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Background: Identifying patterns in the distribution of new HIV infections in the population is critical for HIV programmatic interventions. This study aimed to determine the distribution of New HIV infection by applying the incidence patterns mathematical model to data from Lagos state. Methods: The incidence patterns model (IPM) software is a mathematical model developed by UNAIDS to estimate the demographic and epidemic patterns of HIV infections. This model was adapted in Lagos state to predict the distribution of new HIV infections among specified risk groups in the next 12 months. Results: The IPM predicted a total HIV incidence of 37 cases per 100 000 individuals (3979 new infections) will occur among the 15 to 49 subpopulations. The results also showed that sero-concordant HIV-negative couples with external partners (29%), female sex workers (26%), men-having-sex-with-men (18%), and previously married females (6%) accounted for the majority of the estimated new HIV infections. Overall, key populations constitute almost half (48%) of the estimated number of new HIV infections. Conclusion: The study helped to identify the population groups contributing significantly to new HIV infections. Therefore, priority interventions should be focused on these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among 128 patients routinely receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy in an HIV/AIDS outpatient clinic in Cameroon, 16.4% had drug resistance after a median of 10 months. Of these, 12.5% had [...]

The presence of genotypic HIV-1 variants circulating in eastern Cameroon from blood samples of 57 HIV-1-infected individuals attending 3 local health centers in the bordering rural villages with Central African Republic (CAR) collected and analyzed phylogenetically is monitored. The study showed that the findings strongly suggest that this part of Cameroon is a potential hotspot of HIV-1 recombination.

The selected HIV diagnostic assays currently used in Cameroon on a panes of HIV-positive and -negative sera, representing the perdominant viral strains and monitor the impact of mutations within the IDR of the gp41 domain on antibodies detection is studied. The importance of prior test evaluations on local serum panels and in field conditions before a national policy for HIV screening is decided on and stress also the need to use tests and algorithms that can reduce the high number of HIV-indeterminate results in Africa.

Research has been conducted on HIV seropositivity risk factors in rural areas of Cameroon. The wide range of HIV prevalence among rural villages in Cameroon has been analyzed, and the results demonstrate that age, sexual risk factors and marital status in women can be associated with HIV infection in the area.

Research has been conducted on HIV-1 subtype infecting patients from the urban and semiurban areas in Cameroon. The diversity of HIV-1 group M subtypes infecting people has been investigated, and the details are reported.

A vaginal gel containing the spermicide nonoxynol-9 does not appear to protect women from gonorrhea and chlamydia infection. This was the conclusion of a study of 1,251 women who used a condom or a condom plus nonoxynol-9., Context Nonoxynol-9 has been suggested as a vaginal microbicide to protect against common sexually transmitted infections. Objective To compare nonoxynol-9 gel and condom use (gel group) vs condom use alone (condom group) for the prevention of male-to-female transmission of urogenital gonococcal and chlamydial infection. Design and Setting Randomized controlled trial conducted at 10 community clinics and 10 pharmacies in Yaounde, Cameroon, between October 1998 and September 2000, with 6 months of follow-up. Participants High-risk population of 1251 women (excluding sex workers) being treated for or who had symptoms of sexually transmitted infections. Three were excluded from the gel group (0.5%) and 7 from the condom group (1 %) because of no follow-up data. Interventions Nonoxynol-9 gel (100 mg) and condoms or condoms only. Main Outcome Measure A positive test result for gonococcal or chlamydial infection by the ligase chain reaction assay; secondary outcome measure was a positive test result for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Results The rate ratio (RR) for new urogenital infections was 1.2 for the gel group vs condom group (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9-1.6; P=.21). The gel group had 116 diagnosed gonococcal infections, chlamydial infections, or both for a rate of 43.6 per 100 person-years, and the condom group had 100 infections for a rate of 36.6 per 100 person-years. The RR for gonococcal infection in the gel group vs the condom group was 1.5 (95% Cl, 1.0-2.3) and for chlamydial infection was 1.0 (95% Cl, 0.7-1.4). There were 5 new cases of HIV infections in the gel group and 4 in the condom group. Three women in each group became pregnant during the study. Conclusion Nonoxynol-9 gel did not protect against urogenital gonococcal or chlamydial infection.

HIV infection reduces the rate of pregnancy in African women by 16% to 26%, according to a study of antenatal clinics in Cameroon, Kenya, and Zambia. At all three sites, HIV-infected women had longer periods between pregnancies than non-infected women.

Nonoxynol 9 may not be effective in killing infectious organisms in the female genital tract. This chemical is effective in killing sperm and is used as a contraceptive. Researchers randomly assigned 1,292 female prostitutes to insert a film containing nonoxynol 9 or a placebo into their vagina before intercourse. They were also instructed to use condoms. During monthly follow-ups, the women who used nonoxynol 9 had the same rates of sexually transmitted diseases as the women who used placebo. This was true for HIV infection, chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Objectives. Although condoms are the best defense against sexually transmitted disease, little is known about the effectiveness of female-controlled methods containing nonoxynol-9 as backup protection when condoms are not being used, Methods. To assess the extent to which nonoxynol-9 protects women against gonorrhea, a cohort of 303 female sex workers (prostitutes) in Yaounde, Cameroon, were asked to use condoms and suppositories containing nonoxynol-9 at every sexual encounter and to record daily sexual activity and use of condoms and suppositories on coital logs that were reviewed monthly. Evidence of gonorrheal infection was based on a positive gonorrhea culture. Stratified analysis and proportional hazards regression were used to estimate rate ratios. Results. Forty-one women enrolled in the study were excluded from the current analysis. The estimated incidence of gonorrhea was 6.2 infections per 100 person-months of observation. Incidence rate ratios estimated from proportional hazards regression models controlling for condom use showed that using nonoxynol-9 during acts not protected by condoms reduced the risk of infection. Conclusions. Although the protective effect of condoms against sexually transmitted disease is greater than that afforded by nonoxynol-9, using nonoxynol-9 when condoms are not used is a far better strategy in gonorrhea prevention than using no method at all, (Am J Public Health. 1994;84:910-914), Vaginal application of nonoxynol-9, a spermicide, may offer significant protection against gonorrhea when condoms are not used. A group of 303 female prostitutes in Cameroon were advised to use condoms and vaginal suppositories containing nonoxynol-9 at every intercourse. Condoms and suppositories were available free. Women kept daily logs of usage for each act and were examined monthly. Forty percent of coital acts were protected by both methods, 22% by condoms alone, 25% by nonoxynol-9 alone, and 12% were unprotected acts. Ninety-five women contracted gonorrhea. Rates of infection fell among all women as condom use increased and among condom users as suppository use increased. For women not using condoms, those who used suppositories more than 75% of the time had infection rates 14% of those using suppositories less than 25% of the time.