Low prevalences of HIV infection and sexually transmitted disease among female commercial sex workers in Mexico City.

OBJECTIVES: This study tried to determine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevalences among female commercial sex workers in Mexico City. METHODS: A sampling frame was constructed that included bars, massage parlors, and street corners. RESULTS: Prevalences for Treponema pallidum, herpes simplex virus type 2, HIV, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Chlamydia trachomatis were 6.4%, 65%, 0.6%, 3.7%, and 11.1%, respectively. A significant association was found between higher STD frequencies and working at street sites. CONCLUSIONS: Most STD frequencies were lower in comparison with rates found for female sex workers in other countries. However, preventive programs against STD/ HIV are needed in this population.

Ecology and affective behavior: selected results from a quantitative study among Efe foragers of northeast Zaire.

This paper reports selected results of a quantitative study of the affective behavior of the Efe, exchange-dependent hunter-gatherers of the Ituri forest in northeastern Zaire. Measures of the amount and kind of affective display were based on systematic, direct observation of the routine behavior of three Efe bands in residential settings (camps), using a new technique to characterize affect-laden behavior according to nonlinguistic information conveyed in the voice. Resulting data provide a direct measure of the affective milieu of a foraging people, providing an objective indicator of the subjective impact of social and ecological conditions, which are thought to affect quality of life. In this paper, measures of "camp mood" are used to explore the psychosocial impact of a 3-month period of acute food shortage that occurred in the Ituri Project study area in 1983. Contrary to expectation, rates of behaviors conveying pleasure did not exhibit significant change, whereas a 44% increase in expressions of displeasure and a 17% drop in use of complaint tones were observed during the period of hunger. This and other findings support the view that systematic, direct observation in natural habitats can increase our understanding, both of the functions of affective behavior, and of the affective dimension of quality of life.