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Diana Rossi

Publications and source records attributed to Diana Rossi.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Some data-driven reflections on priorities in AIDS network research.

Risk networks can transmit HIV or other infections; social networks can transmit social influence and thus help shape norms and behaviors. This primarily-theoretical paper starts with a review of network concepts, and then presents data from a New York network study to study patterns of sexual and injection linkages among IDUs and other drug users and nonusers, men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women, other men and other women in a high-risk community and the distribution of HIV, sex at group sex events, and health intravention behaviors in this network. It then discusses how risk network microstructures might influence HIV epidemics and urban vulnerability to epidemics; what social and other forces (such as "Big Events" like wars or ecological disasters) might shape networks and their associated norms, intraventions, practices and behaviors; and how network theory and research have and may continue to contribute to developing interventions against HIV epidemics.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2006

HIV seroincidence estimates among at-risk populations in Buenos Aires and Montevideo: use of the serologic testing algorithm for recent HIV seroconversion.

Using the serological testing algorithm for recent HIV seroconversion, we estimated annualized incidences (per 100 person-years) of HIV-1 infection in different at-risk groups in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, during a 5-year period between 1998 and 2003. HIV-positive serum samples from 9 serosurveys conducted among men who have sex with men, patients attending clinics for a sexually transmitted infections consult (STIs), female commercial sex workers, injecting drug users (IDUs), noninjecting cocaine users (NICUs), asymptomatic women screened for HIV infection, and patients with tuberculosis were used. HIV incidences were as follows: 6.7 for men who have sex with men, 2.0 for STIs, 1.3 for female commercial sex workers, 0.0 for Argentinean IDUs, 10.3 for Uruguayan IDUs, 3.1 for Argentinean NICUs, 4.4 for Uruguayan NICUs, and 2.4 for patients with tuberculosis. Among asymptomatic women screened for HIV infection, incidence rose from 0.4 in 1998 to 4.6 in 1999 and to a high of 10.2 in the year 2000. Unexpectedly, high HIV incidences were detected among at-risk groups in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. This pattern shows an emerging HIV epidemic among heterosexuals stemming from core HIV-infected at-risk groups. There is an urgent need for development and implementation of specific prevention strategies to address this burgeoning epidemic.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

The HIV/AIDS epidemic and changes in injecting drug use in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This article discusses the changes in injecting drug use from 1998 to 2003 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Rapid Situation Assessment and Response methodology was used to obtain the information. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were triangulated: 140 current IDUs and 35 sex partners of injection drug users (IDUs) were surveyed; 17 in-depth interviews with the surveyed IDUs and 2 focus groups were held, as well as ethnographic observations. The way in which risk and care practices among injecting drug users changed and the influence of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic on this process are described. In recent years, the frequency of injection practices and sharing of injecting equipment has decreased, while injecting drug use is a more hidden practice in a context of increasing impact of the disease in the injecting drug use social networks and changes in the price and quality of drugs. Knowledge about these changes helps build harm reduction activities oriented to IDUs in their particular social context.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Intersubtype BF recombinants of HIV-1 in a population of injecting drug users in Argentina.

The presence of recombinant intersubtypes of HIV-1 in Argentina has been reported since the mid-1990s. In this study, sequences of a region of the gag, pol, and vpu genes of HIV-1 were analyzed in samples of 21 injection drug users (IDUs) residing in the suburbs of the city of Buenos Aires. Genomic characterization and identification of recombination sites were made comparing the 3 regions with reference isolation sequences of subtypes B, F, C, A, and B/F recombinants: CRF12_BF and non-CRF12_BF sequences. Subtype assignment of the analyzed segments was phylogenetically confirmed. All the samples turned out to be BF recombinants in at least 1 of the 3 studied genes. Twelve samples (57%) had the same pattern as the Argentinean CRF12_BF, whereas in the rest, the pattern differed in at least 1 of the 3 genes. The relation of these fragments to the CRF12_BF was phylogenetically verified. These results indicate the predominance of BF recombinants and the presence of a high percentage of sequences closely related to the CRF12_BF in the IDU population in Argentina and suggest a possible association between viral variants and the transmission route.

Argentina↗
PubMed2003

Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome prevention in injection drug users and their partners and children: lessons learned in Latin America--the Argentinean case.

Thirty-nine percent of Argentineans living with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were infected with human immunodeficiency virus through the injection of drugs. However, it was not until the 1990s that harm reduction programs were created. Research and outreach projects have been developed to identify and interact with the hidden injection drug user (IDU) population. Implementation of rapid assessment and response methodology contributed to the founding of Argentina's first syringe exchange program. Community-based outreach is the appropriate method for working with the impoverished population of Buenos Aires. Seroprevalence studies and focused prevention campaigns targeting IDUs and their sex partners and children have been developed. Collaborations between government and nongovernmental organizations in various cities supported the distribution of prevention and harm reduction messages to 900 IDUs within a 3-month period. Ongoing research, community-based interventions, and collaborative work among different organizations allow for more frequent and more consistent contact with the IDU population of Argentina.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2003

Epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in injection drug users in Argentina: high seroprevalence of HIV infection.

The aim of this study was to compile published data and to describe the prevalences of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among injection drug users (IDUs) in different populations studied in Argentina from 1987 through 1999. Twenty-two studies of HIV infection in the IDU population were selected, and 6 subject groups were defined: outpatients, prisoners, children in rehabilitation institutes, hospitalized patients, IDUs receiving drug treatment, and female sex workers. The median prevalence of HIV infection among 1506 outpatients (5 studies) was 64.0%; among 175 prisoners (1 study), the prevalence was 35.4%; among 446 children in rehabilitation institutes (4 studies), the prevalence was 48.1%; among 136 hospitalized patients (2 studies), the prevalence was 49.5%; among 2708 IDUs receiving drug treatment (7 studies), the prevalence was 39.0%; and among 26 female sex workers (2 studies), the prevalence was 47.0%. Prevalence of HIV infection was high among IDUs in Argentina, ranging from 27% to 80%.

Argentina↗
PubMed2003

High seroprevalence of bloodborne viruses among street-recruited injection drug users from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Injection drug use is the main mechanism of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in Argentina (40% of reported AIDS cases in Argentina). This study was conducted among street-recruited injection drug users (IDUs) from Buenos Aires, with the aim of estimating seroprevalence and coinfection of HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLVs). A total of 174 volunteers participated in this study; 137 were men (78.7% of volunteers). The average age of the participants was 30 years. Only 64 of participants (37%) had no viral infection, whereas 110 (63%) were infected with > or =1 viruses. Seroprevalences were 44.3% for HIV, 54.6% for HCV, 42.5% for HBV, 2.3% for HTLV-I, and 14.5% for HTLV-II. Among the 77 HIV-infected persons, only 6.5% (5 persons) were not coinfected with other viruses; 88.3% (68) were coinfected with HCV and 68.8% (53) were coinfected with HBV. We demonstrated the existence of multiple viral infections with a high rate of prevalence in IDUs in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Adolescent↗