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Knowledge of HIV/AIDS, related attitudes and participation in risky sexual behaviour among first and fourth year female students at the University of Botswana.Cavric, Gordana 16 February 2012 (has links)
M.P.H., Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Introduction
Botswana still has the second highest HIV prevalence in the world with little indication of any significant decline. In
Botswana, women are disproportionately affected: young women account for more than half (58 %) of the adults
living with HIV thus indicating a significant gender disparity in HIV infection. University educated, urban young
women aged 19-39 have been identified as group at particularly high risk of HIV infection.
Aim
This study aimed to assess knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV and AIDS and how such knowledge and
attitudes have implications for participation in risky sexual behavior among female University of Botswana
students in their first and fourth years of study.
Methodology
This study was conducted at the University of Botswana (UB) in Gaborone. Data was collected using a selfadministered
questionnaire on Knowledge of HIV/AIDS and participation in Risky Sexual Behavior among female
students in first and fourth year of studies at University of Botswana.
Results
The knowledge regarding the “window period” and infectivity during the window period was significantly lower for
first year students compared to fourth years. Attitudes towards people with HIV were positive in both groups,
while affirmative attitudes towards premarital sex are increasing as the students progress academically.
The analyses highlight that the percentage of women who reported having been sexually active the proceeding
year was significantly higher among fourth year students (82.6%) than their first year counterparts (56.9 %),
(p<0.01), with the number of partners significantly higher among women in their fourth year.
Significantly, 3% of first year female students stated that their partners did not want to use a condom while 7
percent of the participants themselves said that that was the case. Amongst fourth year UB female students
responding, 4% said that their partners did not want to use a condom, yet 14% participant said that they
themselves did not want to use one.
Overall, the prevalence of self-reported STI’s was significantly higher among fourth year students when compared
with first year students 19 of 155 [12.26% ]vs. 4 of 144 [2.78 %] p<0.01 .
Conclusion
This study explored the knowledge of HIV/AIDS and participation in risky sexual behavior amongst female students
in their first and fourth years at the University of Botswana. The study supported the findings that higher levels of
formal education are associated with better knowledge of how to protect oneself from HIV/AIDS transmission.
Although many HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns might have contributed to educated women being knowledgeable
about how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS transmission and the importance from abstaining from risky
sexual behavior, a small but significant proportion of women still do not use condoms consistently
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Sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV / AIDS related knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviour among San learners in a combined school in Platfontein, Northern CapeFredericks, Mercedes Beryl 05 February 2014 (has links)
Prevention of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in South Africa includes early detection and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as health promotion activities. The latter
include health education programmes and the promotion of screening activities such as voluntary
counselling and testing (VCT). The South African government recognises the need for creating
equity for access to health care services. The 1997 White Paper for the Transformation of the Health
System, stipulates one of the aims of health Policy in the new South Africa as ‘promoting equity by
developing a single, unified health system’. This commitment is inclusive of the Platfontein
community which comprises the two largest San-groups in South Africa: the !Xun and the Khwe
who were settled on the Platfontein farm at the end of 2004. There are 3500 !Xun and 1100 Khwe
currently living in the Platfontein community. A health facility, compliant with the principles of
Primary Health Care (PHC), was built on the farm to render services to the Khwe and !Xun
communities who were not recognised as a distinct cultural group during the Apartheid era in South
Africa. For the young people in the community it was the first time they could access the formal
schooling and health system in South Africa.
The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions, attitudes, behaviour and knowledge levels
among the school-going youth of the Platfontein community, about STIs, HIV/AIDS and the health
care services that are available to them.
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Diagnosis and monitoring of HIV in infants: investigating the first fourth generation rapid test and two viral load technologies for use in the South African settingBhowan, Kapila 17 November 2014 (has links)
Thesis (M.Sc. (Med.))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2013. / Human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection contributes to child mortality rates in South Africa.
Investigations of newer technologies for improving early infant diagnosis of HIV in the South
African setting could reduce child mortality as life saving treatment can be accessed early in life.
This study investigated three technologies: a fourth generation rapid HIV test and two viral load
(VL) platforms.
Determine Combo (DC) is a qualitative fourth generation rapid test that is able to detect HIV
antibodies and p24 antigen simultaneously. The performance of DC was evaluated in the field on
samples from pregnant and postpartum women; in the laboratory, on stored samples from children
and with the addition of heat denaturation.
