scholarly journals Rapid Tests versus ELISA for Screening of HIV Infection: Our Experience from a Voluntary Counselling and Testing Facility of a Tertiary Care Centre in North India

ISRN AIDS ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhanu Mehra ◽  
Sonali Bhattar ◽  
Preena Bhalla ◽  
Deepti Rawat
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
North India ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
Voluntary Counselling ◽  
Serial Testing ◽  
Testing Facility ◽  
Hiv Prevention Strategies ◽  
Voluntary Counselling And Testing

Early and accurate diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is essential for timely identification of patients needing antiretroviral therapy and for instituting HIV prevention strategies. The primary methodology for HIV testing has shifted from enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in recent years, especially in resource limited settings. However, the diagnostic performance of RDTs is a matter of concern. In the present study the performance of an RDT being used as the initial test in serial testing based algorithm for HIV diagnosis was compared with ELISA. Seven hundred and eighty-seven sera, tested at the voluntary counselling and testing facility employing a serial testing algorithm (based on SD Bioline HIV-1/2 3.0 as the first test), were subsequently tested with Microlisa-HIV for anti-HIV antibodies. The first test missed 9 HIV reactive samples and also registered 5 false positives. The sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values of the first test were 77.5%, 99.3%, and 98.8% and 86.1%, respectively, taking ELISA as the standard test. Our study highlights that RDTs fare poorly compared to ELISA as screening assays and that reactive results by RDTs need to be confirmed by western blot for a positive serodiagnosis of HIV infection.

Increasing Seroprevalence of Hepatitis C Virus among Blood Donors - A 3 Year Study in North India

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (07) ◽  
pp. 379-383
Author(s):  
Jagjeewan Ram ◽  
Namrata Nigam ◽  
Aparna Singh ◽  
Lubna Khan
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis C Virus ◽  
Hepatitis C ◽  
Blood Transfusion ◽  
Blood Donors ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
North India ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Hepatitis C Infection ◽  
Case Volume

BACKGROUND The primary aspect of blood transfusion lies in the availability of blood and blood components which are tested and reported negative for transfusion transmitted infections (TTI’s). The increased seroprevalence of TTI’s indicate their prevalence in general public. The study was conducted to analyse the increasing seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) over a period of 3 years. The objectives of the study determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among the voluntary blood donors at a tertiary care hospital & associated blood bank. METHODS This cross-sectional study was done at the Department of Transfusion Medicine, GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, over a period of 3 years from July 2017 to June 2020. The samples collected were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests. RESULTS A total of 69561 blood units were collected during this 3-year study from July 2017 to June 2020. Of all the blood bags screened, the highest prevalence was seen for HBV followed by HCV and HIV. 949 (1.4 %) were reactive for HBV, 75 (0.1 %) were reactive for HIV and 332 (0.5 %) were reactive for HCV. The results show a remarkable increase in the seropositivity for hepatitis C infection. CONCLUSIONS The seroprevalence of HCV has seen an increase in case load over the years as compared to HBV and HIV. This increase in case volume is indicative of impending liver diseases progressing to chronic stage over the years. Thus, it is imperative to create awareness in the general population to help reduce the risk factors responsible for HCV infection. KEYWORDS Blood Transfusion, Voluntary Donors, HCV, HBV, HIV, Seroprevalence, Transfusion Transmitted Infections (TTI’s)

scholarly journals Knowledge, attitudes and practices of male circumcision for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention among voluntary counselling and testing clients in a centre in northern Namibia

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terthu K Ngodji ◽  
Jessica Rebert ◽  
Ehimario U Igumbor ◽  
Vistolina Nuuyoma
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Male Circumcision ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Voluntary Counselling ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Health Related ◽  
High Level ◽  
Voluntary Counselling And Testing ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Background: There is compelling evidence that male circumcision (MC) is associated with reduced risk of contracting HIV. For this reason, MC is recommended for countries like Namibia where HIV prevalence is high and MC rates are low. Following this recommendation, a national MC campaign was considered to introduce MC as an additional HIV prevention strategy with the intention of rolling it out in communities where MC is not traditionally practised and where heterosexually transmitted HIV infection rates are high. Little is known about the acceptability of MC in traditionally non-circumcising communities in Northern Namibia.Objective: This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices of MC among men presenting for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) in a traditionally non-circumcising ethnic group in the northern Namibia.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 331 Oshiwambo-speaking males aged 18 years and older, presenting for VCT services. Data was analysed using Epi-Info 2008, Version 3.5.1.Results: The self-reported prevalence of MC in the study sample was 15.4%, with 38% of those reporting being circumcised during their childhood (1-13 years) and 44% being circumcised for health-related reasons. Most respondents (n = 241, 74.4%) had heard that MC reduces the men’s risk of HIV infection. Up to 53.1% of the respondents had good knowledge regarding MC; moreover, the majority of the respondents (n = 194, 66.6%) reported that it is easier for uncircumcised men to acquire HIV infection. It was found that men aged 25 to 34 years were more willing to be circumcised than the other age groups.Conclusions: A high level of knowledge of MC was revealed. Accordingly, the idea of MC is likely to be accepted, especially if it is implemented to reduce the risk of HIV infection.

scholarly journals Awareness and willingness towards pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV infection among individuals seeking voluntary counselling and testing for HIV in Taiwan: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e015142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Chieh Lee ◽  
Sui-Yuan Chang ◽  
Kuan-Yin Lin ◽  
Lan-Hsin Chang ◽  
Wen-Chun Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Casual Sex ◽  
Male Gender ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Voluntary Counselling ◽  
Risky Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis ◽  
Voluntary Counselling And Testing

ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate the awareness and willingness towards pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among individuals seeking voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV in Taiwan, where PrEP is currently not reimbursed by the insurance.MethodsBetween April and October 2016, a questionnaire interview was conducted among VCT clients to inquire about the attitudes towards PrEP against HIV infection. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associated factors with willingness to initiate PrEP.ResultsDuring the 6-month period, 1173 VCT clients (99.8%) completed the interviews, with 67.4% being homosexual or bisexual male. While 67.2% of the clients knew of postexposure prophylaxis, 40.2% heard of PrEP. Overall, 546 clients (46.5%) were willing to initiate PrEP and 89.5% of them would choose event-driven PrEP. In multivariate analysis, male gender (OR 1.796; 95% CI 1.165 to 2.768), full-time job (OR 1.354; 95% CI 1.052 to 1.742), one-night stand (OR 1.374; 95% CI 1.043 to 1.810), having casual sex partners within 3 months (OR 1.329; 95% CI 1.031 to 1.714), condomless anal sex (OR 1.405; 95% CI 1.122 to 1.878) and ever having chemsex or attending a drug party in the past 1 year (OR 2.571; 95% CI 1.541 to 4.287), regular screening for HIV infection (OR 1.321; 95% CI 1.021 to 1.711) and knowledge of PrEP (OR 1.504; 95% CI, 1.159 to 1.953) were associated with willingness to initiate PrEP.ConclusionsUnderstanding the willingness to initiate PrEP against HIV among the VCT clients in Taiwan, which was associated with male gender, risky sexual behaviours and awareness of PrEP, will help inform the implementation of PrEP programme.

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