Interim Guidance for Clinicians Considering the Use of Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Infection in Heterosexually Active Adults

via Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

In the United States, an estimated 48,100 new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections occurred in 2009 (1). Of these, 27% were in heterosexual men and women who did not inject drugs, and 64% were in men who have sex with men (MSM), including 3% in MSM who inject drugs. In January 2011, following publication of evidence of safety and efficacy of daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg (TDF)/emtricitabine 200 mg (FTC) (Truvada, Gilead Sciences) as antiretroviral preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk for HIV acquisition among MSM in the iPrEx trial, CDC issued interim guidance to make available information and important initial cautions on the use of PrEP in this population.

Those recommendations remain valid for MSM, including MSM who also have sex with women (2). Since January 2011, data from studies of PrEP among heterosexual men and women have become available, and on July 16, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a label indication for reduction of risk for sexual acquisition of HIV infection among adults, including both heterosexuals and MSM.* This interim guidance includes consideration of the new information and addresses pregnancy and safety issues for heterosexually active adults at very high risk for sexual HIV acquisition that were not discussed in the previous interim guidance for the use of PrEP in MSM.

Read the rest.


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*Also, please note that shared news items from other sources posted on this blog do not necessarily mean IRMA has taken any position on the article's content.
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Legal barriers and stereotypes block care services for same sex couples

[Citizen News Service and IRMA are collaborating to amplify rectal microbicide research and advocacy, as well as IRMA-led initiatives, throughout AIDS 2012, and after.]

via Citizen News Service, by Jittima Jantanamalaka

Despite alarming HIV rates amongst the men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people, many countries, community leaders, media and society at large continue to hold discriminating stereotypes against them. "Punitive laws will drive MSM and transgender populations underground" rightly said Aradhana Johri of Department of AIDS Control, Government of India. In US alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, although Black American MSM people represent only 13 percent of the US population but they account for about 44 percent of the new HIV infections particularly among those aged 13 -19.

Unless we protect the rights of same sex couples to live a life of dignity, and discourage those who are judgemental about their same sex behaviour, not only we will fail to reduce stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and same sex behaviour, but also fuel homophobia and negative perceptions about HIV testing. People will continue to choose to hide their high-risk behaviour and not seek counseling and testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Read the rest.


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*Join IRMA's robust, highly-active. moderated, global listserv addressing rectal microbicide research and advocacy as well as other interesting new HIV prevention technologies by contacting us at rectalmicro@gmail.com. Joining our listserv automatically makes you a member of IRMA - a network of more than 1,100 advocates, scientists, policy makers and funders from all over the world.

*Please look for us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/InternationalRectalMicrobicideAdvocates, and you can follow us on Twitter: @rectalmicro.

*Also, please note that shared news items from other sources posted on this blog do not necessarily mean IRMA has taken any position on the article's content.
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U.S. Policy Addresses HIV Epidemic in the LGBT Community

via HuffPost, by Charles Stephens

We finally are starting to scratch the surface of the depth of the HIV crisis among young black men who have sex with men (MSM). Late last summer the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the most recent HIV incidence numbers, indicating that young, black MSM were the only population in the United States that showed an increase. In the three-year period between 2006 and 2009, there was an almost 50-percent increase in HIV incidence in that group.

This information was startling. Those of us working in the field had suspected that the HIV incidence numbers among young, black MSM would be disproportionately high. But to know it, to hear it confirmed, was shocking. For a few months after the updated HIV incidence numbers were announced, there seemed to be a collective gasp, even as we struggled to crank out solutions. And since then there has been a persistent conversation among many sectors of the HIV prevention realm about next steps. Just what are we going to do next?

So it was this spirit of persistence to find answers that many of us brought to the White House LGBT Conference on HIV/AIDS in Atlanta, Ga. on April 19. Held at the Morehouse School of Medicine, the conference was as well attended as it was ambitious. On the campus of a historically black college, in a historically black community, the symbolism was as rich as it was breathtaking. Those of us who attended assembled dutifully, with both grace, because we were called, and urgency, because of the calling. Several White House officials, including Dr. Grant Colfax, the new director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, as well as numerous HIV experts, gathered to talk about the HIV epidemic today in LGBT communities.

Two groups that entered almost every conversation were young MSM and transgender populations. Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, shared his insights about the social and structural drivers of HIV, particularly among vulnerable populations and sexual minorities. He affirmed the commitment of the CDC to LGBT communities and announced some of the agency's next steps, including a roll-out of additional social marketing campaigns.