In the maternal DC study 90 (8 .8%) of 1019 women tested HIV positive of whom 59 (17.1%
prevalence) were pregnant and 31 % (4.6% prevalence) were postpartum. The sensitivity and
specificity of the antibody component of DC on plasma was 100%(Confidence Interval (CI): 95.9-
100%) and 99.8%(CI: 99.2-99.9%) respectively. Three postpartum patients tested false positive for
HIV antibodies (n=2) and p24 antigen (n=1). No true positive p24 antigen was detected
DC was performed on stored samples from 182 (90%) HIV-exposed and 20 (10%) HIV-unexposed
children aged from birth to six years. The DC HIV antibody component returned false negative
results in 2 HIV-infected children; one clinically symptomatic and one asymptomatic aged 7 and 23
months respectively. The sensitivity of DC HIV antibody was 100% (CI :94.3-100%) in infants aged
6 months and younger with a specificity of 100% (CI:81.6-100%) for all ages. Of the 61 HIV infected
infants tested , the DC p24 antigen was reactive in only one clinically symptomatic infant
resulting in a sensitivity for detection of HIV infection of 1.7% (CI 0.3-8.9%).
A heat denaturation technique designed to improve p24 antigen detection was applied to HIVinfected
samples but failed to enhance p24 antigen detection on DC.
HIV viral load (VL) molecular assays are used to confirm an HIV-infected diagnosis and for VL
monitoring. In South Africa, plasma is the gold standard sample for VL monitoring in infants even
though dried blood spots (OBS) are the preferred specimen type in resource-constrained settings
and for early infant diagnosis. The use of OBS specimens for HIV VL monitoring would
convenience resource limited settings. The OBS matrix therefore requires validation to determine
accuracy (for establishing diagnosis) and precision (for VL monitoring) compared to plasma VL.
This study investigated the accuracy and precision limits of OBS VL on the Roche Cobas
AmpliPrep-Cobas TaqMan HIV-1 v2.0 assay (CAP/CTM) and the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay
(m2000) platforms on samples from HIV-infected adults and children. The CAP/CTM was
investigated on OBS containing 751J1 blood and the m2000 was investigated using one (50IJI) and
two (2x501J1) OBS.
Compared to plasma VL, OBS VL from adults and children were higher in the lower range
«310g,<1000copies/ml) and lower values in the higher range (>510g, >185,000copies/ml) on the
CAP/CTM in the study of OBS VL accuracy. Additionally, OBS VL values were >log1.0 higher in
42/100 (42%) of adult and 16/49 (33%) of measurements from children, which will have clinical
significance. On the m2000 platform, the differences between plasma and OBS VL were lower in
the range >5 log and higher in the range 2 log copies/ml (100 copies/ml) to 4 log copies/ml (10000
copies/ml). Compared to plasma VL, OBS VL values were >log1.0 higher in 20/82 (24%) adult and
7/43 (16%) of measurements from children.
Both platforms demonstrated 100% specificity in testing stored OBS from HIV-uninfected infants
who were diagnosed negative on HIV DNA PCR.
Acceptable limits for plasma VL precision is a coefficient of variation (CV) <35% and standard
deviation (SO) :50.19 log. Where plasma VL :5510g, OBS VL demonstrated poor precision with
CV>40% in 8/10 patients and total SO>0.30 log in 4/10 patients on the CAP/CTM. The m2000
total SO was >210g between adult plasma and OBS VLs under the 4 log copies/ml cut-off,
irrespective of the number of DBS used. DBS VLs were unreliable when using precision limits
used on plasma VLs on both platforms.
In conclusion the DC test does not offer any advantage over currently available rapid tests in
diagnosing new infection in women and children. The two VL platforms can be used to establish
an HIV status in treatment naive patients in view of the 100% specificity. HIV-infected patients on
treatment with undetectable plasma VL will always have detectable DBS VL on CAP/CTM, but
equally undetectable DBS VL on the m2000. With DBS, the CAP/CTM assay generates higher VL
values in the lower VL range than on plasma likely due to amplification of proviral DNA. Both
platforms display poor intra- and inter- assay precision, using plasma VL based criteria and the
variances would potentially affect clinical decision making. The acceptable limits for plasma VL
precision cannot be applied to DBS VL on either platform.
