HIV prevalence and risk factors among fishermen in Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia

Po Samnang, Hor Bun Leng, Andrea Kim, Alison J. Canchola, Andrew R. Moss, Jeffrey S. Mandel, Kimberly Page

International Journal of STD & AIDS · 2004 · 25 citations · 0 references

Concepts

Abstract

We assessed HIV antibody and risk exposures in a cross-sectional sample of 446 fishermen in Sihanouk Ville, a port and fishing area in Cambodia, where high HIV prevalence has been found in sentinel surveillance studies. HIV prevalence was 16.1%, and was highest among unmarried men (17.3%) compared with married (14.6%). Men who stayed in port over one day had a significantly higher prevalence of HIV (31.7%) than those in port for <or = day (14.6%). Men who had sex exclusively with their wife or girlfriend in the previous three months were significantly less likely to be HIV-infected than those who reported no sexual relations during the same time period (11% vs 23.7%, respectively). HIV infection in Cambodian fishermen was more than double that estimated in the general Khmer population. Although a large-scale condom promotion programme has been implemented in Sihanouk Ville, additional prevention programmes are needed to prevent further spread of HIV.