Archives de l'Institut Pasteur de Madagascar最新文献

Being associated to fecal-oral transmission, cysticercosis is contracted either by auto-infection or by ingestion of food contaminated with eggs from the pork tape worm (Taenia solium). In the stomach, the larvae named cysticercus (Cysticercus cellulosae) hatches from the eggs and invades the host through the mucosa membrane. Human cysticercosis occurs in highly prevalent proportions in many developing countries including Madagascar where hygiene conditions are deplicable. Serology tests applicable to epidemiological surveillance of cysticercosis and associated pathology in the Malagasy population have been developed: an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for screening purpose, and an enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot assay (EITB) for confirmative testing. Two specific bands (13 and 14 kDa) have been identified as significant markers of the cysticercus in an active (vesicle) stage of the infection when cestocidal treatment is strongly indicated. The same bands may on the other hand be absent at early (cyste) as well as late (calcified) stages of the infection. Series of studies, including 4,375 serum samples, have been undertaken from 1994 until 1999 aiming at determinating the cysticercosis sero-prevalence in different provinces of Madagascar. It was confirmed that cysticercosis is highly frequent on the island, and that there exists a marked variation in the prevalence from 7 to 21% between the different provinces: less than 10% in coastal regions (Mahajanga and Toamasina) increasing to 20% in central regions (Ihosy, Ambositra and Mahasolo). It has also been observed that cysticercosis may occur in individuals at any age, and that it is equally distributed in urban as in rural areas. However, it is more frequently detected in women than in men. Madagascar is an endemic country for cysticercosis, which causes major and severe disease with implications in the public health sector. A national control program is, therefore, urgently warranted.

We report a chronic case of pulmonary tuberculosis in a Malagasy citizen from Antsohihy (West of Madagascar), who was infected with a multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium bovis strain. This is the first case reported of the isolation of such a strain in Madagascar.

In Madagascar, the epidemiological data actualized concerning the cancer of the collus of uterus are not available because of the absence of register of cancer. The objective of this study is to achieve a first assessment of the problem, to complete the epidemiological knowledge, to point out the tool of precoce detection of the precancerous lesions, to propose the measures aiming to improve the management of the patients and to contribute to the institution of a register of cancer. This is a retrospective survey on the frequency of the cancer of the cervix observed from 1992 to 2002 about 23,908 withdrawals addressed to the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar for anatomopathological exam and 12,605 cervical smears for cytological exam. In pathological anatomy, 2,621 (63.4%) of 4,136 cases of diagnosed cancer, have been observed in women. 687 cases (26.2%) of them were localized in the collus. The 3/4 of the cancers of the cervix is invasive and the mean age is 48.2 years old at the time of diagnosis. The cytology detects only 74 cases of invasive cancer of which most don't have an histological confirmation. 274 pre-lesions of cervix cancer were diagnosed for this period, the majority lesions are cytological diagnosis. In spite of a non representative recruitment of the general population, and by the number of withdrawals considered, these results may represent indicators of the epidemiological situation and justify the institution of program to detect the precancerous lesions in a national scale.

The differentiation of the vaccine or wild origin of Poliovirus at the laboratory is an important step towards the process of the poliomyelitis eradication. We report herein the results obtained from Poliovirus types 3 and 2, isolated in Madagascar in 1997 and 2002 from healthy children and cases of acute flaccid paralysis, respectively. The technique used is based on the amplification of genome (RT-PCR), followed by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism assay (RFLP), performed in 3 different regions of the genome. In the capsid region (VP3-VP1 and VP1-2A), RFLP analysis allowed us to differentiate without ambiguity the wild or vaccine origin of the Poliovirus type 3, and to identify Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus (VDPV) type 2. In the noncapsid region, including the RNA polymerase and 3' non coding region (3Dpol-3' NTR), the VDPV were found to be recombinant with other Enteroviruses. These results confirm that RFLP assay is a reliable tool for intratypic differentiation and to study the genetic drift and recombination of Poliovirus.

A method associating an anticoagulant rodenticide and an insecticide called Kartman bait-box aimed both at fighting reservoir and vectors of plague. It was evaluated in two neighbourhoods of Antananarivo (Madagascar) from October 2002 to May 2003. It involved the local community in the control. The study was carried out in Ambodirano-Ampefiloha refered as treated neighbourhood in which the Kartman bait box were laid out with an anticoagulant rodenticide and an insecticide with a rapid action versus a "pilot neighbourhood", Ankorondrano-Andranomahery in which the boxes were provided with non poisoning bait and non insecticidal white powder. The rodenticide used was Baraki (difethialone 25 ppm) and the insecticide was a powder of Propoxur 3%. The evaluation of effectiveness of this method was based on the four following parameters: (1) the number of dead rats collected daily inside and in the vicinity of the houses, (2) the daily number of baits non consumed in the Kartman bait box, (3) the cheopis index of the rats trapped using the BTS trap, and (4) the flea carrier index of the rats captured monthly with BTS trap. The cheopis index and the flea carrier index of the rats were calculated monthly. The number of rats that died in the treated neighbourhood was of 968 versus 3 in the pilot neighbourhood. The other parameters reached a stable level after 3 months. Between days 120 and 180, the mean number of unconsumed baits was 2.79 in the treated neighbourhood versus 0.14 in the pilot neighbourhood, the flea carriage (percentage of parasitized hosts) was 0% versus 61% in the pilot neighbourhood, and the cheopis index was 0.0 versus 5.0 in the pilot neighbourhood. This study demonstrates that Kartman bait-boxes reached the rat borne and the vectors of plague found in urban area. We propose to use this method extensively both during epidemic and inter-epidemic contexts.

