Evidence of multiple introductions of beak and feather disease virus into the Pacific islands of Nouvelle-Calédonie (New Caledonia)

Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) is a circular ssDNA virus that causes psittacine beak and feather disease and has almost global presence. Here, we report for the first time the presence of in Nouvelle-Calédonie (New Caledonia). One hundred and sixty-eight exotic and 79 endemic birds were sampled in Nouvelle-Calédonie, 26 were found to be positive for BFDV. We characterized the full genomes of 26 isolates and phylogenetic analysis placed nine of the isolates into the BFDV-J strain, with the remaining 17 isolates from Deplanche’s Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus deplanchii) forming a novel strain, BFDV-P. Of more concern was the discovery of an infected bird from the vulnerable and endemic New Caledonian Parakeet (Cyanoramphus saisseti). Our results reveal that there have been at least two introductions of BFDV into Nouvelle-Calédonie.

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Antibiotic Resistance in Pacific Island Countries and Territories: A Systematic Scoping Review

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics8010029 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 29 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nicola Foxlee ◽

Nicola Townell ◽

Lachlan McIver ◽

Colleen Lau

Keyword(s):

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Policy Development ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

New Caledonia ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Middle Income ◽

Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase ◽

Healthcare Settings ◽

The Pacific ◽

Future Policy

Several studies have investigated antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries, but to date little attention has been paid to the Pacific Islands Countries and Territories (PICTs). This study aims to review the literature on antibiotic resistance (ABR) in healthcare settings in PICTs to inform further research and future policy development for the region. Following the PRISMA-ScR checklist health databases and grey literature sources were searched. Three reviewers independently screened the literature for inclusion, data was extracted using a charting tool and the results were described and synthesised. Sixty-five studies about ABR in PICTs were identified and these are primarily about New Caledonia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Ten PICTs contributed the remaining 21 studies and nine PICTs were not represented. The predominant gram-positive pathogen reported was community-acquired methicillin resistant S. aureus and the rates of resistance ranged widely (>50% to <20%). Resistance reported in gram-negative pathogens was mainly associated with healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing K. pneumoniae isolates were reported in New Caledonia (3.4%) and Fiji (22%) and carbapenem resistant A. baumannii (CR-ab) isolates in the French Territories (24.8%). ABR is a problem in the PICTs, but the epidemiology requires further characterisation. Action on strengthening surveillance in PICTs needs to be prioritised so strategies to contain ABR can be fully realised.

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Extensive recombination detected among beak and feather disease virus isolates from breeding facilities in Poland

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/vir.0.050179-0 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 94 (5) ◽

pp. 1086-1095 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Laurel Julian ◽

Tomasz Piasecki ◽

Klaudia Chrząstek ◽

Matthew Walters ◽

Brejnev Muhire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Virus ◽

Captive Breeding ◽

Close Association ◽

European Continent ◽

Multiple Introductions ◽

The Past ◽

Parrot Species ◽

High Degree ◽

Feather Disease Virus ◽

Virus Isolates

Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) causes the highly contagious, in some cases fatal, psittacine beak and feather disease in parrots. The European continent has no native parrots, yet in the past has been one of the world’s biggest importers of wild-caught exotic parrot species. Following the banning of this practice in 2007, the demand for exotic pet parrots has largely been met by established European breeding facilities, which can also supply buyers outside Europe. However, the years of unregulated importation have provided numerous opportunities for BFDV to enter Europe, meaning the likelihood of birds within captive breeding facilities being BFDV positive is high. This study examined the BFDV status of such facilities in Poland, a country previously shown to have BFDV among captive birds. A total of 209 birds from over 50 captive breeding facilities across Poland were tested, and 43 birds from 18 different facilities tested positive for BFDV. The full BFDV genomes from these 43 positive birds were determined, and phylogenetic analysis revealed that these samples harboured a relatively high degree of diversity and that they were highly recombinant. It is evident that there have been multiple introductions of BFDV into Poland over a long period of time, and the close association of different species of birds in the captive environment has probably facilitated the evolution of new BFDV strains through recombination.

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Tabanidae of the Samoan Islands

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s0007485300019404 ◽

1927 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 315-316 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eustace W. Ferguson

Keyword(s):

Pacific Islands ◽

New Caledonia ◽

The Pacific ◽

The Family ◽

New Hebrides ◽

The Phoenix

So far no species of this family of Diptera have been described or recorded from the Samoan Islands. The acquisition of a species of Tabanus by Dr. P. A. Buxton and Mr. G. H. E. Hopkins is therefore of great interest.The Tabanidae of the Pacific Islands undoubtedly form an eastward extension of the family from Papua through Melanesia to Fiji ; various species are known from the Solomons, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, the Loyalties and Fiji, but the family is unrecorded from Tonga or islands to the eastward of Samoa. The Tabanidae thus represent a Papuo-Melanesian element in the Polynesian fauna. It might be mentioned here that two species of Tabanus, T. sidneyensis and T. nigriventris, were described by Macquart from “ Sidney Island,” which has been supposed to be Sidney Island in the Phoenix group. This locality is certainly erroneous ; most of the Diptera described as coming from there are known now to be common Australian forms and these two species are in all probability also Australian. The only other species recorded from Polynesia proper is T. insularis, Walker, described from the Sandwich Islands ; this record is also certainly wrong, since the group is not known to occur in these islands, of which the fauna has been extensively collected.

