Oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC) has been recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as part of a combination HIV prevention package to be offered to all people at substantial risk for HIV infection(1). Daily PrEP has been shown to be highly efficacious in reducing HIV incidence when adhered to correctly (2). In South Africa PrEP is available in the public sector through demonstration projects, clinical research
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention option, but cost-effectiveness is sensitive to implementation and program costs. Studies indicate that, in addition to direct delivery cost, PrEP provision requires substantial demand creation and client support to encourage PrEP initiation and persistence. We estimated the cost of providing PrEP in Zambia through different PrEP delivery models. Taking a guidelines-based approach for visits, labs and drugs, we estimated the annual
Background Assessment of data quality is essential to successful monitoring & evaluation of tuberculosis (TB) services. South Africa uses the Three Interlinked Electronic Register (TIER.Net) to monitor TB diagnoses and treatment outcomes. We assessed the quality of routine programmatic data as captured in TIER.Net. Methods We reviewed 277 records from routine data collected for adults who had started TB treatment for drug-sensitive (DS-) TB between 10/2018-12/2019 from 15
Background: Fixed-dose combination of dolutegravir (DTG) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and lamivudine (3TC) likely improves adherence and has a favorable resistance profile. We evaluated predicted efficacy of TLD (TDF-3TC-DTG) in children and adolescents failing abacavir (ABC), zidovudine (AZT), or TDF containing regimens. Methods: Drug resistance mutations were analyzed in a retrospective dataset of individuals <19 years of age, failing ABC (n = 293) AZT (n = 288) or TDF (n
The South African (SA) public antiretroviral (ART) program is one of the largest globally. Estimates however suggest that only 62% of the 7.5 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in SA are on ART, with a rising number being lost-to-care. Several cash-paying, uninsured patients, dissatisfied with service quality in the public-sector, may seek care in the private-sector where they are obliged to pay private-sector ARV prices, which can be a key barrier for access-to-medicines. ARV
South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV globally, with 4.7 million women ≥15 years old living with HIV as of 2018.1 The country is targeting but has not achieved elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission. The national estimate of early HIV transmission was 2.6% in 2012-2013.2 South Africa’s policy for providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) to pregnant women living with HIV (WLWH) has changed over time, following the World Health Organization’s (WHO)
DR-TB is a threat to global tuberculosis prevention, control and treatment programs. Treatment is complicated by adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to second-line TB drugs. An adverse event is any undesirable experience associated with the use of a medical product in a patient. There is a lack of data on the discordance between patient self-report and clinician records of ADRs during DR-TB treatment, which may impact treatment outcomes such as adherence or retention in
South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV globally, with 4.7 million women ≥15 years old living with HIV as of 2018.1 The country is targeting but has not achieved elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission. The national estimate of early HIV transmission was 2.6% in 2012-2013.2 South Africa’s policy for providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) to pregnant women living with HIV (WLWH) has changed over time, following the World Health Organization’s (WHO)
About 210,000 new HIV infections in South Africa in 20211 An HIV incidence of 6.90 per 1000 population among adults 15-491 Total new infections (globally) having declined by just 31% since 2010 far short of the 2016 UN General Assembly target of 75% for 20202 Key populations (KPs) and their sexual partners are accounting for a higher proportion of new infections 51% of new HIV infections in SSA occurred in KPs and their sexual partners As of 2021, UNAIDS key populations
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in the global health-system and its capacity to respond timeously to health-crisis South Africa was not an exception, with growing concerns over limited bed capacity in the hospitals to accommodate the rapidly rising case numbers at the start of the pandemic¹ To better prepare health-systems for future pandemics, cost projection models are required to inform budgets and efficient resource-allocation² A key aspect of cost
Pre-treatment death and loss-to-follow-up remained unaffected over the years (p>0.05); however, the proportion of untraceable patients was significantly lower after 2017 (<6%) compared to 10-15% in previous years. After 2017, there was a sustained increase in those successfully traced and referred for treatment (>75% of diagnosed), and those successfully linked to care. Compared to prior years, mean time from specimen collection to when the sub-district was notified significantly
HE²RO is excited to announce that we will be part of the Wits Research Day 2022. This year's theme is Research for Good and our HEROS will be presenting various research
