UNLABELLED We evaluated the sensitivity for the anti-HIV antibody detection of the 8 rapid disposable tests (RDTs) EC approved in 2008. METHODS A panel of 100 native serum samples collected from HIV-1 subtype B or non-B, HIV-1 group O or HIV-2-infected patient and 3 commercial seroconversion panels were tested. 50 sera from HIV-negative patients were included to blind reading and RDT specific...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the rate of seroconversion to positivity for hepatitis C antibody in repeat blood donors in England and to describe the probable routes of infection in these donors. DESIGN Retrospective survey of blood donors becoming positive for hepatitis C antibody and of the results of donation testing. SETTING The 14 blood centres in England. SUBJECTS All repeat donors giving b...

BACKGROUND Children with cancer have an increased susceptibility to influenza infection. The objective of this study was to assess the immunogenicity of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine in children with cancer. METHODS Children were recruited from the Royal Marsden Hospital, England, during November 2009. The vaccination schedule consisted of 2 doses of an AS03(B)-adjuvanted vaccine given at days...

Needle exchange programs (NEPs) are designed to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission among injection drug users. Although most studies report beneficial effects in terms of behavior modification, a direct assessment of the effectiveness of NEPs in preventing HIV infection has been lacking. A cohort study was conducted to assess the association between risk behaviors and HIV s...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Durable post-treatment response is uncommon in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients on nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy. Response, response predictors and safety were assessed in patients who switched from long-term entecavir (ETV) to peginterferon alfa-2a. METHODS Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB patients who had received ETV for 9-36 months, with HBeAg <100 PEIU/ml a...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the effect of HIV infection on time off work. To provide baseline estimates for economic and actuarial models, and for evaluations of ART and other workplace interventions. METHODS A retrospective cohort study of gold miners with known dates of seroconversion to HIV, and an HIV-negative comparison group, used routinely collected data to estimate the proportion of time o...

INTRODUCTION Outbreaks of syphilis have been described among HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) in Western communities, whereas reports in Asian countries are limited. We aimed to characterize the incidence and temporal trends of syphilis among HIV-infected MSM compared with HIV-infected non-MSM in Asian countries. METHODS Patients enrolled in the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Databa...

Among 368 Thai men who have sex with men with paired serum samples collected before and during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, we determined influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 seroconversion rates (≥4-fold rise in antibody titers by hemagglutination inhibition or microneutralization assays). Overall, 66 of 232 (28%) participants seroconverted after the first year of A(H1N1)pdm09 activity, and 83 of 234 ...

The effect of genetic variation on the neutralizing antibody response to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is poorly understood. In this study, acute- and convalescent-phase sera were evaluated against different RSV strains. The proportion of individuals with homologous seroconversion was greater than that among individuals with heterologous seroconversion among those infected with RSV group A ...