G P Garnett

..Changes in socio-demographic characteristics and reported sexual behaviour are investigated...

..The goal of this study is to evaluate the quality of sexual behavior data collected with handheld computers in comparison with paper-based questionnaires...

..This paper discusses the criteria required to determine whether observed changes in HIV prevalence are the result of changes in behaviour...

..Second generation surveillance for HIV aims to improve the validity and utility of routine serial HIV prevalence data. It includes the collection of data on sexual behaviour and sexually transmitted disease prevalence...

..To date, model results are consistent in predicting a useful role for vaccine, but further epidemiological data are required to help test the validity of models...

..Vaccination programs provide both direct protection to those immunized and herd immunity, which is indirect protection of those who remain susceptible, owing to a reduced prevalence of infections...

..In this polarised debate, arguments about their relative effectiveness have been based on limited evidence...

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..The importance of reducing cross-generational sex (young women having sex with older men) and delaying age at first sex on the spread of HIV at the population-level has been presumed but not scientifically investigated and quantified...

..Predicted substantial expanded increases in orphanhood could hamper efforts to slow the acquisition of HIV infection in successive generations of young adults, perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty and disease...

..Complicated HIV transmission dynamics make it unclear how to design and interpret results from community-randomized controlled trials (CRCT) of interventions to prevent infection...

..Sexually experienced men and women reported reductions in casual sex of 49 and 22%, respectively, whereas recent cohorts reported delayed sexual debut. Selective AIDS-induced mortality contributed to the decline in HIV prevalence...

..To identify reporting biases and to determine the influence of inconsistent reporting on observed trends in the timing of age at first sex and age at marriage...

..These indicators should provide a useful resource for those involved in planning HIV prevention interventions...

..One suggested solution has been a proximate determinants framework, in which risk factors are grouped into "underlying", "proximate" and "biological" determinants...

..To develop projections of the resources required (person-years of drug supply and healthcare worker time) for universal access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Zimbabwe...

..HIV Testing and Counselling (TC) programmes are being scaled-up as part of efforts to provide universal access to antiretroviral treatment (ART)...

..To determine the extent of self reported symptoms perceived to be related to sexually transmitted infections and the patterns of subsequent treatment seeking behaviour in a predominantly rural population of Zimbabwe...

..Declines in the prevalence of HIV might occur due to natural epidemic dynamics rather than changes in risk behaviour. Determining the cause of an observed decline is important in understanding the epidemiology of HIV...

..Tracing chains of transmission is difficult, because sexual partners are commonly difficult or impossible to identify. We assess the use of gonococcal opa-typing in identifying transmission links not revealed through interview...

..To determine whether observed changes in HIV prevalence in countries with generalised HIV epidemics are associated with changes in sexual risk behaviour...

..In deciding policy, an evaluation of the epidemiological impact of the partial protection provided by the vaccine should be considered...

..Many studies have explored the role of "classic" sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in determining the pattern of HIV epidemics. However, the many different STDs may contribute in different ways, at different magnitudes...

..The division between high transmission probability, short duration infections and low transmission probability, long duration infections is explored...

..We assess the expected number of HIV cases prevented and cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical HIV chemoprophylaxis program among men who have sex with men in a large US city...

..To estimate the global prevalence and incidence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection in 2003...

..Estimated prevalence of self-medication for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in observational studies differs between studies and it may vary according to population characteristics...

..We investigated the latter hypothesis using data from a field study in rural Manicaland, Zimbabwe...

..This study suggests that, among women, particularly those who are infected, behavioural risk reduction does occur following VCT...

..To present a methodology exploring the best predictors as well as the interactions between determinants of self-medication...

..The sensitivity of epidemic spread to the amount of concurrency is greater than predicted by models that do not include primary HIV infection...

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..To explore the effect of different patterns of condom use by clients and female sex workers (FSW) on HIV transmission in Mexico...

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..The authors conducted an assessment of the role of beer halls in the HIV epidemic of rural Zimbabwe as part of the ongoing identification of risky places for the targeting of prevention activities...

..Data collected since the late 1980s show that there was a mismatch between the observed growth in the HIV epidemic and assumptions made about viral transmission...

..HIV-1 control in sub-Saharan Africa requires cost-effective and sustainable programmes that promote behaviour change and reduce cofactor sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at the population and individual levels...

..We further demonstrate increased synchrony of syphilis oscillations across cities over time, providing empirical evidence for an increasingly connected sexual network in the United States...

..Recent trial results demonstrate that the transmission probability of HSV-2 in monogamous couples is nearly halved by the use of valacyclovir as suppressive therapy...

..Forming an accurate picture of current front-line practice will help to inform future development of European new entrant screening policy...

..To explore epidemiological evidence about the interaction of herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 and HSV-2 infections...

..Reification of these categories in an intervention context may hinder our understanding of the differential HIV risk among MSM...

..The course of pathogen evolution has implications for the success of interventions, but the predictions presented need to be tested at the level of the community in carefully monitored interventions...

..The association with age indicates that subjects were most likely to have acquired infection in early childhood. This is key to the design of Vietnamese health education and immunization programmes...

..The spread of HIV is in part determined by the probability of transmission within a sexual partnership...

..It has been suggested that superinfection of HIV positive individuals with heterologous HIV strains could lead to faster progression to AIDS, generating concern over the risks of exposure to new infections in those already infected...

..It was changes in such parameters (vector biting and mortality rate) which caused seasonal prevalence, but the timing of peak prevalence was a result of time delays within the system...

..Implementing catch-up vaccination at the start of a vaccination programme would increase the speed with which a decrease in HPV and cervical cancer incidence is observed...

..This article seeks to provide the non-mathematician with a description of their construction and use and presents illustrative examples from sexually transmitted infection epidemiology...

..CONCLUSION: Rural-urban migration does not appear to be responsible for maintaining the high HIV prevalence in rural Zimbabwe, but rates of HIV infection may be affected by rural-rural migration...

..Many people with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Lima, Peru, seek treatment in pharmacies...

..The field of HPV and cervical cancer prevention has never been so multi-disciplinary. A new era has begun and the challenges are many...

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..In this summary, we summarize the opinions of this expert group on how these advances can be introduced to provide the maximum benefit to women and to reduce the global burden of cervical cancer...