MSF looks forward to participating and exchanging with clinical and operational researchers this year’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which will be held from February 13 to February 16, 2017, in Seattle, Washington.
Abstracts:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Low HCV prevalence among HIV+ individuals in sub-Saharan Africa
A. Loarec et al
Programmatic data from Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Uganda shows that HCV prevalence is low among HCV patients in sub-Saharan Africa, at between 0.04 and 1%.
Malawi:
Lower retention in care when ART are initiated with CD4≥500 cells /ml
Isabelle Andrieux-Meyer et al
Retrospective observational study finds that those who initiate on ART at high CD4 have a lower retention than those who initiated at lower CD4.
Outcomes and side effects of patients on ART for more than 10 years in Malawi
Sekai C. Mathabire et al
Cross-sectional study finds good clinical and virological outcomes among individuals on longterm antiretroviral therapy, yet high proportion experience side effects, in particular lipodystrophy and peripheral neuropathy, likely due to prolonged use of stavudine (D4T)
Kenya:
HIV Cascade of Care Interventions in Kenya: Clinical Impact and Cost-Effectiveness
LB. Luong et al
Modelling study shows that a combination of HIV testing, linkage, retention and increased coverage of antiretrovirals would decrease HIV incidence by 50% over 15 years and be highly cost-effective compared to the standard of care.
HIV incidence, cascade and testing among mothers in Western Kenya
Alliance Nikuze et al
The first evaluation of a PMTCT B+ programme in Kenya finds most mothers living with HIV are diagnosed, provided with antiretroviral therapy and remain virally suppressed, yet incidence among mothers still remains extraordinarily high.
Impact of expanded screening and POC on infant diagnosis and ART initiation
Alliance Nikuze et al
Facility-based survey shows improved diagnosis of infants was achieved by expanding screening criteria to include all contact points within the health system, increasing mother and child testing, and using EID POC to reduce turnaround time to diagnosis.
South Africa:
Impact of Birth PCR on Retention in Care of HIV Exposed Infants in Primary Care
Aurelie Nelson et al
Comparison of routine data from Khayelitsha on implementing PCR at birth versus 6 to 10 weeks after birth reveals no difference in retention in care for repeat testing between the two groups in this urban settlement.
The Health Impact of Sexual Violence Among Women in a Platinum Mining Belt
M. Zhang et al
New analysis of an in-depth 2015 survey conducted by MSF among more than 800 women in Rustenburg finds high burden of disease attributable to Intimate Partner Violence and Non-partner Rape.
ART Initiation and Retention in After-hour versus Daily Male Health Clinics
Tali Cassidy et al
Comparison between routine data from two HIV services targeting men in Khayelitsha - one a day clinic, the other an after-hours clinic – confirms that the after-hours clinic had higher initiation and retention rates, with researchers concluding that STI care is an excellent opportunity to link men to HIV services.
Does Time to ART Initiation Impact Early Responses to DR-TB Treatment
E. Mohr et al
Retrospective analysis of 375 DR-TB patients coinfected with HIV in Khayelitsha show 25% were still culture positive after six months, confirming need for new DR-TB regimes and need to prioritise HIV initiation.