Seroprevalence for HIV and Treponema pallidum infection in an immigrants population in Verona area (Italy)

The aim of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of HIV and Treponema pallidum (Tp) antibodies among African immigrants living in the Verona area. Between March 2002 and May 2004, 161 immigrants were enrolled in the study, having given their informed consent and a personal epidemiological report. Each subject submitted to the necessary serological analyses to ascertain the prevalence of HIV and Tp infection. The prevalence of HBV (any marker) and HCV infection was also evaluated in HIV and Tp positive sera. Of the 161 subjects, 80% were male; the mean age was 31.7 ± 7.94 years; 38.5% of all subjects came from Nigeria. The prevalence of HIV infection was 3.7% (5 males and 1 female). Five males (3.1%) were Tp positive. One 37-year-old married male was positive for both HIV and Tp infection. The prevalence of HIV and Tp infection in the sample examined was higher than the estimated seroprevalence in the autochthonous population of the Veneto Region and Italy as a whole. This may be for various reasons, relating to the immigrants originating from areas where these infections are endemic, their life-styles and risk behavior, sexual and parenteral transmission, intravenous drug use (IVDU), or iatrogenic transmission in their home countries. The results of our study support the advisability of routine screening for immigrants with a view to assuring the early identification of infection and disease.