‘Alarming’ rates of second-line HIV treatment failure in sub-Saharan Africa
www.avert.org - "Second-line treatment failure in sub-Saharan Africa is a public health crisis we need to control. The number of people failing second-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) is reaching ‘alarming’ levels in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with failure more common in the first 12-18 months after treatment initiation, among children, and among those residing in countries in the southern part of SSA.
In a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in PLOS One journal this week, the analysis also revealed that treatment failure was associated with suboptimal ART adherence, a higher viral load reading at baseline, a lower peak CD4 count, and among those with advanced HIV as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) classification." (Photo: Marco Verch Professional Photographer and Speaker/flickr, CC BY 2.0)