An Alarmingly High Proportion of HIV-1 Isolates Carrying Mutations Corresponding to Resistance to Antiretroviral Drugs among HIV-Positive High-Risk Groups in Central Vietnam: a Substudy of the National Sentinel Survey

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection prevalence in Pakistan has been increasing in high-risk groups, including people who inject drugs (PWID) and transgender hijra sex workers (TG-HSWs) nationwide. Effective control of HIV requires early diagnosis of the infection. We investigated recency of HIV infections in newly-diagnosed cases in PWID and TG-HSWs. This was an observational study with convenience sampling. Overall, 210 HIV-positive subjects comprising an equal number of PWID and TG-HSWs were included. Antibody avidity was tested using the Maxim HIV-1 Limiting Antigen Avidity (LAg) EIA (Maxim Biomedical, Inc. Rockville, Maryland, USA). The mean age of study subjects was 29.5 years: PWID, 28.5 years and TG-HSWs, 30.4 years. Study subjects were married, 27%, or unmarried. Eighteen percent of individuals had recently-acquired HIV infections: 19% of PWID and 17% of TG-HSWs. Eighty-two percent of individuals had long-term HIV infections: 81% of PWID and 83% of TG-HSWs. This is the first study identification of recent HIV-1 infections in Pakistan. We show that most newly-diagnosed HIV patients in the high-risk groups studied had long-term infections. There is an urgent need for intervention in these groups to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection to reduce transmission in Pakistan.

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Cytology in Anal Cancer Screening: Practical Review for Clinicians

Acta Cytologica ◽

10.1159/000502881 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 (4) ◽

pp. 281-287 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andreia Albuquerque

Keyword(s):

Cancer Screening ◽

High Risk ◽

Anal Cancer ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Solid Organ ◽

Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽

Incidence And Mortality ◽

Anal Cytology ◽

Anal Cancer Screening

The incidence and mortality of anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are expected to continue to increase in the next 20 years. High-risk groups for anal SCC, i.e., human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients, men who have sex with men (MSM), women with previous genital neoplasia, and solid-organ transplant recipients, have been identified. HIV-positive MSM have the highest risk, and some societies have advocated for anal cancer screening to be done in this population. Screening for anal SCC follows the same principles as that for cervical cancer since there are similarities between the two types of cancers. Anal cytology has been recommended as an initial screening method for high-risk groups, e.g., HIV-positive MSM. Normally, the cytology is liquid based and collected blindly by a clinician using a Dacron swab and it is especially used for internal lesions detection. The sensitivity to predict anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions is higher in immunosuppressed patients with a high burden of the disease. The report should include the classification, normally according to the Bethesda terminology and the sample adequacy, in a manner similar to that for cervical cytology. In cases involving unsatisfactory samples, it is important to repeat the procedure given the prevalence of anal squamous cytological abnormalities in follow-up cytology procedures. The absence of transformation zone cells in anal cytology seems to increase the risk of false-negative results.

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High Rate of Non-detectable HIV-1 RNA among Antiretroviral Drug Naive HIV Positive Individuals in Nigeria

Virology Research and Treatment ◽

10.4137/vrt.s12677 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. VRT.S12677 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Georgina N. Odaibo ◽

Isaac F. Adewole ◽

David O. Olaleye

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Undetectable Viral Load ◽

Antiretroviral Drugs ◽

High Rate ◽

Baseline Viral Load ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Detectable Viral Load ◽

