Integration of TB prevention into ANC clinics in Matlosana, South Africa from November 2017 through July 2018
Integration of HIV diagnosis and treatment into antenatal care (ANC) services has greatly improved maternal health and infant health outcomes including reducing perinatal HIV transmission, improving postnatal maternal antiretroviral treatment outcomes, and ensuring a high proportion of infants are immunized. Johns Hopkins University and the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in collaboration with local partners—under Project SOAR, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—aimed to implement and assess an integrated approach to TB screening, evaluation/diagnosis, and preventive treatment among pregnant women applicable to high-burden, low-resource settings. Because the sensitivity of symptom screening in HIV-positive pregnant women is so poor, the study also implemented enhanced TB screening for pregnant women living with HIV (PWLHIV).
