[Prevalence of infectious agents in indigenous women of childbearing age in Venezuela].

Introduction: The ToRCH syndrome includes the following infectious pathogens: Toxoplasma gondii, rubella, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus 1 and 2. In susceptible pregnant women, these pathogens can cause abortions and congenital malformation in the newborn babies.

Objective: The seroprevalence of infection by ToRCH agents was determined in women of childbearing age in several Venezuelan Yukpa indigenous communities.

Hepatitis C virus infection in hemodialysis patients in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Over a two year period, the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was evaluated in 29 hemodialysis patients, aged between 15 and 75 years (mean ± SD: 45 ± 39.5 years), from the University Hospital Hemodyalisis Unit, Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela. Anti-HCV antibodies were determined using a fourth generation ELISA (Innotest HCV Ab IV) kit and positive blood samples were tested using a recombinant assay kit (Inno-LIA HCV Ab III), both kits from Innogenetics N.

[Low prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in a prisoner population from Maracaibo, Venezuela].

Introduction: The high risk behaviors observed in prison centers have favored the transmission of hepatitis C virus infection. The main risk factor to acquire hepatitis C virus infection seems to be the use of intravenous drugs. In Venezuela, the prevalence of the infection in these centers is unknown since studies of the hepatitis C virus there are lacking.

Helicobacter pylori: bacterial factors and the role of cytokines in the immune response.

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative micro-aerophilic bacterium that is widely distributed geographically and causes chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastric adenocarcinoma, and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Bacterial virulence factors play an important role, since the virulent strains are more aggressive and increase the risk of developing severe clinical manifestations; in addition, other determinant factors are the nutritional state and the immune response of the host. Studies on humans, non-human primates, and rodents have reported that regulating proteins of the Th1 phenotype predominate in the immune response to the bacterial infection.

[Viral loads in pediatric HIV patients with antiretroviral treatment].

Background: Viral load in pediatric patients with HIV infections can help to make therapeutic decisions to modify the evolution of the disease.

Aim: To evaluate viral load in positive HIV children with antiretroviral treatment.

Material And Methods: Viral load was measured every six months during three years in fifty pediatric patients chosen randomly in aged 1 to 12 years, using the Test Monitor HIV-1 AMPLICOR, version 1.

[High prevalence of hepatitis B infection in Amerindians in Japreira, Zulia State, Venezuela].

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the Japreira indigenous community, Venezuela, and its relationship to age and gender. An intentional, non-probabilistic sample of 149 individuals was selected from a total of 300. All samples were studied for the presence of total HBV antibodies (total anti-HBc), and the positive samples were tested for HBV surface and "e" antigens (HBsAg, HBeAg).

[Hepatitis C virus in populations at risk for infection. Venezuela].

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in different populations at risk for infection.

Methods: This was a descriptive, transversal study whose variables were evaluated by Pearson s correlation analysis. Different populations were selected: 100 drug users, 47 sex workers, and 50 hemodialysis patients for a total of 197 individuals.

Low prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in Amerindians from Western Venezuela.

Previous studies have not found hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Amerindians from Western Venezuela. A survey of 254 Bari and Yukpa natives aged 10-60 years (mean +/- SD age = 35 +/- 5.4 years) from four communities, two Bari and two Yukpa, in this area were studied to assess the prevalence of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) and HCV RNA among these indigenous populations.

[Immune evasion mechanisms of hepatitis C virus. Review].

Hepatitis Virus C (HCV) is a major worldwide health care problem. HCV infection usually tends to become chronic and can generate long-term hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. These affections frequently require a liver transplant to prolong the patients life.

Microsporidiosis in Venezuela: prevalence of intestinal microsporidiosis and its contribution to diarrhea in a group of human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients from Zulia State.

Microsporidia are recognized as a cause of morbidity among patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Infection rates for intestinal microsporidiosis in HIV-infected patients from Venezuela are unknown. To determine the prevalence and pathogenic role of microsporidia in these patients in northwestern Venezuela, a case control study was conducted in 103 outpatients (mean +/- SD age = 37.

[Hepatitis C virus. Iatrogenic and nosocomial transmition?].

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection constitutes an important, worldwide public health problem. Studies about the prevalence of HCV antibodies among surgical patients are few, and the involvement of surgery in the iatrogenic transmission of HCV remains a matter of controversy. Blood transfusions and other medical acts, have contributed to the spreading of HCV among the population.