# Integrating Assisted Partner Services and Phylogenetics for HIV and HCV Prevention

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $596,545

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
To contain the HIV epidemic in Kenya and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, innovative strategies for identifying
and treating HIV-infected persons who inject drugs (PWID) are critically important. It is also essential that factors
contributing to onward transmission are better understood if prevention and treatment programs are to be
brought to scale for key affected populations. The study will be co-led by Dr. Carey Farquhar and Dr. Joshua
Herbeck and is a collaborative effort between the University of Washington, Kenyatta National Hospital, the
University of Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Kenya Ministry of Health and a local NGO, Support for Addiction Prevention and
Treatment in Africa (SAPTA). The study will determine whether assisting HIV-infected PWID to notify their
partners can be a successful strategy for HIV testing and linkage to care, and whether assisted partner
notification services (APS) can be leveraged to identify individuals at high risk for hepatitis C (HCV). The primary
objective is to determine how many needle-sharing and sexual partners per HIV-infected PWID accessing HIV
testing services can be tested, diagnosed HIV- or HCV-positive, linked to appropriate services, and engaged in
care at 3 months post-testing. To achieve this, health advisors experienced in APS will recruit and enroll 1000
HIV-infected participants at 3 needle-syringe program clinics in the Mathare slum area of Nairobi. Together with
peer educators from SAPTA, study health advisors will inform partners of the exposure to HIV and HCV and
arrange for testing at the clinic or another venue. This strategy has not been used among PWID for HIV or HCV,
however, it has recently been shown to be acceptable and feasible in the general population in Kenya. Our
second and third aims leverage the ability of APS to identify new HIV and HCV cases and use phylogenetics to
characterize modes of transmission and risk factors for ongoing HIV and HCV transmission in this key population.
Blood spots will be collected on filter paper from 1000 HIV-infected and 1000 HCV-infected PWID in the network
and HIV and HCV will be sequenced at the University of KwaZulu-Natal research laboratory. This type of
molecular epidemiology approach has not been used in this population for HIV or HCV and holds great promise
when combined with collection of sociodemographic and behavioral data for defining population level factors
contributing significantly to onward transmission of these two viruses. We anticipate that our results will shape
the success of future prevention efforts in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa by enabling public health programs to
target high-risk clusters, and this will in turn pave the way for more in-depth research on effective screening and
service delivery PWID.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9869879
- **Project number:** 5R01DA043409-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** CAREY FARQUHAR
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $596,545
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-15 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9869879

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9869879, Integrating Assisted Partner Services and Phylogenetics for HIV and HCV Prevention (5R01DA043409-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9869879. Licensed CC0.

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