aidsmap news: Has another woman naturally cleared HIV? 30 November 2021

News from aidsmap

Has another woman naturally cleared HIV?

A second woman appears to have naturally eliminated HIV without a stem cell transplant and may be considered cured, according to a report in Annals of Internal Medicine. Such exceptional elite controllers are rare, but they may offer clues that could help researchers find a cure for other people living with HIV.

Harm reduction may be a better approach for smokers with HIV than strict smoking cessation

An expansive harm reduction approach for people with HIV who smoke tobacco and are unable or unwilling to quit should be employed, a team of US experts argue in The Lancet HIV. Harm reduction would encompass cutting down on cigarette intake, and also reducing the health consequences of smoking through more lung cancer screening and better control of cardiovascular health.

Ugandan traditional healers improve access to HIV testing

Ugandans in rural areas are four times more likely to access HIV testing when it is offered by a traditional healer according to a report in The Lancet Global Health. The Ugandan research showed that people in rural areas had easier access to traditional healers, than HIV clinics, and more faith that confidentiality would be maintained.

England on track to eliminate HIV by 2030 – the prevalence of undiagnosed HIV has halved since 2013

England has made substantial progress towards eliminating HIV by 2030, with the proportion of people living with HIV who are diagnosed around 94%, and the prevalence of undiagnosed HIV halving between 2013 and 2019. However, there are still some groups who require more tailored and targeted HIV prevention and testing interventions.

One third of men with HIV unaware of their positive status in Sub-Saharan Africa

Many men in sub-Saharan Africa may have HIV without being aware of it and are therefore at increased risk of poor health outcomes, a study in 13 sub-Saharan African countries found. The analysis was made using results from nationally representative household surveys carried out from 2015 to 2019.

US systematic review finds poor HIV outcomes for trans women and research gap for trans men

Substantial improvements in HIV care outcomes are needed for trans women in the United States, according to the authors of a systematic review and meta-analysis published recently in AIDS.

First injectable therapy for HIV approved for England and Wales

NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, has published draft guidance for England and Wales recommending the first long-acting injectable treatment for HIV-1 infection in adults. The treatment should be available by April next year, once criteria for prescribing and the new arrangements needed for regular injectable therapies have been worked out.

More bone scans needed for older people living with HIV, study suggests

The pathway recommended for assessing the risk of major fracture in people living with HIV by the British HIV Association may be inadequate, according to a new study from the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London.

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Editors' picks from other sources

UNAIDS warns of millions of AIDS-related deaths and continued devastation from pandemics if leaders don’t address inequalities | UNAIDS

UNAIDS issued a stark warning yesterday that if leaders fail to tackle inequalities the world could face 7.7 million AIDS-related deaths over the next ten years. UNAIDS further warns that if the transformative measures needed to end AIDS are not taken, the world will also stay trapped in the COVID-19 crisis and remain dangerously unprepared for the pandemics to come.

A child was infected with HIV every two minutes in 2020 | UNICEF

At least 310,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2020, or one child every two minutes, UNICEF said in a report released today. Another 120,000 children died from AIDS-related causes during the same period, or one child every five minutes.

Male circumcisions disrupted by COVID-19, fall short of the 2020 target | UNAIDS

There was a steep drop in the number of voluntary medical male circumcisions performed in the 15 priority countries in 2020, due mainly to service disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: approximately 2.8 million procedures were performed in 2020, compared with 4.1 million in 2019.

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