Factors associated with recent HIV testing uptake and HIV-positive serostatus among female sex workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The HIV burden is high among female sex workers (FSW) in Ethiopia, yet HIV testing coverage is suboptimal. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 137 FSW in Addis Ababa. We examined factors related to recent HIV testing and self-reported HIV serostatus using logistic regression. HIV prevalence was 10%; and among HIV-negative participants, 63% reported recent HIV testing. Involvement in sex work for ≥5 years (aOR 3.25; 95% CI 1.22, 8.69; p-value 0.02) and hormonal contraceptive use (aOR 3.37; 95% CI 1.09, 10.41; p-value 0.03) were significantly associated with recent HIV testing. Involvement in sex work for ≥5 years (aOR 13.13, 95% CI 1.31 132.01, p-value 0.03), drug use (aOR 8.02; 95% CI 1.36, 47.31; p-value 0.02), and having a job other than sex work (aOR 122.05, 95% CI 2.97 > 999.99, p-value 0.01) were significantly associated with self-reported HIV-positive serostatus. These results identify areas to target future HIV risk-reduction interventions for FSW in Ethiopia.

Social support and postpartum adherence to HIV treatment: a community-based participatory research study in Russia.

BACKGROUND: There are over 1 million people living with HIV in Russia, and less than half of them are on antiretroviral treatment (ART). Earlier in the epidemic, Russia was successful in implementing prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes; however, there is a gap in knowledge about postpartum adherence to ART among women living with HIV (WLHIV). The objective of our research study was to identify which factors are associated with postpartum engagement in HIV care and treatment in Russia. METHODS: We conducted a community-based participatory research study in five Russian cities. We surveyed 200 WLHIV who had given birth within the previous 24 months about their use of ART. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine which types of social support are associated with adherence to ART in the postpartum period. RESULTS: Less than half (40%) of mothers reported being adherent to ART. Multivariable analysis showed that having a supportive family environment [aOR = 2.64, 95% CI (1.91-5.83)], and active engagement with other HIV-positive mothers [aOR = 2.20, 95% CI (1.04-4.66)] were positively associated with postpartum adherence to ART. WLHIV who had more than one child were less likely to be adherent then WLHIV with just one child [aOR = 0.44, 95% CI (0.22-0.91)]. CONCLUSION: The support that new mothers have or do not have can play an important role in WLHIV adherence to ART. The findings from our study provide ideas for improving the likelihood that women will continue to engage in HIV treatment and care after pregnancy.

Cellular Light Scattering for the Identification of Bacteria and Its Application to the Identification of Staphylococcus.

Rapid identification of bacteria is critical in clinical and food safety applications. This paper describes a novel instrument and data analysis method for identifying bacteria based on the measurement of laser light scattering as the beam interacts with bacterial cells suspended in water. A description of the technology is followed by an identification performance study for a set of strains from the genus Staphylococcus (the inclusive target organisms) and a set of non-Staphylococcus strains (the exclusive organisms). Staphylococcus and non-Staphylococcus cells were grown on sheep blood agar (SBA), tryptic soy agar, brain heart infusion (BHI) agar, or Luria-Bertani (LB) agar and identified based on how cells scattered light. Bacteria from the genus Staphylococcus grown on solid media were correctly identified more than 92% of the time. To determine whether the system could also identify bacteria grown in liquid culture, six different Staphylococcus strains and six different non-Staphylococcus strains were grown in tryptic soy broth, BHI broth, or LB broth. This system accurately identified all targeted Staphylococcus samples tested, and no misidentifications occurred. A single-blind identification experiment was also performed on human clinical isolates obtained from the Upper Peninsula Health System. Ninety blind-coded clinical bacterial isolates on SBA were tested to determine whether they were from the genus Staphylococcus. All Staphylococcus were accurately identified, and no misidentifications occurred. This study demonstrated the proof of concept of a novel system that can rapidly and accurately identify bacteria from pure culture based on cellular light-scattering properties.