HIV Ireland
NewsDesk Weekly
23 September 2016
HIV
HPSC - Weekly HIV & STIs Report - Week 37, 2016
Latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show a total of 3 new cases for week 37 - 2016, bringing the total to 381 HIV new notifications for 2016 to date.
NHS tells cancer patients they are unable to treat them because of PrEP
Pink News, 19 September 2016
NHS is blaming the cost of PrEP for a halt on the patients' procedures.
See also:
Cancer patients claim they are being refused life-saving treatment 'because the NHS is saving up to pay for a controversial HIV drug'
Daily Mail, 19 September 2016
Three patients have each been told by doctors that their treatment has been suspended to ensure there is sufficient funding for PrEP.
Dodgy kits give dodgy results
UK Gov, 13 September 2016
Every year the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency seize thousands of counterfeit and unlicensed condoms, STI test kits, and HIV self-test kits. These items are not safe as they don’t provide adequate protection and don’t give reliable tests results.
Show and Tell: How to Disclose Your HIV Status to Your Kids
The Body, Fall 2016
Most parents choose not to disclose their HIV status to their children. They are afraid to disrupt their children’s lives, and they are also afraid to be judged. But is non-disclosure the right thing to do?
New York clinic outlines how to improve uptake of PrEP by transgender people
Aidsmap, 19 September 2016
International AIDS Conference 2016: activists talk about their efforts to engage transgender people and encourage them to use PrEP, while highlighting all the social factors that need to be addressed for an effective HIV prevention among this population.
Alexis Arquette, Lady Chablis, Trans Health, and the Tabloid Response to HIV
HIV Plus Mag, 13 September 2016
HIV progression, AIDS, stigma, and healthcare inequities.
Transmasculinity: Sexual Health & HIV Prevention
The Huffington Post, 16 September 2016
Healthcare providers: best practice for dealing with gender non-conformity in clinical environment.
Yes, These Injectables Work Better Than Pills
HIV Plus Mag, 19 September 2016
A monthly injectable treatment could change the way people living with HIV manage their lives and help them keep adherence.
Four day a week ART: sub-optimal drug levels but few virological failures
I-Base, 19 September 2016
The results of a trial based on a reduced dose maintenance treatment (taking ART for just four days a week) show that ART is likely to retain viral suppression even with less than 100% adherence, therefore reassuring patients with a history of viral suppression who might occasionally miss a dose.
Is it Ethical to Pay Adolescents to Take HIV Treatment?
BMJ, 20 September 2016
Pilot study on HIV treatment of young people in developing countries and incentives for their retention in care.
Flu Season Approaches: What Do People With HIV Need to Know?
The Body, 15 September 2016
Can people living with HIV use the vaccine flu?
Inside the Fight to Make a Revolutionary HIV Medication Widely Available
Broadly – Vice, 21 September 2016
PrEP debate in UK: PrEP is not a medication for gay men only.
PrEP Use May Stunt Bone Growth in Young Men
Poz, 20 September 2016
After losing bone density during a year on PrEP, young men recouped their losses a year later but didn’t catch up with norms.
Scientists use innovative technique to identify cells that hide HIV – and kill it
IBTimes, 21 September 2016
Scientists have used a new technique to identify the cells inside which the HIV virus remains dormant, in patients treated with antiretroviral therapy. Knowing exactly where the virus is may allow them to "wake up" it up and make sure it is efficiently targeted by the immune system or by therapeutic drugs.
Hepatitis
HCV treatment is effective and may work as prevention for people who inject drugs
Aidsmap, 20 September 2016
INHSU 2016 Conference: Hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs is as safe and effective as it is for non-drug-users and treating enough of this population could reduce transmission or even bring a halt to local epidemics.
Drugs
Drug centres must be located in city centre, says junior Minister
Irish Times, 16 September 2016
Catherine Byrne, TD for Dublin South Central said she would fight to retain the Merchants Quay Ireland needle exchange and drug treatment centre in the south inner city.
Merchant’s Quay case study: ‘I walked out of prison, I went to get gear’
The Irish Times, 16 September 2016
A young man describes time in jail and his efforts to escape drug addiction.
Philippines' war on drugs affecting fight against HIV
DW, 19 September 2016
Philippines’ government is to extend its anti-drug campaign. Activists say that the crackdown could be harming HIV interventions for injecting drug users.
STIs
Noonan says scrapping VAT on condoms would not lower STI rate
Irish Times, 20 September 2016
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan says he believes eliminating VAT on condoms would not have a significant impact on sexual behaviour.
Drug-resistant STIs mean ‘if you don’t wrap it up, you’re in trouble’
Global News, 17 September 2016
Scientists say that doctors who dispense the wrong medications, people who don’t finish their prescriptions and those who don’t get tested are part of the reasons why STIs have become increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
CDC Sounds More Urgent Alarm About Emerging Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea
Poz, 21 September 2016
The CDC has issued a new warning about another new strand of Gonorrhoea recently identified.
Sex Work
FactCheck: Would a new government bill really decriminalise sex workers?
The Journal, 18 September 2016
The Irish Government has been urged to move forward with its bill to reform the law on prostitution in Ireland. Here is a review of the proposed bill and its implications.