Homophobia must frame how we think about the devastating impact of HIV. This was a key insight to the entire conference. Anti-gay stigma, HIV stigma, and environments that dehumanize and demean sexual minorities and gender-nonconforming people create a perfect storm for HIV and other public health disparities. Young, black MSM and transgender people are vulnerable in a variety of ways, including to physical and psychic homophobic violence, familial and community rejection, discrimination, and a litany of other kinds of social stigma. These vulnerabilities fuel health disparities, particularly with regard to HIV. As Dr. Patrick Sullivan, an Emory University professor and researcher, stated, "homophobia is a public health hazard." In this sense, the scientific and social, negative health outcomes and human rights and, by extension, sexual rights, are not separate spheres but are intricately connected within a wider spectrum of issues we must work on together, and not separately.

Read the Rest.


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

MSM Population May Be Neglected From HIV Funding

via Funders Concerned About AIDS, by Owen Ryan

At a community meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on March 20th, Kevin Fenton, director of Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention said, “Our own stigma, our own homophobia, cascades down in our funding and allocations…” Dr. Fenton was recognizing a reality in the United States that has become increasingly apparent to health policymakers throughout the world: that despite high prevalence rates of HIV among gay men and other MSM, funding for HIV prevention, treatment and care consistently neglects these populations, often due to stigma and discrimination.

Our own research at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, in partnership with the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University has drawn similar conclusions. In our report, “Achieving an AIDS-Free Generation for Gay Men and Other MSM”, we found that MSM are neglected and marginalized by national HIV responses throughout the world, even in countries where MSM are a significant proportion of all HIV infections. For example, in Guyana where MSM account for a large majority of infections, funding to this population was as little as .05% of overall HIV funding from the Global Fund (a major donor in that country).

However there is an even larger reality that is more pernicious than budget cuts. In many settings, MSM are completely neglected by epidemiological surveillance, the data that informs funding flows. In countries like Ethiopia and Mozambique, which have received billions of dollars in aid for their HIV response, epidemiological surveillance of HIV deliberately excludes MSM and other key populations leading to a dearth of programming; this despite several reports that have shown significant epidemics among gay men throughout Africa. Our data reflect a simple truth: if MSM aren’t counted, they aren’t funded.


Read the Rest.


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Sexually Explicit Media Analyzed as a Means for Preventive Education

via Huffington Post, by John-Manuel Andriote

Public health officials recommended early in the AIDS epidemic that HIV-prevention education be targeted and explicit, using language and images familiar to those it is intended to reach. Controversy has swirled ever since over what, exactly, is meant by "explicit" prevention education and who should pay for it.

Prevention educators recognized early on the potential of sexually explicit media (also known as porn) to provide instruction in the mechanics of safe sex and, they hoped, increase the use of condoms and practice of safe sex among gay and bisexual men.

In the late 1980s, Boston's AIDS Action Committee attempted to produce a safe sex film featuring porn star Al Parker. Cindy Patton, who today teaches sociology at Simon Fraser University, in Vancouver, worked on the project. Writing about it in her 1996 book Fatal Advice: How Safe Sex Education Went Wrong, Patton explained that the video wasn't intended to "eroticize" safe sex, but rather "to retrieve already and always safe activities" gay men might do together that seemed to have been lost in the shuffle as everyone focused singlemindedly on eliminating unprotected anal sex.

"Porn videos," wrote Patton, "are useful if they suggest positive attitudes about gay male sexuality because that helps create and sustain a social environment in which safe sex is practiced because it is viewed as a positive aspect of gay male sexuality." The group at AIDS Action Committee reasoned that gay men would practice safe sex if they were persuaded to view it as something positive rather than as a kind of punishment for being gay -- as many men seemed to see it.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that "men who have sex with men" (MSM) comprise only 2 percent of the American population, we consume as much as 50 percent of the porn produced and sold in this country, annually spending as much as $6.5 billion on it.

Read the Rest.


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Panel Endorses HPV Vaccine for Boys of 11

via The New York Times, by Gardiner Harris

Boys and young men should be vaccinated against human papillomavirus, or HPV, to protect against anal and throat cancers that can result from sexual activity, a federal advisory committee said Tuesday.

The recommendation by the panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is likely to transform the use of the HPV vaccine, since most private insurers pay for vaccines once the committee recommends them for routine use. The HPV vaccine is unusually expensive. Its three doses cost pediatricians more than $300, and pediatricians often charge patients hundreds more.

The committee recommended that boys ages 11 and 12 should be vaccinated. It also recommended vaccination of males ages 13 through 21 who had not already had all three shots. Vaccinations may be given to boys as young as 9 and to men between the ages of 22 and 26.

The committee recommended in 2006 that girls and young women ages 11 to 26 should be vaccinated, but vaccination rates in the United States have so far been disappointing.

Read the rest.



[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Addressing the HIV Epidemic among Gay and Bisexual Men

via AIDS.gov, by Kevin Fenton, M.D., Ph.D., FFPH, Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC

In 1981, our nation and its public health system were grappling with a new disease that was taking the lives of gay men across the United States. Thirty years later, HIV/AIDS continues to be a crisis among gay and bisexual men. The latest data show men who have sex with men (MSM) remain most affected in this country. Although MSM represent 2% of the population, they account for 64% of all new infections (including 3% among MSM who are injection drug users [IDUs]). CDC estimates that there were more than 30,000 new HIV infections in 2009 among MSM, including MSM-IDU. Though the numbers have gone down dramatically, approximately 7,000 MSM with an AIDS diagnoses still die each year and nearly 300,000 MSM with AIDS have died since the beginning of the epidemic.

Today, we commemorate the fourth annual National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, an observance founded by the National Association of People with AIDS to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among gay and bisexual men. This annual observance is one way we are focusing attention and resources on those populations at highest risk for HIV infection, including gay and bisexual men. This focus is a top priority outlined in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).

To reach those at risk, CDC is pursuing High Impact Prevention to support the most effective and impactful programs to aggressively reach the goals of the National Strategy. The interventions are being implemented at the federal, state, and local levels to reach the right populations at a scale large enough to make a significant difference. These approaches include expanded testing efforts to ensure more gay and bisexual men get tested at least annually, more often if at increased risk;prevention programs for people living with HIV and their partners; condom distribution; demonstration projects that focus on the most heavily affected communities; and matching HIV prevention funding for health departments and community-based organizations in those locations with the highest HIV burden.

Read the rest.



[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

CDC awards $55 million for HIV prevention among gay, bisexual and transgender youth of color

via NCHHSTP Newsroom

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today awarded $55 million over five years to 34 community-based organizations (CBOs) to expand HIV prevention services for young gay and bisexual men of color, transgender youth of color, and their partners. The awards expand upon a previous program to reach these populations with an increase of $10 million to fund a larger number of community organizations. The average award for each organization is approximately $300,000 per year.

“On this National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we are reminded of the urgency of the HIV epidemic in the United States and the dramatic impact among gay and bisexual men, who account for more than 60 percent of new infections,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. “We must also recognize that the epidemic cannot be overcome without effectively addressing the severe and rising toll of HIV infections among gay and bisexual men of color, who continue to be hardest hit by this disease.”

Recent data show that young men who have sex with men (MSM) of color are at particularly high and increasing risk of HIV infection. According to CDC estimates released in August, between 2006 and 2009, the annual number of new HIV infections increased 48 percent among young black MSM. Among Latinos, men who have sex with men are by far the most severely impacted, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all new infections. Nearly half of these infections among Latino MSM occurred in the youngest age group (aged 13-29). Transgender people are also severely affected by HIV. It is estimated that 28 percent of transgender people are HIV-infected.

The new CDC awards are designed to enable CBOs with strong links to these populations to meet their specific HIV prevention needs. As part of these awards, each organization will be required to provide specific prevention services. These include providing HIV testing to a total of more than 90,000 young gay and bisexual men and transgender youth of color, with a goal of identifying more than 3,500 previously unrecognized HIV infections (over the five-year funding period) – and linking those who are HIV-infected to care and prevention services. CBOs will also carry out proven behavioral change HIV prevention programs and distribute condoms to young gay and bisexual men and transgender youth of color who are at high risk for HIV or are HIV-infected.

Read the rest.


[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

HIV Experts Create the Roadmap for Providing PrEP to Uninfected Individuals to Reduce the Risk of HIV Infection

Press release via Forum for Collaborative HIV Research

To stem the estimated 2.6 million new HIV infections that occur worldwide each year, more than 200 representatives from the scientific and HIV/AIDS communities took an important step in assessing the safety and public health implications of providing antiretroviral drugs to uninfected men and women exposed to HIV through sexual contact – a strategy called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.

