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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - January 2023
Scientists Document Two Separate Reservoirs of Latent HIV in Patients
CHAPEL HILL, NC - January 30, 2023 - This research, led by UNC School of Medicine scientists Laura Kincer, Sarah Joseph, PhD, and Ron Swanstrom, PhD, with international collaborators, shows that in addition to HIV’s ability to lay dormant in the blood/lymphoid system, the virus may also lay dormant in the central nervous system, delineating another challenge in creating a cure.
When people living with HIV take antiviral therapy (ART), their viral loads are driven so low that a standard blood test cannot detect the virus. However, once ART is stopped, detectable HIV re-emerges with new cells getting infected. This is called “rebound” virus, and the cells that release the virus to re-ignite the infection come from a small population of HIV-infected CD4+ T cells that had remained dormant in blood and lymph tissue while individuals were on ART.
Adam Lambert’s poignant new film looks back on the AIDS crisis in San Francisco
Jan. 30, 2023 - Charlie Duncan - Sundance hit Fairyland follows a family living through a pivotal time for the LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco, and its star Adam Lambert has opened up about putting queer stories in the spotlight.
Fairyland is based on Alysia Abbott’s 2013 memoir Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father, and follows Alysia’s (Emilia Jones) childhood as she is raised by her father Steve (Scoot McNairy), a poet and activist who comes out as gay. She discovers a beautiful world of artists and writers, but also the effects of the AIDS crisis when people around her contract the virus to which her father also falls victim.
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'COVID is not done,' Canadian infectious disease expert says ahead of WHO announcement
Jan. 29, 2023 - Mitchell Consky - As RSV and flu cases steadily decline in Canada, the World Health Organization (WHO) is set to announce on Monday whether it still considers COVID-19 a global health emergency.
Ahead of that announcement, one of Canada’s top infectious disease specialists warns that the WHO’s consensus won’t necessarily mean the virus is behind us.
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The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Celebrates 20 Years of Unprecedented Global Impact in the Fight to End HIV/AIDS
JANUARY 28, 2023 - Today, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) celebrates its 20th anniversary, while honoring the 25 million lives that have been saved worldwide in the fight to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat.
On Jan. 28, 2003, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of PEPFAR during the State of the Union Address, leveraging years of HIV/AIDS research, coordinated humanitarian effort, bipartisan support from Congress, and engagement from community and faith-based organizations, and the private sector to create an unprecedented response to a global health crisis.
Statement from President Joe Biden on the 20th Anniversary of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
JANUARY 28, 2023 - Twenty years ago today, President George W. Bush declared that preventing and treating HIV/AIDS was a foreign policy priority of the United States. At a time when nearly 30 million people were HIV positive, but very few were receiving life-saving medicines, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) transformed the global AIDS response and laid a marker for America’s commitment to countries that were impacted the hardest by the AIDS epidemic. Helping lead the bipartisan effort in Congress to authorize PEPFAR is among my proudest achievements from my time in the Senate. To this day, PEPFAR remains a powerful example of America’s unmatched ability to drive progress and make life better for people around the world.
Children Denied Same Access to Treatment for HIV/AIDS as Adults
Geneva - January 28, 2023 - Lisa Schlein - The U.N.’s main AIDS program says thousands of children are dying from HIV/AIDS because, unlike adults, they do not receive treatment for the deadly disease.
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STATEMENT: Lambda Legal on FDA Blood Ban Changes: A Welcomed Huge Step Forward, Yet Further Work Needed
(New York, NY – January 27, 2023) - Lambda Legal responded today to new draft recommendations by the FDA on blood donation policies proposing changes to time-based deferrals in assessing blood donor eligibility, including a gender-inclusive approach and individual risk-based screening processes to reduce the risk of HIV transmission through blood transfusion. These recommendations are not final and will undergo a rulemaking process with a 60-day comment period to gather input and recommendations. In response to the FDA's proposed draft guidance, Lambda Legal HIV Project Director Jose Abrigo released the following statement:”
FDA Proposes Individual Risk Assessment for Blood Donations, While Continuing to Safeguard U.S. Blood Supply
January 27, 2023 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is proposing a change from time-based deferrals to assessing blood donor eligibility using gender-inclusive, individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV. This proposal is in line with policies in place in countries like the United Kingdom and Canada.
