HIV/AIDS Surveillance Projects

HIV Incidence Surveillance (HIS)	Variant, Atypical & Resistant HIV Surveillance (VARHS)
Medical Monitoring Project (MMP)

HIV Incidence Surveillance (HIS)

HIV Incidence Surveillance (HIS) is an expanded HIV surveillance activity funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 25 areas across the country, including Washington.

While HIV case reporting allows HIV assessment staff to measure the number of people newly diagnosed with HIV, it does not provide information about people who are newly infected. The purpose of HIS is to provide national and local estimates of the number of new HIV infections per year.

In order the produce these estimates, two components are needed. The first is leftover serum from the HIV positive diagnostic specimen from each person newly diagnosed with HIV. This specimen is tested using a special test called the BED assay, which measures the concentration of HIV-specific antibody in the serum. The result may provide an indication that the infection occurred recently. The second component is a person’s HIV testing and treatment history. This information is collected at the time that the HIV case report is completed. Using these two components, staff work to make estimates of people who are newly infected with HIV.

Variant, Atypical & Resistant HIV Surveillance (VARHS)

Variant, Atypical, and Resistant HIV Surveillance (VARHS) is an expanded surveillance activity funded by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in ten areas across the country, including Washington.

VARHS allows HIV assessment staff to monitor the amount of HIV in the population that is resistant to HIV medications and the presence of different HIV-1 viral strains/types. VARHS uses genotypic tests to describe the resistance patterns and types of HIV virus.

These test results are collected in two ways. First, since many clinicians conduct genotypic testing on their patients, results are collected from providers and laboratories. For those people who are newly diagnosed with HIV and do not have a provider, leftover sera from HIV positive diagnostic specimens are sent to a lab that conducts genotypic testing.

Results are returned to the provider who ordered the HIV test so that each individual may have their results to guide treatment decisions. This information allows HIV assessment staff to estimate what percentage of the population has resistant HIV as well as HIV of different strains/types.

Medical Monitoring Project (MMP)

The Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) is an expanded surveillance activity funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 23 areas across the country, including Washington.

The purpose of MMP is to gain a better understanding of health-related experiences and needs of people living with HIV who are receiving HIV care in the United States.

For each data collection cycle, HIV assessment staff identify all HIV care providers and choose a representative sample. For these providers, a representative sample of patients is chosen. Health department staff work with providers to let patients know that they have been selected to participate.

For those patients who volunteer to participate, information about them is collected in two ways. First, the patient participates in a face-to-face interview with a health department interviewer. The interview takes about 45 minutes and includes questions about medical history, use of medical and social services, and risk behaviors. Second, health department staff collect information from the patient’s medical chart. Data from all participating patients are combined to describe the characteristics of people receiving HIV care in Washington.