Critical Population Spotlight: HIV and the Garífuna of Honduras—Comment on Gandhi et al. “Migration, Multiple Sexual Partnerships, and Sexual Concurrency in the Garífuna Population of Honduras”

Excerpt

In most regions of the world HIV epidemics have stabilized or even declined in recent years. These broad stroke general population statistics hold true in Latin America where national HIV prevalence is less than 1 % [1]. However, as is often the case with national HIV surveillance, stable infection rates in Latin America mask alarming increases in HIV incidence within localized sub-epidemics. For example, in Honduras national HIV surveillance shows declining incidence, prevalence, and HIV-related deaths rates for the past decade. Honduras hosts approximately 17 % of the population of Central America, and yet Honduras has 44 % of Central America’s reported AIDS cases [2]. There are an estimated 24,000 people living with HIV in Honduras and more than one in three are women [1]. However, these general population statistics obscure significant increases in Honduran subpopulations. …