aidsmap news: The US needs more structural interventions to address the effects of systemic racism in HIV, 4 January 2023

News from aidsmap

The US needs more structural interventions to address the effects of systemic racism in HIV

The US has laid out ambitious goals to end HIV domestically through the National HIV Strategy and Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative. These goals will not be achieved without intentional efforts to address health inequities faced by racial and ethnic minorities.

Early action needed to prevent treatment failure, Nigerian research on detectable virus levels shows

National HIV treatment programmes should not wait until people with HIV have viral loads above 1000 copies/ml to provide enhanced adherence counselling, Nigerian researchers report in the journal The Lancet Global Health.

Non-AIDS cancers on the rise among people with HIV in South Africa

Cancers not related to HIV or infections are becoming more common in people with HIV in South Africa as they live longer, according to a study of 5.2 million people published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Daily PrEP is safe for the kidneys, although on-demand PrEP has slightly less impact

According to a recent study, oral PrEP has a very good renal safety profile even after two years of use. The study also shows that on-demand PrEP has less impact on kidney function than daily PrEP, although this difference is not clinically significant.

Non-communicable diseases and mental illness make up the majority of treatment costs for people living with HIV in Denmark

A Danish study of healthcare costs between 2006 and 2017 has found that the combined costs of treating mental illness and non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease and kidney disease) among people living with HIV were almost double the cost of treating HIV itself.

‘Stop having sex’: young women and clinic staff describe PrEP stigma in health facilities

Over 25% of adolescents and young women in South Africa experienced stigma in the past three months in sexual and reproductive health clinics, while 40% have ever experienced it, investigators report in the BMC Public Health journal.

Switching from TAF to older tenofovir may halt or reverse weight gain and lipid increases

Switching from tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) to the older version of tenofovir (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF) when taking dolutegravir or other antiretrovirals is associated with weight loss or weight stabilisation and reductions in lipid levels, studies carried out in South Africa and Finland have reported.

Links between intimate partner violence and HIV risk among transgender women require trans-affirming health and social services

Transgender women are more than 32 times more likely than cisgender adults to be living with HIV and twice as likely to experience physical and sexual violence from their intimate partners.

Revolutionary HIV vaccine that ‘trains’ the immune system passes its first hurdle

A completely new kind of vaccine that aims to induce a response to HIV that is ‘better than nature’ has completed its first immunogenicity trial in humans, with promising results.

Men who stay, men who leave – what helps Ugandan women living with HIV stay with their partners?

Almost 25% of pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV in Uganda separated from their male partners during a study investigating reasons for separation among HIV-affected couples.

More evidence that older version of tenofovir protects against severe COVID – in people over 50

People with HIV who took the older formulation of tenofovir with emtricitabine during 2020 had a substantially lower risk of hospital admission due to COVID-19 than people taking the new formulation of tenofovir or abacavir/lamivudine, a large Spanish study has reported.

Supporting sexual and reproductive health services in Ukraine

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency. We spoke to Jaime Nadal, UNFPA representative in Ukraine, about its life-saving work, supporting sexual and reproductive health services in a time of war.

The people who need injectable HIV drugs most are the ones who can’t get them, BHIVA told

Injectable antiretroviral therapy will never reach its potential until people with unsuppressed viral loads can have it, the British HIV Association’s Autumn Conference heard in November in London.

Heavy rain and floods pave the way for higher HIV prevalence

Increasing levels of heavy rainfall and flooding may be indicators of a higher burden of HIV, according to research published in September in JAMA Network Open. Cross-sectional research suggests links between climatic changes (such as heavier rainfall and flooding) and HIV outcomes. 

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Editors' picks from other sources

CytoDyn’s former CEO indicted for securities fraud. His misleading statements hurt patients even more than investors | STAT

CytoDyn repeatedly told investors that a clinical trial had successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of an experimental treatment for HIV, and that a completed marketing application had been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration. None of the statements were true, federal prosecutors say.

Finding my way – and staying alive – during the AIDS crisis | The New Yorker

Thomas Mallon: These extracts from my diaries, which date from 1985 to 1988, offer glimpses of a young man trying to find his footing as a writer. They also offer a snapshot of a city in the grip of AIDS.

FDA approves new HIV drug for adults with limited treatment options | FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Sunlenca (lenacapavir) for adult patients living with HIV-1, whose HIV infections cannot be successfully treated with other available treatments due to resistance, intolerance, or safety considerations.

UNAIDS welcomes Kenya’s High Court judgment in landmark case of involuntary sterilisation of women living with HIV | UNAIDS

The judgment follows a case brought forward in 2014 by a Kenyan woman living with HIV who was coerced by professionals at a health facility to undergo tubal ligation thus taking away her ability to have children. The High Court found that the performance of this operation without consent amounted to a violation of her human rights.

2022 in review: A turning point for HIV justice? | HIV Justice Network

Looking back on all that happened in 2022, we are cautiously optimistic that 2022 will be seen as a turning point in the global movement to end HIV criminalisation.

ViiV Healthcare announces CHMP positive opinion for Triumeq PD, the first dispersible single-tablet regimen containing dolutegravir, a once-daily treatment for children living with HIV in Europe | ViiV press release

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued a positive opinion recommending marketing authorisation for Triumeq PD, a dispersible tablet formulation of the fixed dose combination of abacavir, dolutegravir and lamivudine for the treatment of paediatric patients weighing 14kg to <25 kg with HIV-1.

WHO announces landmark changes in treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis | World Health Organization

WHO has just released updated consolidated guidelines on the treatment of drug-resistant TB featuring major improvements in treatment options for people with multidrug-resistant or rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis.

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