Africa: High risk groups equally important in early and advanced epidemics

Multiple sex partners, sex for pay, and sexual coinfections (particularly genital herpes, or HSV-2) continue to act as major risk factors for HIV transmission in Africa, according to a systematic review of 68 separate epidemiological studies conducted over the past 20 years. The analysis, published in the October 2007 issue of PLoS One,, found that these factors have remained significant over time and have not declined in importance as HIV prevalence becomes higher in the general population.