Maternal HIV viral load testing during pregnancy and postpartum care in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Background. Pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV (WLHIV) are a target population for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (eMTCT). However, there are limited data on maternal virological responses during pregnancy and the postpartum period in South Africa (SA).Objectives. To review compliance of viral load (VL) testing with national guidelines and suppression rates during pregnancy and up to 9  months postpartum among WLHIV delivering in four tertiary hospitals in Gauteng Province, SA.Methods. All women who had a point-of-care HIV VL test using Xpert HIV-1 VL (Cepheid, USA) at delivery in four tertiary obstetric units in Gauteng between June 2018 and February 2020 were included. HIV VL tests of eligible women performed up to 9 months before and after delivery were extracted from the National Health Laboratory Service’s Corporate Data Warehouse. Proportions of women delivering who had antenatal and postpartum VL tests performed and their suppression rates were determined and expressed as percentages.Results. Of 4 989 eligible WLHIV (median age 31.1 years), 917 (18.4%) had a VL performed during the antenatal period; of these, 335 (36.5%) had a VL ≥50 copies/mL and 165 (18.0%) a VL ≥1 000 copies/mL. At delivery, 1 911 women (38.3%) had a VL ≥50 copies/mL and 1 028 (20.6%) a VL ≥1 000 copies/mL. Among 627 women (12.6%) with a VL test postpartum, 234 (37.3%) had a VL ≥50 copies/mL and 93 (14.8%) a VL ≥1 000 copies/mL. Overall, having a VL test performed during the antenatal period was associated with viral suppression at delivery and receiving a VL test postpartum (p<0.001). Women with a VL ≥50 copies/mL at delivery were more likely to be younger and to remain virally unsuppressed postpartum (p<0.001) compared with women with a VL <50 copies/mL.Conclusions. Fewer than 5% of WLHIV with a VL at the time of delivery received VL monitoring during the antenatal and postpartum periods in accordance with national guidelines. More than 80% of WLHIV delivering had no evidence of VL monitoring during the antenatal period, and they were more likely than women who received monitoring during the antenatal period to be virally unsuppressed at delivery and to receive no VL monitoring postpartum. Women with a high VL at delivery were likely to remain virally unsuppressed postpartum. These results emphasise the need for closer monitoring of and rapid reaction to high maternal VLs during pregnancy, at delivery and postpartum for attainment of eMTCT

Eliminating Vertical Transmission of HIV in South Africa: Establishing a Baseline for the Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children

To gain a detailed overview of vertical transmission in South Africa, we describe insights from the triangulation of data sources used to monitor the national HIV program. HIV PCR results from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) were analysed from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) data warehouse to describe HIV testing coverage and positivity among children <2 years old from 2017–2021. NICD data were compared and triangulated with the District Health Information System (DHIS) and the Thembisa 4.6 model. For 2021, Thembisa estimates a third of children living with HIV go undiagnosed, with NICD and DHIS data indicating low HIV testing coverage at 6 months (49%) and 18 months (33%) of age, respectively. As immunisation coverage is reported at 84% and 66% at these time points, better integration of HIV testing services within the Expanded Programme for Immunization is likely to yield improved case findings. Thembisa projects a gradual decrease in vertical transmission to 450 cases per 100,000 live births by 2030. Unless major advances and strengthening of maternal and child health services, including HIV prevention, diagnosis, and care, can be achieved, the goal to end AIDS in children by 2030 in South Africa is unlikely to be realised

Leveraging the Road to Health booklet as a unique patient identifier to monitor the prevention of mothertochild transmission programme

Background. Currently there is no unique patient identification system in the South African public health sector. Therefore, routine laboratory data cannot effectively be de-duplicated, thereby hampering surveillance of laboratory-diagnosed diseases such as mother-to-child transmission of HIV.Objectives. To determine the uptake of Road to Health booklet (RTHB) identifiers at HIV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) birth test and describe their performance in linking follow-up test results in the early infant diagnosis programme.Methods. Between May 2016 and May 2017, Tshwane District Clinical Services implemented a unique patient identifier pilot project in which a sticker-page of unique, readable, barcoded patient identifiers was incorporated in the patient-retained immunisation record (the RTHB) before distribution. Uptake of RTHB identifiers at birth was calculated as the proportion of HIV PCR tests in infants aged <6 days registered with an RTHB identifier over the total number of registered HIV PCR tests. Descriptive analysis of demographic details was performed among infants with two registered HIV PCR tests linked by the RTHB identifier, and performance of the National Health Laboratory Service Corporate Data Warehouse (NHLS CDW)-linking algorithm in matching RTHB-linked results was calculated using a 2 × 2 table.Results. A total of 5 309 HIV PCR birth tests registered with an RTHB identifier were extracted from the NHLS CDW over the 13-month period of the pilot project. The number of registered RTHB identifiers increased from 24 (2% of birth PCR tests) in May 2016, peaking at 728 (56% of birth PCR tests) in May 2017. Among infants with a registered RTHB identifier at birth, 635 (12%) had a subsequent linked HIV PCR test, as indicated by the same RTHB number registered for a later specimen. Demographic details at the time of birth and subsequent PCR test were compared, demonstrating that <4% of infants had exact matches for name, surname, date of birth and sex; 74% of birth tests had variations such as ‘born to’ or ‘baby of ’ in place of a first name; surnames matched exactly in 61% of cases; 18% (n=116) of infants had both tests performed at the same facility, of which only 27% (n=31) had the same patient folder number on both test results.Conclusions. Leveraging RTHBs as unique patient identifiers, even if used temporarily until linkage to other future national unique identifiers, promises to be an effective scalable approach to laboratory-based surveillance, facilitating healthcare provider access to all test results from birth

