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12 OCTOBER 2018 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 41

Media Coverage

  • Optimizing HIV care—clarifying treatment interruptions and meeting unmet patient needs

    A session at the 2018 ID Week Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, explored various strategies to optimize the delivery of care to those infected with HIV. Globally, almost 37 million people are living with HIV, with close to 2 million newly infected annually; about 22 million are treated using antiretroviral therapy.

    October 12, 2018
    Treatment
    MD Magazine

  • Fewer than 10% of people with HIV complete advance care planning

    Among eligible people living with HIV at the National University Hospital in Singapore, fewer than 10% completed advance care planning, according to findings presented at IDWeek.

    October 12, 2018
    Treatment
    Healio

  • Over 10,000 households to get free home-based HIV screening

    The Minister of State for Public and Primary Healthcare, Dr Patrick Ndimubanzi, has said that 10,800 households will be given free home-based screening for HIV, allowing them to benefit from ‘Treat All’ approach for those who will be found to be positive. It was during the launch of the Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (RPHIA) at Kigali Convention Centre on Wednesday.

    October 12, 2018
    General
    The New Times

  • Older people less likely to be offered an HIV test in English sexual health clinics

    Attendees in their late twenties had the highest likelihood of being offered HIV testing, with the proportion of attendees who were offered testing declining with increasing age.

    October 12, 2018
    General
    aidsmap

  • Shortage of HIV/AIDS drugs turning into ‘national crisis’

    The Stop Stockout Project (SSP), a consortium monitoring and reporting on shortages of essential medicines in South Africa, has warned that the country is running out of antiretroviral drugs – an essential treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS.

    October 11, 2018
    Treatment
    The Citizen

  • Efavirenz, but not dolutegravir, linked to neurological problems in children

    Children born to HIV-positive women who take efavirenz (Sustiva or Stocrin, also a component of Atripla) during pregnancy are at greater risk of developing neurological disorders, some of which may not be diagnosed until years after birth, according to a late-breaker presentation at IDWeek 2018 last week in San Francisco.

    October 11, 2018
    Treatment
    aidsmap

  • Insurers can't deny cover for HIV+ patients, says IRDAI

    The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has said that HIV-positive individuals cannot be denied insurance cover, unless supported by actuarial studies. The regulator has asked insurers to stop discriminating against persons with HIV/AIDS.

    October 11, 2018
    Treatment
    Times of India

  • New York City's hotline for HIV exposure a success, study finds

    Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is a proven way to prevent HIV transmission after a possible exposure. Though access to PEP has been spotty, a dial-in hotline program in New York City has helped qualified patients access PEP at their local pharmacies, raising the possibility that remote screening methods could be an important way to bolster PEP use.

    October 11, 2018
    General
    The BodyPro

  • Despite protections for people with HIV, advocates express concern with state Medicaid work and reporting waivers

    The ADAP Advocacy Association hosted its annual conference in late September, and the conference covered many subject areas along this year's official theme, "Mapping a New Course to Protect the Public Health Safety Net." One panel was dedicated to trends in Section 1115 waivers, including the work requirements that have been designated markers of eligibility in some states.

    October 11, 2018
    General
    The Body

  • Activists warn of hidden provision in insurance plans for HIV drugs

    In a press conference on Wednesday, officials with the AIDS Institute, the Arthritis Foundation, and the National Organization for Rare Disorders warned that a growing number of insurers are refusing to allow co-payment assistance coupons provided by drug manufacturers from counting toward patients’ annual deductibles.

    October 10, 2018
    PrEP, Treatment
    Washington Blade

  • Hepatitis C elimination in people living with HIV in the UK is feasible by 2021, British HIV Association says

    Speaking at last week’s British HIV Association Hepatology Highlights Meeting, Professor Graham Cooke of Imperial College, London, said that breaking down World Health Organization targets for hepatitis C elimination into microelimination targets for individual populations such as people living with HIV would help to drive progress towards the larger target of treating 80% of those eligible for direct-acting antiviral treatment by 2030.

    October 10, 2018
    General
    aidsmap

  • HIV vaccine candidate from Scripps Research starts human testing

    The early stage human test is sponsored by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, or IAVI, which operates the center at Scripps Research. It will evaluate safety, along with the vaccine candidate’s ability to begin the initial stages of a powerful antibody response to neutralize a broad spectrum of HIV strains.

