To find out the prevalence of HIV, HCV, HBV, HSV, and syphilis infections among female sex workers (FSWs) in Tehran, a cross-sectional study by using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method was conducted. From December 2012 to April 2013 FSWs in Tehran were recruited. Inclusion criteria consisted of trading sex during the 12 months prior to this study and selling sex for at least 6 months in participants' lifetime. Among 161 consenting participants, 5% were infected with HIV. Moreover, 8.1% of FSWs were HCV positive, 37.9% were of HSV type1/type2, 1.2% of participants were infected with HBV, and none of the participants were infected with syphilis. HIV-positive participants were significantly more likely to be co-infected with HSV type1/type2, be younger, have more sexual partners and especially more clients during seven days prior to this study and report more history of having at least one of sexually transmitted infections symptoms in 12 months prior the study. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, being infected with HSV and also being under 25 years of age were found to be independently associated with HIV infection. Compared with the prevalence of HIV among general population of Tehran, relatively high prevalence of HIV and other viral infections among FSWs should be considered. All in all, it is critical to commence effective counter-measures for this high-risk group if the aim is to prevent spreading of these viruses to general population.
HIV prevalence among street children is much higher than general population (<0.1%), and in fact ,the rate of positivity comes close to that among female sex workers in Iran. These findings must be an alarm for HIV policymakers to consider immediate and special interventions for this at-risk group.
BACKGROUND: Losses can occur throughout the latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) cascade of care. This can result in suboptimal rates of effective treatment for LTBI. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the effect of different interventions to reduce losses in the LTBI cascade before treatment completion.METHODS: We searched several databases for articles reporting outcomes for interventions designed to strengthen the LTBI cascade. We included papers published in English from January 1990 until February 2018. Where possible, estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis.RESULTS: We identified 30 studies that evaluated 32 different interventions aimed at reducing losses in the LTBI cascade. In pooled analysis, interventions that improved completion of cascade steps included patient incentives (respectively 42 [95% CI 34–51] and 48 [95% CI 15–81] additional patients completing initial assessment and medical evaluation per 100 starting); health care worker education (28 [95% CI 4–52] additional patients initiating initial assessment per 100 identified; home visits (additional 13 [95% CI 4–21] patients completing initial assessment per 100 starting); digital solutions (additional 11 [95% CI 4–21] patients initiating initial assessment per 100 identified); and patient reminders (additional 7 [95% CI 0.3–13] patients completing initial assessment per 100 starting). Several other interventions reduced losses at specific cascade steps, but evidence for these interventions came from single studies and could not be pooled.CONCLUSIONS: Although there is limited evidence that any single intervention significantly improves the LTBI cascade, many studies provide information about effective ways to strengthen it.
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