IntroductionAdherence to combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is vital for HIV-infected adolescents for survival and quality of life. However, this age group faces many challenges to remain adherent. We used multiple data sources (role-play, focus group discussions (FGD), and in-depth interviews (IDI)) to better understand adherence barriers for Rwandan adolescents. Forty-two HIV positive adolescents (ages 12–21) and a selection of their primary caregivers were interviewed. All were perinatally-infected and received (cART) for ≥12 months. Topics discussed during FGDs and IDIs included learning HIV status, disclosure and stigma, care and treatment issues, cART adherence barriers.ResultsMedian age was 17 years, 45% female, 45% orphaned, and 48% in boarding schools. We identified three overarching but inter-related themes that appeared to influence adherence. Stigma, perceived and experienced, and inadvertent disclosure of HIV status hampered adolescents from obtaining and taking their drugs, attending clinic visits, carrying their cARTs with them in public. The second major theme was the need for better support, in particular for adolescents with different living situations, (orphanages, foster-care, and boarding schools). Lack of privacy to keep and take medication came out as major barrier for adolescents living in congested households, as well the institutionalization of boarding schools where privacy is almost non-existent. The third important theme was the desire to be ‘normal’ and not be recognized as an HIV-infected individual, and to have a normal life not perturbed by taking a regimen of medications or being forced to disclose where others would treat them differently.ConclusionsWe propose better management of HIV-infected adolescents integrated into boarding school, orphanages, and foster care; training of school-faculty on how to support students and allow them privacy for taking their medications. To provide better care and support, HIV programs should stimulate caregivers of HIV-infected adolescents to join them for their clinic visits.

BackgroundData on prevalence and incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Rwanda are scarce.MethodsHBV status was assessed at baseline and Month 12, and anti-HCV antibodies at baseline, in a prospective cohort study of HIV-infected patients in Kigali, Rwanda: 104 men and 114 women initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) at baseline, and 200 women not yet eligible for ART.ResultsBaseline prevalence of active HBV infection (HBsAg positive), past or occult HBV infection (anti-HBc positive and HBsAg negative) and anti-HCV was 5.2%, 42.9%, and 5.7%, respectively. The active HBV incidence rate was 4.2/1,000 person years (PY). In a multivariable logistic regression model using baseline data, participants with WHO stage 3 or 4 HIV disease were 4.19 times (95% CI 1.21–14.47) more likely to have active HBV infection, and older patients were more likely to have evidence of past exposure to HBV (aRR 1.03 per year; 95%CI 1.01–1.06). Older age was also positively associated with having anti-HCV antibodies (aOR 1.09; 95%CI 1.04–1.14) while having a higher baseline HIV viral load was negatively associated with HCV (aOR 0.60; 95% CI 0.40–0.98). The median CD4 increase during the first 12 months of ART was lower for those with active HBV infection or anti-HCV at baseline. Almost all participants (88%) with active HBV infection who were on ART were receiving lamivudine monotherapy for HBV.ConclusionHBV and HCV are common in HIV-infected patients in Rwanda. Regular HBsAg screening is needed to ensure that HIV-HBV co-infected patients receive an HBV-active ART regimen, and the prevalence of occult HBV infection should be determined. Improved access to HBV vaccination is recommended. Active HCV prevalence and incidence should be investigated further to determine whether HCV RNA PCR testing should be introduced in Rwanda.

Objective To assess serious gastroenteritis risk and mortality associated with early cessation of breastfeeding in infants enrolled in two prevention-of-maternal-to-child-HIV-transmission trials in Uganda. Methods We used hazard rates to evaluate serious gastroenteritis events by month of age and mortality among HIV-exposed uninfected infants enrolled in the HIVNET 012 (1997-2001) and HIVIGLOB/NVP (2004-2007) trials. HIV-infected mothers were counseled using local infant feeding guidelines current at the time. Results Breastfeeding cessation occurred earlier in HIVIGLOB/NVP compared to HIVNET 012 (median 4.0 vs. 9.3 months, p<0.001). Rates of serious gastroenteritis were higher in HIVIGLOB/NVP (8.0/1000 child-months) compared to HIVNET 012 (3.1/1000 child-months; p < 0.001). Serious gastroenteritis events also peaked earlier at 3-4 and 7-8 months (16.2/1000 and 15.0/1000 child-months, respectively) compared to HIVNET 012 at 9 to10 months (20.8/1000 child-months). All cause-infant mortality did not statistically differ between the HIVIGLOB/NVP and the HIVNET 012 trials [3.2/1000 versus 2.0/1000 child-months respectively, (p=0.10)] Conclusion Early breastfeeding cessation seen in the HIVIGLOB/NVP trial was associated with increased risk of serious gastroenteritis among HIV-exposed uninfected infants when compared to later breastfeeding cessation in the HIVNET 012 trial. Testing interventions which could decrease HIV transmission through breastfeeding and allow safe breastfeeding into the second year of life are urgently needed.

Treatment outcomes of HIV patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Rwanda are scarcely documented. HIV viral load (VL) and HIV drug-resistance (HIVDR) outcomes at month 12 were determined in a prospective cohort study of antiretroviral–naïve HIV patients initiating first-line therapy in Kigali. Treatment response was monitored clinically and by regular CD4 counts and targeted HIV viral load (VL) to confirm drug failure. VL measurements and HIVDR genotyping were performed retrospectively on baseline and month 12 samples. One hundred and fifty-eight participants who completed their month 12 follow-up visit had VL data available at month 12. Most of them (88%) were virologically suppressed (VL≤1000 copies/mL) but 18 had virological failure (11%), which is in the range of WHO-suggested targets for HIVDR prevention. If only CD4 criteria had been used to classify treatment response, 26% of the participants would have been misclassified as treatment failure. Pre-therapy HIVDR was documented in 4 of 109 participants (3.6%) with an HIVDR genotyping results at baseline. Eight of 12 participants (66.7%) with virological failure and HIVDR genotyping results at month 12 were found to harbor mutation(s), mostly NNRTI resistance mutations, whereas 4 patients had no HIVDR mutations. Almost half (44%) of the participants initiated ART at CD4 count ≤200cell/µl and severe CD4 depletion at baseline (<50 cells/µl) was associated with virological treatment failure (p = 0.008).Although the findings may not be generalizable to all HIV patients in Rwanda, our data suggest that first-line ART regimen changes are currently not warranted. However, the accumulation of acquired HIVDR mutations in some participants underscores the need to reinforce HIVDR prevention strategies, such as increasing the availability and appropriate use of VL testing to monitor ART response, ensuring high quality adherence counseling, and promoting earlier identification of HIV patients and enrollment into HIV care and treatment programs.