ABSTRACT
Background: In the United States (US), 44% of people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) live in the Southeastern census region; many PWH remain undiagnosed. Novel strategies to inform testing outreach in rural states with dispersed HIV epidemics are needed. Methods: Alabama state public health HIV testing surveillance data from 2013 to 2017 were used to estimate time from infection to HIV diagnosis using CD4 T-cell depletion modeling, mapped to county. Diagnostic HIV tests performed during 2013-2021 by commercial testing entities were used to estimate HIV tests per 100 000 adults (aged 15-65 years), mapped to client ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA). We then defined testing "cold spots": those with <10% adults tested plus either (1) within or bordering 1 of the 13 counties with HIV prevalence >400 cases per 100 000 population or (2) within a county with average time to diagnosis greater than the state average to inform testing outreach. Results: Time to HIV diagnosis was a median of 3.7 (interquartile range [IQR], 0-9.2) years across Alabama, with a range of 0.06-12.25â years. Approximately 63% of counties (n = 42) had a longer time to diagnosis compared to national US estimates. Six hundred forty-three ZCTAs tested 17.3% (IQR, 10.3%-25.0%) of the adult population from 2013 to 2017. To prioritize areas for testing outreach, we generated maps to describe 47 areas of HIV-testing cold spots at the ZCTA level. Conclusions: Combining public health surveillance with commercial testing data provides a more nuanced understanding of HIV testing gaps in a state with a rural HIV epidemic and identifies areas to prioritize for testing outreach.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to quantify prevalence, incidence, and recurrence of oral lesions (OL) among a population in the Southeast. METHODS: A retrospective study based on chart review was conducted among patients (n = 744) who were ≥19 years of age and initiated highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) between January 2000 and June 2006 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) 1917 Clinic. Patients' laboratory data and oral conditions were recorded for 2 years after enrollment into the study. RESULTS: During 2 years of follow-up, the period prevalence of individuals experienced at least one OL was 35.6% (266/744). Among all of the 374 episodes of OL, 183 were new cases, while 57 were recurrences. The OL person-visit incidence rate was 0.02 per 100 person-visits. Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) was the most frequent manifestation in terms of period prevalence (74.9%) with a person-visit incident rate of 0.01 per 100 person-visits. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing HAART continue to be affected by HIV-related oral conditions, especially OPC. These results clearly indicate that OL during HIV infection are still highly prevalent in spite of the improvements in medical care and the availability of HAART.
