Co-infection of human herpesvirus type 2 (HHV-2) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pregnant women who are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are particularly vulnerable to severe and recurrent infections with Human Herpesvirus 2 (HHV-2). Neonatal transmission of HHV-2 has been associated with malformations and neurological sequelae in infants, which makes it very important to perform antenatal monitoring for genital herpes. In the study, 134 pregnant women infected with HIV were tested for HHV-2 IgM and IgG using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and had HHV-2 DNA analyzed by Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). Fisher's exact test was applied to analyze the epidemiological dates (p < 0.05). A total of 59.7% of the pregnant women infected with HIV had HHV-2 IgG and 3.75% of them showed HHV-2 viremia. HHV-2 IgM was found in 6% of the pregnant women and 25% of them had HHV-2 viremia. The risk factors associated with HHV-2 seropositive were age under 20 and a CD4/CD8 ratio > 1. Our study found high HHV-2/HIV coinfection prevalence and HHV-2 viremia among patients with recurrent and primary genital infection, reinforcing the need of prevention and control of HHV-2 infection in order to avoid this virus transmission.

Prevalência e fatores associados à presença de infecções sexualmente transmissíveis em gestantes infectadas pelo HIV acompanhadas em um centro especializado na Baixada Fluminense / Prevalence and factors associated with the presence of sexually transmitted infections in hiv-infected pregnant women attending a specialized center in the Baixada Fluminense area

A transmissão sexual é responsßvel por aproximadamente 90 por cento dos casos novos de infecção pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV) no mundo. As infecções sexualmente transmissíveis (ISTs) constituem um importante cofator na aquisição deste vírus. Dados acerca da co-infecção HIV/ISTs em gestantes, população considerada de alto risco para sua aquisição, são escassos. O objetivo principal do nosso estudo foi descrever as características sociodemogrßfica se aspectos clínicos de uma coorte de gestantes infectadas pelo HIV e avaliar a prevalência de diversas ISTs e fatores associados à co-infecção HIV/ISTs, além de estabelecer correlações entre a ocorrência destas infecções e a morbimortalidade perinatal neste grupo de pacientes. Métodos: Estudo de coorte prospectivo comgestantes infectadas pelo HIV, recrutadas entre 2005 e 2007, no Hospital Geral deNova Iguaçu, centro de referência de atendimento de HIV/ISTs. As diversasvarißveis de interesse foram coletadas por meio de formulßrio pré-estruturado.Resultados: Ao todo, 210 pacientes, a maioria com baixos níveis de escolaridade erenda familiar, participaram do estudo; destas, 137 (65,2 por cento) possuíam ao menosuma IST além do HIV. A média de idade foi de 26 anos. As prevalências de infecçãopor vírus herpes simplex tipo 2 (HSV-2), sífilis, infecção por clamídia e pelo vírus da hepatite B foram, respectivamente, 66 por cento, 10,5 por cento, 5,3 por cento e 2,9 por cento; menos de 1 por cento das pacientes apresentava sorologia reagente para vírus da hepatite C ou infecção gonocócica...

Sexual transmission accounts for approximately 90 percent of all newhuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the world. Sexually transmittedinfections (STIs) are an important cofactor in the acquisition of this virus. Dataregarding HIV/STI co-infection in pregnant women, a high-risk population for theiracquisition, are scarce. Our studyÆs primary aim was to describe social-demographiccharacteristics and clinical aspects of a cohort of HIV-infected pregnant women andto evaluate the prevalence of STIs and factors associated with HIV/STI co-infection.We also aimed to establish correlations between the diagnosis of STIs duringpregnancy and perinatal morbidity and mortality in this group of patients. Methods:Prospective cohort study with HIV-infected pregnant women, recruited between 2005and 2007 in the Hospital Geral de Nova Iguaçu, a referral center for HIV/STI patients.Variables were collected through a pre-structured questionnaire. Results: Overall,210 patients, the majority of which had low educational levels and household income,participated in this study. One-hundred thirty-seven (65.2 por cento) tested positive for atleast one STI besides HIV...