Human Immunodeficiency Virus Seroprevalence among Patients Attending a Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic in West Bengal, India

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have become a major public health problem globally as well as in India. Prevalence of STIs varies across different high risk groups including the population with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Individuals with STDs are at a higher risk of acquisition of HIV through the sexual route than the other routes. The tendency of HIV infection was studied in attendees aged 15-49 years in an STD clinic in West Bengal from 2004 to 2008. Blood samples were collected consecutively from 250 attendees per year (a total of 1,250 samples over 5 years) from an STD clinic during 12 weeks (October-December) every year. HIV sero-status was screened using ELISA, and positive samples were subjected to rapid assay and confirmed by Western blot. Overall HIV seropositivity in STD patients was 1.28% (women, 1.04%; men, 1.48%). Data from 5 consecutive years showed a prominent decline from 2.40% (2004) to 0.0% (2007) and a minor increase (1.6%) in 2008, which was not statistically significant (chi(2) = 4.6, df = 4, P > 0.05). The highest seroprevalence (1.66%) was observed in the 25-29 age group, and the lowest (0.87%) was observed in the 40-44 age group. The overall decreasing tendency of HIV infections signifies the efficiency of current interventions. Focused intervention for the 25-29 age group may help in decreasing HIV infections further.