Recent HIV infection and associated factors among newly diagnosed HIV cases in the Southwest Ethiopia Regional State: HIV case-based surveillance analysis (2019-2022).

BACKGROUND: Globally, there were an estimated 39 million people living with HIV with 1.3 million new HIV infections by the end of 2023. The Sub-Saharan Africa accounted 51% of new HIV infections. HIV case-based Surveillance collects data on newly diagnosed HIV cases, recent HIV infections, and other sentinel events, aiding evidence-based decision making. There is limited evidence on these in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to determine the incidence proportion of recent infections and associated factors among newly diagnosed HIV cases and their distribution by person, place, and time in the Southwest Ethiopia Regional State. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on HIV case-based surveillance dataset (July 2019 to June 2022) from the Southwest Ethiopia Regional State. Recent HIV infection is an infection that acquired within the last 12 months as diagnosed by Asante recency test kits. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. ArcGIS version 10.8 was used for mapping recent infections. Logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with recent infections. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, variables with p-value < 0.05 and an adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval were considered to declare significant association. RESULTS: A total of 1,167 newly diagnosed HIV cases (eligible cases) were identified. Among these, 786 (67.3%) recency tests were performed. The mean age of individuals with recent infection was 28.4 years. The proportion of recent infection is 89 (11.3%, 95% CI: 11.2, 11.5%). The highest proportion of recent infection is reported from the West Omo zone (42.9%), whereas 13.2% in Bench Sheko zone. Recent infection is significantly associated with age 15-24 years [AOR = 7.14, 95%CI: 2.89,17.57], age 25-34 years [AOR = 5.34, 95%CI: 2.20,12.94], females [AOR = 2.03, 95%CI: 1.26,3.25], and contact history with the index case [AOR = 0.48, 95%CI: 0.28, 0.83]. The incidence of recent infection increased from 86 (in 2019/20) to 132 (in 2022) recent infections per 1,000 newly diagnosed cases. CONCLUSIONS: Recent HIV infection is a public health concern in the Southwest Ethiopia Regional State with an increasing incidence. Targeted prevention efforts are necessary, especially for females and younger people.

Prevalence of HIV and other infections and injection behaviours among people who inject drugs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia is one of the sub-Saharan African countries most affected by HIV/AIDS. However, the country lacks data describing the extent of the epidemic among people who inject drugs (PWID). Thus, a bio-behavioural study was conducted in 2015 to generate strategic information on the magnitude of HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), syphilis and related risk behaviours among PWID in Addis Ababa. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using respondent-driven sampling was conducted among people reported to have injected illicit drugs within 6 months before the study. Males and females aged 15 years or above and who were resident in Addis Ababa were included in the study between 26 March and 22 May 2015. Data was analysed using respondent-driven (RDS) Analyst software. RESULTS: A total of 237 participants, including 6 seeds, enrolled in the study; most of the PWID were males (96%) with a mean age of 26 years. Most (79%) of the PWID reported injecting heroin but also reported using non-injecting drugs, including marijuana or ganja (47%) and/or khat (31%). Forty per cent of PWID reported ever sharing needles and 56% reported sharing other injecting equipment. However, only 14% reported injecting daily, and 49% reported injecting only 1 to 3 times a month. HIV prevalence was 6%, HBV was 5.1%, HCV was 2.9% and syphilis 5.1% among PWID. Among HIV-positive PWID, 60% reported sharing a needle the last time they injected. CONCLUSION: Even though the prevalence of HIV among drug users is not much higher than in the general population in Addis Ababa, the needle sharing prevalence was high. Thus, this baseline study shows the need to establish harm reduction programmes and prevention strategies for the PWID in Addis Ababa.

Gender-based violence and associated factors among female sex workers in Ethiopia. Evidence from The National Bio-behavioral Survey, 2020.

Background: Gender-based violence (GBV) is usually defined as unequal power relations between men and women, which poses a widespread public health problem. The study evaluated the prevalence and factors associated with GBV among female sex workers (FSWs) in Ethiopia. Method: We used cross-sectional bio-behavioral data collected using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) in 2020 from 16 towns in Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics was analyzed to summarize the study population characteristics and prevalence of GBV, and a multilevel logistic regression model was applied to identify associated factors for GBV. A p-value of ≤0.05 was used as a threshold for statistical significance. Result: Of 6,085 participants, 28.1% had experienced GBV during the last 12 months, among which 12.7% and 22.3% experienced physical and sexual violence, respectively. FSWs aged 15-24, and 25-34 than those 35 years or more, had a non-paying than paying partners, had 31-60, 61-90, and over 91 than those had less than 30 paying partners, ever had anal sex than those not, condom failure than those not, mobile female sex workers when compared with those not mobile at different town; 3-5 and ≥ 6 years than those less than 3 years stayed in selling sex, street-based, and multiple places selling sex than those used other venues were significantly associated with GBV. Conclusion: Gender-based violence is a substantial problem among FSWs in Ethiopia, with significant implications for program planning on prevention and response to mitigate the occurrence and impact of GBV among FSWs.

