Brief Report: Active HIV Case Finding in the City of Kigali, Rwanda: Assessment of Voluntary Assisted Partner Notification Modalities to Detect Undiagnosed HIV Infections
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Voluntary assisted partner notification (VAPN) services that use contract, provider, or dual referral modalities may be efficient to identify individuals with undiagnosed HIV infection. We aimed to assess the relative effectiveness of VAPN modalities in identifying undiagnosed HIV infections. SETTING: VAPN was piloted in 23 health facilities in Kigali, Rwanda. METHODS: We identified individuals with a new HIV diagnosis before antiretroviral therapy initiation or individuals on antiretroviral therapy (index cases), who reported having had sexual partners with unknown HIV status, to assess the association between referral modalities and the odds of identifying HIV-positive partners using a Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression model. We adjusted our model for important factors identified through a Bayesian variable selection. RESULTS: Between October 2018 and December 2019, 6336 index cases were recruited, leading to the testing of 7690 partners. HIV positivity rate was 7.1% (546/7690). We found no association between the different referral modalities and the odds of identifying HIV-positive partners. Notified partners of male individuals (adjusted odds ratio 1.84; 95% credible interval: 1.50 to 2.28) and index cases with a new HIV diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio 1.82; 95% credible interval: 1.45 to 2.30) were more likely to be infected with HIV. CONCLUSION: All 3 VAPN modalities were comparable in identifying partners with HIV. Male individuals and newly diagnosed index cases were more likely to have partners with HIV. HIV-positive yield from index testing was higher than the national average and should be scaled up to reach the first UNAIDS-95 target by 2030.
Authors: Eric Remera, Sabin Nsanzimana, Frédérique Chammartin, Muhammed Semakula, Gallican N. Rwibasira, Samuel S. Malamba, David J. Riedel, Elysee Tuyishime, Jeanine U. Condo, Patrick Ndimubanzi, Beata Sangwayire, Jamie I. Forrest, Sara L. Cantoreggi, Edward J. Mills, Heiner C. Bucher
Institutions: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, University Hospital of Basel, Rwanda Biomedical Center, Hasselt University, Uganda Virus Research Institute, University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Rwanda, Tulane University, Ministry of Health, University of British Columbia, McMaster University
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Rwanda Biomedical Centre
OpenAlex ID: W4200324438