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SEXUAL AND ADDICTIVE RISK BEHAVIORS AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS IN ILLEGAL GOLD MINERS IN FRENCH GUIANA: A MULTICENTER OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
Infecção sexualmente transmissível
Mineiros de ouro ilegais
Guiana Francesa
Estudo observacional multicêntrico
Sexually transmitted infection
Illegal gold miners
French Guiana
Multicenter observational study
Author
Affilliation
Abstract
Objectives
Common representations of the world of gold mining–especially illegal–are usually negative:
the activity conjures up images of drug trafficking, human exploitation, the sex trade, environmental
destruction, and infectious diseases, in particular sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The aim of the present article is to describe the levels of risk behaviors such as transactional
sex, multiple sexual partners, and the frequency of condom use, addictive substance consumption,
and the prevalence of STIs among the population of illegal gold miners in French Guiana
(FG), a French overseas entity in Amazonia, in order to guide potential interventions.
Methods
An observational multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out from October to December
2019 along the two borders of FG with Suriname and Brazil at rest sites used by the
miners.
Results
Among the 499 participants, transactional sex was very prevalent, declared by 33.5% of
men and 8.4% of women. Condoms were more frequently used for transactional sex than with a non-commercial partner (93.4% versus 42.1%). More women were tested for HIV
than men (91.1% versus 55.2%). Excessive alcohol consumption (57.3%%) and tobacco
use (41.2%) were very frequent, but cocaine or crack consumption was low (1.2%), which
refuted our initial assumption. Consumers of alcohol had more sexual partners and reported
condom use more frequently. Prevalence of HIV, HCV, HBV, and syphilis was respectively
0.5% (95% CI: 0.1–2.1), 2.1% (95% CI: 0.7–3.6), 1.6% (95% CI: 0.3–2.8), and 12.4% (95%
CI: 9.0–15.7), which was higher than in the local population, especially for syphilis.
Conclusion
This study documents for the first time the risk behaviors of gold miners in FG. Although the
level of condom use was high, the prevalence of STIs combined with the high rate of transactional
sex should encourage an increase in prevention and screening, in particular
through rapid tests, given the mobility of the population concerned.
Keywords in Portuguese
Comportamentos sexuais e de risco de dependênciaInfecção sexualmente transmissível
Mineiros de ouro ilegais
Guiana Francesa
Estudo observacional multicêntrico
Keywords
Sexual and addictive risk behaviorsSexually transmitted infection
Illegal gold miners
French Guiana
Multicenter observational study
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