Background Index contact testing is an HIV case-finding approach that elicits sexual or needle-sharing partners, as well as biological children, of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and offers them HIV testing services. Objectives We aim to describe the results of an innovative project in Sedibeng District that expanded index testing by retesting previously negative contacts and incorporating status-neutral testing. Method We used registers to identify people who previously tested HIV-negative through index testing from March 2019 to September 2021. The individuals were telephonically traced and offered HIV retesting. Data were collected on a weekly basis using REDCap®. We monitored the number of individuals called, those who came back for retest, and their HIV results. Results Fifteen counsellors contacted 968 people over 12 months. Forty-eight percent (462 out of 968) of those called returned for testing. Of those, 121 (26%) tested positive. Overall, 66 out of 276 (24%) men with HIV and 55 out of 186 (30%) women with HIV were identified and linked to antiretroviral treatment (ART). Fifty-seven percent (194 out of 341) of clients who tested HIV-negative were offered, and 124 out of 194 (64%) initiated, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). All individuals who retested HIV-positive had a new diagnosis; none reported having had another positive test result between the original negative and the positive retest. Conclusion Revisiting index clients with a previous negative HIV test result is worthwhile, creating an opportunity to identify undiagnosed PLHIV and high-risk people for PrEP. The high positivity rate highlights the importance of providing a sero-neutral approach to HIV testing, including integrating prevention messaging and linkage to PrEP services.

中文翻译：

---

在南非 Sedibeng 重新测试 HIV 阴性指数接触者模型的结果。

背景 Index 接触检测是一种 HIV 病例发现方法，可引出 HIV 感染者 (PLHIV) 的性伴侣或共用针头的伴侣以及亲生子女，并为他们提供 HIV 检测服务。目标 我们旨在描述 Sedibeng 区的一个创新项目的结果，该项目通过重新测试以前的负面接触者并结合状态中立测试来扩展指数测试。方法 我们使用登记册来识别之前通过指数检测从 2019 年 3 月到 2021 年 9 月检测出 HIV 阴性的人。通过电话追踪这些人并提供 HIV 重新检测。使用 REDCap® 每周收集数据。我们监测了被呼叫的人数、回来进行复检的人数以及他们的 HIV 结果。结果 15 名辅导员在 12 个月内联系了 968 人。百分之四十八（968 人中的 462 人）返回接受检测。其中，121 人（26%）检测呈阳性。总体而言，276 名男性艾滋病病毒感染者中有 66 人 (24%) 和 186 名女性艾滋病病毒感染者中有 55 人 (30%) 被确认并接受了抗逆转录病毒治疗 (ART)。提供了 57%（341 名中的 194 名）HIV 检测呈阴性的客户，194 名客户中的 124 名（64%）开始了暴露前预防（PrEP）。所有重新检测为 HIV 阳性的人都有新的诊断；没有人报告在最初的阴性和阳性重新测试之间有另一个阳性测试结果。结论 重新访问之前 HIV 检测结果为阴性的指标客户是值得的，这为识别未确诊的 PLHIV 和 PrEP 高危人群创造了机会。