Abstract

HIV sero-discordant refers to a situation where in a pair of long-term sexual partners, one is
HIV positive and the other is HIV negative. There is an increased risk of HIV transmission to
the HIV-negative partner in discordant couples which makes HIV serodiscordant a hindrance
to HIV control and prevention strategies. Sero-discordance is one of the factors affecting the
impact of HIV prevention strategies, therefore effective HIV prevention strategies must
consider HIV discordance. Limited knowledge about the prevalence of HIV serodiscordant in
the community hinders the formulation of appropriate strategies for effective control of HIV
transmission. The study was aimed at determining the prevalence of HIV serodiscordant and
its associated factors among couples attending Iganga General Hospital. The knowledge
generated will guide the stakeholders in formulating HIV prevention and control strategies
aimed at reducing HIV transmission. A cross-sectional hospital-based study was carried out
through the conduction of guided interviews using a questionnaire to random-systematically
selected 250 couples attending IGH. Data was analyzed and presented in tables with
percentages comparing different factors. The HIV seroprevalence was 6.8%. The prevalence
of discordance was 4.8% among participant couples and 52.2% among the infected couples.
HIV serodiscordant was associated with sexual practice (83.3%), circumcision status of the
male partner in the couple (58.3%), condom use (58.3%), use of ARVs by the HIV-infected
partner (25%), and experience of STIs among partners (25%). The prevalence of HIV serodiscordant among the participant couples was 4.8%, associated mainly with sexual practice, circumcision, and condom use.