Migration and HIV: an epidemiological study of Montrealers of Haitian origin.

Summary: We aimed to determine the prevalence of HIV infection and associatedrisk factors among Montrealers of Haitian origin. We carried out a voluntary,anonymous survey in 7 primary care medical clinics in Montreal among 5039persons aged 15 to 49 years born in Haiti or with at least one parent born in Haiti.The participation rate was 94.3%. Overall, HIV prevalence was 1.3% (1.6% in menand 1.1% in women). The HIV prevalence was lower among those born in Canadaor who had resided in Canada longer. The prevalence among subjects who hadtravelled to Haiti in the previous 5 years was 2.0%, twice the rate of those who hadnot. The adjusted population attributable fraction of HIV infections associated withhaving had unprotected sex in Haiti was 10.2%. This study identi® ed risk factorswhich will help in the design of more effective prevention programmes amongMontrealers of Haitian origin. Keywords: Migrants, Haiti, HIV transmission INTRODUCTION AIDS incidence in the United States 1 andCanada 2