Community prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiency virus infection in Tamil Nadu, India: a probability proportional to size cluster survey.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS is threatening the survival of many nations. To evaluate ongoing interventional strategies and burden of illness estimates, valid data on the prevalence of HIV are required. Often, in the absence of community prevalence data, estimates are based on surrogate markers such as prevalence of HIV in antenatal clinics.