The Dominican Republic has a 0. The U. However, sentinel surveillance reported HIV prevalence of more than 4. In , sentinel surveillance of pregnant women of all ages reported seroprevalence of 3. However, in the Santo Domingo National District , antenatal clinics have noted a decline in prevalence, probably because of a successful prevention campaign.
However, due to sex tourism , child sex tourism , and prostitution in tourism industry workers, spread of the epidemic began to increase again. However, because of strong stigma against homosexuality , it is possible that the number of infections resulting from men having sex with men , or male child prostitutes, may be higher than listed or may simply go unreported.
According to the Demographic and Health Survey, 29 percent of men had sex with more than one partner in the preceding 12 months. A sentinel surveillance study in reported that prevalence among prostitutes, or commercial sex workers CSWs , is 4. In some sites, the prevalence among is declining and equals that of pregnant women. For example, in Santo Domingo, prevalence in sex workers has been decreasing for the last eight years and is reaching the same level as in pregnant women nationally.
For example, one community project in Santo Domingo in demonstrated an increase in condom use among sex workers, from 75 percent to 94 percent in just 12 months. Infection levels among sugar cane plantation workers living in communities called bateyes average 5 percent, with some groups as high as 12 percent. According to WHO, the estimated incidence rate of tuberculosis TB in the Dominican Republic 40 cases per , people in is one of the highest in the Americas.
Factors that put the Dominican Republic at risk of a growing epidemic include early age at sexual debut, high birth rates among adolescent girls and young women, the high TB incidence, and active migration including migration between cities and countryside, migration from Haiti , and migration to and from the United States.
