Unprotected sexual intercourse and its correlates within HIV serodiscordant couples in Dehong prefecture of Yunnan Province, China, in 2014 / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective@#To study the prevalence and correlates of unprotected sexual intercourse within HIV serodiscordant couples in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, in 2014.@*Methods@#This study was based on the follow-up investigation of "the AIDS cohort of seronegative spouses of HIV-infected individuals in Dehong prefecture" in 2014. The 1 520 participants were HIV seronegative spouses from all five counties/cities of Dehong prefecture who voluntarily participated in the cohort. Inclusion criteria included: having a HIV-positive spouse; ≥16 years of age; having had sexual intercourse with spouse in the past year; and being a resident of Dehong prefecture. Information on HIV-positive spouses were also collected through the local AIDS epidemic database. Chi square analysis was performed to compare differences in the rates of unprotected sexual intercourse between participants with different characteristics and lifestyle choices. Multivariable logistic regression model analysis was performed to determine correlates with unprotected sexual intercourse.@*Results@#The 1 520 participants had a mean age of 38.7±9.4, compared with 39.7±8.9 for their HIV-positive spouses. Among the HIV-positive spouses, 77.8% (1 183/1 520) had been infected for more than 3 years, and 87.6% (1 332/1 520) had received antiretroviral therapy. The prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse within serodiscordant couples over the past 12 months was 16.1% (244/1 520). The prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse correlated with the level of education of HIV-negative spouses (illiterate vs. middle school and above, OR=1.58, P=0.044), the number of years since diagnosis of HIV-positive spouses (short vs. long, OR=1.6, P=0.006), antiretroviral therapy of HIV-positive spouses (no vs. yes, OR=2.78, P<0.001), the frequency of sexual intercourse per month (high vs. low, OR=1.66, P=0.019), and whether the couple had children (no vs. yes, OR=1.72, P=0.007).@*Conclusion@#The prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse within serodiscordant couples in Dehong prefecture was relatively high in 2014. Factors found to correlate with the occurrence of unprotected sexual intercourse within these couples included illiteracy of HIV-negative spouses, short time since diagnosis of HIV-positive spouses and lack of antiretroviral therapy, high frequency of sexual intercourse and no children.

Serodiscordance and prevention of HIV: perceptions of individuals in stable and non-stable relationships / Sorodiscordância e prevenção do HIV: percepções de pessoas em relacionamentos estáveis e não estáveis / Suero discordancia y prevención del VIH: percepciones de personas en relaciones estables y no estables

Policies regarding post-sexual exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and the “treatment as prevention” strategy have strengthened preventive measures against HIV transmission. This study aimed to describe the perceptions of people with HIV/AIDS regarding prevention of sexual transmission of HIV in the context of serodiscordance. Two focus groups were conducted, with 13 HIV-positive participants who were in serodiscordant relationships: one group with people in stable partnerships and the other in non-stable relationships. Just over a third of participants were aware of PEP and “treatment as prevention”. There was a consensus that it is easier to use safe-sex practices in non-stable serodiscordant relationships, it is easier to use safe-sex practices. Some advantages of the new policies were mentioned, despite the concern that condom use might be neglected. The importance of healthcare teams’ actions among serodiscordant couples regarding prevention of sexual transmission of HIV was highlighted.

Políticas referentes à profilaxia pós-exposição sexual (PEP sexual) e a estratégia “tratamento como prevenção” reforçaram as ações preventivas da transmissão do HIV. Este estudo objetivou descrever percepções de pessoas com HIV/aids sobre a prevenção da transmissão do HIV no contexto da sorodiscordância. Foram conduzidos dois grupos focais com 13 participantes com relacionamentos sorodiscordantes: um com pessoas em parcerias estáveis e outro em parcerias não estáveis. Pouco mais de um terço dos participantes tinham conhecimento sobre a PEP e o “tratamento como prevenção”. Houve consenso de que há mais facilidade na adoção de práticas sexuais seguras nas parcerias sorodiscordantes não estáveis. Vantagens das novas políticas foram relatadas, não obstante o receio de que possa haver negligência quanto ao uso do preservativo. Destaca-se a relevância da atuação de equipes de saúde com casais sorodiscordantes quanto à prevenção da transmissão sexual do HIV.

Políticas referentes a la profilaxis post-exposición sexual (PEP sexual) y la estrategia de “tratamiento como prevención” reforzaron las acciones preventivas de la transmisión del VIH. El objetivo del estudio fue describir percepciones de personas con VIH/sida sobre la prevención de la transmisión del VIH en el contexto de la “suero discordancia”. Se realizaron dos grupos focales con 13 participantes con relaciones “suero discordantes”: uno con personas en relación estable y otro en relación no estable. Poco más de un tercio de los participantes tenía conocimiento sobre la PEP y el “tratamiento como prevención”. Hubo consenso de que hay más facilidad en la adopción de prácticas sexuales seguras en las relaciones “suero discordantes” no estables. Se relataron las ventajas de las nuevas políticas, a pesar del recelo de que pueda haber negligencia en lo que se refiere al uso del preservativo. Se destaca la relevancia de la actuación de equipos de salud con parejas “suero discordantes” a la prevención de la transmisión sexual del VIH.

HIV serodiscordant relationships in India: Translating science to practice.

Over the past 30 years, several interventions have been identified to prevent HIV transmission from HIV-infected persons to uninfected persons in discordant relationships. Yet, transmissions continue to occur. Interventions such as voluntary counselling and testing, condom promotion and risk reduction counselling are very effective in preventing transmission among serodiscordant couples but are underutilized in India despite their widespread availability. New interventions such as pre-risk exposure prophylaxis and universal antiretroviral therapy (irrespective of CD4 count) have been newly identified but face several challenges that impede their widespread implementation in India. Discordant couples in India also face certain unique socio-cultural issues such as marital and fertility pressure. We briefly review the various interventions (existing and novel) available for persons in discordant relationships in India and socio-cultural issues faced by these individuals and make recommendations to maximize their implementation.

Study of HIV-1 subtypes in serodiscordant couples attending an integrated counselling and testing centre in Mumbai using heteroduplex mobility analysis and DNA sequencing.

Aims: To determine the prevalent subtypes of HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples. Setting: Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC), Department of Microbiology. Study Design: Prospective pilot study. Participants: Thirty HIV-1 serodiscordant couples. Inclusion Criteria: a) Documentation of HIV-1 infection in one partner and seronegative status in the other, current history of continued unprotected sexual activity within the partnership, demonstration that they have been in a partnership for at least 1 year and are not currently on highly active antiretroviral therapy HAART; b) willingness of both partners to provide written informed consent including consent to continued couple counselling for 3 months. Materials and Methods: HIV-1 subtyping was carried out by heteroduplex mobility analysis (HMA) by amplifying env region; and DNA sequencing by amplifying gag region. Results: HIV-1 env gene was amplified successfully in 10/30 samples; gag gene, in 25/30 samples; and both env and gag gene were amplified successfully in 5/30 samples. HIV-1 subtype C was detected from 21 samples; subtype B, from 7; and subtype A, from 2. Sample from 1 positive partner was detected as subtype C by env HMA and subtype B by gag sequencing. Conclusion: HIV-1 subtype C was found to be the predominant subtype of HIV-1 in serodiscordant couples attending our ICTC, followed by HIV-1 subtype B and HIV-1 subtype A, respectively. DNA sequencing was found to be the most reliable method for determining the subtypes of HIV-1.