BACKGROUND The occurrence of syphilis and HIV-1 infections during pregnancy are major risks to the fetus due to mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). OBJECTIVES To determine peripartum seroprevalence and risk factors of syphilis and HIV-1 infection among pregnant women in Salvador, Brazil, and the rate of HIV-1 MTCT. METHODS Cross-sectional study of pregnant women who were admitted for deliv...

BACKGROUND Breastfeeding imparts beneficial immune protection and nutrition to infants for healthy growth, but it is also a route for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. In previous studies, we showed that HCMV adversely affects infant development in Africa, particularly with maternal HIV exposure. In this study, we analyzed infants risks for acquisiti...

Human immunodeficiency virus 2 (HIV-2) is found predominantly in West Africa. It is not unlikely, however, that HIV-2 may also be found in South Africa, due to the influx of immigrants into this country. It is important to distinguish between HIV-1 and HIV-2 since the clinical courses and treatment responses of these viruses are different. Routine serological methods for diagnosing HIV do not d...

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the seroprevalence of blue tongue virus (BTV) and assess potential risk factors associated with BTV infection in dairy cattle with reproductive problems in Sudan. Serum samples were collected from a total of 784 animals from 37 herds and tested for antibodies against BTV using cELISA. A total of 663 out of 784 (84.57%) sera tested p...

BACKGROUND Human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) appears to be the primary aetiologic agent of Kaposi sarcoma (KS). To study the distribution of HHV8, a seroepidemiological study was carried out in western Sicily, where a high incidence rate of classical KS is well documented. METHODS A total of 970 sera of healthy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative individuals of general population (1-70 year...

Information is very scarce on the prevalence of hepatitis-B virus (HBV) infection among blood donors and patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Nigeria. Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) ELISA was used to determined the prevalence of HBsAg among 175 blood donors (aged 20-40 years) and 490 HIV-infected patients (aged 17-60 years) in Jos, Nigeria. Twenty-five (14.3%) of t...

OBJECTIVE To document the incidence and prevalence of HIV infection and TB in patients attending a rural Kenyan hospital. DESIGN A retrospective analysis of newly diagnosed HIV and TB-infected patients, HIV and TB-related admissions, and results of blood donor screening for HIV from 1993 to 1997. SETTING PCEA Chogoria Hospital, Eastern Province, Kenya. SUBJECTS Patients diagnosed with HIV...

BACKGROUND Viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are key public health problems that pose an enormous risk for disease transmission in the general population. This study estimated, for the first time, prevalence estimates of serologic markers of HCV, HBV, HAV, HIV and HSV-2 in the adult population of Puerto Rico and assessed variations across sociodemographic and behavioral...

UNLABELLED There have been large numbers of studies on anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence in Europe, however, the results of these studies have produced high variability of seroprevalence rates, making interpretation increasingly problematic. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a clearer understanding of anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence in Europe and identify risk groups for HEV exposure by a m...

BACKGROUND Screening of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) among blood donors can be a cost-effective approach to monitor the prevalence, distribution, and trends of the infections among healthy-looking individuals. The study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of four TTIs, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis, among blood...