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HIV prevention efforts among female sex workers reduced HIV, syphilis
HIV prevention programs for female sex workers in India reduced rates of syphilis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, according to data in a report published online.
The report, from University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and St. Michael’s Hospital’s Centre for Global Health Research, examined data from STD prevention projects between 1995 and 2008 that were targeted at 500,000 female sex workers in India.
The researchers reported that HIV levels fell by 40% and syphilis levels by 70% among pregnant women (who represent trends of infections in the population) between 2003 and 2008.
The researchers noted that increased funding, outreach, treatment of STIs and condom distribution reduced syphilis infections, but only STI treatment significantly reduced HIV infections.
Paul Arora
“Prevention among sex workers can reduce various infections, and prompt treatment of sexually transmitted infections is particularly important,” study researcher Paul Arora, MSc, of the division of epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, said in a press release.
Paul Arora, MSc, can be reached at paul.arora@utoronto.ca.
Disclosure: The study was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health.