aidsmap news: What does the monkeypox outbreak mean for people living with HIV? 13 June 2022

News from aidsmap

What does the monkeypox outbreak mean for people living with HIV?

The new monkeypox outbreak continues to spread in the UK and worldwide, mainly affecting men who have sex with men. Several of the men who developed monkeypox are living with HIV, but so far they do not appear to have worse outcomes. While anyone can contract the virus through close personal contact, experts and advocates are urging gay and bisexual men, in particular, to be alert for symptoms and take precautions during Pride season.

NAM news & opinion – What's in a name: using person-centred language in HIV research

Person-centred language is seen as one way to address HIV stigma. Person-centred language involves saying ‘people who inject drugs’ (rather than ‘drug users’). It’s avoiding writing abbreviations to describe people (e.g. PLHIV). It’s calling us ‘people (living) with HIV’ (rather than HIV-positive people). Putting the person before the disease re-centres our humanity. This intentional word choice is also used among disability and other health movements. It recognises that we are more than our health conditions or actions – we are people first.

HIV-exposed children experience subtle delays in aquiring language and motor skills, review finds

Children of mothers with HIV who remained HIV-free have a higher risk of subtle deficiencies in expressive language and gross motor function by the age of two compared to children not exposed to HIV, a meta-analysis of eight studies has found.

Canadian HIV criminalisation laws increase violence against women living with HIV

A majority of women living with HIV in Canada report a history of verbal, physical, and/or sexual violence from partners, according to a study published in Women’s Health. And one fifth of the women in the study, especially Indigenous women and Black women, reported that Canada’s HIV non-disclosure laws had led to increased violence.

World’s largest HIV treatment programme could shift almost entirely to WHO-preferred first-line regimen

The majority of South African HIV patients could be switched to the World Health Organization’s recommended first-line regimen if the country adopts advice from leading doctors. This would allow most people currently on the antiretroviral drug tenofovir to stay on that medication while adding dolutegravir and lamivudine to their HIV treatment regimen.

People living with HIV in the UK have an increased risk of mental illness

A study by Tiffany Gooden and colleagues in The Lancet HIV shows how people living with HIV in the UK are at higher risk of developing mental illness than people without HIV. During the study, people living with HIV had a 63% greater risk of being diagnosed with mental illness, compared to people without HIV.

Dolutegravir resistance showing up after prolonged periods on failing treatment

Dolutegravir resistance is being detected in people with HIV in Malawi who spend long periods on failing treatment and there is a pressing need for improved capacity to carry out resistance testing in sub-Saharan Africa, researchers in Malawi and South Africa report in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Black British people with HIV and APOL1 gene variants are more likely to develop kidney failure

Over 50% of Black people with end-stage kidney disease had high-risk variants of a gene called APOL1 in a recent UK study. These genes are most commonly found in people of west African and Caribbean descent, which may partly explain why people of Black ethnicity are three times more likely to develop end-stage kidney disease than White people.

Peer support at outpatient clinics improves the wellbeing of people living with HIV

Peer support provided at outpatient clinics in Norway improves health outcomes, addresses the diverse needs of people living with HIV and improves wellbeing. In a qualitative study recently published in BMC Health Services Research, Anita Øgård‐Repål from the University of Agder and colleagues reported that peer support plays a key role in personalising outpatient clinic services.

Which health conditions are more or less common in people with HIV?

A cross-sectional study of patients in UK health services has compared the prevalence of a large number of different health conditions in people with HIV, versus those without HIV. Most findings confirm previous research, but the study also found a lower prevalence of many cardiovascular conditions and rheumatoid arthritis in people with HIV, while infertility, bipolar disorder and numerous infections were more common.

Home packs cut time to start HIV ‘morning after pill’ by two-thirds

This year's British HIV Association (BHIVA) conference heard that providing gay and bisexual men with home packs of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) pills cut the average time between possible exposure and starting PEP from over a day to seven hours, but the majority of opportunities for prevention were still missed.

Monkeypox is spreading among gay men worldwide

The World Health Organization (WHO) has now confirmed nearly 100 cases of monkeypox in over a dozen countries, with the largest number in the UK. While most cases so far are among gay and bisexual men, health officials emphasise that anyone can contract the virus through close personal contact.

NAM news & opinion – What are men's sexual and reproductive health needs?

Share-Net Netherlands, the Netherlands Network on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, recently published a position paper on men's sexual and reproductive health and rights. We spoke to Paul Janssen, who led the development of the paper, about the key issues the paper explores.

Ahead of vaginal ring introduction in sub-Saharan Africa, potential end-users express several concerns

Almost 50% of Kenyan women interested in using the dapivirine vaginal ring are willing to pay up to 100 shillings (less than one dollar) for it. Thirty-nine per cent would pay between 100-400 shillings ($0.94-$3.72), while only 14% would pay above four hundred shillings, according to a report presented at the INTEREST 2022 conference in Kampala.

‘Nothing for us without us’: achieving epidemic control among key populations in Africa

While some countries in Africa are on the verge of reaching epidemic control – which means there are fewer HIV diagnoses than deaths of people with HIV – progress among key populations remains largely unknown, participants at the INTEREST 2022 conference in Kampala heard. In 2020, key populations and their sexual partners accounted for 39% of new HIV acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa. However, only eight countries had prevalence data on people who inject drugs, while just two had data on transgender people.

How do people feel after disclosing their HIV status on social media?

Recent qualitative research with a small group of White gay and bisexual men in Australia found that they had chosen to talk about their HIV status on social media in order to control the narrative, challenge stigma and maintain a sense of agency. Instead of seeing it as a responsibility to disclose, these men viewed it as a right to share their status.

Women with HIV at greater risk of diabetes than men

An analysis involving almost 40,000 people living with HIV in the United States has found that women are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than both their male and HIV-negative counterparts.

Obesity more important than integrase inhibitors in risk for developing diabetes in people with HIV

Obesity was the most important risk factor for developing diabetes in a large US HIV clinic cohort between 2008 and 2018, researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham report in a pre-print article released ahead of peer review.

NHS England is considering use of Descovy PrEP

In a draft policy update, NHS England is proposing to reimburse the use of tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (TAF/FTC), the combination pill sold as Descovy by its manufacturers Gilead Sciences, for 'second-line' PrEP. This would add an additional PrEP option as currently the only combination pill reimbursable for PrEP in England is tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC).

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Editors' picks from other sources

Monkeypox cases are on the rise, particularly in queer men. Here's what it's like to get the infection | BuzzFeed News

Marco, 40, lives with his partner in Edmonton, Alberta. Marco’s partner had been “feeling off” for a couple of days – a low fever, some fatigue, and a few little bumps on his hands, which he didn’t give much thought as they didn’t look serious.

New AVAC plan lays out priorities for swift and equitable rollout of injectable cabotegravir for PrEP | AVAC

As the HIV prevention field is poised to introduce injectable cabotegravir (CAB), AVAC lays out a Plan for Accelerating Access and Introduction of Injectable CAB for PrEP. The plan identifies immediate priorities to support the swift rollout of CAB for PrEP and calls on stakeholders to ensure that it's delivered to programmes at scale at the lowest price possible.

UK: I'm having to send some of my HIV medication to men who can't get PrEP | Metro

For people at risk of HIV infection to be left without access to one of the most effective prevention tools available is criminal. We even know of people on waiting lists for PrEP in the Manchester area that have needlessly contracted HIV.

New Pentagon policy allows HIV-positive service members to deploy | The Hill

Updated Pentagon policy prevents the US military from separating HIV-positive service members with an undetectable viral load and also allows them to be deployed.

Combination anti-HIV antibody infusions suppress virus for sustained period | HIV.gov

Individuals with HIV who began taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the early stages of infection achieved a lengthy period of HIV suppression without ART after receiving two broadly neutralising anti-HIV antibodies (bNAbs), according to a small study published in the journal Nature.

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