AEGiS-15IAC: Recent HIV prevalence trends among antenal clinic attendees in sub-Saharan Africa.

15th International AIDS Conference

Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

Recent HIV prevalence trends among antenal clinic attendees in sub-Saharan Africa.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. C10378)

Garcia Calleja JM, Asamoah-Odei E, Boerma T
WHO, Geneva, Switzerland

Objectives: An average of 600 prenatal clinics and over 200,000 women have been tested within the national HIV sentinel surveillance systems in sub Saharan Africa in 2002. The objectives were to review the most recent results in HIV prevalence among women attending prenatal clinics, using surveillance data reported by national programs in countries in the African in the last five years.

METHODS: Following trends in HIV prevalence in the same sentinel surveillance sites is the most important and robust way of tracking the epidemic over time. Only antenatal clinics are included that have at least one measurement in each of three two year periods: 1997-1998, 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. This review was limited to look a the same clinics with data over multiple years. The median of HIV prevalence data a series of antenatal clinics is used as a summary measure.

RESULTS: Data from antenatal clinics in capital cities are available for the longest period of time. The median HIV prevalence for East African cities has declined gradually during the last three two-year periods. This decline is most dramatic and most consistent in Kampala, but also the other cities in East Africa have shown falls in HIV prevalence while cities in Western Africa present a more modest decline or stabilization. The median HIV prevalence of the seven countries in southern Africa with data for all three periods increased considerably from 20% in 1997-98 to 25% in 2001-2002. There were no countries in Central Africa with data for all three two-year periods. [table: see text] Conclusion The trends in HIV prevalence make clear that the large differences in HIV prevalence by sub-region are not a matter of time, but that the gap between the sub-regions is even widening. Only a few countries in Southern Africa have still increasing trends. HIV sentinel surveillance among antenatal clinic attendees is good indicator of prevalence trends.

Keywords: AEGIS, Prevalence, Africa South of the Sahara, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Seropositivity, Ambulatory Care Facilities, Prenatal Care, Sentinel Surveillance, Disease Outbreaks, Africa, Southern, Africa, Central, Africa, Western, Africa, Humans, Female, epidemiology, trends

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