Leveraging HIV Program and Civil Society to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake, Zambia.

To accelerate COVID-19 vaccination delivery, Zambia integrated COVID-19 vaccination into HIV treatment centers and used World AIDS Day 2021 to launch a national vaccination campaign. This campaign was associated with significantly increased vaccinations, demonstrating that HIV programs can be leveraged to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Antiretroviral therapy enrollment characteristics and outcomes among HIV-infected adolescents and young adults compared with older adults--seven African countries, 2004-2013.

Although scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) since 2005 has contributed to declines of about 30% in the global annual number of human immunodeficiency (HIV)-related deaths and declines in global HIV incidence, estimated annual HIV-related deaths among adolescents have increased by about 50% and estimated adolescent HIV incidence has been relatively stable. In 2012, an estimated 2,500 (40%) of all 6,300 daily new HIV infections occurred among persons aged 15-24 years. Difficulty enrolling adolescents and young adults in ART and high rates of loss to follow-up (LTFU) after ART initiation might be contributing to mortality and HIV incidence in this age group, but data are limited. To evaluate age-related ART retention challenges, data from retrospective cohort studies conducted in seven African countries among 16,421 patients, aged ≥15 years at enrollment, who initiated ART during 2004-2012 were analyzed. ART enrollment and outcome data were compared among three groups defined by age at enrollment: adolescents and young adults (aged 15-24 years), middle-aged adults (aged 25-49 years), and older adults (aged ≥50 years). Enrollees aged 15-24 years were predominantly female (81%-92%), commonly pregnant (3%-32% of females), unmarried (54%-73%), and, in four countries with employment data, unemployed (53%-86%). In comparison, older adults were more likely to be male (p<0.001), employed (p<0.001), and married, (p<0.05 in five countries). Compared with older adults, adolescents and young adults had higher LTFU rates in all seven countries, reaching statistical significance in three countries in crude and multivariable analyses. Evidence-based interventions to reduce LTFU for adolescent and young adult ART enrollees could help reduce mortality and HIV incidence in this age group.

Comparison of HIV prevalence, incidence, and viral load suppression in Zambia population-based HIV impact assessments from 2016 and 2021.

BACKGROUND: The Zambian government has implemented a public health response to control the HIV epidemic in the country. Zambia conducted a population-based HIV impact assessment (ZAMPHIA) survey in 2021 to assess the status of the HIV epidemic to guide its public health programs. METHODS: ZAMPHIA 2021 was a cross-sectional two-stage cluster sample household survey among persons aged ≥15 years conducted in Zambia across all 10 provinces. Consenting participants were administered a standardized questionnaire and whole blood was tested for HIV according to national guidelines. HIV-1 viral load (VL), recent HIV infection, and antiretroviral medications were tested for in HIV-seropositive samples. Viral load suppression (VLS) was defined as <1000 copies/ml. ZAMPHIA 2021 results were compared to ZAMPHIA 2016 for persons aged 15-59 years (i.e., the overlapping age ranges). All estimates were weighted to account for nonresponse and survey design. RESULTS: During ZAMPHIA 2021, of 25 483 eligible persons aged ≥15 years, 18 804 (73.8%) were interviewed and tested for HIV. HIV prevalence was 11.0% and VLS prevalence was 86.2% overall, but was <80% among people living with HIV aged 15-24 years and in certain provinces. Among persons aged 15-59 years, from 2016 to 2021, HIV incidence declined from 0.6% to 0.3% ( P -value: 0.07) and VLS prevalence increased from 59.2% to 85.7% ( P -value: <0.01). DISCUSSION: Zambia has made substantial progress toward controlling the HIV epidemic from 2016 to 2021. Continued implementation of a test-and-treat strategy, with attention to groups with lower VLS in the ZAMPHIA 2021, could support reductions in HIV incidence and improve overall VLS in Zambia.

High rates of loss to follow-up during the first year of pre-antiretroviral therapy for HIV patients at sites providing pre-ART care in Nigeria, 2004-2012.

BACKGROUND: With about 3.4 million HIV-infected persons, Nigeria has the second highest number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the world. However, antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage in Nigeria remains low with only 748,846 (22%) of PLHIV on ART by the end of 2014. Retention of HIV-infected patients in pre-ART care is essential to ensure timely ART initiation. We assessed outcomes of patients enrolled in Nigeria's pre-ART program during 2004-2012. METHODS: We conducted a nationally representative retrospective cohort study among adults (≥15 years old), enrolling in pre-ART programs supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Nigeria. A total of 35 sites enrolling ≥50 patients in pre-ART were selected using probability proportional-to-size sampling; 2,415 eligible medical records at these sites were randomly selected for abstraction. Determinants of loss to follow-up (LTFU) and mortality during pre-ART care were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: The median age at enrollment was 32 years (interquartile range (IQR) 27-40). A total of 1,216 (51.4%) initiated ART by the time of data abstraction. Among the remaining 1,199 patients, 898 (74.9%) had been LTFU, 180 (15.0%) were alive and in pre-ART care, 71 (5.9%) had died, 50 (4.2%) had transferred out or stopped care. Baseline markers of advanced disease, including weight <45 kg (adjusted hazard ration (AHR) = 4.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.51-15.58) and more advanced WHO disease stage, were predictive of pre-ART mortality. Compared with patients aged 15-24, patients aged 35-44 (AHR = 0.67; 95% CI: 1.0.47-0.95) and age 45-54 (AHR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.48-0.91) had lower LTFU rates. Compared with attending facilities in North Central geopolitical zone, attending facility locations in South East (AHR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.24-0.83) was protective against LTFU. CONCLUSIONS: About half of patients enrolling in HIV program during 2004-2012 in Nigeria had not initiated ART by 2013. Key strategies to improve early ART initiation among pre-ART enrollees include implementation of the WHO test and treat guidelines, earlier HIV testing, and better monitoring to improve ART initiation rates. Further research to understand regional variations in pre-ART outcomes is warranted.

Incidence and predictors of tuberculosis among HIV-infected adults after initiation of antiretroviral therapy in Nigeria, 2004-2012.

BACKGROUND: Nigeria had the most AIDS-related deaths worldwide in 2014 (170,000), and 46% were associated with tuberculosis (TB). Although treatment of people living with HIV (PLHIV) with antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces TB-associated morbidity and mortality, incident TB can occur while on ART. We estimated incidence and characterized factors associated with TB after ART initiation in Nigeria. METHODS: We analyzed retrospective cohort data from a nationally representative sample of adult patients on ART. Data were abstracted from 3,496 patient records, and analyses were weighted and controlled for a complex survey design. We performed domain analyses on patients without documented TB disease and used a Cox proportional hazard model to assess factors associated with TB incidence after ART. RESULTS: At ART initiation, 3,350 patients (95.8%) were not receiving TB treatment. TB incidence after ART initiation was 0.57 per 100 person-years, and significantly higher for patients with CD4<50/µL (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 4.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4-12.7) compared with CD4≥200/µL. Patients with suspected but untreated TB at ART initiation and those with a history of prior TB were more likely to develop incident TB (AHR: 12.2, 95% CI: 4.5-33.5 and AHR: 17.6, 95% CI: 3.5-87.9, respectively). CONCLUSION: Incidence of TB among PLHIV after ART initiation was low, and predicted by advanced HIV, prior TB, and suspected but untreated TB. Study results suggest a need for improved TB screening and diagnosis, particularly among high-risk PLHIV initiating ART, and reinforce the benefit of early ART and other TB prevention efforts.

Implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions by New York City public schools to prevent 2009 influenza A.

INTRODUCTION: Children are important transmitters of influenza in the community and a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including hand washing and use of hand sanitizer, have been recommended to mitigate the transmission of influenza, but limited information is available regarding schools' ability to implement these NPIs during an influenza outbreak. We evaluated implementation of NPIs during fall 2009 in response to H1N1 pandemic influenza (pH1N1) by New York City (NYC) public schools. METHODS: From January 25 through February 9, 2010, an online survey was sent to all the 1,632 NYC public schools and principals were asked to participate in the survey or to designate a school nurse or other school official with knowledge of school policies and characteristics to do so. RESULTS: Of 1,633 schools, 376(23%) accessed and completed the survey. Nearly all respondents (99%) implemented at least two NPIs. Schools that had a Flu Response Team (FRT) as a part of school emergency preparedness plan were more likely to implement the NPI guidelines recommended by NYC public health officials than schools that did not have a FRT. Designation of a room for isolating ill students, for example, was more common in schools with a FRT (72%) than those without (53%) (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Implementing an NPI program in a large school system to mitigate the effects of an influenza outbreak is feasible, but there is potential need for additional resources in some schools to increase capacity and adherence to all recommendations. Public health influenza-preparedness plans should include school preparedness planning and FRTs.