Prevalence of HIV in the Mthatha area of South Africa, as estimated from the testing of rape victims

Background Tremendous challenges remain in the field of HIV education, prevention and care in South Africa. There is conflicting data on the prevalence of HIV in South Africa from two major studies. Antenatal surveillance showed 29.5% prevalence whereas a household HIV survey showed a prevalence nearly half of that, at 16.2%. There is therefore a need for a third estimate in this situation. Objective To estimate HIV prevalence in the Mthatha area of South Africa. Methods Retrospective review of HIV testing results among victims of sexual assault who presented for the first time to the Sinawe Referral Centre, Mthatha General Hospital, for the period 2001–2005 (inclusive). Results Between 2001 and 2005, 1691 victims of sexual assault presented to the Sinawe Referral Centre. Of these 1435 (84.8%) were tested for HIV at the time of first consultation. One hundred and ninety-seven were found to be HIV positive on the screening test. In a space of five years (2001–2005), there was an increase in HIV prevalence from 0.9% to 6.4%. The highest HIV positive rate (3.7%) was found in the 16–20 year age group. Conclusion The HIV prevalence rate is 13.7% in the Mthatha area, and just over a half (7%) of HIV-positive rape survivors were aged 16–25 years.