1. Seroprevalence of HIV-1 and syphilis antibodies in blood donors in Gonder, Ethiopia, 1989-1993
- Author
-
Assefa, Abraham, Rahlenbeck, Sibylle, Molla, Kassie, and Alemu, Shitaye
- Subjects
Ethiopia -- Diseases ,HIV infection -- Demographic aspects ,Syphilis -- Demographic aspects ,Blood donors -- Diseases ,Health - Abstract
The incidence of both HIV infection and syphilis appears to have increased significantly in northwestern Ethiopia between 1989 and 1993. Blood samples from 3,696 blood donors in Gonder, Ethiopia, were tested for HIV between 1989 and 1993 and also for syphilis between 1991-1993. Of the donors, 3,066 were male. In 1989, 3.8% of the samples from men tested positive for HIV compared to 16.1% in 1993. The most significant increases in HIV infection occurred among those from 20-29 and 30-39 years old. HIV-infection rates among women increased from 7% in 1989 to 16.8% in 1992. However, in 1993 HIV-infection rates among women decreased to 13.4%. Among men the rate of syphilis infection increased from 4.8% in 1991 to 9.2% in 1993. Among women there was an increase from 2% to 9.3% during the same time. Those who tested positive for syphilis were twice as likely to also test positive for HIV when compared to those who did not have syphilis.
- Published
- 1994