TABLE. Selected indicators for viral load monitoring before and after scale-up*,† of viral load testing, by country — eight sub-Saharan African countries, 2013–2014 and 2018.
| Country | Cumulative no. of patients§ receiving ART |
Avg. interval from sample collection to return of VL test results to referring facility, days |
% of ART VL tests indicating viral suppression |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before scale-up† | 2018 (% change) | Before scale-up† | 2018 (% change) | Before scale-up† | 2018 (% change) | |
| Côte d'Ivoire |
129,993 |
248,194 (91) |
10 |
15 (50) |
66 |
78 (18) |
| Kenya |
631,503 |
1,069,451 (69) |
18 |
8 (–56) |
64 |
90 (41) |
| Lesotho |
111,322 |
218,493 (96) |
56 |
28 (–50) |
75 |
93 (24) |
| Malawi |
472,865 |
805,323 (70) |
18 |
18 (0) |
86 |
86 (0) |
| Namibia |
126,779 |
180,584 (42) |
5 |
6 (20) |
74 |
94 (28) |
| South Africa¶ |
2,609,275 |
4,551,331 (74) |
3 |
4 (33) |
75 |
85 (13) |
| Tanzania¶ |
600,886 |
999,628 (66) |
10 |
27 (170) |
80 |
85 (6) |
| Uganda |
507,663 |
1,167,107 (130) |
18 |
14 (–22) |
90 |
88 (–2) |
| Total | 5,190,275 | 9,240,111 (78) | — | — | — | — |
Abbreviations: ART = antiretroviral therapy; VL = viral load; WHO = World Health Organization.
* Scale-up refers to the beginning of monitoring patients on ART with HIV viral load testing rather than CD4 cell testing as recommended in WHO guidelines as the preferred monitoring strategy. Because countries were not monitoring HIV patients with viral load testing, it was necessary to start viral load testing and scale-up to test all patients on ART.
† Period before scale-up was 2014 in Côte d’Ivoire and 2013 in all other countries.
§ Adult and pediatric patients.
¶ South Africa and Tanzania reported through June 2018.