Salvador-Bahia has the highest prevalence of HTLV-1 infection in Brazil; about 2% of the population is infected. In this city, the prevalence of HTLV in pregnant women is 1%. There is no data of the HTLV-1 prevalence in others cities of the Bahia's Recôncavo, where the population has similar social and demography characteristics to those from Salvador. Our aim was to evaluate the seroprevalence of HTLV in pregnant women in Cruz das Almas-Bahia, a medium-sized city from the Bahia's Recôncavo. All individuals were tested for HTLV (ELISA) and the positive samples were confirmed by Western Blot. Phylogenetic analyses of the total LTR region were performed in all positive samples. We tested 408 samples (45.4% of the estimate pregnant women population) between June 1st and October 31, 2005. The prevalence of HTLV-1 infection was 0.98%. In addition, all isolated virus were grouped in the subtype HTLV-1a, in the Latin American group. Our results suggest that the introduction of HTLV-1 occurred after the slave trade into Salvador. In addition, HTLV-1-infection should be screened during the pregnancy in women originating from HTLV-1 endemic areas.

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Introduction: Pregnancy in adolescence is a frequent public health problem worldwide, because it is associated with increased clinical and social complications affecting both mothers and newborn/infants. Materials and Method:An analytical prospective study was conducted, comparing 200 pregnant women followedup during pre-natal care in the city of Cruz das Almas-Bahia-Brazil, in the period between November, 2009 and October, 2010. Women were divided into two groups: adolescents (between 10 and 19 years old) and adults (between 20 and 36 years old). The following socio-demographic variables were analyzed: self-declared color, educational level, marital status, family income. The maternal clinical variables evaluated were: parity, gestational age, gynecological age, weight, height, number of pre-natal consultations, weight gain during pregnancy, mode of birth and complications at birth. The clinical variables described for the newborn were: prematurity, birth weight, Apgar Score in first and fifth minute post-birth. Results:The socio-economic characteristics differed between the groups. Among adolescent group, there were more single women; family income was lower; first sexual intercourse took place earlier than adult group. There was no difference in maternal and newborn clinical outcomes between the groups, with exception of birth weight, which was lower in adolescent group than adult group. Conclusion:Pregnancy in adolescence is associated with greater social vulnerability, and not with biologic risk when compared with pregnancy at adult age.General Context: The results founded herein demonstrated that pregnancy in adolescence was not associated with unfavorable perinatal or obstetric results, but was associated with greater social vulnerability when compared with those of adult pregnant women. Journal of Pregnancy and Child Health