Etiology of Acute Febrile Illnesses in Adults in the Defense Community in French Guiana

Guillaume Velut Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées, Marseille, France;

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Franck de Laval Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées, Marseille, France;
Aix-Marseille Université, INSERM, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Economic and Social Sciences, Health Systems, and Medical Informatics, Marseille, France;

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Morgane Berry Centre Médical Interarmées de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana;

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Frédérique Dufour Gaume Centre Médical Interarmées de Kourou, Kourou, French Guiana;

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Nathalie André Direction Interarmées du Service de Santé des Forces Armées en Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana;

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Loïc Epelboin Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, et Centre d’investigation Clinique (CIC INSERM 1424), Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana;

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Anne Lavergne Laboratoire des Interactions Virus-Hôtes, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana;

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Antoine Enfissi Laboratoire de Virologie, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana;

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Felix Djossou Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, et Centre d’investigation Clinique (CIC INSERM 1424), Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana;

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Dominique Rousset Laboratoire de Virologie, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana;

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Sébastien Briolant Aix Marseille Université, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Service de Santé des Armées, Vecteurs – Infections Tropicales et Méditerranéennes, Marseille, France;
Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire – Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France;
Unité de Parasitologie Entomologie, Département de Microbiologie et Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France

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ABSTRACT.

In tropical countries, acute febrile illnesses represent a complex clinical problem for general practitioners. We describe the prevalence of different etiologies of acute febrile illnesses occurring among French service members and their families, excluding children, in general practice in French Guiana. From June 2017 to March 2020, patients with a fever ≥37.8°C with a duration of less than 15 days who sought medical care at the army medical centers in Cayenne and Kourou were prospectively enrolled. Based on clinical presentation, blood, urine, nasopharyngeal, and stool samples were collected for diagnostic testing for viruses, bacteria, and parasites (by direct examination, microscopic examination of blood smears, culture, serology, or polymerase chain reaction), and standardized biological tests were systematically performed. Among 175 patients retained for analysis, fever with nonspecific symptoms was predominant (46.9%), with 10 Plasmodium vivax malaria cases, 8 dengue infections, and 6 cases of Q fever. The second most frequent cause of acute febrile illness was upper respiratory tract infections (32.0%) due to influenza virus (n = 18) or human rhinovirus (n = 10). Among the causes of acute febrile illness in French Guiana, clinicians should first consider arboviruses and malaria, as well as Q fever in cases of elevated C-reactive protein with nonspecific symptoms and influenza in cases of signs and symptoms associated with upper respiratory tract infections. Despite an expanded microbiological search, the etiology of 51.4% of acute febrile illnesses remain unknown. Further investigations will be necessary to identify the etiology of acute febrile illnesses, including new pathogens, in French Guiana.

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Author Notes

Financial support: This research was funded by the Direction Centrale du Service de Santé des Armées under grant number 2015PPRC14. The funding sources of this study had no role in protocol and study design, data collection, analysis, or data interpretation.

Disclosure: This study, referred to as “Etude descriptive prospective et étiologique des fièvres au sein de la communauté de défense des Forces Armées en Guyane – 2FAG,” was reviewed and approved by the institutional research ethics board, Comité de Protection des Personnes Ile-de-France VI Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, and was registered on March 28, 2017 under number RCB: 2016-A01607-44. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Authors’ addresses: Guillaume Velut, Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées, Marseille, France, E-mail: gvelut@wanadoo.fr. Franck de Laval, Centre d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique des Armées, Marseille, France, and Aix-Marseille Université, INSERM, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Economic and Social Sciences, Health Systems, and Medical Informatics, Marseille, France, E-mail: f_de_laval@hotmail.com. Morgane Berry, Centre Médical Interarmées de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana, E-mail: morgane_berry@yahoo.fr. Frédérique Dufour Gaume, Centre Médical Interarmées de Kourou, Kourou, French Guiana, E-mail: frederique.dufour-gaume@intradef.gouv.fr. Nathalie André, Direction Interarmées du Service de Santé des Forces Armées en Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana, E-mail: nathalie.andre@intradef.gouv.fr. Loïc Epelboin and Felix Djossou, Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales, et Centre d’Investigation Clinique (CIC INSERM 1424), Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana, E-mails: epelboincrh@hotmail.fr and felix.djossou@orange.fr. Anne Lavergne, Laboratoire des Interactions Virus-Hôtes, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana, E-mail: alavergne@pasteur-cayenne.fr. Antoine Enfissi and Dominique Rousset, Laboratoire de Virologie, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana, E-mails: aenfissi@pasteur-cayenne.fr and drousset@pasteur-cayenne.fr. Sébastien Briolant, Aix Marseille Université, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, Service de Santé des Armées, Vecteurs – Infections Tropicales et Méditerranéennes, Marseille, France, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire – Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France, and Unité de Parasitologie Entomologie, Département de Microbiologie et Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France, E-mail: sbriolant@wanadoo.fr.

Address correspondence to Sébastien Briolant, Aile Recherche, Bureau 206, UPE-IRBA-SSA, IHU–Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Blvd. Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France. E-mail: sbriolant@wanadoo.fr
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