Uptake of early infant diagnosis in Thailand’s national program for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission and linkage to care, 2008-2011

Introduction : Early infant diagnosis (EID) has been a component of Thailand’s prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme since 2007. This study assessed the uptake, EID coverage, proportion of HIV-exposed infants receiving a definitive HIV diagnosis, mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rates and linkage to HIV care and treatment. Methods : Infant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing data from the National AIDS Program database were analyzed. EID coverage was calculated as the percentage of number of HIV-exposed infants receiving ≥1 HIV PCR test divided by the number of HIV-exposed infants estimated from HIV prevalence and live-birth registry data. Definitive HIV diagnosis was defined as having two concordant PCR results. MTCT rates were calculated based on infants tested with PCR and applied as a best-case scenario, and a sensitivity analysis was used to adjust these rates in average and worst scenarios. We defined linkage to HIV care as infants with at least one PCR-positive test who were registered with Thailand’s National AIDS Program. Chi-squared tests for linear trend were used to analyze changes in programme coverage. Results : For 2008 to 2011, the average EID coverage rate increased from 54 to 76% ( p