Evaluating elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Suriname: a mixed method study.

Objectives: To evaluate the cascade of care for the elimination of mother-to-child-transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Suriname and identify sociodemographic and clinical factors preventing transmission to exposed infants.

Methods: A mixed-methods study design was used. Antenatal care data from the 2018 cross-sectional multi-indicator cluster survey on 1 026 women aged 15-49 years who had had a live birth in the previous 2 years were used.

Advocating for PCR-RFLP as molecular tool within malaria programs in low endemic areas and low resource settings.

The road to malaria elimination for low- and middle-income countries is paved with obstacles, including the complexity and high costs of advanced molecular methods for genomic analysis. The usefulness of PCR-RFLP as less complex and affordable molecular surveillance tool in low-endemic malaria regions was assessed in a cross-sectional study conducted in Suriname, currently striving for malaria elimination, but plagued by recent P. vivax outbreaks.

Reconstruction of outbreaks in a low malaria endemic setting utilizing conventional restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Suriname is on track to eliminate local malaria transmission. malaria reemerged in March and September 2019 in the Amerindian village Palumeu, free of malaria for two years and concurrently, a case was reported in another village Alalaparoe. The outbreaks were contained through targeted interventions including Mass Drug Administration (MDA).

First Assessment of Acquired HIV-1 Drug Resistance and Mutation Patterns in Suriname.

HIV drug resistance testing is fundamental in clinical patient management, but data on HIV-1 drug-resistant mutations (DRMs) is scarce in the Caribbean and in Suriname limited to one survey on transmitted resistance. The aim of this study was to address this gap, to gain insight in acquired HIV drug resistance (ADR) prevalence and mutation patterns, and to improve HIV-1 treatment outcome of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Suriname. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2018 through January 2019 among treatment-experienced PLHIV ( = 72), with either treatment failure or antiretroviral therapy restart.

Malaria serology data from the Guiana shield: first insight in IgG antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium malariae antigens in Suriname.

Background: Suriname has accomplished a steep decline in malaria burden, even reaching elimination levels. Plasmodium serology data are not available for Suriname and even extremely scarce within the region, therefore malaria serology testing was introduced, country customized cut-off values were determined and a study was performed to explore the antibody status for Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium malariae.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between July 2017 and March 2018 in two areas of the interior with different malaria settings: Stoelmanseiland, representing Maroon villages and Benzdorp, a gold mining area, with mostly Brazilian miners.

Epidemiology of respiratory viruses in patients with severe acute respiratory infections and influenza-like illness in Suriname.

Background: Influenza has been well studied in developed countries with temperate climates, in contrast to low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries, thus hampering the effort to attain representative global data. Furthermore, data on non-influenza respiratory infections are also limited. Insight in viral respiratory infections in Suriname, a tropical LMIC in South America, would contribute to improved local preventive measures and a better global understanding of respiratory viruses.

Archival, paleopathological and aDNA-based techniques in leprosy research and the case of Father Petrus Donders at the Leprosarium 'Batavia', Suriname.

Objective: We assessed whether Petrus Donders (died 1887), a Dutch priest who for 27 years cared for people with leprosy in the leprosarium Batavia, Suriname, had evidence of Mycobacterium (M.) leprae infection. A positive finding of M.

Primaquine double dose for 7 days is inferior to single-dose treatment for 14 days in preventing recurrent episodes in Suriname.

Background: Recurrent episodes of are caused by dormant liver stages of the parasite, which are not eradicated by choloroquine. Therefore, effective treatment also includes the use of primaquine (PQ). However, this secondary preventive therapy is often not effective, mostly due to poor adherence to the relatively long treatment course, justifying a comparative study of the efficacy of different durations of PQ treatment.

Molecular Profile of Malaria Drug Resistance Markers of Plasmodium falciparum in Suriname.

In Suriname, an artesunate monotherapy therapeutic efficacy trial was recently conducted to evaluate partial artemisinin resistance emerging in We genotyped the PfK13 propeller domain of in 40 samples as well as other mutations proposed to be associated with artemisinin-resistant mutants. We did not find any mutations previously associated with artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia, but we found fixed resistance mutations for chloroquine (CQ) and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Additionally, the PfCRT C350R mutation, associated with reversal of CQ resistance and piperaquine-selective pressure, was present in 62% of the samples.

Assessing parasite clearance during uncomplicated infection treated with artesunate monotherapy in Suriname.

Background: Artemisinin resistance in is suspected when the day 3 parasitemia is >10% when treated with artemisinin-based combination therapy or if >10% of patients treated with artemisinin-based combination therapy or artesunate monotherapy harbored parasites with half-lives ≥5 hours. Hence, a single-arm prospective efficacy trial was conducted in Suriname for uncomplicated infection treated with artesunate-based monotherapy for 3 days assessing day 3 parasitemia, treatment outcome after 28 days, and parasite half-life.

