Article
Sexual and addictive risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infections in illegal gold miners in French Guiana: A multicenter observational study
Registro en:
MUTRICY-HUREAU, Louise et al. Sexual and addictive risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infections in illegal gold miners in French Guiana: A multicenter observational study. Plos One, v. 17, n. 9, e0272932, p. 1 - 17, Sept. 2022.
1932-6203
10.1371/journal.pone.0272932
Autor
Mutricy-Hureau, Louise Mutricy-Hureau
Pisoni, Amandine
Suarez-Mutis, Martha
Silva, Amanda Figueira da
Lambert, Yann
Mespoulhe, Pauline
Godin, Audrey
Parriault, Marie-Claire
Melle, Astrid Van
Mosnier, Emilie
Gaillet, Mélanie
Michaud, Céline
Schaub, Roxane
Galindo, Muriel
Adenis, Antoine
Nacher, Mathieu
Vreden, Stephen
Tuaillon, Edouard
Douine, Maylis
Resumen
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.