Population Council Research that makes a difference

16th International Conference on AIDS
and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA)
4–8 December 2011

Abstract

"HIV and STI prevalence among men who have sex with men in three major cities in Nigeria"
Sylvia Adebajo, Lung Vu, Jean Njab, Waimar Tun, Andrew Karlyn, Meredith Sheehy, Dennis Akpona, Omokhudu Idogho, and Folasade Ogunsola

Background
Although there is increasing evidence of the risks associated with HIV acquisition and transmission among MSM in Nigeria, practically nothing is known about other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in this population.

Methods
A total of 712 MSM were recruited between August and September, 2010 through respondent-driven sampling (RDS) from Lagos (43.3%), Ibadan (29.5%) and Abuja (27.2%). In addition to information elicited about reported STI and risk behaviors, screening for Syphilis (S), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Gonorrhaea (GN) and Hepatitis B (HBV) were also conducted.

Results
Most of the MSM were aged 18–25 years and a large proportion (>60%) reported having multiple male and female partners with whom they often had unprotected sex. Whilst 31% reported STIs in the past 12 months, only 26 (3.7%) reported STI symptoms at the time of the survey. Weighted prevalence of STIs ranged from 0.5–1.9% for syphilis, 4.2–8.9% for gonorrhea, 0–34.5% for Chlamydia and 21.4–21.9% for hepatitis B. Population based estimates of HIV was highest in Abuja (34.9%) followed by Lagos (15.2%) and Ibadan (11.3%). Overall, prevalence of STIs was low in Lagos and Abuja. However, in Ibadan, prevalence of Chlamydia was highest among MSM who had casual sex partners [AOR=2.6 (1.2-5.5)] and among those who self-identified as homosexual [AOR=2.8 (1.3-6.0)]. Similarly, hepatitis B infection was more likely among the more educated [AOR=1.7 (1.01-2.7)] and MSM who had sex with men exclusively compared with those who had with both men and women [AOR=2.0 (1.2-3.3)]. This study afforded many MSM first time opportunities of being tested and treated for STIs.

Conclusion
There is a large unmet need for MSM in Nigeria. This calls for an urgent need for targeted screening and vaccination to prevent the untoward sequelae of STIs among MSM in Nigeria.

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