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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - April 2023
POZPLANET Magazine May 2023
April 30, 2023 - The HIV Magazine By Us For Us - May 2023
The May 2023 issue of Pozplanet Magazine is finally here! This month we get UP CLOSE & PERSONAL with Carlos Idibouo and have articles by Deborah Norris, Mark S. King, Zoe Faber and DJ Relentless!
California man known as 'City of Hope patient' comes forward, 1 of 5 cured of HIV worldwide
April 30, 2023 - By Ema Sasic - 'I still have to remind myself that it's real'
For the past two years, Paul Edmonds has been part of an extremely exclusive club with a membership that has reached five people.
After navigating HIV for more than 30 years, along with a leukemia diagnosis that came in 2018, a life-saving stem cell transplant became available thanks to a donor who had a rare genetic mutation that makes the body resistant to most strains of HIV. In 2021, Edmonds stopped taking his HIV medication, which he had been dependent on for almost half his life. Today, the 67-year-old who lives in Desert Hot Springs, California, is the fifth person in the world in remission of HIV.
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Panti Bliss: Personal life, HIV diagnosis, family and wedding to husband
29 APR 2023 - By Aine Kenny - Rory O'Neill, a.k.a. Panti Bliss, one of Ireland's most famous drag queens, is an activist, entertainer, performer, bar owner, and husband
One of Ireland's most well-known and most loved drag queens, Panti Bliss, will appear on Angela Scanlon's Ask Me Anything on RTÉ One tonight.
Panti, who's out of drag name is Rory O'Neill, has been a gay icon in Ireland for years now.
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Casey House’s Peer Program Offers Year-Round Support & Resources To The PLHIV Community
28 APRIL 2023 - We talk to Andre Ceranto about the program, which is available year-round, not just during Pride Month…
We are officially headed into another season full of Pride! Typically, Pride brings increased awareness to HIV and other STIs, including the resources available to support those who have been diagnosed or are at risk. For many members of the community, Pride is seen as a time to celebrate, but for those living with or at risk of HIV, taking part in celebrations surrounding Pride may not be possible due to health concerns or trauma related to their status.
Lesbian icon Lisa Power explains how AIDS crisis healed rift between lesbians and gay groups
April 28, 2023 - by Amelia Hansford - Stonewall co-founder Lisa Power is tired of how lesbian activists are framed in historical accounts of the HIV crisis in the 1980s.
The storied LGBTQ+ veteran told PinkNews that while the pivotal changes established by groups like Stonewall and Switchboard for both the lesbian and queer groups could only have been achieved by working together, stories being told today don’t paint the full picture.
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Biktarvy Might Be the Best Choice for People With HIV/HBV Coinfection
April 28, 2023 - By Sukanya Charuchandra - People treated with Biktarvy were more likely to achieve an undetectable HBV viral load than those on a dolutegravir-based regimen.
Both Biktarvy and a dolutegravir-based antiretroviral regimen were effective in suppressing HIV in people with HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection, but Biktarvy was significantly more effective against HBV at the 48-week mark, according to findings presented at the 30th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).
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Merck reveals HIV combo trial is back in the running after FDA partial hold lifted
April 27, 2023 - By Max Bayer - The middle of Merck & Co.’s clinical batting order took center stage on the company’s first-quarter earnings call, including a phase 2 HIV combo therapy that once again returned to the lineup.
The Big Pharma has resumed a phase 2 study of MK-8591D, an oral regimen of islatravir and Gilead’s Sunlenca, executives said on a call with analysts Thursday. Gilead's drug was approved in December as a twice-yearly treatment for patients with multi-drug resistant HIV.
 
Alarming Rates of HIV and AIDS among Houston’s Blacks and Hispanics Bring National AIDS Memorial Quilt to the City
HOUSTON, April 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - “Change the Pattern" Campaign Breaking the Stigma and Saving Lives in Black and Brown Communities
The statistics tell the story, and there’s a serious HIV crisis in Houston and even more specifically among Blacks and Hispanics. That's why the National AIDS Memorial Quilt is making a stop in Houston May 3-7.
“According to the Houston Health Department, Blacks and African Americans make up 50 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases, and Latinos comprise 29 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases,” said Duane Cramer, director, Quilt community engagement, National AIDS Memorial.
Emergency department opt-out testing is revolutionising HIV and hepatitis diagnosis in England
27 April 2023 - Gus Cairns - Eightfold increase in testing identifies hundreds of people who were undiagnosed or out of care
The British HIV Association (BHIVA) conference in Gateshead this week heard the results of the first year’s rollout of opt-out testing for HIV and hepatitis B and C for all patients attending emergency departments in London and other areas of high prevalence of the three blood-borne viruses.
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ViiV Healthcare to support the UK and Europe’s first ever professional classical concert for Pride
London, 27 April 2023 - Classical Pride concert to take place in conjunction with GAY TIMES
Curated by conductor Oliver Zeffman, all proceeds to go to LGBT+ charities
ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, today announced a partnership with GAY TIMES to bring a unique classical concert to celebrate Pride , taking place on 7 July 2023 in the Barbican Hall.
Conceived and curated by conductor Oliver Zeffman, Classical Pride will be the first time any major arts institution in the UK or Europe has hosted a classical orchestral concert for Pride.
Higher rates of HIV diagnoses found amongst mental health service users
26 April 2023 - New research has found HIV is 2.5 times more frequent in people who use mental health services than the general population in South London.
The research, supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) was published today in BMJ Open. The findings reveal that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is 2.5 times more common in people who use mental health services than the general population in South London.
Senior Thesis: Chen ’23 Studies HIV/AIDS and STD Stigma in Jamaica
April 26, 2023 - Mike Mavredakis - By amplifying the personal experience of women in Jamaica who are living with HIV/AIDS, Nilukshi Chen ’23 hopes to explore the rampant fear and stigma surround the disease in the island nation.
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Researchers identify possible risk factors for aneurysm growth in adults living with HIV
(Boston) April 26, 2023 - Largest study to look at the brain vessels of people with HIV over time
With advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART), outcomes for adults living with human immunodeficiency virus (ALWH) have largely improved, drastically decreasing the risk of death from opportunistic infections. However, as this population ages, accelerated vascular disease is of growing concern. In addition to traditional etiologies of cerebrovascular disease, ALWH may develop a cerebral blockage characterized by vessel narrowing and occlusion or aneurysm formation. While cerebral aneurysms have been reported at increased frequency in a limited number of studies, the risk factors for aneurysm development and outcomes in ALWH are poorly understood.
MSF demands J&J give up its patent monopoly on TB drug to put lives over profits
Geneva, 26 April 2023 - Access to TB drug bedaquiline, a backbone medicine for drug-resistant TB treatment regimens, remains out of reach for too many
Ahead of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) annual shareholders meeting, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) demanded that the US corporation publicly commit now to not enforce its secondary patents on the tuberculosis (TB) drug bedaquiline in all countries with a high burden of TB, and allow generic manufacturers to supply more affordable, quality-assured generic versions of this lifesaving drug to everyone, everywhere who needs it. Access to affordable generic versions of bedaquiline is presently being blocked by J&J’s secondary patents in at least 25 of the 43 countries with a high burden of TB or drug-resistant TB (DR-TB). With more effective and patient-friendly treatment regimens available for people with DR-TB, there is a need, now more than ever, to accelerate access to affordable treatment and save more lives.
HIV drug helps protect against build-up of dementia-related proteins in mouse brains
26 Apr 2023 - Cambridge scientists have shown how the brain’s ability to clear out toxic proteins is impaired in Huntington’s disease and other forms of dementia – and how, in a study in mice, a repurposed HIV drug was able to restore this function, helping prevent this dangerous build-up and slowing progression of the disease.
A common characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease and various forms of dementia is the build-up in the brain of clusters – known as aggregates – of misfolded proteins, such as huntingtin and tau. These aggregates lead to the degradation and eventual death of brain cells and the onset of symptoms.
UAB researchers awarded $19.5 million to study HIV acquisition in women
April 26, 2023 - by Hannah Echols - The South is home to 38 percent of the United States population but over half of HIV cases. Additionally, 55 percent of women diagnosed with HIV in the United States live in the South.
The National Institutes of Health awarded a combined $19.5 million to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study HIV acquisition among women in the South. The grants will fund two studies evaluating the role of behavioral, geographic and demographic vulnerabilities in relation to HIV acquisition.
Mr Harry Belafonte, one of the world's great citizens
April 26, 2023 - Every so often this world is blessed with individuals who don't just exist — they live life in a manner designed to make change that redounds to the benefit of mankind.
Mr Harold George Bellanfanti Jr, better known to us as Harry Belafonte, who died yesterday at the age of 96, was one such individual.
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Study Sheds Light on HIV Among Transgender Men
April 26, 2023 - By Liz Highleyman - Nearly 4% of transmasculine people who have sex with men are living with HIV, a New York City study suggests.
Transgender men and transmasculine people in the United States have a higher rate of HIV than the population at large, but this appears to be largely driven by those who have sex with cisgender men, according to a study published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society.
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UNC scientists develop long-acting HIV prevention treatment
April 25, 2023 – by Kyle Ingram - Scientists at the UNC-Chapel Hill have developed a new method of HIV prevention that could protect users for up to six months with just one injection.
It’s a major step forward in the field of HIV prevention, which has primarily relied on once-daily oral PrEP medication for the last decade.
AHF Remembers Humanitarian Harry Belafonte
April 25, 2023 – by Ged Kenslea - World’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare provider honored legendary entertainer, activist, and humanitarian with AHF’s Lifetime Achievement Award on World AIDS Day in 2016 during its ‘Keep the Promise’ March and Concert in Hollywood
In response to just-released 2021 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data showing sexually-transmitted-infections (STIs) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, AHF issued the following statement:
Panels of AIDS Quilt on display Saturday and Sunday in Hollywood
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - APR. 22, 2023 - BY CITY NEWS SERVICE HOLLYWOOD - Ten sections of the historic AIDS Memorial Quilt — each hand-sewn section inscribed with names of residents who died of the disease — will go on display this weekend and next at the Hollywood United Methodist Church to mark 35 years since the first panels were created during the dark days of the epidemic.
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‘A Quick Death or a Slow Death’: Prisoners Choose War to Get Lifesaving Drugs
April 21, 2023 - By Andrew E. Kramer - An estimated 20 percent of Russia prisoner recruits are H.I.V. positive. To some, the front lines seemed less risky than prisons where they said they were denied effective treatments.
In Russian prisons, they said they were deprived of effective treatments for their H.I.V. On the battlefield in Ukraine, they were offered hope, with the promise of anti-viral medications if they agreed to fight.
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New comic shines a light on forgotten heroes of HIV/Aids activism
APRIL 20, 2023 - A new comic is telling the stories of forgotten HIV and AIDs campaigners who played a major role in tackling stigma and prejudice faced by sufferers in the 1980s.
Dr Nikolaos Papadogiannis, a lecturer in European History at the University of Stirling, co-created the black and white comic book with Dr Rachel Love of the University of St Andrews.
The comic book illuminates the struggles of the diverse and wide range of campaigners across Europe – from transgender people in Greece, to sex workers in Germany and women of colour in the UK – who successfully fought for better rights for people living with HIV/AIDS.
New Report Reveals Pervasive Abuse and Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ Community and People Living with HIV in the Criminal Legal System
(NEW YORK, NY – April 20, 2023) - The report “Protected and Served?” led by Lambda Legal and Black and Pink National surveyed more than 2,500 people nationwide from these communities about their experiences with police, courts, and detention.
Today, Lambda Legal, in partnership with Black and Pink National, released Protected and Served? 2022, a report that reveals the alarming rates of misconduct, abuse, and discrimination LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV experience in the criminal legal system.
The report is comprised of quantitative data and personal stories gathered from more than 2,500 community members who participated in our survey about their experiences with the criminal legal system including police and other law enforcement, courts, prisons, jails, schools, and other government agencies.
From Editor-in-Chief to Doctoral Student: Meet Ph.D. Candidate Carl Kirton
April 19, 2023 - Since its creation in 2006, Seton Hall University's Ph.D. in Nursing program has attracted exceptional students, and Carl Kirton, D.N.P., M.B.A., R.N., ANP is no exception. He is a nurse leader with more than 15 years of experience as a chief nurse executive in academic, medical and safety net facilities.
In addition to working as a nurse educator with adjunct faculty appointments at New York University, Rutgers University, Temple University and Philips School of Nursing, Kirton’s nursing experience is diverse and includes critical care nursing, HIV-AIDS nursing, ambulatory care, and nursing leadership.
Trim the sugar: New HIV vaccine design improves immune response
LA JOLLA, CA - April 19, 2023 - Scripps Research vaccine candidate headed for clinical trials.
A new HIV vaccine from Scripps Research has shown a significantly improved ability to neutralize the virus in preclinical tests, and it will soon be studied in healthy people who volunteer to participate in clinical trials.
The new and unique vaccine design, described in a paper in Nature Communications on April 9, 2023, uses tiny protein “nanoparticles” to display multiple copies of HIV’s surface protein Env, thus presenting itself to the immune system much as real HIV particles would without causing HIV infection. The key innovation that explains its effects has to do with flexible sugar molecules called glycans, which normally cover Env on the real virus but are shortened in the new design. After achieving promising preclinical results, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has agreed to sponsor a future clinical trial.
Singer Elton John urges Congress to fund President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
April 19, 2023 - Damien Henderson - Singer Elton John said he is hopeful the end of AIDS is near during his testimony on on PEPFAR before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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A Taste For Life in Peterborough raising funds for PARN
April 19, 2023 - Tricia Mason - A Taste For Life is raising for funds for people living with and at risk for HIV and AIDS. Locally PARN is doing their part in supporting residents here. Tricia Mason reports...
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Clinical trial begins using CAR T cells to potentially cure HIV
(SACRAMENTO) APRIL 19, 2023 - By Liam Connolly - UC Davis Health researchers have dosed the second participant in their clinical trial looking to identify a potential cure for HIV utilizing CAR T-cell therapy. The novel study uses immunotherapy. It involves taking a patient's own white blood cells, called T-cells, and modifying them so they can identify and target HIV cells to control the virus without medication.
The first participant was dosed with anti-HIV duoCAR T cells at UC Davis Medical Center in mid-August. The trial is the first-in-human clinical study investigating the duoCAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of HIV.
Hamilton resident to cycle 545 miles to raise funds for HIV/AIDS services
APRIL 18, 2023 - Bitterroot Star Editor - “I’m riding in honor of my Uncle Miles who died from AIDS,” said Dexter. “He’s a beautiful soul and I miss him all the time. I don’t want any more beautiful souls to be lost to AIDS, so those who support me in this cause are taking a stand against stigma and helping create a world where health justice is a reality for everyone.”
Many People Don’t Know HPV Causes Cancer
April 18, 2023 - By Liz Highleyman - Vaccines could potentially eliminate cervical, anal, oral and other cancers caused by human papillomavirus.
More than a quarter of Americans are unaware that human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer, and even fewer know that the virus also causes anal, penile and oral malignancies, according to a study presented this week at the AACR Annual Meeting 2023. The findings suggest that education and awareness campaigns are needed to encourage HPV vaccination.
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National Transgender HIV Testing Day 2023
April 18, 2023 - By Trent Straube - Transgender people make up about 2% of new HIV cases. Here’s why that’s a disproportionate rate and why trans folk are more vulnerable.
Tuesday, April 18, marks National Transgender HIV Testing Day 2023, referred to as #TransHIV and #NTHTD on social media. The transgender community is disproportionately affected by HIV, and the annual awareness day offers a chance not only to encourage HIV testing but also to highlight the unique challenges faced by transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
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Treatment as prevention works: HIV infections down by 66 per cent in NSW and Victoria
17 APR 2023 - KIRBY INSTITUTE MEDIA / UNSW MEDIA - Increasing treatment access and reducing undiagnosed infections is vital for combatting HIV, UNSW researchers have shown.
A ten-year study into the impact of HIV ‘treatment as prevention’ has found that a 27 per cent increase in people accessing effective HIV treatment saw HIV infections decrease by 66 per cent between 2010 to 2019, in NSW and Victoria.
Reform of HIV Criminalization Laws Gaining Traction in Indiana but Not Yet There
April 17, 2023 - Rasha Aly - The latest attempt to modernize Indiana’s antiquated HIV criminalization laws has failed. Though state House representatives passed Indiana House Bill 1198, it did not clear the state’s Senate.
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Patient navigators help MSM engage with HIV care in Uganda, but anti-gay bill threatens progress
17 April 2023 - Edith Magak - Men who have sex with men (MSM) recently diagnosed with HIV in Uganda experienced challenges in accessing care but benefited greatly from the support of patient navigators, according to a recent study published in PLOS Global Public Health.
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Sexual health: South Africa has the highest HIV/Aids rates globally
16 April 2023 - By Hans Croukamp - Social media efforts need to be amplified to spread accurate information about sexual health and to engage in discussion with young people.
Regrettably, a much-needed focus on sexual health in South Africa has been eclipsed by discourse on the Covid pandemic and renewed efforts are urgently needed to kick-start the process.
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Former AIDS Vancouver director and city councillor dies at 78
April 16, 2023 - Jason Peters - Alan Herbert played key roles as an activist and advocate
Alan Herbert, an activist and politician who made his mark as an early board member of AIDS Vancouver, a chairperson for the Vancouver Pride Society and as a Vancouver city councillor, is being mourned after his passing at the age of 78.
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UNAIDS welcomes the decriminalisation of same-sex relations by the Cook Islands parliament
BANGKOK, 15 April 2023 - UNAIDS applauds today’s decision by Cook Islands lawmakers to remove laws prohibiting consensual sexual acts between men from the Crimes Act. By decriminalising sex between same-sex partners, the Pacific nation joins a global movement toward affirming the human rights to non-discrimination and privacy.
“Cook Islands’ latest move is part of a wave of global progress around removing laws that harm. It will inspire countries across the Pacific, Asia and the world to follow suit. Decriminalise, save lives," said UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director, Eamonn Murphy.
Are HIV Patients Undertreated for Cancer?
April 14, 2023 - By Sara Bondell - Unlike in the 1980s, a diagnosis of HIV or AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Thanks to the introduction of antiretroviral medications, a majority of patients can live normal lives. However, with increased longevity, they now face the growing burden of being diagnosed with other diseases, such as cancer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death among people with human immunodeficiency virus in the United States.
Florida has one of the highest HIV transmission rates in the country, trailing only Washington, D.C., and Georgia. In 2020, there were 114,541 people living with HIV in Florida. That same year, 3,408 people were newly diagnosed with the virus.
ECDC HIGHLIGHTS MEASURES TO MITIGATE POSSIBLE INCREASE IN MPOX CASES DURING SPRING/SUMMER
Stockholm, 14 April, 2023 - The report Public health considerations for mpox in EU/EEA countries, released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), sets out a number of considerations for public health authorities in areas such as vaccination, surveillance, testing, contact tracing and risk communication.
Former Vancouver councillor, LGBTQ2S+ advocate Alan Herbert dies at 78
April 14, 2023 - Becca Clarkson - A former Vancouver politician has died at age 78 after living with HIV for decades and battling Parkinson’s disease.
Alan Herbert is being remembered for his time on city council between 1996 and 1999, as the first elected chair of Vancouver Pride Society and as a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
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A New Book Unpacks How We Stopped Talking About AIDS, Then Restarted
April 14, 2023 - Alex Valenti - In the early 2010s, writer and organizer Theodore (Ted) Kerr was working at the arts organization Visual AIDS in New York when he began to notice a subtle but profound cultural shift. Following a decade during which the public visibility of HIV/AIDS had diminished to a shadow of the storm of activism that had occurred during the late 1980s and ’90s, Kerr realized that once again, AIDS was starting to take up space in the American cultural sphere.
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New test needs just one drop of blood to detect HIV and hepatitis
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - April 14, 2023 - by John Anderer - HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, infects an estimated 1.5 million people annually all over the world. Roughly 650,000 people die every year from HIV-related causes. Hepatitis B (spread via bodily fluids) and hepatitis C (spread via blood), meanwhile, contribute to over one million deaths per year. Now, a groundbreaking new test is capable of detecting HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C using nothing more than a single drop of blood.
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A Taste for Life fundraiser to benefit Pozitive Pathways
April 14, 2023 - by Julie Kotsis - Enjoying a restaurant meal Wednesday can have added benefits as local businesses pair up with Pozitive Pathways to donate up to 25 per cent of sales to the charity.
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HIV cases becoming a crisis in Manitoba, harm reduction group says
April 14, 2023 - Michelle Gerwing - A harm reduction group along with the provincial opposition says HIV is becoming a crisis in Manitoba.
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HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C can be detected from a single drop of blood, Danish study shows
13 April 2023 - Data on a test that can detect HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C from a single drop of blood is being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark, (15-18 April).
More than one million people a year are killed by hepatitis B or hepatitis C. 650,000 people die from HIV-related causes annually and 1.5 million acquire HIV.
One expert's hope as rapid-test HIV, syphilis approved by Health Canada
April 13, 2023 - Natasha O'Neill - A new dual testing kit for syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) approved in Canada has one expert hopeful it will increase awareness and encourage people to seek care.
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HIV patient becomes oldest, 5th cured worldwide: ‘I wasn’t ready to die’
April 13, 2023 - By Brooke Kato - Paul Edmonds thought his AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence. Now, over three decades later, he’s made medical history as one of the five people worldwide to be cured of HIV.
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amfAR AWARDS NEW MATHILDE KRIM FELLOWSHIP TO YOUNG SCIENTIST PURSUING HIV CURE
NEW YORK, April 13, 2023 - Fellowship will support innovative study harnessing the ability of antibodies to home in on cellulartargets
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, announced Wednesday the latest recipient of the Mathilde Krim Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Research: Steven de Taeye, Ph.D., of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Dr. de Taeye receives $150,000 to support a two-year study using antibody conjugates as a potential cure for HIV. Currently used in the treatment of certain cancers, antibody conjugates bind interventions to antibodies as a means of delivering them to specific cells. In this study, Dr. de Taeye will test several different approaches. The first is a toxin that can be delivered to T cells displaying specific surface signals. Another is an agent to stimulate the internal defenses of HIV-infected cells, leading to a cascade of events that results in destruction by the immune system.
Exploring Love and the 1980s HIV/AIDS Crisis, Love + Science to Premiere Off-Broadway
APRIL 12, 2023 - BY LEAH PUTNAM - Two gay medical students navigate love and their careers in the new play headed for New York City Center.
New York City Center Stage II will be home to the premiere of Love + Science, a new play by playwright and scientist David J. Glass. Set to run May 26–July 6 with opening night June 4, the work follows two gay medical students loving and living during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis.
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How A Malaysian With HIV Overcame Barriers To Get A Kidney Transplant
12 April 2023 - By Alifah Zainuddin and Saw Siow Feng - Mr Chew (pseudonym) – the first person living with HIV to receive a kidney transplant in Malaysia – shares how he and his wife persisted for the surgery despite rejections from multiple hospitals locally and abroad, until UMMC stepped up to the challenge.
A Triple Dividend: Fully Financing the HIV response in Africa
WASHINGTON DC/GENEVA, 12 April 2023 - Research and analysis by Economist Impact, conducted across 13 African countries, demonstrates that fully financing the HIV response will saves millions of lives and would produce substantial health, social and economic gains. We are writing to ensure that you are among the first to read this important news.
Kentucky and Georgia researchers partner to reach Black women at risk for HIV
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 12, 2023) - Researchers at the University of Kentucky College of Education and Morehouse School of Medicine are teaming to help at-risk Black women prevent HIV infection.
The study, funded by a $1.2 million cooperative agreement from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, uses an approach that partners academic researchers with community members to collaboratively design research to address mutually identified priorities.
Quebec community workers should be able to administer rapid HIV tests: coalition
Apr 12, 2023 - A group of AIDS service organizations wants Quebec to follow in the footsteps of Ontario and France and allow community workers to screen for HIV using rapid tests.
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UB, partners receive $1.5 million NIH grant for infectious disease training program
April 11, 2023 - By Cory Nealon -The award will train 10 Jamaican scientists focusing on emerging, chronic viral infections
The University at Buffalo and partners have received a $1.5 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to lead the training of 10 Jamaican scientists in virology research.
Daily statin reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV, large NIH study finds
April 11, 2023 - A National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trial was stopped early because a daily statin medication was found to reduce the increased risk of cardiovascular disease among people living with HIV in the first large-scale clinical study to test a primary cardiovascular prevention strategy in this population. A planned interim analysis of data from the Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE(link is external)) study found that participants who took pitavastatin calcium, a daily statin, lowered their risk of major adverse cardiovascular events by 35% compared with those receiving a placebo. Adverse drug events observed in the study were like those in the general population taking statin therapy. The interim analysis was sufficiently compelling that the study’s independent Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) recommended it be stopped early given adequate evidence of efficacy. The NIH accepted the DSMB recommendations.
AHF responds to CDC Report of Rise in STD During Pandemic
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- April 11, 2023 – Sexually transmitted infections -- particularly syphilis and congenital syphilis—escalated during COVID-19 despite lockdowns and stay-at-home orders
In response to just-released 2021 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data showing sexually-transmitted-infections (STIs) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, AHF issued the following statement:
Proliferation, not replication: HIV is lifelong because infected cells divide, not only because they infect others
11 April 2023 - Gus Cairns - A poster and a talk both presented at the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2023) dampened down expectations that a cure for HIV may soon be possible using less risky and expensive methods than the stem-cell transplants that have so far cured five people (see this report for the latest).
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U.S. STI Epidemic Showed No Signs of Slowing in 2021 – Cases Continued to Escalate
April 11, 2023 - Reported cases of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis all increased between 2020 and 2021 – reaching a total of more than 2.5 million reported cases – according to CDC’s final surveillance data. To reverse this trend, CDC is calling for more groups from local, healthcare, industry, and public health sectors to contribute to STI prevention and innovation efforts.
National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (#NYHAAD) 2023
April 10, 2023 - By Trent Straube - “Young people living with HIV are the least likely of any age group to be retained in care and have a suppressed viral load.”
Monday, April 10, marks the annual National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (#NYHAAD) 2023. An opportunity to educate the public about the impact of HIV on youth, NYHAAD is spearheaded by a collective that’s part of Advocates for Youth, a national nonprofit that works to ensure young people have the tools and power to protect themselves against HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy.
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Stigma keeps US youth at high risk for HIV/AIDS
Apr 10, 2023 - BY VINCENT GUILAMO-RAMOS - If I asked you to tell me which age group has one of the highest incidences of HIV, I’m willing to wager that you wouldn’t say 13- to 24-year-olds. And, yet, these young people represent 20 percent of new HIV diagnoses, the second-highest rate of new cases, behind only 25- to 34-year-olds.
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Targeted testing for HIV in hospital emergency departments has great potential, Spanish researchers say
April 9, 2023 - Strategy led to number of HIV diagnoses increasing more than three-fold
Implemented country-wide, it would prevent 13,615 new infections and save €4,411 million in healthcare costs in two decades
Targeted testing for HIV in emergency departments has great potential for increasing diagnoses, this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark, (15-18 April), will hear.
An analysis of data from 34 emergency departments (ED) in Spain found that the number of HIV diagnoses more than trebled after targeted testing was implemented.
HIV advocates frustrated over access to monthly treatment, but researcher cautions over eligibility
Apr 06, 2023 - Arrthy Thayaparan - Cabenuva, an injectable HIV treatment, was approved by Health Canada 3 years ago
Nearly three years after injectable HIV treatments were approved by Health Canada, a B.C. advocacy group is calling for expanded access to the treatment for people in the province.
But researchers say not everyone living with HIV is eligible for the injection, given the risk of developing drug resistancy to other HIV treatments.
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Studies ask: what does “multimorbidity” mean and how much does it cost us?
April 4, 2023 - The prevalence of multimorbidity, the co-occurrence of two or more chronic conditions, varies depending on exactly how it is defined. And the healthcare costs associated with many disease combinations cost more together than the sum of each individual disease. Those are the conclusions of two new studies, publishing April 4th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine, that broadly analyze the concept and costs of multimorbidity.
Disruption from war in Ukraine pushes highly contagious infectious diseases to alarming levels
April 3, 2023 - Analysis of official Ukraine health data reveals a perfect storm of rising infectious diseases cases and falling levels of childhood vaccination and case detection in the frontline eastern region of Kharkiv.
New research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15-18 April), reveals an extremely worrying picture of rising infectious diseases cases and falling levels of childhood vaccination and case detection in the eastern region of Ukraine in the city of Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, the scene of some of the most intense combat in 2022.
ECDC: Autumn vaccination campaigns focused on older age groups and other high-risk populations are key to decrease impact of COVID-19
Stockholm, 5 April 2023 - To decrease the impact of COVID-19, and related hospitalisations and mortality, countries should plan for a continued roll-out of COVID vaccines in 2023. Efforts should focus on protecting older adults and other vulnerable groups, such as those with underlying comorbidities and the immunocompromised, irrespective of age. These considerations are part of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s (ECDC) latest report on interim public health considerations for COVID-19 vaccination roll-out during 2023.
Center for AIDS Research Receives $15 Million Renewal Grant From NIH
April 03, 2023 | By Scott LaFee - Based at UC San Diego, CFAR has been at the forefront of HIV research and treatment since 1994, the height of the AIDS epidemic
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year, $15.45 million grant to the San Diego Center for AIDS Research (SD CFAR) at UC San Diego, renewing support that extends back to an original establishing grant in 1994 at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
AIDS Vancouver campaign for better HIV treatment options in BC
April 3, 2023 - The Early Edition - British Columbia remains the only province in Canada where not everyone living with HIV has access to the latest and most effective treatment methods. AIDS Vancouver is hoping to change that with a new campaign.
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After the "End of AIDS": Collaboration, Care, and Queer Sociality in Urban Amazonian Peru
Thursday, April 6, 2023, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in HG 1010
Featuring Dr. Justin Perez, Assistant Professor, Department of Latin American and Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
The introduction and scale-up of novel biomedical technologies has radically transformed the global HIV/AIDS landscape, heralding calls to control the global epidemic and “end AIDS” by 2030.
Why is British Columbia gatekeeping injectable HIV medication?
April 3, 2023 - By Kevin Hurren - British Columbia—Canada’s epicentre for HIV research and treatment—falls behind other provinces when it comes to injectables, say advocates
In the mid-’90s, one person in British Columbia died of AIDS every day. Two more were diagnosed with HIV daily. The epidemic was more severe in B.C. than anywhere else in Canada.
Cognitive impairment in people living with HIV not made worse by COVID-19 in those who are vaccinated, US study suggests
April 3, 2023 - But declines in processing speed are seen in vaccinated people without HIV after COVID-19
New research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15-18 April), finds that people living with HIV (PWH) performed worse on cognitive tests in the first 4 months following SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to people without HIV, but these differences appear to be attributable to HIV and not to COVID-19.
People living with HIV at substantially higher risk of depression and suicide, especially in first 2 years after diagnosis
April 3, 2023 - Surprisingly, the nationwide study found that siblings of people living with HIV are also at greater risk of depression and suicide compared to the general population
People living with HIV (PLWH) are far more likely to be diagnosed with depression, take antidepressants, be treated with electroconvulsive therapy, and commit suicide than population controls, especially in the first two years after diagnosis, according to new research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15-18 April).
Is Canada’s HIV funding ‘complacent?’ Why experts say time is now for boost
April 2, 2023 - By Jillian Piper - Despite calls for the federal government to take immediate action to eradicate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Canada, the 2023 budget fell short of offering new funding — and didn’t reference HIV once.
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HIV AIDS funding took backseat during COVID-19 pandemic, experts say
April 1, 2023 - During the pandemic, the world's attention shifted to fighting off COVID-19. Yet another epidemic has remained: HIV-AIDS.
Progress has been made since the first case was detected in Canada four decades ago, but there's still a long way to go to eradicate the disease.
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