title: Notification of the sex and needle-sharing partners of individuals with human immunodeficiency virus in rural South Carolina: 30-month experience.
abstract: The authors conducted a confidential and voluntary partner notification program to identify and educate the sex and needle-sharing partners of individuals with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in a rural health district in South Carolina. During the first 30 months, of 485 named contacts, 290 (60%) were residents of the health district and were contacted and offered testing. Of the 290 contacted, 280 (97%)--53 women and 227 men; age range 14-74 years--accepted counseling and testing and 49 (18%) were HIV-antibody positive. Only 3 of the 49 (6%) had been previously tested. All HIV-infected individuals received appropriate physician, laboratory, and public health referrals. During the study, the mean number of sex partners per 6-month period decreased from 5.6 to 1.1 (80% reduction) for HIV-antibody positive persons and from 4.0 to 2.0 (50% reduction) for HIV-antibody negative persons. The authors conclude that in a rural setting, partner notification of HIV exposure can accurately target education and testing and can produce positive behavior change.
authors.affiliation: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC).
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Wykoff
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Longshore
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hollis
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Quiller
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dowda
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Gamble
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016358:Contact Tracing; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016485:Needle Sharing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013022:South Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies