[Comparative epidemiological study of the tuberculosis - migrant and native subjects in Guadeloupe from 2006 to 2011].

International audienceINTRODUCTION: Most of the migrants residing in Guadeloupe are from neighboring Caribbean islands, some of which are characterized by a high incidence of tuberculosis. The objective of this retrospective and observational study was to define the epidemiological characteristics of tuberculosis affecting migrant and native populations in Guadeloupe. METHODS: We describe all cases of tuberculosis in Guadeloupe identified in these two populations between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2011. RESULTS: The incidence of TB among migrants in Guadeloupe was seven times higher than that in native subjects in 2010 (33.4 vs. 5.5 new cases/100,000 inhabitants). Tuberculosis affecting the migrant population was characterized by young age of the patients (42 vs. 55 years) and a significant proportion of co-infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (47 vs. 14%, P<0.001). Among the patient population studied, the HIV infection increased the risk of developing severe tuberculosis (adjusted odds ratio: 2.9; 95%CI: 1.2-6.8). Moreover, HIV infection was also a risk factor for death where the infection was not controlled (CD4 count <200 units per microliter; adj risk ratio: 3.9; 1.2-12.4). CONCLUSION: This study shows that the migrant population in Guadeloupe is at increased risk of tuberculosis and should be considered as a priority target for tuberculosis control program

Exacerbations d’asthme en Guadeloupe et éruption volcanique à Montserrat (70 km de la Guadeloupe)

International audienc

Exacerbations d’asthme en Guadeloupe et éruption volcanique à Montserrat (70 km de la Guadeloupe)

International audienc

GIVRE: A Protection Against Frost Deposit on Polar Instruments

The CEA, in coordination with IPEV and LUAN, will prepare an experiment to study frost formation on surfaces in radiative cooling in the winter. This experiment has been shipped to be installed at Concordia before the 2007 winter period. It will be controlled from Concordia winterover personal, through PC server that will locally archive data from WEBcams and several local heat regulators. This experiment will be used to give recipes on the way to compensate with heaters the radiative cooling from the sky and maintain instrument surfaces at temperature just above icing conditions. The individual regulators proposed in this experiment will be usable as standalone ice protection systems for existing and future telescopes

Assessment of the potential respiratory hazard of volcanic ash from future Icelandic eruptions: a study of archived basaltic to rhyolitic ash samples

Background: The eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull (2010) and Grímsvötn (2011), Iceland, triggered immediate, international consideration of the respiratory health hazard of inhaling volcanic ash, and prompted the need to estimate the potential hazard posed by future eruptions of Iceland’s volcanoes to Icelandic and Northern European populations. Methods: A physicochemical characterization and toxicological assessment was conducted on a suite of archived ash samples spanning the spectrum of past eruptions (basaltic to rhyolitic magmatic composition) of Icelandic volcanoes following a protocol specifically designed by the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network. Results: Icelandic ash can be of a respirable size (up to 11.3 vol.% < 4 μm), but the samples did not display physicochemical characteristics of pathogenic particulate in terms of composition or morphology. Ash particles were generally angular, being composed of fragmented glass and crystals. Few fiber-like particles were observed, but those present comprised glass or sodium oxides, and are not related to pathogenic natural fibers, like asbestos or fibrous zeolites, thereby limiting concern of associated respiratory diseases. None of the samples contained cristobalite or tridymite, and only one sample contained quartz, minerals of interest due to the potential to cause silicosis. Sample surface areas are low, ranging from 0.4 to 1.6 m2 g−1, which aligns with analyses on ash from other eruptions worldwide. All samples generated a low level of hydroxyl radicals (HO•), a measure of surface reactivity, through the iron-catalyzed Fenton reaction compared to concurrently analyzed comparative samples. However, radical generation increased after ‘refreshing’ sample surfaces, indicating that newly erupted samples may display higher reactivity. A composition-dependent range of available surface iron was measured after a 7-day incubation, from 22.5 to 315.7 μmol m−2, with mafic samples releasing more iron than silicic samples. All samples were non-reactive in a test of red blood cell-membrane damage. Conclusions: The primary particle-specific concern is the potential for future eruptions of Iceland’s volcanoes to generate fine, respirable material and, thus, to increase ambient PM concentrations. This particularly applies to highly explosive silicic eruptions, but can also hold true for explosive basaltic eruptions or discrete events associated with basaltic fissure eruptions