The Acute HIV Program at the University of North Carolina is dedicated to developing and conducting research involving acute HIV infection (AHI). The UNC AHI program facilitates immediate access to care and provides clinical trials to persons diagnosed with AHI. (More information about AHI)
In 1998, UNC collaborated with Duke University (Durham, NC) and Emory University (Atlanta, GA) to research the detection of AHI and treatment possibilities linked to HIV infection detected in the acute phase. Studies looked at the potential benefit of antiretroviral therapy initiated during the earliest stage of HIV infection. In November of 2002, the UNC AHI program in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, instituted the Screening and Tracing Active Transmission (STAT) program which utilizes HIV RNA testing of antibody negative specimens from publicly-funded testing sites to identify acute HIV infections. Disease intervention specialists (DIS) provide urgent notification, confirmatory testing, contact tracing, and immediate referral to specialty medical care. (View open AHI studies)
In 2006 UNC became a clinical site of the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI). As part of CHAVI, the UNC AHI program enrolls acutely infected subjects into an ongoing observational study for the purpose of studying the biology of HIV-1 transmission and developing new vaccine strategies to overcome key immunological roadblocks in HIV vaccine design. (More about CHAVI clinical trials)
The AHI program is committed to community outreach, continuing education and consultation for health care providers. As we enter the third decade of the HIV epidemic, the UNC AHI Program remains committed to the development of new strategies to detect and prevent the spread of HIV infection.
