The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43692

John E. Williams, MD¹, Abraham Hodgson, PhD¹, Fred Binka, MD², and Kwaku Yeboah, MBCHB, MPH³. (1) Senior Medical Officer, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Box 114, Navrongo, Upper East Region, Ghana, 233-742-22310, jwilliams@navrongo.mimcom.net, (2) School of Public Health, University of Ghana, P.O.Box 25, Legon, Accra, Ghana, (3) Disease Control Unit, National AIDS Control Programme, P.O.Box KB 493, Korle Bu, Accra, Ghana

Ghana has a national HIV sentinel surveillance system that has provided regional estimates of prevalence among antenatal care clientele since 1990. However, district level estimates are not available, and covariates of HIV risk are unknown. It is generally believed that HIV prevalence is lower in northern Ghana than in the South. In the 2000 Ghana sentinel serosurveillance, HIV prevalence in the six northern Ghana sites ranged from 1.0 to 1.6 percent, while the aggregate national average for that year was 3.0 percent.

This paper reports on the extension of the national surveillance system to antenatal care clinic clientele in Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana. This district has a long history of seasonal migration for work opportunities in coastal west Africa. Venous blood samples were collected from all 381 first-time antenatal clinic patients during a ten week period in 2001-2002. Findings indicate that prevalence is 2.4 percent, roughly double levels in other northern sites measured in 2000, and risk is associated with urban exposure. Implications for future research and programmatic action are reviewed and discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Discuss the reasons for sentinel surveillance of HIV among antenatal clinic attendants as compared to a passive AIDS surveillance system.
• Understand the effects of occupation and residence location on HIV infection in a rural area of northern Ghana.
• Articulate the importance of assessing HIV prevalence within the setting of a successful community health and family planning project.
• Describe the process of implementing antenatal clinic HIV surveillance in a rural hospital setting.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, International Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.