艾滋病检测常规化的探讨

当前我国艾滋病检测的人数少,检测出来的人难以跟踪治疗的问题,已经成为了我国艾滋病政策制定和实施的主要问题.目前检测的主要问题是针对性不强,而针对性强的检测又缺乏规模.WHO和UNAIDS联合发布的医疗机构医务人员主动提供的HIV检测和咨询指南草案,提供了艾滋病检测常规化的一个操作指南.常规化的检测在我国实施可以增加实际掌握的艾滋病患者数量,在制定政策时的依据更加充足；也使得所有人平等的面对艾滋病,有利于增加人们对艾滋病知识的了解,减少人们对艾滋病的歧视.然而,常规化检测还面临诸多问题,是否实施还需要进一步的考量.     

Clinical research, prophylaxis, therapy, and care for HIV disease in Africa.

By the end of the century, citizens of resource-poor countries will constitute 90% of the world's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people. Clinical management of such persons in developing countries has been neglected; most AIDS research has concentrated on epidemiology, and donor agencies have generally invested in the prevention of HIV infection. The heavy burden of HIV disease in Africa requires that care for AIDS be addressed, and prevention and care should be seen as interrelated. Prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, the commonest severe infection in persons with AIDS in Africa, illustrate this interrelationship. We outline priorities for applied research on the management of HIV disease in a resource-poor environment, and discuss prophylaxis, therapy for opportunistic diseases, terminal care, and use of antiretroviral therapy. Research should define the standard of care that can realistically be demanded for HIV disease in a resource-poor environment. Research and public health programs for AIDS in developing countries must address AIDS care and attempt to reduce the widening gap between interventions available for HIV-infected persons in different parts of the world.     

HIV counselling--a luxury or necessity?

WHO and UNAIDS have consistently promoted HIV counselling as a routine part of HIV testing in developing countries. Nevertheless, in many countries counselling is not considered a crucial accompaniment of testing services, and patients are tested without access to counselling during and after testing. Thus, information on the need for and results of counselling is needed to convince policy-makers and service managers to give greater priority to the development of counselling services. This qualitative study describes informational, social and emotional needs and problems of newly diagnosed seropositive patients attending public health services in Zimbabwe. Their basic factual information on HIV/AIDS was reasonable, but many patients equalled HIV to AIDS and conceptualized their infection as 'social and physical death'. This seriously impeded their capacity to use knowledge of their test results in a constructive way, and stimulated coping by denial and/or secrecy about their HIV status. These avoidant coping strategies discouraged clients from using condoms, seeking social support and taking measures to protect their vulnerable health. The complex and changing nature of clients' needs indicates that common short-cuts in counselling (e.g. giving brief information before and after the HIV test) are seriously flawed as a strategy to prepare clients for effective coping. Comprehensive pre- and post-test counselling are an essential preparation for coping effectively during and immediately after testing. Availability of supportive counselling beyond this first phase is essential to assist clients with needs and problems which will appear over time. Development of counselling interventions should be guided by research into their effectiveness and by national policy guidelines. Replacing fear-inducing HIV campaigns with interactive, constructive information about HIV prevention and care will increase the preparedness of the community as a whole for effective living with HIV.     

Provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling of TB patients--Livingstone District, Zambia, September 2004-December 2006

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second most common cause of death from infectious disease in the world after human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Immunosuppressed HIV-infected persons are highly susceptible to TB disease, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest TB incidence rates, primarily because of the HIV epidemic. In Zambia, the TB rate increased during 1984-2005 from approximately 100 cases per 100,000 population to 580 cases per 100,000 population. Much of this increase has been attributed to the high rate of coinfection with HIV; currently, an estimated 50%-70% of TB patients are infected with HIV (N. Kapata, Ministry of Health, Zambia, personal communication, 2008). In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that countries with high coinfection rates develop TB/HIV collaborative activities, including routine provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) of TB patients in TB clinical settings, using an "opt-out" approach. This report summarizes results from a PITC pilot study conducted by the Zambian Ministry of Health, with assistance from the CDC Global AIDS Program Zambia, during September 2004-December 2006 with TB patients at three clinics in the Livingstone District in the Southern Province of Zambia. The results indicated that, among 4,148 persons who had TB diagnosed, 2,072 (50%) were tested for HIV; of these, 1,497 (72%) tested positive. These findings demonstrate the practicality and acceptance of PITC and HIV rapid testing and support the need to expand this program to TB clinical settings in Zambia and other countries with high rates of TB and HIV.     

