HIV/STI Risk behaviors among Latino migrant workers in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina disaster.
OBJECTIVE
A rapid influx of Latino migrant workers came to New Orleans after Hurricane-Katrina. Many of these men were unaccompanied by their primary sex partner potentially placing them at high-risk for HIV/STIs. The purpose of this study was to assess HIV/STI sexual risk behavior of these men.


METHODS
A venue-based sample of Latinos who came to New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina were administered an anonymous, structured interview in Spanish in a mobile unit and urine tested for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhea (GC) using the nucleic acid amplification technique.


RESULTS
Participants (n = 180) had a mean age of 33 (range, 18-79), did not speak or understand English very well (93.9%), were undocumented (91.2%), were married (63.5%), and had children (67.4%), though the percent living with spouse and children was 6.1% and 4.9%, respectively. Although most men were born in Honduras (49.7%) and Mexico (25.4%), 61.9% came to New Orleans from another US state. The majority drank alcohol in the past week (75.5%), and of those, 68.7% engaged in binge drinking. A lower percentage used marijuana (16.6%) and cocaine (5.5%) at least once in the prior week. No men reported injection drug use. Self-reported history of HIV was 10%. No men tested positive for GC and 5 (2.8%) tested positive for CT. In the last month, 68.9% engaged in sex with high-risk sex partners, 30.0% were in potential bridge position, 50.0% used condoms inconsistently, 30.6% did not use a condom the last time they had sex, and 21.1% were abstinent. Since arriving, 9.4% reported leaving and returning to New Orleans.


CONCLUSIONS
Latino migrant workers in New Orleans reported risky sexual behaviors and low condom use within a potential bridge position. Although a low prevalence of CT and GC was found, there was a high percent of self-reported HIV infection. The cultural and contextual factors that place these migrant workers and their sex partner(s) at risk for HIV/STI need further investigation.
Kissinger
Patricia
P
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Epidemiology, New Orleans, LA 70012, USA. kissing@tulane.edu
Liddon
Nicole
N
Schmidt
Norine
N
Curtin
Erin
E
Salinas
Oscar
O
Narvaez
Alfredo
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055820:New Orleans; D015995:Prevalence; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult