AEGiS-15IAC: The occupational status of HIV seropositive patients attending central public health laboratories, Lagos

AEGiS-15IAC: The occupational status of HIV seropositive patients attending central public health laboratories, Lagos - Nigeria.

15th International AIDS Conference

Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

The occupational status of HIV seropositive patients attending central public health laboratories, Lagos - Nigeria.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. C10072)

Badaru SO, Ajayi GO, Omilabu SA
Virology Research Laboratory, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: In the World over, the common high risk working groups for HIV infection are the commercial sex workers, long- and short-distant drivers/transporters, hoteliers and medical workers while those of non-working groups are known to be applicants and students. However, there is need to examine other groups with the rate of spread of HIV/AIDS in many developing countries so that interventional strategies would be focused and intensified on other groups to reduce the spread. A retrospective study was carried out in CPHL, Lagos on the patients/individuals attending the centre with respect to the patients' occupational status relative to HIV serostatus.

METHODS: Demographic data was sourced from the clinical/patients' biodata forms and questionnaires. Venous blood specimens were obtained and processed to recover the serum. All serum samples were subjected to screening test using rapid/ELISA-based algorithm (Capillus HIV-1 & 2 versus Vironostika Uni-Form II Ag/Ab). All screened positive samples were confirmed using Western blot method (New LAV blot 1 & 2).

RESULTS: Babies, students, applicants and housewives were generally more exposed than the working groups. Apart from commercial sex workers, drivers and other transporters, the engine-mechanic technicians, military force, tailors/fashion designers and business personalities/traders appeared to be at the high risk among the working groups.

CONCLUSION: Surprisingly, some groups least expected to be classified as high risk appeared so. Hence, attention/focus on various groups/classes (whether occupational or not) should be diversified in order to accommodate groups that are now emerging to be high risk since HIV/AIDS has neither boundaries nor limits in its transmission.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV Seropositivity, HIV Infections, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV-1, Employment, Demography, Prostitution, Nigeria, Blotting, Western, Developing Countries, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Retrospective Studies, Infant, Humans

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C10072