Publications by authors named "Franck Prugnolle"

Article Synopsis
  • - Caliciviruses and astroviruses are major causes of non-bacterial foodborne illnesses and gastroenteritis in humans, with rodents being key hosts for these viruses and many zoonotic pathogens that can affect humans.
  • - A study screened 245 rodent intestine samples for these viruses, finding no caliciviruses but detecting astroviruses in 18 samples, specifically from the Rattus rattus species.
  • - Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the detected astroviruses are closely related to strains found in Gabon, Kenya, and Asia, indicating that transportation methods may promote the spread of these viruses through rodent populations.
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Coronaviruses (CoVs, ) are a diverse group of viruses that infect mammals, birds, and fish. Seven CoVs infect humans, among which Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoVs-1 and -2 and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoVs have shown how they can impact global health and the economy. Their spillover from bats-the natural reservoir-to humans has required intermediary hosts.

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Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent agent of human malaria, spread from Africa to all continents following the out-of-Africa human migrations. During the transatlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries, it was introduced twice independently to the Americas where it adapted to new environmental conditions (new human populations and mosquito species). Here, we analyzed the genome-wide polymorphisms of 2,635 isolates across the current P.

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Although antibiotic resistance is a major issue for both human and animal health, very few studies have investigated the role of the bacterial host spectrum in its dissemination within natural ecosystems. Here, we assessed the prevalence of methicillin resistance among (MRSA) isolates from humans, non-human primates (NHPs), micromammals and bats in a primatology center located in southeast Gabon, and evaluated the plausibility of four main predictions regarding the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in this ecosystem. MRSA strain prevalence was much higher in exposed species (i.

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Toxoplasma gondii is a cyst-forming apicomplexan parasite of virtually all warm-blooded species, with all true cats (Felidae) as definitive hosts. It is the etiologic agent of toxoplasmosis, a disease causing substantial public health burden worldwide. Few intercontinental clonal lineages represent the large majority of isolates worldwide.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), caused by trypanosome parasites, poses a serious health threat in sub-Saharan Africa but remains a neglected tropical disease, affecting numerous individuals, particularly in Gabon.
  • - A study in Gabon revealed that 19.34% of domestic animals tested were infected with trypanosomes, with varying rates among dogs (23.21%), goats (16.10%), and sheep (21.00%).
  • - Molecular analysis identified at least six species of trypanosomes in domestic animals, suggesting these animals may serve as significant reservoirs for the parasites linked to HAT, emphasizing the need for further research in this area.
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Wild animal species living in anthropogenic areas are commonly carriers of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (AMRB), but their role in the epidemiology of these bacteria is unclear. Several studies on AMRB in wildlife have been cross-sectional in design and sampled individual animals at only one point in time. To further understand the role of wildlife in maintaining and potentially transmitting these bacteria to humans and livestock, longitudinal studies are needed in which samples are collected from individual animals over multiple time periods.

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Article Synopsis
  • Many diseases that can make people or animals sick start in wild animals, so scientists need to keep an eye on these animals and their germs.
  • Catching samples from wild animals can be hard, but there's a cool method called xenosurveillance that uses blood-sucking bugs, like tsetse flies, to help collect these samples.
  • In a study in Tanzania, scientists found that tsetse flies had fed on different animals and discovered germs, including some that can be harmful, showing that this method can help us learn more about diseases in wild animals.
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Malaria is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Plasmodium vivax is the most prevalent human-infecting species in the Americas. However, the origins of this parasite in this continent are still debated.

