8 FEBRUARY 2019 VOLUME 20 ISSUE 5

Media Coverage

• To Halt HIV, Advocates Push for PrEP Outreach to Black Women

  In 2013, not quite a year after the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Truvada for HIV prevention, a coalition of 50 experts in HIV and women's health called on U.S. public health agencies to promote the pill and its approach, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, explicitly to women.

  February 8, 2019

  PrEP

  NPR

• Trump called for an end to HIV in the US by 2030. That’s totally realistic

  For now, the details of the administration’s plans are still murky. All we have is a two-page HHS fact sheet to go on. So we asked seven HIV and public health experts to weigh in on what Trump’s plan to end HIV in the US should do if the administration is serious about tackling the ongoing epidemic. Here’s what they told us. Their answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

  February 8, 2019

  General

  Vox

• Tanzania male MPs face circumcision call to stop HIV spread

  A female MP in Tanzania has called for checks to determine whether or not her male colleagues have undergone circumcision - a procedure known to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.

  February 8, 2019

  Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision

  BBC

• AHF Nigeria Distributes 70,000 Condoms, Tests 4,000 for HIV in Kogi

  A non-governmental organization, Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria distributes over 70,000 condoms and offers HIV testing for 4,000 to the people of Kogi State as part International Condoms Day.

  February 8, 2019

  Male and Female Condoms

  Daily Trust

• Glimmers of hope: moving towards better HIV and TB treatment in eastern Europe

  Eastern Europe continues to have one of the worst HIV epidemics in the world outside sub-Saharan Africa, with the worst linkage to care of any region in the world, last week's meeting on Standard of Care for HIV and Coinfections in Europe heard.

  February 7, 2019

  Treatment

  aidsmap

• Opinion: The world must invest in the fight against HIV, TB, malaria

  Since its founding in 2002, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has become a vital part of the global health architecture. It has disbursed more than $38 billion and saved millions of lives from the world’s top three infectious killers.

  February 7, 2019

  General

  Devex

• New tool can measure success of HIV cure strategies

  NIH-funded scientists developed an assay that may help researchers measure the success of their HIV cure strategies.

  February 7, 2019

  Cure

  Healio

• Scientists kick the tires on Trump's plan to tackle HIV

  In his State of the Union address on 5 February, President Donald Trump committed to eliminating HIV in the United States by 2030. Many researchers applauded the sentiment but are sceptical that the administration can effectively reach out to communities that it has helped to marginalize through its actions.

  February 6, 2019

  General

  Nature

• NGO pushes for investment on new HIV prevention treatment

  A Non-Governmental Organisation, Centre for the Right to Health has called for investment in new HIV prevention treatment, Pre- exposure Prophylaxis, (PrEP) as it helps in reducing HIV infection.

  February 6, 2019

  PrEP

  Independent

• Trump's HIV pledge comes as Gilead pumps cash into Truvada for PrEP

  Gilead is looking to eventually sub out Truvada for its newer HIV drug Descovy when it comes to pre-exposure prophylaxis. But in the meantime, it’s socking cash into promoting the older brand for PrEP.

  February 6, 2019

  PrEP

  FiercePharma

• Trump’s State of the Union pledge: Ending HIV transmissions by 2030

  President Donald Trump plans to use Tuesday night’s State of the Union address to promise an end to the HIV epidemic in America, four individuals with knowledge of the planned remarks told POLITICO.

  February 5, 2019

  General

  Politico

• The cost of preventing the spread of HIV? Upwards of $1,600 a month

  During the State of the Union address tonight, President Trump is expected to call for an end to the spread of HIV in the U.S. by 2030. There's a drug already on the market that could help make that a reality. It's called Truvada -- otherwise known as PrEP (for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) -- and when taken as a preventive, it can drastically reduces transmission of HIV.... The downside? It can cost upward of $1,600 a month.

  February 5, 2019

  PrEP

  Marketplace

• An atlas of HIV’s ‘escape routes’ could improve vaccine design

  One of the reasons HIV infection is so hard to prevent and treat is that the virus mutates in order to evade broadly neutralizing antibodies—the immune system’s primary defense against viral pathogens. So scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center constructed an atlas of HIV mutations, providing insight that they believe will boost the ongoing search for an effective vaccine.

  February 4, 2019

  HIV Vaccine

  Fierce Biotech

Published Research

• Rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy at HIV diagnosis: definition, process, knowledge gaps

  Presently there is insufficient broad evidence for guidelines to recommend universal test-and-treat strategies for all people, in all settings, at HIV diagnosis; consequently, there is a pressing need to conduct high-quality studies that investigate immediate ART initiation. This article evaluates global evidence regarding rapid-start ART, including same-day start, with particular focus on the implementation of this strategy in high-income countries.

  March 1, 2019

  Treatment

  HIV Med

• A high mucosal blocking score is associated with HIV protection

  MBS (mucosal blocking score) is significantly associated with protection in HESN and might reflect altered HIV spreading to mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues.

  March 1, 2019

  General

  AIDS

• Innate immune recognition of glycans targets HIV nanoparticle immunogens to germinal centers

  These findings identify an innate immune–mediated recognition pathway promoting antibody responses to particulate antigens, with broad implications for humoral immunity and vaccine design.