Progress towards controlling the HIV epidemic in urban Ethiopia: Findings from the 2017-2018 Ethiopia population-based HIV impact assessment survey.

INTRODUCTION: In 2014, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS set an 'ambitious' 90-90-90 target for 2020. By 2016, there were disparities observed among countries in their progress towards the targets and some believed the targets were not achievable. In this report, we present the results of data from the Ethiopia Population-based HIV Impact Assessment survey analyzed to assess progress with the targets and associated factors. METHODS: We conducted a nationally representative survey in urban areas of Ethiopia. Socio-demographic and behavioural data were collected from consenting participants using a structured interview. HIV testing was done following the national HIV rapid testing algorithm and seropositivity confirmed using a supplemental laboratory assay. HIV viral suppression was considered if the viral load was <1,000 RNA copies/ml. Screening antiretroviral drugs was done for efavirenz, lopinavir, and tenofovir, which were in use during the survey period. In this analysis, we generated weighted descriptive statistics and used bivariate and logistic regression analysis to examine for associations. The 95% confidence interval was used to measure the precision of estimates and the significance level set at p<0.05. RESULTS: Of 19,136 eligible participants aged 15-64 years, 614 (3% [95% CI: 0.8-3.3]) were HIV-positive, of which 79.0% (95% CI: 4.7-82.7) were aware of their HIV status, and 97.1% (95% CI: 95.0-98.3 were on antiretroviral therapy, of which 87.6% (95% CI: 83.9-90.5) achieved viral load suppression. Awareness about HIV-positive status was significantly higher among females (aOR = 2.8 [95% CI: 1.38-5.51]), significantly increased with age, the odds being highest for those aged 55-64 years (aOR = 11.4 [95% CI: 2.52-51.79]) compared to those 15-24 years, and was significantly higher among those who used condom at last sex in the past 12 months (aOR = 5.1 [95% CI: 1.68-15.25]). Individuals with secondary education and above were more likely to have achieved viral suppression (aOR = 8.2 [95% CI: 1.82-37.07]) compared with those with no education. CONCLUSION: Ethiopia made encouraging progress towards the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets. The country needs to intensify its efforts to achieve the targets. A particular focus is required to fill the gaps in knowledge of HIV-positive status to increase case identification among population groups such as males, the youth, and those with low education.

Factors associated with unawareness of HIV-positive status in urban Ethiopia: Evidence from the Ethiopia population-based HIV impact assessment 2017-2018.

BACKGROUND: The HIV epidemic in Ethiopia is concentrated in urban areas. Ethiopia conducted a Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (EPHIA) in urban areas between October 2017 and April 2018 to measure the status of the country's response to the epidemic. METHODS: We conducted field data collection and HIV testing in randomly selected households using the national, rapid testing algorithm with laboratory confirmation of seropositive samples using a supplemental assay. In addition to self-report on HIV diagnosis and treatment, all HIV-positive participants were screened for a set of HIV antiretroviral (ARV) drugs indicative of the first- and second-line regimens. We calculated weighted frequencies and 95% confidence intervals to assess regional variation in participants' level of unawareness of their HIV-positive status (adjusted for ARV status). RESULTS: We interviewed 20,170 survey participants 15-64 years of age, of which 19,136 (95%) were tested for HIV, 614 (3.2%) tested positive, and 119 (21%) of HIV-positive persons were unaware of their HIV status. Progress towards the UNAIDS first 90 target (90% of people living with HIV would be aware of their HIV status by 2020) substantially differed by administrative region of the country. In the bivariate analysis using log binomial regression, three regions (Oromia, Addis Ababa, and Harari), male gender, and young age (15-24 years) were significantly associated with awareness of HIV positive status. In multivariate analysis, the same variables were associated with awareness of HIV-positive status. CONCLUSION: One-fifth of the HIV-positive urban population were unaware of their HIV-positive status. The number of unaware HIV-positive individuals has a different distribution than the HIV prevalence. National and regional planning and monitoring activities could address this potentially substantial source of undetected HIV infection by increasing HIV testing among young people, men and individuals who do not use condoms.

Sero-prevalence of transfusion transmittable infections: HIV, Hepatitis B, C and Treponema pallidum and associated factors among blood donors in Ethiopia: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Blood transfusion is a therapeutic procedure that has proven to be effective in saving millions of lives. However, its safety is still a crucial issue that needs due attention. Unsafe blood transfusion is one of the sources of transmission for infectious agents. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the sero-prevalence of Transfusion Transmittable Infections (TTIs) such as Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Treponema pallidum, and associated factors among blood donors in Ethiopia. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study design was used to measure the prevalence of transfusion transmittable infections using data collected from 2014 to 2019 in fourteen blood bank facilities in Ethiopia. Screening of HIV, HBV and HCV was done by using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Presence of Treponema pallidum infection was assessed using rapid plasma reagin (RPR). Records of blood donors were collected using a checklist from Central Blood Bank Laboratory (BBL) electronic database and reviewed. Data was entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Logistic regression was fitted to identify factors associated with cumulative TTIs positivity, and for each of the transfusion transmittable infection. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULT: A total of 554,954 blood donors in the fourteen blood bank facilities from 2014-2019 was included in the study. The overall sero-prevalence of HBV, Treponema pallidum, HIV and HCV, was 2.4%, 0.9%, 0.4% and 0.4% respectively. The prevalence of TTIs was comparatively higher in 2014, 5.70% and lowest in 2019, 3.40%. The odds of screening HBV in blood donors in age group of 35-39 and 40-44 were 1.2 [1.1, 1.3] and 1.3 [1.1, 1.5] respectively. The odds of screening HCV in blood donors in the age group of 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 were 1.3 [1.1, 1.5], 1.3 [1.1, 1.7] and 1.7 [1.2, 2.2] respectively. The likelihood of having at least one infection among blood donors was 1.2 [1.1, 1.3] times in male blood donors compared to female. The odds of getting at least one TTI and Treponema pallidum in unemployed blood donors were 2.4 [2.0, 2.8] and 8.1 [6.1, 10.7] respectively. The probability of getting those who have at least one TTIs, HBV and Treponema pallidum were higher in blood donors those who live in Semi Urban and Rural parts of the country than those who live in Urban areas. The odds of having at least one TTI, HBV and HCV in blood donors with mobile mode of blood donation were 1.4 [1.3, 1.6], 1.6 [1.4, 1.8], and 1.6 [1.1, 2.2]. CONCLUSION: The current magnitudes of TTIs are lower when compared to other previous studies conducted in Ethiopia. Older age, male, occupation, donations from mobile sites, residents of semi urban and rural settings were found to be strongly associated with sero-positivity of TTIs. Hence, strict donor screening and testing particularly taking the above factors into consideration is strongly recommended.

Evaluation of diagnostic performance of non-invasive HIV self-testing kit using oral fluid in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A facility-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is critical for early linkage to treatment and care services. However, there is a substantial gap in HIV testing, particularly in resource limited settings due to low accessibility of HIV testing sites, inconvenient testing hours, and concerns about loss of confidentiality. Thus, adopting new strategies such as HIV self-testing (HIVST) could overcome these barriers and increases HIV testing uptake. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of non-invasive HIVST kit using oral fluid for HIV diagnosis. This study also aimed to assess the ability of clients in interpretation of OraQuick HIVST results. METHOD: Between December 2017 and February 2018, a total of 400 study participants were enrolled into the study to assess a diagnostic accuracy of Oral fluid-based HIVST kit (OraQuick) in 15 public health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants were provided with instructions and visual aids on how to perform HIVST and interpret results. They also underwent a blood-based rapid HIV antibody test as per the current national algorithm. The results of HIVST were interpreted independently by the participants and respective health care workers (HCWs). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), Negative predictive value (NPV) and inter-rater agreement of the test were computed. RESULTS: Out of 200 participants who tested positive on the national algorithm testing, oral fluid-based self-testing was positive in 199 (99.5%), false negative in 1 (0.5%). Of 200 participants who tested negative on the national algorithm testing, self-testing was negative in 200 (100%). There were no false positive and invalid tests. The sensitivity and specificity of the OraQuick HIVST were 99.5% (95%CI: 97.26-99.99) and 100% (95%CI: 98.18-100.0), respectively. The overall agreement between the two tests was high (κ value = 0.995). The PPV and NPV of OraQuick test were 100% and 99.5% (95%CI: 96.59-99.93) respectively. CONCLUSION: This study showed a high diagnostic performance of OraQuick HIV self-test and suggests that OraQuick HIVST kit has a potential to be used for HIV testing in Ethiopia along with the national algorithm.

Assessment of national tuberculosis and HIV collaborative program implementation status in health care settings of Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia has adopted the World Health Organization recommendation for TB and HIV collaborative activities since 2004. These collaborative activities have been scaled up in a phased manner and covered large number of health facilities across the nation. However, there is scarcity of information on implementation of these collaborative activities in Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To assess the status of implementation of TB and HIV collaborative activities in health facility settings of Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross sectional study mainly quantitative supplemented by qualitative methods was undertaken from May 10 to July 10, 2014 in 132 selected health facilities. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20. RESULT: About 81% of the respondents in the selected health facilities reported the screening of People Living with HIV in care for TB at every follow up visit, whereas, only 28.7% of those health facilities reported the screening of PLWHIV for TB at enrolment to HIV chronic care. About half of the public health facilities assessed were not implementing Isoniazid Preventive Therapy and only 18.2% of eligible clients were getting this Preventive Therapy. Among the co-infected patients, 32% were not linked to chronic care services and 45.3% were not getting ART during TB treatment. On the other hand, about two thirds of the co-infected patients are getting the Cotrimoxazole Prophylaxis Therapy. CONCLUSION: Most of anti-TB and HIV collaborative activities were not implemented as expected in the health facilities. Thus it needs integration from the ministry to the health facilities level in order to improve the collaborative activities.