Among pregnant women with symptomatic, PCR-confirmed ZIKV infection, birth defects possibly associated with ZIKV infection were present in 7% of fetuses and infants. Defects occurred more frequently in fetuses and infants whose mothers had been infected early in pregnancy. Longer-term follow-up of infants is required to assess any manifestations not detected at birth. (Funded by the French Ministry of Health and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02916732 .).

BackgroundLittle is known about the effects of blood rheology on the occurrence of acute chest syndrome and painful vaso-occlusive crises in children with sickle cell anemia and hemoglobin SC disease. Design and MethodsTo address this issue, steady-state hemorheological profiles (blood viscosity, red blood cell deformability, aggregation properties) and hematologic parameters were assessed in 44 children with sickle cell anemia and 49 children with hemoglobin SC disease (8-16 years old) followed since birth. Clinical charts were retrospectively reviewed to determine prior acute chest syndrome or vaso-occlusive episodes, and rates of these complications were calculated. ResultsMultivariate analysis revealed that: 1) a higher steady-state blood viscosity was associated with a higher rate of vaso-occlusive crises in children with sickle cell anemia, but not in children with hemoglobin SC disease; 2) a higher steady-state red blood cell disaggregation threshold was associated with previous history of acute chest syndrome in children with hemoglobin SC disease and boys with sickle cell anemia. ConclusionsOur results indicate for the first time that the red blood cell aggregation properties may play a role in the pathophysiology of acute chest syndrome in children with hemoglobin SC disease and boys with sickle cell anemia. In addition, whereas greater blood viscosity is associated with a higher rate of vaso-occlusive crises in children with sickle cell anemia, no association was found in children with hemoglobin SC disease, underscoring differences in the etiology of vaso-occlusive crises between sickle cell anemia and hemoglobin SC disease.

During a 2014 outbreak, 450 patients with confirmed chikungunya virus infection were admitted to the University Hospital of Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. Of these, 110 were nonpregnant adults; 42 had severe disease, and of those, 25 had severe sepsis or septic shock and 12 died. Severe sepsis may be a rare complication of chikungunya virus infection.

Background. Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is classified as an indolent cutaneous lymphoma, but outcome dramatically worsens if LyP is associated with lymphoma. The frequency of this association remains unclear in the literature. Here, we assess the frequency and risk factors of association between LyP and another lymphoma in an 11-year retrospective study conducted in 8 dermatology departments belonging to the French Study Group on Cutaneous Lymphoma (FSGCL). Patients and Methods. Patients with LyP were identified and data extracted from the FSGCL registry between 1991 and 2006. Patients were followed up to January 2014. Age, sex, number of skin lesions, histologic subtype, and genotype were recorded at baseline. Risk factors were determined using univariate and multivariate analysis. Cumulative probability of association was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.