Characterising persons diagnosed with HIV as either recent or long-term using a cross-sectional analysis of recent infection surveillance data collected in Malawi from September 2019 to March 2020.

OBJECTIVES: In Malawi, a recent infection testing algorithm (RITA) is used to characterise infections of persons newly diagnosed with HIV as recent or long term. This paper shares results from recent HIV infection surveillance and describes distribution and predictors. SETTING: Data from 155 health facilities in 11 districts in Malawi were pooled from September 2019 to March 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Eligible participants were ≥13 years, and newly diagnosed with HIV. Clients had RITA recent infections if the rapid test for recent infection (RTRI) test result was recent and viral load (VL) ≥1000 copies/mL; if VL was <1000 copies/mL the RTRI result was reclassified as long-term. Results were stratified by age, sex, pregnancy/breastfeeding status and district. RESULTS: 13 838 persons consented to RTRI testing and 12 703 had valid RTRI test results and VL results after excluding clients not newly HIV-positive, RTRI negative or missing data (n=1135). A total of 12 365 of the 12 703 were included in the analysis after excluding those whose RTRI results were reclassified as long term (n=338/784 or 43.1%). The remainder, 446/12 703 or 3.5%, met the definition of RITA recent infection. The highest percentage of recent infections was among breastfeeding women (crude OR (COR) 3.2; 95% CI 2.0 to 5.0), young people aged 15-24 years (COR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3 to 1.9) and persons who reported a negative HIV test within the past 12 months (COR 3.3; 95% CI 2.6 to 4.2). Factors associated with recent infection in multivariable analysis included being a non-pregnant female (adjusted OR (AOR) 1.4; 95% CI 1.2 to 1.8), a breastfeeding female (AOR 2.2; 95% CI 1.4 to 3.5), aged 15-24 years (AOR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3 to 1.9) and residents of Machinga (AOR 2.0; 95% CI 1.2 to 3.5) and Mzimba (AOR 2.4; 95% CI 1.3 to 4.5) districts. CONCLUSIONS: Malawi's recent HIV infection surveillance system demonstrated high uptake and identified sub-populations of new HIV diagnoses with a higher percentage of recent infections.

Clinical and programmatic outcomes of HIV-exposed infants enrolled in care at geographically diverse clinics, 1997-2021: A cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although 1·3 million women with HIV give birth annually, care and outcomes for HIV-exposed infants remain incompletely understood. We analyzed programmatic and health indicators in a large, multidecade global dataset of linked mother-infant records from clinics and programs associated with the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) consortium. METHODS AND FINDINGS: HIV-exposed infants were eligible for this retrospective cohort analysis if enrolled at <18 months at 198 clinics in 10 countries across 5 IeDEA regions: East Africa (EA), Central Africa (CA), West Africa (WA), Southern Africa (SA), and the Caribbean, Central, and South America network (CCASAnet). We estimated cumulative incidences of DNA PCR testing, loss to follow-up (LTFU), HIV diagnosis, and death through 24 months of age using proportional subdistribution hazard models accounting for competing risks. Competing risks were transfer, care withdrawal, and confirmation of negative HIV status, along with LTFU and death, when not the outcome of interest. In CA and EA, we quantified associations between maternal/infant characteristics and each outcome. A total of 82,067 infants (47,300 EA, 10,699 CA, 6,503 WA, 15,770 SA, 1,795 CCASAnet) born from 1997 to 2021 were included. Maternal antiretroviral therapy (ART) use during pregnancy ranged from 65·6% (CCASAnet) to 89·5% (EA), with improvements in all regions over time. Twenty-four-month cumulative incidences varied widely across regions, ranging from 12·3% (95% confidence limit [CL], 11·2%,13·5%) in WA to 94·8% (95% CL, 94·6%,95·1%) in EA for DNA PCR testing; 56·2% (95% CL, 55·2%,57·1%) in EA to 98·5% (95% CL, 98·3%,98·7%) in WA for LTFU; 1·9% (95% CL, 1·6%,2·3%) in WA to 10·3% (95% CL, 9·7%,10·9%) in EA for HIV diagnosis; and 0·5% (95% CL, 0·2%,1·0%) in CCASAnet to 4·7% (95% CL, 4·4%,5·0%) in EA for death. Although infant retention did not improve, HIV diagnosis and death decreased over time, and in EA, the cumulative incidence of HIV diagnosis decreased substantially, declining to 2·9% (95% CL, 1·5%,5·4%) in 2020. Maternal ART was associated with decreased infant mortality (subdistribution hazard ratio [sdHR], 0·65; 95% CL, 0·47,0·91 in EA, and sdHR, 0·51; 95% CL, 0·36,0·74 in CA) and HIV diagnosis (sdHR, 0·40; 95% CL, 0·31,0·50 in EA, and sdHR, 0·41; 95% CL, 0·31,0·54 in CA). Study limitations include potential misclassification of outcomes in real-world service delivery data and possible nonrepresentativeness of IeDEA sites and the population of HIV-exposed infants they serve. CONCLUSIONS: While there was marked regional and temporal heterogeneity in clinical and programmatic outcomes, infant LTFU was high across all regions and time periods. Further efforts are needed to keep HIV-exposed infants in care to receive essential services to reduce HIV infection and mortality.

Acceptability and feasibility of HIV recent infection surveillance by healthcare workers using a rapid test for recent infection at HIV testing sites - Malawi, 2019.

BACKGROUND: The Malawi Ministry of Health implemented a new surveillance activity in April 2019 to detect recent HIV infections using a rapid test for recent infection (RTRI) to identify areas of ongoing transmission and guide response activities. SETTING: At 23 health facilities in Blantyre District, healthcare workers (HCWs) were trained to conduct recent infection testing. In September 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional survey at these sites to explore the acceptability and feasibility of integrating this activity into routine HIV testing services (HTS). METHODS: Research assistants interviewed HCWs using a semi-structured survey. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize quantitative responses and thematic analysis was used to group open-ended text. RESULTS: We interviewed 119 HCWs. Eighty-two percent of participants reported the RTRI was easy-to-use. HCWs perceived high client acceptability; 100% reported clients as 'somewhat' or 'very accepting'. Challenges included 68% of HCWs estimating they spend ≥20 min beyond routine HTS per client for this activity and 51% performing at least two additional finger pricks to complete the testing algorithm. HCWs differed in their perceptions of whether results should be returned to clients. CONCLUSION: This study assessed HCW experiences using point-of-care RTRIs for HIV recent infection surveillance. Overall, HCWs perceived RTRIs to be acceptable, easy-to-use, and valuable. Though only clients with new HIV diagnoses are tested for recent infection, additional time may be substantial at high-volume health service delivery points. Providing response plans or aggregated recent infection results to HCWs and/or clients may support motivation and sustainability of this novel surveillance activity.

Geospatial Transmission Hotspots of Recent HIV Infection - Malawi, October 2019-March 2020.

Persons infected with HIV are more likely to transmit the virus during the early stages (acute and recent) of infection, when viral load is elevated and opportunities to implement risk reduction are limited because persons are typically unaware of their status (1,2). Identifying recent HIV infections (acquired within the preceding 12 months)* is critical to understanding the factors and geographic areas associated with transmission to strengthen program intervention, including treatment and prevention (2). During June 2019, a novel recent infection surveillance initiative was integrated into routine HIV testing services in Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa with one of the world's highest prevalences of HIV infection.† The objectives of this initiative were to collect data on new HIV diagnoses, characterize the epidemic, and guide public health response (2). New HIV diagnoses were classified as recent infections based on a testing algorithm that included results from the rapid test for recent infection (RTRI)§ and HIV viral load testing (3,4). Among 9,168 persons aged ≥15 years with a new HIV diagnosis who received testing across 103 facilities during October 2019-March 2020, a total of 304 (3.3%) were classified as having a recent infection. Higher proportions of recent infections were detected among females, persons aged <30 years, and clients at maternal and child health and youth clinics. Using a software application that analyzes clustering in spatially referenced data, transmission hotspots were identified with rates of recent infection that were significantly higher than expected. These near real-time HIV surveillance data highlighted locations across Malawi, allowing HIV program stakeholders to assess program gaps and improve access to HIV testing, prevention, and treatment services. Hotspot investigation information could be used to tailor HIV testing, prevention, and treatment to ultimately interrupt transmission.

Long-term retention on antiretroviral therapy among infants, children, adolescents and adults in Malawi: A cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: We examine long-term retention of adults, adolescents and children on antiretroviral therapy under different HIV treatment guidelines in Malawi. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Adults and children starting ART between 2005 and 2015 in 21 health facilities in southern Malawi. METHODS: We used survival analysis to assess retention at clinic level, Cox regression to examine risk factors for loss to follow up, and competing risk analysis to assess long-term outcomes of people on antiretroviral therapy (ART). RESULTS: We included 132,274 individuals in our analysis, totalling 270,256 person years of follow up (PYFU; median per patient 1.3, interquartile range (IQR) 0.26-3.1), 62% were female and the median age was 32 years. Retention on ART was lower in the first year on ART compared to subsequent years for all guideline periods and age groups. Infants (0-3 years), adolescents and young adults (15-24 years) were at highest risk of LTFU. Comparing the different calendar periods of ART initiation we found that retention improved initially, but remained stable thereafter. CONCLUSION: Even though the number of patients and the burden on health care system increased substantially during the study period of rapid ART expansion, retention on ART improved in the early years of ART provision, but gains in retention were not maintained over 5 years on ART. Reducing high attrition in the first year of ART should remain a priority for ART programs, and so should addressing poor retention among adolescents, young adults and men.

"I do all I can but I still fail them": Health system barriers to providing Option B+ to pregnant and lactating women in Malawi.

Malawi's Option B+ program is based on a 'test and treat' strategy that places all HIV-positive pregnant and lactating women on lifelong antiretroviral therapy. The steep increase in patient load placed severe pressure on a health system that has struggled for decades with inadequate supply of health care workers (HCWs) and poor infrastructure. We set out to explore health system barriers to Option B+ by asking HCWs in Malawi about their experiences treating pregnant and lactating women. We observed and conducted semi-structured interviews (SSIs) with 34 HCWs including nine expert clients (ECs) at 14 health facilities across Malawi, then coded and analyzed the data. We found that HCWs implementing Option B+ are so overburdened in Malawi that it reduces their ability to provide quality care to patients, who receive less counseling than they should, wait longer than is reasonable, and have very little privacy. Interventions that increase the number of HCWs and upgrade infrastructure to protect the privacy of HIV-infected pregnant and lactating women and their husbands could increase retention, but facilities will need to be improved to support men who accompany their partners on clinic visits.

Timing of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation is not associated with stillbirth among HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between timing of maternal combination ART (cART) initiation and stillbirth among HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi's Option B+ programme. METHODS: Cohort study of HIV-infected pregnant women delivering singleton live or stillborn babies at ≥28 weeks of gestation using routine data from maternity registers between 1 January 2012 and 30 June 2015. We defined stillbirth as death of a foetus at ≥28 weeks of gestation. We report proportions of stillbirth according to timing of maternal cART initiation (before pregnancy, 1st or 2nd trimester, or 3rd trimester or labour). We used logistic regression, with robust standard errors to account for clustering of women within health facilities, to investigate the association between timing of cART initiation and stillbirth. RESULTS: Of 10 558 mother-infant pairs abstracted from registers, 8380 (79.4%) met inclusion criteria. The overall rate of stillbirth was 25 per 1000 deliveries (95% confidence interval 22-29). We found no significant association between timing of maternal cART initiation and stillbirth. In multivariable models, older maternal age, male sex of the infant, breech vaginal delivery, delivery at < 34 weeks of gestation and experience of any maternal obstetric complication were associated with higher odds of stillbirth. Deliveries managed by a mission hospital or health centre were associated with lower odds of stillbirth. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women's exposure to cART, regardless of time of its initiation, was not associated with increased odds of stillbirth.

OBJECTIF: Evaluer l'association entre le moment d'initiation de l'ART de combinaison (cART) maternel et la mortinaissance chez les femmes enceintes infectées par le VIH dans le programme Option B+ du Malawi. MÉTHODES: Etude de cohorte de femmes enceintes infectées par le VIH qui ont accouché de bébés singletons vivants ou mort-nés à 28 mois ou plus de grossesse, en utilisant les données de routine des registres de maternité entre le 1er janvier 2012 et le 30 juin 2015. Nous avons défini la mortinatalité comme le décès d'un fœtus à 28 semaines ou plus de gestation. Nous rapportons sur les proportions de mortinatalité selon le moment de l'initiation du cART maternel (avant la grossesse, au 1er , 2è ou 3è trimestre ou durant le travail). Nous avons utilisé une régression logistique, avec des erreurs standards robustes, pour prendre en compte le regroupement des femmes par établissements de santé, afin d'investiguer le lien entre le moment d'initiation du cART et la mortinaissance. RÉSULTATS: Sur 10.558 paires mère-enfant extraites des registres, 8.380 (79,4%) répondaient aux critères d'inclusion. Le taux global de mortinatalité était de 25 pour 1.000 accouchements (intervalle de confiance à 95%: 22-29). Nous n'avons trouvé aucune association significative entre le moment de l'initiation du cART maternel et la mortinatalité. Dans les modèles multivariés, l'âge plus élevé de la mère, le sexe masculin du nourrisson, l'accouchement par voie basse, l'accouchement à moins de 34 semaines de gestation et l'expérience de toute complication obstétricale maternelle étaient associés à des probabilités de mortinatalité plus élevées. Les accouchements gérés par un hôpital de la mission ou un centre de santé étaient associés à une probabilité plus faible de mortinatalité. CONCLUSION: L'exposition des femmes enceintes au cART quel que soit le moment de son initiation, n'a pas été associée à une probabilité accrue de mortinatalité.

Weight gain of HIV-exposed, uninfected children born before and after introduction of the 'Option B+' programme in Malawi.

OBJECTIVE: To compare birth weight and weight gain in HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) infants up to 24 months old, who enrolled in the Malawian national HIV care clinic (HCC) programme either before or after Option B+ (OB+) was implemented. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: HIV-exposed infants enrol in the HCC programme as soon as possible after birth and are followed up to at least 24 months old. This analysis includes HEU infants with recorded birth weight, date of birth, gender and at least one follow-up weight measurement from 21 health facilities in central and southern Malawi (January 2010-December 2014). Weight-for-age z scores (WAZ) were derived and compared by birth period using linear regression at birth and mixed effects models for postnatal weight gain up to 24 months old. RESULTS: Of 6845 HEU infants included in this study, 88.5% were born after OB+. The proportion of infants exposed in utero to combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) significantly increased after OB+ was implemented, and infants were exposed to ART for a longer time. There was no significant difference in WAZ at birth (P = 0.654) among HEU infants by birth period, but postnatal weight gain was faster among HEU infants born in the Option B+ period than infants born pre-Option B+. CONCLUSION: Birth weight was not affected by longer exposure to ART during pregnancy after OB+ was introduced, when weight gain in HEU infants was faster, possibly because their mothers were in better health.

"I found that I was well and strong": Women's motivations for remaining on ART under Option B+ in Malawi.

Most Malawian women who start ART under Option B+ are still in care three years later, a higher than average adherence rate for life-threatening chronic disease treatments, worldwide (50%). We asked 75 Malawian on ART their motivations for remaining in treatment, and what barriers they overcame. Focus groups and interviews included 75 women on ART for 6+ months, at 12 health facilities. Four main motivations for continuing ART emerged: 1) evidence that ART improved their own and their children's health; 2) strong desire to be healthy and keep their children healthy; 3) treatment was socially supported; 4) HIV/ART counselling effectively showed benefits of ART and told women what to expect. Women surmounted the following barriers: 1) stigma; 2) health care system; 3) economic; 4) side effects. Women stayed on ART because they believed it works. Future interventions should focus on emphasizing ART's effectiveness, along with other services they provide.

Patterns of caesarean section in HIV infected and non-infected women in Malawi: is caesarean section used for PMTCT?

BACKGROUND: Caesarean section (CS) is not recommended for PMTCT in Malawi HIV Guidelines, contrary to most high-income countries where CS is indicated if viral suppression is sub-optimal pre-delivery. We describe patterns of CS in HIV-infected and uninfected women in Malawi and explored if insight into the use of Elective CS (ECS) for PMTCT could be obtained. METHODS: We used routinely collected data from individual medical records from 17 large health facilities in the central and southern regions of Malawi, from January 2010 to December 2013. We included data from maternity registers from all HIV-positive women, and randomly selected around every fourth woman with negative or unknown HIV status. We used multivariable logistic regressions and cluster-based robust standard errors to examine independent associations of patient- and facility characteristics with CS and ECS. RESULTS: We included 62,033 women in the analysis. The weighted percentage of women who had a spontaneous vaginal delivery was 80.0% (CI 95% 79.5-80.4%); 2.4% (95% CI 2.3-2.6%) had a vacuum extraction; 2.3% (95% CI 2.2-2.5%) had a vaginal breech delivery; 14.0% (95% CI 13.6-14.4%) had a CS while for 1.3% (95% CI 1.2-1.4%) the mode of delivery was not recorded. Prevalence of CS without recorded medical or obstetric indication (ECS) was 5.1%, (n = 3152). Presence of maternal and infant complications and older age were independently associated with CS delivery. HIV-positive women were less likely to have ECS than HIV negative women (aOR 0.65; 95%-CI 0.57-0.74). Among HIV-positive women, those on antiretrovirals (ARV's) for ≥4 weeks prior to delivery were less likely to have ECS than HIV-positive women who had not received ARVs during pregnancy (aOR 0.81; 95% CI 0.68-0.96). CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of CS's in Malawi is largely determined by maternal and infant complications. Positive HIV status was negatively associated with CS delivery, possibly because health care workers were concerned about the risk of occupational HIV transmission and the known increased risk of post-operative complications. Our results leave open the possibility that CS is practiced to prevent MTCT given that ECS was more common among women at high risk of MTCT due to no or short exposure to ARV's.

Goal directed therapy for suspected acute bacterial meningitis in adults and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Mortality from acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in sub-Saharan African adults and adolescents exceeds 50%. We tested if Goal Directed Therapy (GDT) was feasible for adults and adolescents with clinically suspected ABM in Malawi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sequential patient cohorts of adults and adolescents with clinically suspected ABM were recruited in the emergency department of a teaching hospital in Malawi using a before/after design. Routine care was monitored in year one (P1). In year two (P2), nurses delivered protocolised GDT (rapid antibiotics, airway support, oxygenation, seizure control and fluid resuscitation) to a second cohort. The primary endpoint was composite mean number of clinical goals attained. Secondary endpoints were individual goals attained and death or disability from proven or probable ABM at day 40. RESULTS: 563 patients with suspected ABM were enrolled in the study; 273 were monitored in P1; 290 patients with suspected ABM received GDT in P2. 61% were male, median age 33 years and 90% were HIV co-infected. ABM was proven or probable in 132 (23%) patients. GDT attained more clinical goals compared to routine care: composite mean number of goals in P1 was 0·55 vs. 1·57 in P2 GDT (p<0·001); Death or disability by day 40 from proven or probable ABM occurred in 29/57 (51%) in P1 and 38/60 (63%) in P2 (p = 0·19). CONCLUSION: Nurse-led GDT in a resource-constrained setting was associated with improved delivery of protocolised care. Outcome was unaffected. TRIAL REGISTRATION: www.isrctn.com ISRCTN96218197.

HIV transmission and retention in care among HIV-exposed children enrolled in Malawi's prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme.

