HPSC - Weekly HIV & STIs Report - Week 36 and 37, 2018
Latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show a total of 0 new cases for weeks 36 and 37 - 2018, with a total of 339 HIV new notifications for 2018 to date.
Drug-related bloodborne viruses in Ireland 2018
HPSC, 20 September 2018
This report summarises what is currently known about hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV in drug users in Ireland and about factors associated with the risk of these infections. Trends in drug use and drug treatment services are also described. The report highlights gaps in knowledge and opportunities for improvement in the way information is collected or recorded.
World AIDS Day 2018 theme encourages everyone to know their HIV status
UNAIDS, 17 September 2018
This year’s theme for World AIDS Day, which will be marking its 30th anniversary on 1 December, will be “Know your status”. Significant progress has been made but we still have to reach people living with HIV who do not know their status and ensure that they are linked to quality care and prevention services.
Do-it-yourself HIV prevention: who do men buying PrEP online get support from?
Aidsmap, 18 September 2018
According to a study in Plos One, gay men in London who source their own supply of generic PrEP drugs, usually from overseas internet pharmacies, would like more support from other PrEP users to be available. Doctors' endorsement of purchasing PrEP online was also important in convincing men of the legitimacy of the practice while many survey's participants would have much preferred the NHS to actually provide the medication.
How one drug can make sex euphoric, but also destroy lives
The Journal, 12 September 2018
Overview of the chemsex scene in Ireland.
HIV diagnoses on the rise in Galway
Connacht Tribune, 21 September 2018
Joe McDonagh, manager of the AIDS West based at Ozanam House in the city, said it was concerning that their message about safe sex was not being heeded by a whole new generation of young people.
HIV rates rise in Northern Ireland – despite falling across rest of UK
UK Independent, 10 September 2018
HIV rates have increased in Northern Ireland despite falling in every other part of the UK, but the reasons are unclear.
New HIV clinic to offer access to PrEP drug
BBC News, 11 September 2018
A new HIV prevention clinic in Northern Ireland will provide comprehensive testing for STIs and offer access to PrEP.
HIV diagnoses rising in gay men under 30, especially minorities - with rates 4 times that of over-30s who grew up during the AIDS crisis, CDC report reveals
Daily Mail, 20 September 2018
The latest US CDC report on new cases of HIV transmission indicates a growing generational divide, with the rate of new infections for under 30s four times the rate for gay men aged 30 to 50, who grew up in the HIV epidemic of the 80s and 90s.
Using social media for social good
Social CEOs, 20 September 2018
Matthew Hodson, Executive Director at NAM, talks about his involvement in HIV charity work and explains how to use social media to inform and educate about HIV while tackling the stigma attached.
Gilead to lose protections for HIV drug
Out-Law, 19 September 2018
After a new ruling issued by the High Court in London, pharmaceuticals company Gilead is set to lose important intellectual property rights for a drug used for HIV treatment, freeing other drugs companies to launch generic alternatives onto the market.
PrEP Drug Patent Overturned in UK - NAT Respond
NAT, 18 September 2018
Deborah Gold, chief executive of National AIDS Trust welcomes the court decision which overturns the patent extension for Truvada.
British MP's call for HIV prevention PrEP drugs to be made available on NHS in England
Pharmafile, 21 September 2018
Tory MP’s Crispin Blunt and Nigel Evans, and Labour MP Stephen Doughty told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that PrEP has proven cost effective during continuing trials and that it should be made available on Britain’s National Health Service.
HIV Charity has been saved from closure after Scottish Government funding U-turn
Attitude, 20 September 2018
HIV Scotland nearly had to shut its doors after losing out on vital funding earlier this year causing multiple staff lay-offs, but Public Health Minister has now revealed the government has offered the charity £231,000 over a three-year period.
H.I.V. Drugs Cost $75 in Africa, $39,000 in the U.S. Does It Matter?
New York Times, 18 September 2018
The United States is infamous for its high cost of health care — and HIV medicines are a big part of that.
US doctors’ organisation endorses event-based PrEP for the first time
Aidsmap, 19 September 2018
For the first time, a US-based professional HIV body has published guidelines endorsing event-based or so-called ‘ PrEP on-demand’ as an alternative to daily dosing.
NIH launches clinical trial to test infusions of combination antibodies in people with HIV
News Medical, 20 September 2018
A clinical trial testing infusions of combination antibodies in people living with HIV has begun at the US National Institutes of Health. The early-phase clinical trial will evaluate whether periodic infusions of two highly potent, HIV-specific, broadly neutralizing antibodies are safe in people living with HIV.
Immunotherapy shows promise as a treatment for HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma
Aidsmap, 20 September 2018
Immunotherapy may be an effective treatment for HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma, according to the results of a small US study published in Cancer Immunology Research. Two-thirds of patients experienced partial or complete remission and the malignancy remained stable in the remaining patients.
Drugs
Overwhelming evidence shows hepatitis C treatment effective for people who inject drugs
Eureka Alert, 20 September 2018
Researchers are calling on an end to discriminatory health and illicit drugs policies, based on overwhelming evidence that new hepatitis C therapies are effective at curing the virus in people who inject drugs.
Sexual Health
