Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, School of Graduate Studies and Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, Department of Child Health, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, Epidemiology Research Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, Early Childhood Commission, Min...

Based on examination of the type specimens and additional material from various localities, Acinopus lepeletieri Lucas, 1846 is treated as a distinct species from Algeria and Tunisia, not as a synonym of A. sabulosus (Fabricius, 1792). The distinctive features of these two species and their distribution are described. The absence of any newly collected material of A. lepeletieri argues for the ...

The health-care needs and resources of disease-endemic regions such as west Africa have been a major focus during the recent Ebola outbreak. On the basis of that experience, we call attention to two priorities that have unfortunately been ignored thus far: 1) the development of clinical research facilities and 2) the training of host country investigators to ensure that the facilities and exper...

A dipstick immunochromatographic assay used for West Nile virus (WNV) detection in mosquitoes was investigated for application to testing of fecal, saliva, and tissue samples from dead American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). Results suggest that VecTest may be an efficient method for WNV detection in field-collected, dead American Crows, although confirmation of results and further investigatio...

An outbreak of encephalitis due to West Nile (WN) virus occurred in New York City and the surrounding areas during 1999. Mosquitoes were collected as part of a comprehensive surveillance program implemented to monitor the outbreak. More than 32,000 mosquitoes representing 24 species were tested, and 15 WN virus isolates were obtained. Molecular techniques were used to identify the species repre...

113 cases of infantile spasms were diagnosed in the period 1 April 1970 to 31 March 1975 after Denmark changed her immunization programme. Previously whooping cough vaccine was given as the triple combination at 5, 6, and 15 months of age. From 1 April 1970 it was given as a monovalent vaccine at 5 and 9 weeks of age and at 10 months of age. A comparison with previous material of 86 cases of in...

West Nile virus (WNV) has become established across the Americas with recent heightened activity causing significant human illness. Surveillance methods to predict the risk of human infection are urgently needed to initiate timely preventative measures and justify the expense of implementing costly or unpopular control measures, such as aerial spraying or curfews. We quantified the links betwee...

BACKGROUND The optimal method for early prediction of human West Nile virus (WNV) infection risk remains controversial. We analyzed the predictive utility of risk factor data for human WNV over a six-year period in Connecticut. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Using only environmental variables or animal sentinel data was less predictive than a model that considered all variables. In the final parsimon...

West Nile virus (WNV) is endemic in the Po valley area, Northern Italy, and within the legal framework of the national plan for the surveillance of human vector-borne diseases, WNV surveillance has over time been implemented. The surveillance plans are based on the transdisciplinary and trans-sectorial collaboration between regional institutions involved in public, animal, and environmental hea...

Three species of Caribbomerus Vitali are newly recorded for the Dominican Republic: Caribbomerus decoratus (Zayas), Caribbomerus elongatus (Fisher), and Caribbomerus asperatus (Fisher). The first two also represent first records for Hispaniola. Caribbomerus elongatus (Fisher) is redescribed based on additional material, including the first known males. Caribbomerus similis (Fisher) is newly rec...