Skip to main content
Log in

The Concurrency Hypothesis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Convincing Empirical Evidence is Still Lacking. Response to Mah and Halperin, Epstein, and Morris

  • Response
  • Published:
AIDS and Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Abu-Raddad LJ, Longini IM. No HIV stage is dominant in driving the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS. 2008;22(9):1055–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Caraël M. Sexual behaviour. In: Cleland JG, Ferry B, editors. Sexual behaviour and AIDS in the developing world. London: Taylor & Francis, World Health Organization; 1995.

  3. Epstein H. The mathematics of concurrent partnerships in Africa’s HIV epidemics: a response to Lurie and Rosenthal. AIDS Behav. Epub ahead of print. 2009. doi:10.1007/s10461-009-9627-x.

  4. Halperin D, Epstein H. Concurrent sexual partnerships help to explain Africa’s high HIV prevalence: implications for prevention. Lancet. 2004;364(9428):4–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hollingsworth TD, Anderson RM, Fraser C. HIV-1 transmission, by stage of infection. J Infect Dis. 2008;198(5):687–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Kelvin, L. Popular lectures and addresses, 1891–1894. Quoted in Weiner J, editor. The Beak of the Finch. New York: Alfred A. Knopf; 1994.

  7. Kretzschmar M, White RG, Carael M. (in press). Concurrency is more complex than it seems. AIDS. doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e328333eb9d.

  8. Lurie M, Rosenthal S. Concurrent partnerships as the driver of the HIV epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa? The evidence is limited. AIDS Behav. Epub ahead of print. 2009. doi: 10.1007/s10461-009-9853-5.

  9. Mah T, Halperin D. Concurrent sexual partnerships and the HIV epidemics in Africa: evidence to move forward. AIDS Behav. Epub ahead of print. 2009. doi: 10.1007/s10461-008-9433-x.

  10. Mah T, Halperin D. The evidence for the role of concurrent partnerships in Africa’s HIV epidemics: a response to Lurie and Rosenthal. AIDS Behav. doi:10.1007/s10461-009-9617-z.

  11. Morris M. Barking up the wrong evidence tree. Comment on Lurie and Rosenthal, “Concurrent partnerships as a driver of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa? The evidence is limited.” AIDS Behav. (in press).

  12. Morris M, Kretzschmar M. A microsimulation study of the effect of concurrent partnerships on the spread of HIV in Uganda. Math Popul Stud. 2000;8(2):109–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Pilcher CD, Tien HC, Eron JJ, Vernazza PL, Leu SY, Stewart PW, et al. Brief but efficient: acute HIV infection and the sexual transmission of HIV. J Infect Dis. 2004;189(10):1785–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Rapatski BL, Suppe F, Yorke JA. HIV epidemics driven by late stage transmission. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2005;38(3):241–53.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Reniers G, Watkins S. Polygyny and the spread of HIV in Sub Saharan Africa: a case of benign concurrency. AIDS. doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e328333af03.

  16. Tanser F, Barnighausen T, McGrath N, Garnett G, Newell ML. Levels of partnership concurrency and risk of HIV acquisition in a high-prevalence, rural South African population. Paper forthcoming at EPIDEMICS2: the Second International Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics, Athens, Greece, December 2–4, 2009. (in press).

  17. UNAIDS. (2007) UNAIDS response to newly published book “The Invisible Cure” by Helen Epstein. Available at: http://data.unaids.org/pub/PressStatement/2007/070611_bookresponse02_en.pdf.

  18. Wellings K, Collumbien M, Slaymaker E, et al. Sexual behavior in context: a global perspective. Lancet. 2006;368:1706–28. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69479-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Richard White, Brian Williams, Peter Lurie, Abigail Harrison, Stephen McGarvey and Jeff Eaton for their helpful comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark N. Lurie.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lurie, M.N., Rosenthal, S. The Concurrency Hypothesis in Sub-Saharan Africa: Convincing Empirical Evidence is Still Lacking. Response to Mah and Halperin, Epstein, and Morris. AIDS Behav 14, 34–37 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9640-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9640-0

Keywords

Navigation