HIV

Big drop in new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men

Public Health England credits better testing and uptake of anti-retroviral therapy, as well as the use of the preventative PrEP among gay and bisexual men, while among heterosexual men and women late-stage HIV infection diagnosis remained high.…

HIV diagnoses increasing in older adults

The incidence of HIV diagnoses in European countries has been increasing in people aged over 50 years, who now account for around a sixth of all new cases, according to a study published in the Lancet HIV.…

RPS director for Scotland says closure of Scotland’s busiest needle exchange ‘beggars belief’

The closure of Scotland’s busiest needle exchange service has been described by Alex MacKinnon, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) director for Scotland, as a decision that frankly beggars belief.…

Public Health England survey finds commissioning of sexual health and HIV services is ‘fragmented’

Provision of sexual health and HIV services has become ‘fragmented’ in England since responsibility for commissioning was split across local authorities, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and NHS England, a survey by Public Health England has found.…

HIV prevention vaginal ring found acceptable to adolescent girls

A vaginal ring containing the antiretroviral drug dapivirine had high adherence among young women, study finds…

MHRA seizes ‘unreliable’ HIV self-testing kits from UK suppliers

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has seized 114 “potentially unreliable” HIV home testing kits from two UK suppliers.…

NHS England announces start of three-year PrEP trial

NHS England has announced the start of the trial to provide pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to people at high risk of HIV infection in England, in order to gather clinical evidence on optimal targeting, uptake and implementation of PrEP on a large scale.…

Screening for HIV in primary care is cost effective and should be promoted, say researchers

General practice-based HIV screening is an important public health intervention which should be used more widely, according to a study led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine…

Package of antimicrobial drugs reduces deaths in HIV-infected adults and children

REALITY trial, conducted by University College London, reduced death rates in HIV-infected adults and children by more than 25%.…

The World Health Organization warns of increasing HIV drug resistance and issues new guidelines to address threat

Meg Caroline Doherty from the World Health Organization discusses the increasing number of cases HIV drug resistance, and the new guidelines and global action plan developed by the WHO to help countries address the threat.…