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No improvements in CD4 count at diagnosis in African patients in last decade
Gus Cairns, 2015-02-04 10:10:00
A study by Harvard Medical School has found that the average CD4 count in sub-Saharan African people who are diagnosed with HIV has not risen since 2002. Neither has the average CD4 count on initiation of treatment, which remains well below the AIDS-defining limit of 200 cells/mm3. The authors call for far more active HIV testing and facilitated referral programmes, and continued global financial support for HIV testing and treatment.
A second study of a number of different prevalence and incidence surveys conducted by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) among selected populations in the region shows that annual HIV incidence ranges from zero to 19% according to the population studied, indicating that specific groups should be the subject of testing and referral initiatives. Groups with especially high incidence included the negative partners in sero-different couples, female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM), young women in certain locations, and specific communities such as fisherfolk on Lake Victoria. Equally, however, surveys of some similar groups in different locations reported low incidence, showing that it may change rapidly and that regular studies should track incidence hotspots.
It was notable that the incidence rate in most populations with high rates fell two- to threefold after the first three months of being included in an incidence survey, showing that clinical referral and monitoring is itself a useful HIV prevention measure.
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