Background-Patient retention in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs remains a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined whether and why retention in ART care has changed with increasing access.

To identify points of dropout on the pathway from offering HIV testing to maintenance on antiretroviral therapy (ART), following the introduction of the Option B+ policy for pregnant women in Malawi (lifelong ART for HIV-positive mothers and 6 weeks nevirapine for the infants), a retrospective cohort study within a demographic surveillance system in northern Malawi. Women living in the demographic surveillance system who initiated antenatal care (ANC) between July 2011 (date of policy change) and January 2013, were eligible for inclusion. Women who consented were interviewed at home about their health facility attendance and care since pregnancy, including antenatal clinic (ANC) visits, delivery and postpartum care. Women's reports, patient-held health records and clinic health records were manually linked to ascertain service use. Among 395 women, 86% had tested for HIV before the pregnancy, 90% tested or re-tested at the ANC visit, and <1% had never tested. Among 53 mothers known to be HIV-positive before attending ANC, 15 (28%) were already on ART prior to pregnancy. Ten women tested HIV-positive for the first time during pregnancy. Of the 47 HIV-positive mothers not already on ART, 26/47 (55%) started treatment during pregnancy. All but five women who started ART were still on treatment at the time of study interview. HIV testing was almost universal and most women who initiated ART were retained in care. However, nearly half of eligible pregnant women not on ART at the start of ANC had not taken up the invitation to initiate (lifelong) ART by the time of delivery, leaving their infants potentially HIV-exposed.

Background Plasmodium falciparum malaria dominates throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but the prevalence of P. malariae, P. ovale spp., and P. vivax increasingly contribute to infection in countries which control malaria using P. falciparum-specific diagnostic and treatment strategies. Methods We performed qPCR on 2,987 dried blood spots from the 2015-2016 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey to identify the presence and distribution of non-falciparum infection. Bivariate models were used to determine species-specific associations with demographic and environmental risk factors. Results Non-falciparum infections had a broad spatial distribution. Weighted prevalence was 0.025 (SE: 0.004) for P. malariae, 0.097 (SE: 0.008) for P. ovale spp., and 0.001 (SE: 0.0005) for P. vivax. Most infections (85.6%) had low-density parasitemias ≤10 parasites/µL, and 66.7% of P. malariae, 34.6% of P. ovale spp., and 40.0% of P. vivax infections were co-infected with P. falciparum. Risk factors for P. malariae were like those known for P. falciparum, however, there were few risk factors recognized for P. ovale spp. and P. vivax, perhaps due to the potential for relapsing episodes. Conclusions The prevalence of any non-falciparum infection was 11.7%, with infections distributed across Malawi. Continued monitoring of Plasmodium spp. becomes critical as non-falciparum infections become important sources of ongoing transmission.

BackgroundHIV infection reduces the likelihood that individuals with pulmonary tuberculosis are smear positive and that they have cavitatory disease. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) may shift the pattern of disease to be more similar to that of HIV negative patients. This would aid diagnosis- which often depends on sputum smears – but would also increase infectiousness. We assessed the effect of HIV and ART on smear positivity and cavitatory disease in laboratory-confirmed pulmonary TB patients.MethodsThree sputum samples were collected per pulmonary TB suspect and were examined using microscopy and culture. Chest radiographs were available for a subset of patients as part of another study. The effect of HIV and ART status on sputum smear positivity and lung cavitation were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression.ResultsOf 1024 laboratory-confirmed pulmonary TB patients who were identified between January 2005 and December 2011, 766 had HIV and ART status available. Positive sputum smears were significantly more common among HIV negative individuals than HIV positive individuals (adjusted OR = 2.91, 95% CI 1.53 – 5.55). Compared to those HIV positive but not on ART, patients on ART were more likely to be smear positive (adjusted OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.01 – 5.39) if they had been on ART ≤ 6 months, but only slightly more likely to be smear positive (adjusted OR = 1.43, 95% CI 0.68 – 2.99) if they were on ART > 6 months. HIV negative patients were more likely than HIV positive patients to have cavitatory disease (adjusted OR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.20 – 3.23). Patients on ART > 6 months had a slight increase in cavitatory disease compared to HIV positive patients not on ART (adjusted OR = 1.68, CI 0.78 – 3.63).ConclusionsHIV infection is associated with less smear positivity and cavitation in pulmonary TB patients. Among HIV positive patients, the use of ART shifts the presentation of disease towards that seen in HIV-negative individuals, which facilitates diagnosis but which also could increase infectiousness.