RWANDAN HIV SEROPREVALENCE STUDY GROUP - 1989
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RWANDAN HIV SEROPREVALENCE STUDY GROUP - 1989 |
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© 2005 Last Updated 20 Nov 2005 |
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In December, 1986, a nationwide serological survey of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in the general population of Rwanda was done in two parts - one in the rural and the other in the urban population. The sampling method was a modification of the cluster sampling technique developed for monitoring immunisation coverage. Antibodies to HIV-1 (and to HIV-2 and human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus type I [HTLV-I]) were detected by immunoenzymatic assays and confirmed by western blot. The number of clusters surveyed was 30 in setting, urban and rural. HIV-1 seroprevalence was 17.8 (95% confidence interval 14.3-21.-2%) in the urban sample (n =1870) and 1.3% (0.5-2.2%) in the rural sample (n = 742). In the urban. sample, females were more frequently HIV-1 seropositive than males (21.0% vs 14.6%). Age-specific peaks of HIV-1 seroprevalence were identified at 0 to 5 years of age (10.1 %) and at 26-40 years (30.0%). No differences in seroprevalence were observed in terms of age and sex in the rural sample. None of the sera were seropositive for HIV-2 and HTLV-I seroprevalence was 0.2% in the urban sample and 0.3% in the rural. Nationwide serological surveys could be effective in evaluating the spread of HIV infection and the efficacy of public health interventions against AIDS in developing countries.
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