Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2013 July 25; Volume 64 (Issue 2); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3182a61e63
Pannus P, Fajardo E, Metcalf CJ, Coulborn R M, Duran LT, et al.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2013 July 25; Volume 64 (Issue 2); DOI:10.1097/QAI.0b013e3182a61e63
: Rollout of routine HIV-1 viral load monitoring is hampered by high costs and logistical difficulties associated with sample collection and transport. New strategies are needed to overcome these constraints. Dried blood spots from finger pricks have been shown to be more practical than the use of plasma specimens, and pooling strategies using plasma specimens have been demonstrated to be an efficient method to reduce costs. This study found that combination of finger-prick dried blood spots and a pooling strategy is a feasible and efficient option to reduce costs, while maintaining accuracy in the context of a district hospital in Malawi.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
Public Health Action. 2014 June 21; Volume 4 (Issue 2); DOI:10.5588/pha.14.0001
Martínez Pérez G, Metcalf CJ, Garone DB, Coulborn RM, Harries AD, et al.
Public Health Action. 2014 June 21; Volume 4 (Issue 2); DOI:10.5588/pha.14.0001
Prevention of mother-to-child transmission 'Option B+' originated in Malawi in 2011 to prevent new infections in infants exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We assessed 12-month programme retention and HIV testing uptake among infants born to HIV-infected mothers from September 2011 to June 2012 in Thyolo District Hospital. Of 513 infants, 368 (71.7%) remained in care at 12 months. Altogether, 412 (80.3%) underwent HIV DNA polymerase chain reaction testing, with 267 (52.0%) tested at 6-12 weeks, and 255 (49.7%) underwent rapid HIV testing, with 144 (28.1%) tested at 12 months. Eighty-eight (17.2%) infants had both tests as scheduled. Measures are needed to improve adherence to national testing protocols.