5th International AIDS Conference


Montreal, Quebec, Canada — Jun 4-9, 1989

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Prevalence of HIV-1 antibody among gay men in the UK: differences between clinic attenders and non-attenders.

Int Conf AIDS 1989 Jun 4-9; 5:176 (abstract no. A.597)
Davies P, Coxon AP, McManus TJ, Sutherland S; Project SIGMA, South Bank Polytechnic, London, UK

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of HIV-1 antibody in the homosexually active male population of England and Wales and, bearing in mind that current estimates of prevalence and possible spread are based on those attending STD clinics, to estimate the differences between clinic attenders and non-attenders.

METHODS: 525 gay and bisexual men in two centres in the U.K., London and South Wales, were recruited using a variety of methods and interviewed in a non-clinic setting. Blood samples were volunteered from 346 (66%) of these and tested for HIV-1 antibody using the Wellcome competitive assay. Positives were confirmed in the first instance with the Abbott recombinant assay.

RESULTS: In London, 19 (9.4%) of the bloods tested positive to HIV-1 antibody and in South Wales, 5 (3.4%). When allowance is made for verifiable test results from those who did not provide blood samples, these rates rise to 13.4% and 3.9% respectively. The proportion of positive results among those attending clinics was 13.4% in London and 7.4% in South Wales while the proportions among non-clinic attenders were 5.7% and 1.1% in the two sites. The higher rates among the clinic attenders are comparable with those obtained in clinic studies in comparable areas of the U.K.

CONCLUSIONS: Rates of seroprevalence of HIV-1 among gay and bisexual men based on bloods collected at clinics appear to be overestimates.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV Antibodies, Homosexuality, Male, Bisexuality, Prevalence, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, HIV-1, Ambulatory Care Facilities, Seroepidemiologic Studies, England, Wales, London, Human, Male, epidemiology, ICA5KWDaegis,hivantibodies,homosexuality,male,bisexuality,prevalence,sexuallytransmitteddiseases,hiv-1,ambulatorycarefacilities,seroepidemiologicstudies,england,wales,london,human,male,epidemiology,ica5

890604
A597

Copyright © 1989 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.