US regulator’s decision on vaginal ring denies choice to women who need HIV prevention

The Food and Drug Administration’s rejection of the dapivirine vaginal ring sets a dangerous precedent, Professor Erica Gollub and Raven Vaughan of Pace University argue in a commentary published in the journal AIDS Education and Prevention. “Absence of the dapivrine ring as an HIV risk reduction method for US women will result in a narrower set of choices for women, resulting in additional, preventable HIV infections,” they say.

Better viral suppression with dolutegravir than other antiretrovirals in pregnancy, but not all guidelines recommend it

Pregnant women taking dolutegravir were significantly more likely to have a fully suppressed viral load at the time of delivery compared to women taking atazanavir/ritonavir or raltegravir, researchers in the United States report in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Key population-led services now account for the majority of Thai PrEP users

Key population-led services are now supporting 82% of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)  users in Thailand – just three years after the country legalised key provider-led PrEP. The number of PrEP users from key population-led programmes has nearly doubled since the country moved to provide the services free of charge as part of its universal health care.

Systemic stigma: Tennessee’s anti-HIV law enforcement targets people of colour, trans people, and poor people

At least 154 people living with HIV have been placed on Tennessee’s sex offender registry and labelled as a “violent sexual offender” for charges stemming from their HIV-positive status, according to a report published by the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles. Many of those impacted also had to serve time in prison.

In the era of U=U, disclosure still feels like a ‘grey messy area’ for gay men living with HIV in the US

A ‘sense of obligation’, ‘situational disclosure’ and ‘partners responsibility’ are the three main factors that gay men living with undetectable HIV consider when disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners, according to a new study in the journal Culture, Health and Sexuality. The study by Grant Roth and colleagues at Emory University also shows how these gay men consider U=U, HIV criminalisation laws and finding partners online when they make decisions about sharing their status.

The ethics of phylogenetics? Central issues surrounding the use of molecular HIV surveillance

There is ongoing debate about the ethics of using individuals’ data in order to track HIV outbreaks at a molecular level, specifically related to concerns around the informed consent and confidentiality of people living with HIV. Of particular interest is the use of a specific form of molecular epidemiology, phylogenetics, in this regard. Phylogenetics refers to the study of evolutionary relationships among entities, such as viruses.

Nevirapine treatment linked to poorer cognitive development in children with HIV

Children with HIV treated with nevirapine before the age of three had significantly lower scores on neuropsychological tests between the ages of five and eleven years compared to children who received protease inhibitor-based treatment, long-term follow-up of a trial of HIV treatment for children has shown.

Merck to initiate new phase 3 clinical programme with lower dose of daily oral islatravir in combination with doravirine for treatment of people with HIV-1 infection | Merck press release

Phase 2 study evaluating an investigational weekly oral combination treatment regimen of islatravir and Gilead Sciences’ lenacapavir to resume with lower dose of islatravir. Monthly oral islatravir development for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to be discontinued.

A high rate of monkeypox cases occur in people with HIV. Here are 3 theories why | NPR

Health experts have an initial thought and then three theories on key contributing factors – with a leading contender among them.

AIDS 2022 highlights in cure research | TheBodyPro

President of the International AIDS Society Sharon Lewin shares highlights and key takeaways in HIV cure research from the 24th International AIDS Conference.

Free preventive care under the Affordable Care Act is under threat again – a ruling exempting PrEP from insurance coverage may extend nationwide and to other health services | The Conversation

Judge Reed O'Connor ruled in a case that coverage for HIV prevention medicine PrEP violated the religious freedom of the plaintiffs. It is unclear whether the order will extend nationwide.

HIV-positive people who have monkeypox are hospitalised more often, CDC study says | CNBC

Among 1300 monkeypox patients with more detailed clinical data, 8% of HIV-positive individuals were hospitalised compared to 3% of people without HIV infection.