Epidemiology of HIV in Antenatal women in an urban set up

Objectives : To study the seroprevalence of HIV amongst pregnant women and their spouses. Methods : The study was conducted from January 2004 to December 2005. The pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic for consultation and those coming directly to labor room for delivery (unbooked cases) were counseled for HIV testing, informed consent was obtained and blood samples collected for HIV testing. Seropositive women were questioned regarding their awareness of AIDS, personal habits, blood transfusion, drug abuse, and method of contraception. Spouses of the seropositive pregnant women were also counseled and similarly tested for HIV. Results : The seroprevalence of HIV was 0.41% and 0.63% in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Conclusions : There was 53.3% increase in seroprevalence of HIV in pregnant women in 2005.