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Polimorfismos de nucleotídeo simples (SNPs) em genes codificadores de citocinas e suas correlações com parâmetros clínicos e laboratoriais de pacientes portadores do vírus da imunodeficiência humana /Léda, Ana Rachel Oliveira. January 2010 (has links)
Orientador: Deilson Elgui de Oliveira / Banca: Ricardo Sobhie Diaz / Banca: Celso Teixeira Mendes Júnior / Resumo: A história natural de infecção pelo HIV e a progressão para a aids podem variar entre diferentes indivíduos, possivelmente devido a fatores genéticos, entre eles os polimorfismos de nucleotídeo simples (SNPs). SNPs localizados em regiões promotoras de genes que codificam citocinas podem afetar a síntese e a regulação dessas moléculas, resultando em alterações nas respostas imunitárias. O presente estudo buscou avaliar as frequências e os possíveis efeitos de SNPs nas posições -589 e -1098 da região promotora do gene da IL-4 e SNPs nas posições -238 e -862 da região promotora do gene do TNF-α em pacientes portadores do HIV. Amostras de DNA de 157 pacientes foram obtidas através de células mononucleares de sangue periférico e a genotipagem dos SNPs foi realizada pela técnica de High Resolution Melting (HRM). Foi observado que pacientes portadores de TT em SNP/pIL-4 -589 apresentaram contagem de linfócitos T CD8 + menor em relação aos portadores de CC (p=0.0104). Além disso, portadores de TT em SNP/pIL-4 -1098 apresentaram contagem de linfócitos T CD8 + maior em comparação aos portadores de GT (p=0.0053). Em relação a SNP/pTNF-α -238, as proporções de pacientes portadores de GG e GA diferiu entre os pacientes sem HAART e pacientes com HAART e sem falha terapêutica (p=0.0205). Assim, os resultados obtidos no presente estudo fortalecem a hipótese de que SNPs em genes de citocinas podem alterar a história natural da infecção pelo HIV e o curso clínico da doença, principalmente devido a alterações no balanço da produção de citocinas pro- e antiinflamatórias. / Abstract: The natural history of HIV infection and its progression towards aids may vary considerably among different individuals, possibly due to genetic factors, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In cytokines genes promoters, SNPs may affect protein synthesis and regulation, resulting in more or less efficient immune responses against HIV. The present study evaluated the frequencies and possible effects of SNPs in the IL-4 gene promoter at positions -589 and -1098 and in the TNF-α gene promoter at positions -238 and -862 in HIV-infected patients from Brazil. DNA samples from 157 patients were obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and SNPs genotyping was performed by High Resolution Melting analysis (HRM). Patients carrying TT at SNP/pIL-4 -589 had lower circulating T CD8 + cells compared to CC carriers (p=0.0104). Moreover, carriers of TT at SNP/pIL-4 -1098 had more circulating T CD8 + cells compared to GT carriers (p=0.0053). Regarding SNP/pTNF-α -238, GG and GA proportions were significantly different between patients without HAART and patients on HAART without therapeutic failure (p=0.0205). In conclusion, these results provide compelling evidence that the presence of SNPs in cytokine-coding genes do modify the natural history of HIV infection, mainly due to changes in the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. / Mestre
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The health literacy needs of women living with human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immuno deficiency syndrome who attend the wellness clinic at the Jubilee Hospital in HammanskraalThompson, Judy January 2011 (has links)
Thesis (M.Cur.) --University of Limpopo, 2011
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Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii Infections among Uremic and HIV-infected Patients in Southern TaiwanBen, Ren-Jy 18 January 2007 (has links)
In order to elucidate T. gondii infection in a regional hospital in southern Taiwan, serum samples were taken from 173 selected individuals. Among them, 91 serum samples were taken from uremic patients under regular hemodialysis, 34 from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients and 48 from healthy adults. Of these 173 samples analyzed by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits including anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM, 21 were seropositive (12.1%) of T. gondii infection. Among 91 uremic patients, 11 (12.1%) were seropositive for IgG. Among 34 HIV-infected patients, 9 (26.5%) were seropositive for IgG and 3 (8.8%) were seropositive for IgM. ELISA data were tested by ANOVA and statistical significances were detected among these groups. The most common band revealed by Western blot assay was the 30 kDa antigen which appeared in 8 of 11 (72.7%) uremic IgG-positive patients and 4 of 9 (44.4%) HIV-infected patients. Serodiagnosis of T. gondii infection reveals a higher positive rate among HIV-infected patients, uremic patients under hemodialysis are also at risk for reactivation of latent toxoplasmal infection. Serological screening for anti-T. gondii antibodies among HIV-infected patients and hemodialytic patients as well as sustained follow-up to detect recent infection are extremely important.
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Autoimmunity, immune deficiency and cancer : multiple roles of the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 /Joliat, Melissa J., January 2001 (has links)
Thesis (Ph. D.) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-165).
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Neuropathogenic mechanisms of feline immunodeficiency virus infectionBuck, Wayne R. January 2004 (has links)
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 144 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes abstract and vita. Co-advisors: Lawrence E. Mathes and Maria H. Neff, Dept. of Veterinary Biosciences. Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-144).
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HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa : studies of immune responses, prevailing viruses and epidemiological trends /Andersson, Sören, January 1900 (has links)
Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst. / Härtill 7 uppsatser.
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Visualising the invisible : exploring interactive video in HIV prevention in rural Zambia /Freudenthal, Solveig, January 1900 (has links)
Diss. Stockholm : Karol. inst.
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