Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News
HIV and AIDS News from around the world
Worldwide 88.4 million people have been infected with HIV.
Worldwide 42.3 million people with HIV have died.
Practicing Safe Sex is our best resource in preventing HIV infection through sexual contact.
Sexual contact accounts for 95 percent of all new HIV infections worldwide.
Safe Sex = Disease Prevention – STAY SAFE!
Use A Condom Every Time!
“HIV needs to be in the media each and every day as most people only see snippets of news and these are not effective enough. For this reason, in 2007, I decided to include an HIV/AIDS News page where people could find information on many HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) related issues, Infectious Disease,
and more.
I collaborate with individuals, groups, and organizations throughout the world, to include their HIV/AIDS news articles, press releases, events, workshops, conferences, and more on PositivelyPositive.ca. News items stay on the HIV/AIDS News page for a month,
and then News items go into the HIV/AIDS News Archives.”
Bradford McIntyre
Haiti running out of HIV medication due to USAID funding cuts
MAY 25, 2025- africanews - Haiti running out of HIV medication due to USAID funding cuts.
More than 150,000 people in Haiti have HIV or AIDS, although the number is believed to be much higher.
Over $17 Million Raised at 31st Edition of amfAR Gala Cannes
Antibes, France - May 23, 2025 - amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research - Taraji P. Henson Hosted
Duran Duran, Ciara, and Adam Lambert Performed
Presented by Chopard
Over $17 million was raised last night for amfAR’s AIDS research programs at the 31st edition of amfAR Gala Cannes. The black-tie gala, which took place at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, was hosted by Academy Award-nominated actor, producer, and advocate Taraji P. Henson and featured captivating performances by iconic GRAMMY® Award-winning rock band Duran Duran, GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Ciara, and GRAMMY®-nominated chart-topping superstar entertainer and current frontman of Queen Adam Lambert. The evening also included a dinner, a live auction of one-of-a kind luxury items and contemporary art, and a fashion show curated by Carine Roitfeld.
HIV progress at risk: Haitians join global call over halted US aid
May 23, 2025 - by Juhakenson Blaise -The Haitian Times - Protesters in Port-au-Prince echo a growing transnational alarm over USAID’s halted funding for antiretroviral drugs, warning of setbacks in HIV prevention and erosion of progress made in recent years.
In early July 1981, Barry Deeprose stopped to read a New York Times article pinned to a bulletin board at the Gays of Ottawa centre, where he volunteered as a peer counsellor.
The article described a rare and often rapidly fatal form of cancer diagnosed in 41 homosexual men, mostly in New York City and San Francisco.
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Trump cuts will cause a spike in HIV cases in L.A. and across the country, warn Democrats and public health advocates
May 23, 2025 -By Kevin Rector and Susanne Rust - Los Angeles Times - A growing coalition of HIV prevention organizations, health experts and Democrats in Congress are sounding the alarm over sweeping Trump administration cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention and surveillance programs nationally, warning they will reverse years of progress combating the disease and cause spikes in new cases — especially in California and among the LGBTQ+ community.
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Maryland Repeals Outdated HIV Crime Law
May 23, 2025 - By Trent Straube - POZ - Maryland is the fifth state to repeal unjust laws that criminalize people with HIV. Such laws often target minority populations, including Black men.
Finally, some good news this week about lawmakers. The governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, signed into law a bill that decriminalizes HIV. Specifically, the bill repeals an old law that made it a crime to “knowingly transfer or attempt to transfer” HIV to another individual. Under outdated laws like this, people with HIV can be sentenced to prison in cases where HIV was not transmitted and their only crime was allegedly not disclosing their status. Such unjust laws not only lead to stigma but also to folks not getting tested to learn their HIV status.
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The harrowing human rights battle of Barry Deeprose
May 23, 2025 - By Andrew Duffy - Ottawa Citizen - Forty years ago, Deeprose launched the AIDS Committee of Ottawa, a volunteer organization with a shoestring budget and an enormous task.
In early July 1981, Barry Deeprose stopped to read a New York Times article pinned to a bulletin board at the Gays of Ottawa centre, where he volunteered as a peer counsellor.
The article described a rare and often rapidly fatal form of cancer diagnosed in 41 homosexual men, mostly in New York City and San Francisco.
Read more...
KULeuven researchers publish HIV virus disabling breakthrough
22 May 2025 - By Alexandra Walsh - The Brussels Times - KULeuven researchers led by Professor of the faculty of Medicine Zeger Debyser have discovered an approach to make the HIV virus permanently harmless.
Published in the scientific journal 'Nature Communications,' the research presents a new way to disable the virus in cells within a controlled factory environment.
According to the World Health Organisation currently just under 40 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2023, with over 600,000 related deaths in the same year.
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Few people with HIV in England starting statins despite new recommendations
22 May 2025 - By Gus Cairns - aidsmap - GPs could take a more active role in suggesting them
Six poster presentations at last month’s British HIV Association (BHIVA) Conference in Brighton found that only a minority of people with HIV are being offered and starting to take the cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. This is despite a November 2023 recommendation by BHIVA that “All people living with HIV aged 40 years or older should be offered a statin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease”.
Several barriers to obtaining statins were identified. A surprisingly low proportion of HIV doctors had discussed statins with their patients; clinics were still, in the main, using CVD risk scores to prioritise who over 40 should get them; and some people were turning them down due to fear of side effects.
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‘My greatest fear is that we will return to the dark days of the epidemic’
Mayv21, 2025 - UNAIDS - UNAIDS Country Director reports on the impact of funding cuts to the HIV response
The HIV response in Zambia, known as a model of success in sub-Saharan Africa, is now facing major challenges following the abrupt and significant cuts to US funding. It has led to widespread disruption: clinics have closed, prevention services have been scaled back, and thousands have lost access to lifesaving medication. Yet the Zambian government and partners are stepping in to protect the progress made.
In this interview, UNAIDS Country Director for Zambia, Isaac Ahemesah, details the fallout from these funding decisions on health services, vulnerable communities, and the country’s ability to sustain progress against HIV-and outlines what is urgently needed to avert further health crisis.
