Assessment of the Proportion of Recent HIV-1 Infections in Newly-Diagnosed Cases in Ghana

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 395 - 397
• Main Authors: Matsuoka, Saori, Adusei-Poku, Mildred Asumamaa, Abana, Christopher Zab-Yen, Duker, Ewurabena Oduma, Bonney, Evelyn Yayra, Ofori, Sampson Badu, Parbie, Prince Kofi, Okazaki, Midori, Kawana-Tachikawa, Ai, Ishikawa, Koichi, Ampofo, William Kwabena, Matano, Tetsuro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Editorial Committee 31.07.2022; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Algorithms; Avidity; Biomarkers; Ghana; HIV; HIV-1; Human immunodeficiency virus; incidence; Infections; recent infection; Ghana; HIV-1; Recent infection; Ghana; Incidence
• ISSN: 1344-6304; 1884-2836; 1884-2836
• DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2021.573

Accurate monitoring of epidemics is a key strategy for controlling human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection. To delineate the characteristics of newly diagnosed cases of HIV-1 infection, we assessed the proportion of recent HIV-1 infections using a recent infection-testing algorithm (RITA). In 2015, 248 cases were newly diagnosed with HIV infection at the Regional Hospital Koforidua, Ghana. Of these, 234 cases (94.4%) were infected with HIV-1 only, four (1.6%) were infected with HIV-2 only, and 10 (4.0%) were co-infected with HIV-1 and HIV-2. All HIV-1 single-seropositive samples were used in the HIV-1 LAg avidity assay for RITA. Our analysis revealed that 18 cases (7.7%) were recently infected, indicating that early diagnosis was not achieved in Ghana. This is the first report to assess the proportion of recent infections in Ghana using a biomarker approach. The accumulation of these data will contribute to the accurate estimation of HIV-1 incidence and prevalence in Ghana.