Introduction:Although urine is considered the gold-standard material for the detection of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, it can be diffi cult to obtain in newborns. The aim of this study was to compare the effi ciency of detection of congenital CMV infection in saliva and urine samples. Methods: One thousand newborns were included in the study. Congenital cytomegalovirus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Saliva samples were obtained from all the newborns, whereas urine collection was successful in only 333 cases. There was no statistically signifi cant difference between the use of saliva alone or saliva and urine collected simultaneously for the detection of CMV infection. Conclusions: Saliva samples can be used in large-scale neonatal screening for CMV infection.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the Southern region of the State of Bahia, evaluating the performance of alternative complementary methods for cervical lesion detection. Cervical samples from women who attended healthcare units were collected and diagnosed by visual inspection, cervical cytology and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Moreover, hemi-nested PCR was performed to detect different HPV genotypes. The prevalence of HPV infection was 47·7%, with genotype 16 detected in most cases. Infection was associated with dyspareunia and bleeding (P < 0·001, odds ratio (OR) 5·6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·815-11·14) and hormonal contraceptive use (P = 0·007, OR 2·33, 95% CI 1·25-4·34). There was a positive correlation between positive PCR and positive visual inspection, cervical cytology and symptoms reported. Furthermore, visual inspection was twice as specific, and had a greater positive predictive value than cytology. We showed a high prevalence of HPV infection in Southern Bahia, with HPV 16 being the most common type, and visual inspection being most effective at detecting HPV lesions, corroborating the suggestion that it can be applied in routine gynecologic examinations for low-income populations.

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