TREATS is a new EUR 12.9 million project launched in March 2018 which measures the impact of a combination TB-HIV intervention when delivered to the entire population of 14 urban, high prevalence communities in South Africa and Zambia.
TREATS is being conducted by a consortium of organisations that are already running PopART, the largest ever trial of a combination HIV prevention strategy. This trial is being conducted across 21 communities in Zambia and South Africa, covering approximately one million people in total. PopART involves universal testing and treatment for HIV through house-to-house visits on an annual basis over four years – from 2014-2018. As part of PopART, all community members are also screened for TB.
Building on PopART, TREATS measures the impact of this combined intervention on TB – measuring prevalence of disease as well as incidence of infection. The project runs until 2021 and includes: a social science component to better understand stigma related to TB; mathematical and economic modelling to provide answers for how future large-scale interventions can be undertaken effectively; use of the newest tools available for diagnosing TB infection, and operating effectively on a large scale.
TREATS aims to inform new policies and approaches to tackling the TB-HIV epidemic. As the global health community works toward ambitious new goals to end TB, TREATS will provide invaluable new information for accelerating effective interventions.
The project is part of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) supported by the European Union.