Seroprevalence of HIV-I is much higher in young women than men in Central Africa

2 serosurveys conducted by the authors in 1986-87 among randomly selected individuals 15-44 years of age in the Central African Republic city of Bangui refute the assumption that the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is equal in African men and women. Both of these surveys revealed a significantly higher incidence of HIV-1 in women. In the 1986 study 5 (1.4%) of the 354 men tested and 32 (5/5%) of the 536 women tested had antibodies to HIV-1. In the 1987 study 6 (3.5%) of the 173 men tested and 24 (11.4%) of the 210 women tested were HIV antibody-positive. This sex difference in HIV incidence was most pronounced in the 15-24-year age group. To rule out the possibility that this greater incidence of HIV infection in women reflected earlier and greater sexual activity on the part of young women or some bias in the selection of female subjects the incidence of 2 other sexually transmitted diseases--syphilis and hepatitis B--was also investigated in the same populations. In each age group the incidence of syphilis and hepatitis B was greater in men then in women. The reason for the higher incidence of HIV infection in contrast to other sexually transmitted diseases among women in Central Africa needs further investigation; it may be that men are more likely than women to transmit HIV.