HPSC - Weekly HIV & STIs Report – Week 46, 2018
Latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show a total of 5 new cases for week 46 - 2018, with a total of 459 HIV new notifications for 2018 to date.

Panti To Host Event Marking 30 Years Of World AIDS Day
GCN, 19 November 2018
GCN Magazine and HIV Ireland present ‘The Legacy of AIDS activism in Ireland’, a special event and fundraiser marking 30 years of World AIDS Day and 30 years of HIV activism in Ireland. Panti Bliss and Professor Fiona Mulcahy will discuss the new challenges currently faced by HIV activism in Ireland.

Inequalities in HIV testing uptake and needs among men who have sex with men living in Ireland: findings from an internet survey
Wiley Library Online, November 2018
This study examines the current situation of HIV testing among MSM living in Ireland in order to improve prevention and testing initiatives.

Why we should no longer talk about ‘disclosing’ our HIV status
Avert, 15 November 2018
“I believe the word ‘disclosure’ and its connotations of dark secrets, to be deeply stigmatising and one of the last few, clumsy expressions remaining from the early days of the HIV response”.

Jackie Morton – Disclosure? No exposure!
EATG, 17 November 2018
“Sharing your HIV status ought to be a personal choice in every case”. Story of a woman whose family life has been disrupted by a non-consensual and inappropriate disclosure of her HIV status to her sons during a hospital emergency.

HIV speed dating comes to London
Gay Star News, 15 November 2018
ACT UP London has organised a HIV Blind Date theatre show and HIV Speed Dating event for World AIDS Day to help combat the stigma still existing around the virus.

Stigma Experience - hello gorgeous
Youtube, 20 November 2018
The Stigma Experience is an immersive installation to experience what is the stigma around HIV. It was developed by Hello Gorgeous for the AIDS 2018 conference in Amsterdam.
See also:
‘The Stigma Experience’ Made Me Relive My HIV Test. It Wrecked Me.
My Fabulous Disease, 20 November 2018

Task Force Calls for Offering PrEP to All at High Risk for H.I.V.
The New York Times, 20 November 2018
The United States Preventive Services Task Force has drafted recommendation urging health professionals to offer PrEP to all patients at risk for HIV, including people who inject drugs.

Two cases of HIV transmission through breastfeeding in mothers with undetectable viral load reported
Aidsmap, 20 November 2081
Two cases of HIV transmission from mother to infant during the breastfeeding period when mothers had an undetectable viral load have been reported by PROMISE, a large international study of the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment in preventing vertical HIV transmission.

Viral suppression key to preventing mother-to-child transmission, but food insecurity, TB and STIs may also be risk factors
Aidsmap, 21 November 2018
Reducing maternal viral load during pregnancy is the most important factor in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Other risk factors can include insufficient food, a recent STI, and a history of diseases associated with immune suppression.

HIV rates lower in states that target intimate partner violence
Yale Public School of Health, 16 November 2018
A recent study carried out in the US by the Yale School of Public Health shows that States that aggressively target intimate partner violence in their health care systems have lower rates of HIV infection among women.

Life expectancies close to 80 years for young people starting HIV meds early
Beta Blog, 14 November 2018
Results from a study reviewing data from European and North American cohorts of people living with HIV show that - for a young person starting early treatment - the life expectancy can be around 78 years - near to the expected life expectancy of the general population.
 

Hepatitis

PHE and NHSE launch national drive to trace hepatitis C patients
Public Health England, 21 November 2018
Public Health England and NHS England have launched a national exercise to identify and treat patients who have been previously diagnosed with hepatitis C. Even though effective medications have been developed for hepatitis C, still many people who were diagnosed in the past have not accessed treatment, especially people who inject drugs.