Nouvelle approche pour l'estimation de l'âge des glossines par analyse d'image de l'aile

Une première étude sur l'évaluation de l'âge de Glossina tachinoides Westwood, 1850, par analyse des niveaux de gris de l'aile est réalisée. Sur des lots de femelles provenant du laboratoire, cinq groupes apparaissent significativement différents. A condition d'être validée sur des glossines naturelles, cette méthode pourrait constituer une nouvelle approche de ce facteur important dans l'épidémiologie des trypanosomoses animales.. (Résumé d'auteur

Impact de la sécheresse et de la dégradation des aires protégées sur la répartition des trypanosomoses bovines et de leurs vecteurs dans le bassin versant de l'Oti au nord du Togo

Logé dans l'aire de transition entre les zones semi-aride au Nord et humide au Sud, le bassin versant de l'Oti (BVO) a subi durant les décennies 1970 - 1990 de très fortes pressions anthropiques et climatiques. La sécheresse, l'avancée du désert et les activités économiques reposant essentiellement sur l'agriculture et l'élevage ont contribué à la dégradation de ce bassin. En outre, de par sa position, le BVO accueille chaque année pendant la saison sèche du bétail transhumant venant du Burkina Faso et du Niger. Ce mouvement saisonnier des bovins transhumants a été source de maintien et de transmission de plusieurs maladies transfrontalières et des trypanosomoses animales. Des données de synthèse bibliographique et d'enquêtes de terrain effectuées en fin de saison sèche en avril et mai 2006, traitées dans un système d'information géographique (SIG), ont permis d'évaluer l'impact des facteurs anthropiques et climatiques sur l'épidémiologie des trypanosomoses animales dans le BVO. Les résultats de l'étude ont montré que le BVO était fortement dégradé ; les grands mammifères sauvages et les glossines ont quasiment disparu de la réserve de faune de la Fosse aux lions. Glossina tachinoides a été la seule espèce capturée au nord du 10e parallèle de latitude N. Trypanosoma vivax a été classé comme le principal parasite responsable des trypanosomoses bovines. Il a été conclu que l'homme par son action sur l'environnement et les changements climatiques ont provoqué un recul vers le sud de l'aire de répartition des glossines. (Résumé d'auteur

Use of satellite imagery to predict the distribution of bluetongue vector C. imicola in Corsica

Due to climatic changes and human activities, many ecosystems are acquiring the capacity to shelter major pathogens. Because environmental parameters impact insects bionomics, vector and vector-borne disease distributions have significantly changed during the past years. Our aim is to study the conditions required for the establishment of a new vector in a new ecosystem, taking as example Culicoides imicola, one of the main vectors of bluetongue, in Corsica. The favorable environment for C. imicola is described using remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Parameters likely to influence vector distribution were extracted from a SPOT image (10 meters pixel) and from a digital elevation model (DEM). The normalized difference vegetation index was calculated and a supervised classification was carried out. Slope, altitude, sunshine, and orientation of study sites were extracted from the DEM. Two types of epidemiological data were used to model the distribution of favorable sites for C. imicola. Data on sheep disease cases (farm descriptors and health status) highlighted the impact of environmental variables such as latitude and some types of vegetation. Another model was established using entomological data collected during one-night catches in a hundred sites in June 2005. The neighborhood of farms and trapping sites was compared to build logistic models on bluetongue and vector occurrence. Data, methods, results, applications and limits of the two approaches are discussed here. (Texte intégral

Les ailes de glossines, une carte d'identité de l'insecte ?

Dans les études de dynamique de population des glossines, vecteurs des trypanosomoses en Afrique, la taille de l'insecte peut être mise en relation avec leur longévité et leur capacité vectorielle. La taille des individus est généralement appréciée par la mesure de nervures remarquables de l'aile. Un logiciel semi-automatique a été développé par le Cirad et l'IRD pour réaliser une série de mesures à partir de photos numérisées des ailes. Il a été utilisé sur des populations sauvages de Glossina tachinoides Westwood et G. palpalis gambiensis Vanderplank (Diptera : Glossinidae) capturées autour de Bobo Dioulasso, au Burkina Faso. A partir d'une photo de l'aile, réalisée sous une loupe binoculaire et numérisée, le logiciel calcule la longueur des segments alaires, le rapport entre ces segments, la surface de la cellule "en hache" caractéristique des glossines et le niveau de gris de la membrane. Ces variables ont révélé leur intérêt taxonomique pour la diagnose entre ces espèces, mais également apportent des informations sur les caractéristiques physiologiques de la population étudiée

Benefits of Breast Cancer Screening and Treatment on Mortality

Breast cancer mortality has declined precipitously in the past 5 decades, from 48 per 100 000 females in 1975 to 27 per 100 000 in 2019. This large improvement in outcomes is a testament to the development and dissemination of evidence-based strategies to improve early detection and timely treatment of breast cancer— achieved through decades of public and private investment in research and research translation. However, it is challenging to quantify the relative contributions of prior investments or advances in breast cancer screening and treatment. Without such knowledge, decisions about setting future research priorities will be incompletely informed. An approach that can provide this key information is simulation modeling

Stratégie et équipements de prévention vis-à-vis du gel de printemps et de la grêle. Perspectives en lien avec les changements climatiques, projet ADVICLIM

Une grande partie du vignoble a été touchée par l'épisode de gel qui est intervenu sur plusieurs jours fin avril 2017 et qui a occasionné des dégâts pour de nombreuses régions françaises y compris méridionales, ainsi que d'autres pays de la zone Ouest de l'Europe (Angleterre, Allemagne, Italie, Suisse, etc.). Le gel, la grêle et une sécheresse très marquée dans les zones méridionales ont abouti à une baisse d'environ 10 millions d'hectolitres par rapport à 2016 ce qui correspond, par rapport à une moyenne décennale, à une diminution de l'ordre de 18 %. En 2018, de nombreuses régions viticoles France ont été touchées par la grêle. Le projet CLIMFROST, financé par France Agrimer, a pour objectif d'aider la profession viticole française à appréhender les risques de gel de printemps et de grêle dans leur contexte local, afin d'adopter une stratégie (réserves climatiques, assurances, mesures agronomiques, techniques de protection) permettant de réduire l'impact financier direct et indirect. En complément des aspects techniques, la communication a pour objectif de resituer ces phénomènes climatiques extrêmes dans la perspective des changements climatiques, en lien notamment avec le projet européen LIFE ADVICLIM www.adviclim.eu. Cette communication présente une synthèse d'une plaquette « aléas climatiques de la vigne : grêle, gel de printemps », téléchargeable sur le site www.vignevin.com

Learning influences host choice in tsetse

A learning capacity for feeding is described in many insect species including vectors of diseases, but has never been reported in tsetse flies (Diptera, Glossinidae), the cyclic vectors of human (sleeping sickness) and animal trypanosomoses in Africa. Repeated feeding on the same host species by a disease vector is likely to increase the within-species disease-transmission risk, but to decrease it between species

An Unusual Presentation of Liver Failure in a Patient with Primary Gastrointestinal Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Introduction. Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) presenting either with primary bowel involvement or with cholestasis is unusual. The combination of primary gastrointestinal HL presenting with cholestasis and ductopenia has not been previously described. Case Report. We present a case of primary gastrointestinal HL with evidence of liver involvement, but also with prominent ductopenia on liver biopsy and associated intrahepatic cholestasis. A 50-year-old man with a history of Crohn's disease presented with a bowel obstruction, for which he underwent a small bowel resection. Histology revealed HL. His course was complicated by cholestatic liver failure. A subsequent liver biopsy revealed both focal involvement by lymphoma and ductopenia, resembling vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS). He was treated with chemotherapy with improvement in his cholestasis, but he eventually succumbed due to further complications of his disease and treatment toxicities. Conclusion. This case of primary gastrointestinal HL associated with ductopenia does not meet classic criteria for VBDS, but the clinical presentation and pathology are suggestive of a VBDS-like paraneoplastic process. Therapies for HL in the setting of cholestatic liver failure require special consideration, but some reports of durable remissions and recovery of liver function have been reported.</jats:p

Barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among resource-limited adults diagnosed with chronic illness

