Uptake of HIV and syphilis testing of pregnant women and their male partners in a programme for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Uganda.
OBJECTIVE
To describe uptake of HIV and syphilis testing in a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programme in Uganda.


METHODS
Analysis of data from routine HIV and syphilis testing at Entebbe Hospital antenatal services.


RESULTS
A total of 20,738 women attended antenatal services. Exactly 62.8% of women, but only 1.8% of their male partners, accepted testing for HIV; 82.2% of women, but only 1.1% of their male partners accepted syphilis testing. Partners of women with positive HIV results were more likely to come for subsequent testing. Of 200 couples whose partners accepted HIV-testing within 30 days of one another, 19 (9.5%) were HIV-discordant, representing 65.5% of couples with at least one partner HIV-positive. HIV prevalence was 12.6% for women and 10.8% for men; syphilis prevalence was 4.0% for women and 6.2% for men.


CONCLUSIONS
Uptake of HIV and syphilis testing was fairly good among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Entebbe Hospital, but very low among their male partners. The level of HIV-discordant couples was high. These clinics should be made more couples-friendly to identify both HIV-positive men for treatment and discordant couples for HIV prevention.
Kizito
Dennison
D
Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute (MRC/UVRI), Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda.
Woodburn
Patrick W
PW
Kesande
Beleth
B
Ameke
Christine
C
Nabulime
Juliet
J
Muwanga
Moses
M
Grosskurth
Heiner
H
Elliott
Alison M
AM
D003376:Counseling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission; D014454:Uganda