Leveraging the Road to Health booklet as a unique patient identifier to monitor the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme

Background. Currently there is no unique patient identification system in the South African public health sector. Therefore, routine laboratory data cannot effectively be de-duplicated, thereby hampering surveillance of laboratory-diagnosed diseases such as mother-to-child transmission of HIV.Objectives. To determine the uptake of Road to Health booklet (RTHB) identifiers at HIV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) birth test and describe their performance in linking follow-up test results in the early infant diagnosis programme.Methods. Between May 2016 and May 2017, Tshwane District Clinical Services implemented a unique patient identifier pilot project in which a sticker-page of unique, readable, barcoded patient identifiers was incorporated in the patient-retained immunisation record (the RTHB) before distribution. Uptake of RTHB identifiers at birth was calculated as the proportion of HIV PCR tests in infants aged <6 days registered with an RTHB identifier over the total number of registered HIV PCR tests. Descriptive analysis of demographic details was performed among infants with two registered HIV PCR tests linked by the RTHB identifier, and performance of the National Health Laboratory Service Corporate Data Warehouse (NHLS CDW)-linking algorithm in matching RTHB-linked results was calculated using a 2 × 2 table.Results. A total of 5 309 HIV PCR birth tests registered with an RTHB identifier were extracted from the NHLS CDW over the 13-month period of the pilot project. The number of registered RTHB identifiers increased from 24 (2% of birth PCR tests) in May 2016, peaking at 728 (56% of birth PCR tests) in May 2017. Among infants with a registered RTHB identifier at birth, 635 (12%) had a subsequent linked HIV PCR test, as indicated by the same RTHB number registered for a later specimen. Demographic details at the time of birth and subsequent PCR test were compared, demonstrating that <4% of infants had exact matches for name, surname, date of birth and sex; 74% of birth tests had variations such as ‘born to’ or ‘baby of ’ in place of a first name; surnames matched exactly in 61% of cases; 18% (n=116) of infants had both tests performed at the same facility, of which only 27% (n=31) had the same patient folder number on both test results.Conclusions. Leveraging RTHBs as unique patient identifiers, even if used temporarily until linkage to other future national unique identifiers, promises to be an effective scalable approach to laboratory-based surveillance, facilitating healthcare provider access to all test results from birth

Leveraging the Road to Health booklet as a unique patient identifier to monitor the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme

BACKGROUND. Currently there is no unique patient identification system in the South African public health sector. Therefore, routine laboratory data cannot effectively be de-duplicated, thereby hampering surveillance of laboratory-diagnosed diseases such as mother-tochild transmission of HIV. OBJECTIVES. To determine the uptake of Road to Health booklet (RTHB) identifiers at HIV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) birth test and describe their performance in linking follow-up test results in the early infant diagnosis programme. METHODS. Between May 2016 and May 2017, Tshwane District Clinical Services implemented a unique patient identifier pilot project in which a sticker-page of unique, readable, barcoded patient identifiers was incorporated in the patient-retained immunisation record (the RTHB) before distribution. Uptake of RTHB identifiers at birth was calculated as the proportion of HIV PCR tests in infants aged <6 days registered with an RTHB identifier over the total number of registered HIV PCR tests. Descriptive analysis of demographic details was performed among infants with two registered HIV PCR tests linked by the RTHB identifier, and performance of the National Health Laboratory Service Corporate Data Warehouse (NHLS CDW)-linking algorithm in matching RTHB-linked results was calculated using a 2 × 2 table. RESULTS. A total of 5 309 HIV PCR birth tests registered with an RTHB identifier were extracted from the NHLS CDW over the 13-month period of the pilot project. The number of registered RTHB identifiers increased from 24 (2% of birth PCR tests) in May 2016, peaking at 728 (56% of birth PCR tests) in May 2017. Among infants with a registered RTHB identifier at birth, 635 (12%) had a subsequent linked HIV PCR test, as indicated by the same RTHB number registered for a later specimen. Demographic details at the time of birth and subsequent PCR test were compared, demonstrating that <4% of infants had exact matches for name, surname, date of birth and sex; 74% of birth tests had variations such as ‘born to’ or ‘baby of ’ in place of a first name; surnames matched exactly in 61% of cases; 18% (n=116) of infants had both tests performed at the same facility, of which only 27% (n=31) had the same patient folder number on both test results. CONCLUSIONS. Leveraging RTHBs as unique patient identifiers, even if used temporarily until linkage to other future national unique identifiers, promises to be an effective scalable approach to laboratory-based surveillance, facilitating healthcare provider access to all test results from birth.AHM acknowledges support from the Discovery Foundation (ref. no. 034203).http://www.samj.org.zaam2018Medical VirologyPaediatrics and Child Healt

