March 11, 2019

Global WACh Researchers Share Latest Science at CROI 2019

Last week, Global WACh researchers participated in the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) held in Seattle from March 5-7, 2019.  The annual conference brings together top basic, translational, and clinical researchers from around the world to share the latest studies, important developments, and best research methods in the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS and related infectious diseases.  Our researchers shared their latest findings on testing for HIV, human papillomavirus (HPV), tuberculosis (TB), and on PrEP delivery practices.  Continue reading for highlights and a list of accepted posters by Global WACh researchers.

Key Considerations for the “Last Mile of EMTCT
Monday, March 4^th

On March 4^th, Global WACh and UNICEF, in partnership with WHO, co-convened an off-site technical consultation on key considerations for the “last mile” of programming to end mother to child HIV transmission (EMTCT).  Over the past decade, bold policies have catalyzed important programmatic leaps to prevent and reduce transmissions from mother to child.  As the world nears international targets for EMTCT, progress is slowing, and the broad, one-size-fits-all approaches may no longer be sufficient to optimize programs and reach those in greatest need.  Informed by the expertise of an outstanding panel of HIV/AIDS and infectious disease researchers, the consultation focused on a preliminary conceptual framework that considers the in-country realities for programs targeting EMTCT and could direct new interventions and guide program development.

Meeting Chairs:

• Dr. Chewe Luo, MD, PhD (Associate Director, Programme Division, and Chief of the HIV/AIDS Section of UNICEF)
• Dr. Grace John-Stewart, MD, PhD (Director of Global WACh; Professor, Global Health, Medicine, Epidemiology, Pediatrics at UW)

Panel Speakers:

• Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, MD (Director, HIV/AIDS Department and the Global Hepatitis Programme of WHO)
• Dr. Benjamin Chi, MD, MSc (Professor, OB/GYN at UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases)
• Dr. Lynne Mofenson, MD (Senior HIV Technical Advisor, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation)
• Dr. Shaffiq Essajee, MD (Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics at New York University and Senior Advisor in HIV of UNICEF)

Global WACh Posters and Presentations Featured at CROI
Tuesday, March 5^th

• Self-Tests for At-Home Partner Testing Are Acceptable & Utilized Among Pregnant Women
  Jillian Pintye, John Kinuthia, Felix Abuna, Nancy M. Ngumbau, Salphine, A. Wattoyi, Mary M. Marwa, Anjuli D. Wagner, Julia C. Dettinger, Laurén Gómez, Ben O. Odhiambo, Jared Baeten, Grace John-Stewart
•  Male Partner Linkage to Clinic STI-HIV Services After Couple Education & HIV Testing Jennifer Mark, Alison C. Roxby, John Kinuthia, Alfred Osoti, Daisy Krakowiak, Monisha Sharma, Quy Ton, Barbra Richardson, Carey Farquhar
•  Incidence of HSV-2 and HIV in a Cohort of Kenyan Adolescent Girls
  Alison C. Roxby, Amalia Magaret, Stacy Selke, Murugi Micheni, Lynda M. Oluoch, Tiffany Yuh, Bhavna Chohan, Catherine Kiptinness, Kenneth Ngure, Nelly R. Mugo, Anna Wald

Wednesday, March 6th

• HPV Clearance and Reinfection in 2 Years After Randomization to Cryotherapy or LEEP
  Christine J. McGrath, Anthony Cagle, Hugo De Vuyst, Troy Querec, Elizabeth Unger, Sharon A. Greene, Sameh Sakr, Marleen Temmerman, Nelly R. Mugo, Michael H. Chung
• Oral Swab Analysis (TB-OSA) For Non-Sputum-Based TB Diagnosis in Kenya
  Sylvia LaCourse, Rachel Wood, Evans Seko, Gregory S. Ouma, Barbra A. Richardson, Grace John-Stewart, Gerard Cangelosi
• Preferences for Home vs. Clinic and Blood vs. Saliva HIV Retesting in Pregnancy
  Anjuli D. Wagner, Jill Neary, David A. Katz, Grace John-Stewart, Daniel Matemo, John Kinuthia, Alison L. Drake
  

  Dr. Wagner is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Global Health. Her findings showed that 1/3 of participants preferred self-testing at home. As maternal HIV retesting scales, up home-based testing may reduce burden on health systems, increase retesting rates, and facilitate efforts to eliminate MTCT.

• Diagnostic Accuracy of HIV Oral Rapid Tests vs. Blood-based Rapid Tests Among Children
  Chido Dziva Chikwari, Irene Njuguna, Crissi Rainer, Belinda V. Chihota, Jill Neary, Jennifer Slyker, David A. Katz, Dalton Wamalwa, Laura Oyiengo, Grace McHugh, Ethel Dauya, Grace John-Stewart, Rashida Ferrand, Anjuli D. Wagner
• Assisted Partner Services Among People Who Inject Drugs in Nairobi, Kenya
  Aliza Monroe-Wise, Brandon Guthrie, Loice Mbogo, Bill Sinkele, David Bukusi, Matthew Dunbar, Paul Macharia, Esther Gitau, Betsy Sambai, Helgar Musyoki, Sarah Masyuko, Joshua T. Herbeck, Carey Farquhar
• The Cost of PrEP Delivery in Kenyan Antenatal, Postnatal, and Family Planning Clinics
  Allen Roberts, Ruanne V. Barnabas, Felix Abuna, Harrison Lagat, John Kinuthia, Jillian Pintye, Aaron Bochner, Jared Baeten, Grace John-Stewart, Carol Levine
• Challenges of Potentially False-Positive HIV Tests in Pregnant Women in the PrEP Era
  Anjuli D. Wagner, John Kinuthia, Julia C. Dettinger, Nancy M. Ngumbau, Laurén Gómez, Salphine A. Wattoyi, Alison L. Drake, Felix Abuna, Jillian Pintye, Ben O. Odhiambo, Grace John-Stewart, Jared Baeten
• Heterogeneity of HIV Retesting During Pregnancy and Postpartum in Kenya
  Monalisa Penumetsa, Shiza Farid, Daniel Matemo, Barbra A. Richardson, Grace John-Stewart, John Kinuthia, Alison L. Drake
  

  Dr. Drake is an Assistant Professor of Global Health and co-director of Global WACh’s Family Planning and Strategic Planning Scientific Priority Area. The study findings show that retesting peripartum women in high prevalence region helps identify maternal HIV and maximize EMTCT efforts, particularly retesting in the early postpartum period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, March 7th

• Concordance of HIV Risk Perception and Empiric Risk Score Among Pregnant Kenyan Women
  Laurén Gómez, John Kinuthia, Julia C. Dettinger, Jillian Pintye, Anjuli D. Wagner, Nancy M. Ngumbau, Ben O. Odhiambo, Mary M. Marwa, Salphine A. Wattoyi, Felix Abuna, Joshua Stern, Grace John-Stewart, Jared Baeten
• Persistence with PrEP Use in African Adolescents and Young Women Initiating PrEP
  Kenneth K. Mugwanya, Jillian Pintye, John Kinuthia, Harrison Lagat, Felix Abuna, Emily R. Begnel, Julia C. Dettinger, Grace John-Stewart, Jared Baeten
• Low uptake of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Kenyan Adolescent Girls at Risk of HIV (Oral Presentation)
  Lynda M. Oluoch, Nelly R. Mugo, Alison C. Roxby, Anna Wald, Stacy Selke,
  Amalia Magaret, Kenneth Ngure, Murugi Micheni, Steven Gakuo, Bhavna
  Chohan, Catherine Kiptinness
• Point-of-Care Creatinine Testing Within a Programmatic PrEP Delivery Setting (Oral Presentation)
  Jillian Pintye, Felix Abuna, John Kinuthia, Harrison Lagat, Kenneth K. Mugwanya, Julia Dettinger, Emily R. Begnel, Marline Serede, Joseph Sila, Jared Baeten, Grace John-Stewart
  

  Dr. Pintye is an Acting Assistant Professor in Family and Child Nursing in the UW School of Nursing, and is an investigator on the DREAMS/PEPFAR-funded PrEP Implementation for Young Women and Adolescents (PrIYA) Program. Kenyan national PrEP guidelines currently mandate creatinine testing to identify pre-existing renal disease prior to PrEP implementation. Dr. Pintye’s research suggests testing is feasible during PrEP delivery within maternal-child and family planning settings to reduce testing-related time, costs, and inconvenience.