Here are two Chinese abstracts from the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC. Both of them mention Myanmar though there doesn't appear to be a clear reason to do so. Is proximity to Myanmar necessary or sufficient for an epidemic to need methadone or CD4 cell counts? Chinese scientists and implementers should leave Myanmar out of their response to HIV.
[him] moderator
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WEPE228 - Poster Exhibition
Effectiveness of reducing HIV transmission with an MMT program in Ruili, China
W. Liu1, Z. Li2
1School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), AIDS International Training and Research Program, Chicago, United States, 2Center for Disease Control (CDC) of Ruili City, Ruili, China
Background: Ruili city, located in Yunnan Province in Southwest China along the Myanmar border, faces a serious threat from the dual epidemics of drug use and HIV/AIDS. The first outbreak of HIV/AIDS was detected there among drug users sharing needles in 1989. Since then the area has been one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in China. To prevent HIV transmission among drug users and their partners, Ruili established a methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinic in 2005 for participants in the downtown area and launched China's first mobile clinic in 2006 with a specially designed van to deliver MMT services for rural participants. This study was aimed to examine effectiveness of reducing HIV transmission for drug users attending an MMT program. Methods: All clients were tested HIV status before entry an MMT program and followed up testing annually after entry. HIV status for clients who were drug users enrolled in an MMT program from 2005 to 2009 were collected and assessed. Results: The program followed up 1,878 cumulative drug users who attending MMT program with HIV negative before entry from 2005 to 2009 and only one client were found HIV positive converted from the mobile clinic. HIV infection rate for MMT users was 0.05%, which was much lower than that for injection drug users (11.19%) and anonymous population (1.69%) at the same period. The average retention rate in a year for MMT users was over 70%. Nearly 80% of clients stayed clean in MMT program. Conclusions: This preliminary assessment showed a significant reduction of HIV infection among MMT clients. MMT program was an effective way for not only blocking HIV transmission but also reducing the harm of drug use. Further improving the retention rate and coverage of drug users will yield better treatment outcome.
http://pag.aids2012.org/abstracts.aspx?aid=6556
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MOPE741 - Poster Exhibition
An appropriate method for AIDS progression monitoring in China-Burma border region, a high prevalence area of HIV-AIDS
S. Duan1, J. Wang1, B. Cao2, J. He2, H. Liu2, J. Zhao2, Z. Dong3, China CDC
1Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Mangshi, Dehong, China, 2Shanghai SemiBio Technology Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China, 3Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics Inc., Zhuhai, China
Background: China-Burma Border Region is one of the high prevalence areas of HIV-AIDS. This study aims to find an AIDS progression monitoring method which is suitable for remote mountainous areas and fits in the current medical system, and to provide scientific evidences for the long term treatment and care of HIV-AIDS. Methods: First, two mainstream methodologies were selected from the current available technologies used in the medical institutes in Dehong Region, and their current clinical uses were analyzed. Then, at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Dehong Region, a parallel evaluation of the appropriateness, accuracy and repeatability of the two methods were conducted by using 154 blood samples collected from HIV positive subjects. Results: The current two major methods used for determining CD4 count in the context of HIV-AIDS are Flow Cytometry and SemiBio Slide Assay. SemiBio Slide Assay is cited for its flexibility in use in remote mountainous areas and its availability for long term archiving of processed specimens. The parallel assessment of the two methods indicates the correlation coefficient between the two methodologies is 0.97; Bland-Altman analysis shows an average absolute error of 9 CD4 cells/µl. Conclusions: SemiBio Slide Assay, based on the US patented “Specific Cell Immobilization Technology”, is simple, cost effective, user-friendly and convenient to transport. In addition, it allows for long term archiving of processed specimens and makes retrospective study possible. The method, which is in line with the spirit of emphasizing the use of IVD equipments in Chinese government's Twelfth Five-year Plan, has been included in the Procurement Plan of Chinese government. SemiBio Slide Assay's importance in monitoring AIDS progression will continuously improve, and will become one of the most import methods used for monitoring AIDS progression under the current medical system.
http://pag.aids2012.org/abstracts.aspx?aid=10674
