The Number and Complexity of Pure and Recombinant HIV-1 Strains Observed within Incident Infections during the HIV and Malaria Cohort Study Conducted in Kericho, Kenya, from 2003 to 2006.

Characterization of HIV-1 subtype diversity in regions where vaccine trials are conducted is critical for vaccine development and testing. This study describes the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 within a tea-plantation community cohort in Kericho, Kenya. Sixty-three incident infections were ascertained in the HIV and Malaria Cohort Study conducted in Kericho from 2003 to 2006.

Kericho CLinic-based ART Diagnostic Evaluation (CLADE): design, accrual, and baseline characteristics of a randomized controlled trial conducted in predominately rural, district-level, HIV clinics of Kenya.

Background: Prospective clinical trial data regarding routine HIV-1 viral load (VL) monitoring of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in non-research clinics of Sub-Saharan Africa are needed for policy makers.

Methods: CLinic-based ART Diagnostic Evaluation (CLADE) is a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) evaluating feasibility, superiority, and cost-effectiveness of routine VL vs. standard of care (clinical and immunological) monitoring in adults initiating dual nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI)+non-NRTI ART.

Successes and Challenges in an Integrated Tuberculosis/HIV Clinic in a Rural, Resource-Limited Setting: Experiences from Kericho, Kenya.

Objective. To describe TB/HIV clinic outcomes in a rural, Ministry of Health hospital. Design.

Factors influencing contraceptive choice and discontinuation among HIV-positive women in Kericho, Kenya.

This study explored perceptions towards and utilization of contraception among HIV-positive, reproduction-age women in Kericho, Kenya, an area with high HIV and low contraceptive prevalence rates. Qualitative methods were used in three focus group discussions and 15 in-depth interviews to gather data from 46 HIV-positive women ages 18 to 45, purposively selected by age strata. Analysis was performed using ATLAS-ti (ATLAS-ti Center, Berlin).

Influence of culture on contraceptive utilization among HIV-positive women in Brazil, Kenya, and South Africa.

Contraceptive choice and discontinuation are poorly understood among HIV-positive women, and HIV disease and culture may influence decisions. We assessed factors influencing contraceptive decision-making among HIV-positive women in three countries. This qualitative assessment of 108 HIV-positive women (36/site, selected by age and parity strata) was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Kericho, Kenya; and Soweto, South Africa.

Short communication: HIV type 1 genetic diversity among tea plantation workers in Kericho, Kenya.

In preparation for HIV-1 vaccine trials in Kenya, 2801 study volunteers, from a tea plantation in Kericho, were recruited as part of a prospective vaccine cohort development study. Cryopreserved plasma was available from 401 HIV-positive volunteers, and was the source of viral RNA for genotyping by the multiregion hybridization assay (MHA). Logistic regression was performed to determine association of risk factors and HIV-1 recombinant and dual infections.

Reference ranges for the clinical laboratory derived from a rural population in Kericho, Kenya.

The conduct of Phase I/II HIV vaccine trials internationally necessitates the development of region-specific clinical reference ranges for trial enrollment and participant monitoring. A population based cohort of adults in Kericho, Kenya, a potential vaccine trial site, allowed development of clinical laboratory reference ranges. Lymphocyte immunophenotyping was performed on 1293 HIV seronegative study participants.

The protective effect of circumcision on HIV incidence in rural low-risk men circumcised predominantly by traditional circumcisers in Kenya: two-year follow-up of the Kericho HIV Cohort Study.

Background: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that male circumcision prevents female-to-male HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from prospective cohort studies are helpful in considering generalizability of RCT results to populations with unique epidemiologic/cultural characteristics.

Methods: Prospective observational cohort sub-analysis.