THE HIV EPIDEMIC IN BURKINA-FASO - CURREN T STATUS AND LEVEL OF AIDS KNOWLEDGE IN POPULATION, 1994-1995

Background: It is important for HIV/AIDS control programmes to determi ne population knowledge on AIDS in order to develop appropriate Inform ation, Education and Communication (IEC) messages. The objectives of o ur study were to determine the seroprevalence of HIV and syphilis amon g pregnant woman, female prostitutes and long-distance truck drivers a nd to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices (KABP) wit h respect to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in these three groups in Burkina Fa so. Methods: We performed three cross-sectional serosurveys including face-to-face interviews on KABP between October 1994 and February 1995 in three population groups. Results: Overall, 1,294 pregnant women, 2 36 long-distance truck drivers and 426 female prostitutes were recruit ed. HIV seroprevalence was 8% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 6.6-9.6) among pregnant woman, 18.6% (95% CI: 13.9-24.2) among long-distance tr uck drivers and 58.2% (95% CI: 53.4-62.9) in female prostitutes. The p revalence of syphilis was 2.5%, 9.3% and 15%, respectively. Most pregn ant women (98%), long-distance truck drivers (96%) and female prostitu tes (98%) had already heard of AIDS. However, the level of knowledge o f HIV transmission routes, of risk factors for HIV transmission and of available preventive measures was very low. Consequently, 41% of preg nant women, 40% of long-distance truck drivers and an alarming 61% of female prostitutes reported that they did not feel themselves at risk for HIV. In ech group, high levels of knowledge on AIDS were associate d with increased awareness of AIDS risk and the adoption of preventive behaviours. Level of education was associated with knowledge of AIDS and condom use. However, in the 12 months preceding the surveys, condo m use was very low among pregnant women (0.1%), long-distance truck dr ivers (18%) and among female prostitutes (42%). Conclusions: These res ults indicate that HIV is widespread in Burkina Faso and that there is an urgent need to develop and evaluate HIV prevention strategies in t he general population and among core groups such as female prostitutes and long-distance truck drivers. Interventions must include informati on campaigns, condom promotion and distribution, and sexually transmit ted diseases control.