Browsing by Author "Neto, Zoraima"
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- Dengue virus among HIV-infected pregnant women attending antenatal care in Luanda, Angola: an emerging public health concernPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Neto, Zoraima; Jandondo, Domingos; Mirandela, Marinela; Morais, Joana; Brito, MiguelThe dissemination of the dengue virus (DENV) in endemic regions with HIV is a public health concern with greater importance when there is evidence of vertical transmission of DENV during pregnancy. Herein, we investigated DENV among HIV-infected pregnant women in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. This was part of a cross-sectional study carried out on 42 pregnant women newly diagnosed with HIV. A total of 36 plasma samples from the 42 HIV-positive pregnant women were screened for DENV using RT‐PCR and ELISA. None of the specimens tested positive for DENV by RT-PCR. Regarding seroprevalence, 94.4% of the samples were positive for IgG and 11.1% for IgM. Recent infection (IgG-/IgM+ or IgG+/IgM+) was detected in 11.1% of the samples and past infection (IgG+/IgM-) in 83.3%. The risk of recent infection was higher in pregnant women over 25 years of age [OR: 13.0 (95% CI: 1.14-148), p=0.039]. Our study showed laboratory evidence of a recent DENV infection among HIV-infected pregnant women attending antenatal care in Luanda. Our findings provide critical data regarding DENV infection among HIV-infected pregnant women in Luanda. Future studies involving a larger sample size of HIV-infected pregnant women are necessary to support ongoing public health programs to combat arboviruses in Angola.
- Genetic diversity and drug resistance of HIV-1 among infected pregnant women newly diagnosed in Luanda, AngolaPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Neto, Zoraima; Jesus, Carlos S. de; Mirandela, Marinela; Jandondo, Domingos; Couto-Fernandez, José C.; Tanuri, Amilcar; Morais, Joana; Brito, MiguelMonitoring genetic diversity and drug resistance mutations (DRMs) is critical for understanding HIV epidemiology. Here, we report HIV-1 genetic diversity and DRMs in blood samples from 42 HIV-positive pregnant women naive to antiretroviral therapy (ART), in Luanda. The samples were subjected to nested-PCR, followed by sequencing of the HIV-1 pol gene, targeting the protease and reverse transcriptase fragments. HIV-1 diversity was analyzed using the REGA HIV-1 subtyping tool and DRMs were identified using the Calibrated Population Resistance tool. A total of 34 sequences were obtained. The data revealed wide HIV-1 subtypes heterogeneity, with subtype C (38%, 13/34) the most frequent, followed by the subtypes F1 (18%, 6/34), A1 (9%, 3/34), G (9%, 3/34), D (6%, 2/34) and H (3%, 1/34). In addition, recombinants strains were detected, with CRF02_AG (6%, 2/34) the most frequent, followed by CRF37_cpx, F1/C, A1/G, and H/G, all with 3% (1/34). A total of 6/34 (18%) of the sequences presented DRMs. The non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors presented 15% (5/34) of resistance. Moreover, 1/34 (3%) sequence presented resistance against both non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, simultaneously. Despite the small sample size, our results suggest the need to update currently used ART regimens. Surveillance of HIV-1 subtypes and DRMs are necessary to understand HIV epidemiology and to guide modification of ART guidelines in Angola.
- HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and syphilis among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Luanda, Angola: seroprevalence and risk factorsPublication . Sebastião, Cruz S.; Neto, Zoraima; Jandondo, Domingos; Mirandela, Marinela; Morais, Joana; Brito, MiguelInfectious diseases during pregnancy remain a public health concern, especially in a resource-limited setting. The study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and determinants of HIV and co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and syphilis among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1612 pregnant women screened for HIV during antenatal care. HIV-reactive were also screened for HBV, HCV, and syphilis using immunoassay kits. A logistic regression model, adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated with a level of significance set at 5%. The overall seroprevalence of HIV was 2.6%. About 13% of HIV-positive pregnant women were coinfected. From which, 7.5% were reactive to HBV and 5% to syphilis. There was no reactivity to HCV. Pregnant women younger aged than 25 years were significantly protected from HIV-infection (AOR, 0.43 [95% CI, 0.20-0.91], P = .026). The co-infection was 1.3 times (AOR, 0.04-41.0) in younger aged than 25 years, 7.0 times (AOR, 0.50-99.2) to residents in urbanized areas, and 1.4 times (AOR, 0.10-20.9) in pregnant women with a high educational level. In conclusion, infectious diseases are a public health burden among pregnant women in Luanda. However, include an integrated antenatal screening mainly in urbanized areas is crucial to reduce the spread of infectious diseases in different communities of Angola.
- Rotavirus alphagastroenteritidis: circulating strains after the introduction of the Rotavirus vaccine (Rotarix®) in Luanda Province of AngolaPublication . Vita, Dikudila G.; Santiso-Bellón, Cristina; Lemos, Manuel; Neto, Zoraima; Fortes-Gabriel, Elsa; Brito, Miguel; Sebastião, Cruz S.; Rodriguez-Diaz, Jesus; Cunha, Celso; Istrate, ClaudiaRotavirus alphagastroenteritidis (R. alphagastroenteritidis) remains the leading cause of pediatric diarrhea. Although Angola introduced Rotarix®, the human monovalent R. alphagastroenteritidis vaccine since 2014 as part of its routine childhood immunization program, no follow-up study has been conducted. This study aimed to evaluate the distribution of R. alphagastroenteritidis genotypes among children under five years of age, hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis (AGE), after the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine. To achieve this goal, stool samples collected between 2021 and 2022 from children under 5 years of age diagnosed with AGE at six hospitals in Luanda Province were analyzed. The R. alphagastroenteritidis-antigen immunochromatographic test (SD Bioline™, Abbott, Chicago, IL, USA) was performed, and 121 positive samples were genotyped. Ten samples were randomly selected for further Sanger sequencing. The results showed that the G9P[6] was the most prevalent genotype (17.3%), followed by G9P[8] (16.5%), G2P[4] (14.9%), G3P[6] (13.2%), G8P[6] (11.5%), and less frequently G12P[8] (9.1%), G1P[6] (4.1%), and G1P[8] (2.5%). The genotype combinations G3P[6], G8P[6], and G12P[8] were detected for the first time in Luanda Province. In conclusion, the emergence of new genotype combinations supports the need for continuous surveillance to identify the trend in R. alphagastroenteritidis infection and the emergence of new strains circulating in Luanda Province in the post-vaccination period.