INTRODUCTION: In Malawi, HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women are offered lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) regardless of CD4 count or clinical stage (Option B+). Their HIV-exposed children are enrolled in the national prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme, but many are lost to follow-up. We estimated the cumulative incidence of vertical HIV transmission, taking loss to follow-up into account. METHODS: We abstracted data from HIV-exposed children enrolled into care between September 2011 and June 2014 from patient records at 21 health facilities in central and southern Malawi. We used competing risk models to estimate the probability of loss to follow-up, death, ART initiation and discharge, and used pooled logistic regression and inverse probability of censoring weighting to estimate the vertical HIV transmission risk. RESULTS: A total of 11,285 children were included; 9285 (82%) were born to women who initiated ART during pregnancy. At age 30 months, an estimated 57.9% (95% CI 56.6-59.2) of children were lost to follow-up, 0.8% (0.6-1.0) had died, 2.6% (2.3-3.0) initiated ART, 36.5% (35.2-37.9) were discharged HIV-negative and 2.2% (1.5-2.8) continued follow-up. We estimated that 5.3% (95% CI 4.7-5.9) of the children who enrolled were HIV-infected by the age of 30 months, but only about half of these children (2.6%; 95% CI 2.3-2.9) were diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: Confirmed mother-to-child transmission rates were low, but due to poor retention only about half of HIV-infected children were diagnosed. Tracing of children lost to follow-up and HIV testing in outpatient clinics should be scaled up to ensure that all HIV-positive children have access to early ART.

Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy During and After Pregnancy: Cohort Study on Women Receiving Care in Malawi's Option B+ Program.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial to preventing mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and ensuring the long-term effectiveness of ART, yet data are sparse from African routine care programs on maternal adherence to triple ART. METHODS: We analyzed data from women who started ART at 13 large health facilities in Malawi between September 2011 and October 2013. We defined adherence as the percentage of days "covered" by pharmacy claims. Adherence of ≥90% was deemed adequate. We calculated inverse probability of censoring weights to adjust adherence estimates for informative censoring. We used descriptive statistics, survival analysis, and pooled logistic regression to compare adherence between pregnant and breastfeeding women eligible for ART under Option B+, and nonpregnant and nonbreastfeeding women who started ART with low CD4 cell counts or World Health Organization clinical stage 3/4 disease. RESULTS: Adherence was adequate for 73% of the women during pregnancy, for 66% in the first 3 months post partum, and for about 75% during months 4-21 post partum. About 70% of women who started ART during pregnancy and breastfeeding adhered adequately during the first 2 years of ART, but only about 30% of them had maintained adequate adherence at every visit. Risk factors for inadequate adherence included starting ART with an Option B+ indication, at a younger age, or at a district hospital or health center. CONCLUSIONS: One-third of women retained in the Option B+ program adhered inadequately during pregnancy and breastfeeding, especially soon after delivery. Effective interventions to improve adherence among women in this program should be implemented.

Retention in care during the first 3 years of antiretroviral therapy for women in Malawi's option B+ programme: an observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Studies of Malawi's option B+ programme for HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding women have reported high loss to follow-up during pregnancy and at the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART), but few data exist about retention during breastfeeding and after weaning. We examined loss to follow-up and retention in care in patients in the option B+ programme during their first 3 years on ART. METHODS: We analysed two data sources: aggregated facility-level data about patients in option B+ who started ART between Oct 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, at 546 health facilities; and patient-level data from 20 large facilities with electronic medical record system for HIV-positive women who started ART between Sept 1, 2011, and Dec 31, 2013, under option B+ or because they had WHO clinical stages 3 or 4 disease or had CD4 counts of less than 350 cells per µL. We used facility-level data to calculate representative estimates of retention and loss to follow-up. We used patient-level data to study temporal trends in retention, timing of loss to follow-up, and predictors of no follow-up and loss to follow-up. We defined patients who were more than 60 days late for their first follow-up visit as having no follow-up and patients who were more than 60 days late for a subsequent visit as being lost to follow-up. We calculated proportions and cumulative probabilities of patients who had died, stopped ART, had no follow-up, were lost to follow-up, or were retained alive on ART for 36 months. We calculated odds ratios and hazard ratios to examine predictors of no follow-up and loss to follow-up. FINDINGS: Analysis of facility-level data about patients in option B+ who had not transferred to a different facility showed retention in care to be 76·8% (20 475 of 26,658 patients) after 12 months, 70·8% (18,306 of 25,849 patients) after 24 months, and 69·7% (17,787 of 25,535 patients) after 36 months. Patient-level data included 29,145 patients. 14,630 (50·2%) began treatment under option B+. Patients in option B+ had a higher risk of having no follow-up and, for the first 2 years of ART, higher risk of loss to follow-up than did patients who started ART because they had CD4 counts less than 350 cells per µL or WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 disease. Risk of loss to follow-up during the third year was low and similar for patients retained for 2 years. Retention rates did not change as the option B+ programme matured. INTERPRETATION: Our data suggest that pregnant and breastfeeding women who start ART immediately after they are diagnosed with HIV can be retained on ART through the option B+ programme, even after many have stopped breastfeeding. Interventions might be needed to improve retention in the first year on ART in option B+. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research Health, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

