Despite this, disproportionate burdens of HIV continue among specific subpopulations, such as fishermen. Fishermen are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection and have a low uptake of HIV prevention and treatment services. Participants were randomly selected across BMUs. Information was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and HIV testing was offered on-site according to national testing guidelines. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with HIV infection, adjusted for potential confounders.
A total of fishermen with a median age of 31 years interquartile range: 25—38 years were recruited. The study found an HIV prevalence of HIV prevalence varied across selected districts: The HIV prevalence was highest among fishermen aged 20—24 years The majority, Of those living with HIV, HIV prevalence among fishermen was nearly twice as high as in the general population in Kagera.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. In , there were about 39 million HIV-positive individuals worldwide; of these, Eastern and Southern Africa reported approximately However, Since the first known case of HIV in Tanzania occurred in the Kagera region in , the virus has continued to be a significant issue in that area [ 5 ].
Fishing is seasonal; markets and fishermen frequently switch between fishing locations. This roving lifestyle poses a significant barrier to enrolment and retention in HIV services [ 11 ]. In Tanzania, the fishing industry employs 30, aquafarmers and , fishers directly, contributing 1.
Furthermore, approximately 4. Elsewhere, studies among fishermen reported an HIV prevalence of Additionally, high mobility and a lack of care and treatment facilities have been identified as the main barriers to the utilisation of HIV services, including ART uptake and HIV testing.