Methods: The study was conducted in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, from July 2013 until July 2014.

HIV-1 Genetic Diversity and Drug Resistance Mutations Among Treatment-Naive Adult Patients in Suriname.

The molecular epidemiologic profile of HIV-1 in Suriname was determined through protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) sequences obtained from HIV-1 strains collected from 100 drug-naive HIV-1-infected persons. Subtype determination revealed that most viruses were of subtype B (94.9%) in both PR and RT genomic regions, followed by B/D recombinants (5.

First Chikungunya Outbreak in Suriname; Clinical and Epidemiological Features.

Background: In June 2014, Suriname faced the first Chikungunya outbreak. Since international reports mostly focus on hospitalized patients, the least affected group, a study was conducted to describe clinical characteristics of mainly outpatients including children. In addition, the cumulative incidence of this first epidemic was investigated.

Variation in Plasmodium falciparum Histidine-Rich Protein 2 (Pfhrp2) and Plasmodium falciparum Histidine-Rich Protein 3 (Pfhrp3) Gene Deletions in Guyana and Suriname.

Guyana and Suriname have made important progress in reducing the burden of malaria. While both countries use microscopy as the primary tool for clinical diagnosis, malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are useful in remote areas of the interior where laboratory support may be limited or unavailable. Recent reports indicate that histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2)-based diagnostic tests specific for detection of P.

Gold mining areas in Suriname: reservoirs of malaria resistance?

Background: At present, malaria cases in Suriname occur predominantly in migrants and people living and/or working in areas with gold mining operations. A molecular survey was performed in Plasmodium falciparum isolates originating from persons from gold mining areas to assess the extent and role of mining areas as reservoirs of malaria resistance in Suriname.

Methods: The status of 14 putative resistance-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms in the pfdhfr, pfcrt, pfmdr1, and pfATP6 genes was assessed for 28 samples from gold miners diagnosed with P.

Evidence of an increased incidence of day 3 parasitaemia in Suriname: an indicator of the emerging resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to artemether.

The emerging resistance to artemisinin derivatives that has been reported in South-East Asia led us to assess the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine as the first line therapy for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections in Suriname. This drug assessment was performed according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization in 2011. The decreasing number of malaria cases in Suriname, which are currently limited to migrating populations and gold miners, precludes any conclusions on artemether efficacy because adequate numbers of patients with 28-day follow-up data are difficult to obtain.

Molecular surveillance as monitoring tool for drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Suriname.

The aim of this translational study was to show the use of molecular surveillance for polymorphisms and copy number as a monitoring tool to track the emergence and dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance. A molecular baseline for Suriname was established in 2005, with P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (pfcrt) and P.

Increased pfmdr1 copy number in Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Suriname.

Amplification of the pfmdr1 gene is associated with clinical failures and reduced in vivo and in vitro sensitivity to both mefloquine and artemether-lumefantrine in South-East Asia. Several African countries have reported the absence or very low prevalence of increased copy number, whilst South American reports are limited to Peru without and Venezuela with increased pfmdr1 multiplication. The relative pfmdr1 copy numbers were assessed in 68 isolates from Suriname collected from different endemic villages (2005) and from mining areas (2009).

Trends of influenza infection in Suriname.

The trends of influenza infection in Suriname were assessed from February 2010 through February 2011. Testing of 393 patients with symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI) revealed 15.3% Influenza B and 18.

Incidence of Alpha-Herpes virus induced ocular disease in Suriname.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection of the corneal stroma is the most prominent cause of scar formation impairing visual acuity and HSV keratitis is the leading cause of corneal opacity throughout the world. Suriname lacked test systems for microbial causes of ocular disease, therefore a polymerase chain reaction-based Herpes virus assay was introduced, enabling prompt recognition, and timely treatment, preventing progressive eye damage. The incidence and epidemiology of Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), type 2 (HSV-2), and varicella zoster virus (VZV) in ocular disease in Suriname was assessed.

Status of potential PfATP6 molecular markers for artemisinin resistance in Suriname.

Background: Polymorphisms within the PfATP6 gene have been indicated as potential molecular markers for artemisinin efficacy. Since 2004, the use of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) was introduced as first-line treatment of the uncomplicated malaria cases in Suriname. The aim of this research was to determine changes in Suriname in the status of the polymorphic markers in the PfATP6 gene before and after the adoption of the ACT-regimen, particularly of the S769N mutation, which was reported to be associated with in vitro Artemether resistance in the neighboring country French Guiana.