Project dates: July 2011 - April 2017
Principal Investigator: Cherutich P
HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa increasingly occur among injection drug users (IDUs), a most-at-risk population. However, evidence-based services for IDUs such as syringe exchange programs, opioid substitution therapy, and IDU-specific antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence support have been non-existent in this region. The goal of this study is to evaluate the seek, test, treat, & retain intervention called ‘Testing & Linkage to Care for IDUs’ (TLC-IDU Kenya). Teams will do rapid HIV testing and refer individuals to addiction/mental health and opioid substitution therapy. HIV-positive individuals will receive prevention with positives (PwP) counseling and point of care CD4 counts, and those with CD4 levels less than 350 will be assigned a peer case manager to link them to ART at study-participating HIV clinics, and support ART and PwP adherence and care retention. This study will provide the world’s first data regarding implementation of the seek, test, treat and retain intervention with IDUs in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, they will complete an economic evaluation of the program. The lessons learned will inform other countries considering how best to address the growing IDU contribution to the HIV epidemic in this region.
Dr. Ann Kurth is currently affiliated with the Yale School of Nursing. Questions regarding this project may be sent to Dr. Kurth.
Abstract on NIH RePORTERPrevalence, estimated incidence, risk behaviours, and genotypic distribution of hepatitis C virus among people who inject drugs accessing harm-reduction services in Kenya: A retrospective cohort study
Lancet Infectious Diseases, 19 (11), 1255-1263. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30264-6. PMCID: PMC7099605.
Kurth AE, Cleland CM, Des Jarlais DC, Musyoki H, Lizcano JA, Chhun N, Cherutich P (2015).
HIV prevalence, estimated incidence, and risk behaviors among people who inject drugs in Kenya
Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 70 (4), 420-427. doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000000769. PMCID: PMC4624615.
Rhodes T, Guise A, Ndimbii J, Strathdee S, Ngugi E, Platt L, Kurth A, Cleland C, Vickerman P (2015).
Is the promise of methadone Kenya’s solution to managing HIV and addiction? A mixed-method mathematical modelling and qualitative study
BMJ Open, 5 (3), e007198. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007198. PMCID: PMC4360822.