Low prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection in population attending a major hospital in New Delhi, India.

ABSTRACT

PIP: In India, the HIV infection rates of 4120 patients attending surgical, medical, and prenatal outpatient clinics of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi were compared with those of 1140 patients of the hospital's sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic and 862 women seeking medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) at a nearby hospital. The blood samples were collected during April 1990-March 1994. Only 3 (1.49/1000) of the 2002 women attending the prenatal clinic tested positive for HIV. These 3 women were also commercial sex workers and had a history of STDs. STD patients were more likely to have HIV infection than patients seeking MTP (2.15 vs. 1.16/1000). All HIV-positive STD patients were male. No patient attending the surgical or medical outpatient clinic tested positive for HIV. 6 of the 7 HIV-positive patients were in the 20-30 year age group. After recategorizing the 3 prenatal clinic clients as part of the STD group, the prenatal clinic population, like the medical and surgical outpatient groups, did not comprise a high-risk group. These findings suggest the need to evaluate risk factors of the prenatal clinic population as routine practice.