Email Updates

You are here

Home

26 AUGUST 2022 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 34

Media Coverage

  • Moderna Sues Pfizer and BioNTech Over COVID-19 Vaccine

    The vaccine manufacturer Moderna sued Pfizer and BioNTech on Friday, claiming that its rivals’ COVID-19 shot violates its patents protecting its groundbreaking technology. Moderna said in a statement that Pfizer and BioNTech infringed on patents filed between 2010 and 2016 that covered its mRNA technology. Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., sued in US District Court in Massachusetts and the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in Germany, where BioNTech is based.

    August 26, 2022
    General
    The New York Times

  • Compulsory Premarital HIV Testing ‘Waste Of Money’: Adeeba

    Mandatory premarital HIV testing is a waste of limited public health funding due to its negligible positivity yield of less than one per cent, says infectious disease expert Prof Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman. Given Malaysia’s “concentrated” HIV epidemic, which means that HIV transmission occurs largely in clearly defined groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), and people who inject drugs (PWID), Dr. Adeeba said efforts to eliminate the disease should be put into self-tests for people who are at risk instead.

    August 25, 2022
    General
    CodeBlue

  • Long-Term Canadian Study Shows HIV-Exposed Children Have Worse Health Outcomes

    Findings from a study which has followed the children of mothers living with HIV who remain HIV-free in Montreal since 1988 make the case for continued clinical follow-up of this group. A key point made by Dr. Fatima Kakkar of the Université de Montréal was that children who are “uninfected are not unaffected” and that assuming this has created missed opportunities to support them with the poorer health outcomes they are at risk of.

    August 25, 2022
    General
    aidsmap

  • Women in Health: From Test Tubes to Impacting Lives – Dr Thesla Palanee-Phillips on Making a Difference With Science

    “It’s really, really rewarding to know that burning the candle at both ends – the hard days in the clinic, late nights, and taking calls – traveling throughout the African continent and taking these long trips to the US for meetings paid off,” says Dr. Thesla Palanee-Phillips. “It’s just really humbling to know we were part of that work.” The headline-making work the South African researcher is talking about is the ASPIRE study – a phase 3 trial of a vaginal ring used to prevent HIV infection. The ring contains the antiretroviral drug dapivirine.

    August 24, 2022
    General
    Spotlight

  • As Monkeypox Spreads, We Must Not Repeat the Failures of COVID-19 and HIV

    Monkeypox is a public health emergency in the United States, with some 15,400 cases recorded. The virus has rapidly become a globalized threat, with more than 43,000 cases reported across 95 countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak “a public health emergency of international concern,” its highest alert level. But as the alarm and case counts grow, it is increasingly clear that the US and the global communities are repeating some of the hallmark failures of other global health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

    August 24, 2022
    General
    The Hill

  • Black and Latino Americans Make Up Most New HIV Cases but Only a Small Portion of PrEP Users

    Black and Latino people make up less than 20 percent of all pre-exposure prophylaxis users to guard themselves against HIV, new data shows. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a kind of oral prescription medication that can drastically lower the chances of a person contracting HIV through sex or injectable drug use. Black and Latino people accounted for 42 percent and 27 percent of new HIV diagnoses last year, respectively, according to data from AIDSvu, a HIV and AIDS mapping project from Emory University and Gilead Sciences Inc.

    August 24, 2022
    General
    The Hill

  • Africa: Misinformation is a Common Thread Between the COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS Pandemics - With Deadly Consequences

    Since health officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases, misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus. Social media may have made the amount, variety and speed of misinformation seem unprecedented, but COVID-19 isn't the first pandemic where false and harmful information has set back public health. Misinformation altered how people trusted their governments and doctors during the 1918 influenza pandemic. It fueled the 19th century smallpox anti-vaccine movements through some of the same arguments as those currently used against the COVID-19 vaccine.

    August 24, 2022
    General
    allAfrica

  • The Future of Multipurpose Prevention Technologies

    In this podcast, Jessica Rodrigues, with AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, provides a description of a Dual Prevention Pill and why it can be used as a case study for future multipurpose technologies (MPTs). She presented these topics at the International AIDS Conference 2022 during a session titled "Demand, delivery, and data for decision-making: How market preparation for the Dual Prevention Pill is reimagining prevention programs for a future with MPTs"

    August 24, 2022
    PrEP
    Consultant 360

  • Optimization, Scale-up of PrEP

    In this podcast, Jessica Rodrigues, with AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, speaks about ways communities can overcome barriers to the access of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), including ambitious targets, funding, early adoption, and simplified delivery beyond a health facility. She presented this topic at the International AIDS Conference 2022 during a session titled "PrEP-ing for 2030: Why optimization and scale-up of the PrEP service and product mix is critical to addressing unmet PrEP need and supporting effective use towards 2030 HIV prevention goals."

