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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - March 2023
amfAR Condemns Ruling That Would Sabotage HIV Prevention Efforts
NEW YORK, March 31, 2023 - Analysis finds Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling could result in as many as 2,000 new HIV infections over the next year.
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, a leading biomedical research and advocacy nonprofit, urges the Justice Department to take immediate action to fight a federal judge’s ruling limiting insurance coverage of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. In September of 2022, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that employers cannot be required to cover certain preventive health care services, including PrEP, as the Affordable Care Act mandates. A new ruling by Judge O’Connor yesterday affirms that decision.
NIH OAR Marks 35 Years of Advancing HIV Research
March 31, 2023 - HIV has been one of humanity’s deadliest and most persistent pandemics. When the first AIDS cases were reported in 1981, few therapeutic options were available, and life expectancy for people with HIV was only three years after diagnosis. People with HIV and their advocates pushed the U.S. government to respond. In 1988, Congress passed the Health Omnibus Programs Extension (HOPE Act), which established the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to coordinate HIV and AIDS research across NIH. OAR was the first and remains the only NIH-wide office dedicated to one specific condition.
UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and ViiV of three licenses signed with generic manufacturers for long-acting PrEP, and urges further urgent action by ViiV
GENEVA, 31 March 2023 - UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and ViiV of three licenses signed with generic manufacturers Aurobindo, Cipla and Viatris for long-acting Cabotegravir for PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis.) PrEP reduces risk of HIV transmission from sex or injecting drug use. UNAIDS also called for urgent action by ViiV to be taken to reduce the price and increase the production of CAB-LA now.
95% of Bangladeshi mothers in treatment for HIV give birth to HIV-negative babies
30 March 2023 - by Mohammad Al Amin - Since 2013, Bangladesh had been providing free treatment to HIV-positive mothers under its Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission programme. It’s working.
"My baby boy is now around two years and eight months. He tested HIV-negative after his birth and he is now healthy," said Aklima* of Bogura district, who was diagnosed HIV-positive around five years ago. "My boy has already completed all routine immunisation," she added.
Affordable Care Act preventive services mandate overturned: U-M experts available
March 30, 2023 - By Kelly Malcom - A Texas federal judge ruled Thursday against a part of the health care law that promises free preventive services to every American who has private health insurance.
5th person known to go into remission from HIV shares his story for 1st time
Mar. 30, 2023 –ABC News - ABC News’ Juju Chang sat down with Paul Edmonds to discuss the challenges he has overcome and how he has made medical history.
“Outrageous:” Lambda Legal Condemns Ruling Striking Down Insurance Coverage of Preventative Services such as PrEP
(New York, March 30, 2023) - “This is a blow to our national healthcare system writ large and will inevitably lead to an unhealthier public and puts lives at risk.”
Today, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a nationwide injunction striking down a key component of the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Preventative Services Taskforce, retroactively to the inception of ACA in March of 2010. The basis is that the advisory committee was created in violation of the Appointments Clause in the Constitution. He also enjoined HHS from enforcing the USPSTF moving forward.
Medicines Patent Pool signs sublicences with Aurobindo, Cipla and Viatris to produce generic versions of ViiV Healthcare’s innovative long-acting HIV prevention medicine
London, 30 March 2023 - Licences should enable potentially millions of people living in areas most impacted by HIV to access this innovative prevention medicine through low-cost generic manufacturers
Announcement includes potential for large scale manufacturing on the continent of Africa
ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, together with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) have today announced that MPP has signed sublicence agreements with Aurobindo, Cipla and Viatris – through its subsidiary Mylan – to manufacture generic versions of cabotegravir long-acting (LA) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This is enabled by the signing of a voluntary licensing agreement for patents relating to cabotegravir LA for PrEP with MPP in July 2022.
More Studies Explore Weight Gain Linked to HIV Treatment
March 29, 2023 - By Liz Highleyman - Disruption of fat metabolism and altered gut microbiome may help explain weight changes associated with antiretroviral therapy.
In recent years, there has been growing concern about weight gain associated with antiretroviral therapy. Unwanted weight gain is not just a cosmetic or self-esteem issue. Excess weight—especially the accumulation of visceral abdominal fat deep within the belly—raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, fatty liver disease, several types of cancer and other health problems.
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'Very ready': How an Ontario man celebrated his end of life
March 29, 2023 - Jonathan Migneault/CBC - Mark Asselin had medical assistance in dying (MAID) on March 22, 2023, after a long battle with cancer
Mark Asselin was determined to die happy.
On March 22, 2023, Asselin, entrenched in a years-long battle with cancer, received three drug injections at the Casey House specialty hospital in Toronto.
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HIV/AIDS Activists Sound the Alarm About the Latest Book to Deny that HIV Causes AIDS
March 29, 2023 - Tim Murphy - On the chilly morning of March 27, about 15 members of longtime HIV/AIDS activist group ACT UP-NY and the LGBTQ media watchdog group GLAAD marched outside the New York City headquarters of esteemed publisher Simon & Schuster (S&S), carrying signs that read “AIDS Denialism Kills,” “The Real Epidemic: Misinformation...Simon & Schuster, Do Better!,” and “HIV Causes AIDS...Misinformation Causes Death.” Nearby on the street was a truck with a large digital billboard on its side reading: “AIDS Denial...Shame on Simon & Schuster...Selling conspiracy theories about HIV is dangerous and unethical...Stop making money off of malpractice.”
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HIV and hepatitis C virus monitoring needs to increase to achieve global elimination goals
28 March 2023 - Countries must intensify efforts to track HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence among people who inject drugs, and to prioritise this group in prevention and elimination work, according to new University of Bristol-led research, published online in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
UNAIDS and WHO have recommended targets for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic and eliminating HCV as a public health threat by 2030. To validate these targets, countries must measure HIV and HCV incidence and document a decline over time. People who inject drugs are one of the key risk groups for HIV and HCV infection, so it is important for countries to track HIV and HCV incidence in this high-risk group.
Rapid test for HIV and syphilis approved thanks to U of A research
March 28, 2023 - By Gillian Rutherford - Dual point-of-care kit a “game changer” for diagnosis and treatment in face of raging syphilis epidemic, says researcher.
Health-care professionals have a new tool in their battle against Canada’s raging syphilis epidemic thanks in part to University of Alberta research. Health Canada recently approved a dual HIV-syphilis rapid test after a two-year clinical trial found it was 100 per cent accurate in identifying HIV infections and 98 per cent accurate for active syphilis.
Researchers Identify a Plant-based Compound that Inhibits Reactivation of the HIV Viral Reservoir, Giving the Immune System a Break
PHILADELPHIA — (MARCH 28, 2023) - As of 2022, approximately 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV. Antiretroviral therapies have enabled many of these individuals to live productive, symptom-free lives, but a cure that permanently eliminates HIV from an infected person’s body is still a long way off. However, researchers at The Wistar Institute, an international biomedical research leader in cancer, immunology, infectious disease, and vaccine development, have zeroed in on a promising compound that targets HIV reservoirs that persist in people living with HIV despite the presence of anti-HIV therapy.
ACTG Announces Publication of New Insights Into HIV Reservoirs and Prospects for Remission in the Journal of Infectious Diseases
LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the world’s largest HIV research network, today announced the publication of “Varied Patterns of Decay of Intact HIV-1 Proviruses over Two Decades of ART” in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. This publication found that levels of intact proviral DNA (inactive HIV DNA that may be capable of replicating) initially decay rapidly but that decay markedly slows among virally suppressed people living with HIV on long-term ART. The study also found a late increase in proviral DNA levels among some individuals. These data suggest that if the decay rates during the second phase could be accelerated to more closely approximate the first phase, it may be possible to reduce the viral reservoir to the degree needed to achieve HIV remission.
 
bioLytical Laboratories Inc. Receives Health Canada Authorization for its INSTI® Multiplex HIV-1/2 Syphilis Antibody Test
RICHMOND, British Columbia, March 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- bioLytical Laboratories Inc. announced today that it has launched its INSTI® Multiplex HIV-1/2 Syphilis Antibody Test for professional use in Canada
bioLytical Laboratories Inc. (“bioLytical”), a global leader in rapid in-vitro medical diagnostics, announced today that it has received Health Canada authorization for its INSTI® Multiplex HIV-1/2 Syphilis Antibody Test, allowing its immediate entry into the Canadian market. Furthermore, bioLytical is working on a self-test version to ensure Canadians of all demographics can access regular and early testing for both infections, where and when it works best for them.
HIV can persist for years in myeloid cells of people on antiretroviral therapy
March 27, 2023 – NIH-funded study confirms white blood cell subtype as HIV reservoir, suggests new target for cure efforts.
A subset of white blood cells, known as myeloid cells, can harbor HIV in people who have been virally suppressed for years on antiretroviral therapy, according to findings from a small study supported by the National Institutes of Health. In the study, researchers used a new quantitative method to show that HIV in specific myeloid cells—short-lived monocytes and longer-lived monocyte-derived macrophages—can be reactivated and infect new cells. The findings, published in Nature Microbiology(link is external), suggest that myeloid cells contribute to a long-lived HIV reservoir, making these cells an important but overlooked target in efforts to eradicate HIV.
The ABC’s In Our Blood shines a light on lesbian activism during the AIDS crisis – but there’s more to their story
March 27, 2022 - Kate Manlik - The recent ABC mini-series, In Our Blood, offers a fictionalised account of Australia’s response to AIDS, focusing on the development of a partnership between impacted communities, health professionals and government.
Lesbians are placed at the centre of this narrative, but more needs to be done to ensure these representations capture the complex histories of AIDS information activism in Australia.
Another survey with HIV long-term survivors. Have we learned anything new?
March 27, 2023 - By Hank Trout, MA - It seems to me, and to many of my fellow survivors, that our needs have been known for long enough. What we need are policies and actions that address those needs.On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, the Survivors of HIV Advocating for Research Engagement (SHARE) Board conducted a webinar highlighting the results of their survey “Aging with HIV: What do you need to thrive?” They sought to answer questions such as, “What are the key health-related questions/issues that research should address around HIV and aging?,” “What matters most to people aging with HIV?,” and “What health outcomes are of most relevance to people aging with HIV?”
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Virtual wards are safe and effective for treatment of individuals with mpox
March 26, 2023 - Most people with mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) can safely be treated on virtual wards, without admission to hospital, a UK study being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen, 15-18 April) suggests.
AHF Marks World TB Day with Events Worldwide
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- March 24, 2023 – On Friday, March 24th, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) – the world’s largest HIV/AIDS care organization – is marking World TB Day by holding “Yes! We Can End TB” events across several of its 45 country teams to show support for those affected by tuberculosis and urge world leaders to commit to ending this 100% preventable and treatable disease.
Unfinished business: the challenge of ending tuberculosis in the European Region
March 24, 2023 - On World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 2023, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe are issuing a sobering warning that, despite having the tools to end TB, the European Region remains a long way from meeting its End TB Strategy targets of reducing TB incidence by 80% and TB deaths by 90% before 2030. Although this is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s region-wide impact on health systems, including the capacity to prevent, diagnose and treat TB, countries still need to urgently renew their efforts if these targets are to be met.
The latest ECDC/WHO report on TB surveillance and monitoring shows that, despite an overall downward trend in the incidence of TB in the WHO European Region, the current rate of decline will not be sufficient to meet targets under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for ending the TB epidemic by 2030.
Media professionals on HIV/AIDS honored in Bonn German AIDS Foundation awards prize at AIDS Congress
Bonn, March 23, 2023 – The German AIDS Foundation presented its traditional HIV/AIDS media prize on Thursday evening. At the AIDS Congress at her foundation's headquarters in Bonn, she honored media professionals who had previously been selected by a jury of experts. Actor Patrick Mölleken held the laudatory speech and hosted the award ceremony.
A readily available dietary supplement may reverse organ damage caused by HIV and antiretroviral therapy
March 23, 2022 - By Enrique Rivero - MitoQ, a mitochondrial antioxidant that is available to the public as a diet supplement, was found in a mouse study to reverse the detrimental effects that HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) have on mitochondria in the brain, heart, aorta, lungs, kidney and liver.
Most HIV mortality now due to non-AIDS-related comorbidities
SEATTLE - March 22, 2023 - By Stephen Feller - Because people with HIV who are being successfully treated with ART have a close to normal life expectancy, most deaths among those with HIV are now caused by unrelated comorbidities, a study found.
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Thigh Injections Might Be an Option for Cabenuva and Apretude
March 22, 2023 - By Liz Highleyman - Some people found thigh injections less painful than butt shots, and this could potentially enable self-administration at home.
Injecting long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine in the thigh may be an option for people who are unable to receive, can’t tolerate or want a break from butt injections, according to study results reported at the 30th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). This could potentially help overcome one of the barriers to wider adoption of the long-acting injectables.
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Evanna Brennan and Susan Giles: Bringing Action Based Care to Vancouver’s Downtown East Side
MARCH 22, 2023 - By Grace Jenkins - Home-care nurses Evanna Brennan and Susan Giles have been providing life-saving care to people living with HIV/AIDS and significant health issues in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side (DTES) since the 1980s. They saw the beginning of the HIV epidemic and witnessed the drug and overdose crisis develop into what it is today. Throughout it all, they have remained stalwart pillars care and compassion for Vancouver’s most vulnerable population.
UNAIDS urges the Government of Uganda to not enact harmful law that threatens public health
GENEVA/JOHANNESBURG, 22 March 2023 - Responding to the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill by the Ugandan Parliament, UNAIDS has warned that, if the Bill is enacted into law, it will have extremely damaging consequences for public health, by curtailing the human rights of people living with HIV and some of the most vulnerable people of Uganda to access life-saving services.
A TASTE FOR LIFE
March 22, 2023 - The Most Delicious Night Out for Over 20 Years.
Join us on Wednesday April 19 to support people living with HIV in your community!
Participating Taste restaurants open their doors for one evening each April and donate 25% of their evening sales to an HIV/AIDS Service Organizations in their community. Funds collection will directly help people living with HIV. Testing and treatment, care and support, food and shelter, hope and community.
New Directions for HIV Treatment
MAR 21, 2023 - By Olivia Dimmer - Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a new compound which could inform future HIV cure strategies, according to research published in Science Advances.
The current standard treatment for people living with HIV is antiretroviral medication, which suppresses viral replication and spread, but does not cure HIV. This is because the virus can hide inside immune cells, making itself undetectable to the body’s immune system and resistant to antiretroviral therapy.
Urgent need to integrate mental health services into TB programs
March 21, 2023 - World TB Day is marked every 24th day of March through sharing of success stories and challenges faced in the elimination of TB. This year’s theme, "Yes! We can end TB!" draws attention to the disease and our collective power to eliminate it by 2030, a target set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
BC-CfE Webinar:
HIV PrEP for Trans and Gender Diverse People in BC
BC-CfE webinar Learning Series
Audience: General Public
Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
This webinar will be presented by:
Everett Blackwell, RN(C), BSN, BFA (he/him)
Andrea (Andy) Szewchuk, MD, CCFP (they/them)
Presentations will be followed by a discussion where participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and receive real-time responses from presenters.
Join us in the fight for access to HIV Treatment that eliminates the need for daily oral medication
Vancouver, BC — March 21, 2023 - Needed Now – Better Options for HIV Therapy in British Columbia
Join us in our fight for better access to innovative HIV treatment. Write to your local MLA and the Minister of Health, and tell them to stop blocking access to innovative HIV treatment.
'Having HIV has not stopped me living my life'
21 March 2023 - From receiving a smear test from a nurse in full PPE gear to being told to book a hospital appointment "when there was no-one around", Julieanne Mitchell is used to ignorance surrounding her HIV status.
But after living with it for almost 20 years, the 45-year-old wants to share her story of how she has gone on to live an almost-ordinary life.
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Petition over book by ‘AIDS denialist’ delivered to publisher.
March 20, 2023 - By Janet Manley
- A petition organized by advocacy group AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) has been delivered to publisher Simon & Schuster. The petition alleges that the forthcoming The Real AIDS Epidemic: How the Tragic HIV Mistake Threatens Us All (March 28) by Rebecca Culshaw is factually incorrect and carries a risk to public health.
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Increasing Threat of Spread of Antimicrobial-resistant Fungus in Healthcare Facilities
March 20, 2023 - Candida auris (C. auris), an emerging fungus considered an urgent antimicrobial resistance (AR) threat, spread at an alarming rate in U.S. healthcare facilities in 2020-2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Equally concerning was a tripling in 2021 of the number of cases that were resistant to echinocandins, the antifungal medicine most recommended for treatment of C. auris infections. In general, C. auris is not a threat to healthy people. People who are very sick, have invasive medical devices, or have long or frequent stays in healthcare facilities are at increased risk for acquiring C. auris. CDC has deemed C. auris as an urgent AR threat, because it is often resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, spreads easily in healthcare facilities, and can cause severe infections with high death rates.
The Heroes of ACT UP Are Dying
March 20, 2023 - Desiree Guerrero - ACT UP’s Oral History Project celebrates a funding windfall while also mourning the sudden death of two of its members.
Earlier this year, the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power Los Angeles (ACT UP/LA) announced it received the first major funding for its Oral History Project, provided by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. ACT UP/LA credited much of this big step forward to lesbian L.A. County supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who lobbied for the funding.
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GLAAD Joins ACT UP NY in Coalition Letter to Cease Distribution of AIDS Denialism Book
March 20, 2023 - By Tony Morrison - A coalition of more than 30 organizations and 70 public health advocates demand that Simon & Schuster drop distribution of a book pushing AIDS denialism and HIV/AIDS misinformation. The Real AIDS Epidemic: How the Tragic HIV Mistake Threatens Us All, by known AIDS denialist Rebecca V. Culshaw from their subsidiary Skyhorse. You can read more about this in, AIDS Denialism Is Still Deadly in 2023. This call to action asks to end the distribution of this book and take a stand against AIDS denialism and misinformation.
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Stigma-coping intervention empowers people with HIV and drug use to engage in health, substance use care
Newswise - (Boston) - 20-Mar-2023 - Group sessions at community organizations help participants cope with stigma, accept negativity and encourage healthy behavior and care engagement
Stigma negatively impacts the health of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and those with HIV who inject drugs experience stigma on multiple levels. Stigma leads to impaired utilization and retention in addiction treatment, less access to harm reduction services and reduces HIV care success. Unfortunately, there is a lack of interventions specifically targeting stigma related to HIV and substance use among people with HIV who inject drugs.
Now a new study from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine has found that a brief stigma intervention that specifically targets people with HIV who inject drugs was effective in increasing engagement in substance use care as well as improving their ART adherence. The project was a US/Russia/Ukraine collaboration preceding the escalation of the war last year.
Advancing HIV Prevention Research in Pregnant and Lactating People (PLP): Think Tank Report & Action Plan
March 2023 - The work of the AVAC/PHASES think tank to advance HIV prevention research with pregnant and lactating people was importantly grounded in a trio of conceptual frameworks: 1. Reproductive Justice, 2. Conceptual shifts articulated in the Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS: Seeking Equitable Study (PHASES) Ethics Guidance and 3. WHO/ IMPAACT framework for accelerated inclusion of pregnant women in pre-licensure clinical trials.
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Advocates Try to Halt a Wacky, Dangerous Book from an HIV Denialist
March 20, 2023 - By Mark S. King - The Real AIDS Epidemic: How the Tragic HIV Mistake Threatens Us All, by HIV denialist Rebecca Culshaw, is the latest in decades of wacko musings from those who would have us believe that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS.
Incidence of HIV-related Kaposi’s sarcoma not improving in East Africa
SEATTLE - March 20, 2023 - People in East Africa with HIV-related Kaposi’s sarcoma often have advanced disease and a poor survival outlook — and the situation has not improved in the last 5 years, a study found.
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Widen Access to These HIV Drugs, Say Advocates
March 20, 2023 - Moira Wyton - BC lags in offering long-acting injectable medications that experts say can save lives.
Three years since Canada first approved an innovative long-acting drug called Cabenuva to treat HIV, advocates say access to the medication for people living with HIV in B.C. still lags behind the rest of Canada.
AIDS Vancouver is calling on the Ministry of Health and BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS to fund and increase access to Cabenuva and also recently approved Sunlenca, two long-acting injectable medications that suppress the virus, prevent transmission and extend the lifespans of people who are HIV-positive.
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‘In Our Blood’ shares Australia’s journey through HIV
19 Mar 2023 - The ABC documents Australia’s response to the AIDS pandemic with the creative and emotional new series On Our Blood.
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Most Ghanaians have forgotten that HIV still exists – Dr. Ayisi-Addo
SEATTLE - Mar 19, 2023 - People in Ghana appear to have forgotten that HIV exists. As a result, they are not taking the necessary precautions to avoid getting infected.
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HIV drug PrEP’s popularity soars – but only among white men
Mar 19, 2023 - Written by Joe Ali - PrEP has become extremely popular in the US with gay and bisexual men – but only among those who are white, according to new findings.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – the oral medication used to prevent HIV infections – has been hailed as groundbreaking all over the world. However, despite being readily available in the US for a decade, new HIV infections have only seen a steady decrease amongst gay and bisexual white men.
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Campaign urges B.C. to approve injectable HIV treatment
Mar 19, 2023 - Gordon McIntyre - B.C. is the only province where the treatment, approved by Health Canada three years ago, isn't available.
If the pill is to fight HIV, there’s added concern over stigma.
For three years now, there has been another way other than prescription pills to counter the HIV virus and that’s by long-lasting injections every month or two, but while Health Canada approved the measure on March 18, 2020, B.C. remains the only province in which the treatment isn’t available.
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AIDS Vancouver launches campaign to have injectable HIV treatment covered in B.C.
March 19, 2023 - By Kristen Robinson - The long-acting injectable HIV treatment Cabenuva was approved by Health Canada in March 2020 but it's still not covered under B.C.'s public health care system and as Kristen Robinson reports, AIDS Vancouver is calling on the government to change that.
Although it was approved for use in Canada in March 2020, an injectable HIV treatment is still not covered under B.C.’s public health care system. AIDS Vancouver is calling on the government to change that.
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Flo Rida Takes The Stage at Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale
March 18, 2023 - By NBC 6 - Florida is in the top five states with the highest number of newly diagnosed HIV cases.
While the country remains in shock after Tennessee’s recent ban on public drag performances, another, more insidious attack on the LGBTQ+ community has been underway in the state.
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Tennessee shuns federal HIV funds
March 18, 2023 - By Greg Owen - A coordinated effort by right-wing media and lawmakers has decimated community-based programs addressing healthcare for LGBTQ+ people in Tennessee
While the country remains in shock after Tennessee’s recent ban on public drag performances, another, more insidious attack on the LGBTQ+ community has been underway in the state.
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'It was a no-brainer for me' — Thuso Mbedu shines the light on HIV/Aids crisis
18 March 2023 - Constance Gaanakgomo - Thuso Mbedu was recently part of an event aimed at shedding light on the HIV/Aids crisis.
She said on Instagram it was an honour to be present at The Elton John Aids Foundation event because the subject matter was close to home for her.
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Hopeful HIV and Hepatitis News in Biden’s Proposed 2024 Budget
March 17, 2023 - By Trent Straube - $9.6B for a new PrEP program to prevent HIV, $11B to eliminate hepatitis C and several proposed funding boosts encourage advocates.
HIV and hepatitis advocates see promising signs in President Joe Biden’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024, which was released last week. Of note, Biden seeks to increase efforts to end HIV by $313 million and to launch programs to eliminate hepatitis C and increase access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, the daily pills and long-acting injections that prevent HIV.
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PopART: Universal testing and treatment to stop HIV spread
17th March 2023 - Here, Professor of Epidemiology & International Health Richard Hayes explores and details the PopART study and other trials of Universal Testing and Treatment, a promising strategy to reduce HIV spread
The incidence of new HIV infections has decreased over the past decade, but much too slowly to meet the UNAIDS targets aimed at “eliminating” HIV as a major public health problem by 2030. There are around 38 million people worldwide living with HIV, and 1.5 million new infections each year. Clearly, more effective prevention strategies are needed if the elimination target is to be met.
Case report of first mixed race woman possibly cured of HIV published in Cell
16-MAR-2023 - CELL PRESS - A new method to cure HIV—by transplanting HIV-resistant stem cells from umbilical cord blood—has yielded long-term successful results, say scientists. The approach was successfully used to treat the “New York patient,” a middle-aged woman with leukemia and HIV who self-identifies as mixed race, who has been without HIV in her blood since her transplant in 2017. Using stem cells from cord blood rather than from compatible adult donors, as has been done previously, increases the potential to cure HIV via stem cell transplantation in people of all racial backgrounds.
The researchers share the full results March 16 in the journal Cell;preliminary details on the case study were presented in February 2022 at the 29th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
A matter of fairness: AIDS Vancouver launches campaign for better HIV therapy options in BC
Vancouver, BC — March 16, 2023 - Long-acting injectable therapy would reduce stigma, improve adherence, and save lives.
British Columbia is the only province in Canada where people living with HIV are being denied access to the latest and most effective treatments. Long-acting injectable HIV treatment is a safe and effective way to manage HIV with a single injection every one or two months instead of daily pills.
That’s the reason for a new advocacy campaign launched today by AIDS Vancouver — a charity providing direct support to people living with, and affected by, HIV throughout the Lower Mainland for 40 years.
Research Series Focuses on Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities
March 16, 2023 - By Bernadette Gillis - Duke University School of Medicine's Dean's Distinguished Research Series continued on March 9 with a focus on social determinants of health and health disparities.
Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and director of Duke Global Health Institute, presented on “Social Determinants and HIV: Moving Toward Interventions.”
Impact of HIV-AIDS on theatre community explored in new Radio 2 commission
Mar 16, 2023 - In a new commission by BBC Radio 2 for BBC Sounds, The Showstopper will be available from 19 March featuring Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey.
40 years ago the HIV virus, and the resulting disease AIDS, were named. It devastated people’s lives all over the world, including bringing immeasurable heartbreak to the theatre community of Broadway and the West End.
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Where the HI-Virus sleeps in the brain
Mar 16, 2023 - The human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 is able to infect various tissues in humans. Once inside the cells, the virus integrates its genome into the cellular genome and establishes persistent infections. The role of the structure and organisation of the host genome in HIV-1 infection is not well understood. Using a cell culture model based on brain immune microglia cells, an international research team led by scientists from Heidelberg University Hospital and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) now defined the insertion patterns of HIV-1 in the genome of microglia cells.
Not enough new antibiotics in the pipeline, concludes WHO review – especially those targeting deadly drug-resistant microbes
March 15, 2023 - A review from WHO on the number of new antibiotics currently in the pipeline shows that just 12 new antibiotics have entered the market in the five years from 2017-21. And there are far too few (just 27) under development in clinical trials against pathogens considered critical* by WHO such as Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Of these 27, only six are considered ‘innovative’ enough to be capable of overcoming antibiotic resistance using WHO criteria* with only two of those six targeting highly-drug resistant forms of these microbes.
Top 5 stories on injectable HIV treatment and PrEP from CROI 2023
15 March 2023 - Abbey Stanford - The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2023) took place in February and saw some really interesting research presented about injectable HIV treatment and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Here are some highlights.
There was some good news for women with regard to PrEP, as a study found that quarterly dosing may work. The research showed remarkable efficacy for cabotegravir used as PrEP in cisgender women. It found that most women would still have protective drug levels up to 14 weeks after their last injection.
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HPV vaccinations crucial for people living with HIV
14 MARCH 2023 - STORY NIÉMAH DAVIDS - Implementing a national public health policy that requires that all people living with HIV be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV) as soon as their HIV diagnosis has been confirmed is necessary to reduce the high HPV incidence rate in South Africa, said the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Professor Anna-Lise Williamson.
Bridging The Science-Practice Gap In Malaysia’s Journey Towards Ending HIV/AIDS — ERASE
14 March 2023 - By CodeBlue - Public stigma towards HIV can lead to a lack of treatment and prevention initiatives, perpetuating the cycle of infection.
Around 30 years ago, several celebrities and public figures made headlines with a shocking revelation — that they had contracted HIV. At a time when HIV was widely considered taboo, this news rocked the world, as it involved Magic Johnson and Freddie Mercury, who were at the peak of their careers and were globally celebrated personalities.
“Dumb” Orphans Trilogy: Stand-Out New Novel Explores Social Issues Faced by Children Orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Africa
UNITED KINGDOM- March 14, 2023 - by Allan Low - This book is first and foremost a compelling story about children, written for children. It combines elements of Oliver Twist, Robin Hood and Dick Whittington, all told out in a contemporary African setting. The setting is the real-life experience faced by HIV/AIDS orphans in southern Africa.
HIV self-testing to take off in India: findings from the STAR Initiative
13 March 2023 - WHO recommends HIV self-testing (HIVST) as an important approach to address gaps in HIV diagnoses including among key populations (sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, and people in prisons other closed settings). Globally, 98 countries now have policies supportive of HIVST and 52 are routinely implementing, yet many countries have not yet introduced HIVST as a routine approach.
Top 5 HIV treatment stories from CROI 2023
13 March 2023 - Abbey Stanford - The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2023) took place in February and saw many researchers presenting studies looking at new and existing treatment options. Here are some highlights from this year’s conference.
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The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death sentence in Africa. Now the epidemic is at a crossroads
Tembisa, South Africa
(CNN) - March 11, 2023 - By David McKenzie and Ghazi Balkiz - Fourteen-year-old Philasande Dayimani carries a burden that no child should carry.
Last year, she started getting sores in her mouth and struggled to breathe. She says a clinic doctor told her to test for HIV.
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Celebrating actor Alec McCowen's huge impact for those affected by HIV
10 March 2023 - We were joined by Alec’s friends and family at our newly opened Alec McCowen Suite in London.
Alec McCowen CBE was a generous supporter of Terrence Higgins Trust for over 25 years before he passed away in 2017 at the age of 91. He had a very personal connection to our work after his partner and fellow actor Geoffrey Burridge sadly died of AIDS related illnesses in 1987. We were incredibly touched that he remembered us in his will.
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2023
March 10, 2023 - By Trent Straube - This NWGHAAD, learn what all women need to know about HIV, including who is impacted most. Plus: Download prevention and self-care activity books.
Friday, March 10, marks the 18th annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) 2023. Organized by the Office on Women’s Health, a dvision of the Department of Health & Human Services, the event offers a time to highlight the HIV epidemic’s impact on women.
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Top 5 stories on HIV in Africa from CROI 2023
10 March 2023 - Abbey Stanford - The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2023) took place in February. Below is a round-up of news stories from the conference that are relevant to PrEP, PEP and HIV treatment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Newly Funded Study Focuses on HIV-Induced Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease
March 9, 2023 - Written by Lee Ferguson - HIV in the United States has become a manageable disease, thanks to the free and wide accessibility of antiretroviral therapy. Antiretrovirals work by preventing the virus from making copies of itself by blocking stages of its life cycle. But these drugs have poor permeability in the brain. HIV replication persists in brain cells, causing HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Additionally, the HIV population is aging. More than 50% of the HIV population in the U.S. will soon reach their 60s, the prime decade when Alzheimer’s disease symptoms begin to manifest. The coupling of these factors have made it critically important to examine the relationship between HIV-induced aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
270,000 Circumcized Men Help Namibia’s Fight Against HIV
Swakopmund, Namibia - March 9, 2023 - The U.S. Government joined the Ministry of Health and Social Services in commemorating yet another milestone of the Namibia’s fight against HIV as the country managed to get 270,000 young boys and men circumcised, with support of the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Hepatitis C is ‘not something you wish on anybody.’ Biden has a plan to end it
March 9, 2023 - For decades, many Americans with hepatitis C have struggled to get tested or died waiting for a cure that remained inaccessibly expensive within the nation’s fractured health care system. President Joe Biden’s new proposed budget to Congress seeks to change that with a $5 billion plan to end hepatitis C nationwide by 2030.
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Weight gain on HIV treatment greater in people who start treatment with advanced HIV
9 March 2023 - Keith Alcorn - People with low CD4 counts and advanced HIV (AIDS) were far more likely to experience substantial weight gain after starting treatment than people who started treatment with CD4 counts above 350, a large French study has found. Those with advanced HIV gained on average just under 10kg, compared to just under 3kg in the latter group.
