News from aidsmap
No increased coronavirus risk for people with well-controlled HIV says WHO, but how will health systems cope?
The first data from Wuhan, China suggest that people living with HIV suffered no worse a coronavirus epidemic than other people in the city, confirming the World Health Organization’s position that people with well-controlled HIV do not appear to be at elevated risk of coronavirus infection or severe disease.
US emergency department testing finds a lot of people with new – and returning – HIV infections
Two poster presentations at last month’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2020) from southern California show that the routine testing of people who present to hospital emergency departments is continuing to find significant numbers of previously undiagnosed people with HIV.
HIV vaccine trials paused during coronavirus crisis
During the COVID-19 crisis, several of the ongoing worldwide HIV vaccine and immunotherapy efficacy trials are being paused or curtailed, it was announced on 2 April.
Top 5 HIV cure and vaccine stories from CROI 2020
HIV researchers present some of the most important and cutting-edge studies each year at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). This year the face-to-face meeting was cancelled at the last minute and a virtual conference was held instead. This did not stop some important news on HIV cure and vaccine from being presented.
What did you miss on ageing and co-morbidities from CROI 2020?
We have published almost 40 news articles from this year’s conference. As it is hard for anyone to keep up, here is a round-up of the news on ageing and associated health problems in people living with HIV.
Top 10 HIV prevention stories from CROI 2020
CROI took place in the second week of March, just as many people’s attention was engulfed by the new coronavirus. You might have missed some of the key developments in HIV prevention presented. Here are the top 10 stories.
Maternal and child health highlights from CROI 2020
An enormous quantity of important and fascinating HIV research is presented at CROI. Here's a round-up of the news on HIV treatment in pregnancy, preventing vertical transmission and paediatric HIV.
Hepatitis C spreading rapidly among HIV-positive MSM in Thailand and chemsex is a key risk factor
Hepatitis C is spreading rapidly among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in Bangkok and is associated with use of crystal methamphetamine, research presented to CROI 2020 shows. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections were attributed to sexual transmission, a conclusion supported by a second study that identified a large HCV transmission cluster among MSM that involved a different strain of HCV to the one predominating among injecting drug users in Thailand.
First African study offering PrEP to the general population finds that about a quarter of people at high HIV risk start it
An interim survey of PrEP uptake and adherence in the SEARCH study in Kenya and Uganda, from which aidsmap.com recently reported qualitative findings, has found that just over a quarter of people who were either assessed, or assessed themselves, as being at high risk of HIV, started PrEP.
People with HIV in urban Zimbabwe prefer individual care at a health facility
Offered a choice of different types of HIV treatment services, people with clinically stable HIV in urban Zimbabwe expressed strong preferences for respectful healthcare providers, services delivered in healthcare facilities and receiving care as an individual, according to a study published in January in PLOS ONE. Differentiated service delivery models that involved groups or community settings were not favoured. Lower costs, less frequent visits and shorter wait times were also preferred.
LGV is under-diagnosed among gay and bisexual men in central Europe
Rectal infection with the STI lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) in gay and bisexual men in central Europe is substantially under-diagnosed, according to research published in Sexually Transmitted Infections. Analysis of samples testing positive for chlamydia showed that 26% actually involved infection with LGV. In some instances, under-diagnosis led to the use of potentially suboptimal therapy.
Canadian doctors uncertain about the value of anal Pap screening
Healthcare providers and researchers have serious uncertainties regarding current screening methods for anal cancer, according to a qualitative study from Canada published in Social Science & Medicine. The physicians navigated a tension between the need to avoid exposing their patients to additional uncertainties caused by screening and pre-cancer treatment, and the need to ensure that their patients did not develop anal cancer under their care. However, the high number of abnormal test results paradoxically reintroduced the capacity issues that the screening was meant to resolve.
For now, no evidence to show that people with HIV are at greater risk of coronavirus
On 27 February the British HIV Association (BHIVA), which represents medical professionals working in HIV in the UK, issued a statement about the new coronavirus in people with HIV.
What happens when people ask sexual partners to use a home test?
Is using HIV self-tests with sexual partners an appropriate strategy that should be encouraged by health bodies? Could it help people who are already irregular condom users to avoid unprotected sex with people of a different HIV status? Might it enable people with undiagnosed HIV to get tested?
Group psychotherapy led by lay health workers can dramatically improve depression in people with HIV, says Ugandan study
Group support psychological therapy led by lay health workers is effective at alleviating symptoms of major depression among HIV-positive adults, according to research conducted in rural Uganda and published in The Lancet Global Health. Rates of depression and overall function were much better among people who participated in the psychotherapy sessions compared to individuals enrolled in sessions providing general HIV information.
Uncertainties over PrEP created by NHS England's IMPACT trial "unethical"
NHS England has used a series of claims about uncertainties surrounding PrEP to ration access to the prevention tool in England through the IMPACT trial, academics argue in the journal Medical Humanities in February.
New series: aidsmapCHAT
Tomorrow evening (Thursday 9 April) we’re launching a brand new series of broadcasts. aidsmapCHAT will keep you up to date with news and information for people living with HIV, and will include updates on COVID-19.
The series will be hosted by NAM's Susan Cole and Matthew Hodson and we'll be joined by Mark S King, Dr Meg Doherty and Leasuwanna Griffith for our first edition.
Join us at 6pm (UK time) on aidsmap's Twitter and Facebook pages.
Editors' picks from other sources
The FDA is easing its ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men because of the coronavirus pandemic | BuzzFeed News
The new rules allow blood donations from men who have abstained from sex with another man for more than three months; for the past several years, gay and bisexual men couldn’t donate if they’d had sex with a man in the previous year.
A tribute to Gita Ramjee | UNAIDS
Peter Godfrey-Faussett, Senior Science Adviser, UNAIDS, remembers South African scientist Gita Ramjee, who has died from COVID-19-related complications.
India's COVID-19 lockdown hits HIV-positive and chronic patients hard | Al Jazeera
People living with HIV and other patients with critical conditions face problems in accessing health services amid strict lockdown.
AIDS, TB and malaria: coronavirus threatens the endgame | Forbes
The coronavirus pandemic has just made it incredibly difficult to script an endgame for the 'Big Three' killer epidemics. How are global leaders and agencies dedicated to AIDS, TB, and malaria reacting to the pandemic? Madhukar Pai interviewed several experts.
aidsmapLIVE: COVID-19 and HIV
On 27 March, we held a special aidsmapLIVE on COVID-19 and HIV, responding to the urgent need for reliable information on the coronavirus and what it means for people living with HIV.
Joining our host Susan Cole were Dr Laura Waters, Jo Josh, Dr Sindi van Zyl, and NAM aidsmap’s Gus Cairns.