19 February 2016 VOLUME 17 ISSUE 7

If it gets approved in Australia, should all gay men start PrEP? I don’t often have casual sex, but when I meet someone, I want to be as safe as possible; more than just condoms. The “dating” world has changed a lot in the eleven years since I was last single and having casual sex with anyone is daunting.

As a research scientist working in Kisumu, I still remember the shock and horror I felt when I first learnt that the Walter Reed Medical Research facility in Kericho had been surrounded by members of the local community who appeared to be determined to burn it to the ground....I [am] reminded of these events...in the context of recent reports in the newspapers of allegations arising from a parliamentary committee looking into the affairs of the Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Using cutting-edge imaging technology, Salk Institute and Harvard Medical School researchers have determined the structure of a protein complex that lets viruses similar to HIV establish permanent infections within their hosts. This helps reveal how retroviruses insert their genomic information into human cells and may have implications not only for treating diseases like HIV, but also for improving gene therapy methods to deliver new DNA to patients with genetic mutations.

The significant number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections clustering around young men who have sex with men between the ages 12 to 29 calls for interventions that target this demographic. This was the finding of a study conducted by the LoveYourself HIV clinics from 2012 to 2015. The study was released on February 13 at the soft opening of the LoveYourself Uni HIV Testing and Community Center in Manila.

The recently established state-owned pharmaceutical company, Ketlaphela, will start to produce antiretroviral drugs in 2019, according to the department of science and technology....Ketlaphela, which was established in February 2015 and is based in Pretoria, is a subsidiary of Pelchem. Pelchem, in turn, is a subsidiary of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. Ketlaphela’s pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is under construction.

The Windhoek Correctional Facility says the constitution does not allow same-sex individuals to engage in sex, hence condoms cannot be distributed in correctional facilities. "Same sex is still regarded as a crime in Namibia and if we distribute condoms it will be seen as if we are encouraging that."...said Deputy Commissioner Victor Eichab. His comments came in the light of Minister of Health and Social Services Dr Bernard Haufiku's call for the distribution of condoms in prisons.

Will taking pre-exposure prophylaxis, more commonly referred to as PrEP, condone risky sexual behaviour? What if people call me a “Truvada whore”? This is the story of a young South African wrestling with the idea of going on PrEP.

Testing alone is insufficient to prevent HIV transmission among adult film actors, according to researchers who studied a recent case of a male performer who infected a co-worker and found the industry’s prevention approach lacking. The industry should enhance its HIV prevention strategy to include pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, the researchers wrote in MMWR, noting that such a plan would likely have obstacles.

Included were 302 women of whom 131 were HIV-infected and receiving HAART on the site while 171 were women from the community. After controlling for age and other covariates, women in the HAART group had a 67% reduction in the odds of cervical lesions compared with the community group. This finding may not be attributed to HAART alone but to all the health benefits derived from receiving a comprehensive HIV care.

Good adolescent sexual health is the cornerstone of future healthy families and essential for development of optimal intimate and social relations including gender equality....The issue lies in the implementation and scaling-up of evidence-based strategies known to effectively improve adolescent sexual health. Implementation has lagged behind globally, as sexual health is typically a field driven by normative rather than evidence-based policies. The highest burden of poor adolescent sexual health is found in low-income countries.

Two-thirds of contracepting women in Brazil used dual protection (40% exclusive condoms, 27% dual methods)....Dual methods use was associated with some high school education, living in the Southern region, and number of children, net of other factors. Consistent condom use was associated with condom use at sexual debut, wants no (more) children, single/separated relationship status, and using exclusive condoms.

This phase IIb, observer-blind, randomized study was conducted in 15 centers in the United States, 10 in France, 8 in Germany, and 7 in Spain between November 2010 and November 2012.... F4/AS01B [GSK] had a clinically acceptable safety profile, induced F4-specific CD4+ T-cell responses, but did not reduce HIV-1 VL, impact CD4+ T-cells count, delay ART initiation, or prevent HIV-1 related clinical events.