Fisherfolk are among groups most at risk of HIV: cross-country analysis of prevalence and numbers infected

Abstract

HIV prevalence in some fishing communities in low and middle-income countries is known to be high relative to national average seroprevalence rates. Most of the studies supporting this claim refer to the men involved in fish-catching operations (fishermen). However they acknowledge that the men and women who work in associated occupations such as fish trading and processing are also vulnerable in part because they are often within the fishermen’s sexual networks. This vulnerability stems from the nature and dynamics of the fish trade and fishing lifestyle in which a number of known or hypothesized ‘risk factors’ converge. (excerpt)