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For Women’s History Month: 15 Amazing Women Activists With HIV/AIDS Whom We’ve Lost
March 8, 2023 -
Tim Murphy - March is Women’s History Month! That’s why we’re highlighting 15 extraordinary American women who lived with HIV/AIDS and have since died either from the complications of the virus or later on from something else.
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HIV Advocates Are Still Waiting to Hear from the CDC About Molecular Surveillance
March 8, 2023 - Tim Murphy - In late 2020, TheBody wrote about people living with HIV (PLWH) advocates concerned about what’s called molecular HIV surveillance (MHS). As we described it:
t’s when health departments take blood samples of HIV that they already have and sequence them (basically break them down) into the tiniest components to look for structural similarities in HIV samples from people in a certain community, neighborhood, town, or city.
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California pharmacists face barriers to offer HIV medications
March 7, 2023 - By Nadia Lathan - California Senate Bill 159 authorized pharmacists to prescribe HIV pre-exposure (PrEP) and post-exposure (PEP) medications without an outside provider’s prescription in order to increase access to HIV preventative medications. However, a new study led by UC Berkeley School of Public Health Epidemiology Professor Sandra McCoy found that just 11% of California pharmacists surveyed had prescribed the medications since the bill’s introduction nearly three years ago.
Life Relief Foundation launches HIV community response team
March 7, 2023 - The Life Relief Foundation, (LRF), an HIV and AIDS focused NGO has launched the “Community Response Team” as a frontline to reporting cases to hospital facilities in achieving the 2030 target of ending AIDS across the globe.
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Rapid adherence testing sheds light on viral suppression and resistance
6 March 2023 - Mercy Shibemba - Delayed-diagnosis syndrome now has a name: LEVI
For people taking tenofovir-based HIV treatment, a urine test could be used at the point of care to indicate adherence and predict viral suppression. Research presented last week at the 30th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2023) in Seattle by Dr Kelly Johnson of University of California San Francisco investigated whether the test is good for TAF (tenofovir alafenamide) as well as TDF (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate). This intervention can provide real-time data on adherence, informing counselling, driving adherence interventions and improving the chances of achieving and maintaining viral suppression.
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Study shows those infected with COVID in the first wave in 2020 were 40% less likely than those who were not to get COVID-19 during the first six months of Omicron activity
March 3, 2023 - Compared to adults who did not have COVID in the first wave (March to September 2020), adults infected with COVID-19 in that first wave were 40% less likely to become infected during the first six months of Omicron activity (December 2021 to May 2022), concludes a new Canadian study to be presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15-18 April). The study was led by Dr Allison McGeer, Sinai Health System, University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues.
ECDC de-escalates BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 from its list of variants of concern
March 3, 2023 - EAs of 3 March 2023, ECDC will de-escalate BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 from its list of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC), as these parental lineages are no longer circulating. ECDC will continue to categorise and report on specific SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineages in circulation that are relevant to the epidemiological situation.
Sask. experts team together to stop the spread of HIV in First Nation communities
March 2, 2023 - Stacey Hein - The Abbott Elementary star, who features in our Women Changing the World issue, tells PEOPLE what motivated her to create The D.I.V.A. Foundation.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is revealing the heartbreaking experiences that compelled her to start raising money and awareness for people living with HIV and AIDS.
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Global study tracks brain infection in people with HIV
Mar. 2, 2023 - by Paul Govern - Cryptococcal meningitis, or CM, is a potentially fatal fungal infection of the brain and spinal fluid. It can develop after breathing in the spores of Cryptococcus fungi, which are found around the world. The infection is seen most often in people who are immunocompromised.
CM is characterized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a major cause of illness among people living with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
UConn Researcher Develops Simple, Affordable HIV Testing Device
March 1, 2023 - Courtney Chandler - UConn Health - 'This technology has the potential to bring point of care HIV testing to settings where early diagnosis and monitoring during treatment are critical'
HIV is one of the world’s most serious public health challenges, and molecular detection plays a significant role in early diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy for HIV patients. The current “gold standard” of HIV testing requires expensive instruments and highly-trained personnel—leaving an unmet need for a rapid, sensitive, and affordable approach for molecular detection of HIV at the point of care.
Sheryl Lee Ralph on the Inspiration Behind Her AIDS Activism: 'Somebody's Got to do Something'
March 1, 2023 - By Marissa Charles - The Abbott Elementary star, who features in our Women Changing the World issue, tells PEOPLE what motivated her to create The D.I.V.A. Foundation.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is revealing the heartbreaking experiences that compelled her to start raising money and awareness for people living with HIV and AIDS.
Watch Video...
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