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High HIV prevalence in a southern semi‐rural area of M ozambique: a community‐based survey
Author(s) -
González R,
Munguambe K,
Aponte JJ,
Bavo C,
Nhalungo D,
Macete E,
Alonso PL,
Menéndez C,
Naniche D
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2012.01018.x
Subject(s) - medicine , confidence interval , epidemiology , demography , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , pandemic , cross sectional study , rural area , young adult , gerontology , immunology , covid-19 , disease , pathology , sociology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background S outhern A frican countries have borne the brunt of the HIV / AIDS pandemic. Monitoring epidemiological dynamics is critical to identify the populations at greatest risk of infection and to guide control strategies. Methods A cross‐sectional community‐based study to determine age‐ and sex‐specific HIV prevalence among individuals aged 18–47 years was carried out in M anhiça, southern M ozambique. Participants were randomly selected from the demographic surveillance system in place in the area and voluntary HIV counselling and testing were offered at home. In addition, HIV prevalence estimates from the antenatal clinic ( ANC ) were collected prospectively. Results A total of 839 individuals were invited to participate in the study. Of these, 722 were recruited (50.7% women). The overall HIV prevalence in the community was 39.9% [95% confidence interval ( CI ) 35.9–43.8%]. By age, the prevalence was 23.2% (95% CI 17.9–28.6%) in individuals aged 18–27 years, 41.2% (95% CI 35.6–48.3%) in those aged 28–37 years and 44.8% (95% CI 38.4–51.2%) in those aged 38–47 years. HIV prevalence was higher among women than men in all age groups. The overall HIV prevalence estimate for women in the community (43.1%; 95% CI 37.6–48.5%) was 1.4 times higher than that for those attending the ANC (29.4%; 95% CI 26.7–32.0%). Conclusions The high HIV prevalence found in this region suggests that the epidemic is in a mature stable phase. The lower rates in the ANC than in the community suggest that ANC evaluations may underestimate community HIV prevalence. Resources to monitor HIV infection dynamics are needed to guide targeted control strategies in countries in which the epidemic exacts the greatest toll.