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UNAIDS encouraged by comments from Elon Musk that he will fix the US funding crisis for HIV services
GENEVA, 21 May 2025 - UNAIDS - Mr Musk made the remarks during an interview with Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain at the Qatar Economic Forum on 20 May
UNAIDS is deeply encouraged by the statement from Elon Musk that he will fix the current crisis related to a lack of US Government funding for lifesaving HIV services. UNAIDS is tracking daily the impacts of US funding cuts on HIV services for people living with and affected by HIV around the world as the data and stories of impact on UNAIDS website show.
Currently, many HIV prevention programs supported by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) have been stalled. The Administration issued a limited waiver providing for continuity of some services, including comprehensive HIV testing and treatment, but it is not being fully implemented within countries, and the waiver excludes almost all HIV prevention services except those for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
HIV self-testing kit research with cisgender women in Canada
May 20, 2025 - CATIE NEWS - Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) - An Ontario study looked at differences in HIV self-testing between cisgender women and men
Test positivity rates were similar, but cisgender women were less likely to report their results
Cis women reported lower uptake of testing for HIV than other sexually transmitted infections
HIV testing is an important step to better health. A person with a positive HIV test can get connected to care and treatment. HIV treatment today is highly effective and safe, and it can be taken as simply as one pill daily or as an injection once every two months.
A person with a negative HIV test can have a discussion with a healthcare provider about options for staying negative, including HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Such options can include a daily pill or an injection once every two months.
Self-testing could be one way to bring more cisgender women into care, whether it’s for HIV treatment or to facilitate access to PrEP.
Hepatitis A and E: Underappreciated public health threats
May 20, 2025 - By Monica Stonehill & By Caitlyn Stulpin - Healio - Currently, more than 300 million people are diagnosed with hepatitis around the world, according to the World Hepatitis Alliance. Cases continue to rise, with more than 2 million new cases each year.
Among the five hepatitis viruses, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and hepatitis D usually cause chronic disease, liver cancer and cirrhosis, whereas hepatitis A and hepatitis E cause acute disease but may lead to more serious complications in certain populations, including pregnant people.
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Cutting HIV aid means undercutting US foreign and economic interests - Nigeria shows the human costs
May 19, 2025 - The Conversation - A little over two decades ago, addressing Nigeria’s HIV crisis topped U.S. President George W. Bush’s priorities. Africa’s most populous nation had 3.5 million HIV cases, and the disease threatened to destabilize the region and ultimately compromise U.S. interests. These interests included securing access to Nigeria’s substantial oil reserves, maintaining regional military stability and protecting trade partnerships worth billions.
Following years of agitation from AIDS activists, Bush launched the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, in 2003. This U.S.-led HIV treatment program has since saved tens of millions of lives around the globe.
While living in Nigeria for my work as a medical anthropologist, I witnessed PEPFAR’s rollout and saw firsthand how the powerful therapies it provided transformed Nigerian lives. The women I worked with told me they could finally put aside the fears of death or abandonment that had consumed their days. Instead, they could focus on a newly expanded horizon of possibilities: building careers, finding love, having healthy children.
Now, however, a serious threat to preventing and treating HIV worldwide looms. The Trump administration’s decision to substantially restrict access to a vital HIV prevention tool – PEPFAR-funded preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP – would cut off ongoing treatment for millions of people and block future access for countless others who need this protection..
UNAIDS calls on leaders at At the 78th World Health Assembly, UNAIDS calls for urgent action to avert millions of preventable HIV Infections and AIDS-related deaths
GENEVA, 19 May 2025 - UNAIDS - As funding cuts threaten to cause an additional 6 million new HIV infections and 4 million preventable AIDS-related deaths, UNAIDS is calling on governments and partners attending the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) to recommit to ending AIDS by 2030.
UNAIDS estimates that an additional 2300 people are contracting HIV every day. Without immediate action to dismantle barriers to healthcare, strengthen community-led responses, and unlock sustainable financing, a catastrophic loss of life and millions more new HIV infections could reverse decades of progress.
Britta Will, Ph.D., named director of Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
MAY 16, 2025—(BRONX, NY) - Albert Einstein College of Medicine - Albert Einstein College of Medicine has appointed Britta Will, Ph.D., associate professor of oncology, of medicine and of cell biology, and the Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Scholar in Cancer Research, as the permanent director of the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine.
Schulich researcher tackles HIV with machine learning
May 16, 2025 - By Cam Buchan - Western News - Western University - Abayomi Olabode uses data science, network analysis tools to battle the disease
Hiding behind numerous disguises, HIV has been evading researchers for years, leaving the search for a vaccine as elusive as the virus itself.
Once believed to exist as pure strains or subtypes, new research shows the virus evolves constantly, combining dangerous elements that complicate treatment.
As part of its evasive techniques, the virus can lie dormant in cells, avoiding treatments and the body’s own immune system. Meanwhile, the virus continues to exact a heavy global toll. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, as of 2023, approximately 40-million people globally are living with HIV, 65 per cent of them in the WHO’s African Region.
HIV programmes will not collapse after Trump funding cuts, Motsoaledi says
May 16, 2025 -By Aarti Bhana - Mail&Guardian - Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says South Africa’s HIV/Aids programmes will not collapse despite the withdrawal of funding by the US, insisting that there are existing facilities which can absorb the affected patients.
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Cambodia showcases huge progress towards ending AIDS, announces a financial contribution to UNAIDS
PHNOM PENH, 16 May 2025 - UNAIDS - UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, saw firsthand Cambodia’s strong progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat during her 12-16 May mission. Among other achievements, the country treats 100% of people who are aware of their HIV status. Key approaches include national roll-out of modern HIV prevention and treatment tools, community-led service delivery and social protection. During the visit she discussed the sustainability of the response with the Royal Government and partners.
“Cambodia’s HIV response demonstrates that ending AIDS is possible for low- and middle-income countries when we combine political will, community leadership and international support,” Ms Byanyima said.
Meet the woman who has participated in every AIDS Walk New York
May 16, 2025 - CBS New York - Sunday is the 40th Annual AIDS Walk New York, which raises critical funds for GMHC and the 132,000 New Yorkers who live with HIV. CBS News New York's Vanessa Murdock introduces us to a woman who hasn't missed a single walk and says she won't stop walking until a cure is found.
HIV and AIDS memorial garden unveiled in Leicester
May 16, 2025 - By Helen McCarthy & Heather Burman - BBC - A memorial garden dedicated to those who are living with HIV or have lost their lives to AIDS has been officially opened in Leicester.
The garden, beside Holy Trinity Church in Leicester, was funded by East Midlands Sexual Health, formerly known as Leicester Aids Support Services (LASS).
Organisers said the garden honoured those who died during the early days of the HIV epidemic in the city.
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Atomic precision: Pioneering HIV vaccine triggers key immune response
May 16, 2025 - by Linda Geddes - Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance - Scientists hail a new era of HIV vaccine design, as an experimental vaccine triggers the beginnings of a broadly protective antibody response in humans.
In a step toward ending one of the world’s deadliest pandemics, researchers have shown that it’s possible to spark the beginnings of a broadly neutralising antibody response against HIV – one of vaccinology’s greatest challenges.
Two HIV vaccine trials show proof of concept for pathway to broadly neutralizing antibodies
LA JOLLA, CA and NEW YORK, NY—May 15, 2025 -IAVI and Scripps Research - A decades-long scientific challenge in HIV vaccine development has been finding a way to train the immune system to produce antibodies that can target many variants of the virus. Traditional approaches haven’t worked—largely because HIV mutates rapidly and hides key parts of itself from the immune system.
Now, a new study combining data from two separate phase 1 clinical trials shows that a targeted vaccine strategy can successfully activate early immune responses relevant to HIV, and, in one trial, further advance them—a key step toward a long-sought goal in vaccine development. Conducted by an international team led by scientists at IAVI and Scripps Research, the trials included nearly 80 participants from both North America and Africa, laying essential groundwork for a future HIV vaccine with global potential. The study was published in Science on May 15, 2025.
The end of bipartisan support for global AIDS treatment: 20 years of progress is on the line
May 15, 2025 - by Luke Messac - America Magazine - Two decades ago, stories like Joseph Jeune’s helped alter the course of history. In a “before” photo of him, a skeletal figure sits on a bed, eyes sunken, gaze pained. His body lacks any visible muscle or fat. He looks as he was, at death’s doorstep. In a second photo, a hale young man with a winning smile and a lithe, healthy frame holds a baby on his hip.
Health Canada approves Apretude, the first long-acting injectable for HIV prevention
May 15, 2025 - CATIE NEWS - Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) - A long-acting formulation of cabotegravir (Apretude) has been approved for HIV prevention
This drug has been highly effective in clinical trials at significantly reducing the risk of HIV
Apretude proved superior to daily oral HIV prevention and was generally well tolerated in trials
A long-acting injectable formulation of the HIV drug cabotegravir has been developed for the prevention of HIV. In well-designed clinical trials, long-acting cabotegravir has been found to be highly effective at reducing the risk of HIV infection. Furthermore, this drug has been found to be superior to daily oral tenofovir DF + FTC (a combination sold as Truvada and available in generic formulations). One factor that may be driving this superiority is the reduced adherence requirements associated with injectable cabotegravir (an injection every two months vs. daily pill taking). The formulation of long-acting cabotegravir meant for HIV prevention is called Apretude.
 
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria should step up efforts
MAY 15 2025 - PLOS Global Public Health - PLOS Genetics - The international community must protect global responses to HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria to serve humanity’s collective interests, according to an opinion article published May 14, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Gorik Ooms from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium, and colleagues.
Within days of starting his second term as President, Donald Trump ended most United States (US) contributions to global health. Global responses to HIV, TB and malaria are not the only programs affected but were particularly dependent on US support. The US withdrawal from global health could result in 3 million additional HIV deaths and 10 million additional HIV infections, 107,000 additional malaria deaths and 15 million additional malaria infections, and 2 million additional TB deaths, all in 2025.
HIV, TB and malaria are global health security threats that require international collective action. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (Global Fund) entered its replenishment cycle for 2027–2029, with a target of $18 billion. A failure of this replenishment would make it impossible for many countries to compensate for decreasing US funding and decreasing Global Fund support.
South Africa says Trump’s aid cuts stripped more than 8,000 health workers from its HIV program
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - May 15, 2025 - By Michelle Gumede The Associated Press - TORONTO STAR - The Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID has put more than 8,000 health workers in South Africa’s national HIV program out of work, the country’s health minister said Thursday, as he outlined the impact of U.S. funding cuts on the biggest AIDS treatment project in the world.
The cuts have also closed down 12 specialized HIV clinics that were run by non-governmental organizations in South Africa and funded by the United States Agency for International Development through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told reporters.
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Measles Cases Are Increasing Globally; MPox Continues to Be a Threat - Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug Could Be the Solution
SHELTON, CT / ACCESS Newswire / May 14, 2025 - NanoViricides, Inc. - NanoViricides Explains Its Drug Strategy for Combating Viral Infections and Pandemics
NanoViricides, Inc., a publicly traded company (NYSE Amer.:NNVC) (the "Company"), and a clinical stage, leading global pioneer in the development of broad-spectrum antivirals based on host-mimetic nanomedicine technology that viruses cannot escape, explains its drug development strategy to combat important global viral threats.
Measles outbreaks have continued to expand in the US, and the dramatic ten-fold increase in annual Measles cases in Europe last year indicates that Measles will be here to stay. Measles vaccine failure cases have also been increasing according to the European data, which is an important cause for concern. Vaccination rates are falling in developed countries.
In this global scenario, NV-387, the clinical stage broad-spectrum, host-mimetic antiviral nanomedicine drug could perhaps be the only currently available drug candidate to combat the Measles virus and disease. There is no approved drug for Measles virus infection.
Pair of IAVI publications demonstrate the potential value of bnAbs for HIV prevention
May 13, 2025 - IAVI - International AIDS Vaccine Initiative - Cost-effectiveness and acceptability in vulnerable populations assessed for HIV bnAbs.
