Congenital heart defects in La Réunion Island: a 6-year survey within a EUROCAT-affiliated congenital anomalies registry.

Objectives: This study compares the prevalence and perinatal mortality of congenital heart defects on La Réunion with European (EUROCAT) standards.

Methods And Results: Data were extracted from a EUROCAT-affiliated congenital malformations registry, covering 88,025 births during the period 2002-2007, on the whole island territory. A total of 512 congenital heart defects were registered, including 424 live births, 18 foetal deaths from 16 weeks of gestation, and 70 terminations of pregnancy.

Multidisciplinary prospective study of mother-to-child chikungunya virus infections on the island of La Réunion.

Background: An outbreak of chikungunya virus affected over one-third of the population of La Réunion Island between March 2005 and December 2006. In June 2005, we identified the first case of mother-to-child chikungunya virus transmission at the Groupe Hospitalier Sud-Réunion level-3 maternity department. The goal of this prospective study was to characterize the epidemiological, clinical, biological, and radiological features and outcomes of all the cases of vertically transmitted chikungunya infections recorded at our institution during this outbreak.

A mouse model for Chikungunya: young age and inefficient type-I interferon signaling are risk factors for severe disease.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging arbovirus responsible for a massive outbreak currently afflicting the Indian Ocean region and India. Infection from CHIKV typically induces a mild disease in humans, characterized by fever, myalgia, arthralgia, and rash. Cases of severe CHIKV infection involving the central nervous system (CNS) have recently been described in neonates as well as in adults with underlying conditions.

[Early maternal-fetal transmission of the Chikungunya virus].

Introduction: Since the onset of the Chikungunya outbreak in Reunion Island, vertical maternal-fetal transmission of the virus has been observed in newborns, but no such transmission has been demonstrated early during pregnancy. We report here the first three cases of maternal-fetal transmission of the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) before 16 weeks' gestational age.

Cases: Maternal infections occurred at terms of 12 weeks and 4 days, 15 weeks and 5 days, and 15 weeks and were confirmed by positive findings for specific anti-CHIKV IgM.