Recent HIV type 1 infection among participants in a same-day mobile testing pilot study in Zimbabwe

We estimated HIV-1 incidence and characterized risk factors associated with recent infection among participants of a mobile HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) pilot program in two communities in Zimbabwe (N = 1096). HIV-1 infection was diagnosed using a parallel rapid testing algorithm. Recent HIV-1 infections were characterized using the BED immunoglobulin G capture enzyme immunoassay (BED-CEIA). HIV prevalence was 28.9% overall and nearly twice as high in women compared to men (39.5% vs. 21.4%, p < 0.001). HIV-1 incidence was 1.91% and was comparable between men and women (1.99% vs.1.88%; p = 0.626). Although not significant, the proportion of recent infections among all infections was highest among persons ages 25 to 34 years old (10.5%) for both men (11.9%) and women (9.2%). Persons recently infected compared to those with long-term infections were more likely to report STD symptoms (33% vs. 13%; OR = 3.2; p = 0.075) and prior STD treatment (13% vs. 6%; OR = 3.4; p = 0.187) in the previous 6 months. There were no associations found between recent versus long-term HIV infection status and perceived risk or expectation of negative test results. Recent HIV-1 infection detection among mobile VCT participants is a valuable measure for tracking the spread of the epidemic among persons who might otherwise not have access to HIV testing due to practical and logistical barriers. Mobile VCT presents opportunities to expand HIV testing services and evaluate at-risk populations within community settings. Given the challenges of longitudinal cohort studies, recent infection may be a practical endpoint for community-based prevention intervention trials employing mobile testing.