    August 24, 2022
    PrEP
    Consultant 360

  • Far-Right's 'Morality War' Now Has Its Sights Set on PrEP Access

    The right-wing movement is really having a moment right now, from stripping the federal right to abortion to the prohibition of gender-affirming care in some states. Now, in the shadow of Roe v. Wade being overturned in June, the architect of a controversial Texas abortion law — a man who has already targeted marriage equality — is setting his sights on preventative HIV care. If he gets his way, Texans and other Americans could lose access to PrEP, leaving tens of thousands susceptible to a diagnosis and opening the door to the denial of HIV care.

    August 23, 2022
    PrEP
    Plus Magazine

  • Monkeypox: An Explainer and Research Roundup

    Human monkeypox, an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, was first discovered 70 years ago. The virus has been present in parts of Central and West Africa, as a result of animal-to-human and human-to-human transmission. In recent years, a handful of researchers who study the virus tried to notify the international community about a brewing problem, but their reports went mostly unnoticed until an outbreak in the United Kingdom this May. The outbreak has now spread to more than 90 countries.

    August 23, 2022
    General
    The Journalist's Resource

  • Why Experts Want to Rename Monkeypox

    Are monkeys spreading monkeypox to humans? Researchers say the answer is no. But recently in Brazil, the unfounded fear that monkeys transmit the virus to people has spurred an outbreak of violence against marmosets and capuchin monkeys, leading to the death of at least seven animals, according to Brazilian officials. The stoning and poisoning of wild primates in Brazil is an especially lurid example of how an inaptly named disease can have real-world implications.

    August 23, 2022
    General
    The New York Times

  • The UK Government Is Dangerously Neglecting Sexual Health Services

    Progress on vaccine supply alone isn’t enough to support sexual health services, which are critically overburdened and need additional funding now (UK trials smaller doses of monkeypox vaccine as supplies run low, 22 August). Due to a lack of support from the government, they are struggling to deal with monkeypox, HIV prevention and STIs. We’re hearing of waiting times climbing for the HIV prevention drug PrEP, and some clinics have reported a 90 percent reduction in their ability to provide PrEP and other services.

    August 23, 2022
    General
    The Guardian

  • Case Report Describes Clinical Manifestation of Monkeypox, SARS-CoV-2, and HIV Coinfection

    In a recently published report in the Journal of Infection, scientists have presented the first documented case of coinfection with monkeypox virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

    August 23, 2022
    General
    News Medical

  • Dr. Fauci’s Influence Reaches Beyond COVID, Across Five Decades of Research: ‘He Always Spoke to Science, Committed to What Was Right’

    On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that he will depart from his positions as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the end of the year. The 81-year-old won’t be fully retiring just yet. In his announcement, Fauci didn’t specify his future plans, but said he’ll pursue a new chapter of his career that will continue to advance public health and focus on mentoring the “next generation of scientific leaders.”

    August 23, 2022
    General
    CNBC

  • A Large Proportion of Men with Monkeypox Are Living With HIV

    Around 40 percent of people with monkeypox are living with HIV, but the proportion can be substantially higher in some areas, according to recent reports on the ongoing global outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the British HIV Association (BHIVA) recently issued new guidance for the prevention and treatment of monkeypox in people with HIV. The good news is that people with well-controlled HIV and a high CD4 count do not appear to have more severe monkeypox illness.

    August 23, 2022
    General
    POZ Magazine

  • Fauci Plans To Step Down in December After Half a Century in Government

    Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s preeminent infectious-disease expert who achieved unprecedented fame while enduring withering political attacks as the face of the coronavirus pandemic response under two presidents, plans to step down in December after more than a half-century of public service, he announced Monday. Fauci, 81, has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. He joined the parent agency, the National Institutes of Health, in 1968 as a 27-year-old doctor who had just finished medical residency and was quickly identified as a rising star.

