Trends of Seroprevalence, Epidemiology and Clinical Presentation of HIV in North India: A Tertiary Care Hospital Based Study

Introduction: HIV infection represents a major public health problem for both developing and developed countries as it has grown to global pandemic. Spectrum of clinical presentation of HIV can greatly vary with geopolitical, socioeconomic and cultural environment. Aims: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence, socio-demographic conditions, clinical presentations, opportunistic infections and the possible associated risk factors for acquiring HIV infection. Materials and Methods: An observational prospective study was conducted from January 2010 to December 2014 at our centre situated in north India. As per the strategy and policy prescribed by NACO, tests were performed on the serum samples. Results: Out of the total 35369 clients tested for HIV infection, 292 were found to be HIV-1 seropositive. Two HIV-2 cases were found among the studied population. The seroprevalence of HIV was found to be 0.83% (294/35369). Mean age of the study group was 30 ± 5.65 (range: 02 - 80) years. Overall positivity rates among attendees were found to be 0.97% (138/14098), 0.96% (35/3610), 0.82% (7/850), 0.78% (22/2810) and 0.65% (92/14001) in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. Heterosexual route of transmission was the major route of infection in 78.2 % patients. At the time of presentation, it was observed that Tuberculosis (14.9%) was the most common opportunistic infection. Conclusion: The study shows that there is a decreasing trend in the HIV prevalence in North India. However, the number of HIV cases is still significant and suggests the need for focused prevention efforts in high-risk groups.