Screening Tools for Advanced HIV Disease (AHD)

Opportunistic Infections

On this page, explore how research drives progress in AHD care — with access to key studies, clinical trial results, guidelines, and insights shaping policy and practice across sub-Saharan Africa.

This page offers clinical resources, training tools, patient support, policy content, multimedia, and accessibility features — all designed to support comprehensive care and education.

Timely identification of people with Advanced HIV Disease is critical for initiating lifesaving care. Below are key screening tools used in both clinical and community settings to support early detection and prioritisation for intervention.

CD4 Cell Count Testing

CD4 testing measures the number of CD4 cells in the blood and is the gold standard for assessing immune suppression and determining if someone has AHD (CD4 <200 cells/mm³).

Resources & Tools

VISITECT® CD4 Advanced Disease Test: A point-of-care, semi-quantitative lateral flow assay identifying patients with CD4 counts below 200 cells/mm³.
PIMA™ Analyser: A portable, battery-operated device providing rapid CD4 counts suitable for decentralized and rural settings.

Training Materials

WHO Guidelines for Managing Advanced HIV Disease and Rapid Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy (2017): Includes recommendations for CD4 testing and management of patients with AHD.
MSF Clinical Guide for the Management of AHD (2020): A practical guide tailored for low-resource and primary care settings.

WHO Clinical Staging

A clinical method to assess HIV progression in the absence of laboratory data by observing specific symptoms and signs.

Resources & Tools

WHO Clinical Staging Chart: A standardized tool to determine HIV stage (Stage 1–4), critical for identifying AHD in patients without access to CD4 testing.

Training Materials

WHO Training Modules on Clinical Staging: Interactive training content to help health workers apply staging protocols in diverse healthcare environments.

Symptom-Based Screening

In settings where diagnostics are unavailable, screening based on symptoms helps frontline health workers identify potential cases of AHD.

Resources & Tools

Standardised Symptom Screening Checklists: WHO-endorsed tools for use by nurses, clinicians, and CHWs to detect signs of TB, cryptococcal meningitis, and other OIs in people with HIV.

Training Materials

MSF Community Health Agent Programme Toolkit: Easy-to-use guides for recognizing and managing common AHD symptoms at the community level.

Opportunistic Infections