HIV-1 seroprevalence rates in women attending a prenatal clinic in Kampala Uganda.

To determine the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) seroprevalence and natural history in women and their infants in Kampala, Uganda, we have initiated a longitudinal study of HIV-1 infected and uninfected pregnant women. This report is on the HIV-1 test results of 3601 pregnant women screened for enrollment from January, 1989 to March, 1990. Overall seroprevalence of HIV-1 was 28.1%, (95% confidence interval [Cl]: 26.6, 29.6%), with the highest age-specific rate 45.7%, occurring at age 22 years. The monthly overall rates remained consistently high (22.1-31.7%). Most alarming is the high rate in the young women, 14-16 years: 23.5%. These sentinel rates suggest that the overall prevalence of HIV-1 is high among women of child-bearing age in urban areas of Uganda, that the prevalence may continue to increase over time, and that young women are at extremely high risk for infection.