The epidemiology of delayed HIV diagnosis in Ibadan, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) is one of the major health burdens in Nigeria. Delayed HIV diagnosis remains a significant driver of HIV transmission. The risk factors of delayed HIV diagnosis have not been widely studied in Nigeria. This observational study examined demographic risk factors for delayed HIV diagnosis and the trends in the annual total cases of delayed HIV diagnosis in Ibadan, Nigeria. METHODS: We examined the data on HIV patients enrolled in care at the University College Hospital's Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) clinic in Ibadan, Nigeria. Delayed HIV diagnosis was defined as a Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4) count of less than 350 cells/mm³ at the time of diagnosis. The association between delayed HIV diagnosis and risk factors was analyzed using logistic regression. The trends in the annual total cases of delayed HIV diagnosis over time were examined. RESULTS: This study included 3458 HIV patients. There were 1993/3458 prevalent cases of delayed HIV diagnosis (57.6%). The risk factors for delayed HIV diagnosis were older age, retirement, marriage separation, never married, and widowed female. The factors that were significantly associated with a low risk of delayed HIV diagnosis were student and tertiary education. There was a progressive decline in the annual cases of delayed HIV diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Although the cases of delayed HIV diagnosis are still high, they are declining. Human immunodeficiency virus testing should be targeted at populations at risk of delayed diagnosis. Considerable public awareness and education programs about HIV testing may significantly reduce delayed HIV diagnosis in Nigeria.

Adjunctive vitamin D in tuberculosis treatment: meta-analysis of individual participant data.

BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials of adjunctive vitamin D in pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) treatment have yielded conflicting results. Individual participant data meta-analysis could identify factors explaining this variation. METHODS: We meta-analysed individual participant data from randomised controlled trials of vitamin D in patients receiving antimicrobial therapy for pulmonary TB. Primary outcome was time to sputum culture conversion. Secondary outcomes were time to sputum smear conversion, mean 8-week weight and incidence of adverse events. Pre-specified subgroup analyses were done according to baseline vitamin D status, age, sex, drug susceptibility, HIV status, extent of disease and vitamin D receptor genotype. RESULTS: Individual participant data were obtained for 1850 participants in eight studies. Vitamin D did not influence time to sputum culture conversion overall (adjusted HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.91-1.23), but it did accelerate sputum culture conversion in participants with multidrug-resistant pulmonary TB (adjusted HR 13.44, 95% CI 2.96-60.90); no such effect was seen in those whose isolate was sensitive to rifampicin and/or isoniazid (adjusted HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.88-1.19; p-value for interaction=0.02). Vitamin D accelerated sputum smear conversion overall (adjusted HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01-1.31), but did not influence other secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D did not influence time to sputum culture conversion overall, but it accelerated sputum culture conversion in patients with multidrug-resistant pulmonary TB.

Klebsiella species associated with bovine mastitis in Newfoundland.

Klebsiella spp. is a common cause of bovine mastitis, but information regarding its molecular epidemiology is lacking from many parts of the world. On using mass spectrometry and partial sequencing of the rpoB gene, it was found that over a one year study, K. variicola and Enterobacter cloacae were misidentified as K. pneumoniae in a small number of clinical mastitis (CM) cases from Newfoundland. Results suggest that the currently used standard biochemical/phenotypic tests lack the sensitivity required to accurately discriminate among the three mentioned Gram negative bacteria. In addition, a single strain of K. variicola was associated with CM from one farm in the study as demonstrated by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR. To the best of our knowledge, K. variicola, which is normally found in the environment, has not been isolated previously from milk obtained from cows with CM. Therefore, it is possible that K. variicola was not detected in milk samples in the past due to the inability of standard tests to discriminate it from other Klebsiella species.