Prevalence of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and Herpes simplex type 2 infections among MSM in an urban setting of the district of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sri Lanka remains as a low HIV prevalent country with an esti-mated sero-prevalence of less than 0.1% in the general population. Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) were identified as one of the priority target groups for interventions. The purpose of this study was to study the prevalence of HIV Syphilis, Hepatitis B and Herpes simplex type 2 infections among MSM in an urban setting of Anuradhapura district. METHODS: Cross sectional study was carried out by using an interviewer administered questionnaire for 225 MSM, recruited by Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) technique from a population of MSM who had anal sex with an-other, during the past twelve months. This study was carried out in an urban setting of Anuradhapura district, where the MSM were less and hard to reach. Data were analysed by using the statistical package for respondent driven sampling technique RDSAT v5.6. RESULTS: mean age of the sample was 26 years (95% =25.7-26.9), Marraiage seems to be uncommon, 69% of them were single while 25.7% were married. Majority of participants were Sinhalese 94.2% (95%Cl=91.3-98.2). Majority educated to grade 6 and above (96%) and 98.2% had the ability to read and write. Only 11.1% (95%Cl=3.1-10.6) had ever experienced symptoms of STD. During the previous 12 months, Urethral discharge (3.6%), genital warts (2.7%) and genital ulcers (2.2%) were the common presentations reported. Estimate of sero-prevalence of reactive VDRL in the population was 3.8% (95%Cl=0.0%-10%), TPPA was 0.5%(95%Cl=0.0%-2.2%) and HSV 2 antibody was 4.2%(95%CI =2.3%-8.9%) and all were negative for HIV ELISA and Hepatitis B surface antigen CONCLUSIONS: Majority were unmarried, young males. They have substantial level of Syphilis and Herpes simplex type 2 infections, However they all were negative for HIV and Hepatitis B. MSM networks in the urban area of the district are probably not affected by the HIV virus yet.