Although more than 25 million people in sub‐Saharan Africa have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, little is known regarding their cancer risk. We investigated cancer risk among persons with HIV/AIDS in Uganda using record‐linkage. We linked records of 12,607 HIV‐infected persons attending The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Kyadondo County from October 1988 through December 2002 to the Kampala Cancer Registry. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) to identify increased cancer risks in the early (4–27 months after TASO registration), late (28–60 months), or combined (4–60 months) incidence periods. We identified 378 cancers (181 prevalent, 197 incident) among TASO participants. Of incident cancers, 137 (70%) were AIDS‐defining cancers. Risk was increased in the early‐incident period, compared to the general population, for the AIDS‐defining cancers: Kaposi sarcoma (SIR 6.4, 95%CI 4.8–8.4), non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (6.7, 1.8–17), and cervical carcinoma (2.4, 1.1–4.4). These three cancers were also increased in the combined periods. Risks of five non‐AIDS‐defining cancers were increased in the combined periods: Hodgkin lymphoma (5.7, 1.2–17) and cancers of the conjunctiva (SIR 4.0; 1.5–8.7), kidney (16, 1.8–58), thyroid (5.7, 1.1–16), and uterus (5.5, 1.5–14). Cancers of the breast, nasopharynx, and lung were increased either in the early or late incident periods only. Among 407 children, seven cancers were observed, of which five were Kaposi sarcoma. The application of a record‐linkage design in Africa broadens the repertoire of epidemiological tools for studying HIV‐infected populations. We confirm the increased risks of AIDS‐defining cancers and report increased risks of a few non‐AIDS‐defining cancers. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

In female-positive HIV-serodiscordant couples desiring children, home timed vaginal insemination of semen during the fertile period along with consistent condom use may reduce the risk of HIV transmission when the man is HIV-uninfected. In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 45% of HIV-infected women desire to have more children. HIV viral load assessment is not routinely available in low-resource countries for monitoring adherence and response to antiretroviral therapy. Therefore, in these settings, timed unprotected intercourse without assurance of HIV viral suppression may pose unnecessary risks. Timed vaginal insemination, a simple and affordable intervention, can be considered an adjunct method and option of safer conception for HIV prevention with treatment of the HIV-infected partner and/or pre-exposure prophylaxis. We conducted five mixed and single sex focus group discussions comprised of 33 HIV-serodiscordant couples and healthcare providers in the Nyanza region of Kenya to assess the acceptability and feasibility of timed vaginal insemination as a safer method of conception. The transcribed data was analyzed using a grounded theory approach. We found that educating and counseling HIVserodiscordant couples on timed vaginal insemination could make it an acceptable and feasible safer conception method when associated with frequent communication and home visits by healthcare providers. The findings of this study indicate that implementation studies that integrate training and counseling of HIV-serodiscordant couples and healthcare providers on timed vaginal insemination combined with consistent condom use are needed. Acknowledging and supporting the reproductive choice and needs of female positive, male negative HIV-serodiscordant couples who desire children should also include the use of assisted reproductive services at the same time as pharmaceutical options that prevent sexual HIV transmission.

Global health security depends on effective surveillance for infectious diseases. In Uganda, resources are inadequate to support collection and reporting of data necessary for an effective and responsive surveillance system. We used a cross-cutting approach to improve surveillance and laboratory capacity in Uganda by leveraging an existing pediatric inpatient malaria sentinel surveillance system to collect data on expanded causes of illness, facilitate development of real-time surveillance, and provide data on antimicrobial resistance. Capacity for blood culture collection was established, along with options for serologic testing for select zoonotic conditions, including arboviral infection, brucellosis, and leptospirosis. Detailed demographic, clinical, and laboratory data for all admissions were captured through a web-based system accessible at participating hospitals, laboratories, and the Uganda Public Health Emergency Operations Center. Between July 2016 and December 2017, the expanded system was activated in pediatric wards of 6 regional government hospitals. During that time, patient data were collected from 30,500 pediatric admissions, half of whom were febrile but lacked evidence of malaria. More than 5,000 blood cultures were performed; 4% yielded bacterial pathogens, and another 4% yielded likely contaminants. Several WHO antimicrobial resistance priority pathogens were identified, some with multidrug-resistant phenotypes, including Acinetobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and typhoidal and nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. Leptospirosis and arboviral infections (alphaviruses and flaviviruses) were documented. The lessons learned and early results from the development of this multisectoral surveillance system provide the knowledge, infrastructure, and workforce capacity to serve as a foundation to enhance the capacity to detect, report, and rapidly respond to wide-ranging public health concerns in Uganda.

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