Background: Malawi is making good progress scaling up antiretroviral therapy (ART), but we do not know the levels of access of high-risk, disadvantaged groups such as prisoners. The aim of this study was to measure access and treatment outcomes of prisoners on ART at the national level.
Methodology: A retrospective cohort study was conducted examining patient follow-up records from all 103 public sector ART clinics in Malawi, and observations were censored on December 31, 2006.
Results: By December 31, 2006, a total of 81,821 patients had been started on ART. Of these, 103 (0.13%) were prisoners. At ART initiation, 93% of prisoners were in World Health Organization (WHO) clinical stage 3 or 4 while 7% started in stage 1 or 2 with a CD4-lymphocyte count of
Conclusions: In spite of the rapid scale-up of ART, only a small number of HIV-positive prisoners had accessed ART by the end of 2006. Treatment outcomes were good. Initiatives are now needed to improve access to HIV testing and ART in Malawi's prisons.
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BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
January 2025
Department of Infectious Diseases, Ganzhou Fifth People's Hospital, Ganzhou, China.
Background: Antiretroviral drugs are essential for preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in HIV-infected pregnant women. However, ART treatment for HIV-infected pregnant women with multidrug resistance remains a major challenge. Effective and safe ART regimens for preventing MTCT should be tailored to this special population.
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January 2025
Ph.D. Program in Global Health & Health Security, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted disabilities among people living with HIV; however, data on the association between COVID-19 pandemic-related healthcare disruptions and disabilities among people living with HIV is limited. We aimed to evaluate the association between COVID-19-affected HIV care behaviors and disability domains among people living with HIV in Belize. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Western Regional Hospital and Southern Regional Hospital between August and October 2021 among people living with HIV in Belize aged ≥ 21 years and on antiretroviral therapy.
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January 2025
Department of Statistics, College of Natural and Computational Science, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
The human immunodeficiency virus systematically undermines the immune system, which serves as our body's inherent safeguard against diseases. Currently, it is the most serious threat to public health. Ethiopia is among the countries with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Glob Health
January 2025
School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Introduction: In Uganda, fisherfolk have an HIV prevalence between 15% and 40%, significantly higher than the national average of 5.5%. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective in preventing HIV but faces challenges in uptake and continuation among fisherfolk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Microbiol Infect
January 2025
Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Electronic address:
Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends antiretroviral therapy (ART) containing two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) as backbone. WHO recommends tenofovir disoproxil fumarate combined with lamivudine or emtricitabine as first line in pregnancy, and zidovudine, abacavir or tenofovir alafenamide, combined with lamivudine or emtricitabine, as alternatives.
Objectives: Evaluate risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnant women living with HIV (WLHIV) receiving different NRTIs.
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