title: Development of a prospective cohort of HIV Exposed Sero-Negative (HESN) individuals in Jos Nigeria.
abstract: HIV/AIDS continues to be a global health problem. With currently no cure, it is critical to get an effective vaccine to add to the arsenal of prevention and treatment tools. HIV Exposed Sero-Negative (HESN) individuals were enrolled and followed for 2 years.
  
  
  
  A prospective observational cohort study to enroll HESN volunteers and their partners was developed with a 2-year follow up. This was a vaccine preparedness study and designed as a Phase IIb trial. We provided counseling, lab testing and conducted medical examinations for all enrollees.
  
  
  
  A total of 534 HESN were enrolled with 48 % (256) females and 52 % (278) males, a mean age of 37 ± 9 years. Three female HESN enrollees seroconverted giving this cohort a HIV incidence rate [95 % coefficient interval (CI)] of 3.2 (2.3-4.2) per 100,000 person-months of observation. Baseline analysis showed that female HESN are 24 % more likely to have their spouse consistently use condoms (RR 1.24; p = 0.04); 16 % more likely to have HIV+ partners with detectable viral load (RR 1.16, p = 0.03) and 28 % more likely that their HIV+ partners has a CD4 count less than 350cells/μl (RR 1.28, p = 0.03) when compared to male HESN.
  
  
  
  Our findings suggest that female HESN are more at risk of HIV acquisition due the low CD4 counts and detectable viral load among their HIV+ spouses. Moreover, we provide additional information on incidence and risk factors among naturally exposed persons, which might impact biomedical prevention research and immune responses to HIV vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Plateau State Human Virology Research Centre (PLASVIREC), Jos, Nigeria. sosawe@ihvnigeria.org.|Institute of Human Virology (IHVN), Abuja, Nigeria. sosawe@ihvnigeria.org.
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osawe
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Virology (IHVN), Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Evaezi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Okpokoro
authors.affiliation: Plateau State Human Virology Research Centre (PLASVIREC), Jos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Datiri
authors.affiliation: Plateau State Human Virology Research Centre (PLASVIREC), Jos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Choji
authors.affiliation: Plateau State Human Virology Research Centre (PLASVIREC), Jos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Okolo
authors.affiliation: Plateau State Human Virology Research Centre (PLASVIREC), Jos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Datong
authors.affiliation: Plateau State Human Virology Research Centre (PLASVIREC), Jos, Nigeria.|Institute of Human Virology (IHVN), Abuja, Nigeria.|Institute of Human Virology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: Alash'le
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abimiku
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016915:AIDS Vaccines; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D015994:Incidence; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D016915:AIDS Vaccines
keywords: Couples; HESN; HIV; Incidence; Nigeria; Vaccine