22 OCTOBER 2021 VOLUME 23 ISSUE 42

Uganda has kickstarted a trial for the injectable HIV drugs cabotegravir and rilpivirine. Researchers and those living with HIV say the trial will likely end pill fatigue, fight stigma, improve adherence and ensure patients get the right dosage.

COVID-19 has now killed about 730,000 people in the US, making it the deadliest pandemic in the nation's history, with more lives claimed than by HIV/AIDS. The tally comes as the US marks four decades since HIV — the virus that can cause AIDS — was first detected in the country, and some are now looking at the two vastly different diseases and seeing parallels. The US government's initial approach to both HIV/AIDS and COVID was denial and indifference.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, SAHPRA, declined an emergency use application of the Sputnik V COVID vaccine in the country. HIV vaccine trials found a link between the technology used in Sputnik’s second dose and an increased risk of HIV infection for men. The local applicant (SAHPRA requires a local company to apply for authorisation use), Lamar International, could not provide any safety data to prove the Sputnik jab is not linked to an increased risk of HIV infection.

A television programme described by its makers as an African version of the hit Netflix show Sex Education has increased awareness and uptake of methods that can prevent its young audience contracting HIV, new research has shown. MTV Shuga Down South described as “edutainment" - is produced by the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and focuses on the relationships and friendships of young people in Johannesburg, South Africa and cover topics such as AIDS and HIV, rape and gender based violence.

More than 200 people marched from Loftus stadium to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Monday to protest against corruption in the health system, a root cause of failing public health facilities.

Any millennial entrepreneur would probably want to shout about their new venture from rooftops (or social media handles). But Delhi-resident Aruna Chawla had to go anonymous and delete all of her photos on social media as the very first press interview for her condom company, Salad, resulted in a barrage of d*ck pics and solicitation messages on her personal and brand handles. This is just one of the many unforeseeable roadblocks which the 26-year-old faced to launch the contraceptive brand, in the middle of the pandemic this year.

In August, the first shipments of 5,000 free at-home testing kits were mailed to people in six communities determined to be most vulnerable to HIV transmission—part of a national HIV testing program through a joint partnership between the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the health equity nonprofit Us Helping Us.

Last Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law making it a civil sexual battery offense for someone to engage in “condom stealthing”—removing a condom during sex without verbal consent from their partner. The law, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, allows victims of stealthing to sue their perpetrators for damages and relief.

ISL-TP levels in PBMCs were above the threshold projected for antiviral efficacy against wild-type HIV after a single 0.25-mg dose. Multiple once-daily dosing of islatravir in adults without HIV was generally well tolerated up to doses of 5 mg administered for up to 6 weeks.

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains underutilized in the U.S. Since greater than 85 percent of PrEP prescriptions are filled at commercial pharmacies, pharmacists are uniquely positioned to increase PrEP use. This scoping review explores pharmacy-based initiatives to increase PrEP use. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus for peer-reviewed studies on pharmacist-led interventions to increase PrEP use or pharmacy-based PrEP initiatives. Forty-nine articles were included in this review.

Disparities in antiretroviral treatment (ART) access by race for men who have sex with men (MSM) with HIV persist. We assessed whether race-based medical mistrust and HIV stigma impact ART adherence among MSM with HIV. Longitudinal data were drawn from a RCT of a messaging intervention to promote sexual health among MSM. Regression models tested associations between baseline race-based medical mistrust, HIV stigma, and ART adherence at follow-up.

Empirical incidence data show the rate of new HIV infections is declining in eastern and southern Africa. However, recent incidence data are non-existent or very limited for many countries and key populations.

In Mozambique, HIV infection disproportionately affects young adults, particularly women. Despite awareness and knowledge of HIV transmission, many university students have not received HIV testing and continue to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors, including inconsistent condom use. Further understanding of patterns of engagement with HIV prevention and testing is key to reducing HIV transmission in this at-risk population.

Longstanding social and economic inequities elevate health risks and vulnerabilities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Engagement of BIPOC communities in infectious disease research is a critical component in efforts to increase vaccine confidence, acceptability, and uptake of future approved products. Recent data highlight the relative absence of BIPOC communities in vaccine clinical trials. Intentional and effective community engagement methods are needed to improve BIPOC inclusion.

In Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is recommended for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) at high risk of HIV. Health providers play a critical role in the uptake and effective use of sexual and reproductive health services; however, few published studies have explored providers’ attitudes toward and experiences delivering PrEP to AGYW.

The increasing number of combination HIV cure trials brings with them a host of ethical and practical challenges. Our qualitative interview study yielded ethical and practical considerations for developing effective combination HIV cure regimens. With this paper, we hope to inform meaningful stakeholder dialogue around the use of combinatorial HIV cure research approaches. Triangulating perspectives of different stakeholders—including biomedical HIV cure researchers, community members, regulators, and bioethicists—will be critical to ensure HIV cure research remains ethical and acceptable.

This study describes the acceptability of a rectal microbicide gel formulation using dapivirine (DPV) among men and women from two countries (United States and Thailand) participating in the Microbicide Trials Network-026 trial. We evaluated participants’ acceptability of a rectal DPV/placebo gel as part of a Phase I trial (N = 26; 18 male, 8 female). Participants reported favorable acceptability of the study gel, with most participants reporting that they liked the gel the same (n = 14; 53 percent) or more (n = 11; 42. percent) than when they started the trial.

Evidence indicates HIV oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly efficacious and effective. Substantial early discontinuation rates are reported by many programs, which may be misconstrued as program failure. However, PrEP use may be non-continuous and still effective, since HIV risk fluctuates. Real-world PrEP use phenomena, like restarting and cyclical use, and the temporal characteristics of these use patterns are not well described.

Universal testing and treatment (UTT) for all people living with HIV has only been assessed under experimental conditions in cluster-randomised trials. The public health effectiveness of UTT policies on the HIV care cascade under real-world conditions is not known. We assessed the real-world effectiveness of universal HIV treatment policies that were implemented in Zambia on Jan 1, 2017.

Globally, 1000 new infections occur daily in adolescent girls and young women (AGYW, ages 15–24), and HIV is the leading cause of death for women (15–49 years). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), AGYW are disproportionately affected, accounting for 25 percent of all new infections. AGYW are 2.5 times more likely to acquire HIV through heterosexual sexual contact than their male peers. Young people who are single or entering steady relationships are especially vulnerable to HIV acquisition.

The robust antiviral activity, PK, and tolerability of MK-8507 support its continued development as part of a complete once-weekly oral regimen for HIV-1 treatment; combination therapy could mitigate the emergence of resistance-associated variants.

Pilot results demonstrate above average satisfaction with RiskRadar and high user-reported usability scores, supporting the idea that technical interventions could significantly support combination prevention actions on Sexually Transmitted Infections.