HIV/AIDS in Guyana

Since 1987, when the first HIV case was reported, there has been a progressive increase in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Guyana. Today, Guyana has the second highest HIV prevalence rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2005, the national HIV prevalence rate in Guyana among adults ages 15 to 49 was estimated at 2.4 percent. The epidemic is particularly serious in urban areas. HIV is primarily spread through heterosexual contact, which is reported in more than 80 percent of cases of HIV infection. Approximately 21 percent of the cases have been attributed to transmission among men who have sex with men. Other at-risk populations include miners and loggers, women in prostitution, prisoners, indigenous populations, and other mobile populations. HIV infection levels among men and women seeking treatment for other sexually transmitted infections also have also been high (12 to 15 percent). [http://www.pepfar.gov/pepfar/press/81579.htm "2008 Country Profile: Guyana"] . U.S. Department of State (2008). Accessed September 7, 2008. PD-notice]

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