Search

In Kenya, only half of children with a parent living with HIV have been tested for HIV. The effectiveness of family-centered index testing to identify children (0–14 years) living with HIV was examined. A retrospective record review was conducted among adult index patients newly enrolled in HIV care between May and July 2015; family testing, results, and linkage to treatment outcomes were followed through May 2016 at 60 high-volume clinics in Kenya. Chi square test compared yield (percentage of HIV tests positive) among children tested through family-centered index testing, outpatient and inpatient testing. Review of 1937 index client charts led to 3005 eligible children identified for testing. Of 2848 (94.8%) children tested through family-centered index testing, 127 (4.5%) had HIV diagnosed, 100 (78.7%) were linked to care, and 85 of those eligible (91.4%) initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART).Family testing resulted in higher yield compared to inpatient (1.8%, p

Background Young adolescents with perinatally acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at risk for poor care outcomes. We examined whether universal antiretroviral treatment (ART) eligibility policies (Treat All) improved rapid ART initiation after care enrollment among 10–14-year-olds in 7 sub-Saharan African countries. Methods Regression discontinuity analysis and data for 6912 patients aged 10–14-years were used to estimate changes in rapid ART initiation (within 30 days of care enrollment) after adoption of Treat All policies in 2 groups of countries: Uganda and Zambia (policy adopted in 2013) and Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, and Rwanda (policy adopted in 2016). Results There were immediate increases in rapid ART initiation among young adolescents after national adoption of Treat All. Increases were greater in countries adopting the policy in 2016 than in those adopting it in 2013: 23.4 percentage points (pp) (95% confidence interval, 13.9–32.8) versus 11.2pp (2.5–19.9). However, the rate of increase in rapid ART initiation among 10–14-year-olds rose appreciably in countries with earlier treatment expansions, from 1.5pp per year before Treat All to 7.7pp per year afterward. Conclusions Universal ART eligibility has increased rapid treatment initiation among young adolescents enrolling in HIV care. Further research should assess their retention in care and viral suppression under Treat All.

Pediatric HIV remains a significant global concern, with 160,000 new infections annually. Accelerating Children's HIV/AIDS Treatment (ACT) provided a strategic response to the "treatment gap" for children. We examined whether activities under ACT increased testing and identification of youth living with HIV (YLWH). Family AIDS CareEducation Services implemented ACT across 130 health facilities in western Kenya between October 2015 and September 2016, providing: HIV-testing counselors and space; training on the Family Information Table (FIT) and chart audits; community outreach testing; and text message reminders for pregnant women. We analyzed the number of youths tested and identified with HIV over time and between intervention and control sites using interrupted time series analysis. We tested 268,312 youths (7,183 infants18 months; 145,833 children 18 months to 9 years; and 115,296 adolescents 10-14 years). Mean monthly number tested per health facility increased from 2.8 to 7.2 (

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-std-10.1177_0956462420926344 for They are likely to be there: using a family-centered index testing approach to identify children living with HIV in Kenya by Nicollate Okoko, Jayne L Kulzer, Kristen Ohe, Margaret Mburu, Hellen Muttai, Lisa L Abuogi, Elizabeth A Bukusi, Craig R Cohen and Jeremy Penner in International Journal of STD & AIDS

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-std-10.1177_0956462420926344 for They are likely to be there: using a family-centered index testing approach to identify children living with HIV in Kenya by Nicollate Okoko, Jayne L Kulzer, Kristen Ohe, Margaret Mburu, Hellen Muttai, Lisa L Abuogi, Elizabeth A Bukusi, Craig R Cohen and Jeremy Penner in International Journal of STD & AIDS

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-std-10.1177_0956462420926344 for They are likely to be there: using a family-centered index testing approach to identify children living with HIV in Kenya by Nicollate Okoko, Jayne L Kulzer, Kristen Ohe, Margaret Mburu, Hellen Muttai, Lisa L Abuogi, Elizabeth A Bukusi, Craig R Cohen and Jeremy Penner in International Journal of STD & AIDS

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-std-10.1177_0956462420926344 for They are likely to be there: using a family-centered index testing approach to identify children living with HIV in Kenya by Nicollate Okoko, Jayne L Kulzer, Kristen Ohe, Margaret Mburu, Hellen Muttai, Lisa L Abuogi, Elizabeth A Bukusi, Craig R Cohen and Jeremy Penner in International Journal of STD & AIDS

New HIV infections among adolescents continues to be a large public health burden in sub-Saharan Africa, with few adolescents accessing HIV testing and counseling (HTC) services. We evaluated the effect of a peer referral program among adolescents in Kisumu county, Kenya in accessing HTC. Female adolescents aged 15 to 19years were recruited from three health clinics in Kisumu County. They, in turn, recruited their peers for HTC by handing out referral cards. Referrals would then recruit their peers and this peer-referral repeated for approximately 5months. The 252 female index seeds showed a relatively higher-risk profile for HIV compared to the 792 referral participants. The referral system yielded an increased proportion of first-time adolescent testers from 13.1% among index seeds to 42.7% among the second wave of referrals. However, the peer referral system ultimately did not increase the absolute number of adolescents Queryaccessing HTC. Future strategies should consider these findings to better target those with undiagnosed HIV infection.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the adolescent package of care (APOC) training on adolescent viral suppression at Family AIDS CareEducation Services (FACES)-supported sites.The effect of APOC training was evaluated based on viral load suppression (1000 copies/mL) of 10-19-year-olds in 13 FACES-supported sites in six months before (January 2015-August 2016) and after (November 2015-March 2017) the APOC training for each site.Patient-level data were abstracted from the FACES electronic medical records (OpenMRS) and the National AIDS and STI Control Programme viral load website. Information on adolescent clinic day implementation and utilization of an APOC checklist as a proxy for services provided at each site was collected. Generalized estimating equations with repeated measures clustered by patients were used for bivariate and multivariate modeling to assess factors associated with viral suppression.In the pretraining period, 60% of adolescents received services at clinics offering adolescent clinic days compared to 95% in the post-training period. Among those tested, 65% were virally suppressed during the pretraining period compared to 72% during the post-training period (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12, 1.53, P 0.01). In multivariable analysis, there was no statistically significant change in viral load suppression due to APOC training (adjusted OR [aOR] = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.72, 1.30, P = 0.84). However, at clinics offering adolescent-friendly clinic days, adolescents were nearly 2 times more likely to be virally suppressed than at facilities not offering these specialized clinic days (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI: 1.04, 3.32, P = 0.04).This study suggests that adolescent clinic days greatly improve adolescent viral load suppression and should be considered for implementation across HIV programs.

Despite the availability of efficacious prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) interventions and improved access to preventive services in many developing countries, vertical HIV transmission persists. A matched case–control study of HIV-exposed infants between January and June 2012 was conducted at 20 clinics in Kenya. Cases were HIV-infected infants and controls were exposed, uninfected infants. Conditional logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine characteristics associated with HIV infection. Forty-five cases and 45 controls were compared. Characteristics associated with HIV-infection included poor PMTCT service uptake such as late infant enrollment (odds ratio [OR]: 7.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.6–16.7) and poor adherence to infant prophylaxis (OR: 8.3, 95%CI: 3.2–21.4). Maternal characteristics associated with MTCT included lack of awareness of HIV status (OR: 5.6, 95%CI: 2.2–14.5), failure to access antiretroviral prophylaxis (OR: 22.2, 95%CI: 5.8–84.6), and poor adherence (OR: 8.1, 95%CI: 3.7–17.8). Lack of clinic-based HIV education (OR: 7.7, 95%CI: 2.0–25.0) and counseling (OR: 8.3, 95%CI: 2.2–33.3) were reported by mothers of cases. Poor uptake of PMTCT services and a reported absence of HIV education and counseling at the clinic were associated with MTCT. More emphasis on high-quality, comprehensive PMTCT service provision are urgently needed to minimize HIV transmission to children.