Data on HIV/AIDS detailed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital
December 15th, 2008
2008 DEC 15 -- According to recent research from the United States, " Routine HIV testing is increasingly recommended in resource-limited settings. Our objective was to evaluate factors associated with a new diagnosis of HIV infection in a routine HIV testing programme in South Africa."
" We established a routine HIV testing programme in an out-patient department in Durban, South Africa. All registered adults were offered a rapid HIV test; we surveyed a sample of tested patients. During the 12-week study, 1414 adults accepted HIV testing. Of those, 463 (32.7%) were HIV-infected. Seven hundred and twenty (50.9%) were surveyed. Compared with married women, unmarried men were at the highest risk of HIV [odds ratio (OR) 6.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.45-23.55], followed by unmarried women (OR 5.90; 95% CI 3.25-10.70) and married men (OR 4.00; 95% CI 2.04-7.83). Age 30-39 years (compared with >= 50 years; OR 5.10; 95% CI 2.86-9.09), no prior HIV test (OR 1.45; 95% CI 1.07-2.27) and an imperfect HIV knowledge score (OR 2.32; 95% CI 1.24-4.35) were also associated with HIV infection. In a routine HIV testing programme in South Africa, rates of previously undiagnosed HIV were highest among men, young and unmarried patients, and those with poorer HIV knowledge," wrote I.V. Bassett and colleagues, Massachusetts General Hospital.
The researchers concluded: "Better interventions are needed to improve HIV knowledge and decrease HIV risk behaviour."
Bassett and colleagues published their study in HIV Medicine (Routine, voluntary HIV testing in Durban, South Africa: correlates of HIV infection. HIV Medicine, 2008;9(10):863-867).
For additional information, contact I.V. Bassett, Massachusetts General Hospital, Division Infectious Disease, 50 Staniford St., 9th Floor, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Publisher contact information for the journal HIV Medicine is: Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Rd., Oxford OX4 2DQ, Oxon, England.
Keywords: United States, Boston, HIV/AIDS, AIDS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Virology, Massachusetts General Hospital.
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, AIDS Weekly via NewsRx.com.
