High prevalent and incident HIV-1 and herpes simplex virus 2 infection among male migrant and non-migrant sugar farm workers in Zambia.

Background: More insight is needed regarding risk factors for prevalent and incident HIV-1 infection among male farm workers in Sub-Saharan Africa to control the HIV-1 epidemic.

Methods: Male farm workers were recruited from a sugar estate in Zambia to participate in a prospective cohort study. Questionnaire data were collected via interview, and testing was conducted for HIV-1, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and syphilis infection at baseline and follow-up between May 2006 and September 2007.

Lessons learned in the conduct, validation, and interpretation of national population based HIV surveys.

In the past few years several countries have conducted national population-based HIV surveys. Survey methods, levels of participation bias from absence or refusal and lessons learned conducting such surveys are compared in four national population surveys: Mali, Kenya, Peru and Zambia. In Mali, Zambia, and Kenya, HIV testing of adult women and men was included in the national-level demographic and health surveys carried out regularly in these countries, whereas in Peru the national HIV survey targeted young people in 24 cities with populations over 50 000.