title: Prevalence of HIV-1 antibody among groups of patients and healthy subjects from a rural and urban population in the Mwanza region, Tanzania.
abstract: In April 1987, antibody to HIV-1 was determined in sera from 764 subjects from the Mwanza region in the north of Tanzania. Patients with a clinical suspicion of AIDS were HIV-1 antibody-positive in 65.4% (34 out of 52) and patients admitted for pulmonary tuberculosis in 25% (9 out of 36). In patients attending general outpatient departments (OPD), HIV antibody was found in 12.5% of 48 patients with a history of sexually transmitted disease (STD) and in 10.6% of 141 patients without such a history. In healthy subjects, HIV-1 antibody was present in 6% of 332 pregnant women and in 4.5% of 155 blood donors. Of the blood donors, pregnant women and OPD patients without a history of STD (628 subjects in all), 465 belonged to the rural population of the region and the majority were peasants. In this subgroup, the HIV-1 antibody prevalence was 4.8% in blood donors, 4.9% in pregnant women and 10.3% in OPD patients. This indicates a spread of HIV-1 among the population in this part of Tanzania. Further studies are needed to determine what proportion of the population is affected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tropical Medicine, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Dolmans
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Loon
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van den Akker
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mbena
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mtey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001782:Blood Donors; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000276:immunology; D012424:Rural Population; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D013636:Tanzania; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies