Document 2470
 DOCN  M94A2470
 TI    Follow-up of HIV-1 seronegative female partners of seropositive men in
       Brazil.
 DT    9412
 AU    Boschi-Pinto C; Castilho E; Guimaraes MD; Alves LA; Hearst N; FIOCRUZ,
       Brazil.
 SO    Int Conf AIDS. 1994 Aug 7-12;10(1):297 (abstract no. PC0116). Unique
       Identifier : AIDSLINE ICA10/94370105
 AB    OBJECTIVES: To assess seroconversion rate of initially seronegative
       female partners (FPs) of HIV positive men and to describe potential risk
       factors for these seroconverting women such as sexual behavior, lack of
       condom use, and history of STDs. METHODS: Sixty-four FPs of HIV positive
       men who had been seronegative at baseline were re-tested 6 to 33 months
       later (mean of 14.2 months). Two ELISA tests were followed by a
       confirmatory Western Blot test (WB). RESULTS: Twelve women showed
       evidence of possible new infection. Two women were positive for all
       tests (minimum seroconversion rate of 1.8 per 100 person-years). Ten
       others had indeterminate WB: 4 were positive for p24, 5 for p55 and p66,
       and 1 for p51 (a probable seroconversion rate of 11.0 per 100
       person-years). At baseline, all had been negative for all tests.
       Questionnaire data were available for 92% of the 64 couples. The mean
       length of the relationship was 9.5 years. The mean time since the men
       knew they were seropositive was 15.5 months. About 86% of the male
       partners were bisexual. Eighteen of the women reported history of STDs
       (30.5%); 3 out of the 12 converting women reported anal sex (25%). One
       of these three women continued to practice anal sex after learning that
       her partner was infected and also reported never using condoms. Four
       seroconverting women reported always using condom and 2 reported using
       them most of the time during vaginal sex after learning that their
       partners were infected. CONCLUSIONS: There is substantial seroconversion
       in this cohort of sexual partners of HIV positive men. This seems
       largely due to continued high risk sex with their infected partners,
       although condom failure cannot be ruled out. Further study of
       seroconversion and behavior in these couples will help our understanding
       of heterosexual transmission, especially in stable couples, and the
       development of effective prevention strategies.
 DE    Brazil  Female  Follow-Up Studies  Human  HIV Infections/*TRANSMISSION
       *HIV Seronegativity  *HIV Seropositivity  *HIV-1  Male  Risk Factors
       *Sex Behavior  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
       MEETING ABSTRACT

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).