    October 10, 2018
    Antibody Related Research, HIV Vaccine
    San Diego Union-Tribune

  • HIV-positive children to take soluble ARVs

    Parents will soon find it easier to give antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to children below 10 years as scientists have started developing the drug that can be soluble in porridge and other liquids. This is planned to encourage good adherence and viral load suppression.

    October 10, 2018
    Treatment
    Daily Monitor

  • After prison, many people living with HIV go without treatment

    When people living with HIV walk out of prison, they leave with up to a month's worth of HIV medication in their pockets. What they don't necessarily leave with is access to health care or the services that will keep them healthy in the long term.

    October 9, 2018
    Treatment
    NPR

  • Researchers develop injectable implant to prevent, detect HIV

    Rather than receiving a once-daily pill, patients can receive a continuous formulation of an antiretroviral medication called dolutegravir for nine months and then the implant can be removed. The drug, which was approved for use in the United States in 2013, is sold under the brand name Tivicay.

    October 9, 2018
    Treatment
    UPI

  • Another rare PrEP failure reported in San Francisco

    "HIV infections during PrEP use are extremely rare," PrEP researcher Robert Grant of UCSF told aidsmap.com. "There are only a few cases reported worldwide after hundreds of thousands of people have used PrEP and tens of thousands of HIV infections have been prevented."

    October 9, 2018
    PrEP
    aidsmap

  • 'Mini'-really rapid review -- IDWeek 2018, San Francisco

    There's so much going on no one can cover it all, certainly not me. So here's a sampling of some (emphasis on some) of the interesting research presentations from last week, a "Mini" Really Rapid Review™ of the conference.

    October 9, 2018
    General
    The BodyPro

  • NACA to sample 88,000 households in latest HIV survey

    The National Agency for Control of AIDS said on Tuesday, that it would sample 88,000 households in the country, in its latest Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey.

    October 9, 2018
    General
    Punch Nigeria

  • HIV prevention drug PrEP to be evaluated for State funding

    Last week, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) said it had commenced a “health technology assessment” (HTA) which will examine the cost and clinical effectiveness of a supply scheme.

    October 8, 2018
    PrEP
    Irish Times

  • Malaysia feted for eliminating mother-to-child HIV and syphilis transmission

    Malaysia has become the first country in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Western Pacific Region to be certified as having eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

    October 8, 2018
    General
    The Star

  • Detroit's HIV rate is more than 4 times the state average. Here's why

    While the overall number of people diagnosed with new cases of HIV in Michigan has remained relatively stable since the early 2000s, it has been rising in a key demographic: young African-American gay and bisexual men who have seen a sweeping statewide increase in diagnoses, according to Jennifer Miller, an HIV epidemiology manager for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

    October 8, 2018
    General
    Detroit Free Press

  • HPV vaccine approved for women and men up to age 45

    On October 5, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its approval of the Gardasil 9 vaccine, which protects against nine difference strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), to cover women and men ages 27 to 45.

    October 8, 2018
    HPV Vaccines
    POZ

  • HIV response not fast enough: UNAIDS

    Although notable progress has been made globally in fighting HIV and AIDS, the world still has a long way to go in combating the epidemic, a United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) senior official has said.

    October 7, 2018
    Treatment
    The Sunday Mail

  • Combination treatment shows promise in targeting viral reservoir in monkeys

    Primates infected with an HIV-like virus, SHIV, in some cases experienced at least a six-month delay in their viral rebound after stopping antiretroviral (ARV) treatment when they were first additionally treated with a combination of a broadly neutralizing antibody and an immune-stimulating agent.

    October 5, 2018
    Treatment
    POZ

  • New screening tool offers cost-effective way to diagnose more HIV-positive adolescents

    While universal testing (when testing is offered to everyone in a given setting) remains the gold standard, many resource-poor settings are struggling to offer this. To respond to this context, researchers previously developed an HIV screening tool to identify which children and adolescents (aged 6–16) attending health clinics in Harare were at risk of being HIV-positive, who were then offered a test.

    October 2, 2018
    General
    Avert

Published Research

  • Retention in HIV care during the 3 years following release from incarceration: A cohort study

    In a large cohort of CJ-involved PLWH with a 3-year post-release evaluation, RIC diminished significantly over time, but was associated with HIV care during incarceration, health insurance, case management services, and early linkage to care post-release. While re-incarceration and conditional release provide opportunities to engage in care, reducing recidivism and supporting community-based RIC efforts are key to improving longitudinal treatment outcomes among CJ-involved PLWH.

