Collecting the essence of man: semen collection for HIV transmission studies in sub-Saharan Africa

Efforts to understand male to female sexual transmission of HIV must include semen analysis. Estimating sexual infectiousness using blood HIV RNA concentrations as a surrogate marker may be biased.1 Semen is routinely collected in Europe and the United States for HIV research2 and has recently been collected in clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa3; however, there are no published data about issues associated with semen collection. We conducted a study at the Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, from January 2000 to June 2001 to better understand the relation between trichomonas and HIV-1 viral load.4 Men attending STI and dermatology clinics consented and were enrolled. All men with Trichomonas vaginalis and a comparison group of …