Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - April 7, 2004
While it was not possible to gauge definite trends, the similarity between these findings and those of two other recent studies seemed to support the idea that HIV-prevalence among young people was levelling, head researcher Helen Rees said in a statement.
"But it would be naive to think that is any cause for celebration," she added.
"The rate of infection among South African youth, particularly young girls, is among the highest in the world. There are persistent behavioural trends, such as multiple sexual partners, that exacerbate the problem."
The survey, conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand's reproductive health research unit, is claimed to be the largest ever of its kind.
It involved interviews and HIV testing of a nationally representative sample of nearly 12,000 15-to24-year-olds.
"This is the first survey to have a sufficiently large sample to provide reliable national baselines for HIV prevalence and behavioural trends among young South Africans," Rees said.
It found that young women were more likely to be infected. Among the 10.2% of young people who are HIV positive, 77% were female.
"Nearly one in four women aged 20-to-24 are HIV positive compared to one in 14 men of the same age."
The HIV prevalence rate among girls and women was 15.5%, compared to 4.8% among men, the survey results state.
The prevalence was higher among 20- to 24-year-olds (16.5%) than 15- to 19-year-olds (2.5%).
KwaZulu-Natal was the province with the highest HIV prevalence at 14.1%, while Limpopo had the lowest at 4.8%.
"In terms of geographic area, youth living in urban informal areas had the highest HIV prevalence at 17.4%," Rees said.
The findings were similar to those of the 2002 Nelson Mandela/HSRC survey and the government's 2002 antenatal clinic survey.
The survey found that 15% of young South Africans, mostly in remote areas, were not being reached by any HIV programmes.
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