Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013;8(1):e54953.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054953. Epub 2013 Jan 23.

Prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Kisumu, Western Kenya, 1997 and 2008

Hilde M Vandenhoudt  1 , Lilian Langat, Joris Menten, Fredrick Odongo, Simon Oswago, Geoffrey Luttah, Clement Zeh, Tania Crucitti, Kayla Laserson, John Vulule, Anne Buve
Affiliations

Prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Kisumu, Western Kenya, 1997 and 2008

Hilde M Vandenhoudt et al. PLoS One. 2013.

Abstract

Background: In 1997, a survey in Kisumu found a prevalence of HIV infection among female sex workers (FSW) of 75%. Only 50% reported using a condom with the last client. In 2008, we conducted another survey to collect data to inform an intervention targeting FSW in Kisumu.

Methods: In 2008 FSW were recruited by respondent-driven sampling. Women completed a questionnaire and were tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to explore factors associated with HIV-infection, and with condom use. Prevalence of HIV infection was compared in the two surveys from 1997 and 2008. Multivariate analysis was used to assess whether a change in HIV prevalence between the two surveys could be explained by changes in socio-demographic characteristics and/or behavioral factors.

Results: 481 FSW participated in the 2008 study. HIV prevalence was 56.5% (95% CI 52.0-61.6). Factors independently associated with HIV were age older than 29 years; being a widow; STI treatment in the past year; herpes simplex virus Type-2 infection; bacterial vaginosis; and trichomoniasis. Condom use with last client was reported by 75.0% (95% CI 70.9-78.9). Predictors of condom use with the last client were age older than 29 years; higher price paid by last client; ever having been tested for HIV. Predictors of unprotected sex were being drunk during last sex act; usually having sex during menses; and STI treatment in the past year. The odds ratio of HIV infection associated with year of survey was 0.49 (95% CI 0.33-0.75) after adjusting for socio-demographic and behavioral factors.

Conclusions: The prevalence of HIV among FSW in Kisumu was found to be lower in 2008 than in 1997, while reported condom use was higher. However, access to HIV/STI prevention and care services needs to improve to further decrease HIV transmission between FSW and their clients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. D’Costa LJ, Plummer FA, Bowmer I, Fransen L, Piot P, et al. (1985) Prostitutes are a major reservoir of sexually transmitted diseases in Nairobi, Kenya. Sex Transm Dis 2: 64–67. - PubMed
    1. Kreiss JK, Koech D, Plummer FA, Holmes KK, Lightfoot M, et al. (1986) AIDS virus infection in Nairobi prostitutes. Spread of the epidemic to East Africa. N Engl J Med 314: 414–418. - PubMed
    1. Ngugi EN, Plummer FA, Simonsen JN, Cameron DW, Bosire M, et al. (1988) Prevention of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in Africa: effectiveness of condom promotion and health education among prostitutes. Lancet 2 (8616): 887–890. - PubMed
    1. Piot P, Plummer FA, Rey MA, Ngugi EN, Rouzioux C, et al. (1987) Retrospective seroepidemiology of AIDS virus infection in Nairobi populations. J Infect Dis 155: 1108–1112. - PubMed
    1. Plummer FA, Nagelkerke NJ, Moses S, Ndinya-Achola JO, Bwayo J, et al. (1991) The importance of core groups in the epidemiology and control of HIV-1 infection. AIDS 5 (Suppl 1)S169–S176. - PubMed

Publication types