1. Persistent high-risk behavior and escalating HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B incidences among men who have sex with men living in Bangui, Central African Republic
- Author
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Marcel Mbeko Simaleko, Jean De Dieu Longo, Serge Magloire Camengo Police, Gérard Grésenguet, Ralph Sydney Mboumba Bouassa, Danielle Piette, Beatrice Gulbis, and Laurent Bélec
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men having sex with men ,hiv ,syphilis ,clinical care ,intervention ,central african republic ,Medicine - Abstract
INTRODUCTION: HIV in sub-Saharan Africa remains a great concern in men who have sex with men (MSM). Intervention on MSM is a key strategy to control the burden of HIV among this population. Herein we assessed the effect of 2 years of HIV testing and counseling on risk-tacking and HIV and STI incidences among MSM living in Bangui in the Central African Republic. METHODS: the incidences of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B and the sexual behavior characteristics were assessed at inclusion and after 2 years of follow up in the prospective MSM cohort. RESULTS: 99 MSM were included and followed up during 2 years. The mean age of study MSM was 24 years (range, 14-39); among those, the majority was single (84.8%) and unemployed (33.3%) or students (23.9%). The majority (up to 80%) were living in only 4 (out of 10) neighboring district of Bangui. Insertive anal intercourse showed significant decrease from 54% at inclusion to 46% after 2 years of follow up (P = 0.001). In contrast, we observed slight increase in receptive anal intercourse (60% versus 66%) and oral sex (70% versus 74%), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. Finally, the prevalences of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B increased significantly from 29% to 41%, 12% to 21% and 14% to 23%, respectively. CONCLUSION: these observations indicate that medical care and counseling on MSM does not provide significant changes in risk-taking, whereas the incidences of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B remained high. Innovative interventions should be conceived for the MSM population living in Bangui.
- Published
- 2018
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