21 JANUARY 2022 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 3

Media Coverage

• This HIV Prevention Medicine Is for Everyone. Why Do So Few People Take It?

  About 60 percent of older Americans take a cholesterol-lowering statin to prevent heart attack, stroke, and other forms of cardiovascular disease. In contrast, only 25 percent of eligible, HIV-negative people take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a safe, highly effective way to prevent HIV infection.

  January 20, 2022

  PrEP

  STAT News

• Gilead Says Counterfeit HIV Drugs Ended Up With Patients

  Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) said an unauthorized network of drug distributors and suppliers sold pharmacies more than $250 million of counterfeit versions of its HIV treatments over the last two years, endangering patients.

  January 19, 2022

  Treatment

  Reuters

• Nigeria: Govt Launches HIV Self-Testing, Pre-Exposure Communication Strategy

  The Federal Government on Tuesday launched a national HIV self-testing (HIVST) and Pre-Exposure (PrEP) communication strategy. They are approved tools in the national HIV combination prevention package targeted at people with a substantial risk of HIV infection.

  January 19, 2022

  PrEP

  allAfrica

• World’s First HIV-Positive Sperm Bank Shares Stories of Virus-Free Babies Born to Positive Parents

  Some people still don't believe you can safely have a baby when living with HIV, but they haven't met Amy. Amy is just ten months old, but she's already made history by being the first baby to be born via the world's first HIV-positive sperm bank, Sperm Positive. Launched just two years ago to fight HIV/Aids stigma.

  January 19, 2022

  General

  news24

• Antimicrobial Resistance Now a Leading Cause of Death Worldwide, Study Finds

  Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to humanity, health leaders have warned, as a study reveals it has become a leading cause of death worldwide and is killing about 3,500 people every day.

  January 19, 2022

  General

  The Guardian

• Antibody Imaging Technique Could Make It Faster To Develop Vaccines

  By analysing high-resolution images, a computer can quickly predict the sequence of amino acids in antibodies. This could cut months off the time it takes to monitor antibody responses during vaccine development.

  January 19, 2022

  Antibody Related Research, General

  NewScientist

• Growth in Use of PrEP Slower Than Anticipated

  The use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has increased although at a much slower pace than was expected.

  January 18, 2022

  PrEP

  The Herald

• HIV Prevention: Financial Slack for Research

  Simple effect of COVID-19 or long-term trend? In 2020, HIV prevention research saw a notable drop in funding globally, a report released in December by AVAC reveals. Figures to be interpreted with caution, as research is advancing rapidly.

  January 17, 2022

  General

  Transversal

• We Can Stop Scottish Spread of HIV in Eight Years, Say Experts

  HIV transmission in Scotland can be “virtually eliminated” by the end of the decade, almost 50 years after the virus was identified, experts have said.

  January 17, 2022

  General

  The Times

• Understanding Where HIV Hides Offers Clues for a Cure

  Over time, HIV may increasingly hide its genetic material in inactive parts of the human chromosome where it is unable to produce new virus, according to research published in Cell. These findings could offer clues to a “block and lock” strategy to help people on antiretroviral treatment achieve long-term remission.

  January 17, 2022

  Cure

  POZ

• HIV Self-Testing Plus Biofeedback Counseling Increases PrEP Adherence Among Women

  An intervention for PrEP users and their partners that combined oral HIV self-testing with adherence biofeedback counseling almost doubled the recent adherence to PrEP among postpartum women in South Africa compared with standard of care.

  January 15, 2022

  PrEP

  Infectious Disease News

• Sex During Pregnancy: The Beliefs and Practices Increasing HIV Risk

  Researchers spoke to a wide range of people in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe to identify different beliefs about sex during pregnancy. And to see how these beliefs affect behaviour. Around 130 pregnant and breastfeeding women and their male partners (aged 18+) took part in focus groups, along with pregnant women’s mothers and mothers-in-law. Clinicians, traditional care providers, community health workers and community leaders were also interviewed.

  January 14, 2022

  General

  Avert

• Eliminating the FDA’s Blood Donation Ban on Men Who Have Sex With Men Would Help Ease the US Shortage

  For the first time ever, the American Red Cross this week declared a national blood shortage crisis and hospitals are putting out calls for donors — yet the Food and Drug Administration continues to ban men who have sex with men from donating blood.

  January 14, 2022

  General

  STAT News

Published Research

• Addressing Epistemic Injustice in HIV Research: A Call for Reporting Guidelines on Meaningful Community Engagement

  Despite the widely recognized ethical and practical benefits of community engagement in HIV research, epistemic injustice persists within the field. Namely, the knowledge held by communities disproportionately affected by HIV is systematically afforded less credibility than that of more privileged academic researchers. In order to illustrate what this looks like in practice, we synthesized the extent of reporting on community engagement within recent high-impact HIV intervention research papers.

  January 20, 2022

  General

  JIAS

• Progress Toward the UNAIDS 90–90–90 Targets Among Female Sex Workers and Sexually Exploited Female Adolescents in Juba and Nimule, South Sudan

  Little is known about HIV in South Sudan and even less about HIV among female sex workers (FSW). We characterized progress towards UNAIDS 90–90-90 targets among female sex workers (FSW) and sexually exploited female adolescents in Juba and Nimule, South Sudan.

  January 19, 2022

  Treatment

  BMC Public Health

• Impact of COVID-19 on HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Prescriptions in the United States – A Time Series Analysis

  Uptake of HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been increasing in the United States since its FDA approval in 2012; however, the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected this trend. Our objective was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PrEP prescriptions in the United States.

  January 18, 2022

  PrEP

  Clinical Infectious Diseases

• A Province-Wide HIV Initiative To Accelerate Initiation of Treatment-As-Prevention and Virologic Suppression in British Columbia, Canada: A Population-Based Cohort Study

  In 2010, HIV treatment as prevention (TasP), encompassing widespread HIV testing and immediate initiation of free antiretroviral treatment (ART), was piloted under the Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS initiative (STOP) in British Columbia, Canada. We compared the time from HIV diagnosis to treatment initiation, and from treatment initiation to first virologic suppression, before (2005–2009) and after (2010–2016) the implementation of STOP.

  January 18, 2022

  Treatment

  CMAJ Open

• Global HIV Suppression Rates Fall Short of Targets

  Fewer children and adolescents with HIV infection are close to meeting global viral suppression goals compared with adults, an international research consortium’s study suggested.

  January 18, 2022

  General

  JAMA

• Postpartum Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV in a Breastfeeding Infant

  Mother-to-child transmission of HIV in New York State is rare. We describe the sequence of events leading to HIV diagnosis of a breastfeeding infant whose mother seroconverted postnatally. The infant was born to a married, multiparous woman in her early thirties. Prenatal visits occurred early and at regular intervals during an uncomplicated pregnancy.

  January 18, 2022

  General

  American Academy of Pediatrics

• The Prevalence and Incidence of HIV in the ART Era (2006–2016) in North West Tanzania

  Sub-Saharan countries bear a disproportionate percentage of HIV infections and HIV-related deaths despite the efforts to strengthen HIV prevention and treatments services, including ART. It is important to demonstrate how these services have contributed to reducing the epidemic using available population data.

  January 18, 2022

  Treatment

  International Journal of STD and AIDS

• A Toxin-Conjugated Recombinant Protein Targeting gp120 and gp41 for Inactivating HIV-1 Virions and Killing Latency-Reversing Agent-Reactivated Latent Cells

  Application of the combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has reduced AIDS to a manageable chronic infectious disease. However, HIV/AIDS cannot be cured because of the presence of latent reservoirs, thus calling for the development of antiretroviral drugs that can eliminate latency-reversing agent (LRA)-activated HIV-1 virions and latent cells. In this study, we conjugated a small-molecule toxin, DM1, to a gp120-binding protein, mD1.22, a mutated CD4 domain I, and found that mD1.22-DM1 could inactivate HIV-1 virions.

  January 18, 2022

  Treatment

  mBio

• Is Tailoring of PrEP Programs Needed to Overcome Racial Disparities in PrEP Uptake in Local Health Departments? A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of PrEP Implementation in Virginia

  African American and Hispanic adults share a disproportionate burden of HIV infections in the United States but continue to experience suboptimal uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Increasing PrEP accessibility in nontraditional care settings is a potential strategy to increase PrEP uptake in these high-risk groups. PrEP implementation in local health departments (LHDs) is not well characterized.

  January 18, 2022

  PrEP

  Journal of Public Health Management and Practice

• HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in a Brazilian Clinical Setting: Adherence, Adverse Events, Sexual Behavior, and Sexually Transmitted Infections

  Tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) has been used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in preventing HIV infection. PrEP is an effective prevention tool as demonstrated in clinical trials and studies in clinical practice and was incorporated into the Brazilian public health system in December 2017. The present study was a prospective cohort that included 219 PrEP users monitored over a 10 month follow-up period in a capital city in Northeastern Brazil.

  January 17, 2022

  PrEP

  Archives of Sexual Behavior

• Community-Based ART Service Delivery for Key Populations in Sub-Saharan Africa: Scoping Review of Outcomes Along the Continuum of HIV Care

  HIV positive key population (KP) often face health system and social barriers to HIV care. KP include sex workers, men who have sex with men, persons who inject drugs, transgender people, and people in prisons and other closed settings. Community-based ART service delivery (CBART) has the potential to increase access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) and enhance retention in care. This scoping review summarized the evidence on the effect of CBART along the continuum of HIV care among KP in sub-Saharan Africa.

  January 17, 2022

  Treatment

  AIDS and Behavior

• Combating Structural Inequities — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical and Translational Research

  If the clinical and translational research enterprise is to help resolve health crises and ensure that all people in the United States have the opportunity to live healthy lives, it must shift paradigms and begin to center equity, diversity, and inclusion in its work.

  January 15, 2022

  General

  The New England Journal of Medicine

• ‘If the Partner Finds Out, then there’s Trouble’: Provider Perspectives on Safety Planning and Partner Interference When Offering HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

  Pre-exposure prophylaxis is an effective women-controlled HIV prevention strategy but women experiencing intimate partner violence fear partners’ interference and subsequent violence could limit its utility. This study explores provider perceptions of safety planning strategies to prevent escalating violence, mitigate partner interference, and promote daily oral PrEP adherence.

  January 15, 2022

  PrEP

  AIDS and Behavior

• In Their Own Words: How Trans Women Acquired HIV Infection

  Despite high HIV prevalence, the reasons trans women acquire HIV are not well understood. Trans women are often mis-classified or aggregated with men who have sex with men (MSM) in epidemiologic studies and HIV surveillance data. Trans women enrolled in the 2019/2020 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Study in San Francisco were asked an open-ended question about how they were infected with HIV.

  January 15, 2022

  General

  AIDS and Behavior

• Innovative Vaccine Approaches—A Keystone Symposia Report

  The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines was the result of decades of research to establish flexible vaccine platforms and understand pathogens with pandemic potential, as well as several novel changes to the vaccine discovery and development processes that partnered industry and governments. And while vaccines offer the potential to drastically improve global health, low-and-middle-income countries around the world often experience reduced access to vaccines and reduced vaccine efficacy.

  January 14, 2022

  General

  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

• HIV Prevention: Better Choice for Better Coverage

  Antiretroviral-based pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is today an established, effective and safe method of HIV prevention used in multiple countries worldwide by a broad range of populations at risk of HIV infection. Biomedical innovations are critical in supporting the primary prevention of HIV; however, their potential can only be maximized if end-user challenges are recognized, described and used to develop next-generation models.

  January 14, 2022

  PrEP

  Journal of the International AIDS Society

• Notes From the Field: HIV Outbreak During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Persons Who Inject Drugs — Kanawha County, West Virginia, 2019–2021

  During October 2019, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health (WVBPH) noted that an increasing number of persons who inject drugs (PWID) in Kanawha County received a diagnosis of HIV.

  January 14, 2022

  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

• Impact of the DREAMS Program on New HIV Diagnoses in Adolescent Girls and Young Women Attending Antenatal Care — Lesotho, 2015–2020

  During 2016–2017, HIV prevalence among adolescent girls and young women in Lesotho was approximately three times that among young men. The Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program was established in 2016 to decrease HIV incidence among young women.

  January 14, 2022

  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

• Implants for HIV Prevention in Young Women: Provider Perceptions and Lessons Learned From Contraceptive Implant Provision

  Preventing new HIV infections, especially amongst young women, is key to ending the HIV epidemic especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Potent antiretroviral (ARV) drugs used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are currently being formulated as long-acting implantable devices, or nanosuspension injectables that release drug at a sustained rate providing protection from acquiring HIV.

  January 13, 2022

  PrEP

  PLOS ONE

• Overlapping Needs for Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Prevention in Women With Substance Use Disorders

  Women with substance use disorders have high unmet needs for HIV prevention and drug treatment and face challenges accessing care for other unique health issues, including their sexual and reproductive health.

  January 13, 2022

  General

  Women's Health

• Identifying Barriers to ART Initiation and Adherence: An Exploratory Qualitative Study on PMTCT in Zambia

  Though antiretroviral therapy (ART) is widely available, HIV positive pregnant women in Zambia are less likely to start and remain on therapy throughout pregnancy and after delivery. This study sought to understand readiness to start ART among HIV pregnant women from the perspectives of both women and men in order to suggest more holistic programs to support women to continue life-long ART after delivery.

  January 13, 2022

  Treatment

  PLOS ONE

• “Facilitating HIV Status Adjustment: Qualitative Insights From the Tambua Mapema Proof-of-Concept Study in Kenya”

  Systematic efforts are needed to prepare persons newly diagnosed with acute or chronic HIV infection to cope. We examined how patients dealt with this news, looking at how readiness to accept an HIV diagnosis impacted treatment outcomes, prevention of transmission, and HIV status disclosure. We examined vulnerability and agency over time and considered implications for policy and practice.

  January 13, 2022

  PLOS ONE

• Expanding PrEP Services for Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Persons Through Health Department Programs: Key Processes and Outcomes From Project PrIDE, 2015-2019

  Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Implementation, Data to Care, and Evaluation (PrIDE) was a demonstration project implemented by 12 state and local health departments during 2015-2019 to expand PrEP services for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender persons at risk for HIV infection. We describe findings from the cross-jurisdictional evaluation of the project.

  January 13, 2022

  PrEP

  Public Health Reports

• Parallel Analysis of Transcription, Integration, and Sequence of Single HIV-1 Proviruses

  HIV-1-infected cells that persist despite antiretroviral therapy (ART) are frequently considered “transcriptionally silent,” but active viral gene expression may occur in some cells, challenging the concept of viral latency. Applying an assay for profiling the transcriptional activity and the chromosomal locations of individual proviruses, we describe a global genomic and epigenetic map of transcriptionally active and silent proviral species and evaluate their longitudinal evolution in persons receiving suppressive ART.

  January 12, 2022

  Treatment

  Cell

• HIV Vulnerability Among Survival Sex Workers Through Sexual Violence and Drug Taking in a Qualitative Study From Victoria, Canada, With Additional Implications for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for Sex Workers

  This qualitative study investigates how social and structural forces mediate vulnerability to HIV infection and transmission among survival sex workers, their clients, and their non-commercial, intimate partners—with especial focus on sexual violence and drug taking.

  January 3, 2022

  PrEP

  Frontiers in Sociology

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