[Serological study carried out in Cuban localities where confirmed western Nile virus infection is present]. / Estudio serológico en localidades cubanas con infecciones confirmadas al virus del Nilo Occidental.

INTRODUCTION: first infected cases caused by West Nile virus were reported in Cuba in 2004. OBJECTIVE: to monitor and learn about the prevalence of the West Nile virus in those areas with confirmed cases. METHODS: the study was conducted in Jatibonico municipality and in the city of sancti Spiritus. A total number of 14 persons, 8 horses and 41 birds were researched to detect antibodies to flavivirus and specific antibodies to West Nile virus. RESULTS: the presence of specific antibodies to West Nile virus was confirmed in 4 samples of sera from birds and in 4 from horses. One person was confirmed as one case of asymptomatic West Nile virus infection. CONCLUSIONS: the presence of specific antibodies to West Nile virus in birds, horses and persons residing in areas where there are confirmed cases showed that a local amplification cycle had been established in Cuba before this study.

Sexual risk behaviour among HIV-positive patients at an urban clinic in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

More than one percent of adults in the Dominican Republic are HIV-infected and most infections are acquired sexually. We studied sexual risk behaviours in a group of HIV-positive patients treated in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Interviews were conducted with 129 participants seen in May 2006 at one of the country's largest public hospital HIV clinics. Questions included demographics, sexual history, condom use and focused on patients' last sexual encounter. Most patients (72.4%) had been sexually active since their HIV diagnosis. Following their diagnosis, 72.8% of sexually active patients used condoms more frequently, 21.7% used condoms with the same frequency and 5.4% used condoms less often. The most common reason cited for not using a condom after HIV diagnosis differed by gender; men cited decreased sexual pleasure (70.0%) and women reported that their partner had refused to use a condom (71.8%). Sexually active patients who believed that their partner did not have HIV were much more likely to report using a condom at their last sexual encounter than those who did not know their partner's HIV status (OR=16.9). HIV-positive patients reported using condoms more frequently following their HIV diagnosis and were more likely to use a condom if they believed their partner did not have HIV. Increased HIV testing may lead to reduced sexual risk behaviour in the Dominican Republic.