Document 2573
 DOCN  M94A2573
 TI    HIV infection surveillance among pregnant women in Liguria, Italy.
 DT    9412
 AU    Cuneo-Crovari P; Faraldi L; Gabutti G; Gaino M; Nelli M; Melica F;
       Petralia P; Zai C; Inst. of Hygiene and Prev. Med., Genoa Univ., Italy.
 SO    Int Conf AIDS. 1994 Aug 7-12;10(1):273 (abstract no. PC0010). Unique
       Identifier : AIDSLINE ICA10/94370002
 AB    OBJECTIVE: National data on AIDS show that pediatric cases of this
       disease are mainly related to HIV infection in pregnancy.
       Seroepidemiological surveillance of females could also be an important
       tool in estimating future cases of pediatric AIDS and controlling the
       spread of HIV among this sector of the population. METHODS: In our
       region the surveillance study started in 1990, involving the Ligurian
       Obstetrics and Gynecology Departments. The screening was performed by
       means of ELISA test for the detection of anti-HIV1; repeatedly reactive
       sera were confirmed by Western blot and LIA with synthetic peptides.
       Pregnant women and those who voluntarily interrupted their pregnancies
       were enrolled in this study after informed consent or having been
       guaranteed anonymity. Up to now, a total of 34847 women have been
       tested. RESULTS: The table shows that the prevalence of anti-HIV
       positive subjects among pregnant women is high in comparison to other
       national data. This is in accordance with the fact that the AIDS
       morbidity rate of Liguria (58.7/100,000) is the second highest on a
       national scale. No significant difference in anti-HIV seroprevalences
       was observed during the period Jan. 1990 - Sept. 1993; it should however
       be taken into consideration that the power of the sample studied enables
       us to highlight only relevant changes in the annual trend. TABULAR DATA,
       SEE ABSTRACT VOLUME. As expected, seroprevalence ratio among women
       seeking abortion is significantly higher when compared to the one seen
       in pregnant women. DISCUSSION: Data collected up to now show that the
       spread of HIV among the female population is an important problem for
       Public Health. The seroprevalence rates correlate quite well with the
       trend of AIDS cases notified in our region. It seems therefore highly
       recommendable to implement educational campaigns aimed at young people.
 DE    Abortion Applicants  Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*EPIDEMIOLOGY
       Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay  Female  Human  HIV
       Seropositivity/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Italy/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Pregnancy  Pregnancy
       Complications, Infectious/*EPIDEMIOLOGY  Prevalence  Seroepidemiologic
       Methods  MEETING ABSTRACT

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       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).