In 2007, a human Q fever epidemic started, mainly in the south eastern part of The Netherlands with a suspected indirect relation to dairy goats, and, to a lesser degree, to dairy sheep. This article describes the Q fever prevalences in Dutch dairy goat and dairy sheep bulk tank milk ...

Brewelskloof Hospital, Western Cape, South Africa. To verify the perceived increase in rifampicin monoresistant tuberculosis (RMR-TB) in the Cape Winelands-Overberg region and to identify potential risk factors. A retrospective descriptive study of trends in RMR-TB over a 5-year period (2004-2008), followed by a case-control study of RMR and isoniazid (INH) ...

Objective To quantify the prevalence and burden of HIV type 2 (HIV-2) and HIV-1 RNA in the oral cavity of antiretroviral therapy-naive HIV-infected Senegalese individuals and to identify correlates of oral HIV viral loads. Design A cross-sectional study of 163 HIV-1 and 27 HIV-2-infected antiretroviral therapy-naive Senegalese adults. Methods Participants ...

PURPOSEStatins have potential protective effects against cancers, but no studies have focused on patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the use of statins in HBV-infected patients and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODSWe conducted ...

Over the last decade, use of liver grafts from hepatitis C (HCV) antibody positive donors [HCV(+)D] has tripled in the U.S. Although prior studies demonstrated no association between HCV(+)D status and graft loss, the effects of HCV(+)D on histologic outcomes are not well known. HCV-infected recipients at 5 U.S. centers ...

BACKGROUND: Long-term retention of patients in care is emerging as an important factor for the mortality among persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. OBJECTIVES: The study was to determine the impact of the case management with retention in care on mortality among HIV infected patients. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: A ...

BACKGROUND: Malaysia has been experiencing significant drug abuse problems since the 1970s, and drug abuse is the major driver of HIV transmission in Malaysia. We investigated risk factors for HIV associated with use of amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) among not-in-treatment opiate injectors in Malaysia. METHODS: Between October of 2006 and ...

This study aims to assess trends in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence in South Africa, and to assess the extent to which prevention and treatment programmes have reduced HIV incidence. Two models of the South African HIV epidemic, the STI (sexually transmitted infection)-HIV Interaction model and the ASSA2003 AIDS and ...

BACKGROUND: Monitoring immunologic and virologic response to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected patients is an important component of treatment in the United States. However, little population-based information is available on whether HIV-infected persons receive the recommended tests or continuous care. METHODS: Using data from 13 areas reporting relevant HIV-related tests to ...

Please cite this paper as: van den Akker T, Bemelmans M, Ford N, Jemu M, Diggle E, Scheffer S, Zulu I, Akesson A, Shea J. HIV care need not hamper maternity care: a descriptive analysis of integration of services in rural Malawi. BJOG 2012; DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.03229.x. Objective  To evaluate the ...

Aims:  To examine trends in prescription opioid (PO) injection and to assess its association with hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroconversion among injection drug users (IDUs). Design:  Prospective cohort study. Setting:  Montreal, Canada. Participants:  HCV-negative IDUs at baseline, reporting injection in the past month. Measurements:  Semi-annual visits included HCV antibody testing ...

We conducted a case-control study to assess testosterone use as a primary risk factor for polycythemia in 21 HIV-infected men. Any testosterone use within 2 months of first elevated hemoglobin was associated with polycythemia (matched odds ratio 6.55; 95% confidence interval 1.83-23.4; P = 0.004) and intramuscular administration demonstrated a stronger association ...

Background. Little is known about the associations between CD4(+) cell counts, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load, and human papillomavirus "low-risk" types in noncancerous clinical outcomes. This study examined whether CD4(+) count and HIV load predict the size of the largest anal warts in 976 HIV-infected women in an ongoing cohort.Methods. A linear ...

Aim:  To investigate whether hepatic impairment affects linagliptin pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and tolerability. Methods:  This open-label, parallel-group, single-centre study enrolled patients with mild (n= 8), moderate (n= 9) or severe (n= 8) hepatic impairment and healthy subjects (n= 8). Groups were matched with regard to age, weight, and sex. Primary endpoints ...

Background: We analyzed serum 25(OH) cholecaciferol [25(OH)D] levels and factors related to deficiency (<20 ng/mL) or insufficiency (<30 ng/mL) in a cohort of Spanish HIV-infected patients and compared them with an age- and latitude-matched population from another study. Methods: We prospectively assessed 25(OH)D deficiency/insufficiency in a cohort of 352 HIV-patients ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. This study aimed to clarify whether the high HBV DNA level is associated with HCC development by comparing HBV DNA levels between HBV infected patients with and without HCC. RESULTS: There were 78 ...

This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of WHO clinical staging system in HIV-infected children and adolescents in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. WHO clinical stages were evaluated for risk of disease progression in 335 patients admitted from 1989 to 2003. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, age, clinical stage, CD4% <15% and viral ...

BACKGROUND: Despite the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) remains one of the main causes of death in HIV-infected patients, with a wide variation on the outcome. OBJECTIVES: We investigated immunological status and EBV, HHV8, HIV viral load in a group of HIV-infected patients at diagnosis of ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: HIV voluntary counselling and testing was a key HIV prevention strategy brought to scale by India's National AIDS Control Organization. Condom uptake is an essential metric of intervention impact given the expansion of the epidemic into an increasingly diverse population. With only 20% of first-time counselling and testing ...

OBJECTIVES: Metabolic complications related to antiretroviral therapy are rarely investigated among HIV-infected patients in Asian countries. We investigated the prevalence of and factors associated with metabolic syndrome among HIV-infected patients who are ethnic Chinese in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was performed to ...

BACKGROUND: The roles remain unclear of early on-treatment quantitative serum HBsAg and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels in the prediction of a sustained response (SR) to peginterferon alfa-2a therapy in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients infected with genotype B or C. AIMS: To determine their roles in HBeAg-negative ...

OBJECTIVE: To identify and describe populations at risk for HIV in three clinical research centers (CRCs) in Kenya and South Africa. Design: Prospective cohort study METHODS: Volunteers reporting recent sexual activity, multiple partners, transactional sex, sex with an HIV-positive partner, or, if male, sex with men (MSM; in Kenya only) ...

Despite availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-infected drug users, particularly crack cocaine users, continue to have high HIV-related morbidity and mortality. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data for hospitalized HIV-infected crack cocaine users recruited for Project HOPE (Hospital Visit is an Opportunity for Prevention and Engagement with ...

Introduction.  The majority of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are acquired through unprotected sex between partners; only male or female condoms can reduce the chances of infection with HIV during a sexual act. Aim.  This study was therefore designed to describe sexual risk history and identify factors associated with condom ...

OBJECTIVE: To identify the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related risk behaviors associated with HIV testing among US high school students who reported ever having sexual intercourse. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study. SETTING: The 2009 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 7591 US high school students who ...

Data on the effects of the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients co-infected with these viruses and HIV in West Africa are conflicting and little information is available in Ghana. A cohort of 138 treatment naïve individuals infected with HIV was screened for ...

Objective. We estimated the prevalence and identified the resistance pattern of HBV genotypes H and G in HBV monoinfected and HIV co-infected patients. Material and methods. A cross-sectional prevalence and analytic study were performed in chronic hepatitis B patients at the Hospital de Infectología, La Raza National Medical Center in ...

: We conducted a study among HIV-positive men and women in Honduras to describe demographics, HIV risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infection prevalence, and identify correlates of unsafe sex. : Participants were recruited from HIV clinics and nongovernmental organizations in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, Honduras in a cross-sectional study ...

BACKGROUND:: In the Netherlands, no guidelines exist for routine sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected men having sex with men (MSM). We assessed prevalence and factors associated with asymptomatic STI. METHODS:: MSM visiting HIV outpatient clinics of academic hospitals were tested for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria ...

BACKGROUND: Good adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical for successful HIV treatment. However, some patients remain virologically suppressed despite suboptimal adherence. We hypothesized that this could result from host genetic factors influencing drug levels. METHODS: Eligible individuals were Caucasians treated with efavirenz (EFV) and/or boosted lopinavir (LPV/r) with self-reported ...

The aim of this study was to analyse associations between educational level and delayed HIV diagnosis (DD), late initiation of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), overall and in subjects with timely HIV diagnosis, virological and immunological responses to cART, and mortality from HIV diagnosis and cART initiation. This was a multicentre ...

Objectives To investigate the impact of early sexual debut on HIV seroprevalence and incidence rates among a cohort of women. Design Prospective study. Setting KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Participants A total of 3492 sexually active women who consented to screen a HIV prevention trial during September 2002 to September 2005; a ...

