title: HIV-1 seroprevalence and subtypes in police recruits from Afar regional state, Ethiopia.
abstract: Surveillance for HIV-1 prevalence and subtypes in Afar Region, Ethiopia was performed among police recruits in the year 2000, by unlinked anonymous testing. Of 408 samples tested, 26 (6.4%) appeared positive for HIV-1 antibodies. There was a trend for higher HIV-1 seroprevalence in women (9.5%, 9/95) than men (5.4%, 17/313), which was significant in one of the 5 administrative areas: Zone 4 (p = 0.01). Around the principal transportation route connecting Addis Ababa to the harbor of Djibouti there was a significantly (p = 0.03) higher HIV-1 seroprevalence of 12.7% (14/110) than elsewhere in Afar Region. In addition, 13 (34%) of the 29 administrative sub-areas (woredas) of Afar Region delivered HIV-1 positive police recruits. Prevalence of syphilis antibodies was 7.4% (30/408), increasing by age, correlating with HIV-1 positive serology (p = 0.001) and with 23.3% (7/30) active cases. Of 22 specimens sequenced, 12 had gp120 V3 regions from Ethiopian subtype C, 9 subtype C' and 1 subtype A. In conclusion, even in very remote areas in Ethiopia, such as Afar Region, the HIV-1 epidemic is established, being primarily of subtype C. Regular HIV-1 surveillances will be necessary to guide action to prevent further spread in this vulnerable area.
authors.affiliation: Police Forces General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Ayele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zewde
authors.forename: Seifu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahiru
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Tesfaye
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tilahun
authors.forename: Asfaw
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beyene
authors.forename: Mengiste
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alebachew
authors.forename: Ab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schaap
authors.forename: Dawit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolday
authors.forename: Tobias F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Rinke de Wit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015897:Comorbidity; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000276:immunology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D016495:Police / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012703:Serotyping; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014186:Transportation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120