Passports and privilege: what does the future hold for global HIV conferences?
27 January 2023 - Laura López González - Visa issues prevented scores of scientists and activists from attending last year’s International AIDS Conference in Montréal after the Canadian government allegedly failed to fulfill commitments to fast-track applications. Now, the International AIDS Society (IAS) is changing how host cities are selected, but it may take radical transparency to help make more equitable access a reality.
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Remembering Our Past While Aiming to Do Better in the Future
January 26, 2023 - by Joe MacDonald - A columnist encourages readers to let go of prejudice and practice more kindness
As I reflect on our current social crises, I’m reminded of some of the darkest days in the history of the bleeding disorders community. In the 1980s and early ’90s, we experienced a period known as the “hemophilia holocaust.” The HIV/AIDS epidemic was spreading like wildfire, and many people had no idea how the disease was transmitted. Could a person get sick simply by touching the skin of someone infected with HIV? Unfortunately, because the disease disproportionately affected gay men, many televangelists passed it off as a moral issue, a “punishment.” They, in their ignorance, fanned the flames of hatred and mistrust.
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NACA blames rise in HIV/AIDS death on failure to take medication
26 January 2023 - By Nkechi Onyedika-Ugoeze, Abuja - The Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu, has said failure to take medication is responsible for the number of deaths the country is recording now from Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
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23 years of WHO Disease Outbreak News reports reveal how global threats posed by disease outbreaks have shifted over time
January 25, 2023 - The World Health Organization (WHO) notifies the global community about disease outbreaks through the Disease Outbreak News (DON). These online reports tell important stories about both outbreaks themselves and the high-level decision making that governs information sharing during public health emergencies.
Lies About Dr. Fauci and Magic Johnson’s HIV Diagnosis Spread Online
JANUARY 25 2023 - By Andrew J. Stillman - A false claim making the rounds targets the sports legend and the former chief medical advisor to the president.
Ever since basketball icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson came forward with his HIV status in November 1991, he has shared that he contracted the virus through unprotected sex. When he initially revealed his status in an article for Sports Illustrated, he wrote, “I am certain that I was infected by having unprotected sex with a woman who has the virus. The problem is that I can’t pinpoint the time, the place or the woman. It’s a matter of numbers.”
Recently, social media users have spread a video claiming that contaminated hepatitis B vaccines from a study run by Dr. Anthony Fauci decades ago was the actual cause of his diagnosis.
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Thank you!
24 January 2023 - Laura Jardine - As we welcome 2023, we want to say thank you to everyone who has supported NAM aidsmap and our work over the past 12 months, helping to ensure people living with and at risk of HIV are empowered to lead longer, happier and healthier lives.
In 2022, we celebrated NAM's 35th anniversary with an aidsmapCHAT anniversary special. We also took the opportunity to reflect on our incredible journey from the first National AIDS Manual in 1987, to today, where our independent, accurate, and accessible information about HIV reaches millions of people every year through our website, email bulletins, information leaflets, and broadcasts and videos.
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Grassroots AIDS activists fought for and won affordable HIV treatments around the world – but PEPFAR didn’t change governments and pharma
January 24, 2023 - Dan Royles - The President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, has revolutionized the fight against global AIDS over the last 20 years. In that time, the U.S. program has brought antiretroviral treatment to nearly 19 million people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; prevented mother-to-child transmission of HIV for 2.8 million babies; and brought HIV testing and prevention services to millions of others.
But this program would not be so successful – and might not even exist – without the work of grassroots AIDS activists around the world.
Research Assessing Bone Quality and Marrow Adiposity in People Living with HIV
January 23, 2023 - People living with HIV (PLWH) have increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures. As PLWH live longer through effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) we see that HIV-related bone loss is superimposed upon age-related bone loss, resulting in up to four-fold higher annual rates of fragility fracture in PLWH than in the general population.
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The end of the Mosaico vaccine trial must be a spur to deliver HIV treatment and prevention options to all who need them says UNAIDS
GENEVA, 23 January 2023 - The end of the Mosaico HIV vaccine trial must lead to a continued drive to innovate as well as an urgency to ensure that proven HIV prevention and treatment options reach all who need them, says UNAIDS. Rapid progress against the HIV pandemic is possible if existing prevention and treatment options are made available through the sharing of technologies, expanding provision, and tackling barriers to access. The development, and sharing, of long-acting prevention and treatment options are also important to expand coverage.
Russia: HIV-positive teens refusing treatment
January 21, 2023 - By Irina Chevtayeva - Russian teenagers who are HIV-positive face discrimination and serious psychological stress. Quite a few, however, are ditching the medicine they desperately need to keep their infections in check.
"When the three of us were between 7 and 8 years old, our adoptive mother said she had to tell us two secrets," 18-year-old Marina Nikitina recalls. "The first was that we had been adopted. The second, she said, would be revealed when we are grown-ups."
Then, as adults, they learned they were HIV-positive. "Until age 7, we were given some bitter syrup three times a day and five to six pills to swallow; later, we were allowed to take just one pill," Nikitina says.
Watch Elizabeth Taylor Speak at First Major AIDS Benefit in New Documentary ‘Commitment to Life’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Jan 20, 2023 - By Marc Malkin - “Commitment to Life,” a new documentary about the early days of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles, will have its world premiere next month at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Until then, Variety has the exclusive first look at the doc.
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Letter: Tennessee tried to remove Planned Parenthood from program before HIV grant cut
Jan 20, 2023 - Micaela A Watts
Corinne S Kennedy - A letter from an attorney representing Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi outlines steps the state took to void a decade-long partnership in which Planned Parenthood received grant funding through the state for HIV-related services, namely condom distribution and HIV testing in Memphis.
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Tennessee says it's cutting federal HIV funding. Will other states follow?
Jan 20, 2023 - By Erika Edwards - The Tennessee Department of Health says it will no longer accept federal grant money to prevent or treat HIV. Experts worry the state has set itself up for a major outbreak.
Health officials in Tennessee say they will reject federal funding for groups that provide services to residents living with HIV.
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Wistar Institute HIV Researchers Win Grant to Explore Genetically Engineered Natural Killer Cells as HIV Therapy
PHILADELPHIA — (Jan. 19, 2023) - amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, has awarded Luis J. Montaner, D.V.M., D.Phil., in collaboration with Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, Ph.D., a Target Grant for $397,663 over two years. Montaner, who leads The Wistar Institute’s HIV Research Program, is studying the ability of a type of immune cell known as natural killer (NK) cells to kill HIV-infected cells.
Closure of HIV vaccine study shows how far we have to go
19 January 2023 - Gus Cairns - Janssen pharmaceuticals, the research branch of Johnson & Johnson, said yesterday that they were "disappointed" that the latest HIV candidate vaccine, and the only one left in a phase III efficacy trial, had failed to reach pre-specified standards of efficacy. For this reason, they had terminated the Mosaico Study, which gave the vaccine or a placebo to 3,900 cis and trans gay and bisexual men and trans women in the Americas and Europe.
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Janssen and Global Partners to Discontinue Phase 3 Mosaico HIV Vaccine Clinical Trial
LEIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS, (January 18, 2023) - Independent, scheduled review of Phase 3 Mosaico study finds investigational vaccine regimen lacks efficacy in preventing HIV
No vaccine-related safety issues identified
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, together with a consortium of global partners, today announced the results of an independent, scheduled data review of the Phase 3 Mosaico study (also known as HPX3002/HVTN706) of Janssen’s investigational HIV vaccine regimen. The study’s independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) determined that the regimen was not effective in preventing HIV infection compared to placebo among study participants. No safety issues with the vaccine regimen were identified.
The Only H.I.V. Vaccine in Advanced Trials Has Failed. What Now?
Jan. 18, 2023 - By Apoorva Mandavilli - Janssen Pharmaceuticals ended a global trial after independent experts determined the vaccine was not effective. But there are other possibilities in the pipeline, scientists said.
The only vaccine against H.I.V. still being tested in late-stage clinical trials has proved ineffective, its manufacturer announced on Wednesday, another disappointment in a field long beset by failure.
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Researchers Identify How HIV/Hepatitis Drug Harms the Kidneys
JRockville, Md. (January 17, 2023) - Imaging and metabolic profiling techniques show reduction in protein activity
A first-of-its-kind study identifies mechanisms that explain how a drug commonly used to treat HIV and hepatitis causes kidney disease and kidney injury. The study is published ahead of print in Function.
Global Push to Treat H.I.V. Leaves Children Behind
Jan. 17, 2023 - By Stephanie Nolen - Sub-Saharan Africa has made steady progress in delivering lifesaving medication to adults, but young patients are harder to reach and 100,000 are dying of AIDS each year
The stories the mothers tell when they gather at the Awendo Health Centre in western Kenya are a catalog of small failures, missed opportunities and devastating consequences. What unites the two dozen or so women who meet periodically, on wooden benches in a bare clinic room or under a tree in the courtyard, is their children: All have H.I.V.
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Rapid cognitive decline uncommon in ageing people with HIV on stable treatment: study
16 JAN 2023 - LILLY MATSON - As with all chronic conditions, a focus on cognitive and mental health should be part of ongoing care.
With successful treatment, HIV has become a chronic health condition which can be managed with life-long care.
Treatment reduces the amounts of HIV in the blood to an undetectable level and most people with the infection who take their medication live as long as people without HIV.
Abused women more likely to contract HIV: McGill study
Jan. 15, 2023 - A McGill University study has found that women who are victims of domestic violence are three times more likely to contract the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
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Anthony Fauci Encourages SMHS Students to Embrace Opportunities
JANUARY 13, 2023 | Authored by: Thomas Kohout - In his final public address as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci offered career lessons during the Ninth Annual GW Clinical Public Health Summit on HIV.
Anthony S. Fauci, in his last official speaking appearance as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), told first-year students at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences to follow their passions and to follow the science.
False claims circulate about Magic Johnson’s HIV diagnosis
Jan 13, 2023 - By PHILIP MARCELO - CLAIM: Magic Johnson contracted HIV from a contaminated Hepatitis B vaccine as part of a study run by Dr. Anthony Fauci decades ago.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The Lakers legend has said he believes he contracted the virus from unprotected sex. Johnson didn’t comment on the latest claims, but in the past has credited Fauci, who had been a leading researcher when AIDS first emerged, with helping him cope with his diagnosis, which prompted him to retire from the NBA.
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R.I.P. Carole Cook, Longtime Actress and AIDS Advocate
January 13, 2023 - By Trent Straube - A TV, film and stage star—she played the handsy grandma in “Sixteen Candles”—Carole Cook also championed HIV and LGBTQ causes.
Actress Carole Cook’s career spanned over half a century—including memorable roles on TV, in film and onstage—and for much of that time, she used her skills and connections to advocate raise funds for HIV and AIDS causes and champion LGBTQ equality. She died January 11, of heart failure, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 98.
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ECDC ASSESSES RISK TO THE EU/EEA ASSOCIATED WITH OMICRON XBB1.5 SUB-LINEAGE
Stockholm, 13/01/2023: In a Threat Assessment Brief released today, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) assesses the overall level of risk to the EU/EEA associated with the spread of the Omicron XBB.1.5 SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineage as low for the general population. The risk is moderate to high for vulnerable individuals such as the elderly and non-vaccinated and immunocompromised people, depending on their immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Several knowledge gaps exist with XBB.1.5 and this assessment may change in the coming weeks as more evidence becomes available.
AIDS Denialism Is Still Deadly in 2023
Jan. 13, 2023 - Jason Rosenberg - As we approach the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with shifts in social media moderation, many of us continue to confront science denialism and misinformation daily. While the dangers of misinformation may be new to some, it’s nothing new to HIV/AIDS advocates, who see it as a long-existing barrier to ending the epidemic.
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Be An Ally For PLHIV This New Year
Jauary 12, 2022 - We talk to activist Christian Hui and Dr. Mona Loutfy about how Canadians can be allies and support the community of those living with HIV
When it comes to public awareness of HIV in Canada, there are significant gaps in knowledge, most notably on the impact of prescribed medications on transmission, as well as the impact of HIV on a person’s lifespan. According to HIV Perceptions in Canada, a recent nationwide Opinium Research survey commissioned by ViiV Healthcare, only two in 10 Canadians (21%) were aware that HIV cannot be sexually transmitted if the person with HIV is taking their medication as prescribed and they have suppressed the replication of HIV in their blood and almost half of Canadians (49%) mistakenly believe that a person living with HIV will have a shorter lifespan on average, even if they are on effective treatment. These are just two examples of the limited understanding of the effects of prescribed treatment and undetectable status.
Minister Steve Pieters endured the AIDS crisis. He’s a beacon of faith battling new virus
Jan 12, 2023 - BY HEIDI PÉREZ-MORENO - Minutes before KABC-TV’s nightly news show “330” went on the air, the Rev. Steven Pieters wasn’t in the studio chatting with the other panelists. He’d been exiled outside, to a dark alley next to the AIDS Project Los Angeles office in Hollywood.
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Two OHIO faculty take home awards for work in HIV prevention
Jauary 11, 2022 - Two Ohio University faculty members received awards in recognition for their work aimed at preventing and reducing stigma around HIV from Graphic Design USA and the 2022 Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, also known as the Davey Awards.
Caroline Kingori, associate professor of community and public health, and Adonis Durado, assistant professor in the School of Visual Communication, as well as core members of the Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab, were awarded the Designing for Good category from Graphic Design USA and the silver award in the General Health and Fitness category from the Davey Awards for their choose-your-own-adventure film intervention “DatingForward,” which aims to reduce HIV stigma and increase engagement in HIV prevention among immigrant and refugee youth ages 18-25 in Columbus. The project was funded by the Columbus Foundation.
Paving the way toward a cure? Study reports new insights into role of proteins in HIV latency
January 10, 2023 - By David McFadden - Research led by Dr. Marc-André Langlois describes an against-the-grain discovery that could show the way forward for HIV cure research.
Understanding HIV latency at the molecular level is crucial for efforts to eliminate the viral scourge that causes AIDS. Latent infected cell reservoirs—where the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) hides and persists in the bodies of infected patients in a kind of silent standby mode—are the reason why antiretroviral treatments never wipe out the virus.
In a nutshell, these latent reservoirs of HIV act as the biggest obstacle to curing the disease.
Western research leads to new understanding of how HIV hides itself in the body
January 10, 2023 - By Prabhjot Sohal - Identifying a specific protein's role in HIV latency may lead to more effective therapies
When the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects a person’s body, it permanently inserts its genetic material into the genome where it often remains dormant and barely detectable for years. A major obstacle in finding a cure for HIV has been solving the mystery of how this dormant pool of HIV-infected cells, also called HIV latency, is established.
A new joint study led by Western researcher Stephen Barr and University of Ottawa’s Marc-André Langlois has identified a new function of a virus-fighting protein called APOBEC3 (A3) in the integration process of HIV in the human genome.
More Evidence COVID Vaccines Work Well for People With HIV
January 10, 2023 - By Liz Highleyman - People with suppressed HIV respond well to mRNA vaccines, but individuals with a low CD4 count may not be adequately protected.
People living with HIV generally respond well to COVID-19 vaccines—especially if they receive booster shots—thereby dramatically reducing their risk of severe illness and death, according to several recent studies. But those with poorly controlled HIV or advanced immune suppression may not fare as well, underlining the importance of antiretroviral treatment.
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HIV remains a leading killer in Africa despite medical breakthroughs – how to eliminate it
January 8, 2022 - Salim Abdool Karim - About 38 million people around the world are living with HIV. About 70% of them live in Africa. This shows that there is no solution to the AIDS pandemic without a solution in Africa. In 2021, there were 1.5 million new cases of HIV – just over 4,000 cases per day around the world. At the same time, close to 700,000 people died. The big challenge is to address the dual realities of people still dying from HIV in large numbers, and the large numbers of new infections. The upside is that there is a clear plan with clear goals on how to address this. In 2016, countries came together at the United Nations to agree on what the world’s strategy should be. The goal is to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. We spoke with leading scientist Professor Salim Abdool Karim about how to close the gaps.
From the Archives: San Diego banned AIDS discrimination 35 years ago
January 6, 2023 - BY MERRIE MONTEAGUDO - In January 1988, County Board of Supervisors adopted a wide-ranging proposal banning discrimination in against anyone who has HIV/AIDS. The City Council approved a similar anti-discrimination measure the following month. San Diego had been the only major urban area in the state without such an ordinance.
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HIV rates more than double in past year as STI cases rise, latest data shows
Jan 6, 2023 - Mark Hilliard - Trend follows concerns Covid-19 restrictions hampered testing services and ability of people to present themselves
HIV rates more than doubled in Ireland over the last year, according to statistics published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
The body responsible for tracking rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has reported that for the first 51 weeks of the year, cases across nine disease types had risen by 56 per cent.
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Fact check: Research proves HIV is the cause of AIDS, contrary to viral claim
Jan 6, 2023 - Molly Stellino - The claim: There is no proof HIV is the cause of AIDS
A Dec. 15 Facebook video shows Kary Mullis, a scientist known for denying the link between HIV and AIDS, claiming again there is no proof HIV is the cause of AIDS.
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Remembering the AIDS Crisis and My Lost Friends
Jan. 6, 2023 - Roberta Pikser - Some people will tell you that the AIDS crisis is over or that there is no reason to care about what happened 40 years ago. But HIV-the virus that causes AIDS when left untreated-is still very present.
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HIV-negative men with HIV-positive partners talk love, sex and stigma
January 6, 2023 - By David Hudson - Effective medication means people living with HIV can confidently expect to live a near-normal lifespan. When the virus is suppressed to an undetectable level, it also means they cannot pass it on.
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Fact check: Research proves HIV is the cause of AIDS, contrary to viral claim
Jan 6, 2023 - Molly Stellino - The claim: There is no proof HIV is the cause of AIDS
A Dec. 15 Facebook video shows Kary Mullis, a scientist known for denying the link between HIV and AIDS, claiming again there is no proof HIV is the cause of AIDS.
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A doctor's plea for a safe consumption site for Kenora as it deals with spike in HIV/AIDS
Jan 6, 2023 - Sarah Law - More cases of HIV/AIDS in northwestern Ontario city in last 12 months than in last 8 years: NWHU
More cases of HIV/AIDS have been reported in Kenora, Ont., in the last 12 months than in the last eight years, and a doctor practising in the community says a safe consumption site is needed to help address the issue.
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Women experiencing intimate partner violence three times more likely to contract HIV
5 JAN 2023 - McGill researchers call for an end to gender-based violence to curtail new HIV infections
Women who experience recent intimate partner violence (IPV) are three times more likely to contract HIV, according to a new study led by McGill University researchers. In regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, women face an intersecting epidemic of intimate partner violence and HIV.
“Worldwide, more than one in four women experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime," says McGill University Professor Mathieu Maheu-Giroux, a Canada Research Chair in Population Health Modeling.
North Manchester General Hospital joins UK RIO study: long-acting immune-based treatment for HIV
January 5, 2023 - Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) has just enrolled the first participants in a new HIV study using long-acting immune-based therapy.
The RIO clinical trial is testing whether broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs) can keep HIV under control, without antiretroviral treatment (ART), maybe for six months or longer.
Mission Bio’s Tapestri® Platform Used to Identify Hidden HIV-infected Cells in Nature Paper
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 5, 2023 - New publication from Ragon Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers use Tapestri®’s unique single-cell DNA and multi-omics capabilities to identify surface marker signatures in latent HIV reservoirs that could lead to new treatment approaches
Mission Bio, the pioneer in high-throughput single-cell DNA and multi-omics analysis, announced a new publication in Nature from researchers at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital using Mission Bio’s Tapestri® Platform to identify phenotypic signatures of hidden human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1)-infected immune cells that allow the virus to evade immune response. The team utilized Tapestri®’s proteogenomics capabilities to detect HIV DNA and corresponding surface markers on patients’ memory CD4+ T cells for the first time, as well as to develop a fingerprint for latent infection that may guide new treatment approaches.
Infectious disease expert Edwards ends storied career
Jan. 5, 2023 - by Nancy Humphrey - Kathryn Edwards, MD, an internationally recognized Vanderbilt University Medical Center physician who has made countless contributions to vaccine evaluation and implementation, public health advocacy, and the mentorship and training of new generations of experts in infectious disease over the past four decades, retired on Dec. 31, 2022.
UH Researchers Helping Black Smokers with HIV
January 4, 2023 - by Alison Medley - Lorra Garey Awarded $1.3M Grant from National Institute on Drug Abuse
HIV remains a critical global public health issue and a significant threat to global health security after having claimed more than 40 million lives, according to the World Health Organization. The stark reality is that one in five of the more than one million people living with HIV in the U.S. is unaware of his or her infection, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported.
Even amid recent strides to end HIV, the most concerning aspects about the treatment of the virus include the wide disparities among Black and Latino Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 13% of Black Americans with HIV still do not know their status. Additionally, Black and Latino Americans are less likely to be virally suppressed than adults from other racial groups who have HIV.
Kenora facing an HIV crisis, health care professionals say
Jan 4, 2023 - Eric Shih - Kenora is facing an HIV crisis, according to local health care professionals.
Fifteen people in Kenora have tested positive for HIV in the past nine months, said Dr. Jonny Grek,, a physician who spoke at a public meeting on community safety last week.
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A new course examines scientific and cultural representations of disease
JANUARY 3, 2023 - BY TARA ROBERTS - Students in the interdisciplinary course Pathogens and Populations: Representing Infectious Disease explored the process of translating scientific information into art and identified what gets lost in translation.
One student knitted an illustration of exponential growth. Another made digital art comparing typical physical symptoms of leprosy to an exaggerated depiction reflecting the social stigma of the disease. Students in Alex Sherman and Mallory Harris’s Pathogens and Populations: Representing Infectious Disease course at Stanford created screenplays and sculptures, poems and political cartoons, all exploring how to translate scientific information into art – and learning the limits of translation.
Ensure free food and medical treatment to below poverty line HIV/AIDS patients: Delhi HC to Govt
January 3, 2023 - The high court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea moved by various homeless and displaced persons suffering from HIV/AIDS as well as other multiple disabilities and ailments.
The Delhi High Court recently asked the Delhi Government to ensure free food and medical treatment to HIV/AIDS patients who are “below the poverty line and are unable to afford the same”.
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Non-AIDS cancers on the rise among people with HIV in South Africa
2 January 2023 - Keith Alcorn - Cancers not related to HIV or infections are becoming more common in people with HIV in South Africa as they live longer, according to a study of 5.2 million people published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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New Initiative Honors People of Color Lost to HIV
JANUARY 02 2023 - By Desirée Guerrero - "Change the Pattern" is weaving the memory of Black and brown people into the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Fifty-two percent of all HIV diagnoses occur in the American South. The HIV epidemic continues to disproportionately affect people of color in Alabama — where Black folks are more than seven times as likely to be diagnosed with HIV than white people, and five times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than Latinx individuals. The Black community comprises only 26.5 percent of Alabama’s total population, however, accounts for a staggering 71.8 percent of new HIV cases. It’s also estimated that one in every six people living with the virus in the state are not even aware of their status.
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France offers free condoms to young people and free emergency contraception to all women
January 2, 2023 - By Inke Kappeler and Joseph Ataman, CNN - Free condoms are now available to young people under the age of 26 at French pharmacies as part of what French President Emmanuel Macron has called “a small revolution in preventative healthcare.”
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LGBTQ+ AND HIV/AIDS ACTIVIST NICHOLAS SNOW CONTINUES BROADCASTING PROMOHOMO.TV®—AN ONLINE TV NETWORK BASED IN HIS BEDROOM!
Jan. 1, 2022 - by Nicholas Snow - What began as Facebook Live broadcasts in 2016 has evolved into a full-fledged online television network with multiple broadcast television-style series created for a global audience, streaming to hundreds of thousands of viewers on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and at www.PromoHomo.TV
Almost a year ago on an unseasonably cold and windy night in Palm Springs, California, a crowd of big-hearted philanthropists, community leaders, politicians, healthcare providers and others gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the second affordable housing complex on the campus of DAP Health, “the Coachella Valley’s primary not-for-profit resource for those living with, affected by, or at-risk for HIV or AIDS.”
Hepatitis C is a slow-moving killer that can be stopped. What’s getting in the way?
JAN. 1, 2023 - BY EMILY ALPERT REYES - Michael Mendez said that when learned he had hepatitis C, “I didn’t even know what it was.”
Mendez, 47, had been homeless for years in Los Angeles, and said he hadn’t gone to a doctor the entire time he was living on the streets. When Mendez got a roof over his head, at the Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village, he decided to stop at the UCLA Health mobile clinic that rolled weekly to the Highland Park site — and soon learned about the infection that could jeopardize his life.
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Bono Region has highest HIV infection rate in Ghana
Jan 1, 2023 - Dr Kofi Amo-Kodieh, the Bono Regional Director of Health Services has advised the youth in the region to avoid unprotected sex in order not to contract HIV.
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