HIV self-testing in adolescents living in Sub-Saharan Africa

Less than 20% of African adolescents aged 10–19 years are aware of their HIV status, whereas HIV screening remains the gateway to care and while AIDS has become the leading cause of death among adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the UNAIDS target, scalable HIV testing strategies specific to various age groups, populations, and geographical areas must be implemented to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Many African countries have implemented policies supporting HIV self-testing (HIVST). Evidence of practicability and efficiency of HIVST in Sub-Saharan Africa settings has been reported, including HIVST data among adolescents. Adapted strategies of HIVST are urgently needed to promote HIV testing among adolescents living in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Latest figures on AIDS

In its June 1998 report on the global AIDS epidemic, UNAIDS noted that HIV has more than doubled the adult mortality rate in some countries and is the leading cause of death in many countries in East Africa. Over 80% of AIDS deaths have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa, there are an estimated 2.9 million HIV-positive persons, 700,000 of whom were infected in 1997 alone. In Botswana, 25% of adults are HIV-positive. Encouraging, however, are indications that HIV infection rates among younger people are falling in Uganda and Tanzania in response to active AIDS prevention programs. Even in countries where expensive antiretroviral therapies are not feasible, increased access to HIV testing and counseling can promote risk-reduction behaviors.     

A review of HIV testing strategies among MSM (2005–2015): Changes and continuities due to the biomedicalization of responses to AIDS

Global AIDS policy points to a new prevention rationale centred on the identification and treatment of people infected with HIV, particularly among the so-called key populations. This study analyses the continuities and changes in HIV testing strategies based on a meta-narrative review of academic output (2005–2015) focusing on men who have sex with men. We reviewed 65 articles based on their prevention approaches, testing strategies and the involvement of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations. The analysis found continuities in HIV testing strategies in addition to changes. A new focus is reflected in the expansion and diversification of testing offered, the reduced importance of counselling, an emphasis on condom use associated with test results and on the absence of active participation of NGOs in implementing social responses to AIDS. Our findings indicate a systematic lack of problematising the potential ethical, political and cultural issues surrounding HIV testing as a strategy to control the epidemic. The findings of our study reinforce criticisms of the biomedicalization of current HIV-related policies, and reiterate the importance of combining progress achieved in increasing access to diagnosis and treatment with the historical achievements of social responses to AIDS.     

Integrating HIV management for children into the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness guidelines

The WHO/UNICEF strategy of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) has been adopted as a strategy for improving paediatric care in resource-poor settings. The original IMCI guidelines recommend referral of children with severe or recurrent illnesses such as those common in HIV/AIDS, however the specific identification and management was not included. In many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS contributes significantly to child morbidity and mortality. There was a need to include the specific assessment and management of symptomatic HIV infection in IMCI guidelines. A draft HIV component of the IMCI guidelines was developed, which included management of symptomatic HIV cases with referral for counselling and testing, and was evaluated in South Africa. A revised version was then validated in Ethiopia and Uganda where HIV, malnutrition and malaria prevalence is different from South Africa. IMCI materials have been adapted to include an HIV component. Currently, very few children under 15 years of age receive antiretroviral therapy (ART). Chronic HIV care of children, including ART for children, has been developed within the Integrated Management of Adolescent and Adult Illness (IMAI) initiative of the WHO. Through this initiative, the WHO is assisting countries to facilitate care and treatment of children undergoing ART.     

Epidemiology of AIDS in Africa--part 2

A recently completed study involving over 10,000 people from 6 Central African countries found seroprevalence rates generally under 1% for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); however, rates were significantly higher for urban residents, prostitutes and their sexual contacts, and patients attending sexually transmitted disease clinics. The 4 major modes of transmission of AIDS in Africa are sexual contact, perinatal transmission, transfusion of infected blood or blood products, and the reuse of equipment such as needles and syringes. In 1985, a 2nd AIDS virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-2, was discovered in West Africa--a finding with important implications for epidemiologic surveillance, screening programs, and clinical diagnostic testing. Although 45 of the 50 African countries have developed concrete public health policies and strategies for the prevention and control of AIDS, most nations of sub-Saharan Africa lack the economic and social resources to implement these programs effectively. Thus, international cooperation and a commitment on the part of the US and Western Europe to provide assistance will be essential. Needs must be addressed on 2 fronts: treatment of those already infected or suffering from the disease and containment of the AIDS epidemic. Public health efforts should focus initially on high risk behaviors through health education. At the same time, it should be recognized that AIDS is not the largest health issue facing Africans, and there is a complex interaction between AIDS and other health problems such as malnutrition, genital ulcers, diarrhea, and tuberculosis. An approach to AIDS requires an expansion of public health initiatives in areas such as clean water supplies, maternal-child health programs, nutrition and immunization programs, and sexually transmitted disease clinics.     

