HIV seroprevalence and high-risk sexual behavior among female sex workers in CentralBrazil

Resumo

Female sex workers (FSWs) are considered a high-risk group for HIV infection due their risk behavior. Arespondent-driven sampling (RDS) method was performed to assess the HIV prevalence and to identify theviral subtype and risk factors among FSWs in Campo Grande city, Brazil. Four hundred and two FSWswere interviewed through a structured questionnaire between December 2009 and February 2011. Of the402 FSWs, median age and age of initiating sex work were 29 and 15 years, respectively. The majority(88.5%) reported use of alcohol, 68.6% had tatoos/body piercings, 46.1% offered both vaginal and oralintercourse, 54.9% had less than seven partners per week, 87.7% used condom consistently with clients andonly 32.9% used with nonpaying partners in the last sexual contact. The prevalence of HIV infection was1% (95% CI: 0.1-2.6%). Genotyping for HIV-1, performed on three samples, detected subtypes B, C andF1. Although prevalence of HIV infection is currently low, high levels of risk sexual behavior are common,additional HIV preventive interventions are necessary.