Assembling August 19 at an open public meeting and interactive webcast convened by the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research, these researchers, HIV/AIDS advocates, members of industry and representatives from National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state public health departments applied the findings from a number of large trials to discuss a roadmap for FDA and CDC to develop guidance on the safe use of PrEP in otherwise healthy individuals at high risk of acquiring HIV. Held with the encouragement of FDA, this meeting has important implications for medical practice in the U.S. because recent data strongly support the efficacy of antiretroviral intervention for this purpose.

Although FDA has not yet approved PrEP to reduce HIV acquisition in uninfected individuals, one form of PrEP recently studied for use in healthy men or in couples where one partner is HIV positive –a daily pill containing tenofovir plus emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) – is FDA-approved for the treatment of HIV infection. In women, studies have also demonstrated the efficacy of prophylactic treatment with tenofovir applied as a vaginal gel.

“We now have findings from large studies that support a conclusion that PrEP is effective in gay and bisexual men, who represent more than half of new HIV infections in the U.S., and now, there is evidence that PrEP may reduce HIV infection in heterosexual men and women, the population hardest hit by HIV worldwide,” said Jur Strobos, MD, Deputy Director of the Forum. “We must however, apply these promising data to develop workable strategies that mitigate risk that may be associated with the prophylactic use of antiretrovirals. These include both medical and socio-behavioral risk. We must ensure that people at greatest risk for acquiring HIV receive a comprehensive package of prevention services, including regular HIV testing, condom provision, risk reduction counseling and management of other sexually transmitted infections. The purpose of our meeting was to help identify what the components of a complete package should be.”

Read the rest.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Why So Anal about Pleasure?

Via EmpowHer, by Hannah Cutts.

Whether you are a committed fan, a non-subscriber, or have been considering engaging in anal play, I believe it is a subject that women should make an effort to include in their sexual awareness and conversations, even if only to expand their education on the female body and become resources for friends/family members who may have questions about the behavior.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Survey of Family Growth, anal sex between heterosexual partners has been on the rise over the past decade. In 1992, 20.4 percent of women reported engaging in anal sex with a male partner, while in 2005, 32.6 percent indicated they include anal in part of their heterosexual repertoire (New York Magazine, 2006). While anal sex has historically been associated with gay couples, it is clear that people who enjoy sex with the opposite gender have adopted the practice, perhaps finally realizing what they have been missing out on. It is time for women—straight, gay and anywhere in between—to get the facts on anal play and what makes it worthwhile.

The bottom line is, like your vagina, your anus is packed with sensitive nerve endings that feel great when touched or stimulated. Although experimenting with this somewhat fragile opening is not necessarily a stand-alone endeavor (it requires some foreplay and careful lubrication), gentle exploration of the anus is a tremendous complement to other pleasure-giving (think cunnilingus). By slowly introducing the stimulation of this third hole into your sexual repertoire one step (or to be more accurate, one finger) at a time, you are opening yourself up to sensations that you won’t feel with vaginal-only penetration. Many sources suggest you begin simply with a massage of the anal opening, an action that carries almost no risk and allows both partners to get comfortable with the touch.

Read the rest here.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Annual HIV Testing May Not Suffice for MSM

Via CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The findings from this analysis suggest that adherence to annual HIV testing recommendations for MSM is low and that even among MSM who reported being tested during the past 12 months, a substantial proportion were newly infected. Because persons often reduce their risk behaviors when they receive a diagnosis of HIV infection and persons who do not know they are infected are estimated to account for more than half of sexually transmitted HIV infections, increasing the frequency of HIV testing for MSM can reduce the time from HIV infection to diagnosis and reduce HIV transmission.

Current CDC guidelines identify MSM who should be tested more frequently according to their risk behaviors. However, among MSM in this analysis, those who had high-risk behaviors were not more likely to be newly infected than those without high-risk behaviors, suggesting that self-reported risk behaviors might not determine which MSM should be tested more frequently. The 7% prevalence of new HIV infection detected through NHBS among MSM who had been tested for HIV during the past year and the similar prevalence of new HIV infection among MSM with and without high-risk behaviors suggests that more frequent testing, perhaps as often as every 3 to 6 months, might be warranted among all sexually active MSM, regardless of their risk behaviors. In considering revising guidelines regarding frequency of testing among MSM, public health officials also should weigh other factors, including the acceptability and cost effectiveness of testing MSM more frequently and the sensitivity of tests in the early stages of infection.

