An analysis of the HIV testing cascade of a group of HIV-exposed infants from birth to 18 months in peri-urban Khayelitsha, South Africa.

Background: Despite the reduction of HIV mother-to-child transmission, there are concerns regarding transmission rate in the breastfeeding period. We describe the routine uptake of 6 or 10 (6/10) weeks, 9 months and 18 months testing, with and without tracing, in a cohort of infants who received HIV PCR testing at birth (birth PCR) (with and without point of care (POC) testing) in a peri-urban primary health care setting in Khayelitsha, South Africa.

Methods: In this cohort study conducted between November 2014 and February 2018, HIV-positive mothers and their HIV-exposed babies were recruited at birth and all babies were tested with birth PCR.