title: Population mobility and the changing epidemics of HIV-2 in Portugal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Portugal is the European country with the highest frequency of HIV-2 infection, which is mainly concentrated in West Africa. The cumulative number of notified HIV-2 infections in Portugal was 1813 by the end of December 2008. To better characterize the dynamics of HIV-2 infection in the country and to obtain data that may be of use in the prevention of the spread of HIV-2, we evaluated a large pooled sample of patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five Portuguese hospitals provided data on HIV-2-infected patients from 1984 to the end of 2007. Data concerning demographic characteristics and clinical variables were extracted. Patients were stratified according to date of diagnosis in approximately 5-year categories.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample included 442 patients, accounting for 37% of all HIV-2 infections notified in Portugal during that period. HIV-2-infected patients showed clearly different characteristics according to the period of diagnosis. Until 2000, the majority of HIV-2-infected patients were Portuguese-born males living in the north of the country. From 2000 to 2007, most of the patients diagnosed with HIV-2 infection had a West African origin, were predominantly female and were living in the capital, Lisbon. The average age at diagnosis and loss to follow-up significantly increased over time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HIV-2 infection has been documented in Portugal since the early 1980s and its epidemiology appears to reflect changes in population movement. These include the movements of soldiers and repatriates from African territories during the independence wars and, later, migration and mobility from high-endemicity areas. The findings of this study stress the importance of promoting migrant-sensitive health care.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, Portugal. claudiac@med.up.pt
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valadas
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: França
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Aleixo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mendez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarmento
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doroana
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Branco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aguas
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarmento E Castro
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Lazarus
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Barros
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D015498:HIV-2; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult