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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - October 2025
Providence Research Profiles: Dr. Zabrina Brumme
October 31, 2025 - Tyla Casey-Knight - Providence Research - Dr. Zabrina Brumme, Laboratory Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), leads one of only two laboratories in Canada that perform specialized precision medicine tests to guide HIV treatments.
Dr. Zabrina Brumme, Laboratory Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), leads one of only two laboratories in Canada that perform specialized precision medicine tests to guide HIV treatments. Earlier this year, Dr. Brumme was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, one of the highest honours in the Canadian health sciences community, in recognition of her leadership in HIV clinical care and research.
Dr. Brumme received her Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine in 2006 from the University of British Columbia, completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. Dr. Brumme’s research program integrates molecular biology, epidemiology and computational approaches to study HIV genetic diversity and evolution with the goal of informing HIV vaccine and eradication strategies. Most recently, her laboratory has focused on characterizing the genetics and dynamics of the latent HIV reservoir - the cells or tissues in the body where the virus persists and replicates - with the goal of designing safe and effective strategies to develop a cure for HIV.
Dr. Julio Montaner delivers SPH PHC Grand Rounds
October 2025 - PR Monthly Newsletter - Providence Research - On October 16th, Dr. Julio Montaner was invited to present “HIV/AIDS Control at the Crossroads” as part of St.Paul’s Hospital Providence Healthcare Infectious Disease Medicine Grand Rounds.
Building upon some of the themes in his presentation at the Fall 2025 BC-CfE Update, Dr. Montaner delivered a passionate plea for renewed focus and resources on the HIV response here in Canada and abroad, as cases rise at alarming rates.
Ethnic minorities more likely to underreport health problems
29 October2025 - The University of Manchester - Asian and Black ethnic groups who say they have long term health conditions could be more likely to underreport anxiety, depression, and the ability to carry out daily activities than white populations, new research involving 2.6 million people finds.
The study by health economists at The University of Manchester and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM), is published today in the journal Quality of Life Research.
The authors also say that people from different ethnic groups with health conditions rated their quality of life differently, even when they reported similar prevalence of actual illness.
Pathologies of Poverty: The Need for Housing
October 28, 2025 - Learning Series - BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) -
Presenter: DR. ANDREW BOOZARY MD MPP SM CCFP
'Stronger together': Arts community tackles HIV/AIDS with wide-ranging project
October 28, 2025 - By Mike Devlin - TIMES COLONIST - Still With Us: A Legacy of HIV/AIDS in the Arts explores the impact of the virus that causes AIDS through the lens of poetry, theatre, opera, and contemporary dance.
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HIV/AIDS research has saved millions of lives globally and led to innovative advances in multiple diseases
SEATTLE – October 27, 2025 - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center - Numerous medical advances originate from U.S.-funded HIV research
Leaders in HIV research highlighted the critical role of that research has played in advancing HIV science over the past 40 years. In a commentary in Nature Medicine, they explained how U.S.-funded HIV research has increased scientific understanding, treatment and prevention of not only HIV/AIDS, but many other health conditions.
“Thanks to broad U.S. investment, HIV research has opened the door to breakthroughs and treatments for diseases far beyond HIV/AIDS,” pointed out Larry Corey, MD, professor and past president and director at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and corresponding author. “As we approach World AIDS Day and renew our commitment to an AIDS-free generation, we recognize the contributions of HIV research to advances in immunology, cancer, cardiovascular disease, vaccine development, aging and global health.”
This Moment Calls for a New Brand of Heroes in HIV—And They’ve Arrived
Oct 27, 2025 - By Ace Robinson - TheBody - As I write this article, the U.S. government is shut down. Latinx people are being racially profiled—legally. Transgender people are losing their access to accommodation, jobs, and federal services. The U.S. president is making n-word jokes—in public—while Black unemployment soars.
This is all occurring against the backdrop of a proposed $2 billion (with a B!) in funding cuts to HIV-related prevention, care, and research. National Institutes of Health directors are being fired—including hugely respected figures from the HIV community, such as Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staffers tasked with overseeing communicable disease outbreaks are getting laid off as a misguided form of political punishment directed at Democrats from the sitting president; although some are being reinstated (like the staff of the widely respected Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), it is only some, and only after national and global outcry.
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How HIV disrupts sleep across Africa
27 October 2025 - Wits University - HIV significantly affects sleep, with many affected people living in a state akin to chronic jet lag.
A new study with Wits researchers published in The Lancet HIV describes how People living with HIV (PLWHIV) experience higher rates of sleep issues even when virally suppressed, which has been associated with a higher risk for heart disease, depression and cognitive decline.
“Sleep is the missing vital sign in HIV care,” say Professors Xavier Gómez-Olivé and Karine Scheuermaier, the Wits contributing authors to the study. Despite how common poor sleep in PLWHIV is, most healthcare providers don’t routinely ask patients about their sleep, leaving a major gap in care that affects daily function and long-term health. In turn, PLWHIV do not always raise the issue of sleeping difficulties.
SA becomes first African country to register groundbreaking anti-HIV injection lenacapavir
October 27, 2025 - SANews - South African Government News Agency - The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has announced the registration of lenacapavir, making South Africa the first country on the continent to approve the groundbreaking twice-a-year anti-HIV injection.
In March 2025, Gilead, a biopharmaceutical company based in the United States, applied to SAHPRA, the local drug regulatory authority.
Two weeks ago, Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, announced that South Africa plans to launch lenacapavir, a groundbreaking long-acting HIV prevention method, as early as March 2026.
Some viruses can play a deadly game of hide and seek inside the human body
October 24, 2025 - By Gabrielle Emanuel - Goats and Soda STORIES OF LIFE IN A CHANGING WORLD - NPR - Viruses are tiny — and sneaky.
So sneaky that some play a deadly game of hide and seek. The “seek” part is all too familiar: They're always looking for ways to infect humans. Their ability to hide is far less well-known and can have devastating implications.
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How HIV’s shape-shifting protein reveals clues for smarter drug design
LA JOLLA - October 24, 2025 - Salk News - Salk Institute for Biological Studies - Salk Institute researchers determine structure of HIV protein during newly discovered function, enabling development of better HIV therapeutics
The rate of HIV infection continues to climb globally. Around 40 million people live with HIV-1, the most common HIV strain. While symptoms can now be better managed with lifelong treatment, there is no cure to fully eliminate the virus from the body, so patients still often struggle with related health issues, side effects, social stigma, and drug resistance.
One of the most promising treatment avenues is disrupting HIV replication by impairing the function of integrase, a protein named for its role in integrating viral genetic material into the human host genome. However, scientists have recently noticed that integrase does more than just integration. Later in HIV’s replication cycle, integrase interacts with viral RNA to help the virus spread and infect new cells.
Taking on these two distinct roles—first with DNA, then RNA—requires changes to integrase’s protein structure. Salk Institute researchers recently captured these important structural changes for the first time, creating novel 3D models of integrase in both roles. Now, scientists can connect the dots between integrase’s form and function to begin developing compounds that could impair distinct functions of integrase and, in turn, better treat people living with HIV.
From ‘analogue to digital’ Will digital transformation improve HIV care?
October 24, 2025 - Open Access News - OPEN ACCESS GOVERNMENT - Last month, the UK Government published its long-awaited 10-Year Health Plan, with one of its three key shifts being the move from ‘analogue to digital’. But how will these new changes affect the lives of those living with HIV
It is encouraging that the Plan reaffirms the Government’s commitment to ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 – a goal that is within reach but unachievable as things stand. If well designed and implemented, digital transformation could play an essential role in tackling growing inequalities and accelerating progress in the HIV response.
HIV Outcomes UK is committed to improving data and confidentiality practices across the NHS. Supporting people to live well with HIV means enabling joined-up care, ensuring accessible information, and data-sharing systems that uphold privacy and reduce stigma.
At the heart of the Government’s digital shift is the introduction of a Single Electronic Patient Record and a significantly upgraded NHS App. But delivering on the commitments of the 10-Year Health Plan will take more than policy commitments and software updates.
For people living with HIV – who often face fragmented services and the impacts of stigma – this is a critical moment. As this article explores, digital transformation holds real potential to strengthen the UK’s HIV response, but only if the proper safeguards, investment, and co-production with communities are put in place.
Second Berlin patient has unusual immune response that seems to have removed his HIV
October 23, 2025 - by Gus Cairns - At the 20th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2025) in Paris last week, delegates received an update on a case of an apparent cure of HIV infection that was first presented at the 2024 International AIDS Conference in Munich.
The ‘second Berlin patient’ received a stem cell transplant in late 2015 that cured the acute myeloid leukaemia he was suffering from. It also appears to have cured his HIV infection, as he has now been off antiretroviral therapy (ART) for seven years without his HIV reappearing. Researchers have found no DNA in his cells capable of giving rise to new virus, and his antibody response to HIV is fading, indicating there’s no virus for the immune system to respond to.
Up until now, however, nothing has been presented on how his body’s response to the stem cell transplant and to his HIV somehow achieved this feat.
At EACS, a partial answer was provided: he had so-called natural killer cells from his innate immune system with an unusual genetic profile, which prompted the development of a set of antibodies that were exceptionally efficient in seeking out and destroying whatever HIV-infected cells were left in his body after the stem cell transplant.
Infectious Diseases Grand Rounds
- October 16, 2025
October 23, 2025 - Department of Medicine -
October 16, 2025
Presenter: Dr. Julio Montaner
Topic: “HIV/AIDS Control at a Crossroad”
Progress and Possibility Behind HIV/AIDS in Guatemala
October 23, 2025 - The Borgen Project - Guatemala has made significant progress in its fight against HIV/AIDS. While it may not make headlines every day, Guatemala’s advancements are persistent and deeply human. The country is steadily moving towards the UNAIDS target of 95% of people knowing their virus status, 95% of people on treatment and 95% achieving viral suppression. Tucked between mountain roads and the Caribbean coast and once overwhelmed by stigma, unequal health care infrastructure and limited access to treatment, Guatemalans now have expanded access to treatment, information and community. The trajectory of meeting these 95–95–95 targets is palpable.
At a time, those numbers felt out of reach. Today, however, the change is measurable. Approximately 33,000 Guatemalans are living with HIV, with an adult prevalence rate of just 0.2–0.3%, among the lowest in Latin America. Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths have fallen by nearly 40%, thanks to wider access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and strong community-driven advocacy. About 78% of people with HIV are now receiving treatment, and two-thirds have achieved viral suppression, signaling significant and lasting progress in care accessibility. Yet, this progress also underscores how deeply health outcomes are tied to economic inequality. Poverty continues to limit access to testing and treatment, especially in rural areas where clinics and transportation remain scarce. The progress of HIV/AIDS in Guatemala reflects not only medical advancement but also the broader effort to close the gap between health and opportunity.
‘Of all the moments for science to slow down, this is not it.’
October 23, 2025 - IAVI - International AIDS Vaccine Initiative - An HIV vaccine academy showcases the scientific talent of African researchers but is tempered by funding worries
This past June in Cape Town, Glenda Gray, chief medical officer at South African Medical Research Council and distinguished professor, Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, joined fellow experts for the semiannual HIV Vaccine Science Academy sponsored by the International AIDS Society, the Gates Foundation, and the emerging infectious disease arm of the French research institute INSERM. The meeting brings together young and mid-career researchers based on the African continent for expert tutelage and scientific exchange.
The splintered and precarious state of research funding was definitely on the agenda, but the real focus, Gray says, was on maintaining HIV vaccine and prevention research in Africa and finding ways to support the talent and capabilities in both emerging and established research labs across sub-Saharan Africa. “It’s not a good time to be a young scientist interested in HIV vaccines,” says Gray. “But the people here seemed quite well supported, skilled, and with a lot of potential.”
Second Berlin patient has unusual immune response that seems to have removed his HIV
23 October 2025
- By Gus Cairns - aidsmap - At the 20th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2025) in Paris last week, delegates received an update on a case of an apparent cure of HIV infection that was first presented at the 2024 International AIDS Conference in Munich.
The ‘second Berlin patient’ received a stem cell transplant in late 2015 that cured the acute myeloid leukaemia he was suffering from. It also appears to have cured his HIV infection, as he has now been off antiretroviral therapy (ART) for seven years without his HIV reappearing. Researchers have found no DNA in his cells capable of giving rise to new virus, and his antibody response to HIV is fading, indicating there’s no virus for the immune system to respond to.
Read more...
AI and HIV: Current and Future Applications
October 23, 2025 - Bristish Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) - BC-Cfe IN-PERSON EVENT
LEARNING SERIES)
October 29, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM (PST).
This webinar will be presented by:
Aranka Anema, PhD
and Jeffrey Joy, PhD
Register online: Free registration
A recent rise in HIV among heterosexual people in Alberta and nearby U.S. states likely facilitated by syphilis
October 23, 2025 - CATIE NEWS - Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) - Syphilis is on the rise across Canada and the U.S., including among heterosexual people
The infection causes inflammation and sores that heighten the risk of HIV transmission
HIV diagnoses have increased among heterosexual people in Alberta and nearby U.S. states
Rates of new syphilis diagnoses have been increasing over the past 20 years. As a result, there is now an epidemic of this sexually transmitted infection (STI) across Canada and the U.S. The initial symptoms of syphilis—a sore or chancre on or inside the genitals, mouth or other parts of the body—may be painless or go unnoticed. The germs that cause syphilis (called treponemes) quickly spread from the site of first contact. These germs can attack nerves, eventually causing problems in the ears (hearing loss) and eyes (loss of vision). If left untreated, over time syphilis can cause injury to vital organs, including the brain, bones, heart and circulatory system, liver and kidneys. Syphilis during pregnancy can harm the fetus and baby (congenital syphilis).
Rising HIV infections put the Western Pacific on alert
Nadi, Fiji - 22 October 2025 - World Health Organization - WHO and UNAIDS convene partners to explore solutions to the Region’s HIV crisis
The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific and UNAIDS Asia-Pacific have convened a range of stakeholders here to confront the Region’s HIV crisis amid growing national epidemics. Held during the seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific and at the request of the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services, today’s high-level event brought together ministers of health from the 38 countries and areas of the Western Pacific Region, as well as civil society and development partners, to seek solutions to accelerate progress on HIV prevention.
Three countries in particular have seen sharp increases in recent years, with implications for national and regional health security.
More Europeans are dying from HIV now than 15 years ago
21 October 2025 - By Gus Cairns - aidsmap - Europe, taken as a whole, is losing some of the gains it has made in tackling the burden of HIV, the 20th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2025) heard in Paris.
Teymur Noori of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) told delegates that Europe would miss out on achieving most of the targets UNAIDS had set for the year 2030.
UNAIDS first proposed the targets in 2014, although they were revised in 2021 to include interim targets for 2025, in recognition of the impact of the COVID pandemic. Since then, however, war in many places including Palestine and Ukraine, deep cuts to global HIV budgets from the US and European countries, and a general rightward shift in world politics have all served to deprioritise HIV as a global health issue. So falling short of those ambitious targets is no great surprise.
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First-in-Human Study of DNA Antibody Replicas Generate Efficient and Long-Lasting Biologic Production of Human Antiviral Antibodies
PHILADELPHIA -(OCT. 21, 2025)- The Wistar Institute - A multidisciplinary team of scientists led by The Wistar Institute, including Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, AstraZeneca and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, published today in Nature Medicine a breakthrough in biologic antibody production that happens directly in human subjects in this encouraging first clinical trial of its kind.
Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense, researchers have demonstrated that designed DNA cassettes (small genetic elements) through direct delivery instruct human tissues to produce, assemble, and secrete functional human monoclonal antibodies that persist in the bloodstream for more than a year. Detailed studies of these expressed antibodies show they function effectively, bind correctly to their specific viral target and are well tolerated by the host, an important outcome.
Kansas educator, author explores heartland history of HIV, AIDS in new book
LAWRENCE - October 20, 2025 - By Tim Carpenter - Kansas Reflector - Book chronicles insights into pandemic with lessons for guiding LGBTQ politics
Katie Batza’s first memory of HIV and AIDS was as a preteen church volunteer helping her mother deliver Meals on Wheels to a man facing death.
She was 11 years old, and her politically conservative Catholic mother was dedicated to making certain those struck by the pandemic were treated with kindness, empathy and love.
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People with HIV report little difference in quality of life compared with matched controls, but more depression
20 October 2025 - By Gus Cairns - aidsmap - A Dutch study presented at the 20th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2025) in Paris compared the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in around 500 older people with HIV with the same number of carefully matched people without HIV for the last decade.
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UNAids is set to close in 2026 – four years early. Are experts right to be alarmed?
20 October 2025 - By David Cox - The Guardian - The move to shut the agency comes as aid budgets are being slashed, leading to fears that global progress on HIV may be reversed
As executive director of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, Ganna Dovbakh was among the many public health officials and NGO leaders shocked by the UN secretary-general’s proposal to “sunset UNAids by the end of 2026”.
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IDSA Honors Leaders in Infectious Diseases at IDWeek 2025
October 19, 2025 - Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) - The Infectious Diseases Society of America is honored to recognize 12 outstanding experts at IDWeek 2025 for their contributions to the field of infectious diseases.
“The Society is absolutely delighted to recognize these exceptional doctors, researchers, mentors and executives for their vital contributions to advancing the field of infectious diseases,” said Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP, president of IDSA. “These remarkable leaders have not only driven significant progress in the battle against infectious diseases, but they’ve also strongly motivated the next generation of scientists and physicians to pursue this crucial area of study.”
Campaigners call for introduction of ‘game-changing’ HIV drug
October 18, 2025 - By Daniel Logan - BBC News - Campaigners in Northern Ireland have called for the introduction of a 'game-changing' drug that will prevent HIV.
On Friday it was announced cabotegravir (CAB-LA) injections will be introduced in England and Wales, bringing the policy in line with Scotland, in the hope they will help meet the ambition of ending new UK HIV cases by 2030.
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‘London could 100% compete with Cannes’: Aids charity UK gala debut honours Tracey Emin
18 October 2025 - By Nadia Khomami - The Guardian - AmfAR, set up by Elizabeth Taylor, is known for hosting lavish parties and raising huge sums for HIV and Aids research
It’s recognised for its pomp, the celebrity supporters and the fabulously glamorous locations, but for the man behind the amfAR gala, an A-list charity roadshow that rolled into London for the first time this weekend, the event is deeply personal.
AmfAR – the American Foundation for Aids Research – is a nonprofit group that emerged in the 1980s to support research into HIV and Aids.
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New guidance from ECDC and EACS aims to raise standards of HIV care, focusing on lifelong health
October 17, 2025 - European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) - The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) have released two new additions to a series of European standards of care for HIV, which cover key aspects of HIV prevention, testing and treatment. These latest modules, which focus on the commencement of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the management of HIV and co-morbidities for people diagnosed with HIV, build upon the existing standards of HIV prevention through pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV testing.
These standards of care provide a framework to enhance the quality of HIV prevention and care throughout the region. In the WHO European Region, it is estimated that 2.3 million people are living with HIV (778,000 in the EU/EEA). Effective treatments have transformed HIV into a manageable long-term condition, shifting the focus of care from survival towards ensuring people live long and healthy lives. The standards were developed through a collaboration of clinicians, public health experts, and community representatives representing people living with HIV. This person-centred approach ensures the guidance is grounded in the latest evidence, and is also practical, equitable, and empowering for the individuals it is designed to serve.
Binghamton professor pushing to expand infectious disease consultant pharmacist roles
October 17, 2025 - By Scott Sasina - BingUNews - Binghamton University, State University of New York - Wesley Kufel emphasizes the clinical, educational and research value of ID consultant pharmacists nationwide
In the pharmacy world, there are many different career paths one can take. Some roles are more well-known, while others are under the radar. Clinical infectious disease consultants are the latter, but Clinical Associate Professor Wesley Kufel is trying to change that.
In a recently published paper, Antimicrobial Stewardship and Beyond: The Many Essential Roles of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, Kufel focuses on the role and value of infectious disease (ID) consultant pharmacists, which he says is a relatively under-recognized but vital part of clinical care teams.
The paper, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, wasn’t a traditional research study but an important viewpoint piece about the role of infectious disease pharmacists and how they fit into patient care teams.
Randy Shilts: Gay San Francisco journalist paved way for others to be out publicly
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) - OCTOBER 17, 2025 - By Ken Miguel and Cornell Barnard - ABC7 News - Randy Shilts made America conscious of AIDS. He brought the disease to the attention of those who thought it was something just confined to a few members of the gay community.
Shilts was a journalist. Though he died at 42 years old, he lived his life with purpose.
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amfAR Awards $2.4 Million in New HIV Cure-Focused Research Grants
Research teams in North America, Africa, and Australia will receive support to test a range of bold and innovative cure strategies
NEW YORK, October 16, 2025 — amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research - amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, announced a new round of grants Thursday to research teams across three continents targeting novel HIV cure strategies. It marks the first time amfAR has funded five grants in a single round, reaffirming the organization’s commitment to funding bold, innovative research as access to funding has become increasingly limited for researchers.
“amfAR is proud to meet the moment and step up its support for research and the HIV community with this unprecedented suite of five new grants worth a total of $2.4 million,” amfAR Vice President and Director of Research Dr. Andrea Gramatica said. “Each of these projects show enormous potential and the brilliant researchers bring out-of-the-box solutions to the decades-old problem of a cure for HIV.”
‘We were losing people every day’: Vancouver AIDS memorial marks 40 years
Oct. 16, 2025 - By Denise Ryan - Vancouver Sun - It’s time to remember a small stand of cherry trees in Coal Harbour that is an unlikely, and largely forgotten, memorial to those who died of AIDS
When Michael Welsh joins others gathering at a small stand of Sakura cherry trees in Coal Harbour next week, he will be thinking of the countless young men lost to AIDS in the early days of the epidemic in Vancouver.
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Reassuring findings from Canadian study on bictegravir safety during pregnancy
October 16, 2025 - CATIE NEWS - Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) - HIV regimens containing bictegravir are widely used in Canada and other high-income countries
A Canadian study assessed the effects of bictegravir in infants exposed to this drug in the womb
It found no increased risk of birth defects among 161 infants exposed to the drug over five years
Bictegravir belongs to a class of anti-HIV drugs called integrase inhibitors. It is co-formulated into one pill called Biktarvy, which contains the following medicines:
bictegravir
TAF (tenofovir alafenamide)
TC (emtricitabine)
In clinical trials, Biktarvy has been found to be generally well tolerated and highly effective in suppressing HIV. Biktarvy is a leading HIV treatment in many high-income countries.
Biktarvy was initially approved in Canada and other high-income countries in 2018. Initial clinical trials of HIV treatments (antiretroviral therapy; ART) tend to recruit non-pregnant adults. After a treatment has been approved for general use, doctors may then choose, based on the available evidence, whether to use it in pregnant people.
Three FHS postdoctoral fellows receive Research Trainee Awards
October 16, 2025 - Simon Fraser University (SFU) - Three researchers from SFU's Faculty of Health Sciences have each successfully secured a prestigious Research Trainee Award from Michael Smith Health Research BC.
Broadway Cares Provides Record-Breaking $18.3 Million in Grants in 2025
OCTOBER 16, 2025 - Broadway Cares - By Andrew Gans - Playbill - The donations will provide vital services for the Entertainment Community Fund and 483 lifesaving organizations around the country.
Broadway Cares awarded a record-breaking $18.3 million in grants in 2025, thanks to the support of those onstage, backstage, and in the audience, as well as many more dedicated donors and volunteers.
Of that amount, $9.5 million was awarded through Broadway Cares' National Grants Program—the largest donation in the history of the program—to 483 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. These grants provide lifesaving medication, doctor visits, mental health support, healthy meals, housing, and hope to those in need.
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Gilead Presents New HIV Research Data at EACS 2025 – Driving Scientific Innovation in Treatment and Prevention
FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 15, 2025 - – New Data Showcase Safety Profile of Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) with Other Medications and Recruitment Strategies for PURPOSE 5 –
– Five-Year BICSTaR Results Offer Insights into Long-Term Treatment with Biktarvy®, Helping Inform the Future of Coordinated, Person-Centered HIV Care –
– Latest Results on Novel Long-Acting Combination Regimens, Including Once-Weekly and Twice-Yearly Treatment Options –
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced its upcoming participation in the 20th European AIDS Conference (EACS) to be held in Paris, France from October 15-18. As the leader in HIV innovation, Gilead will provide an update on its strategic initiatives, key collaborations, and share new scientific data from its HIV research and development programs. The research that will be presented at EACS 2025, along with the Gilead-led symposia and supported community forums, reflect the company’s person-centered approach to advancing scientific discovery and underscores its focus on community partnership to help end the HIV epidemic.
“It is fitting that thousands of scientists and community stakeholders will gather in Paris for EACS 2025,” said Jared Baeten, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, Virology Therapeutic Area Head, Gilead Sciences. “The first Declaration on Fast-Track Cities to end the HIV epidemic was signed in Paris on World AIDS Day in 2014. Fueled by Gilead’s longstanding commitment to develop and deliver HIV prevention and treatment options tailored to the individual’s needs, my colleagues and I continue to strive for a future without HIV, in Europe and around the world.”
Immunotherapy approach offers hope for long-term HIV control without daily medication
October 15, 2025) - McGill University Health Centre - First-in-human clinical trial of anti-PD1 medication for people living with HIV confirms treatment safety and shows potential for drug-free viral control.
HIV remains a major global health issue, affecting nearly 40 million people worldwide. Current treatments, known as antiretroviral therapy (ART), are highly effective at suppressing the virus and preventing illness, but they are not curative and must be taken for life.
Now, encouraging results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of an immunotherapy commonly used in cancer offer new hope. Published in Nature Medicine, the randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind study investigated the safety and tolerability of budigalimab, a monoclonal antibody targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) in people living with HIV. Not only the findings show that regular short-term low-dose injections of this treatment were safe, but they also suggest that they may have delayed the return of the virus (viral rebound) in some participants after they stopped taking their regular antiretroviral medications.
Budigalimab, an anti-PD-1 inhibitor, for people living with HIV-1: a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 1b study
October 15, 2025) - Nature Medicine - Nature - Chronic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease results in immune exhaustion and dampened T cell responses, and programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors offer a potential approach to enable viral control without antiretroviral therapy (ART) through reversal of these effects. Budigalimab is an investigational humanized anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody. Multiple intravenous (IV) low doses of budigalimab (Stage 1: 2 mg n = 10, 10 mg n = 10, placebo n = 5, two doses every 4 weeks; Stage 2: 10 mg n = 11, placebo n = 5, four doses every 2 weeks (Q2W)) were assessed in people living with HIV (PLWH; n = 41) in a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled phase 1 study with an analytical treatment interruption (ATI) to identify an efficacious regimen with a favorable safety profile in PLWH. The primary endpoints were safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics. Demographics and baseline characteristics were balanced across treatment groups, except for sex, which was mostly male. All participants identified as cisgender. Budigalimab was well tolerated for up to 44 weeks, with 29 of 41 participants experiencing an adverse event (AE), including 2 participants who each experienced one grade 1 reversible immune-related AE (thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism). Three grade 3 AEs were reported by two participants and one serious AE by one participant; none were deemed related to treatment. IV budigalimab 10 mg Q2W resulted in a slight accumulation of drug in serum, with concentrations remaining above the estimated concentration required for near-complete (>95%) PD-1 receptor saturation on CD8+ T cells for ~10 weeks in peripheral blood. In an exploratory efficacy analysis of a 12-week ATI initiated with the first of four 10 mg Q2W doses, 6 of 11 participants experienced a delayed rebound with a relatively low viral peak and/or off-ART viral control (<200 copies ml−1) for ≥6 weeks during ATI, with 2 sustaining ART-free viral control to study end (204−252 days). The study achieved prespecified endpoints, supporting further evaluation of budigalimab in PLWH in a phase 2 study. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04223804.
SPH PHC Grand Rounds: HIV/AIDS Control at a Crossroads: A Call for Action
October 15, 2025) - Bristish Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) - This SPH PHC Grand Rounds presented by: Dr. Julio Montaner
October 16, 2025 from 12-1pm
In response to the current state of the HIV response here in Canada and abroad, Dr. Julio Montaner will be presenting his lecture “HIV/AIDS Control at a Crossroads: A Call for Action”.
New Study Finds Skin Conditions Remain Prevalent in People With HIV Despite Advances in Treatment
Washington, D.C. (October 14, 2025) - The George Washington University - A new study led by researchers at the George Washington University and published through the DC Cohort, one of the largest HIV longitudinal studies in the United States, finds that nearly half of people living with HIV experience skin conditions—even in the modern era of highly effective antiretroviral therapy.
The study, Prevalence, Incidence, and Risk Factors for Dermatologic Conditions in People with HIV in the Modern Antiretroviral Era, examined medical records from 11,738 adults in Washington, D.C., between 2011 and 2023.
Trump’s shutdown firings at CDC cause whiplash, despair: What to know
10/14/25 - by Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi - The Hill - The Trump administration’s purge at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has left employees reeling.
The firings, which began late Friday, ran across more than a dozen divisions and centers. They impacted teams that investigate infectious disease outbreaks, chronic disease, respiratory disease surveillance, immunization, and more.
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Merck’s Investigational Drug Could Bring a Once-Monthly Oral Option for HIV PrEP
OCTOBER 14, 2025- By Meaghan Lee Callaghan - IDSE - The drug is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, a new class of HIV drugs currently under investigation. The drugmaker also is researching the other novel drug in this class, islatravir, which is undergoing trials for HIV treatment both by itself and in fixed-dose combinations—one with doravirine and another with lenacapavir (Sunlenca [for treatment], Gilead).
As for MK-8527, investigators are studying the drug for HIV PrEP, noting that newly published preclinical data show the drug has potent antiretroviral activity and favorable pharmacokinetics that make it an “attractive clinical candidate,” according to lead author Izzat T. Raheem, PhD, a distinguished scientist in Discovery Chemistry at Merck Research Laboratories, and his co-authors (PLoS Biol 2025;23[8]:e3003308).
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South Africa’s health minister hails new HIV prevention jab but warns of limited supply
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Oct 14, 2025 - By Michelle Gumede, The Associated Press - CityNews Halifax - South Africa’s health minister on Tuesday called lenacapavir, the first twice-yearly HIV prevention jab in the world, a “groundbreaking” tool to fight the disease, but warned initial donated supply would be limited to nearly half a million people in the African country with the highest prevalence rate.
This comes just weeks after the U.S. announced plans to buy 2 million doses of the HIV prevention drug for low-income countries.
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Reunion Project hosts free two-day event in Chicago for people aging with HIV
October 13, 2025 - by Kayleigh Padar - WINDY CITY TIMES - The Reunion Project is hosting a meetup for HIV survivors later this month at Loyola University Chicago, where people can gather to share their experiences, learn strategies for aging with HIV and access resources.
The two-day peer-led convening, “Together We Stand, Forever We Thrive,” will take place from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Oct. 24-25 at Kasbeer Hall at Loyola University, 25 Pearson St. It’s free to attend, but people can RSVP online.
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At the World Health Summit, global parliamentarians meet with partners to strengthen political leadership in ending AIDS
BERLIN/GENEVA, 13 October 2025 - UNAIDS - Parliamentarians from around the world met with policymakers and partners at the World Health Summit in Berlin to foster dialogue on how to mobilize political will, defend equal rights and build inclusive and sustainable responses to HIV..
“Parliamentarians have long been a cornerstone of international efforts to end AIDS, pushing for efforts to secure substantial funding, technical expertise, and political advocacy to ensure equitable access to life-saving HIV treatment and prevention services,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “As we work towards ending AIDS by 2030, partnerships with governments that prioritize human rights and equity remain critical.”
The event was organized by UNAIDS, UNITE - Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, the Global Equality Caucus, and STOPAIDS, under the umbrella of the Global Parliamentarians Platform on HIV and AIDS. Hosted by German MP Sasha van Beek, participants focused on reinforcing global collaboration to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and advance human rights for populations most affected by HIV. Participants underscored the urgent need for renewed global commitment to HIV financing and to strengthening cooperation between North and South.
Trump administration reverses layoffs notices for some CDC staff amid government shutdown
October 12, 2025 - by Tara Suter - THE HILLL - The Trump administration reversed layoff notices for some Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff after more than 1,000 employees were notified of layoffs amid the current government shutdown, according to multiple reports.
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APIC Statement on CDC Workforce Reductions and the Threat to Infection Prevention
October 11, 2025 - The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) - The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is deeply concerned by the recent reduction-in-force actions affecting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including the termination of staff from the Global Health Center, the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and other critical public health divisions.
These mass terminations represent a profound setback to the nation’s infection prevention infrastructure. The loss of seasoned epidemiologists, laboratory safety experts, and public health leaders undermines our ability to detect, investigate, and contain infectious disease threats, both domestically and globally. The dismissal of Epidemic Intelligence Service officers, often referred to as “disease detectives,” is particularly alarming. EIS officers have led outbreak responses in the United States for decades, from tracing Legionnaires’ disease to containing Ebola.
‘CDC is over’: RFK Jr. lays off over 1,000 employees in Friday night massacre
October 11, 2025 - By Brandy Zadrozny - MSNBC - Amid the ongoing shutdown, the HHS secretary wiped out entire offices that investigate disease outbreaks, manage infectious disease responses and collect data.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved one step closer to his goal of dismantling the nation’s premier public-health agency by dismissing more than 1,000 scientists, doctors and public health officials from the Department of Health and Human Services late Friday night.
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UNAIDS welcomes US announcement to expand access to medicine to prevent HIV and urges greater global ambition to reach all in need
GENEVA, 11 October 2025 - UNAIDS - UNAIDS proudly presents, ‘Ghotul,’ a short film about a conversation between a daughter and her mother about how she met her father and how she navigated dating and relationships when she was younger.
The mother explains that she lived in a Ghotul. These were real institutions within the Muria and Gond tribes of India. They were youth dormitories where boys and girls lived and learned about social customs and sexuality in a culturally sanctioned setting.
In the film, the mother recalls her years in the Ghotul describing one boy as pushy while another was nervous. Her future husband, she explains, respected her and she felt listened to. The narrative highlights that what protects young women most is not silence, but safe spaces to learn, talk, and choose.
Latino Sexual Minority Men Overlooked in US HIV Prevention Initiative
October 10, 2025 - by Jillian McKoy - Boston University - A new analysis provides recommendations on how local leaders can better engage with Latino men who have sex with men on HIV prevention and treatment to achieve the nation’s goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
Despite improvements in HIV prevention over the last two decades, Latino gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to disproportionately experience higher rates of HIV, as well as barriers to healthcare treatment and prevention tools. The Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative (EHE), a national plan to end the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030, aims to close these gaps by providing locally tailored prevention and treatment strategies. The plans launched initially in 57 priority counties and states that reported the highest incidence of HIV.
As the initiative prepares to expand these efforts more broadly across the nation from 2026-2030, a new analysis by researchers at the School of Public Health and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (UM) examines how Latino gay, bisexual, and other MSM are represented in these plans, and whether improvements can be made to track and address their specific HIV prevention health needs, cultural barriers, and other factors as the nation aims to reduce new HIV cases by 90 percent over the next five years.
Published in JAMA Health Network, the analysis found significant gaps in HIV data among Latino sexual minority men.
AstraZeneca announces historic agreement with US Government to lower the cost of medicines for American patients
October 10, 2024 - By Matthew Bowden - AstraZeneca - Delivers on all four of President Trump’s requests reducing cost of medicines
Preserves America’s role as a global powerhouse in biopharmaceuticals innovation
AstraZeneca to invest $50bn in manufacturing and R&D to support domestic sourcing
AstraZeneca today announces a historic agreement with President Donald J. Trump’s administration to lower the cost of prescription medicines for American patients while preserving America’s cutting-edge biopharmaceutical innovation.
An L.A. AIDS trailblazer has advice on how to stay hopeful in dark times for public health
October 10, 2025 - By Tyrone Beason - Los Angeles Times - The year was 1987. Phill Wilson was 31, a recent transplant to L.A. from his hometown of Chicago. A mysterious infection that weakened its hosts’ immune systems was killing people at a terrifying rate, while the Reagan administration downplayed and openly joked about the disease. Some major news outlets initially wrote off the emerging epidemic as a “gay plague,” insinuating that other Americans didn’t need to worry about it.
Wilson’s doctor told him that he was HIV-positive, had six months to live and that he should get his affairs in order.
Instead, Wilson decided to “focus on the living.”
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Canada Must Show Leadership for Global Fund’s 8th Replenishment – Organizational Sign-on Letter
October 9, 2025 by HIV Legal Network - Please add your organization’s name to this open letter.
Dear Prime Minister
The Eighth Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria (the Global Fund) will take place in November this year, co-hosted by the Republic of South Africa and the United Kingdom. This marks a pivotal moment in the fight against the world’s three deadliest infectious diseases and in our progress on delivering the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ensuring that No One Is Left Behind.
Canada has long been a crucial partner as the seventh largest funder of the Global Fund and an ardent defender of human rights, gender equality, and global health. Canada’s continued leadership on the global stage is more critical than ever. As the 2025 President of the G7 and a longstanding partner of the Global Fund, Canada’s bold pledge to the Eighth Replenishment is one of the most effective ways to save lives, improve the health of millions, protect human rights, and reinforce global security and prosperity for all. As the G7 President and an alumni host of a Global Fund Replenishment (2016), Canada now holds a particular diplomatic role, responsibility and privilege to lead by example, setting the bar for other governments to follow.
We, the undersigned organizations, represent communities affected by HIV, TB, and malaria, as well as civil society allies in Canada and around the world. Together, we are calling on the Government of Canada to demonstrate its continued leadership in global health and human rights with a pledge of CAD$457 million per year (CAD$1.37 billion over three years) to the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment.
Strong Results for Lenacapavir PrEP Study Among Adolescents
OCTOBER 9, 2025 - By Ethan Covey - Infectious Disease Special Edition (IDSE) - Lenacapavir (LEN; Yeztugo, Gilead) twice yearly given as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is safe and efficacious in adolescents and young adults, according to data from the PURPOSE-1 trial.
The findings address a key population that often is not included in clinical trials, investigators said. “Adolescents are often excluded from clinical trials due to stringent ethical and regulatory guidelines intended to protect them,” said Katherine Gill, MBChB, MPH, a senior researcher at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, in Cape Town, South Africa.
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AIDS Walk LA Returns to West Hollywood Amid Urgent Need for HIV/AIDS Funding
October 9, 2025 - by WeHo Online - On Sunday, October 12, West Hollywood Park will once again become the heart of a movement as thousands of residents, advocates, and allies gather for the 41st Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles—a critical event at a crucial time.
Organized by APLA Health in partnership with the City of West Hollywood, this year’s walk carries the powerful theme “Community is the Cure”—a reflection of the enduring spirit that has defined the fight against HIV/AIDS for over four decades.
But 2025’s walk is more than symbolic. With recent and significant cuts to federal HIV/AIDS funding, especially under policies pushed forward by the Trump administration, organizers warn that essential services for vulnerable communities are on the brink.
AIDS Walk Atlanta Raises $1.1M for Local HIV and AIDS Services
October 9, 2025 - By Laura Schmidt - POZ - AIDS Walk Atlanta & Music Festival attracted thousands and featured performances from CeeLo Green plus Trombone Shortey & Orleans Avenue.
On Saturday, September 27, the 34th annual AIDS Walk Atlanta & Music Festival raised more than $1.1 million for local HIV and AIDS organizations focused on education, prevention and treatment, according to a news release.
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HIV testing, PrEP, new HIV diagnoses and care outcomes for people accessing HIV services: 2025 report
7 October 2025 - UK Health Security Agency - GOV.UK - The annual HIV official statistics data release covers data to the end of December 2024. This report is accompanied by data tables, slide set, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Profiles which provide further breakdowns of the data.
The report provides an update on the latest HIV surveillance data and specifically provides an overview of trends in relation to HIV testing in sexual health services (as testing in other settings is reported in the HIV monitoring and evaluation framework), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), new HIV diagnoses, late HIV diagnoses and mortality, people diagnosed with HIV before continuing care in England and the care outcomes for people accessing HIV care. Population breakdowns focus upon England with more complete data for Scotland and Wales published by Public Health Scotland and Public Health Wales, respectively.
Efficacy and safety of nivolumab in people living with HIV and cancer: A single arm meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
October 07, 2025 - ASCO Publications - Nivolumab, a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, is widely used in the treatment of various advanced cancers. While immunotherapy has significantly evolved over recent years, data on safety and efficacy of Nivolumab in patients living with HIV (PLWH) and cancer remain limited. This meta-analysis aims to assess current evidence on the use of Nivolumab in this high-risk population.
Untold story of AIDS in the Midwest ‘Heartland’ revealed in new book
10/07/2025 - Jon Niccum - KU News – The University of Kansas - San Francisco. New York. Los Angeles. Washington, D.C.
The spread and focus of AIDS always seem to encompass these coastal cities.
“I’ve read a lot of the history written on HIV and AIDS, and there’s no one talking about this part of the country. It’s almost like AIDS didn’t happen here,” said Katie Batza, associate professor in women, gender & sexuality studies at the University of Kansas.
Her new book, “AIDS in the Heartland: How Unlikely Coalitions Created a Blueprint for LGBTQ Politics,” addresses this missing narrative. While histories of AIDS in the United States typically regard the largest urban areas as epicenters of the crisis, the Midwest heartland cultivated its own distinct strategies for survival. The book is published by the University of North Carolina Press.
The Burden review – deeply personal portrait of living with Aids in secret
7, October, 2025 - By Phuong Le - The Guardian - Elvis Sabin Ngaibino’s poignant documentary shows the pressures faced by family members forced to keep their condition hidden in their deeply religious community.
Shot in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, Elvis Sabin Ngaibino’s engrossing and poignant documentary is a family affair. The subject is none other than his cousin Rodrigue, who is consumed with a weighty secret: both he and his wife Reine are living with Aids. Within their deeply religious community, the condition is sorely misunderstood; in his fervid sermons, the local pastor associates Aids and HIV with witchcraft, curses, and even God’s punishment. Such superstitious and moralistic sentiments take deep root in the minds of the believers, worsening the social stigma surrounding an ongoing health crisis.
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Strengthening global pandemic preparedness
06 Oct 2025 - The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity - Established with a visionary gift from international businessman and philanthropist Mr Geoffrey Cumming, a global initiative is driving revolutionary research into lifesaving disease treatmentsOn Sunday, October 12, West Hollywood Park will once again become the heart of a movement as thousands of residents, advocates, and allies gather for the 41st Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles—a critical event at a crucial time.
The Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics brings together top researchers from around the world to ensure that when the next pandemic inevitably strikes, we can rapidly develop effective treatments and save millions of lives.
Speed and agility are key to a successful pandemic response. By focusing on developing ‘plug and play’ platform technologies that can be applied in any pandemic scenario, no matter the pathogen, the Cumming Global Centre aims to ensure scientists can quickly pivot to new pathogens as they emerge, and develop therapeutics in much shorter timeframes than currently possible.
Meet two researchers working on pioneering new approaches to treating infectious diseases.
amfAR Raises $3.1 Million at Inaugural Dallas Gala
With renewed funding, amfAR and Columbia University’s CHIMERA program enrolls a new class of Taylor Sheridan and Gene and Jerry Jones Family Honored
Diana Ross Headlined
Dallas, Texas, October 6, 2025 - amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research - The evening continued as Kathleen and Scott Kirby emphasized the urgent need for innovative HIV research, stressing its importance for Dallas, where more than 20,000 people are currently living with HIV. amfAR Board Co-Chairs T. Ryan Greenawalt and& Kevin McClatchy saluted Dallas’s many years of support for amfAR’s mission: “This community has rallied behind us for 25 years now, raising more than $65 million for our work,” they said.
Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki then presented the Gene and Jerry Jones Family with amfAR’s Philanthropic Leadership Award, praising their impact in Dallas and beyond and saying “we are all better off having the Joneses as part of our community.” Haley Anderson, Caroline Jones Moldawer, Chambers Jones, Jessica Donnell, and Jordan Jones Munoz accepted the award for the Jones Family. “Seeing the difference that amfAR can make in people’s lives has been a powerful reminder of the importance of giving back,” Donnell said. “It’s a lesson we learned early from our grandparents and parents and one that we will pass down to our next generation.”
Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of body
October 06, 2025 - By Jeff Renaud - Western News - Western University - Western researchers study virus by investigating rare tissue samples from early years of pandemic
Researchers at Western and the University of Calgary have discovered how HIV hides in different parts of the body by embedding itself into the DNA of cells in a tissue-specific manner, offering new insights into why the virus is so difficult to eliminate and cure — even decades after infection and treatment.
The study, led by Western’s Stephen Barr and UCalgary’s Guido van Marle, reveals that HIV cloaks itself in the DNA of infected cells using unique DNA patterns in the brain, blood and parts of the digestive tract. For example, in the brain, the virus avoids genes and hides in less active parts of the DNA.
The findings were published by the high impact journal Communications Medicine..
Turning HIV’s power against itself may help target hidden virus — another step towards a cure
6 October 2025- by Zekerie Redzheb - aidsmap - Researchers used selected molecules to make human cells less tolerant of damage, so that reactivating hidden HIV becomes a clear trigger for cell death. While making cells more vulnerable to dying may sound counterintuitive, the strategy ensures that cells harbouring HIV are eliminated, removing the hidden virus they contain. This in turn means there potentially will be no viable virus left to re-do the spreading all over again in the absence of treatment.
Although the approach is still at a very early pre-clinical stage and represents a proof of concept – in other words, a preliminary test to show the idea can work – it may be the missing step in the ‘shock-and-kill’ cure strategies. Findings were published by Dr Min Li of the Houston Methodist Research Institute and colleagues in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
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‘They're not just sharing needles, they're sharing blood’: How HIV cases soared in Fiji
October 4, 2025 - By Gavin Butler - BBC - Ten: that’s the age of the youngest person with HIV that Sesenieli Naitala has ever met.
When she first started Fiji’s Survivor Advocacy Network in 2013, that young boy was yet to be born. Now he is one of thousands of Fijians to have contracted the bloodborne virus in recent years — many of them aged 19 or younger, and many of them through intravenous drug use.
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The Global Fund works—these stories remind us why it’s essential
October 3, 2025 - By Cynthia Mwase - Gates Foundastion - The Global Fund has helped save an estimated 70 million lives since 2002. Learn why continued investment is critical to maintaining progress in global health.
Why does our foundation invest in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria? Because it works.
Since 2002, the Global Fund has helped save an estimated 70 million lives by supporting country-led efforts to prevent, treat, and reduce the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria on communities worldwide. The Global Fund is a smart investment because it reduces the global spread of infectious disease, stabilizes economies, and strengthens health systems that are the first line of defense against future pandemics.
It works by bringing together governments, civil society organizations, communities, philanthropies, and the private sector to pool global resources. In partnership, they help improve access to care, support innovative tools and approaches that meet local needs, and ultimately drive down infections. This model of global cooperation, which also requires recipient countries to commit domestic financing to augment Global Fund grants, really works.
New antibiotic targets IBD — and AI predicted how it would work before scientists could prove it
October 3, 2025 - By Blake Dillon - Faculty of Health Sciences - McMaster University - Researchers at McMaster University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made two scientific breakthroughs at once: they not only discovered a brand-new antibiotic that targets inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but also successfully used a new type of AI to predict exactly how the drug works. To their knowledge, this a global first for the AI.
Detailed October 3, 2025 in the journal Nature Microbiology, the discovery unveils a promising new treatment option for millions of people affected by Crohn’s disease and other related conditions, while also showcasing important new applications for AI in drug discovery research.
Social Determinants of Health
October 3, 2025 - Bristish Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) - BC-Cfe IN-PERSON EVENT
LEARNING SERIES)
October 9, 2025 from 10:00 – 11:00 AM (PST).
This webinar will be presented by:
Dr. Andrew Boozary, MD, MPP, SM, CCFP
Register online
Still With Us: Victoria reflects on HIV/AIDS through the arts
2-Oct-2025 - Victoria News - “During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon and we danced all night. The dance kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for… Keep fighting. Keep dancing.&rdqquo; – activist Dan Savage.
That spirit is at the heart of STILL WITH US: A Legacy of HIV/AIDS in the Arts, an ambitious new project presented this fall by the Victoria Arts Council (VAC). Opening Oct. 24 and continuing through Dec. 1, the exhibition and performance series explore how art has carried stories of grief, activism and survival for more than four decades.
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Study finds new program to enhance HIV screening dramatically boosts testing in urgent care clinics and emergency departments
2nd October 2025 - Intermountain Healthcare - A new study from researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City finds that a comprehensive program with a strong focus on education in the health system’s urgent care clinics and emergency departments significantly increased HIV testing for patients being evaluated for other sexually transmitted diseases, helping to increase the number of previously undiagnosed patients who learned they were living with HIV and promptly connected to care.
The Intermountain study, which was published in the medical journal, Clinical Infectious Diseases, found that screening rates for HIV increased by 42 percent in urgent care clinics and by 53 percent in Intermountain emergency department for patients being evaluated for gonorrhea and chlamydia after the multifaceted program was launched.
 
40th Anniversary of the Cherry Tree Memorial
October 2, 2025 - Ribbon Commuity - Registrations appreciated to support our planning process and ensure we are aware of all accessibility needs and requests for this event.
40 years ago this October, community leaders and the Vancouver Parks Board planted Sakura (Cherry Blossom) trees in a slightly out of the way spot near X_wáýx_way/Stanley Park. Honouring some of the first HIV/AIDS deaths in the country, the grove is the oldest known AIDS memorial. At the time it was planted, fears of vandalism meant the site stayed only known through word of mouth. As part of AIDS Vancouver's 30th anniversary, the story of these trees was recovered, shared publicly, and in 2018, a plaque was installed at the area to ensure this early act borne out of grief and love lives on.
Please join Ribbon Community, Cocksure Performance, and community leaders passionate about rights and remembrance on Monday, October 20, starting at 3:30pm at Devonian Harbour Park. We invite you to gather with us to mark this significant anniversary as a time to reflect on half a century of local HIV/AIDS activism and look ahead to the future it made possible.
Project adds to the history of one of the world’s first HIV/AIDS service organizations
2nd October 2025 - By Jennifer Micale - Binghamton University, State University of New York - Students and researchers with the Human Sexualities Lab interviewed 120 people, assembled an archive and bridged a generational divide
—Sometimes you discover history in a garage, stored in dusty boxes, or in memories that go unspoken for decades. Often, it falls to the next generation — curious and respectful — to do the necessary work of sifting, sorting and asking questions.
A groundbreaking project spearheaded by Binghamton University’s Human Sexualities Research Lab did more than add to the history of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the world’s first major HIV/AIDS service organization. It also breached a generational divide and pioneered new ways to conduct oral history.
The Lancet: Billions lack access to healthy diets as food systems drive climate and health crises, but sustainable, equitable solutions are within reach, says new EAT-Lancet report
2nd October 2025 - The Lancet - Food systems are key drivers of the world’s most urgent challenges, from chronic diseases and rising inequality to accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss, according to the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems. The new report finds that while the world produces enough food calories for everyone, nearly 3.7 billion people are without access to a healthy diet, meaningful wages, or a clean environment. At the same time, food production is a significant contributor to environmental degradation, accounting for nearly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and pushing the transgression of the planetary boundaries (climate change, biodiversity loss, land use change, freshwater consumption, nutrient pollution, and novel entities such as pesticides and antibiotics). This crisis of inequity and environmental harm threatens human health and the resilience of planet Earth.
Human Rights First Honors Richard Gere with Inaugural Visionary Award for Lifetime Achievements in Human Rights
New York City - October 1, 2025 - Human Rights First - Human Rights First is proud to announce that renowned actor, humanitarian, and activist Richard Gere will be the recipient of the organization’s inaugural Visionary Award, to be presented at the 2025 Human Rights First Awards Celebration on October 14 at Gotham Hall in New York City.
The Visionary Award was created to recognize champions who use their influence, professional accomplishments, and creativity to put human rights first and achieve outsize impact. Richard Gere has dedicated a storied career not only to artistic expression as actor, producer and photographer, but also to championing the rights and dignity of oppressed people worldwide. His lifetime of steadfast advocacy for the human rights of Tibetans – exemplified by his chairing the International Campaign for Tibet and co-founding Tibet House US– have shaped bipartisan U.S. and international policy and thwarted Chinese Communist Party efforts to co-opt Tibetan culture. All the while, Gere has been at the forefront of the global fight against HIV/AIDS for decades, and championed the rights of indigenous persons, vulnerable refugees, homeless, and humanitarian crisis response through the Gere Foundation he founded in 1991.
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BC-CfE Update Fall 2025
October 1, 2025 - Bristish Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) - Grand Ballroom - North Tower
Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel
October 10, 2025, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
We are pleased to invite you to the BC-CfE Update. This is an open educational event sponsored by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.
The Fall 2025 BC-CfE Update will address the status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with an emphasis on the latest clinical findings and best practice.
Generic Access to Lenacapavir Will Save Millions in Low-Income Countries
October 1, 2025 - By IDSE News Staff - Infectious Disease Special Edition (IDSE) - A new partnership announced today between the Gates Foundation and Indian manufacturer Hetero Labs—supported by up-front funding and volume guarantees—will enable the company to manufacture generic lenacapavir at roughly $40 per patient per year (after a short pretreatment oral regimen), a price point designed to make the breakthrough treatment affordable for national health systems.
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NMAC’s Harold Phillips Sees Path Forward Even as Trump, Congress Target HIV Programs
Oct 1, 2025 - By Tim Murphy - TheBody - The U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA), the largest annual non-medical gathering in the nation on the epidemic, took place in Washington, D.C. in early September. The conference, which is sponsored by NMAC, gave people living with HIV and their allies a chance to plan how to protect treatment and prevention under the Trump administration 2.0, while also bidding farewell to longtime NMAC Executive Director Paul Kawata and welcoming his successor, Harold Phillips, who becomes CEO on Oct. 7.
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