The Amazonian region meets favorable factors for the occurrence of viral epidemics and the emergence of new pathogens due to its high diversity of vectors and hosts, environmental perturbation, growing urbanization and increased contact between animals/vectors and human population. French Guiana is no exception to this rule, with regularly reported cases of diseases for which viral etiological agents (such as Mayaro, Oropouche or the yellow fever virus) are mainly of sylvatic origin with reservoirs such as primates, birds or rodents.
In French Guiana, some populations, such as the garimpeiros that are involved in illegal gold mining, are particularly exposed to these forest arboviruses. This precarious population remains far removed from the healthcare system. These migrants from Brazil live on remote sites, sometimes three or four days’ walk or by boat into the forest.
As part of the CUREMA project, which aims to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of a strategy to combat malaria in garimpeiros populations, the search for viral pathogens in a sub-population of symptomatic patients was initiated.
The objective of this study is to carry out an inventory of etiological viral agents that can be responsible of fever within garimperos population living in Forest. The secondary objective is to take advantage of this research to find new agents at risk of emergence.
In this project, 50 patients were included for whom classical diagnostic did not identify etiological agents (malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Mayaro, Oropouche etc…)
This will allow improving knowledge on viral agents circulating in rainforest in French Guiana and developing or adapting new diagnostic tools.
