ABSTRACT
A study of female prostitutes in Manila who tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody ascertained demographic and sexual behavior information following diagnosis. Counselling alone did not appear to have a major impact on the sexual behavior of the HIV positive women since most continued to work as prostitutes. Switching from high risk to low risk jobs in bars is not effective in preventing HIV positive women from engaging in prostitution. Revoking work permits is only effective if enforced with adequate follow up. Alternative job training programs may offer a viable approach.
Subject(s)
Contraceptive Devices, Male/statistics & numerical data , Counseling/standards , Female , HIV Seropositivity/epidemiology , Health Education/standards , Humans , Philippines/epidemiology , Sex Work/legislation & jurisprudence , Surveys and Questionnaires , Sexual BehaviorABSTRACT
Although human cases of leptospirosis have been reported from the Philippines, there is a lack of data on its prevalence. We therefore surveyed three rice-farming villages for the presence of leptospiral antibody. Out of 155 sera tested, 63 (43.6%) tested positive using the standard microagglutination test. Antibodies were more frequent in men than women (48 vs. 31%, respectively, p less than 0.01), and less common in the elderly. Exposure to leptospires occurs frequently in rice farmers, and leptospirosis is likely to be an underdiagnosed cause of both mild and severe febrile illness in the Philippines.