[Risky Sexual Behavior And Prevalence Of HIV In Sex Workers In Douala In 2011]

With an HIV seroprevalence of 14%, sex workers in Douala remain a population at high risk of viral infection. Many campaigns have been carried out with the objective of informing and helping to prevent the spread of infections. This study aims to identify the reoccurring and new risky sexual behaviors and to make recommendations concerning the observations.

A cross sectional study was carried out in the city of Douala. Screening tests were carried out and a questionnaire looked at information concerning different variables. The associations between these variables were evaluated by calculating odds ratios rough-and their confidence intervals at 95%.

A seroprevalence of 12.5% was recorded. The average years worked were 25±3. We noted 89% of participants were on HIV medicine (P= 0.001). There was no significant correlation between the sex worker's age and her HIV status (P= 0.458), and no significant correlation between their age and educational level (P= 0.502). 89% of the participants reported using condoms during their paid sexual relations, among them 9% were HIV positive (P=0.04). 87.5% of HIV positive participants reported engaging in anal sex (P=0.007).

Seroprevalence remains high in sex workers in Douala. They continue to engage in risky sexual behaviors, endangering themselves and their partners. We therefore suggest to increase informational campaigns to increase awareness in this at-risk population.