Background Despite the use of interventions (e.g., monetary incentives, educational campaigns, on-site workplace vaccination) to increase COVID-19 vaccination, differences in uptake persist by poverty level, insurance status, geography, race, and ethnicity, suggesting that these interventions may not be adequately addressing the barriers faced by these populations. Among a sample of resource-limited individuals with chronic illnesses, we (1) described the prevalence of different types of barriers to the COVID-19 vaccination and (2) identified associations between patients' sociodemographic characteristics and barriers to vaccination. Methods We surveyed a national sample of patients with chronic illness and demonstrated healthcare affordability and/or access challenges about barriers to COVID-19 vaccination in July 2021. We categorized participant responses into cost, transportation, informational, and attitudinal barrier domains and assessed the prevalence of each domain, both overall and by self-reported vaccination status. Using logistic regression models, we examined unadjusted and adjusted associations between respondent characteristics (sociodemographic, geographic, and healthcare access) and self-reported barriers to vaccination. Results Of 1,342 respondents in the analytic sample, 20% (264/1,342) reported informational barriers and 9% (126/1,342) reported attitudinal barriers to COVID-19 vaccination. Transportation and cost barriers were reported much less commonly, by only 1.1% (15/1,342) and 0.7% (10/1,342) of the sample, respectively. Controlling for all other characteristics, respondents with either a specialist as their usual source of care or no usual source of care had an 8.4 (95% CI: 1.7–15.1) and 18.1 (95% CI: 4.3–32.0) percentage point higher predicted probability, respectively, of reporting informational barriers to care. Compared to females, males had an 8.4% point (95% CI: 5.5–11.4) lower predicted probability of reporting attitudinal barriers. Only attitudinal barriers were associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake.ConclusionAmong a sample of adults with chronic illnesses who had received financial assistance and case management services from a national non-profit, informational and attitudinal barriers were more commonly reported than logistical or structural access barriers (i.e., transportation and cost barriers). Interventions should target attitudinal barriers among patients with chronic illness, who may have particular concerns about the interaction of the vaccine with ongoing medical care. Additionally, interventions targeting informational barriers are particularly needed among individuals without a usual source of care

Patient-Perceived Benefits and Limitations of Standard of Care Remote Symptom Monitoring During Cancer Treatment

Introduction Remote symptom monitoring (RSM) allows patients to electronically self-report symptoms to their healthcare team for individual management. Clinical trials have demonstrated overarching benefits; however, little is known regarding patient-perceived benefits and limitations of RSM programs used during patient care. Methods This prospective qualitative study from December 2021 to May 2023 included patients with cancer participating in standard-of-care RSM at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in Birmingham, AL, and the Univeristy of South Alabama (USA) Health Mitchell Cancer Institute (MCI) in Mobile, AL. Semi-structured interviews focused on patient experiences with and perceptions surrounding RSM participation. Interviews occurred over the phone, via digital videoconference, or in person, at the convenience of the patient. Grounded theory was used to conduct content coding and identify recurring themes and exemplary quotes using NVivo. Results Forty patients (20 UAB, 20 MCI) were interviewed. Participants were predominately female (87.5%), aged 41-65 (50%), and married (57.5%). Data is consistent with local demographics, comprising mainly White (72.5%) and 27.5% Black individuals. Three main themes emerged regarding perceived benefits of RSM: (1) Facilitation of Proactive Management, identifying the patient’s needs and intervening earlier to alleviate symptom burden; (2) Promotion of Symptom Self-Management, providing patients autonomy in their cancer care; and (3) Improvement in Patient-Healthcare Provider Relationships, fostering genuine connections based on healthcare team’s responses. However, participants also noted Perceived Limitations of RSM; particularly when support of symptom management was unnecessary, ineffective, or felt impersonal. Conclusion This study focused on patient experiences when utilizing a RSM program while undergoing treatment for cancer and found benefits to its implementation that extended beyond symptom management. At the same time, patients noted drawbacks experienced during RSM, which can help with future tailoring of RSM programs. Patient perceptions should be regularly assessed and highlighted for successful and sustained implementation.Plain language summary Cancer and its treatment can cause patients to experience many forms of symptoms. This can have a major effect on their overall well-being: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Early symptom detection and management has been shown to significantly improve the quality of life of patients with cancer. Remote symptom monitoring (RSM) allow patients to report their symptoms to their healthcare team and receive personalized feedback and management from them, without having to leave the comfort of their home. Although previous studies have shown the overarching benefits of implementing RSM during care, little is known regarding how patients perceive its implementation. This research team wanted to gain a better understanding of perceptions patients had, whether good or bad, of RSM’s implementation while they were actively undergoing cancer care. A total of 40 patients were interviewed with patients commenting on RSM’s ability to facilitate proactive management, promote symptom self-management, and improve patient-healthcare provider relationships. Patients also had feelings that under certain circumstances, RSM did have some limitations. This study was able to help identify some of the perceived benefits and limitations to RSM implementation. This feedback will not only help to ensure the successful implementation of future RSM programs but will also let patients know that they are heard and that their feedback is pivotal