Original Leptospira spp. in island's native terrestrial mammals: A case study in Pteropus spp. bats of New Caledonia.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonosis that occurs in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Chiroptera are known to be a formidable reservoir of zoonotic pathogens, including leptospires. The epidemiology of leptospirosis in bats in the Pacific Islands is poorly known, both in terms of prevalence and in terms of the bacterial strains involved.

Assessment of fitness and vector competence of a New Caledonia wMel Aedes aegypti strain before field-release.

Background: Biological control programs involving Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti are currently deployed in different epidemiological settings. New Caledonia (NC) is an ideal location for the implementation and evaluation of such a strategy as the only proven vector for dengue virus (DENV) is Ae. aegypti and dengue outbreaks frequency and severity are increasing.

Potential role of vector-mediated natural selection in dengue virus genotype/lineage replacements in two epidemiologically contrasted settings.

Dengue virus (DENV) evolutionary dynamics are characterized by frequent DENV genotype/lineage replacements, potentially associated with changes in disease severity and human immunity. New Caledonia (NC) and Cambodia, two contrasted epidemiological settings, respectively experienced a DENV-1 genotype IV to I replacement in 2012 and a DENV-1 genotype I lineage 3-4 replacement in 2005-2007, both followed by a massive dengue outbreak. However, their underlying evolutionary drivers have not been elucidated.

Molecular Characterization of Dengue Type 2 Outbreak in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories, 2017-2020.

Dengue virus (DENV) serotype-2 was detected in the South Pacific region in 2014 for the first time in 15 years. In 2016-2020, DENV-2 re-emerged in French Polynesia, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia, co-circulating with and later replacing DENV-1. In this context, epidemiological and molecular evolution data are paramount to decipher the diffusion route of this DENV-2 in the South Pacific region.

Vector Competence of and from Brazil and New Caledonia for Three Zika Virus Lineages.

Zika virus (ZIKV) has caused severe epidemics in South America beginning in 2015, following its spread through the Pacific. We comparatively assessed the vector competence of ten populations of and from Brazil and two of and one of from New Caledonia to transmit three ZIKV isolates belonging to African, Asian and American lineages. Recently colonized mosquitoes from eight distinct sites from both countries were orally challenged with the same viral load (10 TCID/mL) and examined after 7, 14 and 21 days.