Status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and methods to monitor it in the Latin America and Caribbean region

Abstract

The paper presented is a review of the available epidemiological data on the situation in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, and looks at HIV prevalence in specific population groups. At the end of 2001, HIV remains an important health issue in the LAC region. Twelve countries in the region have an estimated prevalence of 1% or higher among pregnant women. Most of the LAC countries with generalized epidemics are located in the Caribbean basin. In the past decade there has been a slow but continuous increase in HIV prevalence rates among the general population and vulnerable groups, although information in some countries is limited. In many countries, the highest HIV prevalence among vulnerable groups is found among men who have sex with men. HIV infections related to injecting drug use are concentrated in the countries of the Southern Cone and Brazil. HIV is well anchored in the region, concentrated in vulnerable groups in most countries, but with an increasing presence in some countries in the general population. There is a need to improve data collection and introduce new tools to monitor behavior trends and the impact of interventions.

New Populations at High Risk of HIV/STIs in Low-income, Urban Coastal Peru

“…The HIV epidemic in Peru has long been recognized as concentrated in urban men who have sex with men (MSM) (UNAIDS 2004). More recently there has been an increase in the reported HIV/AIDS cases among the poor (Alarcon et al 2003;Caceres and Mendoza 2004;Calleja et al 2002). Coupled with a decrease in the male to female case ratio from 17:1 in 1985 to 3:1 in 2000 (DGE 2006), this indicates an increase in heterosexual transmission of HIV to women.…”

Situación epidemiológica actual del VIH/SIDA en Latinoamérica en la primera década del siglo XXI: Análisis de las diferencias entre países

“…Se aducen como razones de las diferencias entre los índices de prevalencia de estas regiones factores religiosos, culturales, sociales, económicos y políticos (entre otros) que influyen sobre la conducta sexual así como en el nivel de desarrollo 19,20 .…”

“…Por tanto, es precisa la mejora de la vigilancia epidemiológica del VIH/SIDA en Latinoamérica. Limitaciones similares ya han sido manifestadas con anterioridad en estudios realizados en la región 4,19 . Si bien no es posible hacer un análisis comparativo con el estudio de Buela-Casal et al 3 puesto que en el presente trabajo se han analizado los casos de VIH/ SIDA mientras que en el de Buela-Casal et al 3 se analizaron únicamente los casos de SIDA, cabe mencionar que los resultados que se presentan en el estudio actual suponen un avance puesto que se está considerando tanto a las personas que están infectadas como a aquellas que han desarrollado la enfermedad.…”

Effects of the Frontiers Prevention Project in Ecuador on sexual behaviours and sexually transmitted infections amongst men who have sex with men and female sex workers: challenges on evaluating complex interventions

“…HIV prevalence among adults LA is estimated at 0.4 per cent (Choi et al 2004), and the number of HIV infections amongst women began to increase. Countries in Latin America (LA) tend to have concentrated HIV epidemics; epidemics in which there is a low prevalence in the general population and a high prevalence among key populations with more risky sexual or drug-injecting practices (Calleja et al 2002).…”