aidsmap news: People with HIV at higher risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, New York study finds, 14 December 2020

News from aidsmap

People with HIV at higher risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, New York study finds

People with HIV were more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and more likely to die in hospital due to COVID-19 than people without HIV, and people with more advanced HIV disease or unsuppressed viral load were more likely than other people with HIV to be hospitalised, a review of surveillance data in New York state shows.

People with NNRTI resistance have poorer responses to dolutegravir, South African study finds

People with HIV who already have resistance to a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) when they start first-line antiretroviral treatment containing the integrase inhibitor dolutegravir were less likely to achieve viral suppression, a large clinical trial in South Africa has reported.

More weight gain in people starting HIV treatment with newer integrase inhibitors or darunavir

A US study has concluded that weight gain is greater by around 2 to 4 kg in HIV-positive people taking bictegravir or dolutegravir as part of their first antiretroviral therapy (ART), compared to their counterparts using other drug regimens. A similar effect was reported in those using the protease inhibitor darunavir.

U=U encourages men in South Africa to test for HIV

As men in sub-Saharan Africa test for HIV less often than women, a team led by Dr Philip Smith of University of Cape Town, South Africa, wanted to know if men would be encouraged to test more when they knew about the U=U message. The team found that when peer promoters told men that an undetectable viral load means that, if they test positive, they cannot pass the virus to sexual partners, they were more likely to go for HIV testing.

Higher rates of psychotic disorders in young adults with perinatally acquired HIV

Healthcare professionals supporting young people born with HIV must consider their mental health support needs and integrate HIV and mental health care, argue Indira Mallik of Imperial College and colleagues in the Psychological Medicine. Their UK study showed that young people who acquired HIV perinatally are more likely to experience psychotic disorders than their peers in the general population.

Women living with HIV in wealthy countries need to be given more information around bottle feeding

A Canadian study aimed at researching the attitudes of mothers living with HIV has found that more support and education is needed around the recommendation to bottle feed their infants. This is particularly true for women who have moved to wealthy countries from low-income countries, where infant care is completely different and women are told to exclusively breastfeed for six months, as per World Health Organization guidelines.

Rectal STIs are still not being diagnosed in many European cities, due to inadequate screening

Despite improvements in the quality of sexual health screening over the past decade, men who have sex with men living in many European cities report not having tests that would detect rectal gonorrhoea or chlamydia, data from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS) show. Improvements have mostly been seen in western Europe, with gaps most commonly observed in eastern and south-eastern Europe.

---

---

---

Editors' picks from other sources

How did the University of Queensland/CSL vaccine fail due to 'false positive' HIV tests? A vaccine expert explains | The Conversation

If the COVID-19 vaccine had been widely rolled out, people would think they had HIV when they didn't. But it's not the end of this type of technology.

Expert Consensus Statement on Breastfeeding and HIV in the United States and Canada | The Well Project

We assert the need for parents living with HIV to have access to the information, support, and tools necessary to make informed infant-feeding decisions.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine advice for adults living with HIV: British HIV Association (BHIVA) & Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) guidance - Plain English version | BHIVA

People will receive the vaccine in strict order of priority based on their age, health, occupation, whether they live in a care or residential home and who they live with. Everyone with HIV is automatically in priority group 6 so you will get the vaccine earlier than many people. If your clinic thinks you are at higher risk you can be put into priority group 4, and get the vaccine sooner, but you will need to be added to a central NHS list to be put into priority group 4.

Biden’s choice to run CDC is a respected specialist who is unafraid to speak her mind | Washington Post

But while Rochelle Walensky’s HIV/AIDS research has long had a public health focus, she has never run a government agency or organisation as large and complex as the CDC.

Rape increases your long-term risk of contracting HIV. Here's what could fix that | Bhekisisa

The rape policy and clinical management guidelines of the health department must be revised and updated to include evidence of the need for long-term psychosocial care. A true multisectoral approach to post-rape care must be initiated immediately.

---