35 to 49% of seropositive migrants are infected with HIV after arriving in France. This is the conclusion of a study conducted among 880 people from Africa.
The estimate is alarming. More than a third of migrants living with HIV in France were infected after arriving in the country. This is the lower range of a study conducted by the National AIDS Research Agency (ANRS) and published in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH) of the Institute for Health Watch (InVS).
888 people have agreed to be followed in the framework of this work. They are from Ivory Coast, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo… If the profiles are distinguished by their variety, the participants are relatively young. Their median age is 28 for women, 30 for men.
Despite these apparent differences, 35 to 49% of migrants who are infected with HIV were infected after their arrival on French territory. An estimate which confirms the results of work carried out previously. Men are more affected than women. “This result is consistent with the epidemiology of HIV in Africa, which affects women more than men and at an earlier age,” analyze the authors. Given that women and men arrived at roughly the same age in France (median 30 and 28, respectively, in our sample), women are more likely to have already been infected with HIV when they are arrive in Europe. “
As men have riskier behaviors, this discrepancy could be explained. The probability is even higher if they migrated at a young age or if they have been present for a long time in France. This conclusion makes the development of prevention and screening all the more important in these isolated populations. The use of TRODs (rapid diagnostic-oriented tests) and self-tests in community and association settings should make this possible. A growing activity, according to another study published in the BEH: the number of TRODs carried out since 2012 has almost doubled.
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