Modeling HIV transmission risk among Mozambicans prior to their initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy

C. R. Pearson, A. E. Kurth, S. Cassels, D. P. Martin, J. M. Simoni, P. Hoff, E. Matediana, S. Gloyd

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Understanding sexual behavior and assessing transmission risk among people living with HIV-1 is crucial for effective HIV-1 prevention. We describe sexual behavior among HIV-positive persons initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Beira, Mozambique. We present a Bernoulli process model (tool available online) to estimate the number of sexual partners who would acquire HIV-1 as a consequence of sexual contact with study participants within the prior three months. Baseline data were collected on 350 HAART-naive individuals 18-70 years of age from October 2004 to February 2005. In the three months prior to initiating HAART, 45% (n = 157) of participants had sexual relationships with 191 partners. Unprotected sex occurred in 70% of partnerships, with evidence suggesting unprotected sex was less likely with partners believed to be HIV-negative. Only 26% of the participants disclosed their serostatus to partners with a negative or unknown serostatus. Women were less likely to report concurrent relationships than were men (21 versus 66%; OR 0.13; 95%CI: 0.06, 0.26). Given baseline behaviors, the model estimated 23.2 infections/1,000 HIV-positive persons per year. The model demonstrated HAART along with syphilis and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) treatment combined could reduce HIV-1 transmission by 87%; increasing condom use could reduce HIV-1 transmission by 67%.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)594-604
Number of pages11
JournalAIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV
Volume19
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2007

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Social Psychology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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