Prevalence of advanced HIV at ART initiation decreasing

(HealthDay)—From 2004 to 2015 there were decreases in the prevalence of advanced disease at initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 10 high-burden countries, according to research published in the June 2 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Andrew F. Auld, M.B.Ch.B., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined trends in prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation in 10 high-burden countries during 2004 to 2015. Data were analyzed for 694,138 ART enrollees aged ≥15 years from 797 ART facilities.

The researchers found that the prevalence of advanced disease at ART initiation decreased from 75 to 34 percent in Haiti (2004 to 2015), from 73 to 37 percent in Mozambique (2004 to 2014), and from 80 to 41 percent in Namibia (2004 to 2012) (all P < 0.001). During 2004 to 2011 there were significant declines in the prevalence of advanced disease in Nigeria, Swaziland, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

"The encouraging declines in prevalence of advanced disease at ART enrollment are likely due to scale-up of testing and treatment services and ART-eligibility guidelines encouraging earlier ART initiation," the authors write. "However, in 2015, approximately a third of new ART patients still initiated ART with advanced HIV disease."

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