3 MARCH 2023 VOLUME 25 ISSUE 9

Media Coverage

• Investing in National HIV PrEP Preparedness

  Despite more than 40 years of responding to HIV and important breakthroughs in primary and secondary prevention, the rate of new infections is stuck at 35,000 per year, and racial disparities are worsening. Similar failures were apparent in the response to mpox... It is not too late to reverse course, but doing so will take political will and commitment.

  March 2, 2023

  The New England Journal of Medicine

• ‘Revolutionary’ HIV Prevention Jab Set to Expand Choices for Consumers

  Researchers quickly recognized the potential of the long-term HIV prevention injectable. One of the key studies on the efficacy of the drug — which is a form of PrEP, used to prevent HIV infections — finished months ahead of schedule, as initial results showed the superiority of the injectable to a daily oral version of PrEP. CAB-LA only requires people to receive injections eight weeks apart after an introductory period.

  March 1, 2023

  Devex

• What to Know About 2023's HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day

  The second annual HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day — formerly known as HIV Criminalization Day — has a number of nationwide events to mark the occasion, many of which can be viewable online.

  February 28, 2023

  HIV Plus

• George W. Bush's Anti-HIV Program is Hailed as 'Amazing' — and Still Crucial at 20

  The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, is the largest health commitment ever made by any country, now totaling more than $100 billion in more than 50 countries. And its work continues.

  February 28, 2023

  NPR

• What Will Happen to Tennessee HIV/AIDS Groups After Their State Government Takes Away Federal Funding?

  The Tennessee government sent shock waves through the state's nonprofit HIV services community when it announced that it would no longer accept federal funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earmarked for HIV testing, prevention, and treatment. This means a loss of as much as $10 million total to the state.

  February 27, 2023

  The Body

• HIV Infections Acquired While on Injectable PrEP May Take a Very Long Time to be Spotted

  In some of rare human cases of ‘breakthrough’ HIV infection despite oral PrEP, the normal course of events during infection has followed an unusual sequence, and in some cases test results that were positive have reverted to negative, resulting in delayed diagnosis.

  February 27, 2023

  aidsmap

• Jill Biden Talks Safe Sex, Condoms with Kenya's Young Adults

  US First Lady Jill Biden is close to wrapping up her five-day visit to two African countries.

  February 26, 2023

  The Independent

• Health Experts Concerned of Rise in Syphilis Cases

  Dr Norman Swan says it is "shameful" to have babies dying in Australia from syphilis in the 21st century amid a rise in cases of the medieval disease.

  February 26, 2023

  ABC News Australia

• Medical Circumcision Drive to Recruit Boys, Men to Counter Spread of HIV in South Africa

  The government is targeting nearly 15,000 boys and men in the Eastern Cape to volunteer to undergo medical circumcision in the next three years as part of nationwide efforts to prevent HIV infection.

  February 24, 2023

  Dispatch Live

• Promising New PrEP Method Undergoes First Safety Study for Anal Sex

  An insert (suppository) designed for PEP or PrEP and containing the antiretrovirals elvitegravir and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) was safe to use and produced drug levels in rectal tissues that stayed well above protective levels for over a day, and in the case of tenofovir, for over three days.

  February 24, 2023

  PrEP

  aidsmap

• What Next After Early End of MOSAICO HIV Vaccine Trial?

  Main focus now will be approaches using broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies, researchers say.

  February 24, 2023

  MedPage Today

• Q&A: An optimistic view of a ‘failed’ HIV vaccine trial

  Lawrence Corey, MD, co-principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HTVN) and former president of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, told Healio during the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections that there are lessons that were learned during the trial that will help inform the next steps of HIV vaccine research.

  February 24, 2023

  Healio

• Dr. Deborah Birx on Fight Against HIV/AIDS, Future Pandemics and Trust in Scientists [Video]

  This year marks 20 years since then-President George W. Bush enacted the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Dr. Deborah Birx served as the US Global AIDS Coordinator, implementing PEPFAR programs around the world. She joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss where we stand in the fight against HIV/AIDS and what work stills needs to be done.

  February 24, 2023

  CBS News

• Are Long-Acting Injectables Feasible for People Without Viral Suppression?

  Long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine injections may be an option for people who struggle to stay engaged with traditional HIV care and who have been unable to maintain an undetectable viral load on oral antiretroviral treatment, researchers reported at the 30th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle.

  February 23, 2023

  POZ

• Take as Needed: Preventing HIV might one day be as easy as using this suppository

  A small study conducted among 23 HIV-negative men and women in the United States has found that a quick-dissolving rectal suppository – no bigger than a fingernail – that contains two antiretroviral drugs is safe, researchers announced at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).

  February 22, 2023

  Spotlight

Published Research

• What Motivated Men to Start PrEP? A Cross-section of Men Starting PrEP in Buffalo City Municipality, South Africa

  Self-perceived risk for HIV acquisition was a major facilitator for men's PrEP initiation. Although men expressed positive perceptions of PrEP users, they noted that HIV testing may be a barrier to PrEP initiation. Finally, men recommended convenient access points to facilitate PrEP initiation and sustained use. Gender-responsive interventions tailored to men's needs, wants, and voices will facilitate their uptake of HIV prevention services, and help to end the HIV epidemic.

  March 2, 2023

  BMC Public Health

• The Role of a Tertiary Level Safety Net Hospital in New York City's 2022 Mpox Outbreak

  Similar to the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City was the national epicenter of the ongoing 2022 mpox outbreak. The special pathogens program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue collaborated with multiple departments within Bellevue, the hospital system, and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to swiftly establish ambulatory testing, immunizations, patient-centered inpatient care, and outpatient therapeutics.

  March 1, 2023

  Health Secur

• Who is Exposed to HIV Prevention Interventions? An Assessment of Associated Factors Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa

  This study examined the prevalence of HIV risk factors and their association with intervention exposure among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living in six South African districts in which a combination HIV-prevention intervention was being implemented. Among the 4399 participants, 45.3% reported inconsistent condom use with casual partner and 46.6% with a main partner.

  March 1, 2023

  AIDS Behav

• Modelling Methods of Economic Evaluations of HIV Testing Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

  As HIV testing and treatment coverage increase, case identification becomes increasingly difficult and costly. Determining which subset of the population these strategies should be targeted to becomes of vital importance as well. Generating quality economic evidence begins with the validity of the modelling approach and the model structure employed. This study synthesises and critiques the reporting around modelling methodology of economic models in the evaluation of HIV testing strategies in sub-Saharan Africa.

  February 28, 2023

  Appl Health Econ Health Policy

• Expanding Access to Oral Preexposure Prophylaxis for People Who Inject Drugs in Bayelsa and Niger States, Nigeria

  Provision of oral PrEP services to PWID in Nigeria is feasible through a peer-led, differentiated, and holistic approach that addresses structural barriers among the PWID community. Greater efforts are needed to understand the needs and barriers to better tailor HIV services to reach females and other subpopulations in this community that are harder to reach.

  February 28, 2023

  Glob Health Sci Pract

• Rate of and Risk Factors for Loss to Follow Up in HIV-Infected Patients in Korea: The Korea HIV/AIDS Cohort Study

  Owing to antiretroviral therapy (ART), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related mortality has significantly decreased. Retaining in care is an essential step for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care cascade. This study investigated the incidence of and risk factors for loss to follow-up in Korean people living with HIV (PLWH).

  February 20, 2023

  Infect Chemother

• Depression and HIV Risks: Engaging older African American women in HIV prevention education through the church

  This report describes the recruitment of a sample of older African American women to test the effectiveness of an educational HIV prevention intervention that sought to reduce depressive symptoms and thereby HIV risks in this population. The outreach venue is the Black church. Of 62 women who participated in two arms of the intervention, 29 were assigned randomly to a four-session discussion group (experimental condition) and 33 were assigned to a one-session informational group (control condition) focused on HIV prevention education.

  February 14, 2023

  Front Reprod Health

• A Survey of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Across 23 Countries in 2022

  Our third study of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy among 23,000 respondents in 23 countries (Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States), surveyed from 29 June to 10 July 2022, found willingness to accept vaccination at 79.1%, up 5.2% from June 2021. Hesitancy increased in eight countries, however, ranging from 1.0% (United Kingdom) to 21.1% (South Africa).

  January 9, 2023

  Nature Medicine

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