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[HIV infection from Africa to Norway]
1Seksjon for forebyggende infeksjonsmedisin Statens institutt for folkehelse Postboks 4404 Torshov 0403 Oslo. preben.aavitsland@folkehelsa.no
Background:
More than two thirds of the world's HIV infected persons live in Africa. Africans seek asylum in Norway and some Norwegians work for longer periods in Africa. We used the Norwegian surveillance system for communicable diseases (1983-99) to assess the connections between the Norwegian and African epidemics.
Material And Methods:
We estimated the incidence of HIV infection in persons from Norway who acquired HIV from Africans, and measured the annual number of Africans diagnosed in Norway.
Results:
Out of the 2,016 cases of HIV infection ever diagnosed in Norway (population 4.4 million), 489 (24%) had connections to Africa. 80 persons from Norway have been infected in Africa, usually during work for aid agencies. 39 persons have been infected by Africans in Norway. For both groups the annual number of new cases was 0-2 in 1997-99. Cumulatively, 370 Africans have been diagnosed with HIV infection acquired before immigration. Median time from immigration to diagnosis is three months.
Interpretation:
Currently, few Norwegians are infected by Africans in Norway or Africa. African immigrants constitute an increasing proportion of the HIV positive population in Norway. This is a challenge to the health services and to society at large.