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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Sharaf Ali Shah1, Latif Niazi1, Ashraf Memon1, and Omar A. Khan2. (1) Services Hospital, Indoor Block, Sindh AIDS Control Program, Pakistan, MA Jinnah Road, Karachi, Pakistan, 802-849-2156, sharafshah@cyber.net.pk, (2) Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health / The Naz Foundation USA, c/o 50 Meade Road, Fairfax, VT 05454
Objectives: To assess the risk of HIV among long distance truck drivers in Karachi, Pakistan by documenting risk behaviors and seroprevalence of syphilis and HIV.
Methods: 300 long distance truck drivers were enrolled from the largest truck station in Pakistan and a detailed behavioral risk factor questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers. Following informed consent, blood samples were drawn for syphilis and HIV. Testing for HIV was unlinked. Testing for syphilis was linked and initially reactive specimens on RPR were confirmed by TPHA. Study subjects reactive on both RPR and TPHA were treated for syphilis with the recommended antibiotic regimen.
Results: The observed prevalence of syphilis in this study population was 12%, and no truck driver tested positive for HIV. More than 50% of study participants reported sex with commercial sex workers; 20% reported male-to-male sex encounters. Only 5% of the truckers used condoms in their last sexual encounter, while more than 65% of the study participants reported never using a condom.
Conclusion: The study population of truck drivers in Pakistan is at high risk for acquiring and spreading STDs and HIV. Although no HIV was detected, the high prevalence of syphilis and the documented presence of high-risk sexual practices suggests the potential for rapid spread of the infection. Pakistan represents a relatively low HIV-prevalence setting overall but with some populations at increasing risk, if preventive efforts are not enhanced immediately. STD prevention in general should remain a national public health priority.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Pakistan
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.