There are too many new HIV infections globally with 1.8 million persons infected in 2016 alone. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) holds potential to decrease new infections and is synergistic with efforts currently in place to achieve an end to the AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan African, but uptake is limited. Given its novelty, assessing the beliefs and attitudes of healthcare professionals and members of the community towards HIV transmission and PrEP will be helpful to inform implementation efforts. Study was a random survey of 201 community members and 51 healthcare providers, carried out at multiple community sites in Huye district, Southern Province, Rwanda and at Kigali University Teaching Hospital (KUTH). The study findings are that there are still misconceptions about HIV in the community with some respondents believing that HIV is due to punishment from God (5.4%), poverty (3.0%), smoking cigarettes (1.0%), drinking alcohol (2.0%), punishment from ancestors (1.0%) and witchcraft (1.5%), and that its transmission is by mosquito bites (10.9%), sharing food or drinks with a HIV infected person (6.5%) or as a result of carelessness (47.8%). More than 50% of respondents from both groups had insufficient knowledge regarding PrEP, but expressed some interest in PrEP (82.6% of the respondents from the community and 86.5% of the health workers). However, some healthcare workers felt that promotion of safe sex practices (74.5%), HIV testing and treating HIV infected patients (60.8%) would work better than PrEP to decrease new HIV infections. Barriers to PrEP implementation included perceived stigma, delayed access to prevention services at the health facilities while personal-level concerns included lack of family support, reluctance to take a medication daily and fear of being perceived as having HIV. This study showed that health care workers and community members are willing to utilize PrEP in Rwanda, but many challenges exist including limited knowledge about PrEP, stigma, provider and system level service delivery barriers at health facilities among others. More studies are needed to assess ways of addressing and /or eliminating these barriers.

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Introduction: Cryptoccocus neoformans is an encapsulated fungal pathogen which is contracted through inhalation of the infectious organisms which cause primarily pulmonary disease. The infection remains latent until the host becomes immunocompromised. The disease may disseminate to different sites; however most patients essentially present with brain and lung disease (meningitis and pneumonia, respectively). Cryptococcal lymphadenitis is therefore an uncommon occurrence of this infection. Objective: We describe the clinico-pathological features of an 18-year-old male with vertically transmitted HIV/AIDS infection who presented to our hospital with features of disseminated cryptococcal infection and notable lymph node involvement. Case Presentation: An 18-year-old secondary school adolescent boy presented to our hospital with a 3-week history of fever, headache, body weakness and marked loss of body weight. He had been recently diagnosed with HIV infection and initiated on antiretroviral therapy (ART). On examination, he was weak, dehydrated and had multiple enlarged lymph nodes and facial skin papules. Notably, laboratory investigations revealed positive India ink test on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) microscopy examination and culture, positive PAS stain for yeasts on lymph node histopathology and markedly prominent chest lymph nodes on the chest X-ray. A diagnosis of disseminated Cryptococcosis with lymph node involvement was made. He improved on Amphotericin B and oral fluconazole and a repeat CSF culture two weeks later was negative for Cryptococcus neoformans. Conclusion: Cryptococcal lymphadenitis is a rare manifestation of Cryptococcal disease.