The wide geographic distribution of the West Nile virus and the increase in virulence observed since 1994 in the Mediterranean basin, central Europe and North America, with several outbreaks of lethal encephalitis, demonstrate the importance of regular surveillance of the epidemiological data regarding this virus in the world. The Institut Pasteur de Madagascar has shown between 1975 and 1990 that this arbovirus was most abundant in Madagascar, where it had an endemic circulation. There has been no further study since that time. In order to evaluate the level of circulation, the seroprevalence of anti-West Nile antibodies in children that are 15 or less was measured on two different collections of sera. These collections came from population studies realised respectively in the region of Ambositra in the Highlands in 1996 and in the city of Mahajanga on the north west coast in 1999. The seroprevalence were 2.1% and 10.6% respectively, these results indicate that the circulation of this climatic dependent virus is still significant.

To alleviate the insufficient number of experienced medical teams invited to and accepting to monitor the effectiveness of drugs prescribed to patients with a diagnosis of uncomplicated malaria and to insure the surveillance of the susceptibility of P. falciparum to current antimalarials used in Madagascar, there is a need to draw a feasible study protocol carefully discussed with them. We carried out a preliminary study in two rural areas and assessed the efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for curing uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, with a simplified protocol based on the principle of observational study. A single dose of SP was given on day 0 with paracetamol. The persons to whom the drugs were administered accepted two other interventions of one member of the medical teams on day 14 and day 28. Nineteen patients, 3-63 years old, fulfilled the follow-up. The efficacy of this combination was noted for the 19 persons. Our results show that P. falciparum strains are susceptible to SP. Since SP will be used in intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women in Madagascar, one way to delay the occurrence of SP resistant parasites will be (a) to avoid massive use of SP for the non pregnant persons and (b) to monitor susceptibility of P. falciparum to SP as part of pilot studies using standard WHO protocol (which is not really easy for most of the peripheral health facilities--with the follow-up procedures with clinical examination and parasitological control at Days 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28), and routinely with simplified protocol such as the analytical observational study illustrated in this present study. Limit and advantage of observational study are discussed.

The authors reported the first case of leiomyomatosis peritonealis disseminata or diffuse peritonealis leiomyomatosis in a patient of 36 years old. The hyalin degeneration of leiomyomatosis with intra and extra peritonealis extension is an uncommon pathology. The right etiology of this complication of leiomyomatosis is unknown. Its detection is a fortuitous event during laparotomy. It is characterized by an extension to the serosa, a break-in of the tissues and unpredictable invasion of the contiguous organs, and it can touch the heart. Despite its rapid evolution, often accompanied by mechanical complications, it remains a benign tumour.

Anopheles mascarensis has been demonstrated to be a vector of human malaria in the East coast of Madagascar. Here, we present original data obtained from 1996 to 2003 on the distribution, biology and vectorial capacity of An. mascarensis in the Middle-West of Madagascar. This species is consistently exophilic both for its trophic and resting behaviour. This accounts for the absence of clear impact of any indoor insecticide spraying. This species is mainly zoophilic, but can occasionally bite humans, which explains a low sporozoitic index (1/2218 = 0.045%). The densities of human landing mosquitoes are most of the time very low, with the exception of a peak between May and August at the beginning of the dry season. It implies that the vector's efficiency is very low but not insignificant in the Middle-West of Madagascar, a situation opposite to what is observed on the East coast. The vectorial efficiency of An. mascarensis and An. arabiensis would enable to maintain a low malarial endemicity in the Middle-West, even in the complete absence of An. funestus.

The purpose of this paper is to actualize the historical data on influenza in Madagascar. The first outbreak of flu probably occurred in 1890. The first epidemic fully described was in 1893. Between 1890 and 1957, 11 outbreaks of influenza were registered. Since 1978, the unit of virology of the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar is the National Reference Center of the World Health Organization for influenza in Madagascar. Between 1975 and 2002, 12 epidemics of flu were registered confirmed by viral isolation. Madagascan terms used to design fever diseases are discussed.