Objectives To develop and validate a scoring tool based on demographic and injecting risk behaviours to identify those who require additional, non-routine serological screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) by assessing their personal risk. Design Cross-sectional and prospective cohorts. Setting People who inject drugs (PWID) and attended Needle and Syringe ...

To study the frequencies of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and their associations with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in immigrant Somalis seen at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. We determined the frequencies of HBV and HCV infection and HCC in immigrant Somalis seen at Mayo ...

Rural persons with HIV face barriers to care that may influence adoption of advances in therapy. We performed a retrospective cohort study to determine rural-urban variation in adoption of raltegravir-the first HIV integrase inhibitor-in national Veterans Afffairs (VA) healthcare. There were 1,222 veterans with clinical indication for raltegravir therapy at ...

BACKGROUND:: The efficacy of male circumcision (MC) for HIV prevention over two years has been demonstrated in three randomized trials, but the longer-term effectiveness of MC is unknown. METHODS:: We conducted a randomized trial of MC in 4996 HIV-negative men aged 15-49 in Rakai Uganda. Following trial closure we offered ...

Combinations of medications that control HIV viral replication are called antiretroviral therapy (ART). Regimens can be complex, so medication adherence is often suboptimal, although high rates of adherence are necessary for ART to be effective. Social support, which has been directly and indirectly associated with better treatment adherence in HIV-infected ...

BACKGROUND: Despite improvements in survival with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, kidney disease remains an important complication. Few studies have evaluated risk factors associated with the development of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in HIV-infected individuals. We sought to identify traditional and HIV-related risk factors for ESRD in HIV-infected individuals and ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The efficacy of nucleoside(tide) analogues (NA) in the treatment of acute liver failure due to hepatitis B virus (HBV-ALF) remains controversial. We determined retrospectively the impact of NAs in a large cohort of patients with HBV-ALF. METHODS: The US Acute Liver Failure Study Group, a 23-site registry, ...

Semiparametric regression models based on smoothing splines were used to examine the associations between the risk of HIV seropositivity and a continuous covariate. For example, in the fully parametric logistic regression model, age was associated with a decreased risk of HIV seropositivity [Odds ratio (OR): 0.94 per 5 year increase, 95% ...

The relationship between HIV disclosure and sexual transmission behaviors, and factors that influence disclosure are unknown among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in Asia. We describe disclosure practices and sexual transmission behaviors, and correlates of disclosure among this group of MSM in Asia. A cross-sectional multi-country online ...

Little is known about the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among healthcare workers (HCW) in Egypt, where the highest worldwide prevalence of HCV exists. The prevalence of HCV, hepatitis B virus and Schistosoma mansoni antibodies was examined in 842 HCWs at the National Liver Institute in the Nile Delta, ...

BACKGROUND: The prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV has been focused mainly on women who are HIV-positive at their first antenatal visit, but there is uncertainty regarding the contribution to overall transmission from mothers who seroconvert after their first antenatal visit and before weaning. METHOD: A mathematical model was ...

Objective: To explore the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the risk factors among opiate drug users in Beijing. Methods: The opiate drug users enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment clinics of Beijing from 30 November 2004 to 31 March 2008 were investigated. The blood ...

Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is associated with lipodystrophy (lipoatrophy and lipoaccumulation) and several metabolic abnormalities that together can contribute to an increased cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of obesity in patients on cART according to the presence of clinical lipodystrophy (CL) and ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Infection by Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) cause serious mortality, morbidity and financial burden and are thus a major global health problem. The study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C infections and co-infections among blood donors in a rural ...

OBJECTIVES: HIV infection and exposure to certain antiretroviral drugs is associated with dyslipidemia and increased risk for coronary events. Whether this risk is mediated by highly atherogenic lipoproteins is unclear. We investigated the association of highly atherogenic small dense low density lipoproteins (LDL) and apolipoprotein B and coronary events in ...

BACKGROUND: As the number of HIV infections continues to rise, the search for effective health education strategies must intensify. A new educational board game was developed to increase HIV peoples' attention and knowledge to HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) information. The object of this study was to assess the ...

Background. This article describes the effect point of entry into the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care program had on the clinical status of adults presenting for the first time to USAID-AMPATH (US Agency for International Development-Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare) Partnership clinics for HIV care.Methods. All patients aged ≥14 years enrolled ...

This study aims at deriving a general description of the prevalence of unprotected anal intercourse among HIV-positive MSM in China using published epidemiological research. Comprehensively searching Wanfang, Weipu, China Biological Medicine (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Pubmed databases in the systematic review. Meta-analysis were conducted over a final ...