Serologic Evidence of Lyssavirus Infection in Bats, Cambodia

In Cambodia, 1,303 bats of 16 species were tested for lyssavirus. No lyssavirus nucleocapsid was detected in 1,283 brains tested by immunofluorescence assay. Antibodies against lyssaviruses were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 144 (14.7%) of 981 serum samples. Thirty of 187 serum samples contained neutralizing antibodies against different lyssaviruses

High survival and treatment success sustained after two and three years of first-line ART for children in Cambodia

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Long-term outcomes of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children remain poorly documented in resource-limited settings. The objective of this study was to assess two-and three-year survival, CD4 evolution and virological response among children on ART in a programmatic setting in Cambodia. METHODS: Children treated with first-line ART for at least 24 months were assessed with viral load testing and genotyping. We used Kaplan-Meier analysis for survival and Cox regression to identify risk factors associated with treatment failure. RESULTS: Of 1168 registered HIV-positive children, 670 (57%) started ART between January 2003 and December 2007. Survival probability was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91-0.95) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.88-0.93) at 24 and 36 months after ART initiation, respectively. Median CD4 gain for children aged over five years was 704 cells/mm3 at 24 months and 737 at 36 months. Median CD4 percentage gain for children under five years old was 15.2% at 24 months and 15% at 36 months. One hundred and thirty children completed at least 24 months of ART, and 138 completed 36 months: 128 out of 268 (48%) were female. Median age at ART initiation was six years.Overall, 22 children had viral loads of >1000 copies/ml (success ratio = 86% on intention-to-treat-analysis) and 21 of 21 presented mutations conferring resistance mostly to lamivudine and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Risk factors for failure after 24 and 36 months were CD4 counts below the threshold for severe immunosupression at those months respectively. Only two out of 22 children with viral loads of >1000 copies/ml met the World Health Organization immunological criteria for failure (sensitivity = 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: Good survival, immunological restoration and viral suppression can be sustained after two to three years of ART among children in resource-constrained settings. Increased access to routine virological measurements is needed for timely diagnosis of treatment failure

High efficacy of lopinavir/r-based second-line antiretroviral treatment after 24 months of follow up at ESTHER/Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The number of patients on second-line highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens is increasing in resource-limited settings. We describe the outcomes after 24 months for patients on LPV/r-based second-line regimens followed up by the ESTHER programme in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seventy patients who initiated second-line HAART regimens more than 24 months earlier were included, and immuno-virological data analyzed. HIV RNA viral load was determined by real-time RT-PCR. HIV-1 drug resistance was interpreted according to the ANRS algorithm.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 70 patients, two were lost to follow up, three died and 65 (92.8%) remained on second-line treatment after 24 months of follow up (median duration of treatment: 27.4 months). At switch to second-line, the median CD4 T cell count was 106 cells/mm³and the median viral load was 4.7 Log₁₀. Second-line regimens prescribed were ddI/3TC/LPV_/r(65.7%), ddI/TDF/LPV_/r(10.0%), ddI/AZT/LPV_/r(8.6%) and TDF/3TC/LPV_/r(7.1%). The median CD4 T cell gain was +258 cells/mm³at 24 months (n = 63). After 24 months of follow up, 92.3% (60/65) of the patients presented undetectable viral loads, giving an overall treatment success rate of 85.7% (CI: 75.6- 92.0) in intent-to-treat analysis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data suggest that a LPV_/r-based second-line regimen is associated with a high rate of virological suppression and immune reconstitution after 24 months of follow up in Cambodia.</p

Short communication: three years follow-up of first-line antiretroviral therapy in cambodia: negative impact of prior antiretroviral treatment.

International audienceAbstract There are few long-term data on ART-experienced patients in resource-limited settings. We performed a cross-sectional study of HIV-infected patients included in the ESTHER program in Calmette hospital, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, after 36 ± 3 months of cART. Therapeutic, clinical, and immunovirological outcomes were compared between patients who stated they were ART-naive (naive group), dual nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (two-NRTI group), or fixed-dose combination of stavudine/lamivudine/nevirapine experienced (three-drug group) at entry to the program. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the factors associated with virological failure (PCR HIV > 250 copies/ml). Among the 256 patients included in the analysis, 148 (58%) were ART naive while 50 (20%) had previously received two NRTIs and 58 (22%) three drugs. At entry to the program, all the patients received two NRTIs and one nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). At evaluation, 46 patients (18%) were switched to a protease inhibitor-based regimen (9%, 32%, and 29% of the naive, two-NRTI, and three-drug groups; p < 0.0001). The median CD4 cell count increase was 180/μl overall (IQR: 96-276) and was higher in ART-naive than ART-experienced patients. In the intent-to-treat analysis, virological success was achieved in 83.5%, 67%, and 69% of the naive, two-NRTI, and three-drug groups, respectively (p = 0.002). Factors associated with virological failure were suboptimal previous ART exposure and WHO immunological failure criteria. The long-term efficacy of first-line cART is maintained in Cambodia. In ART-experienced patients, viral load monitoring needs to be available to establish early virological failure and preserve the potency of second line regimens