Mosquito Feeding Habits in Coastal French Guiana: Mammals in the Crosshairs?

Pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) in sylvatic or urban cycles involve wild or domestic animals and humans, driven by various mosquito species with distinct host preferences. Understanding mosquito-host associations is crucial for ecological insights and pathogen surveillance. In this study, we analyzed mosquito blood meals from coastal French Guiana by amplifying and sequencing host DNA from blood-fed females.

Paramyxovirus circulation in bat species from French Guiana.

Bats are recognized as reservoirs of numerous viruses. Among them, paramyxoviruses, for example, Hendra and Nipah viruses, are highly pathogenic to humans. Nothing is known regarding the circulation of this viral family in bats from French Guiana.

Using phylogenetic surveillance and epidemiological data to understand the HIV-1 transmission dynamics in French Guiana.

Objective: The aim of this study was to understand the transmission dynamics of the HIV-1 subtype B epidemic in French Guiana and the factors that shaped the expansion of major phylogenetic transmission clusters.

Design: HIV-1 subtype B pol sequences with associated epidemiological data obtained from 703 treatment-naive patients living in French Guiana between 2006 and 2012, which correspond to 91% of all HIV cases diagnosed in that period, were employed in this study.

Methods: Maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods were used to construct phylogenetic trees, identify transmission clusters and estimate intervals between successive infections.

The HIV-1 Subtype B Epidemic in French Guiana and Suriname Is Driven by Ongoing Transmissions of Pandemic and Non-pandemic Lineages.

The HIV-1 subtype B epidemic in French Guiana and Suriname is characterized by the co-circulation of the globally disseminated "B" lineage and of non-pandemic subtype B lineages of Caribbean origin (B). To reconstruct the spatiotemporal pattern of spread of those viral lineages circulating in these two countries, a total of 361 HIV-1 subtype B sequences recovered from treatment-naive adult patients from French Guiana and Suriname between 2006 and 2012 were combined with B and B reference sequences. Major Guianese/Surinamese B and B lineages were identified by Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis and the spatiotemporal and demographic parameters estimated using a Bayesian coalescent-based method.