HIV prevalence and risk behaviours among men having sex with men in Nigeria

Abstract

Large differentials in HIV prevalence between states together with high mobility, inconsistent condom use and behavioural links with female sex partners, have the potential for further HIV transmission within MSM networks, and between MSM and the general population.

A decade of research involving men who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: Current knowledge and future directions

“…Treponema pallidum (syphilis) rates were as low as 0.0% in three states of Nigeria (Merrigan, Azeez, Afolabi, Chabikuli, Onyekwena, Eluwa, et al 2011), 0.2% in Zanzibar (Dahoma, Johnston, Holman, Miller, Mussa, Othman, et al 2011) and ranging from 0.7% to 3.5% in Kenya Plenty, Bailey, Geibel, & AdinyaAchola, 2011;Sanders et al 2007). Relatively higher syphilis rates were recorded in Senegal at 4.7% in 2004 (Wade, Kane, Diallo, Diop, Gueye, Mboup, et al 2005) and 3.4% in 2007 (Wade et al 2010).…”

Malaria and HIV co-infection and their effect on haemoglobin levels from three healthcare institutions in Lagos, southwest Nigeria

“…Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with a population of over 150 million and HIV prevalence of 4.6% in 2008 3 . It is estimated that 2.95 million individuals live with HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria 4 and integrated control efforts are immeasurably needed 5,6 . The prevalence of malaria and HIV infection overlaps in most endemic regions and co-infection of these infections have important public health implications.…”

Re-Emergence of HIV Infection and Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

“…In Nigeria results from a survey conducted in Lagos, Kano and Cross River states during 2007 showed that MSM are highly affected by HIV and that condom use in anal sex is low in commercial and non-commercial partnerships. HIV is more established among MSM in Lagos, there were wide variations in HIV prevalence with estimates ranging from 17.4%, to 9.3% and 1.1% in Lagos, Kano and Cross River respectively (Merrigan et al, 2011). Moreover, as previously observed in other African countries, significant proportions of Nigerian MSM had unprotected sex with female partners indicating a potential bridge for HIV transmission between MSM and the general population (Merrigan et al, 2011).…”

“…Many prevalence studies have been conducted in the general population but unfortunately, data on the prevalence of syphilis in MSM are scanty, likely because of stigma and discrimination against homosexuality. Some studies conducted among blood donors have shown a variable prevalence among different sub -Saharan geographical areas : in Burkina-Faso a study (Nagalo et al, 2011) showed that seroprevalence of syphilis (3.96%) was lower than the prevalence of among blood donors in Tanzania (4.6% among HIV negative, 12.1% among HIV positive) (Matee et al, 2006) but higher than the 1.1% observed in Nigeria (Buseri et al, 2009), where recently no syphilis was detected among 879 examined MSM (Merrigan et al, 2011) suggesting a lower prevalence of syphilis in Nigerian population compared to other African populations. A recent study carried out in Ghana in a sample of 1366 prison inmates, including 403 homosexuals men, revealed seroprevalence syphilis rates of 13.7 % and 23.3% in heterosexual and homosexual respectively and syphilis seropositivity was significantly associated with HIV seropositivity (Adjei et al, 2008).…”