Notifications of HIV & STIs reported in Ireland – Week 17, 2020
Health Protection Surveillance Centre, 30 April 2020
Latest weekly report from the HPSC shows that 202 HIV notifications have been reported in Ireland to date in 2020.

Notifications of HIV & STIs reported in Ireland – Week 16, 2020
Health Protection Surveillance Centre, 23 April 2020
Latest weekly report from the HPSC shows that 198 HIV notifications have been reported in Ireland to date in 2020.

EACS & BHIVA Statement on risk of COVID-19 for people living with HIV (PLWH)
EACS, 30 April 2020
The first case series of HIV-patients with COVID-19 have been published. So far there is no evidence for a higher COVID-19 infection rate or different disease course in people living with HIV than in HIV-negative people.

How Many People With HIV Are Getting COVID-19?
POZ, 24 April 2020
Four months into the global COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, people living with HIV continue to ask about their risk for acquiring the virus and developing severe illness.

Lockdown ‘has broken the HIV chain’, says leading sexual health clinic
Pink News,1 May 2020
56 Dean Street Clinic claims that HIV transmission has dropped significantly with lockdown breaking the chain of new cases.

Service Members With HIV Have Very High Viral Suppression Rate
POZ, 27 April 2020
An analysis of the US Department of Defense’s model of HIV care found that almost all active members of the military who are living with the virus have an undetectable viral load.

COVID-19 rapidly reshaping HIV services around the world
Aidsmap, 27 April 2020
Leading HIV clinicians from around the world have given insight into HIV service provision during the COVID-19 pandemic at two recent International AIDS Society webinars. Despite varied contexts and constraints, the pandemic has highlighted many similarities between countries regarding challenges and successes in HIV service provision.

Stigma and negativity from within the community increases HIV risk-taking by gay men
Aidsmap, 30 April 2020
Stress levels and sexual risk-taking in gay men are at least as much influenced by stigma and rejection by other gay men as they are by stigma and discrimination by the non-gay community.

As COVID-19 rages on, experts warn of a silent resurgence in HIV
Action News, 29 April 2020
While US public health experts are focused on clamping down COVID-19 infections, the ongoing HIV epidemic has faded into the background. Now, some experts are concerned that a silent HIV outbreak may be brewing.

Demand for coronavirus tests raises concerns over HIV and malaria
The Guardian, 1 May 2020
There are fears that the rush to supply wealthier countries pressing for more tests may destabilise the fight against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, illnesses that kill millions, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.

Una Mullally: The rhymes between HIV/Aids and Covid-19 are multiple
The Irish Times, 27 April 2020
The metaphors used to give meaning in both pandemics are strangely similar.

Limitations on blood donations for gay and bisexual men relaxed in Northern Ireland
GCN, 29 April 2020
The one year abstinence period for blood donations by gay and bisexual men in Northern Ireland will be reduced to three months on June 1.

The UK’s first-ever openly HIV positive mayor, Philip Normal, has been elected in Lambeth, South London.
Pink News, 28 April 2020
Normal has pledged to support LGBT+ rights and de-stigmatise living with HIV.
 
Louisiana Sheriff’s Office Agrees to Pay $90,000 to Sheriff’s Deputy Candidate Denied Offer Due to His HIV Status
Lambda Legal, 21 April 2020
A former police officer in Louisiana will get a $90,000 settlement after he was denied a job as a sheriff’s deputy when he revealed that he was HIV-positive.

Deportation of man with HIV to Zimbabwe blocked by UK Supreme Court
BBC News, 29 April 2020
The offender has fought deportation for 14 years and won the reprieve after a decision in a similar case at the European Court of Human Rights.

Man who 'recklessly' infected three women with HIV jailed for eight years
Sky News, 29 April 2020
The man failed to tell the women he was HIV positive before sexual contact and he had also not been regularly taking medications.

High percentage of HIV-positive people skipping treatment over Covid-19 fears
IOL, 28 April 2020
A high percentage of HIV-positive South Africans are missing their clinic appointments to collect their medication and testing for HIV has also dropped drastically due to fears of contracting Covid-19.

Children With HIV Receiving ART May Have Deficits in Bone Architecture and Strength
Infectious Diseases Advisor, 28 April 2020
Various studies among children living with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy have reported decreased bone mass compared with children without HIV, even when weight, height, and pubertal stage are adjusted for.

Delaying treatment changes when first-line ART fails costs lives, says South African study
Aidsmap, 28 April 2020
According to a recent study, promptly switching antiretroviral therapy when individuals have viral rebound can save lives. Delayed switching more than doubled the risk of death over five years and was especially dangerous when a person had a CD4 cell count below 100.

Changes in fat cells on HIV treatment may have long-term metabolic consequences
Aidsmap, 22 April 2020
Changes in the structure of body fat after starting antiretroviral treatment are associated with adverse health consequences for people living with HIV, irrespective of the amount of weight gained.

HIV Treatment as Prevention Worked in Australia
MedPage Today, 27 April 2020
Professor Denton Callander explains how treatment as prevention has worked well in Australia.

Research Moves Toward Once-Yearly HIV Treatment
Web MD, 30 April 2020
Researchers have reformulated an HIV medication into a version they hope can eventually be taken just once a year.

A descriptive study of British South Asians living with HIV in North East London
Taylor & Francis Online, 26 April 2020
A study on patients self-identifying as South Asian attending two HIV centres in North East London between 1st January and 31st December 2017.

Kaposi sarcoma trial in Africa finds that higher cost chemotherapy option is superior
Aidsmap, 1 May 2020
Intravenous paclitaxel plus antiretroviral therapy has clear advantages over alternative chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of advanced HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma, but the overall costs of this kind of treatment are likely to be very high.

“We must ensure that HIV treatment adherence is not compromised”—keeping people in Pakistan on HIV treatment
UNAIDS, 29 April 2020
The Pakistan Association of People Living with HIV set up its Emergency Response Cell in March to ensure that everyone on HIV treatment gets an adequate supply of antiretroviral therapy, often delivered to their door.


PrEP

People Are Going off PrEP in the COVID-19 Era Because They’re Not Having Sex
The Body, 27 April 2020
Many gay men have gone off PrEP because the social distancing required to minimize the spreading of COVID 19 epidemic can also involve sexual distancing.


Hepatitis

Directly observed treatment for hepatitis C highly effective in people who inject drugs
Aidsmap, 29 April 2020
The study findings showed that daily treatment given under the supervision of medical staff cured 94% of patients.


Drugs

Sharon Cox: How are we assisting our most disadvantaged during Covid-19?
BMJ, 30 April 2020
New collaborations between drug and alcohol services and homeless charities provide some hope.

High willingness to use drug consumption rooms among people who inject drugs in Scotland: findings from a national bio-behavioural survey among people who inject drugs
Science Direct, 22 April 2020
To address rising drug-related harms among people who inject drugs in Glasgow, officials have proposed the introduction of the UK's first drug consumption room in Glasgow city centre. This study aimed to determine willingness to use a consumption room among drugs users in Scotland.

There is a vulnerable group we must not leave behind in our response to COVID-19: people who are dependent on illicit drugs
Pharmaceutical Journal, 29 April 2020
None of us are safe from COVID-19, but the health status, needs and behaviours of those who use illicit drugs leave them particularly vulnerable — pharmacists can reduce this risk, says drugs researcher Amira Guirguis.


LGBT

UNAIDS and MPact are extremely concerned about reports that LGBTI people are being blamed and abused during the COVID-19 outbreak
UNAIDS, 27 April 2020
UNAIDS and MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights are extremely concerned that LGBTI people are being singled out, blamed, abused, incarcerated and stigmatized as vectors of disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 300,000 transgender people at high risk of serious COVID-19 illness
Metro Week, 22 April 2020
Researchers at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law examined the characteristics that may increase vulnerability for adults in the US who identify as transgender.