A cross-sectional study of household biomass fuel use among a periurban population in Malawi.

RATIONALE: The Global Burden of Disease Study suggests almost 3.5 million people die as a consequence of household air pollution every year. Respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia in children are strongly associated with exposure to household air pollution. Smoke from burning biomass fuels for cooking, heating, and lighting is the main contributor to high household air pollution levels in low-income countries like Malawi. A greater understanding of biomass fuel use in Malawi should enable us to address household air pollution-associated communicable and noncommunicable diseases more effectively. OBJECTIVES: To conduct a cross-sectional analysis of biomass fuel use and population demographics among adults in Blantyre, Malawi. METHODS: We used global positioning system-enabled personal digital assistants to collect data on location, age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, and fuel use. We describe these data and explore associations between demographics and reported fuel type. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 16,079 adults participated (nine households refused); median age was 30 years, there was a similar distribution of men and women, 60% were married, and 62% received secondary school education. The most commonly reported occupation for men and women was "salaried employment" (40.7%) and "petty trader and marketing" (23.5%), respectively. Charcoal (81.5% of households), wood (36.5%), and electricity (29.1%) were the main fuels used at home. Only 3.9% of households used electricity exclusively. Lower educational and occupational attainment was associated with greater use of wood. CONCLUSIONS: This large cross-sectional study has identified extensive use of biomass fuels in a typical sub-Saharan Africa periurban population in which women and people of lower socioeconomic status are disproportionately affected. Biomass fuel use is likely to be a major driver of existing communicable respiratory disease and the emerging noncommunicable disease (especially respiratory and cardiovascular) epidemic in this region. Our data will help inform the rationale for specific intervention studies and the development of appropriately targeted public health strategies to tackle this important and poverty-related global health problem.

Bacterial meningitis in Malawian infants <2 months of age: etiology and susceptibility to World Health Organization first-line antibiotics.

BACKGROUND: Neonatal meningitis is an important cause of morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa and requires urgent empiric treatment with parenteral administered antibiotics. Here we describe the etiology, antimicrobial susceptibility and suitability of the World Health Organization first-line recommended antibiotics (penicillin and gentamicin) for bacterial meningitis in young infants in Malawi. METHODS: We reviewed all cerebrospinal fluid samples received from infants ≤2 months of age with clinically suspected meningitis between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2008, at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. RESULTS: We identified 259 culture-positive isolates from 259 infants ≤2 months of age. Sixty isolates were from neonates ≤7 days old, in whom the most common pathogens were Group B Streptococcus (27/60; 45.0%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (13/60; 21.7%) and nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica (7/60; 11.7%). One hundred and ninety one isolates were from young infants who were >7 days and ≤2 months of age. In this group, the most common isolates were S. pneumoniae (80/191; 41.9%), Group B Streptococcus (38/191; 19.9%) and nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica (34/191; 17.8%). More isolates were susceptible to ceftriaxone than to the combination of penicillin and gentamicin (218/220; 99.1% vs. 202/220; 91.8%, Fisher's exact test P = 0.006). In particular, Gram-negative isolates were significantly more susceptible to ceftriaxone than to gentamicin (72/74; 97.3% vs. 63/74; 85.1%, Fisher's exact test P = 0.020). Penicillin and gentamicin provided less coverage for Gram-negative than Gram-positive isolates (74/86; 86.0% vs. 155/163; 95.1%, χ = 6.24, P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: In view of these results, the World Health Organization recommendations for empiric penicillin and gentamicin for suspected neonatal meningitis should be reevaluated.