title: Migrant men: a priority for HIV control in Pakistan?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess sexual risk behaviour and prevalence of treatable sexually transmitted infections (STI) in migrant male workers in Lahore, Pakistan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Behavioural interviews were conducted on a representative sample of 590 migrant men aged 20-49 years. Biological samples were collected from a subsample of 190 and tested for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over half (55%) of single men were sexually experienced and 36% of married men reported premarital sex. The median ages at first intercourse and first marriage were 21 years and 28 years, respectively. In the total sample (including virgins), 13% reported any female non-marital partner in the past 12 months, 7% contact with a female sex worker, and 2% sex with a man. Only 10% reported using a condom during most recent contact with a sex worker. STI symptoms in the past 3 months were reported by 8% of men. Laboratory tests disclosed that STI prevalence was 3.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If and when HIV infection spreads among sex workers in Lahore, the reported behaviour of migrant men suggests that they may act as a conduit for further transmission to the general population. Condom promotion focused on the sex trade is likely to be the most effective way of reducing this risk.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 49-50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faisel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cleland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D015231:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D047568:Unsafe Sex