Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: Histoplasmosis is an endemic fungal infection in French Guiana. It is the most common AIDS-defining illness and the leading cause of AIDS-related deaths. Diagnosis is difficult, but in the past 2 decades, it has improved in this French overseas territory which offers an interesting model of Amazonian pathogen ecology. The objectives of the present study were to describe the temporal trends of incidence and mortality indicators for HIV-associated histoplasmosis in French Guiana. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to describe early mortality rates observed in persons diagnosed with incident cases of HIV-associated Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum histoplasmosis admitted in one of the three main hospitals in French Guiana between 1992 and 2011. Early mortality was defined by death occurring within 30 days after antifungal treatment initiation. Data were collected on standardized case report forms and analysed using standard statistical methods. RESULTS: There were 124 deaths (45.3%) and 46 early deaths (16.8%) among 274 patients. Three time periods of particular interest were identified: 1992-1997, 1998-2004 and 2005-2011. The two main temporal trends were: the proportion of early deaths among annual incident histoplasmosis cases significantly declined four fold (χ2, p<0.0001) and the number of annual incident histoplasmosis cases increased three fold between 1992-1997 and 1998-2004, and subsequently stabilized. CONCLUSION: From an occasional exotic diagnosis, AIDS-related histoplasmosis became the top AIDS-defining event in French Guiana. This was accompanied by a spectacular decrease of early mortality related to histoplasmosis, consistent with North American reference center mortality rates. The present example testifies that rapid progress could be at reach if awareness increases and leads to clinical and laboratory capacity building in order to diagnose and treat this curable disease.
ISSN: 1935-2727

inserm-01065109
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01065109
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01065109/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01065109/file/PLOS_Neglected_Tropical_Dis_2014.pdf
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01065109/file/2014_Adenis_-_HIV-associated_histoplasmosis_early_mor.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
: In South America, disseminated histoplasmosis due to Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum (H. capsulatum), is a severe and frequent opportunistic infection in AIDS patients. In areas outside the USA where specific-Histoplasma antigen detection is not available, the diagnosis is difficult. With the galactomannan antigen (GM) detection, a test commonly used for invasive aspergillosis diagnosis, there is a cross-reactivity with H. capsulatum that can be helpful for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the GM detection for the diagnosis of disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS patients. The performance of the GM detection was evaluated with serum collected in French Guiana where H. capsulatum is highly endemic. Sera from AIDS patients with disseminated histoplasmosis occurring from 2002 to 2009 and from control HIV-positive patients without histoplasmosis were tested with the GM detection and Histoplasma-specific antibody detection (IEP). In 39 AIDS patients with proven disseminated histoplasmosis, the sensitivity of the Histoplasma IEP was only 35.9% and was linked to the TCD4+ lymphocyte level. For the GM detection, the sensitivity (Se) was 76.9% and specificity (Sp) was 100% with the recommended threshold for aspergillosis diagnosis (0.5). The test was more efficient with a threshold of 0.4 (Se: 0.82 [95% CI: 0.66-0.92], Sp: 1.00 [95% CI: 0.86-1.00], LR+: >10, LR-: 0.18). This study confirms that the GM detection can be a surrogate marker for the diagnosis of disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS patients in endemic areas where Histoplasma EIA is not available.
ISSN: 1438-4221

inserm-01065096
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01065096
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01065096/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01065096/file/2014_Iriart_-_Complementary_tool_for_managementsur histo_infections_in_AID.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.ijmm.2014.07.016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
We carried out a soil sampling survey in September 2008 in central Cayenne, French Guiana, using molecular methods to assess the presence of the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. Four of the 31 samples collected (12.9 %) tested positive by PCR, with confirmation of the result by DNA sequencing. H. capsulatum is therefore present in urban environments in French Guiana. These results provide additional support for the primary prophylaxis of AIDS-related histoplasmosis in French Guiana
ISSN: 0301-486X

hal-01349668
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01349668
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01349668/file/Article%20Histo%20Cayenne%20R2.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s11046-012-9550-y

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Society of Hematology
Résumé : International audience
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated disseminated Histoplasma capsulatum capsulatum infection often mimics tuberculosis. This disease is well know in the United States but is dramatically underdiagnosed in Central and South America. In the Amazon region, given the available incidence data and the regional HIV prevalence, it is expected that, every year, 1,500 cases of histoplasmosis affect HIV patients in that region alone. Given the mortality in undiagnosed patients, at least 600 patients would be expected to die from an undiagnosed but treatable disease. The lack of a simple diagnostic tool and the lack of awareness by clinicians spiral in a vicious cycle and made a major problem invisible for 30 years. The HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome community should tackle this problem now to prevent numerous avoidable deaths from HIV-associated histoplasmosis in the region and elsewhere.
ISSN: 0006-4971

inserm-00913874
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00913874
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00913874/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00913874/file/2013_Nacher_-_How_many_have_died_from_undiagnosed_histoplasmosis.pdf
DOI : 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0226

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Fungi are major contributors to the opportunistic infections that affect patients with HIV/AIDS. Systemic infections are mainly with Pneumocystis jirovecii (pneumocystosis), Cryptococcus neoformans (cryptococcosis), Histoplasma capsulatum (histoplasmosis), and Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei (talaromycosis). The incidence of systemic fungal infections has decreased in people with HIV in high-income countries because of the widespread availability of antiretroviral drugs and early testing for HIV. However, in many areas with high HIV prevalence, patients present to care with advanced HIV infection and with a low CD4 cell count or represent with persistent low CD4 cell counts because of poor adherence, resistance to antiretroviral drugs, or both. Affordable, rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests (as have been developed for cryptococcosis) are urgently needed for pneumocystosis, talaromycosis, and histoplasmosis. Additionally, antifungal drugs, including amphotericin B, liposomal amphotericin B, and flucytosine, need to be much more widely available. Such measures, together with continued international efforts in education and training in the management of fungal disease, have the potential to improve patient outcomes substantially.
ISSN: 1473-3099

inserm-01574426
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01574426
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01574426/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-01574426/file/2017%2C%20Limper%20-%20Fungal%20infections%20in%20HIV%20AIDS.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30303-1