Relationships Between Clinico-Epidemiological Patterns of Invasive Meningococcal Infections and Complement Deficiencies in French South Pacific Islands (New Caledonia).

Purpose: Invasive Meningococcal Disease (IMD) is three fold more common in New Caledonia (NC) than in metropolitan France and many IMD cases (35.7%) are due to Y and W135 serogroups. The purpose of our study was to identify IMD risk factors in NC.

[Leprosy with an unusual course].

In developed countries, Hansen disease, or leprosy, is a rare and little-known disease. Over the last few years, its prevalence in New Caledonia has remained stable (0.35 per 10,000 inhabitants).

Lower respiratory infections among hospitalized children in New Caledonia: a pilot study for the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health project.

We conducted a prospective pilot study over a 1-year period in New Caledonia in preparation for the Pneumonia Research for Child Health (PERCH) project. The pathogens associated with hospitalized lower respiratory infections in children were identified through the use of culture of induced sputum and blood, urinary antigen detection, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on respiratory specimens, and serology on paired sera. Respiratory viruses were detected on respiratory specimens by immunofluorescence and PCR, and by serology on paired sera.

[Tobacco and marijuana use in adolescent students in Noumea].

Introduction: New Caledonia is situated in the western South Pacific 20000 km from France. In this Overseas Territory (pays d'outre-mer [POM]) the prevalence of tobacco smoking is very high and estimated at 30% among men and 34% among women. Experimenting with cannabis is also very widespread.

[Abrupt visual loss in children. Three case studies of ocular bartonellosis].

Purpose: To evaluate the severity and progression of neuroretinitis in children caused by Bartonella.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective study of three consecutive cases. Patients underwent ophthalmological, medical, and radiological evaluations.

[Sudden sight impairment revealing a cat-scratch disease: report of three cases].

Unlabelled: Cat-scratch disease is a frequent but innocuous cause of chronic lymphadenopathy in children. Numerous atypical forms have been described. We report three cases of acute sight impairment revealing a cat-scratch disease.

[Neonatal lupus erythematosus and neurologic involvement: an incidental association?].

Unlabelled: Neonatal lupus erythematosus is a rare disorder characterized by cutaneous lesions of the face and/or congenital heart block. The transplacental transfer of maternal anti-Ro/SSA, anti-La/SSB, or anti-U1RNP antibodies is responsible for the development of the disease. Few cases of neonatal lupus erythematosus with neurological involvement were reported in the medical literature.

[Takayasu's disease: interest in methotrexate treatment].

Unlabelled: Takayasu's disease is a nonspecific aortic arteritis that affects mostly young women and sometimes children. Usual treatment consists of early and prolonged steroids. Some patients do not respond to this treatment, become steroid-dependent or suffer from side effects.