Cricket World Cup: a stress test for the surveillance system in the Caribbean.

Objective: To describe the development and implementation of and major findings and recommendations from, a regional mass gathering surveillance system (MGSS) in support of the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007.

Methods: The regional MGSS was developed by the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and its member countries as an adaptation of the routine communicable disease surveillance system in order to rapidly detect unusual disease events during the tournament. The implementation of the MGSS required the identification of additional human and financial resources, capacity building activities, laboratory strengthening, and improved global epidemic surveillance and communication mechanisms.

Characterization of HIV type 1 clades in the Caribbean using pol gene sequences.

To date, 11 HIV-1 M group clades, A to K, have been characterized, displaying different distributions, prevalences, and biological properties. Approximately 90% of new HIV-1 infections occur in developing countries, including the Caribbean. However, information on HIV-1 subtypes from this region is limited.

The sexual behaviour of youth in Tobago. A report on the development of a health promotion project.

The development of a health promotion project to meet the sexual health needs of youth in Tobago is described. Quantitative and qualitative research was conducted by and with young people, followed by a process of feedback and consultation with adult and youth stakeholders. Key results of the sexual health research are presented.

American cutaneous leishmaniasis in Guyana, South America.

The 185 patients who presented at the dermatology clinic of Georgetown Public Hospital, Guyana, between 1992 and 1998, with skin ulcers indicative of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) were retrospectively reviewed. The laboratory-confirmed cases of ACL were identified and the corresponding data were analysed for risk factors such as age, gender, areas of residence and of possible exposure to the causative agent (Leishmania braziliensis guyanensis), ethnic origin, longevity of the ulcers, and treatment regimes prior to the definitive diagnosis. Eighty-one (43%) of the 185 subjects were confirmed to be infected with Le.

Evaluation of Caribbean strains of Macrocyclops and Mesocyclops (Cyclopoida:Cyclopidae) as biological control tools for the dengue vector Aedes aegypti.

Fifteen Caribbean strains of copepods were assessed for their predation ability against mosquito larvae. Macrocyclops albidus from Nariva. Mesocyclops aspericornis from Oropouche, and Mesocyclops longisetus from E1 Socorro, Trinidad, were most effective against Aedes aegypti but not against Culex quinquefasciatus.

Back-projection and sensitivity analysis of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean.

In this study we estimated past human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence in 19 nations in the primarily English-speaking Caribbean and projected the course of the epidemic to the year 1999. We compared the results obtained from several different models of HIV incidence and different assumed incubation distributions. Linear and nonlinear optimization methods were used to fit several models (power, logistic, spline, and step) to adult (age 15 years or older) AIDS incidence data derived from our existing surveillance system.

Resistance in some Caribbean populations of Aedes aegypti to several insecticides.

Thirty-four strains of Aedes aegypti larvae from 17 Caribbean countries were bioassayed for sensitivity to temephos, malathion, fenitrothion, fenthion, and chlorpyrifos. There were fairly high levels of resistance in Tortola (10-12-fold resistance) and Antigua (6-9-fold resistance) strains to temephos and to fenthion (Tortola, 7-10-fold; Antigua, 6-10-fold resistance). Most other strains showed some resistance to malathion, fenitrothion, and chlorpyrifos, but only moderate levels.

Evaluation of methods for the laboratory diagnosis of malaria in Guyana.

When 297 blood samples taken from patients attending a fever clinic in Georgetown Public Hospital were examined microscopically, after thick and thin blood films had been stained with Giemsa, one hundred and forty-two (47.8%) were microscopically positive for malaria. After processing the patient's serum, samples by the Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFA) technique, specific IgG and IgM antibodies were detected in 239 (81.

Laboratory colonization and maintenance of Toxorhynchites moctezuma.

A colony of Toxorhynchites moctezuma was established at the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre in Trinidad in 1984. Toxorhynchites moctezuma was maintained in cages with high humidities. Eggs were deposited most frequently in a cut bicycle tire containing water.

Effects of single introduction of Toxorhynchites moctezuma upon Aedes aegypti on a Caribbean Island.

In March 1989, first instar Toxorhynchites moctezuma larvae were introduced into all potential Aedes aegypti oviposition sites (n = 214) that contained water in the village of Clifton on Union Island in St. Vincent and The Grenadines. One month after this introduction, the mean number of adult Ae.