Communities in southern Africa which received a door-to-door HIV testing intervention and support for linkage to care had substantially lower HIV incidence, the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2019) in Seattle was told today.
This clear-cut effect was seen in the communities randomised to receive these interventions and treatment according to national guidelines, but as those guidelines changed to treatment-for-all early on in the life of the trial, the researchers believe it still provides evidence of the efficacy of the universal test and treat approach.
“Taken together with the findings of other studies, our results provide key evidence that the universal test and treat strategy can bring down incidence of new HIV infections, even in settings with severe generalised HIV epidemics,” Professor Richard Hayes of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told a press conference.
PopART, also known as HPTN 071, was a large community-randomised trial carried out in Zambia and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study aimed to measure the impact on HIV incidence of household-based HIV testing and linkage to care by community health workers (lay counsellors) and immediate initiation of antiretroviral treatment delivered through routine health care services.