High HIV prevalence among children presenting for general consultation in rural Cameroon.
Data on the HIV-prevalence children presenting to health care facilities in sub-Saharan Africa are scant in general, and the debate about opportunities for paediatric HIV screening is ongoing. Nine hundred and eighty-one children with unknown HIV-status presenting to a large general paediatric outpatient department in rural Cameroon were tested using the Determine HIV-1/2 rapid test (Abbott), and positive results were confirmed with the Hexagon HIV rapid test (Human Diagnostics). In children younger than 18 months, HIV infection was confirmed by PCR testing. Median age was 1.3 years and 52.8% were of male gender. In 514 children below 18 months of age, 16 (3.1%) tested positive. Of those, HIV-1 PCR was available for 11 children, of whom 6 had a positive PCR result. HIV prevalence was highest in the age group 5-9 years, being 8.8%. Malnutrition (33.3 vs 5.2%, p < 0.001) was associated with HIV infection. Our study results indicate that HIV testing should be offered to all children at possible entry points to medical care, irrespective of symptoms, in order to reduce HIV-associated mortality through timely initiation of antiretroviral therapy.
Infectious Diseases Unit, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
A
A
Zoufaly
Altona Children's Hospital, Hamburg, Germany.
R
R
Hammerl
Bamenda Regional Hospital, Cameroon.
F
F
Sunjoh
Infectious Diseases Unit, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
J
J
Jochum
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Clinical Research Unit, Hamburg, Germany.
N
N
Nassimi
Bamenda Regional Hospital, Cameroon.
C
C
Awasom
Bamenda Regional Hospital, Cameroon.
G
G
Tayong
Bamenda Regional Hospital, Cameroon.
F
F
Sauter
Infectious Diseases Unit, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
S
S
Schmiedel
Infectious Diseases Unit, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
J
J
van Lunzen
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Clinical Research Unit, Hamburg, Germany.
G
G
Burchard
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Clinical Research Unit, Hamburg, Germany Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany tofeldt@web.de.
T
T
Feldt
D017677:Age Distribution; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
AIDS; HIV; VCT; children; screening; seroprevalence; sub-Saharan Africa