Missed opportunities for earlier diagnosis of HIV infection--South Carolina, 1997-2005

In September 2006, CDC published revised recommendations for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in health-care settings to 1) increase early detection of HIV infection by expanding HIV screening of patients and 2) improve access to HIV care and prevention services (e.g., by conducting screening in locations such as emergency departments and urgent-care facilities, where persons who do not otherwise access HIV testing seek health-care services). HIV screening is now recommended for patients aged 13-64 years in all health-care settings after patients are notified that testing will be performed unless they decline (opt-out screening). This represents a substantial change from earlier recommendations to 1) offer HIV testing routinely to all patients only in health-care settings with high HIV prevalence and 2) conduct targeted screening on the basis of risk behaviors for patients in low-prevalence settings. This report examines HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) case reporting in South Carolina before the 2006 recommendations were published. During 2001-2005, a total of 4,315 cases of HIV infection were reported in South Carolina. Of these, 41% were in persons (referred to as late testers) in whom AIDS was diagnosed within 1 year of their initial HIV diagnosis. Of these late testers, 73% made a total of 7,988 visits to a South Carolina health-care facility during 1997-2005 before their first reported positive HIV test. The diagnoses reported for 79% of these visits were not likely to prompt HIV testing under a risk-based testing strategy. These findings suggest that routine, opt-out HIV screening of all patients in health-care settings, rather than risk-based HIV testing, might result in substantially earlier HIV diagnoses in South Carolina.     

From treatment to prevention: The interplay between HIV/AIDS treatment availability and HIV/AIDS prevention programming in Khayelitsha,South Africa

There is a paucity of research that illustrates the interplay between HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs. We describe the central role that public access to antiretroviral (ARV) medication has played in the development and efficacy of HIV/AIDS prevention programming in Khayelitsha, a resource-poor township in the Western Cape of South Africa. We document the range of preventive interventions and services available in Khayelitsha since the early 1990s and explore the impact of ARV availability on prevention efforts and disease stigma on the basis of extensive indepth interviews, supplemented by data collection. The information gathered suggests that the introduction of the mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) prevention programs in 1999 and the three HIV treatment clinics run by Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 2000 were turning points in the region’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. These programs have provided incentives for HIV testing, galvanized HIV/AIDS educators to reach populations most at risk, and decreased the HIV incidence rates in Khayeltisha compared to other areas in the Western Cape. Lessons learned in Khayelitsha about the value of treatment availability in facilitating prevention efforts can inform the development of comprehensive approaches to HIV/ AIDS in other resource-poor areas.     

Regulating compassion: an overview of Canada's federal medical cannabis policy and practice

The epidemic of HIV/AIDS linked to injecting drug usage is one of the most explosive in recent years. After a historical epicentre in Europe, South and North America, at present it is clearly the main cause of dissemination of the epidemic in Eastern Europe and some key Asian countries. Recently, 10 African countries reported the spread of HIV through people who inject drugs (PWID), breaking one of the final geographical barriers to the globalization of the epidemic of HIV among and from PWID. Several countries of the Asia and Pacific Region have HIV epidemics that are driven by injecting drug usage. Harm reduction interventions have been implemented in many countries and potential barriers to implementation are being overcome. Harm reduction is no longer a marginal approach in the Region; instead, it is the core tool for responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic among PWID. The development of a comprehensive response in the Region has been remarkable, including scaling up of needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), and care, support and treatment for PWID. This development is being followed up by strong ongoing changes in policies and legislations. The main issue now is to enhance interventions to a level that can impact the epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) is one of the leading UN agencies promoting harm reduction. Since the establishment of the Global Programme on AIDS, WHO has been working towards an effective response to the HIV epidemic among PWID. WHO's work is organized into a number of components: establishing an evidence base; advocacy; development of normative standards, tools and guidelines; providing technical support to countries; ensuring access to essential medicines, diagnostics and commodities; and mobilizing resources. In this paper, we trace the course of development of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among and from PWID in the Western Pacific and Asia Region (WPRO) as well as WHO's role in supporting the response in some of the key countries: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam.     

A comparative analysis of national HIV policies in six African countries with generalized epidemics

ObjectiveTo compare national human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) policies influencing access to HIV testing and treatment services in six sub-Saharan African countries.MethodsWe reviewed HIV policies as part of a multi-country study on adult mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. A policy extraction tool was developed and used to review national HIV policy documents and guidelines published in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe between 2003 and 2013. Key informant interviews helped to fill gaps in findings. National policies were categorized according to whether they explicitly or implicitly adhered to 54 policy indicators, identified through literature and expert reviews. We also compared the national policies with World Health Organization (WHO) guidance.FindingsThere was wide variation in policies between countries; each country was progressive in some areas and not in others. Malawi was particularly advanced in promoting rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy. However, no country had a consistently enabling policy context expected to increase access to care and prevent attrition. Countries went beyond WHO guidance in certain areas and key informants reported that practice often surpassed policy.ConclusionEvaluating the impact of policy differences on access to care and health outcomes among people living with HIV is challenging. Certain policies will exert more influence than others and official policies are not always implemented. Future research should assess the extent of policy implementation and link these findings with HIV outcomes.     

Rethinking HIV exceptionalism: the ethics of opt-out HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa

Opt-out testing for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incorporates testing as a routine part of health care for all patients unless they refuse. The ethics of this approach to testing in sub-Saharan Africa is a source of controversy. Opt-out HIV testing is expected to improve survival by increasing case detection and thus linking more HIV-infected people to earlier treatment, provided there is effective patient follow-up and programme sustainability. At the population level, these benefits will likely outweigh the potential negative consequences of individuals experiencing HIV-related stigma. These justifications appeal to consequentialist moral theories that the acceptability of an action depends upon its outcomes. On the other hand, liberal moral theories state that the autonomy of individuals should always be protected unless restricting autonomy is necessary to protect the welfare of others. Opt-out consent may restrict autonomy and it is unclear whether it would benefit people other than those being tested. Yet, the doctrine of libertarian paternalism proposes that it is justifiable and desirable to use unobtrusive mechanisms to help individuals make choices to maximize their own welfare. Central to this idea are the premises featured by supporters of opt-out consent that individuals will not always make the best choices for their own welfare but they may be influenced to do so in ways that will not compromise their freedom of choice. Also important is the premise that all policies inevitably exert some such influence: opt-in consent encourages test refusal just as opt-out consent encourages acceptance. Based on these premises, opt-out testing may be an effective and ethically acceptable policy response to Africa’s HIV epidemic.     

HIV counselling and testing in Nova Scotia: the provincial strategy in the context of an international debate

Nova Scotia, as a small province in Atlantic Canada, provides health care professionals and policy analysts with unique challenges for developing and implementing a strategy for accessible and acceptable HIV counselling and testing. Despite universal health care in Canada, barriers and challenges persist in relation to HIV counselling and testing programs and services in Nova Scotia. It is therefore necessary to examine the unique circumstances in the provision of programs and services in Nova Scotia prior to the possibility of adopting international HIV counselling and testing standards and guidelines being implemented in other jurisdictions. Nova Scotia's provincial strategy on HIV/AIDS promotes a harm-reduction approach for different populations in various service settings, recognizing the diverse circumstances and experiences of people living in Nova Scotia. By contrast, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended strategy promotes opt-out testing and in some instances alters the requirement of informed consent. As the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) revises the national HIV counselling and testing policies, it is imperative to address the unique characteristics of Nova Scotia's provision of services, and how divergent strategies have the potential to address or compound the barriers to access that exist in this province's communities.     

Ethical and public health considerations in HIV counseling and testing: policy implications

HIV counseling and testing is broadly considered a critical component of HIV transmission-prevention and treatment efforts. Given the severity of the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the potential societal benefit of testing is invoked to call for its massive expansion and to justify a shift from voluntary to routine testing. Surprisingly little evidence has demonstrated, however, that such a shift will result in the intended benefits to communities, particularly that of reducing the horizontal transmission of HIV. This analysis addresses and critiques the assumptions underlying a serostatus-based approach to behavior change and discusses the ethical consequences of transferring control of the decision to be tested from the individual to the provider. It concludes with a discussion of the implications for HIV counseling and testing policies and proposes alternatives to routine testing that have the potential to be effective while preserving the right to know one's HIV status.     