Access, acceptability, and effectiveness are top of mind as scientists continue to search for new methods to address remaining gaps in HIV prevention. HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) that are currently in development may present a promising future approach due to their ability to block multiple strains of HIV. They offer several other potential benefits: bnAbs are likely to be well-tolerated, will help mitigate the risk of antiretroviral resistance, and can likely induce four months of protection with just one discreet dose[1].
Two recently published papers in PLOS One assess the feasibility of HIV bnAbs in a variety of settings and populations.
Long-acting injectable HIV PrEP now available on some formularies in Canada
May 13, 2025 - CATIE NEWS - Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) - Long-acting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is now covered by some drug plans in Canada
Cabotegravir is the first long-acting injectable form of PrEP approved by Health Canada
This highly effective option is now more accessible in Ontario, Quebec and for Indigenous people
In clinical trials, the drug cabotegravir, given as a long-acting injection ultimately every two months, is highly effective at reducing the risk for HIV infection. This liquid formulation of cabotegravir is injected deep into the buttocks by a healthcare provider. The use of cabotegravir to prevent HIV infection is called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Cabotegravir is the first long-acting injectable for HIV prevention to be approved by Health Canada.
After a medicine is approved for use by Health Canada, a long bargaining process gets underway between Canada’s provinces and territories and the drug manufacturer, in this case ViiV Healthcare. In many cases, both sides agree on a price and the drug may then be included on the list of medicines that ministries of health are willing to subsidize. These lists are called formularies.
Secret to treating HIV came thousands of years before virus ever appeared. How?
May 13, 2025 - By Irene Wright - Miami Herald - On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported five cases of an unknown infection leading to a rare kind of pneumonia.
All five men were previously young and healthy, and additional infections indicated their immune systems weren’t working. Two of them had already died.
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HIV patients in Ukraine face treatment ‘apocalypse’ as US funds in limbo
May 13, 2025 - By Lily Hyde - POLITICO - Ukraine relies on the U.S. to fund HIV services during the war. The Trump administration is still mulling axing its support.
President Donald Trump’s massive ax in January to projects funded by its international development agency USAID hit NGOs and government-run projects in Ukraine working to tackle one of the largest HIV epidemics in Europe.
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‘Loop’hole: HIV-1 Hijacks Human Immune Cells Using Circular RNAs
13 May 2025 - Newswise - Florida Atlantic University - Researchers Uncover Novel Strategy HIV-1 Uses to Evade the Immune System, Survive and Replicate
In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine have identified a never-before-seen mechanism that enables the human immunodeficiency type 1 virus (HIV-1) to evade the body’s natural defenses and use it to support its survival and replication.
The “loophole?” A biological process that involves circular RNAs (circRNAs), which form a “loop” or circle inside cells – unlike regular RNA molecules that are shaped like a straight line. This looped shape makes circRNAs much more stable and enables them to act like sponges – soaking up microRNAs (miRNAs) and preventing them from doing their usual jobs such as controlling which genes get turned on or off.
Does Discrimination Against Individuals with HIV+ Impact Pain?
May 12, 2025 - By Myles Starr - Infectious Disease Special Edition (IDSE) - More than half of all people with HIV will experience nonmalignant chronic pain throughout their lives. Recent data indicate people with HIV who experience stigma score higher on assessments of pain than those who do not (J Pain 2025 Feb:27:104746. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104746).
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US funding cuts have crippled our HIV work – what’s being lost
May 12, 2025 - The Conversation - On his first day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to freeze foreign aid funding. This was followed by a stop-work order for dozens of life-saving humanitarian programs.
One of the programs affected by this announcement is the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This program has invested more than US$100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response since it was founded in 2003. This makes the U.S. the largest funder of HIV/AIDS programs worldwide.
Although a 90-day waiver has since been issued which temporarily allows life-saving HIV drugs to continue being delivered, the impact of this executive order is already being felt across the globe — including in Africa, where PEPFAR funding has been integral in controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
If PEPFAR funding ends when the waiver expires — or resumes but doesn’t allow funding for services to all key populations — this will have severe impacts on those in the continent living with HIV or at high-risk of infection.
The Trump Atrocity Happening in Plain Sight on the Media’s Watch
May 9, 2025 - By James North - The New Republic - The president’s demolition of the lifesaving Bush-era HIV/AIDS program will kill tens of thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa. Why does nobody care?
A recently published study in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet reports that the Trump administration’s evisceration of the landmark President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, program that has long been a bulwark in the fight to combat global HIV/AIDS has already sentenced tens of thousands of people in Africa to death, and with each week that passes with the program stuck in limbo, many thousands of needless deaths will follow.
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Audio documentary: A woman losing her vision to HIV/AIDS shares memories with her son
May 9, 2025 - By Noah Caldwell, Ashley Brown - NPR - Heard on All Things Considered
Producer Vivien Schütz presents the story of Gina Velasquez, who progressively lost her vision due to an HIV/AIDS diagnosis decades ago.
Listen & Read more...
When graphic design saves lives
May 9, 2025 - By Sy Boles - The Harvard Gazette - Harvard University - AIDS public health poster collection illustrates communication in a crisis
Harvard University has digitized more than 3,000 posters related to a single major public health crisis: the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The posters come from numerous countries around the world and span roughly 1990 to 2004. The collection tells a story, said Yarnell, of what the public health establishment has learned about what messages work, and why.
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Optimizing Preventive Care: A Checklist for Aging Well with HIV
May 9, 2024 - Bristish Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) - BC-Cfe IN-PERSON & Online LEARNING SERIES
May 21, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM (PST).
This webinar will be presented by: Melanie Murray, MD, PhD
Summarize age appropriate screening for people living and aging with HIV
Discuss cardiovascular prevention strategies
Review sex and gender specific care
The Benefits of Pharmacy Automation
May 9, 2025 - MarketsandMarkets™ - Pharmacy automation refers to the automated mechanization of pharmaceutical processes, including dispensing, sorting, packaging, labeling, storing, and retrieving medications. These systems help pharmacies streamline operations, minimize errors, and enhance patient care by automating routine and complex tasks. Thus, as the benefits of automation have grown evident, even traditional pharmacies are adopting automated solutions to improve efficiency. Pharmacy automation optimizes resource utilization and enhances accuracy by eliminating medication waste during prescription filling & labeling. Hospitals also leverage automation to improve patient outcomes and reduce long-term operational costs. Several factors, including the need to minimize medication errors, the rapid decentralization of pharmacies, the increasing elderly population, and the growing demand for automated dispensing systems, are driving market growth. According to MarketsandMarkets the pharmacy automation market is projected to reach USD 10,008.2 million by 2030 from USD 6,650.0 million in 2024, at a CAGR of 7.05% during the forecast period. This report has segmented the pharmacy automation market based on product, component, application, facility type, end user, and region.
New book explores social impacts, public health lessons from Peru’s fight against AIDS
May 8, 2025 - By Allison Arteaga Soergel - Campus News - UC Santa Cruz - Assistant Professor Justin Perez’s latest book focuses on local engagement with HIV prevention efforts in Peru during the early 2010s. During this time period, as global health leaders began to envision an “end of AIDS,” the course of the epidemic in Peru took a turn for the worse.
UC Santa Cruz scholar Justin Perez is an assistant professor of Latin American and Latino studies whose research focuses on how the ongoing global AIDS epidemic shapes the lives and social worlds of the communities most vulnerable to it. His latest book, Queer Emergent: Scandalous Stories from the Twilight of AIDS in Peru, explores the contradictions that have emerged between public health objectives and the experiences of at-risk people across Peru’s recent history.
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HIV drugs offer ‘substantial’ Alzheimer’s protection, new research indicates
8 May 2025 - University of Virginia Health System - UVA Health scientists are calling for clinical trials testing the potential of HIV drugs called NRTIs to prevent Alzheimer’s disease after discovering that patients taking the drugs are substantially less likely to develop the memory-robbing condition.
The researchers, led by UVA’s Jayakrishna Ambati, MD, previously identified a possible mechanism by which the drugs could prevent Alzheimer’s. That promising finding prompted them to analyze two of the nation’s largest health insurance databases to evaluate Alzheimer’s risk among patients prescribed the medications. In one, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s decreased 6% every year the patients were taking the drugs. In the other, the annual decrease was 13%.
High rates of HIV drug resistance among young people in London will limit future treatment options
8 May 2025 - By Keith Alcorn - aidsmap - Young people who have been living with HIV since birth have a significant unmet need for innovative long-acting treatments that can overcome drug resistance and adherence challenges, a London study has concluded. These individuals should be a priority group for inclusion in clinical trials and implementation studies of long-acting treatments, the researchers say.
The study found that over one in three young people with HIV had drug resistance patterns that could make them ineligible for injectable long-acting treatment with cabotegravir and rilpivirine.
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In Historic First, the Global Fund Procures African-Made First-Line HIV Treatment
GENEVA - 06 May 2025 - Global Fund - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) has reached a historic milestone by procuring – for the first time – a first-line HIV treatment manufactured in Africa. The treatment – lifesaving, quality-assured antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) called TLD (tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir), prequalified by the World Health Organization – was sourced from a leading Kenyan pharmaceutical company and delivered to Mozambique. The volume supplied can treat over 72,000 people per year in the country.
Scottish Government announces roll-out of opt-out HIV and hepatitis testing in A&Es
6 May 2025 - Terrence Higgins Trust - In a boost to Scotland’s efforts to end new HIV cases by 2030, a game-changing approach to blood-borne virus testing will be rolled-out in Edinburgh and Glasgow thanks to new Scottish Government funding.
The Scottish Government has today [6 May 2025] announced new funding for the roll-out of opt-out blood borne virus testing in emergency departments in cities with a high HIV prevalence. The decision follows three pilots of opt-out testing in NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland in 2024 and a sustained campaign from Terrence Higgins Trust and partners across Scotland’s HIV sector, backed by our supporters in parliament and beyond.
AI plays detective to help scientists find hidden microbes
May 5, 2025 - By Bernard Rizk - University of Ottawa - New machine learning tool redefines microbial rare biosphere
A team of researchers has created a novel machine learning tool that's cracking open one of biology's trickiest puzzles: finding the rarest microbes on Earth. Think of it like finding a needle in a haystack, except the needle is microscopic and might hold the key to how our ecosystems work.
The tool, called ulrb, uses AI to spot these elusive microorganisms that, despite their tiny numbers, pack a serious punch in keeping our planet's ecosystems healthy. It's like having a super-smart detective that can pick out the rare gems from billions of othermicrobes.
Older adults are getting infected with HIV, but prevention focuses on young people
May 5, 2025 - Wits University - Prevention and treatment campaigns are not adequately targeting the particular needs of the 50+ years age group.
Indeed, between 2000 and 2016, the number of adults aged 50 years and older living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa doubled. At present, their HIV prevalence is exceeding that of younger adults.
By 2040, one-quarter of people living with HIV in Africa will be aged 50 years and older; tailored awareness and treatment campaigns are pressing.
Dr Luicer Olubayo, a researcher at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) at Wits University and the first author of a study published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity journal, which investigated HIV in older people in Kenya and South Africa, noted that perceptions on who acquires HIV are limited. “We often think of HIV as a disease of younger people. It doesn’t help that intervention campaigns are mainly targeted at the youth.”
Guidance Offers Recommendations For Expanding Care to Homeless People With HIV
May 5, 2025 - By Aaron Tallent - Infectious Disease Special Edition (IDSE) - A number of programs across the country are designed to reach and provide healthcare to people experiencing homelessness, including those who are living with HIV. However, these initiatives also face challenges in finding adequate funding. To help meet their needs, the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and Center for Health Care Strategies have issued guidance to help providers develop and sustainably fund low-barrier clinics and street medicine
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ICE Detainee Dies After HIV Undiagnosed for Months During Custody
May 02, 2025 - By Billal Rahman - Newsweek - Nanette Kazaoka, a well-known figure in the fight for HIV/AIDS awareness and the rights of marginalized communities, passed away on Oct. 2 at her home on the Upper West Side. She was 83. Her daughter, Kelly Kochendorfer, confirmed that the cause of death was complications from vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
The 45-year-old Ethiopian man died on January 29, 2025, from “Complications of multiple infections in the setting of human immunodeficiency virus,” according to a medical examiner's report filed two days later.
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HIV care quality has been improving for older adults
May 1, 2025 - By Maya Brownstein -Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health - More people living with HIV and enrolled in Medicare are taking modern, less toxic antiretroviral drugs than ever before, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The findings signal positive progress in care for people living with HIV, particularly older adults who now make up most of the HIV-positive population in the U.S. Researchers warn, however, that this progress may be upended by recent federal funding cuts to HIV prevention and care programs.
The study was published May 1 in JAMA Network Open. Jose Figueroa, associate professor of health policy and management, was corresponding author. Other co-authors included staff of the Healthcare Quality and Outcomes Lab: Dannie Dai, research assistant and statistical programmer; Ciara Duggan, research assistant; and Jessica Phelan, assistant director of analytics.
Nanette Kazaoka, an unlikely AIDS activist, dies at 83
May 1, 2025 - By Kelly Kochendorfer - Gay City News- A man who died in ICE custody earlier this year from complications related to untreated HIV could have been saved with the help of routine blood tests, medical experts have told Newsweek, raising concerns about health screening in detention facilities.
Kazaoka was a fearless advocate for justice, particularly in the early days of the AIDS crisis, when she became a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP. She is perhaps best remembered for her participation in a 2004 protest in front of Madison Square Garden during the Republican National Convention, when she and 11 fellow activists staged a dramatic naked demonstration demanding debt cancellation for impoverished countries. “Bush, Stop AIDS. Drop the Debt Now!” they chanted, with slogans stenciled in black paint on their bodies. The bold protest drew national attention and underscored the urgency of global debt relief as a key element in the fight against AIDS.
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Males are more likely to get sick and less likely to seek care for three common diseases
May 1, 2025 - PLOS Medicine - A global analysis finds sex-based health disparities for hypertension, diabetes and HIV and AIDS
In many countries, males are more likely than females to get sick and die from three common conditions, and less likely to get medical care, according to a new study by Angela Chang of the University of Southern Denmark, and colleagues, published May 1st in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine.
Many health policies are the same for males and females, even though there is strong evidence that sex and gender can substantially influence a person’s health outcomes. In the new study, researchers gathered global health data for people of different sexes and ages for three conditions, hypertension, diabetes, and HIV and AIDS. By comparing rates of diseases between males and females and differences in diagnosis and treatment, the researchers sought to illuminate and reduce health inequities between the sexes.
Two Chicago HIV Groups Mark Milestones While Raising Funds
May 1, 2025 - By Laura Schmidt - POZ - Howard Brown Health and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago hosted galas to celebrate decades of providing lifesaving health services.
Last month, two Chicago-based HIV service organizations, Howard Brown Health and AIDS Foundation Chicago, marked major milestones with festive fundraiser galas.
To celebrate 50 years of lifesaving work, Howard Brown, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ organizations, hosted an anniversary gala on April 26 at Chicago’s Theater on the Lake.
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Persons with HIV can be treated safely, effectively with long-acting antiretroviral therapy at home
April 30, 2025 – By Kimberly McGhee - The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) - Long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be administered at home to persons living with HIV as safely and effectively by a health care professional as in the clinic, with equally high patient satisfaction rates, according to a new study conducted by MUSC Health Infectious Diseases clinician Eric Meissner, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Medicine. The findings of the study were published in March in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
“This project was designed at the time that injectable treatment for HIV infection received approval, and so we were inspired to try to think of new ways for the persons we care for to be able to access it,” said Meissner.
Welcoming Our New Board of Directors: Tobias Hestler, Henry R. Muñoz III, and Joshua Schulman
April 29, 2025 - ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION - The Elton John AIDS Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors – Tobias Hestler, Henry R. Muñoz III, and Joshua Schulman – who bring a wealth of knowledge, leadership and commitment to the Foundation’s mission of ending the AIDS epidemic.
Their rich experience as global leaders in health, retail, finance and governance, corporate partnerships, marketing, culture, and the arts will be invaluable as the Foundation continues to scale its efforts and reach more communities in need.
U.S. Attorney Announces $202 Million Settlement With Gilead Sciences For Using Speaker Programs To Pay Kickbacks To Doctors To Induce Them To Prescribe Gilead’’s Drugs
April 29, 2025 - U.S. Department of Justice - Gilead Admits to Paying Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to High Prescribers of Gilead’s HIV Drugs to Serve as Speakers at Programs and to Holding Programs at Luxury Restaurants
Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Naomi Gruchacz, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”); Christopher M. Silvestro, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (“DCIS”), the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General (“DOD-OIG”); and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that the U.S. has settled a civil fraud lawsuit against GILEAD SCIENCES, INC (“GILEAD”), a large pharmaceutical manufacturer, that, among other things, develops, manufactures, and sells drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The settlement resolves claims that GILEAD offered and paid kickbacks in the form of honoraria payments, meals, and travel expenses to healthcare practitioners who spoke at or attended Gilead speaker events to induce them to prescribe Stribild®, Genvoya®, Complera®, Odefsey®, Descovy®, and Biktarvy® (the “Gilead HIV Drugs”) in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and thereby caused false claims for the Gilead HIV Drugs to be submitted to and paid by federal healthcare programs in violation of the False Claims Act.
HIV Diagnoses, Deaths, and Prevalence: 2025 Update
April 29, 2025 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - At a glance
In 2023, over 39,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in the U.S. and 6 territories and freely associated states. Over 80% were men, with 66% attributed to male-to-male sexual contact. Hispanic and Black individuals each accounted for more than a third. Ages 25–44 accounted for 60% of diagnoses and the South region represented 51%.
