Background: The barriers to HIV testing and counselling that migrants encounter can jeopardize proactive HIV testing that relies on the fact that HIV testing must be linked to care. We analyse available evidence on HIV testing and counselling strategies targeting migrants and ethnic minorities in high-income countries. Methods: Systematic literature review of the five main databases of articles in English from Europe, North America and Australia between 2005 and 2009. Results: Of 1034 abstracts, 37 articles were selected. Migrants, mainly from HIV-endemic countries, are at risk of HIV infection and its consequences. The HIV prevalence among migrants is higher than the general population’s, and migrants have higher frequency of delayed HIV diagnosis. For migrants from countries with low HIV prevalence and for ethnic minorities, socio-economic vulnerability puts them at risk of acquiring HIV. Migrants have specific legal and administrative impediments to accessing HIV testing—in some countries, undocumented migrants are not entitled to health care—as well as cultural and linguistic barriers, racism and xenophobia. Migrants and ethnic minorities fear stigma from their communities, yet community acceptance is key for well-being. Conclusions: Migrants and ethnic minorities should be offered HIV testing, but the barriers highlighted in this review may deter programs from achieving the final goal, which is linking migrants and ethnic minorities to HIV clinical care under the public health perspective.

SummaryBackgroundAntiretroviral therapy (ART) is crucial for controlling HIV-1 infection through wide-scale treatment as prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Potent tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-containing regimens are increasingly used to treat and prevent HIV, although few data exist for frequency and risk factors of acquired drug resistance in regions hardest hit by the HIV pandemic. We aimed to do a global assessment of drug resistance after virological failure with first-line tenofovir-containing ART.MethodsThe TenoRes collaboration comprises adult HIV treatment cohorts and clinical trials of HIV drug resistance testing in Europe, Latin and North America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. We extracted and harmonised data for patients undergoing genotypic resistance testing after virological failure with a first-line regimen containing tenofovir plus a cytosine analogue (lamivudine or emtricitabine) plus a non-nucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI; efavirenz or nevirapine). We used an individual participant-level meta-analysis and multiple logistic regression to identify covariates associated with drug resistance. Our primary outcome was tenofovir resistance, defined as presence of K65R/N or K70E/G/Q mutations in the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene.FindingsWe included 1926 patients from 36 countries with treatment failure between 1998 and 2015. Prevalence of tenofovir resistance was highest in sub-Saharan Africa (370/654 [57%]). Pre-ART CD4 cell count was the covariate most strongly associated with the development of tenofovir resistance (odds ratio [OR] 1·50, 95% CI 1·27–1·77 for CD4 cell count <100 cells per μL). Use of lamivudine versus emtricitabine increased the risk of tenofovir resistance across regions (OR 1·48, 95% CI 1·20–1·82). Of 700 individuals with tenofovir resistance, 578 (83%) had cytosine analogue resistance (M184V/I mutation), 543 (78%) had major NNRTI resistance, and 457 (65%) had both. The mean plasma viral load at virological failure was similar in individuals with and without tenofovir resistance (145 700 copies per mL [SE 12 480] versus 133 900 copies per mL [SE 16 650; p=0·626]).InterpretationWe recorded drug resistance in a high proportion of patients after virological failure on a tenofovir-containing first-line regimen across low-income and middle-income regions. Effective surveillance for transmission of drug resistance is crucial.FundingThe Wellcome Trust.

BackgroundMigrant populations from countries with generalised HIV epidemics make up a significant proportion of all HIV/AIDS cases in many European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries, with heterosexual transmission the predominant mode of HIV acquisition. While most of these infections are diagnosed for the first time in Europe, acquisition is believed to have predominantly occurred in the home country. A proportion of HIV transmission is believed to be occurring post-migration, and many countries may underestimate the degree to which this is occurring. Our objectives were to review the literature estimating the proportion of migrants believed to have acquired their HIV post-migration and examine which EU member states are able to provide estimates of probable country of HIV acquisition through current surveillance systems.MethodsA systematic review was undertaken to gather evidence of sexual transmission of HIV within Europe among populations from countries with a generalised epidemic. In addition, national surveillance focal points from 30 EU/EEA Member States were asked to complete a questionnaire about surveillance methods and monitoring of the likely place of HIV acquisition among migrants.Results & discussionTwenty-seven papers from seven countries were included in the review and 24 countries responded to the survey. Estimates of HIV acquisition post-migration ranged from as low as 2 % among sub Saharan Africans in Switzerland, to 62 % among black Caribbean men who have sex with men (MSM) in the UK. Surveillance methods for monitoring post-migration acquisition varied across the region; a range of methods are used to estimate country or region of HIV acquisition, including behavioural and clinical markers. There is little published evidence addressing this issue, although Member States highlight the importance of migrant populations in their epidemics.ConclusionsThere is post-migration HIV acquisition among migrants in European countries but this is difficult to quantify accurately with current data. Migrant MSM appear at particular risk of HIV acquisition post-migration. Countries that identify migrants as an important part of their HIV epidemic should focus on using an objective method for assigning probable country of HIV acquisition. Robust methods to measure HIV incidence should be considered in order to inform national prevention programming and resource allocation.

Migrants represent two-fifths of the HIV cases reported and had higher late HIV presentation. HIV epidemic in migrant populations in European Union/European Economic Area member states is changing, probably reflecting the global changes in the HIV pandemic, the impact of large-scale ART implementation, and migration fluctuations secondary to the economic crisis in Europe.