Firm Develops Early HIV Diagnosis System for Infants. 16/12/10
Infants infected with HIV/Aids will now be able to access diagnosis within two days after testing
By Rawlings Otini
16 December 2010
Kenyan infants infected with HIV/Aids will now be able to access diagnosis within two days after testing, drastically reducing the high infant death rate linked to late data delivery.
This follows the ongoing installation of a technology that can link remote medical institutions across the country.
With the help of Strathmore University students, Hewlett Packard has developed a custom database application that uses cloud computing to capture, manage and return infant HIV test results in one to two days, a significant improvement from the previous paper-based system that took over one month.
"Parents of the infant were required to travel to take blood samples to the nearest health facility from where it was brought to Nairobi via courier service. Results of the test were then taken back via courier service, taking a lot of time and resources," said Mr Matilu Mwau, the director and principal investigator of early infant diagnosis at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) in Busia.
The technology will now make test results available online, as well as via SMS and GSM in real time, thereby drastically reducing the time taken to inform parents of the test results.
The turn-around time for test results is especially critical, as infants diagnosed with HIV must begin anti-retroviral treatment (ART) as quickly as possible to ensure survival.
Without immediate treatment, half of HIV-positive infants are unlikely to survive past age two.
Cloud computing refers to accessing computing resources that are typically owned and operated by a third-party provider.
"Currently, we are working with HP and they are in the process of setting up the system from which we expect to speed up delivery of the test results," said Mr Mwau.
The initial phase of the project that cost Sh88 million comprises the installation of two data centres at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and the National Aids/STI Control Programme (Nascop) headquarters in Nairobi.
The initiative will provide structural and systemic improvements in testing and treatment of more than 120,000 infants exposed to HIV in Kenya each year.
Out of every 10,000 infants, 300 are HIV positive while 45 per cent die due to delayed medication arising from late diagnosis.
Healthy life
Without treatment, an infant infected with HIV in Kenya has a 35 per cent chance of dying by his first birthday and a 53 per cent chance of dying before the age of two, according to a study by Pathfinder International Kenya.
But if the baby receives prophylactic antibiotics soon after birth and anti-retroviral therapy (ART) early enough, he has a good chance of surviving childhood and living a long and healthy life.
Three additional sites are expected to be online next year at Kemri centres in Busia, Kisumu and the ministry of Health headquarters at Afya House.
The investment also includes servers, storage, PCs, networking equipment, SMS-enabled printers, and personnel training and support.
The system will also scale up to support the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation as it expands prevention of mother-to-child transmission services to more than 3,000 facilities during the next two years.
"We believe these efforts will facilitate our ability to provide long-term health interventions that truly make a difference in keeping our population healthy and productive," said Public Health Services minister Beth Mugo.
Additionally, the results will be made available via an online database to communicate with rural health centres and through SMS.
The HP technology provisioning also includes five data centres connected with four existing laboratories.
Within the first year in operation, about 70,000 infants will be reached.
In Kenya, about one in every 10 pregnant women is HIV-positive.
That means that of the 1.3 million children born in Kenya each year, more than 120,000 have HIV-positive mothers.
Without intervention, there is up to a 45 per cent chance that an infant born to a mother with HIV will become infected.
Due to the high rate of HIV in Kenya, infants are required to be tested for the disease before they are six weeks old.
However, the current testing procedure is paper-based and results can take up to three months to arrive in rural areas.
This delay reduces the efficacy of life-saving anti-retroviral treatment, which needs to be started immediately following a diagnosis.
For example, an HIV-positive infant who does not receive ART has less than a 50 per cent chance of living to see his or her second birthday.
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), which is supporting HP financially, is a global health organisation committed to strengthening integrated health systems in the developing world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/Aids, malaria, and tuberculosis.
CHAI's solution-oriented approach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics, lowering prices for treatment, accelerating access to life-saving technologies, and helping governments build the capacity required for high-quality care and treatment programmes.