The effect of the Xpert HIV-1 Qual test on early infant diagnosis of HIV in Myanmar and Papua New Guinea: a pragmatic, cluster-randomised, stepped-wedge, open-label trial.

Background: Despite proven benefits for child health, coverage of early infant diagnosis of HIV remains suboptimal in many settings. We aimed to assess the effect of a point-of-care early infant diagnosis test on time-to-results communication for infants vertically exposed to HIV.

Methods: This pragmatic, cluster-randomised, stepped-wedge, open-label trial assessed the effect of the Xpert HIV-1 Qual early infant diagnosis test (Cepheid) on time-to-results communication, compared with standard care laboratory-based testing of dried blood spots using PCR.

Feasibility and acceptability of implementing early infant diagnosis of HIV in Papua New Guinea at the point of care: a qualitative exploration of health worker and key informant perspectives.

Introduction: Early infant diagnosis (EID) of HIV and timely initiation of antiretroviral therapy can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality among HIV-positive infants. Access to EID is limited in many low-income and middle-income settings, particularly those in which standard care involves dried blood spots (DBS) sent to centralised laboratories, such as in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We conducted a qualitative exploration of the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a point-of-care (POC) EID test (Xpert HIV-1 Qualitative assay) among health workers and key stakeholders working within the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme in PNG.

Changing Perception through a Participatory Approach by Involving Adolescent School Children in Evaluating Smart Food Dishes in School Feeding Programs - Real-Time Experience from Central and Northern Tanzania.

The study aimed to test the prospects for, and acceptance of, pigeonpea and finger millet-based dishes in a school feeding program for 2822 adolescents' in Central Tanzania. The focus was on incorporating nutritious and resilient crops like finger millet and pigeonpea through a participatory approach involving series of theoretical and practical training sessions, for the period of 6 months on the nutritional quality and sensory characteristics of these two unexplored foods in Tanzania. Sharing knowledge on the nutritional value of these crops and involving students in the acceptance study changed their negative perception of finger millet and pigeonpea by 79.

Performance of clinical screening algorithms comprising point-of-care HPV-DNA testing using self-collected vaginal specimens, and visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid, for the detection of underlying high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in Papua New Guinea.

The performance of different clinical screening algorithms comprising point-of-care HPV-DNA testing using self-collected vaginal ('V') specimens, and visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) was evaluated in Papua New Guinea. Women aged 30-59 years provided V specimens that were tested at point-of-care using the Xpert HPV Test (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA). A clinician-collected cervical ('C') specimen was then collected for point-of-care Xpert testing, and liquid-based cytology (LBC).

A diagnostic evaluation of a molecular assay used for testing and treating anorectal chlamydia and gonorrhoea infections at the point-of-care in Papua New Guinea.

Objectives: Papua New Guinea has among the highest prevalences of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) globally with no services able to accurately test for anorectal Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections. Here we prospectively evaluated the diagnostic performance of a molecular CT/NG assay used at the point-of-care (POC) with the aim of enhancing anorectal STI screening and same-day treatment.

Methods: Men who have sex with men, transgender women and female sex workers taking part in Papua New Guinea's first large-scale biobehavioural study were enrolled and asked to provide a self-collected anorectal swab for POC GeneXpert CT/NG testing.