Queen producer reveals how Freddie Mercury distanced himself as he battled AIDS: He didn’t want us to see him ‘shrink and die’
April 29, 2025 - By Chuck Arnold - NEW YORK POST - Never one to shy away onstage, Freddie Mercury retreated from the world before succumbing to AIDS in 1991.
Queen producer Reinhold Mack, who worked with the band from 1980’s “The Game” through 1987’s “A Kind of Magic,” recalls that the singer distanced himself as he was facing his private health crisis.
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HIV: genetic characteristics associated with sustained HIV remission after stopping treatment
2025.04.28 - INSTITUT PASTEUR - Tackling HIV continues to be a major public health challenge, mainly because the persistence of viral reservoirs means that people living with HIV need to take lifelong antiretroviral treatment. But some individuals, known as "post-treatment controllers," are able to maintain an undetectable viral load even after stopping treatment. In a study funded by ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases (ANRS MIE), scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and the Paris Public Hospital Network (AP-HP) identified specific immunogenetic characteristics in a group of these individuals. The research provides novel information about the immune mechanisms associated with HIV control in the absence of antiretroviral treatment and offers new prospects for the development of immunotherapies aimed at achieving remission or a cure for HIV infection. The research was published in Med on April 28, 2025.
Cells infected with HIV persist in the body, forming what are known as viral reservoirs, even in persons receiving antiretroviral therapy. These reservoirs lead to rapid viral rebound if treatment is stopped. But some individuals are able to achieve long-term control of the virus after discontinuing treatment. These "post-treatment controllers" were described in the VISCONTI study in 2013. They are considered to be in long-term virological remission from HIV infection. In some cases, they have been controlling the virus for more than 25 years without treatment. Starting treatment early, within a few days of infection, during the acute infection period, seems to facilitate post-treatment control of HIV,1 but the immune mechanisms had previously remained unclear.
Every dose counts: safeguarding the success of vaccination in Europe
28 April, 2025 - European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) - Marking European Immunization Week (EIW) 2025, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) highlights the risks of suboptimal vaccination coverage in Europe and publishes a set of operational tools that public health authorities can use to improve vaccination acceptance and uptake. The tenfold surge of reported measles cases in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the detection of vaccine-derived poliovirus in four EU/EEA countries in 2024 are two clear signals of the need to achieve and maintain high immunisation coverage to protect European populations.
Vaccines have saved millions of lives worldwide. Vaccination remains one of the most effective tools in public health, preventing diseases such as measles, polio, diphtheria and pertussis. Nevertheless, more than 35 000 people were diagnosed with measles in the EU/EEA in 2024 and 23 people – 14 of them children below five years of age – died following their measles infection.
Amplifying Voices, Advancing Policy: Highlights from AIDSWatch
April 28, 2025 - By Harold Phillips - POZ - This year’s AIDSWatch brought together over 600 passionate HIV advocates.
The HIV movement has long shown the transformative power of personal voices and stories to influence policy in Washington, D.C. What began as an initiative by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) is now championed by AIDS United, making AIDSWatch a vital platform for national HIV organizations to amplify community voices on Capitol Hill.
This year’s AIDSWatch brought together over 600 passionate HIV advocates, and NMAC was proud to collaborate with AIDS United and other organizations to harness the collective strength of our communities.
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U.S. Sees Rising Meningococcal Cases
APRIL 25, 2025 - By Anna Tsioulias - Infectious Disease Special Edition (IDSE) - Although U.S. meningococcal disease incidence has declined dramatically between 1996 and 2021, there was a rebound in 2022 and 2023.
In 2023, 423 cases of meningococcal disease were reported—the highest number observed since 2014. As of March 2025, more than half the states have reported cases of meningococcal disease. This year, Virginia alone reported more than 40 cases in February.
INSTIs-centered antiviral regimens for first-line treatment of HIV/AIDS: a network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis
25 April 2025 - BMC Infectious Diseases - BioMed Central - Introduction
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), is a condition that leads to severe immune deficiency, making individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and malignancies, which can result in death. As of 2022, approximately 39 million people globally are living with HIV, with 1.3 million new infections and 630,000 AIDS-related deaths recorded annually [1]. In China, excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, there were 1.223 million reported cases of people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2022, including 689,000 HIV-positive individuals and 534,000 AIDS patients [2]. The same year saw 107,000 new HIV/AIDS cases reported in the country, posing a significant threat to public health and economic stability.
To mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS, the Chinese government implemented the “Four Frees and One Care” policy in 2004, which was institutionalized by the “AIDS Prevention Regulation” in 2006 [3]. This policy provides free antiretroviral therapy (ART), outpatient examinations, mother-to-child transmission prevention, and education for orphans. Additionally, the “13 th Five-Year Action Plan for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control” (2017) and the “2021–2031 Import Tax Policy on Anti-HIV Drugs” further strengthened these efforts [4]. These policies have substantially improved HIV/AIDS prevention and control in China, enhancing the availability of antiviral drugs, optimizing treatment regimens, and reducing patient costs [5]. Current strategies advocate for providing ART to all HIV-positive individuals regardless of CD4+ T-cell counts, significantly reducing AIDS-related mortality and improving patient quality of life [6]. These comprehensive measures demonstrate the government's commitment to combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its determination to ensure that all citizens receive the necessary medical care and support.
I’m a doctor specialising in HIV – the world should be very afraid of cuts to Aids funding
25 April 2025 - Voices - The Independent - Hospitals will see a surge of people with Aids-related conditions that we should no longer see in this age of effective treatment, warns Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan
When the UK government’s AIDS: Don’t Die of Ignorance campaign was launched in 1986, I was in primary school. But like so many other people, I can still recall the harrowing tombstone and iceberg adverts on television. The devastating human impact of the Aids epidemic is well-documented and made a long-lasting impression on me.
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Targeted plasma proteomics reveals organ damage signatures of AIDS- and noncommunicable disease-related deaths in people with HIV
April 25, 2025 - Nature - Introduction
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has contributed to a shift in disease patterns among people with HIV (PWH)1, and has been significantly effective in lowering the mortality of PWH who died of opportunistic infections and AIDS-related diseases2. However, there is a disproportionally increasing rate of mortality among PWH who died of comorbid noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as non-AIDS defining cancers, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), liver and kidney diseases3. Although HIV viral persistency and inflammation are supposed to play critical roles, the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms remain to be fully addressed.
