Application of the UNAIDS Incidence Patterns Model to Determine the Distribution of New HIV Infection in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Background: Identifying patterns in the distribution of new HIV infections in the population is critical for HIV programmatic interventions. This study aimed to determine the distribution of New HIV infection by applying the incidence patterns mathematical model to data from Lagos state.

Methods: The incidence patterns model (IPM) software is a mathematical model developed by UNAIDS to estimate the demographic and epidemic patterns of HIV infections.

Paediatric HIV infection in Western Africa: the long way to the standard of care.

In sub-Saharan Africa, newborns and children continue to suffer from insufficient access to early diagnosis and antiretroviral (ARV) treatments. A survey had been conducted in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Ivory Coast, from January 2010 to February 2011 to identify the major challenges regarding HIV prophylaxis and treatment of children in western Africa. The results of this survey highlight that only a small proportion of HIV-exposed newborns receive ARV prophylaxis.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled safety and acceptability study of two Invisible Condom formulations in women from Cameroon.

Background: The objectives of this clinical trial were to evaluate the safety, tolerance and acceptability of two gel formulations of the Invisible Condom: (i) the polymer alone and (ii) the polymer-containing sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) compared to placebo when applied intravaginally with our unique applicator in sexually abstinent and active woman volunteers.

Study Design: A randomized, doubled-blind, placebo-controlled study in healthy women from Yaoundé, Cameroon. Two hundred sixty women were randomized into three gel arms: (a) gel alone, (b) gel plus SLS and (c) placebo gel.

The prevalence of diverse HIV-1 strains was stable in Cameroonian blood donors from 1996 to 2004.

Objective: The HIV epidemic in Cameroon is characterized by a high level of strain diversity despite a relatively low prevalence of infection. In this study, HIV strains infecting blood donors in Cameroon were characterized to determine the prevalence of subtypes and intersubtype recombinants and if strain prevalence was changing over time.

Methods: From 1996 through 2004, 676 HIV-infected blood donations were collected at blood banks in Douala and Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Determinants of retention in care in an antiretroviral therapy (ART) program in urban Cameroon, 2003-2005.

Background: Retention in long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) program remains a major challenge for effective management of HIV infected people in sub-Saharan Africa. Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) discontinuation raises concerns about drug resistance and could negate much of the benefit sought by ART programs.

Methods: Based on existing patient records, we assessed determinants of retention in HIV care among HIV patients enrolled in an urban ART at two urban hospitals in Cameroon.