Seroprevalence of HIV infection among the foreign students at Agra during a fifteen year period (1988-2002).

Hussain, Tahziba; Kulshreshtha, K K; Sood, Sumita; Arif, Mohd; Sinha, Shikha; Yadav, V S; Sengupta, U; Katoch, V M

Seroprevalence of HIV infection among the foreign students at Agra during a fifteen year period (1988-2002).

Date

2005-11-04

Authors

Abstract

The present study reports a retrospective analysis of data of HIV testing of foreign students from Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and Europe, studying as well as staying at Agra, over a period of 15 yr (1988 to 2002). Of the 2653 [2092 (78.85%) were from the Sub-Saharan African countries, 377 (14.21%) from the South-East Asian countries, and 184 (6.93%) from the European countries], foreign students tested for HIV, only 26 were found to be positive for HIV-1/2 antibodies by the ELISA, rapid and Western Blot assays. Out of 26 HIV-positive, 17 males and 7 females were from Sub-Saharan Africa and 2 males were from the European countries. The range of HIV-positivity over a period of 15 yr varied greatly. When the five-year (1988-1992, 1993-1997 and 1998-2002) results were compared, the HIV-seropositivity showed a decline from 1.85, 0.50 to 0.36 per cent in the first, second and third 5 yr slots, respectively. While the data were not representative of all foreign students in India, this reflected the population tested in this centre was not a growing focus of HIV infection in this part of the country.

Citation

Hussain T, Kulshreshtha KK, Sood S, Arif M, Sinha S, Yadav VS, Sengupta U, Katoch VM. Seroprevalence of HIV infection among the foreign students at Agra during a fifteen year period (1988-2002). Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2005 Nov; 122(5): 447-50