IDWeek 2016: HIV+ Men and Men on PrEP in Boston See Large Increase in Sexually Transmitted Infections

Rates of gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia have risen steeply at Fenway Health in Boston since 2011, according to presentation last week at IDWeek in New Orleans. Being HIV-positive and using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV were associated with higher risk of getting-sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but more frequent STI testing and treatment could potentially help reduce the numbers.

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IDWeek 2016: Only a Small Proportion of HIV+ Gay Men Receive Anal Cancer Screening

In the absence of national screening guidelines, only 11% of HIV-positive gay and bisexual men in the U.S. received anal Pap smears to detect anal cancer or precancerous cell changes during 2009-2012, with disparities between patient groups and variations across centers, according to a presentation at IDWeek, taking place this week in New Orleans.

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HIVR4P: New HIV Prevention Tools Will Need Marketing and Effective Health Services to Expand Reach

There is a naivety among many HIV prevention researchers and advocates about the steps needed to introduce and implement new HIV prevention technologies such as oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), vaginal rings, and vaccines, according to speakers at the HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P 2016) conference in Chicago last month. Developing an effective prevention method is the easy part, they suggested -- ensuring that the product reaches end users who need them can be more challenging.

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HIVR4P 2016: Some Americans Who Need PrEP the Most Face the Greatest Barriers

The personal values and moral judgments of healthcare providers are likely to interfere with the appropriate provision of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), Sarah Calabrese of Yale University reported at the HIV Research for Prevention conference (HIVR4P 2016) in Chicago last week. This was one of several presentations which highlighted inequalities in access to PrEP in the U.S. In a plenary talk, Noël Gordon of the Human Rights Campaign reminded delegates that white people make up 27% of new HIV diagnoses but 74% of PrEP users. There are also inequalities in terms of age and gender.

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IDWeek 2016: Rapid Emergence of Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea Seen in Ohio

Routine surveillance in southern Ohio has detected a steep increase in gonorrhea showing resistance to ciprofloxacin or reduced susceptibility to azithromycin, according to a presentation at IDWeek last week in New Orleans. Azithromycin is one of the 2 drugs in the sole recommended gonorrhea treatment regimen in the U.S., but no resistance to ceftriaxone, the other drug in that regimen, was seen.

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HIVR4P 2016: PrEP Knowledge and Use Increases in San Francisco, 12,500 People Now on PrEP

Knowledge about and use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has greatly increased over the past few years in San Francisco, and surveillance estimates suggest that some12,500 people are now on PrEP, according to a presentation at the HIV Research for Prevention conference (HIVR4P 2016) last week in Chicago.

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IDWeek 2016: Electronic Health Records Can Help Select Candidates for HIV PrEP

A machine learning algorithm used to analyze electronic health records (EHRs) identified high-risk individuals who could potentially benefit from HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), according to a report presented this week at IDWeek 2016 in New Orleans. Out of 800,000 patients in a large EHR database, more that 8000 were found to be potential PrEP candidates.

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HIVR4P 2016: Huge Diversity in HIV Vaccine Research Discussed at Prevention Conference

The HIV vaccine research field is currently going through probably its most fertile and diverse period yet. A high proportion of presentations at the second HIV Research for Prevention conference (HIVR4P 2016) in Chicago last week were devoted to a multiplicity of different approaches scientists are taking towards making an effective vaccine.

[Produced in collaboration with aidsmap.com]

At the opening plenary, Georgia Tomaras of Duke University gave an overview of the field. It has been a long journey towards developing vaccines with even partial efficacy: the first trial of any kind was in 1987 and the first large efficacy trial -- which failed -- was in 2003. But the RV144 vaccine -- which in 2009 showed limited efficacy, reducing HIV infections among recipients by 31% (and 60% a year after its first dose) -- injected new energy into the field, not least because its effect seemed due to an unexpected kind of anti-HIV response.

At the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) held in Durban in July researchers reported that a pilot study, HVTN100, of an RV144-type vaccine adapted to the strain predominant in South Africa it produced a stronger response than the original RV144 vaccine. This meant it had passed the criteria for being advanced to a large efficacy trial, HVTN 702. This will start next month -- the first HIV vaccine efficacy trial for 7 years, since HVTN 505 started in July 2009.

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