AI Article Synopsis

  • The HIV infection significantly impacts public health, particularly among men having sex with men (MSM), who are at higher risk of transmission.
  • A study conducted in Slovakia from 2008 to 2009 collected oral fluid samples and anonymous questionnaires from MSM, revealing a 6.1% HIV prevalence, with 75% of cases being undiagnosed.
  • Despite relatively high awareness about HIV/AIDS, risky behaviors, such as multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom use, persist, indicating a need for improved prevention strategies for this group.

Article Abstract

The HIV infection remains a major public health issue in the world and especially in those countries where there exists unprotected sexual intercourse between people of the same sex. It is namely the category of men having sex with men (MSM) that still represents a group at high risk of being infected with HIV or transmitting the virus. The aim of our study was to present HIV 2nd generation surveillance data on MSM in Slovakia in the period between the years 2008 and 2009. Time-location sampling (TLS) was used to recruit participants and oral fluid samples together with completed anonymous questionnaires were collected simultaneously. The oral fluids were tested with use of the Genscreen HIV ½ version 2, (Bio-Rad) and Western Blot (Genlabs) diagnostic kits. The data analysis was performed using Stata version 8. Saliva testing revealed HIV prevalence of 6.1% (21/349) among MSM in Slovakia. 75% of HIV-positive cases were undiagnosed. The high-risk behaviour of MSM in respect to the number of their sexual partners as well as drug and condom usage did not correspond with their relatively high knowledge about HIV/AIDS. People's attitude towards MSM was found to be the worst in the religious context. Though our results reflect a relative good knowledge of MSM about HIV/AIDS infection, new HIV-positive cases and high-risk behaviour still appear, suggesting the need for more effective HIV prevention among members of this high-risk group in Slovakia.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.21101/cejph.a3914DOI Listing

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