risk factors impacting on the spread of hiv among pregnant women ...

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contact with known IDUs, every third with known SW clients, every seventh with known HIV-positive
partners.
About every second woman injected drugs before HIV diagnosis; with high-<strong>risk</strong> behaviour. Only 1 in
3 female IDUs had never shared injecting equipment and every second one passed her needles and
syringes to other people for use.
There were behavioural changes among HIV-positive women after diagnosis: the number of persons
engaging in penetrative sex decreased (-13%), as well as the total number of sexual partners (3.7
times), which could be attributed to pregnancy, childbirth and care of infants. The proportion of
women engaging in sex with non-regular partners halved, but remained quite high (40.9%).
However, the proportion of women practicing commercial sex (every sixth one) remained fairly
high. The ratio of protected to non-protected sexual contacts is approximately 1:3 with regular partners,
2:1 with non-regular partners, and 3:1 with commercial partners.
After diagnosis, every fourth female IDU continued to inject drugs, with the use of someone else’s
injecting equipment becoming more frequent, and every second female IDU passed her used needles
and syringes to other people. High-<strong>risk</strong> drug injecting behaviour after HIV diagnosis is confirmed
by hepatitis rates: hepatitis С prevalence remained about the same (every third female IDU)
and the prevalence of hepatitis В grew significantly (found in every second female IDU).
Thus, the investigation into the socio-demographic and behavioural status of women at the time of
HIV diagnosis showed that HIV-positive women in St Petersburg largely represent the traditional
HIV <strong>risk</strong> groups: every second was an IDU, every third a SW, practically all of them engaged in sex
with non-regular partners. Half the women had sexual partners from other high-<strong>risk</strong> groups. Almost
half the women were diagnosed as HIV-positive only during delivery, i.e. they had not received antenatal
care during pregnancy, which is indirect evidence that women of reproductive age constitute a
<strong>risk</strong> group for HIV.
After diagnosis, the total number of sexual partners normally decreased; some of these partners were
regular, some non-regular, and some commercial; the frequency of condom use with non-regular
and commercial partners dropped.
To sum up, there is a high <strong>risk</strong> of further spread of HIV in St Petersburg, both by parenteral and sexual
routes.
KALININGRAD
RISK FACTORS IMPACTING ON THE SPREAD OF HIV AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The HIV-positive group in Kaliningrad includes young women of reproductive age (mean age 26.4
years), with secondary education (general or specialized), in registered or common-law marriage.
The mean age at sexual debut was 16.9 years.