    October 9, 2018
    Treatment
    PLoS Med

  • Defining control of HIV epidemics

    Although the HIV pandemic remains a global crisis, much progress has been made in implementing programmes to treat and prevent HIV infection. To guide prioritisation of efforts, the metric by which a country can declare its HIV epidemic as controlled has become increasingly relevant.

    October 9, 2018
    General
    Lancet HIV

  • Ultra-long-acting removable drug delivery system for HIV treatment and prevention

    In summary, the results demonstrate the in vivo effectiveness of an ultra-LA formulation of dolutegravir to deliver drug for up to 9 months that results in sustained viral suppression and prolonged protection from high dose HIV vaginal challenges. With its ultra-long duration, low cost of production, ease of administration and the ability to be removed this represents a significant advance in drug delivery for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.

    October 8, 2018
    PrEP, Treatment
    Nature Communications

  • Evaluation of the HIV Infant Tracking System (HITSystem) to optimise quality and efficiency of early infant diagnosis: a cluster-randomised trial in Kenya

    The HITSystem intervention is effective and feasible to implement in low-resource settings. The HITSystem algorithms have been modified to include HIV testing at birth, and an adapted HITSystem 2.0 version is supporting HIV-positive pregnant women to prevent perinatal transmission and optimise maternal and infant outcomes.

    October 8, 2018
    General
    Lancet HIV

  • Phase 1 safety and pharmacokinetics study of MK-2048/Vicriviroc (MK-4176)/MK-2048A intravaginal rings

    VCV and/or MK-2048 containing VRs were safe and acceptable. Both VCV and MK-2048 were quantifiable in all matrixes tested with peak compartmental drug concentrations similar for single and combination drug VRs. Tissue-associated VCV and/or MK-2048 did not correlate with inhibition of HIV infection. These data highlight the need to assess adequacy of drug dosing in the VR and measuring genital tissue drug concentrations to develop more precise concentration-response relationships.

    October 4, 2018
    Treatment
    Clinical Infectious Diseases

  • Phase 1 pharmacokinetic trial of 2 intravaginal rings containing different dose strengths of vicriviroc (MK-4176) and MK-2048

    In this first study evaluating 2 doses of a combination VCV/MK-2048 VR, both rings were found to be safe and well tolerated. VCV and MK-2048 were detectable in plasma, CVF, and cervical tissue samples, and drug release and plasma drug exposure were higher for the original-dose than for the low-dose ring.

    October 4, 2018
    Treatment
    Clinical Infectious Diseases

  • Phase 2a safety, pharmacokinetics, and acceptability of dapivirine vaginal rings in US postmenopausal women

    DPV VRs were safe, well tolerated, and acceptable in postmenopausal women. Plasma concentrations were comparable to published data on DPV use in reproductive-age women (median plasma concentration: 264 pg/mL). Given the reassuring safety and pharmacokinetic data, the DPV VR is promising for preexposure prophylaxis in postmenopausal women.

    October 4, 2018
    Microbicides
    Clinical Infectious Diseases

  • Antibody and TLR7 agonist delay viral rebound in SHIV-infected monkeys

    These data demonstrate the potential of bNAb administration together with innate immune stimulation as a possible strategy for targeting the viral reservoir.

    October 3, 2018
    Antibody Related Research
    Nature

  • Screening tool to identify adolescents living with HIV in a community setting in Zimbabwe: A validation study

    Use of the 4-item screening tool could be a strategy that can be adopted to identify children living with HIV in a community setting in resource limited settings by reducing the number needed to test compared to universal testing since it is inexpensive, easy to administer and not harmful. However, screening items adapted to a community setting need to be explored to improve the performance of the screening tool.

    October 2, 2018
    General
    PLoS One

  • HIV stigma is a barrier to achieving 90-90-90 in India

    Many countries are making good progress and in 2017, UNAIDS published a progress report indicating that the global community had reached 70-77-82 of the individuals in each category. To reach the target, it is crucial that we understand country-specific challenges and barriers to these goals. In India, stigma is a barrier to the achievement of the 90-90-90 goals.

    October 1, 2018
    General
    Lancet HIV

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