Are teachers at higher risk of HIV infection than the general population in Burkina Faso?

In order to assess the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence among teachers in Burkina Faso, we carried out a national survey in 336 primary and secondary schools from urban and rural areas. Among 2088 teachers who agreed to participate, 1498 (71.7%) provided urine for HIV testing. The crude prevalence of HIV among teachers was 2.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.0-3.6), with no difference between teachers from primary schools (2.9%, 95%CI: 2.1-4.0) and those from secondary schools (2.5%, 95%CI: 0.5-4.5). Age- and area-standardized HIV prevalence was 1.0% (95%CI: 0.4-1.2) in male teachers, 2.5 times lower than among men in the general population (as assessed from a concomitant Demographic Health Survey), and it was 3.5% (95%CI: 2.5-5.2) in female teachers, 1.7 times higher than in Demographic Health Survey women. This finding calls for the implementation of specific HIV prevention programmes in the education sector targeting women more specifically.