Epidemiology of HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in selected African and Asian populations.

401 sera from patients of a rural hospital in Zimbabwe (1987), 211 South African sera (1982/83), as well as 460 sera from four Katmandu hospitals (1985) were tested for HIV-1 antibodies. The sera from Zimbabwe and Nepal were additionally tested for anti-HIV-2 using a panel of different tests, for hepatitis B markers, and partially for antibodies against other viral, bacterial, and protozoal antigens. Detailed clinical and sociodemographic data were taken from the Zimbabwe and Katmandu patients. The prevalence of HIV-1 antibodies in the Zimbabwe study population was 3.2%. All infections were found in the age group 17 to 30 years (n = 254). The epidemiological situation was entirely different from that of HBV (hepatitis B virus). No serum could be confirmed to be anti-HIV-2-positive, but a definite diagnosis is still difficult to establish. Regular town contacts may be considered a possible risk factor. Antibodies against HIV-1 could not be detected in the South African and Asian sera. The seropositivity for anti-HBc in Katmandu (14%) and the prevalence of HBsAg (1.1%) was much lower than reported from other Asian countries.