HIV Seroprevalence Among Hospital Workers in Kinshasa, Zaire
Lack of Association With Occupational Exposure
- Jonathan M. Mann, MD, MPH;
- Henry Francis, MD;
- Thomas C. Quinn, MD;
- Kapita Bila, MD;
- Pangu Kaza Asila, MD, MPH;
- Ngaly Bosenge, MD;
- Nzila Nzilambi, MD;
- Leopold Jansegers, MD;
- Peter Piot, MD;
- Kalisa Ruti, MD;
- James W. Curran, MD, MPH
- From Project SIDA, Ministry of Health, Kinshasa, Zaire (Drs Mann, Francis, Bosenge, and Nzilambi); AIDS Program, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta (Drs Mann and Curran); National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Md (Drs Francis and Quinn); Mama Yemo Hospital, Kinshasa, Zaire (Drs Bila and Jansegers); Ministry of Health, Kinshasa, Zaire (Drs Asila and Ruti); and Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium (Mr Piot).
Abstract
A study of seroprevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus involving 2384 (96%) of Mama Yemo Hospital's (Kinshasa, Zaire) 2492 personnel found 152 (6.4%) to be seropositive. Prevalence was higher among women than among men (8.1% vs 5.2%); in women peak seroprevalence (13.9%) occurred in 20-to 29-year-olds. Workers most likely to be seropositive were those who were relatively young, those who were unmarried, those reporting a blood transfusion or hospitalization during the previous ten years, and those receiving medical injections during the previous three years. Medical, administrative, and manual workers had similar seroprevalence (6.5%, 6.4%, and 6.0%, respectively), and seropositivity was not associated with any measure of patient, blood, or needle contact. These findings are consistent with other hospital-based studies indicating low risks for occupational transmission of human immunodeficiency virus.
(JAMA 1986;256:3099-3102)
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to Centers for Disease Control, Bldg 6, Room 292, Atlanta, GA 30333 (Dr Curran).
