Objective: To investigate the associations between psychosocial factors and peripheral blood CD4 and CD8 T lymphocyte numbers in Brazilian peacekeepers.
Methods: Venous blood was collected from 759 peacekeepers who had just returned from a peace mission in Haiti. Among the 759 soldiers, 642 individuals completed the psychosocial measures.
We assessed the IgG levels anti-diphtheria (D-Ab) and T cell counts (CD4+ and CD8+) in HIV-1 infected subjects undergoing or not highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Approximately 70% of all HIV-1 patients were unprotected against diphtheria. There were no differences in D-Ab according to CD4 counts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis B and C constitute important public health problems worldwide. In Brazil, studies on prevalence of viral hepatitis have local and regional characteristics; consequently it is difficult to define the national epidemiological situation. Our objective was to evaluate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C in conscripts of the Brazilian Army.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To present selected results of military conscript surveys related to HIV/AIDS, conducted in Brazil, 1997-2002.
Methods: Questionnaires including information on socio-demographic data, sexual behavior practices, sexually transmitted infections-related problems, and use of injecting drugs were completed by 30970 individuals, obtained through a 2-stage sampling. An index of sexual risk behavior was developed to take into account multiplicity of partners and irregularity of condom use.
The prevalence of mutations that confer resistance to antiretroviral drugs was examined in 56 drug-naive, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals from the Army Health Service in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. No primary protease inhibitor mutations were found, but secondary mutations were observed in 51.2% of the samples.
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