PLoS ONE
Volume 10, Issue 10, 2015

Profile of an HIV testing and counseling unit in Bangladesh: Majority of new diagnoses among returning migrant workers and spouses (Article) (Open Access)

Urmi A.Z. , Leung D.T. , Wilkinson V. , Miah M.A.A. , Rahman M. , Azim T.
  • a Centre for HIV/AIDS, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Hospitals, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • b Centre for HIV/AIDS, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Centre for Vaccine Sciences, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
  • c Institute for Breathing and Sleep, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia
  • d Centre for HIV/AIDS, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Hospitals, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • e Centre for HIV/AIDS, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Hospitals, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • f Centre for HIV/AIDS, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Introduction: Analysis of data from HIV testing and counseling (HTC) services provides an opportunity to identify important populations for targeting of HIV prevention efforts. Our primary aim was to describe the demographics of clients presenting to HTC in Bangladesh, a low HIV prevalence country. Our secondary aim was to determine the risk factors for HIV positivity among returning migrant workers who were tested. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of data collected between 2002 and 2010 from the first HTC service established in Bangladesh, located in three large cities. Results: 8973 individuals attended HTC services, with 558 (6.2%) of clients testing positive for HIV, including 33 children. The majority of those who tested positive were aged 25-44 (71%), male (70%), and married (68%). Key populations considered at increased risk of HIV, such as female sex workers, people who inject drugs, and males who have sex with males accounted for only 11% of adults who tested positive. Notably, 75% of adults testing positive had a history of migrant work or was the spouse of a migrant worker. In multivariable logistic regression of those with a migrant work history presenting for HTC, we found rural residence, working in the Middle East, and longer duration of migrant work to be independently associated with testing positive, and female gender and higher level of education to be negatively associated. Conclusions: These data suggest that in Bangladesh, in addition to targeting traditional key populations, HIV prevention efforts should also focus on migrant workers and their spouses.Copyright: © 2015 Urmi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

educational status controlled clinical trial multicenter study Human immunodeficiency virus infection Spouses Serologic Tests human middle aged Middle East statistics and numerical data rural population health service controlled study Aged geographic distribution HIV Seropositivity Human immunodeficiency virus prevalence men who have sex with men marriage migrant worker cross-sectional study Humans psychology Adolescent male counseling female spouse risk factor Ambulatory Care Facilities high risk population prostitution outpatient department Article Human immunodeficiency virus testing and counseling major clinical study adult migration serology infection risk age distribution Bangladesh Transients and Migrants disease association intravenous drug abuse Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84949883815&doi=10.1371%2fjournal.pone.0141483&partnerID=40&md5=c6769e8bf42791a41565e89cc091b8a2
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141483
ISSN: 19326203
Cited by: 5
Original Language: English