[Seroprevalence of HIV infection in the context of a mobile counseling and voluntary testing strategy in rural areas of Côte d'Ivoire].
BACKGROUND
In Côte d'Ivoire, HIV testing and counselling has been identified as a priority in the National 2006-2010 AIDS Strategic Plan, which is designed to evaluate the prevalence of HIV in rural areas measured by means of a mobile strategy.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study from 1st April, 2007 to 31st March 2008 in six rural areas of Côte d'Ivoire: Dabou, San Pedro, Abengourou, Tanda, Daloa, and Soubré*. The study population consisted of subjects attending the mobile voluntary counselling and testing units.


RESULTS
The mean prevalence of HIV infection in this study was 5.30%. The mean prevalence rate in men was 5.26%, with a peak of 7.55% in the 30-34 years age-group. The mean prevalence rate in women was 5.35%, with a peak of 6.59% in the same age-group. Type HIV-1 was predominant (84.2% of the total). The most affected area was Dabou, with a rate three times higher (15.83%) than the average rate observed during the study. More educated people (university level) presented 3.5-fold (for men) or 6-fold (for women) higher infection rates than illiterate people. Although 100% of people who tested positive received a medical or community referral according to their specific needs, only 62.1% were first-line referred for medical care.


CONCLUSIONS
In the light of the results of this study, we believe that community mobilization must be redirected to the most severely affected populations to facilitate earlier diagnosis. Actions such as training and prevention based on communication to encourage changes of behaviour should therefore be priorities in the national counselling and testing programme.
N'cho Simplice
NS
Dagnan
Issaka
I
Tiembré
Joseph Benié
JB
Bi Vroh
Badara
B
Diaby
Pétronille
P
Zengbe-Acray
Harvey
H
Attoh-Touré
Didier
D
Adjoua
Kouadio Daniel
KD
Ekra
Janine
J
Tagliante-Saracino
D000328:Adult; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire / Q000453:epidemiology; D003376:Counseling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012424:Rural Population