High Prevalence of HIV-1 CRF01_AE Viruses among Female Commercial Sex Workers Residing in Surabaya, Indonesia

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 12; p. e82645
• Main Authors: Kotaki, Tomohiro, Khairunisa, Siti Qamariyah, Sukartiningrum, Septhia Dwi, Arfijanto, M. Vitanata, Utsumi, Takako, Normalina, Irine, Handajani, Retno, Widiyanti, Prihartini, Rusli, Musofa, Rahayu, Retno Pudji, Lusida, Maria Inge, Hayashi, Yoshitake, Nasronudin, Kameoka, Masanori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 18.12.2013; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Adolescent; Adult; AIDS; Antibodies; Blood; Blood & organ donations; Chronic infection; Clients; Collaboration; Disease transmission; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Female; Health problems; Hepatitis; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B Core Antigens - metabolism; Hepatitis B surface antigen; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C Antibodies - metabolism; Hepatitis C virus; HIV; HIV infections; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - metabolism; HIV-1 - pathogenicity; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Impact analysis; Indonesia - epidemiology; Infection; Infections; Infectious diseases; Medical diagnosis; Medical research; Medicine; Middle Aged; Occupational health; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Prostitution; Sex; Sex industry; Sex Workers - statistics & numerical data; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Tropical diseases; University graduates; Urban areas; Viruses; Workers; Young Adult; Indonesia; Surabaya Indonesia
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082645

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) cause serious health problems and have an impact on the Indonesian economy. In addition, the rapid epidemic growth of HIV is continuing in Indonesia. Commercial sex plays a significant role in the spread of HIV; therefore, in order to reveal the current HIV prevalence rate among commercial sex workers (CSWs), we conducted an epidemiological study on HIV infection among CSWs residing in Surabaya, the capital of East Java province of Indonesia with large communities of CSWs. The prevalence of HIV infection among 200 CSWs was studied. In addition, the subtype of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and the prevalence of other blood-borne viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and GB virus C (GBV-C), were studied. The prevalence rates of HIV, hepatitis B core antibody, hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-HCV antibodies and anti-GBV-C antibodies were 11%, 64%, 4%, 0.5% and 0% among CSWs involved in this study, respectively. HIV-1 CRF01_AE viral gene fragments were detected in most HIV-positive samples. In addition, most CSWs showed low awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and had unprotected sex with their clients. The HIV prevalence rate among CSWs was significantly higher than that among the general population in Indonesia (0.2-0.4%). In addition, CSWs were at a high risk of exposure to HBV, although chronic HBV infection was less frequently established. Our results suggest the necessity of efficient prevention programs for HIV and other blood-borne viral infections among CSWs in Surabaya, Indonesia.