  February 8, 2019

  HIV Vaccine

  Science Magazine

• Application of an HIV prevention cascade to identify gaps in increasing coverage of voluntary medical male circumcision services in 42 rural Zambian communities

  Increased coverage of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is needed in countries with high HIV prevalence. We applied an HIV-prevention cascade to identify gaps in male circumcision coverage in Zambia. We used survey data collected in 2013 and 2014/15 to describe circumcision coverage at each time-point, and prevalence of variables related to demand for and supply of VMMC. We explored whether circumcision coverage in 2014/15 was associated with demand and supply among uncircumcised men in 2013....

  February 8, 2019

  Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision

  AIDS and Behavior

• Acceptability and predictors of uptake of anti-retroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among fishing communities in Uganda: A cross-sectional discrete choice experiment survey

  Participants were asked to choose between oral pill, injection, implant, condoms, vaginal ring (women), and men circumcision. Product attributes were HIV prevention effectiveness, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, contraception, waiting time, and secrecy of use.... HIV prevention effectiveness was viewed as the most important attribute. Both genders preferred oral PrEP. Women least preferred the vaginal ring and men the implant. Condom use was predicted to decrease by one third among men, and not to change amongst women.

  February 8, 2019

  PrEP

  AIDS and Behavior

• Risk compensation and clinical decision making — The case of HIV preexposure prophylaxis

  Uptake of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV has been limited for multiple reasons, including low awareness. Clinicians’ concerns that an increased sense of protection will lead to greater risk taking among PrEP users are another important factor.

  February 8, 2019

  PrEP

  NEJM

• A novel vaccine strategy employing serologically different Chimpanzee adenoviral vectors for the prevention of HIV-1 and HCV coinfection

  Serologically distinct adenoviral vectors encoding HCV and HIV-1 immunogens can be safely co-administered without reducing the immunogenicity of either vaccine. This provides a novel strategy for targeting these viruses simultaneously and for other pathogens that affect the same populations.

  February 8, 2019

  HIV Vaccine, Multipurpose Prevention Technologies

  Frontiers In Immunology

• Ending the HIV epidemic: A plan for the United States

  In the State of the Union Address on February 5, 2019, President Donald J. Trump announced his administration’s goal to end the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. The president’s budget will ask Republicans and Democrats to make the needed commitment to support a concrete plan to achieve this goal. While landmark biomedical and scientific research advances have led to the development of many successful HIV treatment regimens, prevention strategies, and improved care for persons with HIV, the HIV pandemic remains a public health crisis in the United States and globally.

  February 7, 2019

  General

  JAMA

• Randomised controlled trial of a brief, clinic-based intervention to promote safer sex among young Black men who have sex with men: Implications for pre-exposure prophylaxis-related counselling

  This analysis of data from a Phase 3 RCT suggests that a single session of a clinic-based behavioural intervention may effectively promote the consistent use of condoms for anal and oral sex among HIV-uninfected YBMSM. The single-session program may be a valuable counselling tool for use in conjunction with recommended quarterly clinic appointments for YBMSM using pre-exposure prophylaxis.

  February 6, 2019

  Male and Female Condoms, PrEP

  Sexual Health

• Neutralization synergy between HIV-1 attachment inhibitor Fostemsavir and anti-CD4 binding site broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV

  As the worldwide HIV pandemic continues, there is a continued need for novel drugs and therapies. A new class of drug, the attachment inhibitors, will soon be approved for the treatment of HIV. Broadly neutralizing antibodies are also promising candidates for HIV prevention and therapy. We investigated how this drug might work with these exciting antibodies that are very potent in blocking HIV infection of cells. These antibodies worked against virus known to be resistant to the new drug.

  February 5, 2019

  Antibody Related Research, Treatment

  Journal of Virology

• The role of sexual risk behaviors on PrEP awareness and interest among men who have sex with men in Latin America

  Findings demonstrate substantial awareness of and interest in PrEP among MSM with behavioral risk factors for HIV in Latin America, suggesting that this region is primed for PrEP implementation, which has been slow.

  February 5, 2019

  PrEP

  International Journal of STD & AIDS

• Access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in practice settings: A qualitative study of sexual and gender minority adults’ perspectives

  In order to reduce HIV disparities, improving PrEP access will require additional efforts by providers and resources across health care settings to reduce barriers. Interventions to improve provider education about PrEP and provider communication skills for discussing sexual health are needed. Additionally, there should be system-level improvements to increase coordination between patients, providers, pharmacies, and payers to facilitate PrEP access and uptake.

  February 4, 2019

  PrEP

  Journal of General Internal Medicine

• A systematic review of interventions that promote frequent HIV testing

  Four interventions involved text message reminders for HIV testing, three involved community-based testing, two self-testing, and one rapid testing. Text message reminder interventions were most successful in increasing rates of frequent HIV testing. Future research should standardize frequent testing measurement to allow for more robust comparisons of intervention efficacy.

  February 1, 2019

  General

  AIDS and Behavior

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