Low uptake of HIV testing and no HIV positivity in stable serodiscordant heterosexual partners of long-term treated HIV-infected Thais.

The objective of this study was to characterize HIV-serodiscordant heterosexual couples and to evaluate acceptance for HIV testing and HIV prevalence in nonindex partners. We conducted a cross-sectional study with quantitative and qualitative components. Two cohorts of 1767 HIV-positive people were screened to identify heterosexual HIV-serodiscordant couples. HIV-positive partners (index) were administered a questionnaire; CD4, viral load (VL), and antiretroviral therapy (ART) history were gathered from clinical records. HIV-negative/unknown status partners (nonindex) were invited for a similar questionnaire and HIV testing. In-depth interviews with three HIV-serodiscordant couples were conducted. Two hundred and ninety-seven index partners agreed to enroll in this study. The median duration of the relationship was 10 years, and 81% were sexually active. All but two index partners were on ART, and 98% had VL < 1000 copies/mL. Only 111 (37%) nonindex partners came for HIV testing, and all of them tested HI...