Seroprevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Syphilis Infections among Patients Attending the STD, Gyn. and Obs., ANC Clinics of Northern India: Observations from Seven Rounds of Sentinel Surveillance (1998-2004)

The data of HIV sentinel surveillance, i.e., National Annual Sentinel Surveillance (NASS) carried out under the aegis of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) of seven rounds revealed that the prevalence of HIV infection is less among the attendees of STD, Obs. & Gyn., Antenatal ( ANC) clinics whereas that of Syphilis is high. This study was carried in order to assess the prevalence levels of infections with HIV and Syphilis as biological markers of risk among the patients attending the STD clinics, Obs. & Gyn.OPD, Antenatal (ANC) clinics of different District Hospitals of Uttar Pradesh. Unlinked anonymous coded sera samples received from 3978 patients during a period of 4 months, every year, over a period of 7 years, were screened for HIV and Syphilis infections. Of the 3978 coded sera samples, 42 (1.06%) were found to be positive for antibodies to HIV-1/2 and 322 (8.09%) were reactive to VDRL. The results revealed that patients attending these clinics, harbour HIV infection, which would otherwise remain undiagnosed in the absence of screening. While some of the variables, viz., sex, age-group and occupation were significant factors in the HIV-positivity, others like literacy status, locality, migration and even the presence of different STDs were not found to influence the HIV-positivity, significantly.