News from INTEREST 2022
Botswana is ‘going for gold’ in eliminating vertical HIV transmission. Can the rest of Africa catch up?
In 2021, Botswana became the first high-burden country to be awarded the ‘silver tier status’ by the World Health Organization. Eldah Dintwa from Botswana’s Ministry of Health and Wellness told the INTEREST 2022 conference in Kampala that the goal of the country is to reduce mother-to-child transmission to less than 1% by 2024.
Here’s why oral PrEP in family planning services for young women in Kenya had dismal results
A seven-month programme in Kenyan public hospitals to increase access and uptake of oral PrEP among adolescent girls and young women had low uptake, with critical challenges encountered in health facilities, the conference heard. The researchers make several recommendations for how uptake could be increased.
COVID-19 pandemic restrictions did not harm HIV care outcomes in Uganda
Despite the strict COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Uganda, viral load testing and viral load suppression rates improved by 68% and 35% during the first lockdown, while mortality reduced by 25% among people living with HIV in the capital city, Kampala. These findings were reported by Dr Jonathan Izudi of Makerere University College of Health Sciences at the conference.
Other aidsmap news
Get your spring booster COVID shot, British HIV Association advises everyone with HIV
The British HIV Association (BHIVA) recently updated its guidance on COVID vaccinations for people with HIV to align with the recommendation by the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) that people aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed, including all people with HIV, should have a first or second booster dose six months after their last vaccine dose – even if they have already had a previous booster.
Incident tuberculosis in one in three people starting antiretroviral therapy in Thailand
A study from Thailand has found that the incidence of tuberculosis was remarkably high among people with HIV during the first year on antiretroviral therapy, and thereafter, decreased significantly until reaching levels comparable to those in the Thai general population after ten years. The study, published in a recent issue of the Journal of the International AIDS Society, is important as it is most probably the first to report such data from a high TB/HIV burden country in Asia.
Repeated infusions of two antibodies delay viral rebound but don’t prevent it
Results from a new study show that receiving multiple doses of a combination of two broadly neutralising antibodies is safe, delays viral load rebound in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART), and may shrink the latent HIV reservoir. Out of 17 people who received multiple infusions of the two antibodies, 13 maintained viral suppression without ART for 20 weeks and some for longer. Two people maintained suppression for a year or more.
NAM news & opinion: 37 years with HIV
As editor Gus Cairns retires in NAM’s 35th year, he reflects on how much has changed for people living with HIV.
High rates of obesity among middle-aged Black women with HIV in UK cohort
Around 40% of the women living with HIV in the UK aged 45-60 had a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30, considered obese, according to a study recently published in HIV Medicine. After controlling for other factors, researchers found that Black women were more likely to be obese than White British women.
Antidepressants improve ART adherence and quality of life in HIV-positive men with depression
HIV-positive men with depression who do not take antidepressants are four times as likely to have poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), Dr Yung-Feng Yen and colleagues report in PLOS ONE. The study also found that those without antidepressants had worse psychological, social, and environmental health-related quality of life compared to those using antidepressants.
High levels of infant resistance to abacavir and tenofovir in Namibia
One in ten Namibian infants with HIV had tenofovir resistance and one in six had resistance to abacavir before starting treatment, while two-thirds had resistance to a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). The study investigators say the level of resistance to tenofovir is the highest observed in any country study to date and highlights the need to accelerate access to alternative antiretroviral regimens for young children.
aidsmapCHAT: NAM's 35th anniversary special
Last week, we broadcast a special aidsmapCHAT, celebrating NAM's 35th anniversary. In this episode, Matthew Hodson and Susan Cole talked to NAM editor Gus Cairns, founder of the Prevention Access Campaign (U=U), Bruce Richman and activist and co-chair of the Sophia Forum, Mercy Shibemba.
Editors' picks from other sources
Global Fund to implement new strategy to cut death rates from AIDS, TB, and malaria | Health Policy Watch
While TB kills more people each year than malaria and HIV, more money is allocated to malaria and HIV than to TB in the new Global Fund strategy.
Providing care for Ukrainian refugees with HIV | The Lancet HIV (requires free registration)
Since war broke out in Ukraine, thousands of refugees with HIV have registered with clinics in other countries for treatment. But aid organisations and doctors say fears of stigmatisation and a lack of information, among other factors, might be keeping many more away from the help they need.
England: No plans yet for community pharmacy to provide PrEP despite low uptake rates in some groups | The Pharmaceutical Journal
HIV groups are "incredibly disappointed" commissioners have not yet come up with plans for community pharmacies to provide pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection.
Retire the word “risk” when talking about HIV and Black women | POZ
“Women at risk for HIV.” “Risky behavior.” “On the down low.” “High-risk sex.” Such phrases frame conversations about HIV prevention in terms of stigma, fear and judgement. A new initiative aims to retire the concept of risk and reframe the discussion about HIV.
HIV drugs have reached Ukraine. But that's not the end of the problem | Devex
In early April, drugs for HIV treatment financed by PEPFAR reached Ukraine. But there’s another layer of challenge: distributing them to regions across the country.
US Senate confirms Dr John Nkengasong to lead PEPFAR | Devex
The US Senate has confirmed Dr John Nkengasong as the US global AIDS co-ordinator, which will include leadership of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – the US global HIV initiative. The Cameroonian virologist is the first person born on the African continent to take on the role.
The law on confidentiality and HIV status
What legal protections are relevant for people living with HIV? Is it illegal to disclose someone’s HIV status? If I share my status with healthcare workers, what happens to my data?
Find out about the law on confidentiality and disclosure of HIV status in the UK in our new page.