The program modeled on HIV screening uses opt-out screening to simplify testing and avoid bias. Medscape Medical News…

Gilead Sciences said on Wednesday it has granted royalty-free licenses to six generic drug manufacturers to make and sell cheaper copycat versions of its HIV prevention... Reuters Health Information…

BackgroundIn the Netherlands, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been available since 2019. However, the extent of PrEP use prior to HIV diagnosis and development of PrEP-resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) is not known. AimWe assessed prior PrEP use and potential transmission of PrEP RAMs among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender persons (TGP) with a new HIV diagnosis in the Netherlands. MethodsData on prior PrEP use between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022 were available from the Dutch national ATHENA cohort. We assessed proportion of prior PrEP use, detected PrEP associated RAMs and assessed potential onward transmission of RAMs between 2010 and 2022 using a maximum likelihood tree. ResultsData on prior PrEP use were available for 583/1,552 (36.3%) individuals, with 16% (94/583) reporting prior PrEP use. In 489 individuals reporting no prior PrEP use, 51.5% did not use PrEP due to: low HIV-risk perception (29%), no access (19.1%), personal preference (13.1%), and being unaware of PrEP (19.1%). For PrEP users, 13/94 (13.8%) harboured a M184V/I mutation, of whom two also harboured a K65R mutation. In people with a recent HIV infection, detection of PrEP RAMs increased from 0.23% (2/862) before 2019 to 4.11% (9/219) from 2019. We found no evidence of onward transmission of PrEP RAMs. ConclusionThe prevalence of PrEP-associated RAMs has increased since PrEP became available in the Netherlands. More widespread access to PrEP and retaining people in PrEP programmes when still at substantial risk is crucial to preventing new HIV infections. …

This report found that as of 2022, none of the 2025 U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy goals for improving quality of life among people with diagnosed HIV were met.

Background There are differences between males and females for most diseases both for exposure and course of illness, including outcome. These differences can be related to biological sex or gender i.e. socio-cultural factors that may impact exposure and healthcare access. Aim We aimed to quantify differences between males and females in infectious disease notifications in Europe and identify countries with these differences significantly different from the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) average. Methods Notifiable infectious disease surveillance data are reported by EU/EEA countries to ECDC. We retrieved surveillance data for 2012−2021. Using a cut-off median of annual disability-adjusted life years above 1 per 100,000 population, we included 16 infectious diseases. We calculated median male proportion and interquartile range by disease, year, country and age group and used boxplots to identify outliers. Results For campylobacteriosis, acute hepatitis B, Legionnaires’ disease, malaria and HIV and AIDS, all countries had male proportion above 50%. Most countries had a male proportion below 50% for pertussis (25/28 countries), STEC infection (21/28 countries) and Chlamydia trachomatis infection (16/24 countries). Chlamydia trachomatis infection and listeriosis showed the greatest dispersion of male proportion across age groups. Most outliers were countries reporting few cases. Conclusion We observed important differences in male proportion across infectious disease notifications in EU/EEA countries. For some diseases with high male proportions in all countries, such as HIV and hepatitis B, behaviours play a role in disease transmission. Screening offered to specific populations may explain differences across countries for example for C. trachomatis infection. …

The newest stem cell recipient to test negative for HIV after cancer treatment had a donor with a single — rather than double — gene mutation that is opening the donor pool in renewed cure efforts. Medscape Medical News…

BackgroundRecent migration trends have shown a notable entry of Latin American asylum seekers to Madrid, Spain. AimTo characterise the profile of asylum-seeking Latin American migrants who are living with HIV in Spain and to outline the barriers they face in accessing HIV treatment. MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted between 2022 and 2023 with a 6-month follow-up period. Latin American asylum seekers living with HIV were recruited mainly from non-governmental organisations and received care at an HIV clinic in a public hospital in Madrid. ResultsWe included 631 asylum seekers. The primary countries of origin were Colombia (30%), Venezuela (30%) and Peru (18%). The median age was 32 years (interquartile range (IQR): 28–37), and 553 (88%) were cis men of which 94% were men who have sex with men. Upon their arrival, 49% (n = 309) lacked social support, and 74% (n = 464) faced barriers when attempting to access the healthcare system. Upon entry in Europe, 500 (77%) participants were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). At their first evaluation at the HIV clinic, only 386 (61%) had continued taking ART and 33% (n = 209) had detectable plasma HIV-1 RNA levels. Six months later, 99% took ART and 98% had achieved an undetectable viral load. ConclusionsLatin American asylum seekers living with HIV in Madrid, Spain encountered barriers to healthcare and to ART. One-third of these individuals presented detectable HIV viral load when assessed in the HIV clinic, highlighting this as an important public health issue. …

Read clinically focused news coverage of key developments from AIDS 2024 Medscape HIV/AIDS…

Patients at a high risk for HIV infection who received preexposure prophylactic injections with lenacapavir had 100% efficacy in a phase 3 clinical trial. Medscape Medical News…

This report describes a CDC-funded program that delivered approximately 440,000 HIV self-tests to U.S. residents.

Between the start of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and May 2023, more than 8 million individuals have been displaced from Ukraine. Ukraine has the second-largest HIV epidemic in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. From a humanitarian and public health perspective it is critical that Ukrainian refugees living with or at risk of HIV have access to testing, treatment and healthcare in their destination country. To gain better insight on the number of refugees from Ukraine receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in destination countries, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control conducted three surveys in July 2022, November 2022 and March 2023. Among 39 countries that responded to at least one survey, 31 had information on the number of refugees from Ukraine receiving ART in their country. A total of 6,519 refugees (1.5 per 1,000 refugees) received ART, lower than previous estimates by WHO, ECDC and partners of between 0.16% and 1.0%. This discrepancy may suggest a substantial number of undiagnosed and/or diagnosed but untreated HIV infections. Improving access to healthcare for people living with HIV among refugees from Ukraine is vital to ensure quality care. …

Parents with HIV who are not on anti-retroviral therapy or who do not have adequate viral suppression should be advised against breastfeeding, the group said. MDedge News…

BackgroundIn France, lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) testing switched from universal to selective testing in 2016. AimTo investigate changes in LGV-affected populations, we performed a nationwide survey based on temporarily reinstated universal LGV testing from 2020 to 2022. MethodsEach year, during three consecutive months, laboratories voluntarily sent anorectal Chlamydia trachomatis-positive samples from men and women to the National Reference Centre for bacterial sexually transmitted infections. We collected patients’ demographic, clinical and biological data. Genovars L of C. trachomatis were detected using real-time PCR. In LGV-positive samples, the ompA gene was sequenced. ResultsIn 2020, LGV positivity was 12.7% (146/1,147), 15.2% (138/907) in 2021 and 13.3% (151/1,137) in 2022 (p > 0.05). It occurred predominantly in men who have sex with men (MSM), with rare cases among transgender women. The proportion of HIV-negative individuals was higher than that of those living with HIV. Asymptomatic rectal LGV increased from 36.1% (44/122) in 2020 to 52.4% (66/126) in 2022 (p = 0.03). Among users of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), LGV positivity was 13.8% (49/354) in 2020, 15.6% (38/244) in 2021 and 10.9% (36/331) in 2022, and up to 50% reported no anorectal symptoms. Diversity of the LGV ompA genotypes in the Paris region increased during the survey period. An unexpectedly high number of ompA genotype L1 variant was reported in 2022. ConclusionIn rectal samples from MSM in France, LGV positivity was stable, but the proportion of asymptomatic cases increased in 2022. This underscores the need of universal LGV testing and the importance of continuous surveillance. …

The cosmetic procedures took place at a spa performing microneedling facials using unsterile injection practices. Medscape Medical News…

New restrictions have been imposed by the European Medicines Agency on the coadministration of the anti-HIV drug atazanavir with a variety of other agents. Medscape Medical News…

A large study reveals an increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events but not for liver disease progression in adults with MASLD disease and HIV infection. Medscape Medical News…

This report describes an investigation of multiple HIV infections among people who received microneedling facials.

BackgroundPre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) effectively prevents HIV, but its association with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has raised concerns about risk compensation, potentially impacting the expansion of PrEP programmes. AimWe examined the relationship between PrEP and the incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis. MethodsIn this prospective cohort study, we compared STI rates before and after PrEP initiation among users in the capital region of Denmark (2019–2022), calculating incidence rate ratios adjusted for age and testing frequency (aIRR). To pinpoint when increases began, we plotted weekly STI rates, adjusting the timeline to correspond with PrEP initiation. ResultsThe study included 1,326 PrEP users with a median age of 35 years. The STI incidence rate per 100,000 person-years rose from 35.3 before to 81.2 after PrEP start, with an aIRR of 1.35 (95% CI: 1.18–1.56). Notably, this increase preceded PrEP initiation by 10–20 weeks. Specific aIRR for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis were 1.23 (95% CI: 1.03–1.48), 1.24 (95% CI: 1.04–1.47) and 1.15 (95% CI: 0.76–1.72), respectively. In subanalyses for anatomical sites aIRR was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.01–1.56) for rectal chlamydia and 0.66 (95% CI: 0.45–0.96) for genital gonorrhoea. ConclusionWe found a 35% increase in STI incidence associated with PrEP use. It started before PrEP initiation, challenging the assumption that PrEP leads to risk compensation. Instead, the data suggest that individuals seek PrEP during periods of heightened sexual risk-taking. Consequently, PrEP programmes should include sexual health consultations, STI testing, treatment and prevention strategies to prevent HIV and improve sexual health. …

This report describes trends in the initiation and completion of preventive treatment for tuberculosis in people with HIV through PEPFAR-supported programs.

BackgroundSome migrant men who have sex with men (MSM) acquire HIV in France. AimsWe investigated, in migrant MSM receiving HIV care in France, the (i) rate of post-migration-HIV acquisition in France, (ii) delay between arrival and HIV acquisition and (iii) factors affecting HIV acquisition within 1 year after migration. MethodsThis cross-sectional study focused on ≥ 18-year-old MSM born outside France, receiving HIV care in the Paris region. Information on migration history, socioeconomic condition, sexual activity, and health was collected in May 2021–June 2022 through self-administered questionnaires and medical records. Post-migration-HIV-acquisition rate and delay between arrival in France and HIV acquisition were estimated from biographical data and CD4+ T-cell counts. Predictors of HIV acquisition within 1 year after migration were determined using logistic regression. ResultsOverall post-migration HIV-acquisition rate was 61.7% (715/1,159; 95%CI: 61.2–62.2), ranging from 40.5% (95%CI: 39.6–41.6) to 85.4% (95%CI: 83.9–86.0) in participants from Latin America and North Africa. Among post-migration-HIV acquisitions, those within 1 year after migration represented 13.1% overall (95%CI: 11.6–14.6), being highest in participants from sub-Saharan Africa (25%; 95%CI: 21.5–28.3). Participants ≥ 15-years old at migration, with post-migration-acquired HIV, had a 7.5-year median interval from arrival in France to HIV acquisition (interquartile range (IQR): 3.50–14.75). Older age at arrival, region of origin (sub-Saharan Africa and Asia), degree of social disadvantage and numbers of sexual partners were independently associated with acquiring HIV within 1 year in France. ConclusionOur findings may guide HIV prevention policies for most vulnerable migrants to Europe. …

Semaglutide improved MASLD in this population, and weight loss associated with its use resulted in no significant changes in physical function, according to two presentations at CROI. Medscape Medical News…

A nurse-led multicomponent strategy significantly reduced systolic blood pressure and non-HDL cholesterol in HIV patients and should be included in HIV primary care programs. Medscape Medical News…

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday resistance to GSK\'s HIV drug dolutegravir has exceeded levels observed during its trials, citing observational and survey... Reuters Health Information…

Read clinically focused news coverage of key developments from CROI 2024 Medscape HIV/AIDS…

The last attempt in a generation of HIV vaccine development ended in disappointment, but investigators are starting over because they believe the human body can make antibodies for HIV. Medscape Medical News…