Age-disparate partnerships and HSV-2 among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: implications for HIV infection risk.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:There is an urgent need to understand high HIV-infection rates among young women in sub-Saharan Africa. While age-disparate partnerships have been characterised with high-risk sexual behaviours, the mechanisms through which these partnerships may increase HIV-risk are not fully understood. This study assessed the association between age-disparate partnerships and herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) infection, a factor known to increase HIV-infection risk. METHODS:Cross-sectional face-to-face questionnaire data, and laboratory HSV-2 and HIV antibody data were collected among a representative sample in the 2014/2015 household survey of the HIV Incidence Provincial Surveillance System in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Among 15-24-year-old women who reported having ever had sex (n=1550

SUBMITTER: Maughan-Brown B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7477752 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature