Lab Collaborations
In addition to the HIV test offered as part of NHBS, project areas may conduct other tests with local funds if local regulations permit anonymous testing. Further, CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention (DHP) collaborates with other agencies and CDC divisions to fund additional biological testing as part of NHBS.
DHP partners with CDC’s Division of STD Prevention (DSTDP) to incorporate sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing in NHBS in select project areas. In 2017, NHBS and DSTDP collaborated to provide testing for gonorrhea (GC, Neisseria gonorrhoeae) and chlamydia (CT, Chlamydia trachomatis) at the pharynx and rectum to men who have sex with men (MSM) in five project areas (Houston, TX; Miami, FL; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC). In 2019, GC and CT testing at the pharynx and vagina was offered to young heterosexually active females ages 18-30 in five project areas (Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; Miami, FL; New York City, NY; and Washington, DC). Pharyngeal, rectal, and urogenital GC and CT testing was also provided to transgender women in five project areas (Atlanta, GA; New Orleans, LA; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA) as part of NHBS-Trans in 2019-2020. All specimens were self-collected via swabs or urine in non-clinical settings. These collaborations provide an additional public health service to NHBS participants through STI testing and referral to care. Data gathered in non-clinical settings enhance our knowledge of bacterial STIs among populations at increased risk for HIV through sexual transmission, especially persons who may not access medical care.
In 2018external icon, DHP partnered with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) to provide hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing to persons who inject drugs (PWID) in 10 NHBS project areas (Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; San Juan, PR; and Washington DC). Blood-based rapid HCV testing in the field and laboratory HCV RNA testing was offered to all PWID participants in the 10 project areas. This collaboration provided an additional public health service to NHBS participants through testing and referral to care for HCV. Data gathered during these activities address gaps in information about the prevalence of acute and chronic hepatitis C infection among PWID in the United States.
DHP is partnering with CDC’s Division of Laboratory Sciences to detect fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in dried blood spot (DBS) specimens collected from persons who inject drugs surveyed during the 2012 and 2018 NHBS data collections. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (e.g. carfentanil) will be detected using a mass spectrometry-based method on DBS specimens collected from HIV-negative PWID in selected NHBS project areas. Data gathered from these activities will address gaps in information about the prevalence of and trends in injection of fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in the United States.