Feasibility and Effectiveness of Provider Initiated HIV Testing and Counseling of TB Suspects in Vizianagaram District, South India.
Abstract
Though internationally recommended, provider initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) of persons suspected of tuberculosis (TB) is not a policy in India; HIV seroprevalence among TB suspects has never been reported. The current policy of PITC for diagnosed TB cases may limit opportunities of early HIV diagnosis and treatment. The authors determined HIV seroprevalence among persons suspected of TB and assessed feasibility and effectiveness of PITC implementation at this earlier stage in the TB diagnostic pathway.
All adults examined for diagnostic sputum microscopy (TB suspects) in Vizianagaram district (population 2.5 million), in November-December 2010, were offered voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) and assessed for TB diagnosis.
Citation
Achanta, S.; Kumar, AM.; Nagaraja, SB.; Jaju, J.; Shamrao, SR.; Uppaluri, R.; Tekumalla, RR.; Gupta, D.; Kumar, A.; Satyanarayana, S.; Dewan, PK. Feasibility and Effectiveness of Provider Initiated HIV Testing and Counseling of TB Suspects in Vizianagaram District, South India. PLoS ONE (2012) 7 (7) e41378. [DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041378]