Molecular and serological investigation of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in dogs in French Guiana.

Clinical cases of Chagas disease, an infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, have been recently described in humans and dogs in French Guiana, a French overseas department located in South America. Elsewhere in endemic countries for this disease, cases of asymptomatic infections have been described. We performed a prevalence survey of the infection in dogs in Cayenne and Kourou, the main cities of French Guiana.

Serotyping of Toxoplasma gondii: striking homogeneous pattern between symptomatic and asymptomatic infections within Europe and South America.

Field isolates of Toxoplasma gondii in Europe and North America have been grouped into three clonal lineages that display different virulence in mice. Whether the genetic structure of the parasite is related to clinical expression in humans has not yet been demonstrated. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay which uses lineage-specific, polymorphic polypeptides derived from the dense granule antigens, GRA5 and GRA6.

Safety of mefloquine in infants with acute falciparum malaria.

We evaluated retrospectively the safety of mefloquine (25 mg/kg) for the curative treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 26 infants weighing <15 kg and managed during a 5-year period. Side effects were recorded in 30.8% of patients and consisted chiefly of mild and transient gastrointestinal symptoms.

Histoplasmosis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: a study of prognostic factors.

We aimed to identify prognostic factors for AIDS-associated disseminated histoplasmosis. In a multivariate analysis, we found that dyspnea, a platelet count of <100,000 platelets/mm3, and lactate dehydrogenase levels of >2 times the upper limit of the normal range were significantly independently associated with the death of the patient during the first 30 days of antifungal treatment.