Premium
HIV status and viral loads among men testing positive for rectal gonorrhoea and chlamydia, M aricopa C ounty, A rizona, USA , 2011–2013
Author(s) -
Taylor MM,
Newman DR,
Gonzalez J,
Skinner J,
Khurana R,
Mickey T
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1111/hiv.12192
Subject(s) - medicine , coinfection , chlamydia , men who have sex with men , viral load , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , chlamydia trachomatis , transmission (telecommunications) , gynecology , immunology , syphilis , electrical engineering , engineering
Objectives Men diagnosed with rectal gonorrhoea ( GC ) and chlamydia ( CT ) have engaged in unprotected receptive anal intercourse. We reviewed the HIV positivity and HIV viral loads ( VLs ) of men who had rectal GC and CT testing to evaluate potential HIV acquisition and transmission risk. Methods Rectal GC and CT testing data for men attending the M aricopa C ounty STD clinic during the period from 1 O ctober 2011 to 30 S eptember 2013 were cross‐matched with HIV surveillance data to identify men with HIV coinfection. We examined HIV status, HIV diagnosis date, and the values of VL collected nearest to the date of reported rectal infection. Results During the 2‐year time period, 1591 men were tested for rectal GC and CT . Of the men tested, 506 (31.8%) were positive for GC (13.2%), CT (12.2%) or both (6.4%); 119 (23.5%) of those with rectal GC or CT were coinfected with HIV . Among the 275 men with HIV at the time of rectal testing, 54 (19.6%) had no reported VL ; 63 (22.9%) had an undetectable VL (< 20 HIV ‐1 RNA copies/mL) and 158 (57.4%) had a detectable VL collected within 1 year of rectal diagnosis. Mean VL was higher among HIV and rectal GC / CT coinfected cases compared with men with HIV alone (174 316 vs. 57 717 copies/mL, respectively; P = 0.04). Conclusions Approximately one‐third of men undergoing rectal testing were positive for GC or CT and one‐quarter of men with rectal GC or CT also had HIV infection. Of the HIV ‐infected men tested for rectal GC or CT , more than half had a detectable VL collected near the time of rectal testing, demonstrating a risk for transmitting HIV .