Cell Counts ◽

Drug Naïve ◽

Hiv 1

Plasma HIV-1 RNA concentration, or viral load, is an indication of the magnitude of virus replication and largely correlates with disease progression in an infected person. It is a very useful guide for initiation of therapy and monitoring of response to antiretroviral drugs. Although the majority of patients who are not on antiretroviral therapy (ART) have a high viral load, a small proportion of ART naive patients are known to maintain low levels or even undetectable viral load levels. In this study, we determined the rate of undetectable HIV-1 RNA among ART naive HIV positive patients who presented for treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria from 2005 to 2011. Baseline viral load and CD4 lymphocyte cell counts of 14,662 HIV positive drug naive individuals were determined using the Roche Amplicor version 1.5 and Partec easy count kit, respectively. The detection limits of the viral load assay are 400 copies/mL and 750,000 copies/mL for lower and upper levels, respectively. A total of 1,399 of the 14,662 (9.5%) HIV-1 positive drug naive individuals had undetectable viral load during the study period. In addition, the rate of non-detectable viral load increased over the years. The mean CD4 counts among HIV-1 infected individuals with detectable viral load (266 cells/μL; range = 1 to 2,699 cells/μL) was lower than in patients with undetectable viral load (557 cells/μL; range = 1 to 3,102 cells/μL). About 10% of HIV-1 infected persons in our study population had undetectable viral load using the Roche Amplicor version 1.5.

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An evaluation of the performance of OraQuick® ADVANCE Rapid HIV-1/2 Test in a high-risk population attending genitourinary medicine clinics in East London, UK

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1258/ijsa.2008.008132 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 19 (10) ◽

pp. 665-667 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

J Zelin ◽

N Garrett ◽

J Saunders ◽

F Warburton ◽

J Anderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Test Performance ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Antibody Detection ◽

High Risk Population ◽

Antibody Testing ◽

Observer Error ◽

The Uk ◽

Hiv 1

To date, no data have been published on the use of OraQuick® ADVANCE Rapid HIV-1/2 Test (OraQuick) in the UK. We report preliminary findings of an ongoing evaluation of OraQuick in UK genitourinary (GU) medicine clinics. A total of 820 samples from patients in high-risk groups for HIV were tested with OraQuick and results were compared with standard HIV antibody testing. HIV prevalence (enzyme immunoassay [EIA]) was 5.73%, sensitivity of OraQuick was 93.64% (95% CI 82.46–98.66%), specificity 99.87% (99.28–100%), positive predictive value 97.78% (88.27–99.94%) and negative predictive value 99.61% (98.87–99.92%). This includes three false-negatives considered to be due to observer error and now rectified by further training. This has increased test sensitivity to 100%. Our observed test performance of OraQuick compares well with EIA and with other rapid tests. We believe that simple, non-invasive antibody detection tests such as OraQuick can increase HIV testing and diagnosis in UK GU medicine and community settings.

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Recommendations Favoring Anal Cytology as a Method for Anal Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers11121942 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 1942 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Andreia Albuquerque ◽

Elisabete Rios ◽

Fernando Schmitt

Keyword(s):

Cancer Screening ◽

High Risk ◽

Anal Cancer ◽

Risk Groups ◽

The United States ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Solid Organ ◽

Transplant Recipients ◽

Anal Cytology ◽

Anal Cancer Screening

Clinicians are increasingly facing the decision of performing anal cancer screening in high-risk groups. Anal cytology is commonly the first approach. We systematically reviewed recommendations favoring anal cytology for anal cancer screening. Three databases were searched: PubMed, Scopus, and Embase, from January 2007 to 12 September 2019. The references cited by the retrieved articles and the websites of relevant organizations were also searched without language restrictions. Studies reporting guidelines from regional or national societies, institutes, or groups were included. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria and were selected, five were from the United States of America (USA) and three from Europe. There were no national recommendations published. There was one guideline specifically for solid-organ transplant recipients. The other seven targeted HIV-positive patients, with HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) included as a screening group in all of these. Two recommendations favored screening in all HIV-positive patients. Five recommendations targeting HIV-positive patients made considerations about the cytology follow-up, recommending at least annual cytology in case of a normal result, and in case of squamous cytological abnormalities, a referral for anoscopy/high-resolution anoscopy. There were no recommendations for upper and lower age limits for screening. In conclusion, several societies recommend anal cancer screening using anal cytology in HIV-positive MSM patients. There is a lack of screening recommendations for other high-risk groups, with only one society recommending screening in transplant recipients.

