News from aidsmap
Elite controllers may self-vaccinate against active HIV infection, gene study suggests
A study published in Nature last month has used novel gene-sequencing probes to investigate exactly how the one in 200 people with HIV who are so-called 'elite controllers' manage the feat. In one individual among the 64 elite controllers studied, the investigators were unable to find any replication-competent HIV genetic material in over a billion T-cells, and were also unable to grow any HIV from her T-cells.
Media reporting of intentional HIV transmission case amplified HIV stigma
News coverage of Darryl Rowe, the only person to be convicted of intentional HIV transmission in the UK, accentuated stigma around HIV, according to an analysis published in the journal Health. The overarching focus was on communicating the evil of Darryl Rowe and the suffering of his victims. None of the newspaper articles challenged social representations of HIV as a devastating and destructive disease.
High prevalence of underlying health conditions explains increased COVID-19 mortality seen in people with HIV in US study
People living with HIV do not have an increased risk of dying due to COVID-19 once underlying health conditions are taken into account, investigators from the United States report in the online edition of AIDS. However, the research did find that, even after taking into account co-morbidities such as obesity, lung and kidney disease, people with HIV were more likely than closely matched HIV-negative individuals to be hospitalised because of COVID-19.
People with HIV do not have higher liver disease risk after hepatitis C treatment
People living with HIV do not have a higher risk of liver-related complications or death from liver disease after hepatitis C treatment with direct-acting antivirals, researchers from the French HEPAVIH cohort reported at the Digital International Liver Congress.
Liver cancer risk after hepatitis C cure is lower in people with HIV
People with HIV who were cured of hepatitis C were less likely than HIV-negative people to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) in the three and a half years after completing hepatitis C treatment, Spanish researchers report in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Kidney transplant between people with HIV is safe, says US study
The kidneys of deceased HIV-positive donors can be safely transplanted into people living with HIV who have end-stage kidney disease, investigators report in the American Journal of Transplantation. Outcomes were every bit as good as those observed in people with HIV whose kidney donor was HIV negative.
Short-term PrEP for gay men going on holiday is feasible and acceptable
A short course of PrEP for gay and bisexual men who anticipate sexual risk behaviour while travelling is realistic, feasible and acceptable, US researchers report in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. Adherence to daily PrEP was high among the 54 men who took part in this single-arm study.
Sexual compulsivity and harmful drug use decreased in men who started PrEP in Amsterdam
A longitudinal study of mental health and substance use issues in gay and bisexual men and transgender women who took part in AmPrEP, the Amsterdam-based PrEP demonstration project in the Netherlands, found that some indicators of mental distress declined significantly after PrEP was initiated.
Condomless sex sufficient to pass on hepatitis C between men
Hepatitis C transmission during anal sex can take place without bleeding, trauma or sharing of injecting equipment and exposure to semen is likely to be enough for the virus to be passed on, investigators in the United States report in the journal PLOS ONE.
aidsmapCHAT
Tomorrow night, Thursday 3 September, we'll be broadcasting the second episode in our new series of aidsmapCHAT.
Joining NAM's Susan Cole and Matthew Hodson are: international speaker and HIV activist from the Prevention Access Campaign, Davina Conner; sex worker, activist and PrEP advocate, Jason Domino; and sexual health and HIV doctor, Vanessa Apea.
Join us at 6pm (UK time) on aidsmap’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Editors' picks from other sources
In WHO global pulse survey, 90% of countries report disruptions to essential health services since COVID-19 pandemic | World Health Organization
Most countries reported that many routine and elective services have been suspended, while critical care – such as cancer screening and treatment and HIV therapy – has seen high-risk interruptions in low-income countries.
Inside the second wave of the HIV epidemic in the Philippines | Xtra Magazine
Arvin Joaquin: Earlier this year, I went back to the Philippines to meet the people on the frontlines of the epidemic. Over the two weeks I spent in the country, I spoke to the young Filipinos of my generation about living with HIV – people who were forced to grow up too soon. This is a story of hypocrisy and hope, of hiding and emerging, of death and life in the second wave of the HIV epidemic in the Philippines.
Designing a new generation of HIV prevention efficacy trials | AVAC
There is no simple or single solution to replace the gold standard of trial design: two parallel arms, randomised and placebo-controlled, each offering the standard of prevention 'in the background,' including PrEP for all. This gold standard has become logistically challenging, lengthy and expensive.
News from the Digital International Liver Congress
The Digital International Liver Congress, organised by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), took place last week. We've been publishing news from the conference on our sister site infohep.org.
Our September infohep bulletin will be focusing on EASL 2020 news and will be available in five languages – English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Russian.