HPSC - Weekly HIV & STIs Report - Weeks 41-42, 2018
Latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show a total of 14 new cases for weeks 41-42 - 2018, with a total of 416 HIV new notifications for 2018 to date.

AIDS 2018 Follow-Up showed how far we have come, and how far we have left to go
Global Health, 11 October 2018
The Follow-Up Session to the 2018 International AIDS Conference has been hosted by the Irish Forum for Global Health, Concern, and RCSI. gathering together Irish experts from across civil society, medicine, and the development sector. The Session has shown the progress Ireland has made in fighting HIV/AIDS and how much further we have left to go.

Far more people may be using PrEP than we know, HIV prevention conference hears
Aidsmap, 24 October 2018
HIVR4P Conference 2018: Many more men who have sex with men may be using pre-exposure prophylaxis than figures from demonstration projects and national rollouts suggest.

300,000 people on PrEP globally, mostly in the USA and Africa
Aidsmap, 23 October 2018
HIVR4P Conference 2018: A global analysis shows that at least 309,525 people have started to take pre-exposure prophylaxis in 68 countries, with 71% of PrEP users in North America, while there has been an impressive scale-up of PrEP use in several African countries.

HIV Prevention Research & Development Investments, 2017: Investing to End the Epidemic
AVAC, October 2081
The 14th annual report of the Resource Tracking for HIV Prevention Research & Development Working Group documents global research and development spending for the year 2017 and analyses funding trends or previous years.

Final HIV Prevention Research Highlights from HIV R4P 2018
NIAID, 25 October 2018
HIVR4P Conference 2018: Scientists have reported progress in numerous areas of HIV prevention research. They have also highlighted the need to expand HIV prevention and treatment services among populations greatly affected by HIV. Experts also reported the added benefits of an intervention designed to facilitate treatment for HIV and injection drug use.

Vaginal rings, films, inserts or gels – it’s all about choice
Aidsmap, 26 October 2018
HIVR4P Conference 2018: There is no single HIV prevention technology which suits everyone – young African women who have tried four different vaginal products make different choices, with no one product being much more popular than the others.

How substance use affects adherence to PrEP among gay and bisexual men
Medical Express, 23 October 2018
A new research examines how drug and alcohol use interferes with HIV treatment adherence among MSM living with HIV. The study also briefly examines whether drugs and alcohol use interferes with PrEP adherence among HIV-negative MSM.

Drop in Australia HIV sparks call for greater drug roll-out
Reuters, 17 October 2018
New HIV infections among Australian gay and bisexual men fell by almost 50 percent following the mass introduction of PrEP.

Experts Confirm PrEP Is Still Most Effective Way To Prevent HIV Despite Concerns
GCN, 16 October 2018
Experts are stressing that PrEP is still the most effective way to prevent contracting HIV after a recent failure.

Do some people really want to get HIV?
Medical Xpress, 19 October 2018
Why would anybody want to get infected with HIV? Sociologist Jaime García-Iglesias has carried out a study on ‘bug-chasing’, interviewing men in the UK, US, France and Australia.

Combined treatment for smoking cessation, anxiety and depression more effective than smoking cessation alone
Aidsmap, 17 October 2018
A randomised control trial has found that an integrated cognitive-behavioural treatment approach targeting smoking cessation as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms in people with HIV is more effective than a standard smoking cessation intervention conducted in isolation.

Drug resistance accumulates fast in people with low but detectable viral loads, Kenyan study finds
Aidsmap, 22 October 2018
The study is one of the first to measure drug resistance in people on second-line regimens in a low-income setting, and the first to measure resistance at two time-points in the same individuals.

Busting the myth: PrEP is not only effective, but also safe
Gay Times, 23 October 2018
Is long-term PrEp use safe? And are its side effects reversible?

Activists’s Subversion of ‘I’m Too Sexy To Have AIDS’ Slogan Does Queer History a Disservice
Frieze, 15 October 2018
Why ACT UP activists spray-painting over artist David McDiarmid’s ‘Rainbow Aphorisms’ posters scored an own goal.

Viral suppression within three months of HIV diagnosis should be a policy target, NYC officials say
Aidsmap, 23 October 2018
US public health officials suggest that viral suppression within three months of HIV diagnosis should be added as a target to the US National HIV/AIDS Strategy. New figures show that this is a feasible target, as the proportion of people virally suppressed within three months of diagnosis increasing from 9% in 2007 to 39% in 2016.

Mother-to-child HIV infections drop by 86%
AllAfrica, 21 October 2018
The Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission program carried out by the Uganda government has achieved important results.

Beautiful U=U Campaign Aims To Educate Health Officials
HIV Plus Mag, 9 October 2018
A new social marketing campaign launched in the US by the Prevention Access Campaign called +series is helping to spread the message that Undetectable = Untransmittable.

Older HIV patients struggle with loneliness and depression — and lack of services
San Francisco Chronicle, 20 October 2018
Older people with HIV are frequently lonely and depressed, many of them face serious housing and financial hardships, and they have high rates of physical ailments, while services still fail to meet their needs.

Anal HPV-16 infection significantly more common in men who have sex with men, especially those living with HIV
Aidsmap, 15 October 2018
Anal cancer is relatively rare, affecting approximately 35,000 people each year worldwide. But previous studies have provided some evidence that anal cancer is more common in men who have sex with men and especially in those who are HIV positive.

The long tail of injectable PrEP is especially long for women
Aidsmap, 25 October 2018
Long-acting injectable PrEP has been proved effective but there are some concerns about the potential development of drug resistance.

Immunotherapy is safe and feasible in cancer patients treated for HIV, study suggests
EurekAlert!, 19 October 2018
Immunotherapy has been a major breakthrough in oncology, but little is known about its safety for HIV-positive cancer patients.


Hepatitis

Hepatitis C Notifications Quarterly Reports
HPSC, October 2018
Data for Hepatitis C notifications in Ireland, Quarters 1 and 2 – 2018.

One-time universal screening recommended to tackle increase in hepatitis C
News Medical, 17 October 02018
The US Preventive Services Task Force is currently reviewing and updating guidelines for hepatitis C, as scientists say that one-time universal screening of all adults for HCV is now cost effective and recommended.


Drugs

First ever state-funded heroin injection centre will cater for 60 addicts a day
Irish Examiner, 22 October 2018
The planned new State-funded injecting centre for chronic heroin and cocaine users in Dublin’s inner city will cater for around 60 people each day.


STIs

STI Annual Reports – 2017
HPSC, October 2018
The HPSC has published the 2017 annual epidemiological reports for ano-genital warts, non-specific urethritis, herpes simplex (genital) and trichomoniasis.

Fake STI tests sold online ‘could spread diseases like HIV’ – how to spot a dud test
The Sun, 23 October 2018
Online sexual health clinic Your Sexual Health is calling for online retailers to do more to crack down on dodgy test kits sold from overseas.

Self-lubricating condom designed to reduce infections
BBC News, 17 October 2018
Scientists say they have found a way to make self-lubricating latex condoms that become slippery on contact.