Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Dolutegravir-based antiretroviral therapy proved more effective than standard treatments for HIV-positive children, reducing treatment failure by 40%.

Investigators compared pre- and post-intervention data points at 4 clinics in Kenya.

Stigma, and a lack of communication and awareness all inhibit HIV PrEP uptake, but digital health and new forms of PrEP are aiming to increase users.

The therapy becomes the first injectable approved in the United States for this indication.

The proposed funding will include a number of measures of spending towards HIV and prevention, including community centers for PrEP education.

A personal history of cervical cancer or cervical biopsy did not make mothers more likely to vaccinate their children against HPV.

A novel digital pill was 98% effective in tracking daily HIV PrEP adherence.

HPV vaccination decreases cervical cancer incidence and mortality, but it is most effective in young women and girls.

Community-based models of antiretroviral therapy were as effective as facility-based care in terms of viral suppression, the study authors wrote.

The CDC updated its HIV PrEP guidelines, including a recommendation that doctors talk to all sexually active adults about HIV prevention and prescribe PrEP to anyone who asks for it.

Merck announced an enrollment pause in 2 of their stage 3 clinical trials for once-monthly oral islatravir for HIV PrEP. Enrolled participants will continue receiving study medicine.

Methamphetamine use and experienced intimate partner violence led to increased HIV viral replication in Black and Latinx men who have sex with men.

Only 1 in 3 heterosexually active adults is aware of HIV PrEP, and this is even lower among Hispanic/Latinx men and women.

Study authors from the CDC found that girls in the sub-Saharan country of Namibia are at increased risk for HIV acquisition and also experience risk factors that make them eligible for HIV infection prevention programs.

Even after it was confirmed safe, women living with HIV are neglecting to use the drug dolutegravir, potentially subjecting them to worse HIV treatment outcomes.

Rates of sustained viral suppression among people living with HIV were lower than expected, especially among children and adolescents.

After the intervention, more patients were correctly prescribed nPEP and more follow-up visits were recommended.

Pregnant women with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were more likely to give birth prematurely.

Adding additional screening methods in combination with standard testing would increase diagnostic accuracy for tuberculosis infection among patients living with HIV.

HIV Stakeholders weigh on the future of PrEP.

A study found trans people were not substantively included in many countries’ HIV national strategic plans, despite being disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.

States with policy that permitted adolescents to independently choose to receive HPV vaccination had a significantly higher immunization uptake.

How 1 provider is training medical peers to offer PrEP education and prescribe it.

Bias against injection drug users can inhibit them from receiving potentially lifesaving care, such as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Community-based responses like syringe service programs help combat this stigma.

Fenway Health’s Pride in Our Health podcast is an example of new voices being heard, and an alternative means of getting health information to the general public.

Adding genotypic resistance testing (GRT) to routine care did not improve HIV virologic outcomes for patients for whom first-line ART failed, the study authors wrote.

Long-acting cabotegravir plus rilpivirine worked with or without a lead-in for ART-naïve HIV patients.

A new study looks at this population and what factors affect outcomes, including diagnosis. This is significant not only for pandemic response, but also preparedness for vulnerable patient populations.

People who inject drugs (PWID) remain at risk of HIV infection, according to a recent report by the CDC, which found HIV infection and HIV-associated behaviors remained steady between 2015 and 2018.

29% of cisgender men who have sex with men acquired HIV despite being designated as “low risk.”