Contraceptive Use and Method Preference among Women in Soweto, South Africa: The Influence of Expanding Access to HIV Care and Treatment Services

Objective: Preventing unintended pregnancy among HIV-positive women constitutes a critical and cost-effective approach to primary prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and is a global public health priority for addressing the desperate state of maternal and child health in HIV hyper-endemic settings. We sought to investigate whether the prevalence of contraceptive use and method preferences varied by HIV status and receipt of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among women in Soweto, South Africa. Methods: We used survey data from 563 sexually active, non-pregnant women (18–44 years) recruited from the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto (May–December, 2007); 171 women were HIV-positive and receiving HAART (median duration of use = 31 months; IQR = 28, 33), 178 were HIV-positive and HAART-naïve, and 214 were HIV-negative. Medical record review was conducted to confirm HIV status and clinical variables. Logistic regression models estimated adjusted associations between HIV status, receipt of HAART, and contraceptive use. Results: Overall, 78 % of women reported using contraception, with significant variation by HIV status: 86 % of HAART users, 82 % of HAART-naïve women, and 69 % of HIV-negative women (p,0.0001). In adjusted models, compared with HIVnegativ

Residues of carbofuran applied as a systemic insecticide in irrigated wetland rice: implications for insect control

The behavior of carbofuran residues in rice plants treated by broadcast, soil incorporation, and root-zone application,and by seedling root-soak and root-coat technique was studied. Placement of insecticide in gelatin capsules in the root zone gave good persistence (about 60 days) and leaf residue (as much as 45 ppm at 10 days after treatment). Among the methods tested it also controlled early season pests best and gave the highest grain yields. Soil incorporation and root-zone placement with a liquid-band applicator was also more efficient than paddy-water broadcast in getting insecticide to the plant; soil incorporation provided slightly longer persistence (60 days) and less insect damage. Soaking seedling roots in carbofuran solution just before transplanting (root soak) gave high residues at 10 days after treatment (DAT) but rapid dissipation and little residue by 20 DAT . Addition of gelatin or perlite sticker to the root-treatment medium, (root coat) extended the persistence of 0.2 to 1.0 ppm residues by about 10 days