News from aidsmap
To tell or not to tell: why and how women disclose their HIV status with partners
Women living with HIV in South Africa cited varied reasons for why they shared or did not share their status with partners. These ranged from disclosing as a way to increase intimacy, using disclosure as a form of confrontation after learning that they had acquired HIV from a partner, to deciding not to disclose as an act of self-preservation.
Fewer condoms, but more safer sex: historic shifts among Australian gay and bisexual men
There has been a rapid, historic shift in HIV prevention among gay and bisexual men in Australia, according to a new analysis of community surveys over five years. While consistent condom use has fallen dramatically, the uptake of PrEP and HIV treatment mean that “net prevention coverage” has increased.
Reinfection after hepatitis C cure in people with HIV predicted by sexually transmitted infections
Screening for sexually transmitted infections in people co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C during or shortly after completing direct-acting antiviral treatment to cure hepatitis C may predict which patients are at higher risk of hepatitis C reinfection, a study carried out in San Diego reports.
More than prevention: PrEP enhances income, trust, and intimacy in Uganda
PrEP is about more than HIV prevention, according to women working in the sex and entertainment industry in Kampala, Uganda. Their motives for taking PrEP were multi-faceted and included condomless sex to both generate more income and to maintain trust and intimacy in primary relationships.
Higher rates of non-communicable diseases contribute to persisting mortality in people with HIV
A Danish study with data on people diagnosed with HIV between 1985 and 2017 shows dramatic declines in death rates over the course of the HIV epidemic. In the years since 2006, the mortality of people living with HIV who survived their first two years after HIV diagnosis was close to that of the general population, according to the study published in HIV Medicine.
Near point-of-care viral load testing enables quick clinical action for people with high viral load
A study conducted in Malawi has shown that near point-of-care technologies have the capacity to improve viral-load testing, increase the frequency and quality of clinical action and reduce the costs incurred by outpatients in HIV clinics.
Heavily treatment-experienced people in Europe do not have a higher risk of clinical events
Among people living with HIV, the number of heavily treatment-experienced patients has increased in recent years. However, this may not translate into a higher risk of new AIDS or non-AIDS clinical events. Most heavily treatment-experienced people maintained good virological control, despite lower CD4 counts, results from a European study have shown.
Fear of HIV disclosure and lack of referrals means that the pain of many Black women with HIV is unaddressed
Specific clinical pathways to pain management and implicit bias training for healthcare providers are needed to ensure people with HIV receive appropriate care for chronic pain, researchers argue. UK study findings showed that Black people, especially women, were less likely to be referred for specialist pain management than their White male counterparts. Moreover, participants feared stigma if they shared their HIV status with non-HIV specialists.
Most male partners of women using the dapivirine vaginal ring support its use in HIV prevention
A study interviewing the male partners of women using the dapivirine vaginal ring for HIV prevention found that 41% felt the ring during sex. For most men, the ring did not affect the frequency or experience of sex, although they had some initial concerns about safety. Encouragingly, 96% of men said that they would support their partner in using the dapivirine vaginal ring again.
PrEP and the trans community research briefing
We've published a new research briefing, Sex, PrEP and HIV in trans and non-binary people, on aidsmap.
The briefing covers PrEP awareness, PrEP efficacy in trans people, interactions between PrEP and hormone therapy, and trans-friendly PrEP services.
Editors' picks from other sources
HIV and cervical cancer: Behind South Africa’s extraordinarily high numbers | Spotlight
A study recently published in The Lancet found that women living with HIV made up an astonishing 63.4% of new cervical cancer cases in South Africa in 2018. Elri Voigt spoke to local experts about the links between HIV and cervical cancer in South Africa and how cervical cancer is prevented, tested for, and treated in the public sector.
Clinical trial data needs to reflect the demographics of HIV, say activists | TheBodyPro
A recent analysis conducted by the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition revealed that, among HIV drug trial participants, data specific to race and sex were dramatically underreported.
Explosion of social media misinformation on first trial of germline targeting HIV vaccine strategy | TAG HIV Basic Science, Vaccines, and Cure Project Blog
Several erroneous claims about a recently presented phase I HIV vaccine study are being made, including that it was an mRNA vaccine, that it induced antibody responses against HIV in 97% of the trial participants and that the vaccine will be tested for efficacy.
There’s an astonishingly simple way to make PrEP available for all. What’s the government waiting for? | Pink News
Ian Green of Terrence Higgins Trust says a doubling of PrEP funding must be followed by an expansion of services where PrEP is available.
The city losing its children to HIV | New York Times
A paediatric outbreak in a remote Pakistan city shows the urgency of global health after COVID.
Video series: women ageing with HIV
In the second video from our new series, Sophie Strachan, Director of the UK HIV charity Sophia Forum, shares her experiences of the menopause as a woman living with HIV.
This video has been produced as part of a collaborative project between the Sophia Forum, Positively UK, NAM aidsmap and the Institute for Global Health, University College London. The GROWS project, women living with HIV Growing Older, Wiser and Stronger, is a holistic modelled programme supporting women with their health, wellbeing and social care needs.