BACKGROUND The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) amongst South African infants and children has been reported in the pre-HIV era. Despite the reported high prevalence of HIV in the general population of South Africa, the rate of HIV/HBV co-infection amongst infants and children remains poorly reported. OBJECTIVES We describe the prevalence of HBV infection amongst HIV-positive and HIV-neg...

BACKGROUND Little information exists regarding the burden of HIV among tuberculosis patients in India, and no population-based surveys have been previously reported. A community-based HIV prevalence survey was conducted among tuberculosis patients treated by the national tuberculosis control programme to evaluate the HIV prevalence among tuberculosis patients in India. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL F...

BACKGROUND The core-group theory of sexually transmitted infections suggests that targeting prevention to high-risk groups (HRG) could be very effective. We aimed to quantify the contribution of heterosexual HRGs and the potential impact of focused interventions to HIV transmission in the wider community. METHODS We systematically identified studies published between 1980 and 2011. Studies we...

OBJECTIVE To describe patterns of HIV infection among stable sexual partnerships across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). METHODS The authors defined measures of HIV discordancy and conducted a comprehensive quantitative assessment of discordancy among stable partnerships in 20 countries in SSA through an analysis of the Demographic and Health Survey data. RESULTS HIV prevalence explained at least ...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE The present study was conducted on the prevalence of malaria as co-infection amongst 'asymptomatic HIV' and 'symptomatic HIV' subjects to see if such prevalence deviated from that commonly reported in apparently health individuals in same locality. METHODS A prospective study that involved 196 participants grouped according to their HIV status as: 'asymptomatic HIV sero...

BACKGROUND Both religious practices and male circumcision (MC) have been associated with HIV and other sexually-transmitted infectious diseases. Most studies have been limited in size and have not adequately controlled for religion, so these relationships remain unclear. METHODS We evaluated relationships between MC prevalence, Muslim and Christian religion, and 7 infectious diseases using co...

Population surveys of health and fertility are an important source of information about demographic trends and their likely impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In contrast to groups sampled at health facilities they can provide nationally and regionally representative estimates of a range of variables. Data on HIV-sero-status were collected in the 2001 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) a...

Since the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy, several studies have reported an increase in salivary gland diseases and high prevalence xerostomia dysfunction among people with HIV.

BACKGROUND Sentinel surveillance for HIV in ante-natal clinics (ANC) remains the primary method for collecting timely trend data on HIV prevalence in most of sub-Saharan Africa. We describe prevalence of HIV and syphilis infection and trends over time in HIV prevalence among women attending ante-natal clinics (ANC) in Magu district and Mwanza city, part of Mwanza region in Northern Tanzania. HI...