Prevalence of HIV infection among secondary school students in two cities in south-south Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease will remain a topical issue on health in Third world countries. Its spread amongst the youths is worrisome. These youths are the future hope of our nation .If the spread of HIV is not checked, its impact can deplete a nation\'s economy and reduce the work force. This study was done to determine the seroprevalence of HIV infections among secondary school adolescents.
Methods: A total of 491 blood samples collected from adolescents in 8 secondary schools in Port Harcourt and Calabar were used for the study. School health authority and parents of these students gave permission for the student\'s involvement. The test kit used for the study was the Trinity Biotech capillus HIV-1/HIV-2. Confirmatory tests were done for positive samples using another rapid assay test kitThe BDI HIV 1 and 2 test device Bremangos Diagnostic Inc. Canada.
Results: Eight (3.1%) out of 262 females and 5(2.2%) of 229 males were retroviral positive. Females showed a slightly higher seroprevalence rate than their male counterparts. This was however not statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion: HIV can affect all age groups even the young. Females are more disposed to contracting the disease than males. HIV awareness should be taken down to our secondary schools.


Keywords: Secondary school adolescents, Sero-prevalence, HIV infection

Port Harcourt Medical Journal Vol. 2 (3) 2008: pp. 253-256