High HIV Prevalence among Men who have Sex with Men in a Time-Location Sampling Survey, São Paulo, Brazil.
We conducted a time-location sampling sero-behavioral surveillance survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) in São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere (N = 1,217 interviewed with serological results for 771). HIV prevalence was 15.4 % (95 % CI 11.6-20.1), with only 45.8 % previously aware of their infection. HIV prevalence achieved 6.4 % among youth 18-24 years and was higher among MSM with lower socio-economic status. In multivariate analysis, correlates of HIV were older age, gay identity, lower socio-economic status, social networks with HIV-positive MSM, receptive anal sex, and internet sex partners. Policy change towards increasing avenues for HIV testing coupled with antiretroviral treatment regardless of CD4 count or stage of disease stand to benefit the MSM community if scaled up fast enough.
Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, maria.veras@gmail.com.
Maria Amelia
MA
de Sousa Mascena Veras
Gabriela Junqueira
GJ
Calazans
Manoel Carlos Sampaio
MC
de Almeida Ribeiro
Carmem Aparecida
CA
de Freitas Oliveira
Marcia Regina
MR
Giovanetti
Regina
R
Facchini
Isadora Lins
IL
França
Willi
W
McFarland
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires