Seroprevalence and Genotype Diversity of Hepatitis C Virus in the Caribbean-A Review.

Hepatitis C (HCV) continues to present a global public health challenge, with no vaccine available for prevention. Despite the availability of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to cure HCV, it remains prevalent in many regions including the Caribbean. As efforts are made to eliminate HCV from the region, existing barriers, such as the high cost of DAAs and lack of an established database of HCV cases within the Caribbean, must be addressed.

Knowledge, Practice and Attitudes to the Management of Sepsis in Jamaica.

Introduction: Sepsis is a life-threatening dysfunction resulting from the dysregulated host response to infection. The mortality of sepsis in Jamaica remains high amid the proven efficacy of the Surviving Sepsis Guidelines implementation in some countries.

Aim Of Study: To evaluate the inter-relationship of healthcare workers' attitude towards, knowledge of and practice of sepsis management in Jamaica.

Evaluation of OneStep Dengue NS1 RapiDip™ InstaTest and OneStep Dengue Fever IgG/IgM RapiCard™ InstaTest during the course of a dengue type 1 epidemic.

We determined the diagnostic performance of the OneStep NS1 and the OneStep IgG/IgM RDT kits against a panel of samples which comprised of 174 dengue positive and 165 dengue negative sera characterized by three reference enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). The diagnostic sensitivities of the OneStep kits for the detection of individual biomarkers of NS1, IgM and IgG were 90% (95% CI: 82.1-94.

Dysregulated TGF-β Production Underlies the Age-Related Vulnerability to Chikungunya Virus.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging global pathogen with pandemic potential, which causes fever, rash and debilitating arthralgia. Older adults over 65 years are particularly susceptible to severe and chronic CHIKV disease (CHIKVD), accounting for >90% of all CHIKV-related deaths. There are currently no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments available to limit chronic CHIKVD.

The performance of the SD BIOLINE Dengue DUO® rapid immunochromatographic test kit for the detection of NS1 antigen, IgM and IgG antibodies during a dengue type 1 epidemic in Jamaica.

Background: Dengue is an important mosquito-borne viral infection that affects millions of persons worldwide. Early diagnosis is necessary to effect appropriate management and decrease mortality. Immunochromatographic tests are advantageous in producing dengue test results within 30 min but these results should be sensitive and specific.

Magnitude, distribution, and estimated level of underreporting of acute gastroenteritis in Jamaica.

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. The epidemiology of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is important to Jamaica, particularly in the areas of health, tourism, and because of the potential impact on the local workforce and the economy. Data collected by the National Surveillance Unit on the prevalence of AGE transmitted by food are not accurate.

Leptospirosis and malaria as causes of febrile illness during a dengue epidemic in Jamaica.

Background: Epidemics of febrile illnesses are often associated with rainy seasons in the tropics. During 2007-2008 an epidemic of dengue was identified in Jamaica based on serological testing of sera.

Methods: A subset of 3165 of 5400 sera submitted for dengue analysis was tested for Leptospira IgM and malaria IgG using ELISA to determine their role in causing epidemic fever.

Leptospirosis in suspected cases of dengue in Jamaica, 2002-2007.

Due to overlapping clinical features with other febrile illnesses, the diagnosis of leptospirosis is often overlooked, resulting in delay in treatment and increased mortality. In this study the prevalence of leptospirosis was determined in 590 patients with dengue-like illnesses using the Leptospira IgM dipstick and dengue enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Leptospira IgM antibodies were found in 27 (5.

Seroprevalence of dengue virus antibodies in healthy Jamaicans.

Dengue fever, a mosquito borne viral infection, is endemic to Jamaica. The seroprevalence of dengue IgG and IgM antibodies were determined in 277 healthy Jamaicans by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The seroprevalence of dengue IgG antibodies was 100% (277/277) while dengue IgM antibodies were found in 3.

Patterns of dengue virus IgM and IgG antibodies in suspected cases of dengue in Jamaica, 2003-2006.

The patterns of dengue immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG antibodies in patients presenting with dengue-like illnesses during 2003-2006 were investigated using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The seroprevalence of dengue antibodies, dengue IgM and dengue IgG antibodies were 59.4% (979/1647), 15.