HIV screening of male inmates during prison intake medical evaluation--Washington, 2006-2010

Since 2006, CDC has recommended routine, opt-out human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening for patients in health-care settings with a prevalence of undiagnosed HIV infection of ≥0.1%. Before September 2007, the Washington State Department of Corrections (WADOC) only provided HIV testing to inmates on request. In September 2007, WADOC began routine HIV opt-in screening in which inmates were notified that HIV screening would be performed during the prison intake medical evaluation if they consented. In March 2010, WADOC switched to a routine opt-out HIV screening model in which inmates are notified that HIV screening will be performed unless they decline. To assess the proportion of inmates screened and the number of infections diagnosed during the use of the three HIV testing policies, WADOC reviewed HIV testing data for male inmates undergoing intake medical evaluation during January 2006--December 2010. From January 1, 2006, to August 31, 2007, 5% of 12,202 incoming inmates were tested for HIV at their request during the intake medical evaluation, and three (0.50%) of those tested had newly diagnosed HIV infection. From September 1, 2007, to March 15, 2010, 72% of 16,908 inmates agreed to opt-in HIV screening, and 13 (0.11%) tested positive for HIV. From March 16, 2010, to December 31, 2010, 90% of 5,168 inmates agreed to opt-out HIV screening, and six (0.13%) tested positive for HIV. Compared with routine opt-in HIV screening, opt-out HIV screening was associated with a greater proportion of inmates tested, without decreasing the rate of case detection.     

HIV/AIDS institutional discrimination in Switzerland

A UNAIDS protocol designed to identify discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS was applied in Switzerland, a country where policies against such discrimination had been actively promoted since the beginning of the HIV epidemic. Discrimination, in its strict legal definition, was examined in nine areas of everyday life, and at three levels: legislation, written regulations, and actual practices. Data concerning both expert opinion and subjective experience of discrimination was gathered by members of an interdisciplinary work group by means of: (1) interviews with over 200 key informants and experts, covering each of the areas investigated, and (2) actively seeking testimonies as to experiences of discrimination through local AIDS groups and through informal contacts of work group members. The study revealed little institutional discrimination in the region investigated, attesting to the efficacy of clear and actively promoted anti-discrimination policies. Individual discrimination and stigmatisation persist, however. It is in combating individual discrimination and stigmatisation that efforts must now concentrate. The UNAIDS protocol was found to be a valuable tool for tracking the sorts of discrimination that can most easily be influenced by policy measures.     

HIV testing among pregnant women--United States and Canada, 1998-2001

Since 1994, the availability of increasingly effective antiretroviral drugs for both the prevention of perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission and maternal treatment has resulted in a greater emphasis on prenatal HIV testing and substantial increases in prenatal testing rates. In 2000, preliminary data indicated that 766 (93%) of 824 HIV-infected women in 25 states knew their HIV status before delivery (CDC, unpublished data, 2002). However, an estimated 280-370 perinatal HIV transmissions continue to occur in the United States each year. The primary strategy to prevent perinatal HIV transmission is to maximize prenatal HIV testing of pregnant women. States and Canadian provinces have implemented three different prenatal HIV-testing approaches. To assess their effectiveness, CDC reviewed prenatal HIV-antibody testing rates associated with these approaches. Medical record data suggest that the "opt-in" voluntary testing approach is associated with lower testing rates than either the "opt-out" voluntary testing approach or the mandatory newborn HIV testing approach.     

HIV / AIDS in the Caribbean

By the end of 1998, 33.4 million people worldwide were infected with HIV, 10% more than in 1997, and there were 2.5 million AIDS-related deaths. New estimates by the UN AIDS organization, UNAIDS, and the World Health Organization show that practically every country in the world has been affected by the pandemic. HIV prevalence in eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean currently appears to be concentrated in, but not limited to, marginalized groups. MAP (Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic), a network of experts with more than 120 members in 40 countries around the world, has estimated that more than 1.6 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean, or 5.4% of all HIV/AIDS cases worldwide in January 1998. Infection trends in the area differ both between and within countries. HIV in the region does, however, appear to be mainly in socially and economically marginalized populations, and is most noticeable among men who have sex with men and IV drug users. Evidence also exists that HIV is increasingly spreading among the poor and illiterate segments of society. Infection rates are rising among women, showing that heterosexual transmission is becoming more important. The Caribbean Regional Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS was created out of a 3-day consultation in Port of Spain, Trinidad, sponsored by a number of international organizations. That the number of HIV-positive people in the region is increasing should not be taken lightly.