Women with HIV have sixfold increase in risk of cervical cancer

Women with HIV have a sixfold increase in the risk of cervical cancer compared to their HIV-negative peers, investigators report in The Lancet Global Health. They also found that globally 6% of all cases of cervical cancer are in women with HIV. But there were huge regional disparities, with 63% of cervical cancer cases in southern Africa and a fifth of cases in east Africa involving women with HIV compared to well below 1% in some other regions. The authors estimate that 5% of new cervical cancer cases in 2018 were attributable to HIV.

Rates of HIV in female sex workers in Kenya decreased by two-thirds over a ten-year period

Research from specialist HIV prevention and treatment clinics for female sex workers in Nairobi has found that the number testing positive for HIV dropped by more than two-thirds between 2008 and 2017. While no single intervention can be identified as to the underlying cause in the decreasing numbers, it suggests that increasing HIV awareness, testing and treatment in Kenya are reaching this population of women, despite the criminalisation of sex work. It is estimated that female sex workers in Kenya are almost ten times more likely to contract HIV than non-sex workers, so they are a key population to target.

Is reducing anxiety a legitimate indication for PrEP in itself?

Do doctors and other healthcare workers feel it’s legitimate to prescribe PrEP to people who are anxious about catching HIV, even if their actual risk is low? The answer from a sample of Australian healthcare workers authorised to prescribe PrEP is yes. Australian national guidelines recognise that in some cases a prescription for PrEP might be indicated for reducing “suffering or anxiety related to inter-couple HIV transmission,” even if the positive partner is virally suppressed, or for people whose anxiety prevents them from having sex or testing for HIV.

Number of LGV cases among gay men in England reach new highs and most cases among men who are HIV negative

Diagnoses of the sexually transmitted infection lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) in England reached record levels in 2019, with almost all cases involving gay and bisexual men. The data is set out in a report published by Public Health England and shows that the number of diagnoses increased steadily from 2017, reaching a peak in the second half of 2019.

Meta-analysis finds no real difference in safety and effectiveness between tenofovir formulations

There are no real differences between tenofovir formulations – tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) – in terms of viral suppression and bone and renal safety, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in AIDS. The newer formulation of the drug (TAF) only showed superiority in terms of efficacy, and then to a modest extent, when used as part of a treatment combination that contained a boosting agent. But as the authors note, boosters are not taken by the majority of people treated with modern antiretrovirals or anybody taking PrEP.

Gentrification and declining Black population may be a key factor behind San Francisco’s declining HIV rates

Dramatic declines in HIV diagnoses in San Francisco have been attributed to testing, treatment and PrEP, but the declining Black population in the city is an unexamined factor, Dr Jade Pagkas-Bather of the University of Chicago and colleagues argue in the December issue of The Lancet HIV. There has been a 22% fall in San Francisco's Black population since 2000.

Dried blood spots have clear advantages over mini tubes when it comes to lab analysis of home collected samples for HIV and syphilis testing

Blood samples taken at home and sent by post to labs to screen for HIV and syphilis are more likely to be successfully processed when the collection technique used is dried blood spots rather than mini tubes, investigators from the UK report in Sexually Transmitted Infections. Close to 95% of dried blood spot samples were successfully checked in the lab compared to only 54% of samples returned using mini tubes. There was a lower rate of false positives using dried blood spots for both HIV and syphilis.

US HIV infections could drop by 94% before 2030, if treatment is prioritised

Modelling estimates suggest that new HIV infections in the US could be reduced by as much as 94% before 2030, if the current HIV prevention budget is spent more efficiently. Priorities would be linking those diagnosed with HIV to care, ensuring that they receive treatment and getting them to the point of viral suppression. Less money would be spent on screening low-risk heterosexuals and PrEP.

NAM news & opinion: Decolonising contraception: focusing on equality and justice in sexual and reproductive health

Dr Annabel Sowemimo is the founder and director of Decolonising Contraception, a non-profit organisation led by people of colour. It aims to raise awareness about the historical and socio-economic barriers faced by people accessing sexual and reproductive care. We spoke to Annabel about the work of the collective and its plans for the coming year.

How do men who have sex with men develop resilience in response to HIV?

Resources, protective factors and personal strengths contribute towards the development of resilience in middle-aged and older men who have sex with men, according to a recent research report by Dr Renato Liboro and colleagues from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada.

NAM news & opinion: I’m living with HIV and have had the COVID vaccine

Michael Carter: I’m fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Isn’t that an extraordinary statement? Twelve months ago nobody had heard of COVID-19. Yet here I am with vaccine-induced antibodies that provide a significant level of protection against a virus that has caused so much illness, death, grief, hardship and loneliness, and made 2020 miserable.

Linda Gail-Bekker: The doctor with healing hands and a warrior spirit | Daily Maverick

The HIV/AIDS pandemic taught us about equitable access to treatment and the need for transparency, accountability and protecting the most vulnerable. Linda-Gail Bekker stands as a reminder that this applies in a time of COVID-19 too.

Can the mRNA technology used for COVID-19 vaccines also give us an HIV vaccine? | TheBodyPro

Developing a vaccine for HIV presents more challenges than creating one for COVID-19, but research that has led to the new COVID vaccines can help bring an HIV vaccine closer to reality.

Inside the fight to include HIV-positive people in COVID-19 vaccine trials | NBC News

People living with the virus were initially excluded from Pfizer and Moderna's vaccine trials, but that changed with the help of committed activists.

Joint statement calling for urgent country scale-up of access to optimal HIV treatment for infants and children living with HIV | UNAIDS

Global partners that are committed to ending paediatric AIDS have come together to call on countries to rapidly scale up access to optimal, child-friendly HIV treatment for infants and children.

ViiV Healthcare announces the marketing authorisation of the first complete long-acting injectable HIV treatment in Europe | ViiV Healthcare press release

A marketing authorisation has been granted by the European Commission for ViiV Healthcare’s Vocabria (cabotegravir injection and tablets) to be used with Janssen’s Rekambys (rilpivirine injection) and Edurant (rilpivirine tablets). This authorisation represents the first time people living with HIV in Europe may be able to receive a long-acting injectable treatment that removes the need to take daily oral tablets, following the oral initiation phase.