15th International AIDS Conference Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. D10111)

Singh S, Balooni V, Singhal S, Singh N
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

BACKGROUND: To understand the socio-psychological aspects of HIV transmission and AIDS care in India.

METHODS: One hundred HIV positive patients and their spouses or sexual partners were included in this study. The patients were interviewed for their sexual pre-or extramarital exposure with suspected HIV positive persons. They were also interviewed about the barriers, if any they used, and change in their sexual behaviour with their spouses after they were tested HIV positive.

RESULTS: All except three were males who were first detected HIV positive. Eighty of 97 (82.4%) males acquired HIV through heterosexual route. Of the 80 males, 60 (75%) acquired HIV infection from organised CSWs and 20 from casual sex partners. Thirty (37.5%) of these males got infected during only one or two sexual encounters. Sixty out of 75 (80%) married males continued to have sex even after knowing their HIV positive status. One male and nine female spouses did not get infected even after multiple insertive unprotected sexual acts with their HIV positive spouses. The HIV resistant sex partners are being investigated for possible genetic mutations including CCR5.

LESSONS LEARNED: The study shows that most of Indian youths got infection from CSWs. Many of these acquired this infection just before their marriages. The progression of disease was significantly rapid and higher in women than their male counterparts. The average life span of HIV infected Indian males without specific treatment was 4.5 ± 3.5 yr while in women it was 3.5 ± 2.0 yr, indicating fast progression of AIDS in females most probably due to gender bias in access to treatment, malnutrition and also due to hormonal differences.

040711
D10111

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