Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

To explore the biological similarities and differences between the HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses, we model the probability of male-to-female transmission of either HIV virus as a function of the number of sexual partners, the prevalence of the viruses and the infectivity per contact. Using maximum likelihood estimation theory and data from a prospective study of registered female prostitutes in Dakar, Senegal, we estimate and compare the infectivities of HIV-1 and HIV-2. Graphical goodness-of-fit methods are used to show that our model fits the data well. We find that in male-to-female transmission HIV-1 is significantly more infectious than HIV-2. This finding is consistent with other data from laboratory and epidemiologic studies comparing the biology of HIV-1 and HIV-2.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/bf02460671

Type

Journal article

Journal

Bulletin of mathematical biology

Publication Date

01/1993

Volume

55

Pages

731 - 743

Addresses

Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115.

Keywords

Humans, HIV-1, HIV-2, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Prevalence, Models, Statistical, Probability, Cohort Studies, Prospective Studies, Mathematics, Senegal, Female, Male, Sex Work