Incidence and Risk Factors of HIV-1 Infections among Pregnant Women in Burkina Faso from 2012 to 2016

Background: New cases of HIV/AIDS are still being reported and threaten the achievement of the HIV-1 elimination goal in Burkina Faso. An adequate assessment of the extent of this problem is key to redistributing available resources. HIV-1 incidence and associated risk factors among pregnant women estimated in Burkina Faso. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of pregnant women in all 13 administrative regions of Burkina Faso from 2012 to 2016. Collected sera analyzed by Vironostika HIV Uniform II Plus O, ImmunoComb II HIV-1 & 2 Bispot, HIV BLOT 2.2 assays to determine serological status. HIV-1 LAg-Avidity EIA performed on HIV-1 positive samples to differentiate between recent and old infections. Sociodemographic information collected for all participants. Data analysis performed using EPI Info and XLSTAT. Results: A total of 36,848 pregnant women included in the analyses. Serological testing showed 483 HIV-1 positive, 18 HIV-2 positive, 7 HIV-1 + 2 coinfection cases. Overall, 355 HIV-1 positive samples tested with HIV-1 LAg-Avidity EIA; the remaining samples had insufficient volume to be tested. The adjusted incidence rates were 0.17% and 0.09% (p=0.0919) in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Sociodemographic factors associated with recent infections included the 25-34 and ≥35 year age groups, high education level, household and secretary occupations, trader wife, civil servant wife, residence in urban sites, being married, a length of stay in the administrative region of <1 year. Conclusion: HIV-1 incidence is decreasing in Burkina Faso. However, women with certain risk factors should be targeted in prevention programs to reach the country’s HIV-1 elimination goal.