Social history of chronic STIs in Africa: Experiences from Cameroon

The emergence of chronic STIs in Africa has been a nightmare to both medical and social scientists. Infected and affected persons create clinical, therapeutic, epidemiological and social histories daily as they live with HIV/AIDS and HBV that remain the only chronic STIs in the world. This study presents the social modifications in this community as infected persons live traumatic experiences from these infections. Their social lives totally transformed and deformed by the attitudes of their entourage. This current literature is a product of a qualitative study carried out on a sample population of persons living with HIV, HBV and HIV/HBV co-infections that present therapeutic complications in the University Teaching Hospital Yaounde, Cameroon. Data was analyzed and interpreted using a content analysis model and cultural interpretative model. Persons living with HIV/AIDS and HBV in Cameroon have life-experiences that differ from those of patients from the Western world. Meanwhile, HIV patients live a life of shame, fear, and stigma than HBV patients. This has caused therapeutic challenges.