Sexual behaviour and risk factors for HIV infection in a group of male factory workers who donated blood in Harare; Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has experienced a rapid rise in HIV seroprevalence in recent years. As many as 1 million people (10 of the population) are predicted to become seropositive by 2000. We examined social and behavioral factors associated with HIV infection in a case-control study among male factory workers who donated blood before the launching of the AIDS Awareness Campaign. There were 188 subjects: 69 were HIV-positive and 118 were HIV-negative. High risk behaviour was common in both groups. Among seronegative men; 73.1 reported a sexually transmitted disease (STD); 55.5 reported cash payment for sex; and 73.1; and 73.1 had outside girlfriends. Nonetheless; HIV-positive men were more likely to report a hisotry of STD (OR = 3.9; 95 CI = 1.5-11.9); particulary genital ulcers (OR= 2.4; 95 CI = 1.2-4.8) and extramarital partners (OR = 2.8;95 CI = 1.1-7.1). HIV-positive men reported more lifetime partners (16.5 vs. 12;p less then 0.05 and were less likely to live with their wives. (OR = 0.51;95 CI = 0.23-1.15). [abstract terminated]

Clinical and laboratory characteristics of HIV-1 infection in Zimbabwe

To define the impact of human immunolodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Africa; clinical and laboratory investigations were conducted on 265 HIV-seropositive outpatients in Zimbabwe. Twenty-four of the study subjects were asymptomatic (ASX); 124 had persistent generalized lympademopathy (PGL); and 117 had AIDS-related complex (ARC). HIV infection was assessed by commercial ELISA; Western blots; synthetic peptide ELISA; and measurement of p24 antigen. Serum immunoglobulins; lympocyte mitogen responses; and CD4+ cell numbers were obrtained in 54 sequential patients. Compared to seronegative subjects meab CD4+ cell numbers were decreased and serum immunoglobulins; particularly IgM and IgG; were increased in all groups of seropositive subjects. [abstract terminated]

Risk of hepatitis B infection among medical and paramedical workers in a general hospital in Zimbabwe

To evaluate the addition of hepatits vaccine to health schemes for hospital workers in Zimbabwe we undertook a cross sectional study of viral markers in 226 hospital workers and compared the results with 97 volunteer blood controls. One hundred and thirty one (58) hospital workers had hepatitis markers compared with 45 (46) of the donor group. Racial group was the strongest risk factor. Blacks were 70 more likely to have markers than whites. This racial difference was not explained by job status or patient contact. Our data suggest that work in a district general hospital does not constitute a clinically important hazard for hepatitis B infection. Because of the high cost of the vaccine; additional studies to assess the risk of hospital work in other settings in Zimbabwe are required before health policy regarding routine hepatitis B vaccination is determined