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TOWARDS A FLORA OF NEW GUINEA: OLEACEAE. PART 1. JASMINUM, LIGUSTRUM, MYXOPYRUM AND OLEA.

REINWARDTIA ◽

10.14203/reinwardtia.v19i1.3799 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 1-25

Author(s):

Ruth Kiew

Keyword(s):

Papua New Guinea ◽

Endemic Species ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

New Caledonia ◽

New Guinea ◽

The Philippines ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Far North ◽

Coastal Species ◽

The Pacific

KIEW, R. 2020. Towards a Flora of New Guinea: Oleaceae. Part 1. Jasminum, Ligustrum, Myxopyrum and Olea. Reinwardtia 19(1): 1‒25. ‒‒ Oleaceae in New Guinea is represented by five genera and about 32 species, namely Chionanthus (about 16 species), Jasminum (10 species), Ligustrum (3 species), Myxopyrum (2 species) and Olea (1 species). A key to genera as well as descriptions of and keys to species of Jasminum, Ligustrum, Myxopyrum and Olea are provided. Of the three Ligustrum species, L. glomeratum is widespread throughout Malesia, L. novoguineense is endemic and L. parvifolium Kiew is a new endemic species. Six species of Jasminum are endemic (J. domatiigerum, J. gilgianum, J. magnificum, J. papuasicum, J. pipolyi and J. rupestre). Jasminum turneri just reaches the northern tip of Australia; of the two species from the Pacific Islands J. simplicifolium subsp. australiense just reaches SE Papua New Guinea and J. didymum, a coastal species, reaches into Malesia as far north as E Java; J. elongatum is widespread from Asia to Australia. Neither Myxopyrum species is endemic: M. nervosum subsp. nervosum extends from Peninsular Malaysia to Indonesian New Guinea, and M. ovatum from the Philippines to the Admiralty Islands. The sole species of Olea, O. paniculata, stretches from Java to Australia and New Caledonia.

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The goblin spider genus Opopaea in Australia and the Pacific islands (Araneae: Oonopidae)

Memoirs of the Queensland Museum - Nature ◽

10.17082/j.2204-1478.58.2013.2013-11 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 58 ◽

pp. 107-338

Author(s):

Barbara Baehr ◽

◽

Mark Harvey ◽

H.M. Smith ◽

R. Ott ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pacific Islands ◽

New Records ◽

New Caledonia ◽

New South ◽

South Australia ◽

New Combination ◽

Australian Species ◽

South Wales ◽

The Pacific ◽

New Synonymy

The widespread and highly diverse goblin spider genus Opopaea Simon is a pantropical genus with biodiversity hotspots in Africa, Asia and Australia. We revise the Australian and Pacific species of the genus, provide redescriptions of the Australian species O. banksi (Hickman) and the Micronesian species O. foveolata Roewer, and new records of the pantropical O. deserticola Simon and O. concolor (Blackwall), as well as O. apicalis (Simon) which is newly transferred from Epectris, after the new synonymy of Epectris with Opopaea. The following species are provisionally transferred from Epectris to Opopaea, pending investigations into their generic affinities: O. conujaingensis (Xu), new combination from China; and O. mollis (Simon), new combination from Sri Lanka. Most Pacific Islands are inhabited by the four above-mentioned species but the following 15 newly described species are most likely native to the islands: from Fiji (O. fiji), Hawaii (O. hawaii), Palau (O. palau), New Caledonia (O. amieu, O. bicolor, O. burwelli, O. calcaris, O. goloboffi, O. monteithi, O. ndoua, O. platnicki, O. raveni, O. striata, O. touho, O. tuberculata). We treat the Australian Opopaea fauna and recognise 84 species including 71 new and 13 previously described species. The new Australian species include 21 species from New South Wales (O. acuminata, O. addsae, O. bushblitz, O. gerstmeieri, O. lebretoni, O. linea (also occurs in Queensland), O. magna, O. margaretehoffmannae, O. martini, O. michaeli, O. milledgei, O. nitens, O. ottoi, O. plana, O. simplex, O. sturt, O. suelewisae, O. sylvestrella, O. tenuis, O. ursulae, O. yorki); six from Northern Territory (O. ephemera, O. fishriver, O. gilliesi, O. johardingae, O. preecei, O. wongalara); 13 from Queensland (O. ameyi, O. brisbanensis, O. broadwater, O. carnarvon, O. carteri, O. chrisconwayi, O. douglasi, O. lambkinae, O. leichhardti, O. mcleani, O. proserpine, O. stanisici, O. ulrichi); three from South Australia (O. millbrook, O. mundy, O. stevensi); and 28 from Western Australia (O. aculeata, O. aurantiaca, O. billroth, O. callani, O. cowra, O. durranti, O. exoculata, O. flava, O. fragilis, O. framenaui, O. gracilis, O. gracillima, O. harmsi, O. johannae, O. julianneae, O. marangaroo, O. millstream, O. nadineae, O. pallida, O. pannawonica, O. pilbara, O. rixi, O. robusta, O. rugosa, O. subtilis, O. triangularis, O. wheelarra, O. whim). New records are provided for O. sown Baehr. Seven area-based keys to species are provided.

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A Review on Viruses Infecting Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott)

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens8020056 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 56 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mohd Shakir Mohamad Yusop ◽

Mohd Faiz Mat Saad ◽

Noraini Talip ◽

Syarul Nataqain Baharum ◽

Hamidun Bunawan

Keyword(s):

Disease Management ◽

Mosaic Virus ◽

Disease Virus ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Virus Infections ◽

The Pacific ◽

The World ◽

The Relationship ◽

Taro Bacilliform Virus

Taro is an important crop in parts of the world, especially in the Pacific Islands. Like all plants, it is also susceptible to virus infections that could result in diseases, which negatively affects the source of food and trade revenue. Understanding the biology of taro viruses could improve current knowledge regarding the relationship between viruses and taro, thus allowing for a better approach towards the management of the diseases that are associated with them. By compiling and discussing the research on taro and its four major viruses (Dasheen mosaic virus, Taro bacilliform virus, Colocasia bobone disease virus, and Taro vein chlorosis virus) and a relatively new one (Taro bacilliform CH virus), this paper explores the details of each virus by examining their characteristics and highlighting information that could be used to mitigate taro infections and disease management.

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The Kanak Awakening: The Rise of Nationalism in New Caledonia by David A. Chappell, and: Winding Up the British Empire in the Pacific Islands by W. David McIntyre

Journal of World History ◽

10.1353/jwh.2016.0038 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 387-394

Author(s):

Viktor M. Stoll

Keyword(s):

British Empire ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

New Caledonia ◽

The Pacific

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South Pacific Commission

International Organization ◽

10.1017/s0020818300017045 ◽

1952 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 481-482

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Economic Development ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

New Caledonia ◽

South Pacific ◽

The United States ◽

The Other ◽

The South ◽

Work Program ◽

The Pacific

From April 28 to May 7, 1952 the ninth session of the South Pacific Commission was held in Noumea, New Caledonia.1 The session, which was primarily concerned with administrative matters, was under the chairmanship of N. A. J. de Voogd (Netherlands). As a result of agreement by member governments at the eighth session to include Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands within the scope of the Commission, at the ninth session it was agreed unanimously to extend Commission activities to embrace these territories. Assurances of cooperation in Commission activities were given on behalf of both territories by the Acting Senior Commissioner for the United States (Leebrick) and the Secretary of Guam (Herman). Special aspects of its work program were reviewed by the Commission. The printing of two project reports dealing with the area was authorized: one, on economic development of coral atolls covered a survey made for the Commission in 1951 in the Gilbert Islands and the other was concerned with the possibilities of expanding the cacao industry in the area.

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Structure in the variability of the basic reproductive number (R0) for Zika epidemics in the Pacific islands

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.19874 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Clara Champagne ◽

David Georges Salthouse ◽

Richard Paul ◽

Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau ◽

Benjamin Roche ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pacific Islands ◽

New Caledonia ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Virus Transmission ◽

French Polynesia ◽

Basic Reproductive Number ◽

Effective Control ◽

Reproductive Number ◽

The Pacific ◽

Seroprevalence Data

Before the outbreak that reached the Americas in 2015, Zika virus (ZIKV) circulated in Asia and the Pacific: these past epidemics can be highly informative on the key parameters driving virus transmission, such as the basic reproduction number (R0). We compare two compartmental models with different mosquito representations, using surveillance and seroprevalence data for several ZIKV outbreaks in Pacific islands (Yap, Micronesia 2007, Tahiti and Moorea, French Polynesia 2013-2014, New Caledonia 2014). Models are estimated in a stochastic framework with recent Bayesian techniques. R0 for the Pacific ZIKV epidemics is estimated between 1.5 and 4.1, the smallest islands displaying higher and more variable values. This relatively low range of R0 suggests that intervention strategies developed for other flaviviruses should enable as, if not more effective control of ZIKV. Our study also highlights the importance of seroprevalence data for precise quantitative analysis of pathogen propagation, to design prevention and control strategies.

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