23 NOVEMBER 2018 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 47

Media Coverage

• Pharma giant Gilead sued for ‘withholding’ safer HIV drug

  A lawsuit has alleged that pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences is “intentionally withholding” a safer drug used for HIV treatments.

  November 21, 2018

  General

  PinkNews

• Viral suppression key to preventing mother-to-child transmission, but food insecurity, TB and STIs may also be risk factors

  Reducing maternal viral load during pregnancy is the most important factor in preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, results of a large study published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal confirm. Other risk factors for MTCT included insufficient food, a recent sexually transmitted infection (STI) and a history of diseases associated with immune suppression.

  November 21, 2018

  Treatment

  aidsmap

• Social media influencers to tackle HIV among gay men in Southeast Asia

  Influencers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok will post an online pledge to take an HIV test before or on World AIDS Day while also nominating three of their friends to do the same. Launched by Bangkok-based Asia Pacific HIV community network APCOM and funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Organizers hope the message will spread to thousands of young gay men in the region.

  November 20, 2018

  General

  Gay Star News

• Everyone at high risk of HIV should be offered preventive meds, panel says

  An influential panel of medical experts recommended for the first time Tuesday that physicians offer preventive medication to anyone at high risk of acquiring HIV.

  November 20, 2018

  PrEP

  Washington Post

• Two cases of HIV transmission through breastfeeding in mothers with undetectable viral load reported

  Two cases of HIV transmission from mother to infant during the breastfeeding period when mothers had an undetectable viral load have been reported by PROMISE, a large international study of the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment in preventing vertical HIV transmission.

  November 20, 2018

  Treatment

  aidsmap

• One trend in access to medicines may be cause for concern

  Five companies are carrying out 63 percent of the most urgently needed global health research and development projects in the priority areas of malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.

  November 20, 2018

  General

  Devex

• Historic drop in reported HIV cases in 2017

  HIV is on the decline in Switzerland, according to the latest figures of the health ministry, with only 445 new cases reported in 2017. That’s a 16 percent decrease relative to 2016.

  November 19, 2018

  General

  Swissinfo

• 'Alarmingly high' HIV incidence among MSM and transgender women in sub-Saharan Africa

  HIV incidence among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) and transgender women in sub-Saharan Africa is “alarmingly high,” according to research presented to the recent HIV Research for Prevention conference in Madrid. The study was conducted at sites in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa and found an overall incidence rate of 6.96 per 100 per-person years of follow-up, meaning that each year 7 percent of participants acquired a new HIV infection.

  November 19, 2018

  General

  aidsmap

• The ‘Mama Mshauri’ effect: keeping mothers in HIV care after birth

  Women living with HIV who benefitted from the support of a ‘Mama Mshauri’ reduced their risk of healthcare drop out by around one-third, reveals a study from Kenya.

  November 19, 2018

  Treatment

  Avert

• Why don’t we have vaccines against everything?

  Vaccines are among the world’s greatest medical advances, like clean water, soap, bleach, sewage systems and antibiotics. In a rational world — one where budgets are built on lives saved per dollar — spending on vaccine research would rival that on defense research.

  November 19, 2018

  HIV Vaccine

  New York Times

• Aspirin could help reduce HIV infections in women

  The results, published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, show that aspirin reduced the frequency of vaginal HIV target cells by approximately 35 per cent and made them less activated.

  November 18, 2018

  General

  The Conversation

• Vietnam has work to do in HIV prevention and treatment

  About 50,000 people living with HIV in Việt Nam remain unidentified.

  November 17, 2018

  General

  Viet Nam News

• HIV testing should be seen as routine as protecting yourself against flu, Prince Harry says

  “There is still too much stigma, which is stopping so many of us from getting a simple, quick and easy test. We won’t bring an end to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus until testing is seen as completely normal and accessible for everyone,” Prince Harry said.

  November 17, 2018

  General

  Independent

• PrEP adherence not decreased by substance use in MSM

  In a new study of men who have sex with men (MSM) who were not infected with HIV, investigators found that although substance users had increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence was not decreased by substance use.

  November 16, 2018

  PrEP

  Contagion Live

• The cure factory

  UCLA is on a mission to make the world’s most harrowing ailments—everything from bubble-baby disease to HIV—relics of the past.

  November 9, 2018

  Treatment

  Washington Post

• Is this the key to a cure?

  A unique group of poz folks called post-treatment controllers are able to maintain viral suppression even during periods of treatment interruption. Although they aren’t actively taking antiretroviral medications, they remain undetectable. New research suggests how these rarities may hold the key to a functional cure.

  November 6, 2018

  Cure, Treatment

  HIV Plus Mag

Published Research

• Substance use and adherence to HIV preexposure prophylaxis for men who have sex with men

  For MSM who participated in a randomized controlled trial, we found that baseline substance users had increased STI rates, indicating higher risk behavior, but PrEP adherence was not decreased by substance use. Our findings suggest that substance-using persons are appropriately diligent with PrEP adherence and therefore are excellent candidates for PrEP.

  December 12, 2018

  PrEP

  Emerging Infectious Diseases

• Risk of sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus with antiretroviral therapy, suppressed viral load and condom use: a systematic review

  Our findings show that there is a negligible risk of sexually transmitting HIV when an HIV-positive sex partner adheres to antiretroviral therapy and maintains a suppressed viral load of less than 200 copies/mL on consecutive measurements every 4 to 6 months. The risk of sexual HIV transmission is low when an HIV-positive sex partner is taking antiretroviral therapy without a suppressed viral load of less than 200 copies/mL, condoms are used or both.

  November 19, 2018

  Male and Female Condoms, Treatment

  CMAJ

• The effectiveness of PEPFAR's funding for women and children with HIV/AIDS

  Using descriptive analysis and difference‐in‐differences (DID) regression, this study finds that PEPFAR's funding has reduced the HIV new infections and AIDS‐related death rates of women and children for both focus countries and recipient countries, which are those that were added in a second phase. These findings show that PEPFAR's strategy for women and children has been effective and that it should be continued. However, while PEPFAR has contributed to the fight against HIV/AIDS, the effects of its work have been underestimated.

  November 18, 2018

  General

  The International Journal of Health Planning and Management

• A majority of HIV persistence during antiretroviral therapy is due to infected cell proliferation

  We demonstrate that the majority of HIV-infected cells arise from proliferation during ART and provide an explanation for incongruent observations of evolution before and after a year of ART. Because proliferation is the dominant force sustaining the HIV reservoir, we suggest limiting proliferation as a prime therapeutic target.

  November 16, 2018

  Treatment

  Nature Communitcations

• Serodiscordant partnerships and opportunities for pre-exposure prophylaxis among partners of women and men living with HIV in St. Petersburg, Russia

  Substantial opportunities for HIV prevention exist among PLWH who have ever injected drugs in Russia and their HIV-negative partners. Given the high proportion of HIV-negative partners among this ART-naïve sample, efforts to address the associated inherent risks, such as couples-based interventions, are needed to increase condom use, PrEP awareness, or uptake of other HIV-prevention modalities (e.g., ART for the HIV-positive partner).

  November 16, 2018

  PrEP

  PLoS One

• Considerations for community engagement when conducting clinical trials during infectious disease emergencies in West Africa

  This paper identified priorities for community engagement for research conducted during infectious disease outbreaks drawing on discussions held with a purposive sample of bioethicists, social scientists, researchers, policy makers and laypersons who work with ethics committees in West Africa. These perspectives were considered in the light of the GPP‐EP, which adds further depth and dimension to discussions on community engagement frameworks.

  November 15, 2018

  General

  Developing World Bioethics

• The Effect of Demand-side Financial Incentives for Increasing Linkage into HIV Treatment and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials in Low- and Middle-income Countries

  Overall, demand-side financial incentives appeared to improve linkage for both HIV treatment and VMMC with greater effect for VMMC. In the future, demand-side financial incentives could improve linkage to HIV treatment or VMMC in low- and middle-income countries although uptake by policy makers remains a challenge.

  November 14, 2018

  Treatment, Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision

  PLoS One

• First-in-human randomized controlled trial of an oral, replicating adenovirus 26 vector vaccine for HIV-1

  The highly attenuated rcAd26.MOS1.HIV-Env vaccine was well tolerated up to 10^11 VP in healthy, HIV-1-uninfected adults, though the single dose was poorly immunogenic suggesting the replicative capacity of the vector was too attenuated. There was no evidence of shedding of infectious virus or secondary vaccine transmission following the isolation period. These data suggest the use of less attenuated viral vectors in future studies of live, oral HIV-1 vaccines.

  November 14, 2018

  HIV Vaccine

  PLoS One

• High burden of previously undiagnosed HIV infections and gaps in HIV care cascade for conflict-affected female sex workers in northern Uganda

  Findings suggest the need for FSW-tailored, peer-based, and integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health programs to address gaps in HIV testing and treatment for FSWs in conflict-affected communities.

  November 11, 2018

  General

  International Journal of STD & AIDS

• Discomfort discussing HIV/AIDS and lack of awareness are barriers to partner-to-partner pre-exposure prophylaxis education

  In bivariate analyses, participants with prior awareness of PrEP were more likely to indicate higher frequency of conversations regarding HIV with intimate partners. It is concluded that interventions which utilize partner education to increase PrEP uptake should address stigma and knowledge among other barriers.

  November 9, 2018

  PrEP

  International Journal of STD & AIDS

• Effectiveness of a lay counsellor-led combination intervention for retention of mothers and infants in HIV care

  Provision of a combination intervention by lay counselors can decrease attrition along the PMTCT cascade in low resource settings.

  November 5, 2018

  Treatment

  JAIDS

• Predictors of perinatal HIV transmission among women without prior antiretroviral therapy in a resource-limited setting: The BAN study

  These findings confirm that lowering maternal HIV viral load is most important in preventing perinatal MTCT, and support efforts to address food shortage, STD and TB prevention, while informing programs to improve ART coverage in pregnancy.

  October 30, 2018

  Treatment

  Pediatr Infect Dis J

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