Provision and awareness for isoniazid preventive therapy among PLHIV in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Between February 2008 and May 2008, a cross sectional facility-based survey was conducted by exit interview of 406 PLHIV from six health facilities. The findings were analyzed and described in this report.The proportion of PLHIV ever had been provided with IPT were 74 of 231 TB free PLHIV (32.0%) and the proportion of having information about IPT among study participants was 29.8%. Females were about two times more informed about the provision of IPT in their health facilities than males [AOR (95%CI): 2.18 (1.31-3.61)].We conclude that the practice of provision of IPT for PLHIV is high, but there is room for improvement. Provision of INH for TB free PLHIV has to be strengthened with better diagnostic facilities to certainly rule out active TB cases.The spread of the HIV epidemic throughout sub-Saharan Africa has been accompanied by up to a fourfold increase in the number of TB cases registered by national TB programs [1]. Several researchers have reported the benefit of IPT for PLHIV in reducing the incidence of tuberculosis including in resource poor countries where TB infection rates are very high [2-7]. Interventions for preventing and treating TB include: IPT intensified case finding for active TB and TB infection control [8]. The World Health Organization recommends IPT for all PLHIV in countries with a prevalence of latent TB infection > 30%, and for all PLHIV with documented latent TB infection or exposure to an infectious TB case. In the same policy report it is indicated that the combined use of IPT and antiretroviral therapy among PLHIV significantly reduces new infections [8]. Most IPT studies focused on issues related to adherence by PLHIV [9,10].Information about the status of IPT provision and awareness of PLHIV regarding IPT in Ethiopia is limited. This is due to the absence of well standardized information flow at all levels and scarcity of research based evidences.Therefore, this paper attempted to present the status of IPT provision and awareness a