Monitoring diagnosis, retention in care and viral load suppression in children testing HIV polymerase chain reaction-positive in two districts in South Africa

BACKGROUND: Retention in care is associated with improved virological control and survival among HIV-infected children. However, retention of children in HIV care remains a challenge. OBJECTIVES: To describe, using routine laboratory HIV test data, the retention-in-care and virological outcomes of HIV-infected children aged <18 months in two districts in South Africa. METHODS: HIV polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive results of children from uMkhanyakude and Tshwane districts in KwaZulu- Natal and Gauteng provinces, respectively, tested between April 2015 and May 2016, were extracted from the National Health Laboratory Service’s Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW). HIV-related tests (PCR, viral load (VL), CD4+) were documented longitudinally for each child for ≥13 months after the first positive PCR result by manually searching demographics within the CDW, supplemented by an automated patient-linking algorithm. Test sets were linked if two or more demographics (surname, name, date of birth, folder number) matched exactly. Programmatic indicators assessed included age at first positive PCR test, presumed confirmatory test rates, retention in care, and VL suppression at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: Ninety-four and 304 children tested HIV PCR-positive in uMkhanyakude and Tshwane, respectively. The median age at diagnosis was 3.6 months (interquartile range (IQR) 1.4 - 7.1) for uMkhanyakude and 2.3 months (IQR 0.1 - 6.7) for Tshwane. In uMkhanyakude, confirmed in utero infections accounted for 18.1% of transmissions (n=17), compared with 29.6% (n=90) in Tshwane. Presumed confirmatory test rates following an initial positive PCR result were 77.7% and 71.7% for uMkhanyakude and Tshwane, respectively. Within 6 months of starting antiretroviral therapy, 43 children (58.9%) were lost to follow-up in uMkhanyakude compared with 160 (73.4%) in Tshwane. Of those retained in care at 6 months with a VL measurement, 15 (60.0%) from uMkhanyakude had a VL <1 000 copies/mL, compared with 24 (48.0%) in Tshwane. For both districts, a third of all HIV PCR-positive children were retained in care at the end of followup, with 29 (30.9%) in uMkhanyakude and 99 (32.5%) in Tshwane. Of these, 12 (41.4%) had a VL <1 000 copies/mL in uMkhanyakude compared with 28 (28.3%) in Tshwane. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate the value of routine laboratory data in monitoring diagnosis, retention and VL suppression in HIV-infected children. This approach is scalable, can be reported near real-time, is relatively inexpensive to implement, and provides a tool for improving paediatric HIV services until clinical databases can assume this role.UNICEF and ELMA Foundation.http://www.samj.org.zapm2020Medical Virolog

Community care workers, poor referral networks and consumption of personal resources in rural South Africa

Although home-based care (HBC) programs are widely implemented throughout Africa, their success depends on the existence of an enabling environment, including a referral system and supply of essential commodities. The objective of this study was to explore the current state of client referral patterns and practices by community care workers (CCWs), in an evolving environment of one rural South African sub-district. Using a participant triangulation approach, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 CCWs, 32 HBC clients and 32 primary caregivers (PCGs). An open-ended interview guide was used for data collection. Participants were selected from comprehensive lists of CCWs and their clients, using a diversified criterion-based sampling method. Three independent researchers coded three sets of data – CCWs, Clients and PCGs, for referral patterns and practices of CCWs. Referrals from clinics and hospitals to HBC occurred infrequently, as only eight (25%) of the 32 clients interviewed were formally referred. Community care workers showed high levels of commitment and personal investment in supporting their clients to use the formal health care system. They went to the extent of using their own personal resources. Seven CCWs used their own money to ensure client access to clinics, and eight gave their own food to ensure treatment adherence. Community care workers are essential in linking clients to clinics and hospitals and to promote the appropriate use of medical services, although this effort frequently necessitated consumption of their own personal resources. Therefore, risk protection strategies are urgently needed so as to ensure sustainability of the current work performed by HBC organizations and the CCW volunteers.The South Africa Netherlands research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD) and AVERT, Averting HIV and AIDS (http://www.avert.org/).http://www.plosone.orgam201

Recommendations for the medical evaluation of children prior to adoption in South Africa

The current legislative framework in South Africa (SA) supports adoption as the preferred form of care for children with inadequate or no parental or family support. There are an estimated 3.8 million orphans in SA, with approximately 1.5 - 2 million children considered adoptable. As a means of improving services, newly drafted adoption guidelines from the National Department of Social Development will in future require both non-profit and private sector adoption agencies to obtain a medical report on a child prior to placement. However, no local guidelines specify what an appropriate medical examination entails or how it should be reported. For the purposes of proposing and developing such guidelines, an open forum was convened at the Institute of Pathology, University of Pretoria, in March 2013. These ‘Recommendations for the medical evaluation of children prior to adoption in South Africa’ emanate from this meeting