Israeli-migrants from sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia) and HIV: Medical and social issues. The experience of one major HIV center

HIV-1 patients, Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia to Israel, present a unique cohort of patients with "African style" culture living in a modern society with advanced medical services. Objectives: To study the specific medical and social issues of HIV-1 patients who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia and treated at our AIDS center. Study group: 908 HIV-1 patients, Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia followed for at least one year. Methods: HIV-1 was diagnosed by ELISA and confirmed by Western Blot assays. Viral load was determined by Amplipep/Amplicor (Roche) and CD4 cell counts by FACS analysis. Results: In the present study we report the course of 908 patients (the Ethiopian cohort), 507 females and 381 males, all Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia infected with Clade C HIV-1. 47 of them are children under the age of 15 years. Following the implementation of various interventional programs (modified DOT HAART supply, Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT) prevention program, Pediatric program) we were able to achieve good virological and immunological responses with a low rate of MTCT. Conclusions: Devoted multidisciplinary medical team who understand and respect the specific needs of our Ethiopian cohort is essential for successful treatment of these patients.