Publications by authors named "Jean-Paul Gonzalez"

The degree of anaemia in sickle cell disease (SCD) is a well-known contributor to morbidity and mortality. We aimed to explore the factors affecting haemoglobin (Hb) level in African SCD patients, considering haemolysis biomarkers (LDH and bilirubin level, and reticulocyte count), leucocyte and platelet counts and socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age group, country of residence and BMI). The research was part of the CADRE multinational cohort and involved 3699 SCD patients living in Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Cameroon: 2936 SS/Sβ0, 587 SC and 176 Sβ + patients with median Hb level of 8, 11.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A study in Punjab, Pakistan, assessed the prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria in wild aquatic birds and chickens by analyzing 280 samples, confirming 34.64% were ESBL producers, with the highest rates found in chickens (44.28%).
  • * Researchers identified five types of ESBL-producing bacteria using genetic sequencing and found a range of ESBL genes present, including genetic combinations in a minority of isolates, indicating genetic diversity among the bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

is a family for ambisense RNA viruses with genomes of about 10.5 kb that infect mammals, snakes, and fish. The arenavirid genome consists of two or three single-stranded RNA segments and encodes a nucleoprotein (NP), a glycoprotein (GP) and a large (L) protein containing RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP) domains; some arenavirids encode a zinc-binding protein (Z).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • In April 2023, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) approved changes to the phylum's classification during their annual vote.
  • The update included the addition of one new family, 14 new genera, and 140 new species.
  • Additionally, the taxonomy featured the renaming of two genera and 538 species, along with the removal of one species and the abolition of four others.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, is a widespread zoonotic disease with many human cases, especially in developing countries. Even with its global distribution, anthrax is a neglected disease with scarce information about its actual impact on the community level. Due to the ecological dynamics of anthrax transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface, the Sub-Saharan Africa region becomes a high-risk zone for maintaining and acquiring the disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * It was expanded to include two new families, 41 new genera, and 98 new species, along with reclassifications for 349 species.
  • * The article details the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota, including corrections of misspelled names for seven species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic toll worldwide on the populations but also has been essentially supported by the existing public health system, particularly hospital-based emergency wards and intensive care units. In France, the first cases were identified on the 24th of January 2020. The first epidemic sprout emerged in the Eastern part of the country and spread in two weeks towards the center to the Paris-region where it peaked on the 14th of April 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

For more than two years after the emergence of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease-2019), significant regional differences in morbidity persist. These differences clearly show lower incidence rates in several regions of the African and Asian continents. The work reported here aimed to test the hypothesis of a pre-pandemic natural immunity acquired by some human populations in central and western Africa, which would, therefore, pose the hypothesis of an original antigenic sin with a virus antigenically close to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Monkeypox (MPX) is an emergent severe zoonotic disease resembling that of smallpox. To date, most cases of human MPX have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the number of cases has increased steadily in the DRC over the last 30 years, the environmental risk factors that drive the spatiotemporal dynamics of MPX transmission remain poorly understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - In March 2021, the ICTV updated the phylum Negarnaviricota by officially ratifying new taxonomy changes.
  • - The revision included the addition of four families, three subfamilies, 42 genera, and 200 species, along with several renaming and abolishing of species.
  • - This article outlines the newly accepted taxonomic structure of Negarnaviricota following the ICTV's decisions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Prior to the first recorded outbreak of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Uganda, in March 2016, earlier studies done until the 1970's indicated the presence of the RVF virus (RVFV) in the country, without any recorded outbreaks in either man or animals. While severe outbreaks of RVF occurred in the neighboring countries, none were reported in Uganda despite forecasts that placed some parts of Uganda at similar risk. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) undertook studies to determine the RVF sero-prevalence in risk prone areas.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

When the population risk factors and reporting systems are similar, the assessment of the case-fatality (or lethality) rate (ratio of cases to deaths) represents a perfect tool for analyzing, understanding and improving the overall efficiency of the health system. The objective of this article is to estimate the influence of the hospital care system on lethality in metropolitan France during the inception of the COVID-19 epidemic, by analyzing the spatial variability of the hospital case-fatality rate (CFR) between French districts. In theory, the hospital age-standardized CFR should not display significant differences between districts, since hospital lethality depends on the virulence of the pathogen (the SARS-CoV-2 virus), the vulnerability of the population (mainly age-related), the healthcare system quality, and cases and deaths definition and the recording accuracy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • In March 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) made updates to the taxonomic classification of the phylum Negarnaviricota.
  • The revisions included adding 20 new genera, deleting 2, moving 1, and renaming 3 at the genus level, along with significant changes at the species level, such as adding 160 species.
  • The article provides the latest accepted taxonomy for Negarnaviricota as ratified by the ICTV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Rabies is a deadly preventable viral disease that affects all warm-blooded animals and widespread in many regions including Africa. The disease remains of major public health importance in Uganda. The purpose of this study was to establish Knowledge, Attitude, Practice (KAP) of Rabies in Moyo and Ntoroko districts and to characterize Rabies virus (RABV) strains from seven districts of Uganda with consistent prevalence of rabies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Monkeypox is a viral disease with a clinical presentation resembling that of smallpox. Although monkeypox is considered to be an important zoonotic viral disease, its epidemiology remains poorly understood, especially the spatial and temporal distribution of the disease. The present study examined weekly reports of monkeypox cases collected from 2000 to 2015 at the health zone scale in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Members of the family Arenaviridae produce enveloped virions containing genomes consisting of two or three single-stranded RNA segments totalling about 10.5 kb. Arenaviruses can infect mammals, including humans and other primates, snakes, and fish.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In recent years, it has become evident that a generational gap has developed in the community of arbovirus research. This apparent gap is due to the dis-investment of training for the next generation of arbovirologists, which threatens to derail the rich history of virus discovery, field epidemiology, and understanding of the richness of diversity that surrounds us. On the other hand, new technologies have resulted in an explosion of virus discovery that is constantly redefining the virosphere and the evolutionary relationships between viruses.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa has produced a large amount of data on participating countries, and in particular on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These data are increasingly considered as unevaluable and, therefore, as requiring a rigorous process of validation before they can be used for research or public health purposes. The aim of this study was to propose a method to assess the level of adequacy of IDSR morbidity data in reflecting actual morbidity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A total of 11 new genera and 77 new species were also added, while one species was deleted and two species were merged.
  • * The article provides the revised taxonomy of Bunyavirales as recognized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Human monkeypox has reappeared in Sierra Leone after 44 years without reported cases.
  • The recent victims include an 11-month-old boy and a 35-year-old man.
  • This resurgence highlights the importance of renewed vigilance and awareness regarding monkeypox and its symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In October 2018, the order Bunyavirales was amended by inclusion of the family Arenaviridae, abolishment of three families, creation of three new families, 19 new genera, and 14 new species, and renaming of three genera and 22 species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Bunyavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is classified as viral hemorrhagic fever and is endemic in East and West Africa. RVF is caused by an arthropod borne virus (RVFV); the disease is zoonotic and affects human, animal health as well as international trade. In livestock it causes abortions, while human infection occurs through close contact with infected animals or animal products.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ebola virus (EBOV) is a negative-strand RNA virus that replicates in the cytoplasm and causes an often-fatal hemorrhagic fever. EBOV, like other viruses, can reportedly encode its own microRNAs (miRNAs) to subvert host immune defenses. miRNAs are short noncoding RNAs that can regulate gene expression by hybridizing to multiple mRNAs, and viral miRNAs can enhance viral replication and infectivity by regulating host or viral genes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF