We isolated a novel coronavirus from a medical team member presenting with fever and malaise after travel to Haiti. The virus showed 99.4% similarity with a recombinant canine coronavirus recently identified in a pneumonia patient in Malaysia, suggesting that infection with this virus and/or recombinant variants occurs in multiple locations.
Colonies of three strains of Aëdes aegypti resistant to DDT were obtained from Trinidad, Haiti and Malaya and reared beside a normal colony. From their relative resistance to a series of compounds analogous to DDT, characteristic resistance "spectra" were obtained. The two colonies from the West Indies showed a similar type of resistance, rather different from the (smaller) resistance of the Malay strain. No resistance to methoxychlor or dieldrin was found.
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 prevalence estimates are usually based on serological screening of blood donors, pregnant women, and other selected population groups. Previously, data on the global epidemiology of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection have been summarized unsystematically and without a focus on general populations. To assess the implications of the virus for healthcare systems it is essential to know its past and present prevalence. The widely cited estimate that 10-20 million people are infected with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 worldwide was calculated from data that are now 25 years old. This estimate may therefore no longer reflect the global epidemiology. The objective of this study was to collate published data that are truly representative of the general population through a systematic review of the literature. Fifty-nine relevant studies were identified and the 17 that met the inclusion criteria were all cross-sectional designs; none reported incidence. The prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 was highest in the two studies of Japanese islands (36.4%; 95% CI: 29.9-42.8) and lowest in studies from Mongolia, Malaysia and India. In Haiti the prevalence was 3.8% (95% CI: 1.78-5.86); in Africa between 6.6% (95% CI: 4.0-9.9) and 8.5% (95% CI: 6.99-10.10) in Gabon, and 1.05% (95% CI: 0.63-1.47) in Guinea. Only three studies were from West Africa and none were from the South; the only study from India was from the north of the country. We conclude that there is a paucity of general population data from countries in which human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 is endemic, and that new studies are required to reevaluate the global burden of infection.
Human coronavirus (HCoV) NL63 is recognized as a common cause of upper respiratory infections and influenza-like illness. In screening children with acute undifferentiated febrile illness in a school cohort in rural Haiti, we identified HCoV-NL63 in blood samples from four children. Cases clustered over an 11-day period; children did not have respiratory symptoms, but two had gastrointestinal complaints. On phylogenetic analysis, the Haitian HCoV-NL63 strains cluster together in a highly supported monophyletic clade linked most closely with recently reported strains from Malaysia; two respiratory HCoV-NL63 strains identified in north Florida in the same general period form a separate clade, albeit again with close linkages with the Malaysian strains. Our data highlight the variety of presentations that may be seen with HCoV-NL63, and underscore the apparent ease with which CoV strains move among countries, with our data consistent with recurrent introduction of strains into the Caribbean (Haiti and Florida) from Asia.