The initial effort of the Brazilian Ministry of Health to be an active
partner in the world effort in the preparation of future accurate human
immune deficiency virus (HIV) efficacy trials was the establishment of a
multi-centered cohort of homosexual and bisexual men. An open cohort was
established to determine the HIV incidence and the socio-behavioral
aspects involved in Rio de Janeiro. A total of 318 potential participants,
originated from multiple sources (health units, public information,
snowball recruitment), were screened and recruitment became effective
through the direct involvement of target communities (with the support of
Non Governmental Organizations) and the population. Among this group,
seropositivity for sexually transmitted diseases was high with 23, 32 and
46% for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, respectively. The socio-demographic
data from the first 200 participants of this HIV negative cohort suggests
that the cohort volunteers are an appropriate sample of the general male
population of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
