Rate of decline of absolute number and percentage of CD4 T lymphocytes among HIV-1-infected adults in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Objective: To determine the rate of decline of CD4 T lymphocytes among HIV-1-infected individuals.

Design And Setting: A prospective open cohort study of workers in three hotels in Dar es Salaam.

Methods: The workers were seen yearly during the study.

Lymphocyte subset enumeration in HIV seronegative and HIV-1 seropositive adults in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: determination of reference values in males and females and comparison of two flow cytometric methods.

The level of CD4(+) T-lymphocytes represents a useful marker with which to monitor the progression of HIV infection. Sex and geographical differences in the reference values of lymphocyte subsets have been reported. We have compared two flow cytometric methods (MultiSET and SimulSET) for the quantification of lymphocyte subsets using whole blood from 92 HIV seropositive and 241 seronegative adults, and determined the reference values of lymphocyte subsets in HIV seronegative Tanzanian subjects.

Monitoring of HIV-1 infection prevalence and trends in the general population using pregnant women as a sentinel population: 9 years experience from the Kagera region of Tanzania.

In the Kagera region of Tanzania, a population-based study was initiated in 1987 followed by the establishment of antenatal-clinic-based sentinel surveillance system in the town of Bukoba in 1990. Repeat studies in both populations in Bukoba in 1993 and 1996 made it possible to study the dynamics of HIV infection prevalence and incidence in the area. This study aims at comparing the findings from this sentinel surveillance system with those of cross-sectional studies in the general population to assess its validity in estimating HIV prevalence and their trends in the general population.

Prevalence of transfusion-associated viral infections and syphilis among blood donors in Muhimbili Medical Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of the main transfusion-associated viral infections and syphilis among blood donors in Muhimbili Medical Centre, Dar es salaam, Tanzania.

Design: Cross sectional study.

Setting: The blood bank unit of Muhimbili Medical Centre in Dar es salaam, Tanzania.

Decline in the prevalence of HIV-1 infection in young women in the Kagera region of Tanzania.

In northwestern Tanzania, a population-based survey of HIV-1 infection in the Kagera region in 1987 demonstrated a high prevalence (24.2%) in adults of Bukoba town, whereas it was lower (10.0%) in the surrounding rural district of Bukoba.