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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Samoa: the realities of living with HIV in Samoa.

How does a Pacific country deal with someone who is HIV positive? What support can be expected from society and family if one is infected by HIV? How does the rhetoric of being a family-oriented and caring society fit with the realities of what happens to HIV positive people? This presentation talks about the experience of an HIV positive woman. Peati Maiava is from Samoa. She was married in June 1992 and subsequently had two sons. Her youngest son, Fiti, died after much suffering of an undiagnosed disease in January 1996. Her husband died, after being diagnosed with AIDS in April 1996. Before he died, he pleaded for forgiveness for the chaos he had brought to the family. Looking back, Peati strongly suspects that Fiti also died from an AIDS-related condition--although there was no medical confirmation at the time. Before he died, Peati's husband was plagued with influenza, diarrhea, fevers, boils on his face, throat, and body, immense pain and headaches, violent temper, and incredible loss of body weight. This man was once one of MANU Samoa's best flankers (footballers) ever. He died a skeleton in the wake of AIDS. In the aftermath of the two untimely deaths in the family, living with her only remaining son Natal was unbearable; Peati knew she was HIV-positive and that it was only a matter of time before she would face a similar death. Her life became intolerable--after the death of her husband she was forced from her employment when her employer learned of her positive status. Some of her so-called friends and relatives also turned their back on her. With no employment and HIV-positive status she considered suicide. But her love of God and the love of her son she could not forsake. Peati did forgive her husband before he died but the scars and bitter memories are hard to overcome at times. Peati thanked the conference for the sponsorship, which allowed her to attend the conference. The moral and financial support offered to by her friends, and to Andrew Peteru who was instrumental in helping her to participate in the conference.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2022

Spatial-temporal and phylogenetic analyses of epidemiologic data to help understand the modes of transmission of endemic typhoid fever in Samoa.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) is either widely distributed or proximally transmitted via fecally-contaminated food or water to cause typhoid fever. In Samoa, where endemic typhoid fever has persisted over decades despite water quality and sanitation improvements, the local patterns of S. Typhi circulation remain unclear. From April 2018-June 2020, epidemiologic data and GPS coordinates were collected during household investigations of 260 acute cases of typhoid fever, and 27 asymptomatic shedders of S. Typhi were detected among household contacts. Spatial and temporal distributions of cases were examined using Average Nearest Neighbor and space-time hotspot analyses. In rural regions, infections occurred in sporadic, focal clusters contrasting with persistent, less clustered cases in the Apia Urban Area. Restrictions to population movement during nationwide lockdowns in 2019-2020 were associated with marked reductions of cases. Phylogenetic analyses of isolates with whole genome sequences (n = 186) revealed one dominant genotype 3.5.4 (n = 181/186) that contains three Samoa-exclusive sub-lineages: 3.5.4.1, 3.5.4.2, and 3.5.4.3. Variables of patient sex, age, and geographic region were examined by phylogenetic groupings, and significant differences (p<0.05) associated genetically-similar isolates in urban areas with working ages (20-49 year olds), and in rural areas with age groups typically at home (<5, 50+). Isolates from asymptomatic shedders were among all three sub-lineages. Whole genome sequencing provided evidence of bacterial genetic similarity, which corroborated 10/12 putative epidemiologic linkages among cases and asymptomatic shedders, as well as 3/3 repeat positives (presumed relapses), with a median of one single nucleotide polymorphism difference. These findings highlight various patterns of typhoid transmission in Samoa that differ between urban and rural regions as well as genomic subtypes. Asymptomatic shedders, detectable only through household investigations, are likely an important reservoir and mobile agent of infection. This study advances a "Samoan S. Typhi framework" that supports current and future typhoid surveillance and control efforts in Samoa.

Humans↗
PubMed1993

Stroke and traumatic brain injury (ma'i ulu) in Amerika Samoa.

This paper discusses the annual incidence of stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in American Samoa. Findings are based on data collected from the medical records at LBJ Tropical Medical Center in Amerika Samoa from June 1, 1989 to May 31, 1990. A review of these medical records revealed that stroke and TBI were prevalent among the residents of Amerika Samoa during the time period sampled. Health and cultural factors which contribute to the occurrence of stroke and TBI in Amerika Samoa and recommendations for further investigation and prevention of stroke and TBI in that country are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Infant feeding and women's work in Western Samoa: a hypothesis, some evidence and suggestions for future research.

This paper argues that a key reason for the decline in the age of weaning in 3rd world countries may be an increasing workload for women associated with increasing involvement in the cash economy. This hypothesis is considered in light of data collected in an anthropological field study of a rural village in Western Samoa. Methods used were a village census, a household survey with fertility histories and questions on household economy, a questionnaire on breastfeeding, key informant interviews, observations made during residence in the village, and archival research. The ethnographic data suggest the possibility of a causal relationship between a decline in the age of weaning and an increasing workload for women in Western Samoa. In addition, other factors thought to account for a decline in the age of weaning, such as bottle feeding and urbanization, are unimportant in rural Western Samoa.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Selective migration from Samoa: a longitudinal study of pre-migration differences in social and psychological characteristics.

In 1981 extensive questionnaire and interview data were collected on some 100 young Samoan adults. Five years later in 1986 we determined their whereabouts and divided the data in accordance with migration status. The answers of the 35 who had migrated in the intervening period were contrasted to those 65 who remained in Samoa. The migrants differed in several distinct areas. Migrants reported a higher degree of peer-reliance as a personal adaptive strategy. Migrants also reported larger numbers of individuals in social support networks, a higher quality of support and more community involvement. They also report less expressive display of anger. Those who did not migrate reported a slightly better view of life in Samoa and abroad, as well as better relations with their friends and neighbors. These findings support a hypothesis that migrants are pre-selected to fit into migrant communities and do not appear to be misfits who are unhappy with life in Samoa.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Epidemiology of subperiodic bancroftian filariasis in Samoa 8 years after control by mass treatment with diethylcarbamazine.

In 1979, a microfilarial prevalence study was conducted in a population of 8385 persons inhabiting 28 villages in Samoa using both the nuclepore filtration (NP) method (with 1 ml blood) and the fingerprick (FP) method (with 60 mm(3) blood). The overall prevalence rate was 4.5% by the NP method and 3.8% by the FP method. The average microfilarial prevalence in males was 2.3 times higher than in females, and the rate among males aged 30 years and over was as high as 20%. The positive cases were found to be concentrated in certain households.The median microfilarial density (MfD-50) for the whole of Samoa was 18.6 using 60-mm(3) blood samples (males, 21.4; females 14.2). While the MfD-50 of any village has a positive association with the microfilarial prevalence rate of that village, a relatively high MfD-50 was noticed among young people under 20 years of age together with low prevalence rates.The negative binomial distribution was fitted to the data on the distribution of microfilarial counts in Samoa and gave a better fit than the log-normal distribution. The data having been fitted to the negative binomial, the number of false negatives could be determined as 9% of the estimated number of positives in the survey population when the NP method was employed and about 25% with the FP method.Further studies revealed that 15.1% of the microfilaria carriers presented some clinical manifestation, the most common being an attack of filarial fever (13.1%). The average duration of a fever attack was 3.5 days and the total period with fever/person/year averaged 27.1 days.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Microfilaria prevalence of diurnally subperiodic Wuchereria bancrofti among people having a medical checkup in American Samoa in the past 17 years.

The yearly change of microfilaria (mf) prevalence rates from 1974 to 1990 was studied in American Samoa with people who had medical checkups. The mf rates were found to have been kept at a low level (0.8-2.6%) in the past 17 years. The continued low prevalence reduced clinical filariasis significantly in the past 8 years. The low level of endemicity, despite very close communication with neighbouring Western Samoa where filariasis is much more prevalent, could be explained by the urbanized living conditions in American Samoa.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Some observations on filariasis in Western Samoa after mass administration of diethylcarbamazine.

An extremely efficient diethylcarbamazine administration campaign to eradicate Wuchereria bancrofti has been carried out in Western Samoa. The use of the membrane-filtration technique has shown that a large number of people exhibit extremely low microfilarial densities, often with less than 10 in 1 ml of venous blood. It was found that one of these low level microfilaria carriers readily infected the local vector Aedes polynesiensis and that development took place to the infective stage. It was estimated that 497 infective larvae of W. bancrofti will enter the human population of Western Samoa daily from these vectors. Resumption of filariasis transmission is possible and surveillance of the human and mosquito populations should be continued for a number of years and control measures taken quickly if further transmission occurs.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Ross River virus (Togaviridae: Alphavirus) infection (epidemic polyarthritis) in American Samoa.

An outbreak of Ross River virus infection (epidemic polyarthritis), which occurred in American Samoa between August 1979 and January 1980, is described. On the basis of a serological survey performed near the end of the epidemic, it is estimated that at least 13,500 people were infected. Ross River virus was isolated from the blood of a single polyarthritis patient. Plaque reduction neutralization tests, using this virus strain, were done on 393 human and 143 animal sera collected on Tutuila island. Over-all, 43.8% of the people sampled had evidence of infection. Sera from 100 adult residents of the same island, collected in 1972, had no Ross River antibody, suggesting recent introduction of the virus. In contrast to the human serological data, the prevalence of Ross River antibodies among animals was relatively low. Dogs and pigs had the highest rates with 20% and 15%, respectively. Results of this study suggest that the Ross River virus cycle during the epidemic in American Samoa involved primarily humans and mosquitoes with animals less frequently infected. These observations plus the recent introduction of Ross River virus into new areas of the South Pacific suggest that a major change has occurred in the epidemiology of epidemic polyarthritis.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Natural infections of Dirofilaria immitis in Aedes (Stegomyia) polynesiensis and Aedes (Finlaya) samoanus and their implication in human health in Samoa.

Dirofilaria immitis infections were observed in Aedes polynesiensis and Ae. samoanus in Samoa, together with Wuchereria bancrofti infections, in a study on sub-periodic bancroftian filariasis during 1978-1980. In the 4 indicator villages, the infection rate in Ae. polynesiensis was 0.46% and the infective rate 0.09% (15,223 mosquitoes were dissected). The infection rate in Ae. samoanus was 0.20% and the infective rate 0.08% (10,089 dissected). In 45 selected villages throughout the country, Ae. polynesiensis infection and infective rates were 0.92% and 0.29% (7575 dissected) and the rates for Ae. samoanus were 0.21% and 0.07% (9093 dissected). Infection with D. immitis was comparable in degree and distribution to that with W. bancrofti. There was a steady and consistent exchange of parasites between the human and canine populations, creating conditions favourable for human dirofilariasis in Samoa. Clinicians are warned against this probable human infection.

Aedes↗
PubMed1984

Dilemmas of modernization in primary health care in Western Samoa.

This paper examines the historical development of rural women's associations (komiti tumama) in Western Samoa under New Zealand's colonial administration. These associations came to be the backbone of public health programmes and played a crucial role in preventive medicine at the village level: they embodied all the principles now subsumed under the rubric 'primary health care'. The successful growth of a rural, self-help system of primary health care in Samoa resulted from the use of traditional institutions to promote new practices in sanitation and health care. The system rewarded and fostered village autonomy and enhanced the status of married women. This paper argues that a stagnation in community-based health programmes linked in part to an increasing unwillingness of rural women's associations to support such programmes has occurred most particularly in the past decade. It is proposed that this stagnation may be related to overall problems of modernization in the Western Samoan economy, professionalization and bureaucratization of the national health services, and the ritualization of certain key practices (such as the inspection of village sanitation) in preventive medicine by rural women. The consequences of the stagnation for rural people have been a greater dependence upon curative medical services, and a loss of clearly defined roles for women's institutions in primary health care. The historical drift has been away from rather than towards the PHC model as espoused today by the World Health Organization and as initiated by the New Zealand administration in colonial times.

Cultural Characteristics↗
PubMed2002

Household economic strategies and nutritional anthropometry of women in American Samoa and highland Bolivia.

This study compares findings from research projects involving different genetic, environmental, and cultural contexts: a study of lifestyle and health from American Samoa (ASLS) and the Bolivian project. Reproduction and Ecology in Provincia Aroma (REPA). This paper presents analyses of varying economic strategies and their association with nutritional status indicators in each population. The ASLS sample includes 66 Samoan women and the REPA sample includes 210 Aymara women. Principle components analysis of household economic resources within each sample extracted two significant factors: one represents modernizing influences including education and occupational status, and the other represents ethnographically salient traditional economic behavior. The traditional pattern includes adding household members in Samoa and selling agricultural products in Bolivia. This analysis places each woman along two continua, traditional and modern, based on her household mobilization of economic resources, permitting an understanding of the patterns underlying household economic behavior that is not possible in univariate analyses of socioeconomic variables. For the Bolivian women the strategy involving more education and higher occupational status was associated with higher measures of several nutritional status indicators, including body mass index, arm muscle area, and peripheral skinfolds. But among the Samoan women, where substantial obesity was the norm, there were no significant differences in anthropometric measurements based on economic strategies. These data argue for the importance of directly measuring the potential consequences of variation in household economic strategies rather than merely inferring such, and of assessing ethnographically relevant aspects of household economic production rather than limiting analyses to non-context-specific economic indicators such as income. This focus on household strategy is likely to be fruitful especially where economic and nutritional conditions are marginal. The findings from Bolivia also support efforts in developing countries to improve girls' education, and thereby occupational prospects, as a means to improve their health status as women.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Observations on Culex quinquefasciatus Say in relation to transmission of filariasis due to subperiodic Wuchereria bancrofti in Samoa.

Observations on Culex quinquefasciatus Say in Samoa during a study of the epidemiology and control of subperiodic bancroftian filariasis are reported. The man-biting rate of C. quinquefasciatus was comparable with that of Aedes (Finlaya) samoanus Gruenberg in one indicator village and lower in another. The house-frequenting behaviour of the two species was similar. Culex quinquefasciatus was active throughout the night with peak biting during midnight hours, and its survivorship, estimated by two methods, was higher than those of the main vectors, A. (Stegomyia) polynesiensis Marks and A. samoanus. Culex quinquefasciatus showed low susceptibility to subperiodic Wuchereria bancrofti, compared with the two main vectors, in laboratory feeding experiments on volunteers with three levels of microfilaraemia. This agrees with the observed very low natural infection rate, suggesting that C. quinquefasciatus is an inefficient vector of subperiodic W. bancrofti in Samoa.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

An epidemic of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis in American Samoa caused by coxsackievirus A24 variant.

Between May 25 and July 5, 1986, an epidemic of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis affected an estimated 47% of the population on American Samoa. Coxsackievirus A24 variant was isolated from 18 of 22 patients. This is the first documented outbreak of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis due to coxsackievirus A24 variant outside of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. When this outbreak was compared with an outbreak on the island in 1981-1982 caused by enterovirus 70, conjunctival hemorrhage or injection and the severity of hemorrhage were less prevalent among cases in 1986, while upper respiratory and systemic symptoms were more common. Residents of traditional housing had significantly higher attack rates (48%) than residents of government housing (23%). Serum specimens collected from the residents of Samoa in 1985, before the outbreak, unexpectedly revealed the presence of neutralizing antibodies against coxsackievirus A24 variant. The presence of these antibodies correlated with protection against coxsackievirus A24 variant infection in this outbreak.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Medicolegal practice in Samoa: an inside view.

Samoa, considered the heart of Polynesia, has a medicolegal system with some limitations. There is a need to build a well-organized medicolegal service. The authors briefly outline the medicolegal system in Samoa from its beginning to the present and discuss future improvements.

Forensic Medicine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modernization in the Samoas and children's reactivity: a pilot study.

This investigation studied the potential effects of societal modernization on Samoan children's blood pressure and heart rate reactivity to a standardized television video game procedure. Ethnic Samoan children were sampled from Western Samoa (N = 72), a relatively underdeveloped country with a largely agricultural economy, and American Samoa (N = 70), a territory of the United States that has undergone substantial modernization due to recent economic aid. Results indicated that Western Samoans demonstrated significantly greater systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate reactivity than American Samoans. These data, in conjunction with previous data, suggest that the hemodynamic effects of an acute stressor are inversely associated with societal modernization and an individual's adoption of a lifestyle reflecting integration into a modernized society. Further work is needed to examine the implications of this hypothesis and the associations among concrete measures of modernization and children's cardiovascular risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Transcultural nursing considerations of child abuse/maltreatment in American Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia.

A conceptual analysis focuses on defining child maltreatment from the perspective of two Island nations in the Pacific Basin, American Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia. Based on a review of the literature on child maltreatment laws and cultural factors in each region, a range definition is proposed. The range definition is comprised of defining features and borderline features for child maltreatment as it exists across these cultures in the Pacific Basin. Defining features were derived from evaluation of child abuse and neglect laws in each specified population. Borderline features were derived from cultural factors in American Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia. While these Island nations already have child abuse and neglect laws, they are adapted from the United States. The degree at which unreasonable harm becomes abuse is culturally dictated, hence, these territories of the Pacific Basin are seeking culturally specific terminology when defining child maltreatment. The findings of this analysis indicate the significance of transcultural knowledge in nursing practice and the legal accountability nurses hold on the issue of child maltreatment.

Child↗