This is an opinion piece based on data and experience from Rwanda. The authors believe this opinion piece may help improve current programs on prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child in Africa taking into account the prevalence of HIV sero-discordance in couples. The authors recommend that if we want to ensure newborns stay HIV negative, PMTCT protocols should offer a series of HIV ...

Substance use of disorders--including alcohol, cocaine, and opiod dependencies--are common in HIV-infected patients. Untreated substance use disorders result in poor HIV disease treatment outcomes; however, several new treatment strategies have emerged in recent years. Combined medication and counseling therapies are effective for alcohol and opioid dependencies, and counseling treatments are e...

BACKGROUND Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) is a major public health challenge in Zimbabwe. METHODS Using trained peer counselors, a nevirapine (NVP)-based PMTCT program was implemented as part of routine care in urban antenatal clinics. RESULTS Between October 2002 and December 2004, a total of 19,279 women presented for antenatal care. Of these, 18,817 (98%) under...

I t has been almost 20 years since the first report about a disease that we now call AIDS (acquired immu-nodeficiency syndrome) was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Shortly thereafter, se-rological testing to detect evidence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was developed, and guidelines were published for HIV counseling and testing. Today, the majority...

BACKGROUND HIV testing is a key component of prevention and an entry point into HIV/AIDS treatment and care however, coverage and access to testing remains low in Uganda. Home-Based HIV Counseling and Testing (HBHCT) has potential to increase access and early identification of unknown HIV/AIDS disease. This study investigated the level of acceptance of Home-Based HIV Counseling and Testing (HBH...

INTRODUCTION In spite of a high prevalence of HIV infection among adolescents and young adults in sub-Saharan Africa, uptake of HIV testing and counseling among youth in the region remains sub-optimal. The objective of this study was to assess factors that influence uptake of HIV testing and counseling among youth aged 15-24 years in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS This study used the Demographic...

HIV testing plays a critical role in preventing the spread of the virus and identifying infected individuals in need of care. Voluntary counseling and testing centers (VCTs) not only conduct testing but they also provide counseling. Since a proportion of people who test negative for HIV on their previous visit will return for retesting, the frequency of retesting and the characteristics of thos...

This paper reviews the essence of effective governance and importance of a multi-sectoral approach in generating health systems response to HIV/AIDS. This comprehensive approach highlights the importance of integrating reproductive sexual health programs and HIV prevention services, including peer education, life skills, and Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT), for Prevention of Mother–to-Ch...

Prevention is better than the cure, more so for incurable infectious diseases. The awareness, screening of infectives and counseling can help in devising suitable preventive policies for controlling the incurable infectious diseases. This paper proposes a nonlinear mathematical model to study the effect of awareness, screening of infectives and counseling on the spread of HIV infection in the e...

BACKGROUND Early HIV diagnosis, linkage and engagement into care are vital to improved personal health outcomes. The initiation of antiretroviral therapy, with retention in care and drug adherence leads to viral load suppression, a significant decrease in HIV transmission rates and ultimately a reduction in HIV incidence rates. In the U.S only 51% of those diagnosed with HIV infection are retai...