Continued Very High Prevalence of HIV Infection in Rural
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: A Population-Based Longitudinal
Study July 19, 2007 The objective of the current study was to
estimate the prevalence of HIV, associated sociodemographic
factors including migration and mobility, in a rural population
in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A household-based HIV serosurvey
of a population that has been under longitudinal demographic
surveillance since 2000 was used for the analysis. Researchers
identified and approached for finger-prick HIV testing all
residents (women ages 15-40; men ages 15-54) and a sample of
non-residents ("migrants") who periodically returned to area
households. A total of 8,325/11,505 male and 11,542/14,396
female residents were traced. Of these, HIV testing consent was
obtained from 4,692 men and 6,859 women. Overall, 27 percent of
female and 13.5 percent of male residents were HIV-infected.
Prevalence peaked at 51 percent among resident women ages 25-29
and 44 percent among resident men ages