Read the full report here.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Countdown to 30 Years: The Eighties and AIDS

By Aldona Martinka, IRMA intern

As the thirtieth anniversary of the very beginning of the AIDS crisis draws near, IRMA will be counting down the last five days with a short series on AIDS history. It will explore where we began, where we are now, and where we are going as we continue to battle this disease with hope and determination. This is part one of five. 

In less than a week it will have been 30 years since the first mention of the disease in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that would someday be known as AIDS . This June 5 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the beginning of the global fight against AIDS. No one knew it then, but the disease behind that cluster of cases of rare Pneumonia would shock the world, set people against each other, and eventually bring together politicians, scientists, and humanitarian workers in what has been perhaps the greatest public health battle since Polio.

Struggling to understand this new disease, the first step was to name it. The first proposed name for the illness was Gay-Related Immunodeficiency (GRID), but that was amended to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in 1982 for the sake of accuracy. Nevertheless, the mindset that it was a “gay problem” persisted for years, causing stigma that would inhibit HIV education and prevention, causing harm to countless victims both gay and not. The virus that causes AIDS was not discovered until 1984. It eventually came to be called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) as we know it today. 1984 was also the year that Ryan White, poster child for the AIDS epidemic of the eighties and future namesake for national legislation, was diagnosed with the disease, having contracted it from a contaminated blood transfusion for his hemophilia.

In the next year AIDS became the topic of choice for everyone from scientists to journalists; from doctors to celebrities; from politicians to housewives. Ignorance and misinformation abounded, and many suffering from HIV/AIDS were shunned and discriminated against. Ryan White was not allowed to return to his middle school in Indiana after being diagnosed, and 117 parents and 50 teachers signed a petition to ban him from the school. When he was eventually permitted to attend, the White family had to deal with death threats and property damage, and White himself was ostracized at school. The Ray brothers, the children of a Florida family, were also hemophiliacs, who had contracted HIV through blood transfusions, and their parents also experienced exclusion. After they won a court battle to be allowed to attend school their home was burned down. At this point in history AIDS meant impending death, and caretakers could only try to make their patients and loved ones comfortable as they passed away.

Despite all the fear and the anger there was also hope. The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) formed in 1987at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York, the same year that arsonists attacked the Ray’s home, and the same year that the first drug for the treatment of AIDS was approved: AZT. ACT UP would be one of the most important HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations ever, and AZT and the antiretrovirals that followed it would lengthen the lives of those afflicted by this horrible disease that had once been a swift death sentence. AIDS patients could even hope for relatively normal lives. Condoms also became a hot topic as they appeared in PSAs and ads across the country, beginning the de-stigmatization of protection methods that could save lives.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

CDC Provides Recommendations for Zombie Apocalypse

via The Seattle Times

Pity poor Tom Skinner, a top spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who has been valiantly trying to interest reporters in a new study in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report trumpeting "10 Great Public Health Achievements."

Unfortunately for Skinner, over at his agency's public-health blog, his colleagues were posting something that really got to the beating heart of morbidity and mortality: the first official CDC instructions on coping with a zombie apocalypse.

Yes, that's right. With a straight face, the normally staid health agency had posted a primer on how to prepare for an invasion of the brain-eating undead.

"So what do you need before zombies ... or hurricanes or pandemics, for example, actually happen?" the post said. "First of all, you should have an emergency kit in your house. This includes things like water, food and other supplies to get you through the first couple of days before you can locate a zombie-free refugee camp."

Read the rest.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Slate: Why are bisexual women more likely to have tried anal sex?

via Slate.com, by William Saletan

Have you heard the latest report on Americans' sex habits? The study, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Identity in the United States, comes from the National Survey of Family Growth, the country's most respected periodic sex survey. Media reports about the study have noted what seems to be a resurgence of virginity. But the data also show something more surprising: Compared with women who are totally straight, women who are slightly bisexual are more likely to have tried various sex acts with men. In fact, compared with totally straight women, women who are fully bisexual or lesbian are more likely to have tried anal sex.

Why?

Read the rest.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

High-Impact Prevention: New Approach to the Science and Practice of HIV Prevention in the United States?

by Julie Davids, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, HIV Prevention Justice Alliance and IRMA member

This week at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston, researchers and clinicians from around the world met to share and discuss HIV research.

The opening plenary on Monday was delivered by Jonathan Mermin, Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS (pictured). Titled The Science and Practice of HIV Prevention in the US, the 30 minute presentation outlined Mermin's vision of a new approach called high-impact prevention (HIP). I caught up with Mermin the following day, and asked him to talk about his speech, explaining what HIP is all about.

If this quick video grabs your interest, you can view Mermin's full presentations and slides right here - and you can look around that conference site for more webcasts of important sessions. I'll be blogging about other conference matters of interest to HIV prevention justice advocates in the coming days, including some thoughts on high-impact prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis, racial disparities in infection, and other matters...



[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

CDC Releases Interim Guidance for the Use of HIV Drugs as Prevention for Gay Men

Only some men should use AIDS drug for prevention
via Reuters, by Maggie Fox

Only high-risk gay and bisexual men should use Gilead's HIV drug Truvada to protect themselves from the AIDS virus, federal officials said on Thursday in the first official guidance on using the drug.

A study published last November showed that the pill, which combines two AIDS drugs, reduced the HIV infection rate by nearly 44 percent in high-risk gay and bisexual men. It worked even better if the men used the drug consistently.

Some doctors have already been using the experimental approach, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP for short. This use of the drug is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has approved Truvada for treating HIV infection.

But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided to issue some guidance for doctors who may want to prescribe the drug to protect people at very high risk of infection with the fatal and incurable virus.

Read the rest.


Read the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report's "Interim Guidance: Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Infection in Men Who Have Sex with Men."

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

New resources on gay/bi men's health courtesy CDC

The CDC has a number of new info resources that will be very handy for all of us working in gay/bi men's health, as well as HIV/AIDS.

The following came to IRMA's in box today....Check them out.

Updated Factsheet: HIV among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)
The HIV among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)factsheet has recently been updated with information from the 2008 HIV Surveillance Report: Diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and Dependent Areas.

MMWR: Prevalence and Awareness of HIV Infection Among Men Who Have Sex With Men --- 21 Cities, United States, 2008
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk for infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In 2006, 57% of new HIV infections in the United States occurred among MSM. To estimate and monitor risk behaviors, CDC's National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system (NHBS) collects data from metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using an anonymous cross-sectional interview of men at venues where MSM congregate, such as bars, clubs, and social organizations. 

New CDC Site: Gay and Bisexual Men's Health
Gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent an incredibly diverse community. Gay and bisexual men have both shared and unique experiences and circumstances that affect their physical health and mental health needs as well as their ability to receive high-quality health services. 

CDC Factsheet: HIV and AIDS in the United States

A new factsheet from the CDC estimates that more than one million people are living with HIV in the United States. One in five (21%) of those people living with HIV is unaware of their infection. Despite increases in the total number of people living with HIV in the United States in recent years, the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. However, new infections continue at far too high a level, with an estimated 56,300 Americans becoming infected with HIV each year.

HIV Incidence and Prevalence, United States, 1977-2006

For more click here.

Study: Circumcision may not cut HIV spread among gay men

via Reuters

Although studies in Africa have shown that circumcision can lower the spread of HIV among heterosexuals, it may not do much to prevent infections among gay and bisexual men in Western countries, a new study suggests.

A number of studies in African nations have found that circumcised heterosexual men were up to 60 percent less likely than uncircumcised men to contract HIV during the study periods.

But it is unclear whether circumcision could have an impact on HIV transmission in the U.S. or other Western countries, where much of the transmission is among men who have sex with men. There has so far been no good evidence that circumcision lowers HIV risk among these men.

In the new study, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at HIV infection rates among nearly 4,900 men in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands who took part in a clinical trial of an HIV vaccine.

They found that circumcised and uncircumcised men showed no difference in the risk of HIV infection over three years.

Moreover, while having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive partner increased a man's risk of infection, there was no evidence that circumcision altered that risk.

Read the rest.

CDC circumcision recommendation under review

via Thomas Kraemer

The controversial American practice of circumcising baby boys continues being done despite the fact that health care reform would suggest that this type of unnecessary medical procedure shouldn't be done.

The possible reduction in HIV transmission and other infections is a stupid reason. Cutting off the foreskin off of baby boy's penises to "prevent a substantial number of infections" is ridiculous as cutting off baby girl's breasts to prevent breast cancer

Read the rest.