was associated with less malaria, as observed by a number of studies.