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Article Synopsis
  • Malaria has historically been a major health issue, causing many deaths globally each year due to protozoan parasites, primarily *Plasmodium falciparum* and *Plasmodium vivax*.
  • Researchers are intrigued by the origins, global spread, and human adaptation of these parasite species, seeking to understand their evolutionary history.
  • This paper reviews existing research, emphasizing genetic and genomic studies of these malaria parasites and their similarities with related species in other hosts, such as non-human primates.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the common malaria parasite, proposing that it originated from sub-Saharan Africa due to genetic similarities with African great apes.
  • However, the hypothesis is questioned due to the limited genetic markers and samples previously analyzed.
  • The researchers analyzed 447 human and 19 ape strains globally, finding that the parasite is closely related to Asian strains, indicating it may have started in Asia and spread outwards through various geographic movements.
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Oesophagostomosis is a zoonotic disease caused by nematodes of the genus in the intestinal walls of many species, including ruminants, pigs, humans, and nonhuman primates. Although great apes appear to tolerate the parasite in the wild, they can develop a clinical form that can lead to death in captivity and the natural environment. At the Primatology Centre of the International Centre for Medical Research in Franceville (CIRMF) in Gabon, we recorded 4 deaths of chimpanzees () caused by spp.

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Malaria remains a major public health problem in many countries. Unlike influenza and HIV, where diversity in immunodominant surface antigens is understood geographically to inform disease surveillance, relatively little is known about the global population structure of PfEMP1, the major variant surface antigen of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The complexity of the var multigene family that encodes PfEMP1 and that diversifies by recombination, has so far precluded its use in malaria surveillance.

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Based on a large study conducted on wild great ape fecal samples collected in regions of Gabon where previous human outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have occurred between 1994 and 2002, we provide evidence for prevalence of (EBOV)-specific antibodies of 3.9% (immunoglobulin G (IgG)) and 3.5% (immunoglobulin M (IgM)) in chimpanzees and 8.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Recent concerns about drug resistance and severe cases have sparked renewed research interest, revealing significant knowledge gaps, especially in Africa, about the genetics and evolution of P. vivax.
  • * The study genotyped 834 samples from 28 locations worldwide, highlighting the need for comprehensive genetic analysis to better understand P. vivax's population structure and evolutionary origins.
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Investigating how individuals adjust their investment into distinct components of the immune system under natural conditions necessitates to develop immune phenotyping tools that reflect the activation of specific immune components that can be measured directly in the field. Here, we examined individual variation of plasma neopterin, a biomarker of Th1 immunity in wild mandrills (), who are naturally exposed to a suite of parasites, including simian retroviruses and malaria agents. We analyzed a total of 201 plasma samples from 99 individuals and examined the effect of sex, age, social rank, reproductive state and disease status on neopterin levels.

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Many important infectious diseases are the result of zoonoses, in which pathogens that normally infect animals acquire mutations that enable the breaching of species barriers to permit the infection of humans. Our understanding of the molecular events that enable host switching are often limited, and yet this is a fundamentally important question. Plasmodium falciparum, the etiological agent of severe human malaria, evolved following a zoonotic transfer of parasites from gorillas.

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During the last decade, the endosymbiont bacterium has emerged as a biological tool for vector disease control. However, for long time, it was believed that was absent in natural populations of . The recent discovery that species within the complex host in natural conditions has opened new opportunities for malaria control research in Africa.

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Malaria parasites infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts, such as reptiles, birds and mammals (i.e., primates, ungulates, bats, and rodents).

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The hemoglobin β sickle mutation is a textbook case in which natural selection maintains a deleterious mutation at high frequency in the human population. Homozygous individuals for this mutation develop sickle-cell disease, whereas heterozygotes benefit from higher protection against severe malaria. Because the overdominant β allele should be purged almost immediately from the population in the absence of malaria, the study of the evolutionary history of this iconic mutation can provide important information about the history of human exposure to malaria.

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The order Haemosporidia gathers many protozoan parasites which are known to infect many host species and groups. Until recently, the studies on haemosporidian parasites primarily focused on the genus among a wide range of hosts. Genera, like the genus , have received far less attention.

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Although Plasmodium vivax is responsible for the majority of malaria infections outside Africa, little is known about its evolution and pathway to humans. Its closest genetic relative, P. vivax-like, was discovered in African great apes and is hypothesized to have given rise to P.

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