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Prevalence of human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) type II infection among high-risk individuals: type-specific identification of HTLVs by polymerase chain reaction

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v74.5.1658.bloodjournal7451658 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 74 (5) ◽

pp. 1658-1664

Author(s):

GD Ehrlich ◽

JB Glaser ◽

K LaVigne ◽

D Quan ◽

D Mildvan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

T Cell ◽

High Risk ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Type Ii ◽

Cell Leukemia ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Human T Cell ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Hiv 1

The extent of human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type II (HTLV-II) infection and its rate of spread have been difficult to determine owing to the serological cross-reactivity between HTLV-I and HTLV-II. The present study overcame this problem by directly detecting type-specific proviral sequences by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and liquid hybridization. Screening was performed on a cohort of primarily white intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs), and individuals of other behaviorally defined risk groups from the New York City area. Eleven percent (19 of 169) of the individuals in these high-risk groups were determined by PCR to have HTLV-II proviral infections. One of these patients displayed an exfoliative erythrodermatitis. Thirteen of the 19 subjects were positive in an HTLV-II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The remaining six individuals, although negative in the HTLV- II ELISA, were confirmed as HTLV-II positive by analyzing their DNA with a second HTLV-II-specific primer detector system. Four additional individuals were reactive in the HTLV-II ELISA but were PCR-negative for HTLV-II. PCR analysis for HTLV-I revealed that all four were positive for that virus. Thirty-seven percent (seven of 19) of the HTLV- II PCR-positive subjects were also PCR-positive for HTLV-I, and 84% (16 of 19) of the HTLV-II positive individuals were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). Six individuals were triply infected with HTLV-I, HTLV-II, and HIV-1.

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Sero-Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) among High Risk Groups in Abuja, Nigeria

Open Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.4236/ojepi.2019.91009 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 09 (01) ◽

pp. 89-103

Author(s):

Shehu Busu Mohammed ◽

Yakubu Ya’aba ◽

Moses Chinenye Abarike ◽

John Baba

Keyword(s):

Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

High Risk ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Hiv 1

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Prevalence of human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) type II infection among high-risk individuals: type-specific identification of HTLVs by polymerase chain reaction

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v74.5.1658.1658 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 74 (5) ◽

pp. 1658-1664 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

GD Ehrlich ◽

JB Glaser ◽

K LaVigne ◽

D Quan ◽

D Mildvan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

T Cell ◽

High Risk ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Type Ii ◽

Cell Leukemia ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Human T Cell ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Hiv 1

Abstract The extent of human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type II (HTLV-II) infection and its rate of spread have been difficult to determine owing to the serological cross-reactivity between HTLV-I and HTLV-II. The present study overcame this problem by directly detecting type-specific proviral sequences by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and liquid hybridization. Screening was performed on a cohort of primarily white intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs), and individuals of other behaviorally defined risk groups from the New York City area. Eleven percent (19 of 169) of the individuals in these high-risk groups were determined by PCR to have HTLV-II proviral infections. One of these patients displayed an exfoliative erythrodermatitis. Thirteen of the 19 subjects were positive in an HTLV-II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The remaining six individuals, although negative in the HTLV- II ELISA, were confirmed as HTLV-II positive by analyzing their DNA with a second HTLV-II-specific primer detector system. Four additional individuals were reactive in the HTLV-II ELISA but were PCR-negative for HTLV-II. PCR analysis for HTLV-I revealed that all four were positive for that virus. Thirty-seven percent (seven of 19) of the HTLV- II PCR-positive subjects were also PCR-positive for HTLV-I, and 84% (16 of 19) of the HTLV-II positive individuals were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). Six individuals were triply infected with HTLV-I, HTLV-II, and HIV-1.

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