[AIDS in a Zambian district].

During the years 1990 and 1991 data were collected of all 231 patients fulfilling the WHO clinical criteria for the diagnosis of AIDS in the three hospitals of Sesheke, a rural Zambian district. The group of 231 consisted of 46.3% male and 53.7% female patients. Mean age for women was significantly lower than for men (25.2 and 31.1 years, p < 0.001). A total of 185 patients could be tested for HIV-1 antibodies. There were 151 (81.6%) positive results, 19 (10.3%) negative results and in 15 (8.1%) cases the results were not clear. Most important signs were weight loss, chronic cough, prolonged fever and chronic diarrhoea. Seroprevalence figures for HIV-1 in the same period were 16% for blood donors and 41% for patients attending the clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. Most patients with AIDS in Sesheke district present with a wasting syndrome. Tuberculosis, the incidence of which has increased dramatically, has to be excluded in those cases. The outlook for the population in Sesheke and Zambia is dim with the current high seroprevalence figures.