TITLE:
Baseline Clinical Profile of a “Normal Popu-lation” of HIV Exposed Sero-Negative (HESN) Partners May Impact HIV Biomedical Prevention Studies Negatively
AUTHORS:
Pam Datong, Evaezi Okpokoro, Sophia Osawe, Ruth Datiri, Grace Choji, Felicia Okolo, Rebecca Abimiku, Ille Mamman, Alash’le Abimiku
KEYWORDS:
Clinical Characteristics, Discordant Couple, Developing Country, HIV Vaccine Trial, Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of AIDS,
Vol.5 No.4,
November
30,
2015
ABSTRACT: The burden and viral diversity of HIV in
Nigeria makes it suitable to evaluate biomedical prevention strategies
including HIV vaccines. We document baseline clinical characteristics of a
cohort of HIV Exposed Sero-Negative (HESN) partners to highlight background
morbidities that might impact the interpretation of research findings
especially in low income countries where “normal control” is based on physical
appearance and self-reporting. We established a 2-year prospective cohort of
HESN, and obtained, at baseline medical history, general physical examination
findings and safety laboratory tests results. Among 534 participants with a
mean age of 37 ± 9 years, the commonest symptoms were headache (25.5%) and
fever (20%), which occurred more among females. Also, 13% reported a history of
urethral/vaginal discharge and genital ulcer. High blood pressure (HBP) (i.e.
blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmhg) was a major abnormal examination finding, which
occurred more among males (53.2% vs 26.2%, p