Leveraging HIV self-testing to achieve the UNAIDS 2025 targets in the South and Southeast Asia region.

Introduction: The South and Southeast Asia region has the second-highest number of people living with HIV globally. Despite progress in reducing HIV incidence and AIDS-related deaths, the region still has a long way to go in achieving the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 95-95-95 HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression targets. HIV self-testing (HIVST) is recommended by the World Health Organization as an additional approach to HIV testing.

Screening and management of depression among patients on TB treatment in Papumpare district, Arunachal Pradesh, India.

The TB-depression syndemic is a complex health condition. This study demonstrates a collaborative model to screen and manage depression among TB patients and understand the enablers and challenges from the healthcare workers perspective regarding its implementation. The PHQ-9 questionnaire was used to screen for depression and in-depth interviews among five healthcare workers were taken to explore its feasibility.

Correction: Psychiatric comorbidities among patients with complex drug-resistant tuberculosis in Mumbai, India.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Correction: Acceptability of unsupervised peer-based distribution of HIV oral self-testing for the hard-to-reach in rural KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: Results from a demonstration study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Delivering hypertension care in private-sector clinics of urban slum areas of India: the Mumbai Hypertension Project.

In India, the private sector provides 70% of the total outpatient medical care. This study describes the Mumbai Hypertension Project, which aimed to deliver a standard hypertension management package in private sector clinics situated in urban slums. The project was conducted in two wards (one "lean" and one "intensive") with 82 private providers in each.

Utility of the lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan tuberculosis assay in patients with advanced HIV disease at antiretroviral therapy centres in Mumbai, India.

Background: People with Advanced HIV Disease (AHD) are at higher risk of TB coinfection and mortality. However, there are challenges in TB diagnosis with the currently recommended diagnostic tools. WHO recommends lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan (LF-LAM) assay to assist TB diagnosis among AHD patients.

Acceptability of unsupervised peer-based distribution of HIV oral self-testing for the hard-to-reach in rural KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: Results from a demonstration study.

Background: Innovative models to distribute oral HIV self-tests (HIVST) provide an opportunity to increase access to HIV testing, especially for hard-to-reach populations. This study aimed to describe the acceptability of unsupervised peer-distribution of HIVST as a method to scale-up HIV testing.

Methods: In this study, lay counsellors or community health workers provided HIVST kits to primary recipients (PRs) for distribution to their sexual partners, anyone in their social network (termed secondary recipients) or for self-testing, from September 2018 to March 2020.

Psychiatric comorbidities among patients with complex drug-resistant tuberculosis in Mumbai, India.

Background: People with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) are known to suffer from many mental-health disorders. This study aims to describe the proportion of patients diagnosed with psychiatric comorbidities, the different psychiatric diagnoses made, and treatment outcomes among DR-TB patients with or without psychiatric comorbidity and initiated on DR-TB treatment between January 2012 and March 2019 at Médecins Sans Frontières independent clinic in Mumbai, India.

Methods: This is a retrospective study using routinely collected clinical data.

One Step Forward: Successful End-of-Treatment Outcomes of Patients With Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Who Received Concomitant Bedaquiline and Delamanid in Mumbai, India.

Background: The Médecins Sans Frontières Clinic in Mumbai, India, has been providing concomitant bedaquiline (BDQ) and delamanid (DLM) in treatment regimen for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) and limited therapeutic options, referred from other healthcare institutions, since 2016. The study documents the end-of-treatment outcomes, culture-conversion rates, and serious adverse events (SAEs) during treatment.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study based on routinely collected program data.

Preparedness of outpatient health facilities for ambulatory treatment with all-oral short DR-TB treatment regimens in Zhytomyr, Ukraine: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Ukraine has a high burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Mental health problems, including alcohol use disorder, are common co-morbidities. One in five DR-TB patients has human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Yield of Systematic Longitudinal Screening of Household Contacts of Pre-Extensively Drug Resistant (PreXDR) and Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) Tuberculosis Patients in Mumbai, India.

While risk of tuberculosis (TB) is high among household contacts (HHCs) of pre-extensively drug resistant (pre-XDR) TB and XDR-TB, data on yield of systematic longitudinal screening are lacking. We aim to describe the yield of systematic longitudinal TB contact tracing among HHCs of patients with pre-XDR-TB and XDR-TB. At the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic, Mumbai, India a cohort comprising 518 HHCs of 109 pre-XDR and XDR index cases was enrolled between January 2016 and June 2018.

Routine viral load monitoring and enhanced adherence counselling at a public ART centre in Mumbai, India.

Background: Routine viral-load (VL) measurements along with enhanced adherence counselling (EAC) are recommended to achieve virological suppression among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) on anti-retroviral therapy (ART). The Mumbai Districts AIDS Control Society along with Médecins Sans Frontières has provided routine VL measurements and EAC to PLHA on ART at King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital, Mumbai since October-2016. This study aims to describe the initial VL results and impact of EAC on viral suppression and factors associated with initial viral non-suppression among patients with an initial detectable VL, in a cohort of patients tested between October-2016 and September-2018.

Epidemiology of Influenza among patients with influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory illness in Pakistan: A 10-year surveillance study 2008-17.

In Pakistan, the burden of influenza was largely unknown, as no formal surveillance system was in place. In 2008, an influenza surveillance system was set up in eight sentinel sites. This study describes the epidemiology of influenza virus using a 10-year surveillance data from 2008 to 2017.

A country-wide evaluation of infection control for tuberculosis in health-care facilities in Armenia.

Introduction: Infection control at health facilities is an important part of TB control programmes. To assess the implementation of tuberculosis infection control (TB IC) measures and barriers hindering their implementation in TB health care facilities (HCFs) in Armenia; to report the feasibility of using the WHO recommended checklist.

Methodology: A cross-sectional survey using WHO TB-IC checklist and direct observations was conducted between January and May 2018.

Genotyping and outcomes of presumptive second line ART failure cases switched to third line or maintained on second line ART in Mumbai, India.

Background: HIV programs are increasingly confronted with failing antiretroviral therapy (ART), including second-line regimens. WHO has provided guidelines on switching to third-line ART. In a Médecins Sans Frontières clinic in Mumbai, India, receiving referred presumptive second-line ART failure cases, an evidence-based protocol consisting of viral load (VL) testing, enhanced adherence counselling (EAC) and genotype for switching was implemented.

Seasonality of influenza and its association with meteorological parameters in two cities of Pakistan: A time series analysis.

Background: Influenza is known to have a specific pattern of seasonality the reasons for which are yet to be fully ascertained. Temperate zones show influenza epidemic during the winter months. The tropical and subtropical regions show more diverse influenza outbreak patterns.

Beyond 'cure' and 'treatment success': quality of life of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

Setting: Two drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) sites (MSF Clinic, Jupiter Hospital) in Mumbai, India.

Objective: To assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and associated factors among DR-TB patients and explore their perspectives about HRQoL.

Design: We used a mixed-methods design: a quantitative cross-sectional questionnaire (the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Brief Questionnaire [WHOQoL-BREF]); and qualitative in-depth interviews for purposively selected patients.

Early safety and efficacy of the combination of bedaquiline and delamanid for the treatment of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis in Armenia, India, and South Africa: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Bedaquiline and delamanid have been approved for treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis in the past 5 years. Because of theoretical safety concerns, patients have been unable to access the two drugs in combination. Médecins Sans Frontières has supported the use of combination bedaquiline and delamanid for people with few treatment options since 2016.

Surgical interventions for pulmonary tuberculosis in Mumbai, India: surgical outcomes and programmatic challenges.

While surgery for pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is considered an important adjunct for specific cases, including drug-resistant tuberculosis, operational evidence on its feasibility and effectiveness is limited. To describe surgical outcomes and programmatic challenges of providing surgery for PTB in Mumbai, India. A descriptive study of routinely collected data of surgical interventions for PTB from 2010 to 2014 in two Mumbai hospitals, one public, one private.

Linezolid-Associated Optic Neuropathy in Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients in Mumbai, India.

Background: Patients on linezolid-containing drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) regimen often develop adverse-events, particularly peripheral and optic neuropathy. Programmatic data and experiences of linezolid-associated optic neuropathy from high DR-TB burden settings are lacking. The study aimed to determine the frequency of and risk-factors associated with linezolid-associated optic neuropathy and document the experiences related to treatment/care of DR-TB patients on linezolid-containing regimens.