Clinical, molecular, and drug resistance epidemiology of HIV in Jordan, 2019-2021: A national study.

Background: Limited epidemiologic studies have been conducted in Jordan describing the HIV epidemic. This study aimed to address this gap to inform HIV prevention and control.

Methods: A nationally-representative cross-sectional study was conducted among adults living with HIV in Jordan.

Prospective screening for sexually transmitted infections among US service members with Chlamydia trachomatis or Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) are the most common bacterial causes of sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States (US). The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of reinfection during a six-month study period and to evaluate the retesting interval for those infected with CT or NG.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, six-month follow-up study among US military personnel with new onset, laboratory-confirmed CT or NG, recruited from an STI clinic at a large military base from January 2018 to January 2020.

Pretreatment and Acquired Antiretroviral Drug Resistance Among Persons Living With HIV in Four African Countries.

Background: Emerging HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) could jeopardize the success of standardized HIV management protocols in resource-limited settings. We characterized HIVDR among antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive and experienced participants in the African Cohort Study (AFRICOS).

Methods: From January 2013 to April 2019, adults with HIV-1 RNA >1000 copies/mL underwent ART history review and HIVDR testing upon enrollment at 12 clinics in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria.

Hepatitis B seroprevalence in the U.S. military and its impact on potential screening strategies.

Introduction: Knowledge of the contemporary epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among military personnel can inform potential Department of Defense (DoD) screening policy and infection and disease control strategies.

Materials And Methods: HBV infection status at accession and following deployment was determined by evaluating reposed serum from 10,000 service members recently deployed to combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the period from 2007 to 2010. A cost model was developed from the perspective of the Department of Defense for a program to integrate HBV infection screening of applicants for military service into the existing screening program of screening new accessions for vaccine-preventable infections.

Decreased Seroreactivity in Individuals Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy during Acute HIV Infection.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) during acute HIV infection (AHI) interrupts viral dynamics and may delay the emergence of serological markers targeted by current HIV screening and confirmatory assays, thus creating challenges for correctly classifying HIV infection status. The performance of three HIV antigen/antibody combination (HIV Ag/Ab Combo) assays (the Bio-Rad GS, Abbott Architect, and Bio-Rad BioPlex 2200 assays) was evaluated with samples collected from RV254/South East Asia Research Collaboration in HIV 010 (RV254/SEARCH010) study (Bangkok, Thailand) participants at weeks 12 and 24 following the initiation of ART at Fiebig stage I (FI) ( = 23), FII ( = 39), or FIII/IV ( = 22). Supplemental, confirmatory testing was performed by the Geenius HIV 1/2 and HIV-1 Western blot assays (Bio-Rad).

Impact of Early Antiretroviral Therapy on Detection of Cell-Associated HIV-1 Nucleic Acid in Blood by the Roche Cobas TaqMan Test.

The Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HIV-1 test, v2.0 (the CAP/CTM assay), was used to quantify cell-associated HIV-1 (CAH) nucleic acid in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from well-characterized clinical specimens from HIV-1-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Chronically infected individuals on ART with no detectable plasma HIV-1 RNA demonstrated average CAH burdens of 3.

An Evaluation of Selected Populations for HIV-1 Vaccine Cohort Development in Nigeria.

Development of a globally effective HIV-1 vaccine will need to encompass Nigeria, one of the hardest hit areas, with an estimated 3.2 million people living with HIV. This cross-sectional Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved study was conducted in 2009-12 at four market sites and two highway settlements sites in Nigeria to identify and characterize populations at high risk for HIV; engage support of local stakeholders; and assess the level of interest in future vaccine studies.

Evaluation of Hologic Aptima HIV-1 Quant Dx Assay on the Panther System on HIV Subtypes.

Quantitation of the HIV-1 viral load in plasma is the current standard of care for clinical monitoring of HIV-infected individuals undergoing antiretroviral therapy. This study evaluated the analytical and clinical performances of the Aptima HIV-1 Quant Dx assay (Hologic, San Diego, CA) for monitoring viral load by using 277 well-characterized subtype samples, including 171 cultured virus isolates and 106 plasma samples from 35 countries, representing all major HIV subtypes, recombinants, and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) currently in circulation worldwide. Linearity of the Aptima assay was tested on each of 6 major HIV-1 subtypes (A, B, C, D, CRF01_AE, and CRF02_AG) and demonstrated an R(2) value of ≥0.

Costs and consequences: Hepatitis C seroprevalence in the military and its impact on potential screening strategies.

Unlabelled: Knowledge of the contemporary epidemiology of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection among military personnel can inform potential Department of Defense screening policy. HCV infection status at the time of accession and following deployment was determined by evaluating reposed serum from 10,000 service members recently deployed to combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the period 2007-2010. A cost model was developed from the perspective of the Department of Defense for a military applicant screening program.

Sensitivity of the Multispot HIV-1/HIV-2 rapid test using samples from human immunodeficiency virus type 1-positive individuals with various levels of exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

The Multispot HIV-1/HIV-2 rapid test detects human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41 antibodies, which can wane over time in some HIV-1-infected populations, resulting in false-negative screening results. Multispot sensitivity was 100% using 248 sera from one such population, and it correctly identified serostatus in individuals who previously tested false negative with rapid testing.

Use of stored serum from Uganda for development and evaluation of a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 testing algorithm involving multiple rapid immunoassays.

We report the development and evaluation of a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 testing algorithm consisting of three rapid antibody detection tests. Stored serum samples from Uganda were utilized with a final algorithm sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 98.9% (95% confidence interval, 98.

Use of rapid and conventional testing technologies for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 serologic screening in a rural Kenyan reference laboratory.

We report a prospective comparison of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 testing by enzyme immunoassay and Western blot with four rapid tests of 486 subjects performed in rural Kenya. Rapid test sensitivity was 100%. Specificity ranged from 99.

Performance of the OraQuick rapid antibody test for diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in patients with various levels of exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

With oral mucosal transudate and serum samples from 101 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected subjects and 100 HIV-1-negative volunteers, the OraQuick HIV-1 test demonstrated 100% specificity and 96% sensitivity. Four false-negative subjects, who were characterized by early initiation of effective antiretroviral therapy, demonstrated waning serum anti-gp41 titers and Western blot band intensities.