Mothers with active infection during the pregnancy and with HCMV excretion had significant risks, RR = 1.16 and RR = 1.35, respectively, to have congenitally infected children.

Although pregnant women in Cuba have high seroprevalence rates for HCMV, those younger than 20 years and nulligravidae are at risk of acquiring infection during pregnancy.

At the end of 2009, there were 12,217 HIV-positive persons in Cuba, [10] but occult HBV studies among these individuals have not been carried out. Research on such patients with HBsAg negative sera would have important implications for appropriate clinical management and improved prognosis.The objectives of this study were to describe occult HBV prevalence in HIV-positive persons in Cuba and to explore possible associations between occult HBV infection and patients' clinical characteristics. METHODSA cross-sectional study was carried out using 325 HBsAgnegative serum samples from among the 1770 HIV-positive adults treated at the Pedro Kourí Tropical Medicine Institute (IPK, its Spanish acronym) during 2008 and 2009. At IPK, HBsAg and HCV antibody (anti-HCV) tests are included in annual follow up of HIV-positive persons because of the frequent association between HIV and these two hepatitis viruses. The HBsAg-negative