FRAC0206 | Mapping HIV clustering among pregnant women in Senegal

Cheikh Koulibaly, Abdoulaye Sagna, Cheikh Bamba Dieye, Djibril Niang, Safiatou Thiam | National AIDS Fighting Council of Senegal, Dakar, Sénégal

The research is based on the PMTCT routine data collected from antenatal clinics from 2019 to 2022 at the district level. The ArcGIS 10.1 version was used to explore the spatial distribution of newly pregnant women diagnosed as HIV positive and identify significant hotspot areas through the Index distance weighting and trend tools. The cluster and outlier analysis was performed using the Anselin Local Moran's I index to evaluate global and local spatial autocorrelation. Analysis revealed wide spatial and temporal variation in the concentration of pregnant women newly diagnosed as HIV positives at the regional and district levels. From 2019 to 2020, 10 clusters of high concentration have been identified from Dakar (Z score =2.3, P <0.01) to the localities of Kaolack (Z score =3, P <0.02), Mbour (Z score =1.96, P <0.04) and southern regions such as Kolda (Z score =6, P <0.001), Ziguinchor (Z score =3, P <0.02). From 2021 to 2022, high clusters were located in Kolda (Z score =7-18, P=0), Sedhiou (Z score =2.13, P <0.03), Dakar (Z score =2.8, P <0.003), Tambacounda (Z score =1.9, P <0.04), Diourbel (Z score =3, P <0.002). The trend analysis confirmed very high concentrations in the southern regions, moderate concentrations from Dakar to the central regions and low concentrations in the northern regions of Senegal. The study proved strong geographic clustering of newly infected pregnant women in such regions as Kolda and Ziguinchor and moderately in Dakar, Kaolack, and Sédhiou. However, new hotspots have been recently identified in such areas as Tambacounda, Thies, and Diourbel. Therefore, public health interventions specifically targeting these new hotspots are needed to improve awareness and reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS among pregnant women.