    August 22, 2022
    General
    The Washington Post

  • A Cure Must Be a Cure for All: Why More HIV Cure Research in Africa Is Needed

    Only one in eight HIV cure studies are being conducted in sub-Saharan Africa, but a few important studies have got off the ground in recent years. In South Africa, young women with very recent infection are testing broadly neutralising antibodies and vesatolimod, while gene therapy research is underway in Uganda. In the prevention field, early work on an mRNA vaccine is being done in Rwanda and South Africa. The studies were discussed at a pre-conference meeting on cure held before the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022), as well as at the conference itself.

    August 22, 2022
    Cure
    aidsmap

  • Gilead Must Face Pay-for-Delay Case Over HIV Drugs, Judge Rules

    Gilead Sciences Inc must face a proposed class action lawsuit accusing it of paying off Indian generic drugmaker Cipla Ltd not to compete with its HIV preventive drug Truvada, a federal judge has ruled. US District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California, ruled Friday that a Florida police health plan, the Jacksonville Police Officers and Fire Fighters Health Insurance Trust, could proceed with its lawsuit even though it could not yet allege precise details about the confidential 2014 settlement between the companies.

    August 22, 2022
    General
    Reuters

  • New Hope For HIV+ Children Thanks To New Flavoured ARVs

    New strawberry flavoured paediatric antiretrovirals (ARVs), due to arrive in South Africa shortly, will address a key barrier in the successful treatment of HIV positive children. The ARVs currently being used for young children have a very unpleasant taste, so much so that some children either spit or vomit the medicine out. This makes it difficult for them to take their life-saving medicine.

    August 22, 2022
    Treatment
    iAfrica

  • Rwanda: HIV Infections Decrease by Over 80 Percent in Rwanda

    New HIV infections in the country have reduced by 82 percent in 2022, Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) has announced. Dr. Charles Berabose in charge of HIV, Hepatitis and other infectious diseases treatment at RBC said that currently, around 5,000 new HIV infections are being recorded every year. "We have a target to have 95 percent of HIV/AIDs positive persons know their status and be taking antiretroviral medicines by 2030," he said. Already, he said that 94 percent of HIV positive persons are currently taking antiretroviral medicines.

    August 22, 2022
    General
    allAfrica

  • Can People Without Viral Suppression Benefit From Cabenuva?

    Long-acting Cabenuva (cabotegravir and rilpivirine) injections may be an option for people with HIV who are unable to achieve viral suppression due to challenges with treatment adherence, according to a small pilot study presented at the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal and published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Researchers at San Francisco’s Ward 86 HIV clinic found that 80 percent of people who started Cabenuva with a detectable viral load achieved and maintained viral suppression, some of them for the first time.

    August 19, 2022
    Treatment
    POZ Magazine

Published Research

  • Preexposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention: A Highlight of the Updated Clinical Practice Guideline

    The prevention of HIV is continually evolving with the development of new resources and the adaptation of older resources in new regimens. Ideally, these new and updated methods of prevention will allow easier implementation and continuation as well as reduced costs in the fight to prevent HIV infections.

    August 26, 2022
    PrEP
    The Nurse Practitioner

  • HPV Vaccination and HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): Missed Opportunities for Anal Cancer Prevention Among at Risk Populations

    Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM), in addition to transgender women who have sex with men (TW), are at disproportionate risk for anal cancer. Anal cancer can be prevented with HPV vaccination, but uptake among adult GBM/TW is low. Targeted HPV vaccination during the clinical management of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an unexplored strategy relevant to these populations. The purpose of this study was (1) to determine the need for HPV vaccination among GBM and transgender women PrEP users and (2) to identify correlates of HPV vaccination among PrEP users.

    August 26, 2022
    HPV Vaccines, PrEP
    Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

  • Understanding Discrimination Against LGBTQIA+ Patients in Indian Hospitals Using a Human Rights Perspective: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

    lobally, LGBTQIA+ individuals experience several health disparities. This qualitative exploratory study aimed to understand the experiences of discrimination faced by LGBTQIA+ patients in Indian hospitals using a human rights perspective. Self-identified LGBTQIA+ patients, cis-gender heterosexual employees, and administrators attending/working at public, private, and non-profit trust hospitals were interviewed in Mumbai and Delhi. The “right to non-discrimination” emerged as the central theme, with systemic and organisational discrimination as core themes.

    August 26, 2022
    General
    Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

  • The Discovery and Development of RNA-Based Therapies for Treatment of HIV-1 Infection

    Long-term control of HIV-1 infection can potentially be achieved using autologous stem cell transplants with gene-modified cells. Non-coding RNAs represent a diverse class of therapeutic agents including ribozymes, RNA aptamers and decoys, small interfering RNAs, short hairpin RNAs, and U1 interference RNAs that can be designed to inhibit HIV-1 replication. They have been engineered for delivery as drugs to complement current HIV-1 therapies and as gene therapies for a potential HIV-1 functional cure.

    August 25, 2022
    Treatment
    Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery

  • Impact of Community Health Worker Intervention on PrEP Knowledge and Use in Rakai, Uganda: A Mixed Methods, Implementation Science Evaluation

    Effective models of support for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are needed for populations at elevated risk. In a hyperendemic Ugandan fishing community, PrEP counseling was provided through a situated Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills (sIMB)-based community health worker (CHW) intervention. We evaluated the intervention using a mixed-methods, implementation science design.

    August 25, 2022
    PrEP
    International Journal of STD & AIDS

  • Characteristics of HIV/Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Women in Bangkok, Thailand

    Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a key HIV target population in Thailand. An important subgroup is men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) as they can sexually transmit infections between individuals with different gender identities. This study compared the sexually transmitted infection risk behavior of different types of men in Thailand.

    August 25, 2022
    General
    International Journal of STD & AIDS

  • Adaptation, Acceptability and Feasibility of Problem Management Plus (PM+) Intervention To Promote the Mental Health of Young People Living With HIV in Kenya: Formative Mixed-Methods Research

    Problem Management Plus (PM+) is a psychological intervention that seeks to address common mental disorders among individuals exposed to adversity. Thus far, the potential for delivering PM+ by mobile phones has not been evaluated.

    August 24, 2022
    General
    BJPsych Open

  • Relationship Power, Antiretroviral Adherence, and Physical and Mental Health Among Women Living with HIV in Rural Kenya

    Little is known about the association of gender-based power imbalances and health and health behaviors among women with HIV (WWH). We examined cross-sectional baseline data among WWH in a cluster-randomized control trial (NCT02815579) in rural Kenya. We assessed associations between the Sexual Relationship Power Scale (SRPS) and ART adherence, physical and mental health, adjusting for sociodemographic and social factors.

    August 24, 2022
    Treatment
    AIDS and Behavior

  • Measuring Socioeconomic Inequalities in Prenatal HIV Test Service Uptake for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in East Africa: A Decomposition Analysis

    Despite efforts made towards the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission, socioeconomic inequality in prenatal HIV test uptake in East Africa is not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed at measuring socioeconomic inequalities in prenatal HIV test uptake and explaining its main determinants in East Africa.

    August 23, 2022
    General
    PLOS One

  • Where’s the “Everyday Black Woman”? An Intersectional Qualitative Analysis of Black Women’s Decision-Making Regarding HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in Mississippi

    Black cisgender women in the US South bear a disproportionate burden of HIV compared to cisgender women in other racial and ethnic groups and in any other part of the US. Critical to decreasing new HIV infections is the improved delivery of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for Black cisgender women as it remains underutilized in 2021. Informed by intersectionality, the study sought to characterize the sociostructural influences on Black cisgender women’s deliberations about PrEP within the context of interlocking systems of oppression including racism, sexism, and classism.

    August 23, 2022
    PrEP
    BMC Public Health

  • US Women Need the Dapivirine Ring, Too: FDA As Structural Barrier to HIV Prevention for Women

    The dapivirine monthly vaginal ring—a discreet, anti-HIV microbicide created specifically for women—has received a positive scientific opinion by the European Medicines Agency and is included in the WHO HIV prevention guidelines. It has received regulatory approvals in several countries in southern and eastern Africa. During the review of the New Drug Application that was submitted in December 2020, FDA advised the developer, International Partnership for Microbicides, that it was unlikely to be approved in the United States; the application has since been withdrawn.

    August 22, 2022
    PrEP
    AIDS Education and Prevention

  • Immunogenicity to COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Third Dose in People Living With HIV

    In order to investigate safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine third dose in people living with HIV (PLWH), we analyze anti-RBD, microneutralization assay and IFN-γ production in 216 PLWH on ART with advanced disease (CD4 count <200 cell/mm3 and/or previous AIDS) receiving the third dose of a mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273) after a median of 142 days from the second dose. Median age is 54 years, median CD4 nadir 45 cell/mm3 (20–122), 93 percent HIV-RNA < 50 c/mL. In 68 percent of PLWH at least one side-effect, generally mild, is recorded.

    August 22, 2022
    General
    Nature Communications

  • SARS CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination Exposes Latent HIV to Nef-Specific CD8+ T-Cells

    Efforts to cure HIV have focused on reactivating latent proviruses to enable elimination by CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells. Clinical studies of latency reversing agents (LRA) in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-treated individuals have shown increases in HIV transcription, but without reductions in virologic measures, or evidence that HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells were productively engaged. Here, we show that the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 activates the RIG-I/TLR – TNF – NFκb axis, resulting in transcription of HIV proviruses with minimal perturbations of T-cell activation and host transcription.

    August 19, 2022
    General
    Nature

  • Protocol: Evaluation of an Optimised Couples-Focused Intervention To Increase Testing for HIV in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the Igugu Lethu (‘Our Treasure’) Cohort Study

    Between 2012 and 2015, the Uthando Lwethu (UL) study demonstrated that a theory-based behavioural couples-focused intervention significantly increased participation in couples HIV testing and counselling (CHTC) among South African couples who had never previously tested for HIV together or mutually disclosed their HIV status, 42 percent compared to 12 percent of the control group at 9 months follow-up. Although effective, we were nonetheless concerned that in this high prevalence setting the majority (58 percent) of intervention couples chose not to test together.

    August 19, 2022
    General
    BMC Public Health

  • Prevalence of Depression and Associated Factors Among People Living With HIV/AIDS in Public Hospitals of Southeast Ethiopia

    Depression is the most frequent mental health condition among human immune deficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients. It has been related to negative health outcomes. This could lead to hospitalization and an increase in medical expenses. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and associated factors among HIV/AIDS patients in public hospitals Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia.

    August 19, 2022
    General
    BMC Psychiatry

  • Trace the History of HIV and Predict Its Future Through Genetic Sequences

    Traditional methods of quantifying epidemic spread are based on surveillance data. The most widely used surveillance data are normally incidence data from case reports and hospital records, which are normally susceptible to human error, and sometimes, they even can be seriously error-prone and incomplete when collected during a destructive epidemic. In this manuscript, we introduce a new method to study the spread of infectious disease.

    August 17, 2022
    General
    Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease

  • Determinants of Survival of HIV Patients Receiving Dolutegravir: A Prospective Cohort Study in Conflict-Affected Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo

    This study aims to determine the factors influencing HIV-related mortality in settings experiencing continuous armed conflict atrocities. In such settings, people living with HIV (PLHIV), and the partners of those affected may encounter specific difficulties regarding adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and retention in HIV prevention, treatment, and care programs. Between July 2019 and July 2021, we conducted an observational prospective cohort study of 468 PLHIV patients treated with Dolutegravir at all the ART facilities in Bunia.

    August 17, 2022
    Treatment
    Environmental Research and Public Health

  • Treatment Adherence Among HIV and TB Patients Using Single and Double Way Mobile Phone Text Messages: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    Research has shown that patients fail to adhere to ART and TB treatment due to the long duration of both therapies, side effects, and forgetfulness. To assess the role of the double-way and single-way SMS on adherence to HIV and TB treatment. A randomized controlled trial among adult HIV and TB patients on treatment at the Buea Regional and Kumba District Hospitals, South West Region, Cameroon, was conducted. Participants were randomly allocated to the control, single-way, and double-way SMS intervention groups.

    August 13, 2022
    Treatment
    Journal of Tropical Medicine

  • Effectiveness of a Safe Sex Education Module in Improving Condom Use Among People Living With HIV: A Randomised Controlled Trial

    The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic in Malaysia has transitioned to occurring through more sexual transmission than injecting drugs in 2018. According to reports, the increase was caused by poor condom compliance and a lack of health programmes to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among people living with HIV (PLWH). The purpose of the study was to create, implement, and evaluate the impact of a safe sex education module on condom use among PLWH. A single-blinded, parallel randomised controlled trial was conducted at Seremban district.

    August 13, 2022
    General
    Environmental Research and Public Health

Announcements