Sexual risk behaviors for HIV/AIDS in Chuuk State, Micronesia: the case for HIV prevention in vulnerable remote populations.

Background: After the first two cases of locally-acquired HIV infection were recognized in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), a public health response was initiated. The purpose of the response was to assess the need for HIV education and prevention services, to develop recommendations for controlling further spread of HIV in Chuuk, and to initiate some of the prevention measures.

Methodology/principal Findings: A public health team conducted a survey and rapid HIV testing among a sample of residents on the outer islands in Chuuk.

HIV behavioral surveillance in the U.S.: a conceptual framework.

This article describes a conceptual framework for HIV behavioral surveillance in the United States. The framework includes types of behaviors to monitor, such as risk behaviors, HIV testing behaviors, adherence to HIV treatment, and care-seeking for HIV/AIDS. The framework also describes the population groups in which specific behaviors should be monitored.

The epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in women in the southern United States.

Objective: We reviewed data from multiple sources to examine distinguishing features of the HIV epidemic among women in the South.

Goal: The goal of this study was to identify HIV and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention research priorities in the South.

Study Design: Cases of HIV/AIDS and STDs were analyzed to compare rates by region and rates in urban versus rural areas.

Characteristics of adults and adolescents who have migrated from place of AIDS diagnosis to place of death, United States, 1993-2001.

This study compared demographic characteristics of adults and adolescents who received an AIDS diagnosis in one state and died in a different state. We analyzed reports of deaths among persons (> or = 13 years old) with AIDS whose state of residence at diagnosis and state of occurrence of death were different (migrants). Between January 1993 and December 2001, 251,441 deaths of adults and adolescents with AIDS occurred.

A two-stage sampling method for clinical surveillance of individuals in care for HIV infection in the United States.

Objectives: The goals of this study were two-fold: (1) to describe methods for drawing a population-based sample of individuals in care for HIV infection and (2) to compare data from the sample with data from existing surveillance systems that describe care for HIV.

Methods: The authors implemented a two-stage sampling method, using local HIV/AIDS surveillance data as a sampling frame of HIV care providers in three states. At selected providers, medical records of a random sample of patients were abstracted.

Epidemiologic profile of HIV and AIDS among American Indians/Alaska Natives in the USA through 2000.

Objectives: To describe HIV and AIDS among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ AN) in the USA through 2000.

Design: An epidemiologic profile was constructed using HIV/AIDS surveillance, sexually transmitted disease (STD), and seroprevalence data.

Results: Although AIDS among AI/AN represents < 1% of cumulative AIDS cases in the USA, in 2000 the AIDS incidence rate (cases per 100,000 population) for AI/AN (11.

Crack cocaine use and adherence to antiretroviral treatment among HIV-infected black women.

Since the appearance of crack cocaine in the 1980s, unprecedented numbers of women have become addicted. A disproportionate number of female crack users are Black and poor. We analyzed interview data of HIV-infected women > or = 18 years of age reported to 12 health departments between July 1997 and December 2000 to ascertain if Black women reported crack use more than other HIV-infected women and to examine the relationship between crack use and antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence among Black women.

Estimated number of children left motherless by AIDS in the United States, 1978-1998.

When a mother dies of AIDS, basic needs of her children may be left unmet. To estimate the number and characteristics of maternal AIDS orphans in the United States, demographic techniques were applied to data from several sources. From the national HIV/AIDS surveillance system, reporting delays were adjusted for the number of deaths among women aged 15-44 diagnosed with AIDS through 1998 and reported as deceased by December 1999.

Prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and incidence of acute hepatitis B infection in human immunodeficiency virus-infected subjects.

We determined incidence and risk factors for acute and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and HBV vaccination rates among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects from the Adult/Adolescent Spectrum of HIV Disease Project, during 1998-2001. Among 16,248 HIV-infected patients receiving care, the incidence of acute HBV was 12.2 cases/1000 person-years (316 cases), was higher among black subjects (rate ratio [RR], 1.

Occupationally acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection: national case surveillance data during 20 years of the HIV epidemic in the United States.

Objective: To characterize occupationally acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection detected through case surveillance efforts in the United States.

Design: National surveillance systems, based on voluntary case reporting.

Setting: Healthcare or laboratory (clinical or research) settings.

HIV/AIDS surveillance in the United States, 1981-2001.

We review the HIV/AIDS reporting system, including the legal basis for reporting, the methods and infrastructure for reporting, evaluation of the completeness and quality of the data, and analysis and dissemination of reports. Other information systems (e.g.

Trends in AIDS incidence and survival among racial/ethnic minority men who have sex with men, United States, 1990-1999.

Objectives: We describe trends in AIDS incidence, survival, and deaths among racial/ethnic minority men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods: We examined AIDS surveillance data for men diagnosed with AIDS from 1990 through 1999, survival trends from 1993 through 1997, and trends in AIDS incidence and deaths from 1996 to 1999, when highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was introduced.

Results: The percentage of racial/ethnic minority MSM with AIDS increased from 33% of 26,930 men in 1990 to 54% of 17,162 men in 1999.

HIV surveillance methods for the incarcerated population.

In the United States, monitoring the HIV/AIDS epidemic among the incarcerated population is done by (a) conducting a census of persons in prisons and jails reported to be infected with HIV or diagnosed with AIDS, (b) seroprevalence surveys in selected correctional facilities, and (c) population-based HIV/AIDS case surveillance by state health departments. We describe methods for HIV/AIDS case surveillance in correctional settings and present data from the HIV/AIDS Reporting System (HARS) and the Supplement to HIV and AIDS Surveillance (SHAS) to describe the demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics of HIV-infected persons who were incarcerated at the time of diagnosis. HARS data showed a higher proportion of females and a lower proportion of injection drug users for incarcerated persons diagnosed with HIV (not AIDS) compared to those initially diagnosed with AIDS.