title: Prevalence and concordance of HPV, HIV, and HSV-2 in heterosexual couples in Kigali, Rwanda.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the absence of prospectively collected transmission data, the transmission potential of a sexually transmissible infection (STI) can be estimated by its proxy of concordance in sexual partners. Here we report concordance data of 3 viral STIs: human papillomavirus (HPV), HIV, and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) among heterosexual couples in Kigali, Rwanda.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cervical and penile HPV typing was performed among 166 community-sampled fertile couples in Kigali, Rwanda (median sampling interval 10 days (interquartile range: 5-36). HIV and HSV-2 serostatus, curable STIs, and sociobehavioral and clinical characteristics were also assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Concordance rates for all 3 viral STIs were higher than expected by chance alone. Positive concordance among couples was 25% for HSV-2, 15.7% for any HPV, 8.4% for high-risk (HR)-HPV, and 6% for HIV. HR-HPV prevalence among women and men was 19.9% and 26.5%, respectively. Partner's HIV status was more strongly associated with HR-HPV detection in men (OR: 8.5; confidence interval: 2.9-24.6) than in women (OR: 1.9; confidence interval 0.5-6.7).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More than half of the couples were discordant for HIV, HPV, and/or HSV-2, indicating that prevention strategies directed to infected cases are important to protect their uninfected sexual partners.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. n.veldhuijzen@aighd.org
authors.forename: Nienke J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Veldhuijzen
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dhont
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vyankandondera
authors.forename: Ammiel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gasarabwe
authors.forename: Rosetta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Busasa
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Crucitti
authors.forename: Janneke H H M
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: van de Wijgert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020010:Heterosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D015995:Prevalence; D012432:Rwanda / Q000453:epidemiology; D012747:Sexual Partners