HIV-1 seropositivity and behavioral and sociological risks among homosexual and bisexual men in six Mexican cities

Article Abstract:

The risk factors of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) were examined in homosexual and bisexual men from six cities in Mexico in 1988. Previous studies have shown that the epidemiological pattern of HIV infectivity in Latin American countries is different from that of other countries. The differences include low numbers of intravenous drug users who are infected, a higher incidence of bisexual men who are infected, and an increase in the spread of AIDS by heterosexual intercourse and from mother to child. There was a wide range of the rates of infection in the six cities, ranging from 2 to 25 percent. Analysis of sexual behavior showed that risk factors for HIV infectivity were insertive/receptive anal behavior (IRB), meeting partners in bathhouses, the city which the individual lived, whether the person had sexual intercourse with a person with AIDS, and whether the person had syphilis. The overall rate of the use of condoms was 30 percent. The study concluded that the main risk of infection is not just receptive anal sex, but behavior that involved many of these risky activities, especially having sex with infected individuals, the prevalence of which varied from city to city. Since some cities have low rates of infection, it is hoped that change in activity will control the rate of infectivity with HIV-1. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Statistics, Demographic aspects, Mexico, Gay men

---

Factors that could influence the spread of AIDS in Ghana, West Africa: knowledge of AIDS, sexual behavior, prostitution, and traditional medical practices

Article Abstract:

Ghana is a country in West Africa where the incidence of AIDS is still low. Surveys were conducted between 1987 and 1989, examining factors that could influence the spread of infection with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and the development of AIDS. The people who participated in the study were aware of the AIDS epidemic. However, the behavioral patterns of the Ghana people put them as risk for the rapid spread of HIV infection. The men of Ghana are allowed to have more than one wife. At the time of the study, the divorce rate was greater than 29 percent. Although 75 percent of the men had only one wife, 55 percent of the married men had other sexual partners besides their wives. Typically, the number of sexual partners that a man had at a particular point in time was low. Four percent of the men reported having had sexual intercourse with a prostitute in the previous month. Not many men used condoms. Traditional medical practices performed by healers include skin piercing and scarification; unsterile instruments were used by 39 percent of the healers. AIDS prevention programs are needed to alter these social customs to prevent the spread of HIV infection and an AIDS epidemic in Ghana. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Sex, Health aspects, Services, Surveys, Risk factors (Health), Ghana, AIDS (Disease), Prostitution, Healers

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Osteoarthritis in the elderly: clinical and radiological findings in 79 and 85 year olds. Definition of hip osteoarthritis for epidemiological studies
• Abstracts: Fetal protection and employment discrimination - the Johnson Controls case. Changing the consent rules for Desert Storm
• Abstracts: Why some dentists burn out. How to retain competent, loyal staff members
• Abstracts: Canadian multicenter azidothymidine trial: AZT pharmacokinetics. part 2 Laboratory evidence of active HIV-1 infection in Canadians with hemophilia associated with administration of heat-treated Factor VIII

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.