title: Decline in prevalence of HIV-1 infection and syphilis among young women attending antenatal care clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: results from sentinel surveillance, 1995-2001.
abstract: From 1995 to 2001, five rounds of sentinel surveillance were carried out for young women attending antenatal care clinics at four health centers in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, to monitor trends in the prevalence of HIV infection and syphilis. Serum samples were tested for antibodies to HIV (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting) and antibodies to Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum hemagglutination assay and rapid plasma reagin test). Prevalence ratios for an increase in one calendar year were estimated using log-binomial models. Between 1995 and 2001, the prevalence of HIV infection among young women (age range, 15-24 years) attending antenatal care clinics in inner city health centers declined from 24.2% to 15.1% (prevalence ratio for an increase in one calendar year, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.87-0.95). No change was observed for older age groups or in outer city health centers. The decline in the prevalence of active syphilis (T. pallidum hemagglutination assay and rapid plasma reagin testing positive for antibodies to T. pallidum) was more pronounced among and also restricted to the young age groups (age range, 15-24 years) in the inner city (from 7.6% in 1995 to 1.3% in 2001; prevalence ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-0.80). The declining trends in the prevalence of HIV infection and syphilis among young women attending antenatal care clinics in the inner city are encouraging, but these findings require confirmation in future years and for other population groups.
authors.affiliation: Ethio-Netherlands AIDS Research Project, Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. aster@enarp.com
authors.forename: Aster
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsegaye
authors.forename: Tobias F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Rinke de Wit
authors.forename: Yared
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mekonnen
authors.forename: Asfaw
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beyene
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aklilu
authors.forename: Tsehaynesh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Messele
authors.forename: Almaz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abebe
authors.forename: Roel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Arnaud L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Fontanet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors