Differences in fertility by HIV serostatus and adjusted HIV prevalence data from an antenatal clinic in northern Uganda.

Objectives: To estimate differences in fertility by HIV serostatus and to validate an adjustment method for estimating the HIV prevalence in the general female population using data from an antenatal clinic.

Methods: We used Cox regression models to retrospectively estimate the age-specific relative fertility (RF) of HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative women among 3314 antenatal clinic attenders in northern Uganda. RF and the age distribution of women in the general female population were used to extrapolate the antenatal clinic-based HIV prevalence.

A high prevalence of HIV-1 infection among pregnant women living in a rural district of north Uganda severely affected by civil strife.

This study aims at estimating the recent trends in HIV-1 prevalence and the factors associated with infection among pregnant women in the Gulu District of north Uganda, a rural area severely affected by civil strife. In 2000-2003, a total of 4459 antenatal clinic attendees of Lacor Hospital were anonymously tested for HIV-1 infection. The overall and age-specific prevalence did not show any significant trend over time.

Using prevalence data from the programme for the prevention of mother-to-child-transmission for HIV-1 surveillance in North Uganda.

Objectives: To validate the use of data from a programme for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in estimating HIV-1 prevalence in North Uganda.

Methods: The study was conducted at St. Mary's Hospital Lacor.

Evaluating two adjustment methods to extrapolate HIV prevalence from pregnant women to the general female population in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To evaluate two methods for estimating HIV prevalence among the general female population of reproductive age by adjusting data observed among antenatal clinic (ANC) attendees.

Methods: We adjusted the HIV prevalence among ANC attendees in Fort Portal (Uganda; 1994-1995), Mwanza municipality (Tanzania; 1990-1991), rural Mwanza (Tanzania; 1991-1993), Mposhi district (Zambia; 1994), Chelston (Lusaka, Zambia; 1994, 1996 and 1998) and Ndola (Zambia; 1998), using firstly a method that accounts for differences in age-specific fertility by HIV serostatus and secondly a method that accounts for differences in HIV prevalence by fertility risk category and parity.

Results: The non-adjusted HIV prevalence among ANC attendees underestimates the prevalence among the general female population by 8.