Getting to the First 90: Incentivized Peer Mobilizers Promote HIV Testing Services to Men Who Have Sex With Men Using Social Media in Mumbai, India.

Recent studies of Indian men who have sex with men (MSM) have shown widespread use of social media for seeking sex partners. We piloted a peer mobilization approach to explore the feasibility of engaging previously unreached MSM online to link them to HIV testing services (HTS). MSM were encouraged to seek HTS through messages posted on a popular dating website.

A surveillance model for sexually transmitted infections in India.

The strategy for prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in India is based on syndromic case management delivered through designated STI/reproductive tract infection (RTI) centers (DSRCs) situated in medical colleges, district hospitals, and STI-clinics of targeted interventions programs. Laboratory tests for enhanced syndromic management are available at some sites. To ensure country-level planning and effective local implementation of STI services, reliable and consistent epidemiologic information is required on the distribution of STI cases, rate and trends of newly acquired infections, and STI prevalence in specific population groups.

Rolling out new biomedical HIV prevention tools: what can be learned from Avahan, the India AIDS initiative?

More than 30 years after HIV was first identified as a disease, with disastrous consequences for many subpopulations in most countries and for entire populations in some African countries, it continues to occupy centre stage among the world's many global health challenges. Prevention still remains the primary long-term focus. New biomedical tools such as pre-exposure propyhlaxis (PrEP) and treatment hold great promise for select groups such as key populations (KPs) who are critical to transmission dynamics, and serodiscordant couples.

An exploration of elevated HIV and STI risk among male sex workers from India.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) who also report transactional sex (male sex workers or MSWs) are known to be at higher risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The study aimed to profile socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors associated with high HIV prevalence among MSWs.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2008-9 among 483 high-risk MSM who attended STI clinics at Mumbai and Hyderabad, two large cities in India.

Integrating syphilis screening in a large-scale HIV prevention program for key populations: the Avahan experience from India.

Introduction: Documented experiences from India on the implementation of syphilis screening in large-scale HIV prevention programs for "key populations at higher risk" (KPs) are limited. Avahan is a large-scale HIV prevention program providing services to more than 300,000 KPs in six high HIV prevalence states of India since 2004. Avahan clinics provide a sexually transmitted infection service package which includes bi-annual syphilis screening.

High rates of reinfection and incidence of bacterial sexually transmitted infections in a cohort of female sex workers from two Indian cities: need for different STI control strategies?

Background: Female sex workers (FSWs) in India are provided a standardised package of clinical interventions for management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A study was conducted among FSWs at known high STI prevalence sites to determine the effectiveness of the service package.

Methods: A cohort of FSW clinic attendees in two cities, Hyderabad and Mumbai, were enrolled and followed up from October 2008 to November 2009.

Genital ulcer disease in India: etiologies and performance of current syndrome guidelines.

Background: In India, genital ulcer disease (GUD) syndrome is clinically classified as herpetic or nonherpetic and managed accordingly; laboratory support is unavailable at most health facilities. We undertook a study to determine the etiology of GUDs in men presenting to sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics and assess the performance of the national algorithm for syndromic management of herpetic and nonherpetic GUDs in India.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among men with complaints of genital ulcers attending 8 STI clinics in 4 states.

Large-scale STI services in Avahan improve utilization and treatment seeking behaviour amongst high-risk groups in India: an analysis of clinical records from six states.

Background: Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative, implemented a large HIV prevention programme across six high HIV prevalence states amongst high risk groups consisting of female sex workers, high risk men who have sex with men, transgenders and injecting drug users in India. Utilization of the clinical services, health seeking behaviour and trends in syndromic diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections amongst these populations were measured using the individual tracking data.

Methods: The Avahan clinical monitoring system included individual tracking data pertaining to clinical services amongst high risk groups.

Quality assurance and quality improvement using supportive supervision in a large-scale STI intervention with sex workers, men who have sex with men/transgenders and injecting-drug users in India.

Background: Documentation of the long-term impact of supportive supervision using a monitoring tool in STI intervention with sex workers, men who have sex with men and injection-drug users is limited. The authors report methods and results of continued quality monitoring in a large-scale STI services provided as a part of a broader HIV-prevention package in six Indian states under Avahan, the India AIDS Initiative.

Methodology: Guidelines and standards for STI services, and a supportive supervisory tool to monitor the quality were developed for providing technical support to STI component of large-scale HIV-prevention intervention through 372 project-supported STI clinics.