Prevalence and trends of advanced HIV disease among antiretroviral therapy-naïve and antiretroviral therapy-experienced patients in South Africa between 2010-2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the significant progress made in South Africa in getting millions of individuals living with HIV into care, many patients still present or re-enter care with Advanced HIV Disease (AHD). We aimed to estimate the prevalence of AHD among ART-naive and ART-experienced patients in South Africa using studies published between January 2010 and May 2022. METHODS: We searched for relevant data on PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and other sources, with a geographical filters limited to South Africa, up to May 31, 2022. Two reviewers conducted all screening, eligibility assessment, data extraction, and critical appraisal. We synthesized the data using the inverse-variance heterogeneity model and Freeman-Tukey transformation. We assessed heterogeneity using the I2 statistic and publication bias using the Egger and Begg's test. RESULTS: We identified 2,496 records, of which 53 met the eligibility criteria, involving 11,545,460 individuals. The pooled prevalence of AHD among ART-naive and ART-experienced patients was 43.45% (95% CI 40.1-46.8%, n = 53 studies) and 58.6% (95% CI 55.7 to 61.5%, n = 2) respectively. The time trend analysis showed a decline of 2% in the prevalence of AHD among ART-naive patients per year. However, given the high heterogeneity between studies, the pooled prevalence should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSION: Despite HIV's evolution to a chronic disease, our findings show that the burden of AHD remains high among both ART-naive and ART-experienced patients in South Africa. This emphasizes the importance of regular measurement of CD4 cell count as an essential component of HIV care. In addition, providing innovative adherence support and interventions to retain ART patients in effective care is a crucial priority for those on ART.

Correction: Acceptability of unsupervised peer-based distribution of HIV oral self-testing for the hard-to-reach in rural KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: Results from a demonstration study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264442.].

Safety of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNtech (BNT162b2) mRNA vaccination in adolescents aged 12-17 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected adolescents. Safe and effective vaccines are pivotal tools in controlling this pandemic. We reviewed the safety profile of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents using mostly real-world data to assist decision-making. We used random-effects model meta-analysis to derive pooled rates of single or grouped adverse events following immunization (AEFI) after each primary and booster dose, as well as after combining all doses. Reporting on over one million participants with safety data were included. The most-reported local and systemic AEFIs were pain/swelling/erythema/redness and fatigue/headache/myalgia, respectively. AESIs were rarely reported but were more frequent after the second dose than they were after the first and the booster doses. Health impact was less common among adolescents after receiving BNT162b2 vaccine. Rare life-threatening AEFIs were reported across all doses in real-world studies. Our findings highlight the significance of enhancing national and regional vaccination programs to ensure public confidence.

Acceptability of unsupervised peer-based distribution of HIV oral self-testing for the hard-to-reach in rural KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: Results from a demonstration study.

BACKGROUND: Innovative models to distribute oral HIV self-tests (HIVST) provide an opportunity to increase access to HIV testing, especially for hard-to-reach populations. This study aimed to describe the acceptability of unsupervised peer-distribution of HIVST as a method to scale-up HIV testing. METHODS: In this study, lay counsellors or community health workers provided HIVST kits to primary recipients (PRs) for distribution to their sexual partners, anyone in their social network (termed secondary recipients) or for self-testing, from September 2018 to March 2020. The study was conducted in Eshowe and Mbongolwane areas in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A structured questionnaire was administered during the recruitment and passive follow-up, when people came for confirmatory HIV testing. Electronic records were retrospectively examined to determine initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for all HIVST users and non-users. RESULTS: Among 36,708 people approached to be primary recipients, 9,891 (26.9%) accepted; 31,341 HIVST kits were distributed with a median of three (IQR: 2-4) per peer. PRs were predominately recruited at primary health clinics (PHCs). However, acceptability of HIVST was thrice as high at community-based testing sites compared to PHCs (64.5% vs. 21.0%; p<0.001). During the study period, 34,715 adults were tested for HIV at both PHCs and community-based testing sites; of these, 1,089 individuals reported HIVST use. Among HIVST users, 893 (82.0%) returned to the clinic for confirmatory testing after testing negative on HIVST; 196 (17.9%) were confirmed HIV positive following a positive HIVST. After excluding 36/196 (18.4%) participants for whom clinical records could not be found in electronic register and 25/160 (15.6%) who were already on ART before receiving HIVST, 129/135 (95.5%) initiated ART, whereas 2,362/2685 (88%) of HIV positive HIVST non-users-initiated ART. CONCLUSION: Unsupervised peer-distribution of HIVST was feasible and acceptable, with more than 25% accepting to be peer-distributors. Acceptability of HIVST was thrice as high in community sites compared to clinics.