Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec 5;18(1):627.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-018-3491-0.

Assessment of HIV prevalence among MSM in Tokyo using self-collected dried blood spots delivered through the postal service

Misao Takano  1 , Kohta Iwahashi  2 , Ikuo Satoh  3 , Junko Araki  2 , Takuya Kinami  2 , Yuzuru Ikushima  3 , Toshiya Fukuhara  3 , Hiroo Obinata  4 , Yasuyo Nakayama  4 , Yoshimi Kikuchi  5 , Shinichi Oka  5 ; HIV Check Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Assessment of HIV prevalence among MSM in Tokyo using self-collected dried blood spots delivered through the postal service

Misao Takano et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk of HIV infection. However, there are only few data on HIV prevalence in MSM in Japan. The objective of this study was to explore the HIV prevalence in MSM at Shinjuku 2-chome, a well known gay quarter in Tokyo.

Methods: MSM directly collected the dried blood spot (DBS) self-collection HIV test kit from a drop-in center in Shinjuku 2-chome between August 2015 and December 2016. The participants collected their own blood by finger-prick and anonymously posted the kit to the laboratory. The participants accessed the study website and checked the results of their tests using unique ID and password. DBS was soaked in phosphate buffered saline overnight and the eluted sample was examined by the fourth generation HIV Ag/Ab test of LUMIPULSE (FUJIREBIO INC.), and followed by HISCL (Sysmex Corp.) when the first assay was positive. The result was defined provisionally positive if both were positive.

Results: A total of 1702 HIV test kits were distributed and 1403 DBS were returned (return rate: 82.4%). Since 20.2% of participants collected the test kit more than once, the estimated number of actual test kit users was 1120. Based on the results of the test kit, 34 cases were provisionally diagnosed with HIV. The estimated prevalence was 3.04% (95% confidence interval: 2.03-4.04). Of these 34, 24 (70.6%) were later confirmed to be HIV-positive in the hospital, while the remaining 10 were lost to follow-up. Among the participants, 34.5% received HIV test for the first time. Especially in those aged 20-29, 46.0% were first time HIV testers.

Conclusions: The prevalence of HIV infection in the study population was 3.04%. The high collection suggested a demand for this type of testing in MSM. The test should be expanded further to difficult-to-reach or hidden populations.

Trial registration: This study was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry in August 20th, 2015 (Registry number: UMIN000018699 ).

Keywords: Dried blood spot; HIV prevalence; MSM; Self-collection kit.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine ethics committee (Approval number: NCGM-G-001752). This study was conducted with anonymous manner. However, informed consent was obtained with a consent form by explaining this study to participants. When the participant agreed to join this study, he checked the box of “YES” without his signature. The method of obtaining the consent was approved by the ethics committee. This style of informed consent was obtained from all of the participants.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of the study and results. †1358 include 3 false positive subjects who were LUMIPULSE-positive, HISCL-negative and HIV RNA-negative. *ACC; AIDS Clinical Center, #HSKC; Higashi-Shinjuku Kokorono Clinic
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Questions asked by the 232 participants at peer counseling
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. AIDS Surveillance committee, Ministry of Health, labor and welfare Japan, annual AIDS occurrence report (January 1–December 31, 2016) 2016. http://api-net.jfap.or.jp/status/2016/16nenpo/16nenpo_menu.html. Accessed 01 May 2018.
    1. HIV Testing and HIV/AIDS Counseling Map in Japan. https://www.hivkensa.com Accessed 01 May 2018.
    1. A study report 2016 supported by a grant-in-aid (Ichikawa S) for AIDS research from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare Japan. http://mhlw-grants.niph.go.jp/niph/search/NIDD00.do?resrchNum=201618003A. Accessed 01 May 2018.
    1. AIDS Surveillance Committee, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Japan, HIV tests in public health centers 2016. http://api-net.jfap.or.jp/status/2016/16nenpo/kensa.pdf. Accessed 01 May 2018.
    1. Love Life and Sex Health Report. A study report 2017 supported by a grant-in-aid (Tarui M) for AIDS research from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare Japan. http://lash.online/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/LASH.pdf Accessed 01 May 2018.

MeSH terms

Substances