Acquired HIV drug resistance among children and adults receiving antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania: a national representative survey protocol

HIV viral suppression in the era of dolutegravir use: Findings from a national survey in Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Tanzania has made significant progress in improving access to HIV care and treatment. However, virologic suppression among people living with HIV (PLHIV) has not been fully realized. In March 2019, Tanzania introduced a World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended dolutegravir-based regimen as the default first-line regimen. Eighteen months later we investigated the HIV viral suppression rates and the factors associated with lack of viral suppression among PLHIV (children and adults) in Tanzania.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional survey was conducted from September to December 2020 among PLHIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Tanzania. Whole blood samples, demographic data and clinical information were obtained from eligible adults (≥15 years) and children (< 15 years) attending thirty-six HIV care and treatment centres located in 22 regions of Tanzania mainland. A whole blood sample from each participant was processed into plasma and HIV viral load was estimated using real-time PCR. HIV viral suppression was defined at a cut-off of < 50 copies/mL as recommended by WHO. Analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics to establish the national representative prevalence of viral suppression, and logistic regression analyses to determine independent factors associated with non-suppression.

RESULTS

A total of 2,039 PLHIV on ART were recruited; of these, adults and children were 57.5% (n = 1173) and 42.5% (n = 866), respectively. Among the adult population, the mean age and standard deviation (SD) was 42.1 ± 12.4 years, with 64.7% being female. Among children, the mean age and SD were 9.6 ± 3 years, and 53.2% were female. Overall viral suppression at < 50 copies/mL (undetectable) was achieved in 87.8% of adults and 74.4% of children. Adults and children on dolutegravir-based regimen recorded viral suppression rates of 89.7% and 85.1% respectively. Factors independently associated with lack of viral suppression status in the adult population were age and ART adherence while in the children population, the factors were sex, ART adherence, and current ART regimen (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Dolutegravir-based regimens are promising to help attain epidemic control in Tanzania. More efforts especially on ART adherence are needed to attain optimal treatment outcomes for children and adults PLHIV in Tanzania.

HIV virologic response, patterns of drug resistance mutations and correlates among adolescents and young adults: A cross-sectional study in Tanzania

BACKGROUND

The emergence of HIV drug resistance mutations (DRMs) is of significant threat to achieving viral suppression (VS) in the quest to achieve global elimination targets. We hereby report virologic outcomes and patterns of acquired DRMs and its associated factors among adolescents and young adults (AYA) from a broader HIV drug resistance surveillance conducted in Tanzania.

METHODS

Data of AYA was extracted from a cross-sectional study conducted in 36 selected facilities using a two-stage cluster sampling design. Dried blood spot (DBS) samples were collected and samples with a viral load (VL) ≥1000 copies/mL underwent genotyping for the HIV-1 pol gene. Stanford HIV database algorithm predicted acquired DRMs, Fisher's exact test and multivariable logistic regression assessed factors associated with DRMs and VS, respectively.

FINDINGS

We analyzed data of 578 AYA on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 9-15 and ≥ 36 months; among them, 91.5% and 88.2% had VS (VL<1000copies/mL) at early and late time points, respectively. Genotyping of 64 participants (11.2%) who had VL ≥1000 copies/ml detected 71.9% of any DRM. Clinically relevant DRMs were K103N, M184V, M41L, T215Y/F, L210W/L, K70R, D67N, L89V/T, G118R, E138K, T66A, T97A and unexpectedly absent K65R. Participants on a protease inhibitor (PI) based regimen were twice as likely to not achieve VS compared to those on integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI). The initial VL done 6 months after ART initiation of ≥1000copies/mL was the primary factor associated with detecting DRMs (p = .019).

CONCLUSIONS

VS amongst AYA is lower than the third UNAIDs target. Additionally, a high prevalence of ADR and high levels of circulating clinically relevant DRMs may compromise the long-term VS in AYA. Furthermore, the first VL result of ≥1000copies/ml after ART initiation is a significant risk factor for developing DRMs. Thus, strict VL monitoring for early identification of treatment failure and genotypic testing during any ART switch is recommended to improve treatment outcomes for AYA.

Novel Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Targeting HIV Reservoirs

Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) is prescribed for HIV infection and, to a certain extent, limits the infection's spread. However, it cannot completely eradicate the latent virus in remote and cellular reservoir areas, and due to the complex nature of the infection, the total eradication of HIV is difficult to achieve. Furthermore, monotherapy and multiple therapies are not of much help. Hence, there is a dire need for novel drug delivery strategies that may improve efficacy, decrease side effects, reduce dosing frequency, and improve patient adherence to therapy. Such a novel strategy could help to target the reservoir sites and eradicate HIV from different biological sanctuaries. In the current review, we have described HIV pathogenesis, the mechanism of HIV replication, and different biological reservoir sites to better understand the underlying mechanisms of HIV spread. Further, the review deliberates on the challenges faced by the current conventional drug delivery systems and introduces some novel drug delivery strategies that have been explored to overcome conventional drug delivery limitations. In addition, the review also summarizes several nanotechnology-based approaches that are being explored to resolve the challenges of HIV treatment by the virtue of delivering a variety of anti-HIV agents, either as combination therapies or by actively targeting HIV reservoir sites.