A risky occupation

International Family Planning Perspectives, Mar 1999 by Rao, K S

India's five million long-distance truck drivers, who cover one of the largest networks of roads in the world, are at high risk of contracting and passing on sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Of 5,709 truckers interviewed while passing through a border checkpoint, 87% reported "frequent and indiscriminate" changes in sexual partners during the previous 12 months, a proportion that rose from 66% among those younger than 21 to 94% among those older than 40.1 More than half (57%) of these 4,949 men said they had had more than 30 partners in the previous year.

Although 81% of the men who reported frequent partner changes gave correct answers to questions about the transmission and severity of AIDS, only 11% said they had regularly used condoms during commercial sex in the past year; 35% said they had had genital ulcers or discharge during that period. Noting that long-distance truckers in India have an HIV infection rate of 1%, 20 times the national average, the investigators warn that strategies are urgently needed "to persuade [them] to change their hazardous sexual behavior." 1. Rao KS et al., Sexual lifestyle of long distance lorry drivers in India: questionnaire survey, British Medical Journal, 1999, 318(7177):162-163.