A Moving Target: Impacts of Lowering Viral Load Suppression Cutpoints on Progress Towards HIV Epidemic Control Goals.

Joseph Gregory RosenSteven J ReynoldsRonald M GaliwangoGodfrey KigoziThomas C QuinnOliver RatmannAnthony NdyanaboLisa J NelsonGertrude NakigoziMargaret NalugemwaKatherine B RucinskiCaitlin E KennedyLarry W ChangJoseph KagaayiDavid SerwaddaM Kate Grabowski

Published in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2023)

Redefining viral load suppression (VLS) using lower cutpoints could impact progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. We assessed impacts of lowering the VLS cutpoint on achieving the 95-95-95 VLS target in the Rakai Community Cohort Study. Population VLS fell from 86% to 84% and 76%, respectively, after lowering VLS cutpoints from <1,000 to <200 and <50 copies/mL. The fraction of viremic persons increased by 17% after lowering the VLS cutpoint from <1,000 to <200 copies/mL.

Keyphrases

healthcare
antiretroviral therapy
mental health
human immunodeficiency virus
hiv positive
hiv infected
public health
hiv testing