#aids 2018

[pozmagazine]

Undetectable Meant Zero HIV Transmissions After 89,000 Condomless Sex Acts

An enormous trove of evidence has just been released that supports the increasingly solid global consensus that having an undetectable viral load thanks to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment is associated with effectively zero chance of transmission.

The long-awaited results from the PARTNER2 study of mixed-HIV-status gay male couples are finally in. Presented today at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam (AIDS 2018), the prospective observational study saw zero transmissions between study partners when the HIV-positive partner had a fully suppressed viral load, even after nearly 77,000 condomless anal sex acts. Together with the 12,000 condomless sex acts documented between such partners in the Opposites Attract study, researchers now have data on 89,000 such acts between male partners.

[michaelsnaithblog-blog]

Having HIV Is Independently Linked to Heart Failure

This increased risk is not driven by differences in plaque buildup in the arteries compared with those who are HIV negative.

[pozmagazine]

20 Global Experts Agree: Science Doesn’t Back HIV Crime Laws [VIDEO]

Twenty leading HIV researchers have released a consensus statement that refutes the rationale behind laws that criminalize HIV transmission. In declaring that science does not support HIV criminalization, their evidence-based statement supports the message behind the “Undetectable = Untransmittable” (“U=U”) campaign—that a person with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV.

[pozmagazine]

HIV Criminalization Statutes Ought to Acknowledge Prevention Science

The increasingly refined science guiding the current understanding of HIV transmission risk in various contexts ought to inform HIV criminalization statutes, according to a consensus statement released at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam (AIDS 2018), Medscape reports.

The team behind the statement, which included representatives from Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Sero Project and others, targeted clinicians who may be called upon as expert witnesses at HIV-related criminal trials.

[pozmagazine]

HIV Vax in Advanced Trial Posts Promising 2-Year Results

The experimental HIV vaccine currently under investigation in an advanced trial has shown promising 96-week results from an earlier human study. The so-called mosaic vaccine offered a broad array of immune responses to the virus at this point, and such responses persisted up to a year after the last vaccination shot.

[pozmagazine]

Coming Soon: A Global Coalition to Treat HIV Infections in Men

The fight against HIV is about to get a boost. A global coalition to treat HIV infections in men will launch during the opening of the 2018 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018), held in Amsterdam.

Sir Elton John, the iconic musician and founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), and the Duke of Sussex (aka Prince Harry), will unveil the details July 24, according to an EJAF press release.

[pozmagazine]

Researchers Warn of More HIV Outbreaks Among Injection Drug Users

With HIV outbreaks occurring among people who inject drugs (PWID) around the world, from Bucharest, Romania, to Scott County, Indiana, researchers warn that complacency will add fuel to the fire and raise the risk of further outbreaks, aidsmap reports.

The answer to such threats, such researchers say, is comprehensive services that include syringe services programs (SSPs), opioid substitution therapy (OST) and HIV testing and treatment.

[pozmagazine]

Switching to ViiV’s Juluca Proves Effective Two Years Into Major Trial

ViiV Healthcare’s newly approved antiretroviral (ARV) regimen Juluca (dolutegravir/rilpivirine) performed well according to 100-week data in an ongoing trial investigating the effects of switching to the regimen.

Forty-eight week results from the replicate 148-week randomized open-label noninferiority SWORD 1 and 2 studies were presented at the 2017 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle and later published in The Lancet.