title: Nationwide community-based serological survey of HIV-1 and other human retrovirus infections in a central African country. Rwandan HIV Seroprevalence Study Group.
abstract: In December, 1986, a nationwide serological survey of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in the general population of Rwanda was done in two parts--one in the rural and the other in the urban population. The sampling method was a modification of the cluster sampling technique developed for monitoring immunisation coverage. Antibodies to HIV-1 (and to HIV-2 and human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus type I [HTLV-I]) were detected by immunoenzymatic assays and confirmed by western blot. The number of clusters surveyed was 30 in each setting, urban and rural. HIV-1 seroprevalence was 17.8% (95% confidence interval 14.3-21.2%) in the urban sample (n = 1870) and 1.3% (0.5-2.2%) in the rural sample (n = 742). In the urban sample, females were more frequently HIV-1 seropositive than males (21.0% vs 14.6%). Age-specific peaks of HIV-1 seroprevalence were identified at 0 to 5 years of age (10.1%) and at 26-40 years (30.0%). No differences in seroprevalence were observed in terms of age and sex in the rural sample. None of the sera were seropositive for HIV-2 and HTLV-I seroprevalence was 0.2% in the urban sample and 0.3% in the rural. Nationwide serological surveys could be effective in evaluating the spread of HIV infection and the efficacy of public health interventions against AIDS in developing countries.
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D012432:Rwanda; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013029:Space-Time Clustering; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies