HIV prevalence and incidence studies

This study investigated whether oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) alters timing and patterns of seroconversion when PrEP use continues after HIV-1 infection.

Retention, defined as continuous engagement in care, is an important indicator for quality of healthcare services. To achieve UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets, emphasis on retention as a predictor of viral suppression in patients initiated on ART is vital.

In many settings with high HIV prevalence, fertility rates are also high and women spend a significant proportion of their reproductive years pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding. Some, but not all, studies have demonstrated significantly higher HIV incidence during pregnancy.

Many people living with HIV in South Africa (SA) are not aware of their seropositive status and are diagnosed late during the course of HIV infection. These individuals do not obtain the full benefit from available HIV care and treatment services.

Lesotho's HIV prevalence among pregnant women is 28%. In 2013, Lesotho's Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program adopted Option B+ and revitalized the village health worker (VHW) program to strengthen community level PMTCT.

Swaziland has one of the highest adult HIV prevalence rates worldwide, 27%; with approximately 200,000 people 15 years and older living with HIV. Swaziland and many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa have adopted universal test-and-treat (UTT) policies.

The extraordinary scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is expected to reduce the rate of new HIV infections at the population level. In this study, we calculated the incidence of HIV for males and females using data from a complete South African population.

Global experts recognize the need to transform conventional models of healthcare to create adolescent responsive health systems.

Background

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of clinic-based prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) community support by trained lay health workers in addition to standard clinical care on PMTCT infant outcomes.