       Document 0136
 DOCN  M9630136
 TI    Prevalence of genital infections in medical inpatients in Blantyre,
       Malawi.
 DT    9603
 AU    Maher D; Hoffman I; Department of Medicine, University of Malawi College
       of Medicine,; Central Africa.
 SO    J Infect. 1995 Jul;31(1):77-8. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/96019134
 AB    The limited information on the prevalence of sexually transmitted
       diseases (STDs) in Malawi suggests that they are common. In studies in
       Lilongwe in 1989 and Blantyre in 1990, the prevalence of STDs was 4.4%
       in unselected outpatients and 42% in antenatal clinic patients
       respectively. Malawi is one of the countries worst affected by the HIV
       pandemic, with an estimated national HIV seroprevalence of 10% in the
       age group over 15 years and of 32% in pregnant women who attended
       antenatal clinics in Blantyre in 1993. Heterosexual intercourse is the
       main mode of HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for up
       to 80% of cases of HIV infection. Concomitant genital ulcer disease
       facilitates sexual transmission of HIV. Non-ulcerative STDs may also
       play a role in facilitating sexual transmission of HIV but the evidence
       is less clear. The identification and treatment of people with STDs
       therefore presents an opportunity for decreasing HIV transmission. Queen
       Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) is the District Hospital for Blantyre,
       Malawi's largest city (about 500,000 population) and the tertiary
       referral hospital for Malawi's Southern Region. There are two general
       medical wards, one male and one female, to which about 11,000 patients
       were admitted in 1993. Bed occupancy can run at up to 150-200% and
       resources are limited. The top ten causes of admission are malaria,
       gastroenteritis, anaemia, pneumonia, dysentery, tuberculosis, AIDS,
       meningitis, hypertension and ascites. The leading causes of death are
       AIDS and tuberculosis.
 DE    Adolescence  Adult  Aged  Aged, 80 and over  Cross-Sectional Studies
       Female  Genital Diseases, Female/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Genital Diseases,
       Male/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Human  HIV Infections/*EPIDEMIOLOGY/TRANSMISSION  HIV
       Seroprevalence  Inpatients  Malawi/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Male  Middle Age
       Pregnancy  Prevalence  Sexually Transmitted Diseases,
       Viral/*EPIDEMIOLOGY/TRANSMISSION  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  Support, U.S.
       Gov't, Non-P.H.S.  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

