title: Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men in Zagreb, Croatia.
abstract: We used respondent-driven sampling among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Zagreb, Croatia in 2006 to investigate the prevalence of HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and sexual behaviours. We recruited 360 MSM. HIV infection was diagnosed in 4.5%. The seroprevalence of antibodies to viral pathogens was: herpes simplex virus type-2, 9.4%; hepatitis A, 14.2%; hepatitis C, 3.0%. Eighty percent of participants were susceptible to HBV infection (HBs antigen negative, and no antibodies to HBs and HBc antigen). Syphilis seroprevalence was 10.6%. Prevalence of Chlamydia and gonorrhoea was 9.0%, and 13.2%, respectively. Results indicate the need for interventions to diagnose, treat and prevent sexually transmitted infections among this population.
authors.affiliation: Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, Rockefellerova 4, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia. Ivana.Bozicevic@lshtm.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bozicevic
authors.forename: Oktavija Dakovic
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Rode
authors.forename: Snjezana Zidovec
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Lepej
authors.forename: Lisa Grazina
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stulhofer
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dominkovic
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bacak
authors.forename: Davorka
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lukas
authors.forename: Josip
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Begovac
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D015229:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology