Publications

Assessment of antiretroviral therapy knowledge and willingness of persons with HIV to support its uptake in Uganda. Access to care and treatment services for HIV/AIDS are hampered by human resource constraints and knowledge gaps about antiretroviral therapy.  The aim of this study was to assess the antiretroviral therapy-specific knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of people with HIV/AIDS as well as their proactive communication with community members and to explore their willingness to serve as support personnel.

A comprehensive evaluation of the proficiency testing program for the HIV-1 BED incidence assay. The HIV-1 BED incidence assay was developed at the CDC to detect and distinguish recent from long-term HIV-1 infection and since 2005 has been available as a commercial kit for use in HIV-1 incidence surveillance. 

Cost-effectiveness analysis of diagnostic options for pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). Diagnosis of PCP is challenging, particularly in developing countries. Highly sensitive diagnostic methods are costly, while less expensive methods often lack sensitivity or specificity.

Assessment of BED HIV-1 incidence assay in seroconverter cohorts: effect of individuals with long-term infection and importance of stable incidence. Performance of the BED assay in estimating HIV-1 incidence has previously been evaluated by using longitudinal specimens from persons with incident HIV infections, but questions remain about its accuracy. We sought to assess its performance in three longitudinal cohorts from Thailand where HIV-1 CRF01_AE and subtype B' dominate the epidemic.

Cost-effectiveness of HIV screening in STD clinics, emergency departments, and inpatient units: a model-based analysis.  Identifying and treating persons with HIV infection early in their disease stage is considered an effective means of reducing the impact of the disease. We compared the cost-effectiveness of HIV screening in three settings, sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics serving men who have sex with men, hospital emergency departments, settings where patients are likely to be diagnosed early, and inpatient diagnosis based on clinical manifestations.

HIV-1 drug resistance emergence among breastfeeding infants born to HIV-infected mothers during a single-arm trial of triple-antiretroviral prophylaxis for prevention of mother-to-child transmission: a secondary analysis. Nevirapine and lamivudine given to mothers are transmitted to infants via breastfeeding in quantities sufficient to have biologic effects on the virus; this may lead to an increased risk of a breastfed infant's development of resistance to maternal antiretrovirals. Here, we present findings from a Kisumu Breastfeeding Study trial secondary analysis that evaluated the emergence of maternal ARV-associated resistance among 32 HIV-infected breastfed infants.