Assessing the Real-Time Impact of COVID-19 on TB and HIV Services: The Experience and Response from Selected Health Facilities in Nairobi, Kenya

Mbithi, Irene; Thekkur, Pruthu; Chakaya, Jeremiah Muhwa; Onyango, Elizabeth; Owiti, Philip; Njeri, Ngugi Catherine; Kumar, Ajay M.V.; Satyanarayana, Srinath; Shewade, Hemant D.; Khogali, Mohammed; Zachariah, Rony; Rusen, I. D.; Berger, Selma Dar; Harries, Anthony D.

doi:10.3390/tropicalmed6020074

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Assessing the Real-Time Impact of COVID-19 on TB and HIV Services: The Experience and Response from Selected Health Facilities in Nairobi, Kenya

Irene Mbithi

^1,†

Pruthu Thekkur

^2,3,†

Jeremiah Muhwa Chakaya

^1,4,5,

Elizabeth Onyango

⁶,

Philip Owiti

⁶,

Ngugi Catherine Njeri

⁷,

Ajay M.V. Kumar

^2,3,8,

Srinath Satyanarayana

^2,3

^2,3,

⁹,

⁹

¹⁰,

² and

^2,11,*

Respiratory Society of Kenya, Regent Court, Block A Suite A6 Hurlingham, Argwings Khodhek Road, Nairobi, Kenya

International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 68 Boulevard Saint Michel, 75006 Paris, France

International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, South-East Asia Office, C-6 Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi 110016, India

⁴

Department of Medicine, Therapeutics and Dermatology, Kenyatta University, PO Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

⁵

Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK

⁶

Division of National TB, Leprosy and Lung Disease Programme, Ministry of Health, Afya House, Cathedral Road, PO Box 30016-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

⁷

National AIDS and STDs Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Afya House, Cathedral Road, PO Box 30016-00100, Nairobi, Kenya

⁸

Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), University Road, Deralakatte, Mangalore 575018, India

⁹

Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Disease (TDR), World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland

¹⁰

Vital Strategies, 100 Broadway 4th Floor, New York, NY 10005, USA

¹¹

Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK

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^†

Joint First Author.

Academic Editors: Peter A. Leggat, John Frean and Lucille Blumberg

Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2021, 6(2), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6020074

Received: 19 April 2021 / Revised: 6 May 2021 / Accepted: 6 May 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives)

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Abstract

There was concern that the COVID-19 pandemic would adversely affect TB and HIV programme services in Kenya. We set up real-time monthly surveillance of TB and HIV activities in 18 health facilities in Nairobi so that interventions could be implemented to counteract anticipated declining trends. Aggregate data were collected and reported monthly to programme heads during the COVID-19 period (March 2020–February 2021) using EpiCollect5 and compared with monthly data collected during the pre-COVID period (March 2019–February 2020). During the COVID-19 period, there was an overall decrease in people with presumptive pulmonary TB (31.2%), diagnosed and registered with TB (28.0%) and in those tested for HIV (50.5%). Interventions to improve TB case detection and HIV testing were implemented from August 2020 and were associated with improvements in all parameters during the second six months of the COVID-19 period. During the COVID-19 period, there were small increases in TB treatment success (65.0% to 67.0%) and referral of HIV-positive persons to antiretroviral therapy (91.2% to 92.9%): this was more apparent in the second six months after interventions were implemented. Programmatic interventions were associated with improved case detection and treatment outcomes during the COVID-19 period, suggesting that monthly real-time surveillance is useful during unprecedented events. View Full-Text

Keywords: COVID-19; Kenya; Nairobi; presumptive tuberculosis; tuberculosis; TB treatment outcomes; HIV; antiretroviral therapy; EpiCollect5; operational research

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mbithi, I.; Thekkur, P.; Chakaya, J.M.; Onyango, E.; Owiti, P.; Njeri, N.C.; Kumar, A.M.V.; Satyanarayana, S.; Shewade, H.D.; Khogali, M.; Zachariah, R.; Rusen, I.D.; Berger, S.D.; Harries, A.D. Assessing the Real-Time Impact of COVID-19 on TB and HIV Services: The Experience and Response from Selected Health Facilities in Nairobi, Kenya. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2021, 6, 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6020074

AMA Style

Mbithi I, Thekkur P, Chakaya JM, Onyango E, Owiti P, Njeri NC, Kumar AMV, Satyanarayana S, Shewade HD, Khogali M, Zachariah R, Rusen ID, Berger SD, Harries AD. Assessing the Real-Time Impact of COVID-19 on TB and HIV Services: The Experience and Response from Selected Health Facilities in Nairobi, Kenya. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2021; 6(2):74. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6020074

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mbithi, Irene, Pruthu Thekkur, Jeremiah M. Chakaya, Elizabeth Onyango, Philip Owiti, Ngugi C. Njeri, Ajay M.V. Kumar, Srinath Satyanarayana, Hemant D. Shewade, Mohammed Khogali, Rony Zachariah, I. D. Rusen, Selma D. Berger, and Anthony D. Harries. 2021. "Assessing the Real-Time Impact of COVID-19 on TB and HIV Services: The Experience and Response from Selected Health Facilities in Nairobi, Kenya" Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 6, no. 2: 74. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6020074

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