Description
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
UMR 1058 INSERM/EFS/University of Montpellier, Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic Infection, Montpellier University Hospital, Department of Bacteriology-Virology, Montpellier, France.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
CRB Amazonie (Biological Resource Center), Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / Aix-Marseille University, INSERM, IRD, SESSTIM—Economic and Social Sciences, Health Systems, and Medical Informatics, F-13005, Marseille, France.
Centres Délocalisés de Prévention et de Soins (CDPS), Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Centres Délocalisés de Prévention et de Soins (CDPS), Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / TBIP, University of French Guiana, University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR9017-CIIL Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / TBIP, University of French Guiana, University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR9017-CIIL Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France.
Foundation for the Advancement of Scientific Research in Suriname (SWOS), Paramaribo, Suriname.
UMR 1058 INSERM/EFS/University of Montpellier, Pathogenesis and Control of Chronic Infection, Montpellier University Hospital, Department of Bacteriology-Virology, Montpellier, France.
Center for Clinical Investigation Antilles-Guyane, Inserm 1424, Cayenne Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana, France / TBIP, University of French Guiana, University of Lille, CNRS, Inserm, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR9017-CIIL Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France.
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.
