Kenya has improved the accuracy of HIV diagnosis by implementing the three-test algorithm that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends.
The typical three-test method, according to the WHO, consists of three sequential HIV-reactive tests in order to accurately diagnose a patient.
HIV testing is made accessible and compliant with the Five C’s: counselling, voluntary consent, confidentiality, accurate results, and linkage to care.
The precision of HIV testing has improved, according to the Ministry of Health, demonstrating its dedication to providing high-quality care.
Principal Secretary (PS) for Medical Services Harry Kimtai asked the public and healthcare professionals to actively support ongoing surveillance measures to preserve the integrity of testing services, while also urging all citizens to continue using HIV testing services nationally.
Kimtai outlined how the Ministry guarantees the dependability and security of testing services through stringent quality assurance procedures and capacity-building programmes, also stating more than 1.3 million People Living with HIV (PLHIV) were receiving treatment in 3,752 facilities around the country as of December 2023.
“Annually, Kenya conducts more than 8 million HIV tests across 8,851 testing sites, demonstrating the nation’s commitment to standardized and accessible testing services,” said Kimtai.
Since then, a lot of nations have adopted this WHO advice. For instance, in the WHO African Region, the percentage of people who tested positive for HIV surged from 8% in 2014 to 71% in 2021.
Testing procedures should not employ a tiebreaker to rule-in HIV infection, and they should use tests serially rather than in simultaneously, according to the WHO website.
Rather, patients with contradictory test results ought to be classified as inconclusive and sent for more testing within a 14-day period in order to rule out or rule in seroconverting.
According to WHO guidelines, all HIV testing algorithms should include RDTs and/or enzyme-immunoassays (EIAs) to produce a positive predictive value of at least 99%.
Additionally, combinations of tests with sensitivity and specificity greater than or equal to 99% and 98%, respectively, should be used. When using HIV testing algorithms, the World Health Organisation advises against using nucleic acid testing methods on people older than 18 months.
In an HIV testing strategy and algorithm, the WHO advises that the highest sensitivity test be used first, followed by the highest specificity tests in the second and third places.
