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