CD4 T cell counts and viral load are the two strongest correlates and surrogate markers of HIV disease progression, regularly used in clinical settings4. Simultaneous modeling of these two biomarkers is a good way to capture the AIDS-related disease progression5. However, these two biomarkers are hysteretic in the prediction of HIV-associated mortality and cannot reflect or predict the progression of NCDs among PWH. NCDs are more likely to occur and progress more rapidly in PWH than in the general population, and biomarkers of NCDs, such as carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) used in the general population, may not reliably predict disease progression in PWH, as cIMT differs significantly between the general population and PWH6. Traditional models that integrate NCD biomarkers with CD4 T cell counts are insufficient in predicting mortality of PWH, which require supplementation with novel biomarkers.
New couples-based intervention looks to improve HIV health outcomes in Malawi
April 25, 2025 - UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health - Access to HIV treatment (or antiretroviral therapy (ART)) during pregnancy and breastfeeding is now nearly universal in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and has led to significant improvements in maternal health and HIV transmission among partners. Despite this, pregnant women and their male partners living with HIV in SSA are not achieving the recommended targets for HIV testing, treatment retention and viral suppression.
We Staged A Die-In to Protest Trump’s Health Care Cuts
April 24, 2025 - Human Rights Campaign - HRC hosted a die-in in front of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to protest the Trump Administration’s dangerous cuts to HHS programs.
The cuts, which target programs and research on a wide variety of other social and public health issues including STIs, mental health and suicide prevention, gender-affirming care, cancer prevention, elder care, substance use and harm reduction and homelessness will result in far-reaching, deadly consequences for the LGBTQ+ community.
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New study finds HIV diagnosis often missing in mental health records
24 April 2025 - KING's COLLEGE LONDON - Research led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has found nearly a third of people living with HIV who access secondary mental health services in South London do not have their HIV diagnosis recorded in their mental health records.
HIV is a virus that damages the cells in your immune system and weakens your ability to fight everyday infections and disease. Whilst existing evidence shows prevalence of HIV and other bloodborne viruses is greater among mental health service users, the sexual health needs of people with severe mental illness (such as bipolar disorder, depressive psychosis, schizophrenia and related disorders) are often neglected.
Awareness of HIV status can help mental health professionals provide more comprehensive care. Despite this, new research published in PLOS One reveals that HIV diagnosis is often missing from mental health records.
The Impending HIV Resurgence
Apr 24, 2025 - By Katie Suleta, DHSc, MPH - THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND HEALTH (ACSH) - The Trump Administration has gutted many areas of healthcare funding and research, especially in infectious diseases. One area that has been particularly hard hit has been research, prevention, and treatment for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). While the COVID-19 pandemic is still fresh in everyone's mind, the HIV pandemic seems to have slipped from the general public's awareness. It's time for a refresher on just how bad the 1980s were.
The 1980s
In the early 1980s, a diagnosis of HIV was a death sentence. It killed, seemingly quickly and mercilessly, sparking panic and fear. It inspired a new type of civil activism. It also changed how we think about infectious diseases, at least temporarily.
The first death in the United States occurred in 1981. By 1990, about 100,000 people had died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
British Columbia HIV study finds life expectancy differences based on sex assigned at birth
April 24, 2025 - CATIE NEWS - Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) - A B.C. study measured life expectancy trends among more than 14,000 people living with HIV
People living with HIV had shorter life expectancies if they had been assigned female at birth
The gap persisted even after ruling out differences in HIV treatment and social determinants
When taken as directed, HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy; ART) is highly effective. As a result, many studies in Canada and other high-income countries project that most ART users will have near-normal life expectancy.
In 2020, researchers found that the distribution of people with HIV in British Columbia was as follows:
94% of people were diagnosed with HIV
92% of people diagnosed with HIV were taking ART
95% of people taking ART had a suppressed viral load
However, the B.C. researchers noted that among participants taking ART, 98% of those assigned male at birth had a suppressed viral load, while the figure among those assigned female at birth was 81%. This finding spurred a team of researchers to find out more about life expectancy in males and females with HIV.
Gay Harm Reduction Advocate Michael Siever Dies at 74
April 24, 2025 -By Laura Schmidt - POZ - Michael Siever, PhD, cofounded the Stonewall Project, a harm reduction program that supports LGBTQ folks with substance use issues.
Michael Siever, PhD, a passionate HIV and AIDS activist, harm reduction advocate and psychologist, died April 10 at an assisted living facility in Seattle. He was 74.
Siever, who was gay, dedicated his life to serving the LGBTQ community in San Francisco through mental health, substance use and HIV health services.
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Success of agile COVID-19 pan-Canadian research network highlights how to tackle future pandemics
OTTAWA, On. - April 23, 2025 - University of Ottawa - - CoVaRR-Net bridged crucial research and public health gaps to inform decision-making during COVID-19 pandemic.
- Quickly assessed how SARS-CoV-2 variants affected people in Canada and around the world and discovered ways to detect and stop their spread.
- Highlighted the importance of translating research into practical public health measures.
Established legacy of pandemic preparedness and response through groundbreaking national initiatives like antibody testing and wastewater surveillance.
The operations of CoVaRR-Net, a national interdisciplinary research network initiated with the support of the University of Ottawa to study COVID-19 variants and enhance Canada's preparedness for future pandemics, have concluded following the expiration of funding.
Today, they present their final report highlighting their achievements and lessons learned, to enhance future pandemic preparedness.
Making the next five years count: Europe not on track to reach 2030 Sustainable Development Goal targets on HIV, TB, viral hepatitis B and C and STIs
23 Apr 2025 - European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) - Although progress has been made towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.3 to end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and combatting viral hepatitis B and C and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by 2030, the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) is off track for many of the targets, according to the first monitoring report on the SDGs released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The first in a series of progress reports planned until 2030 presents the latest data on incidence, prevention, testing, treatment, and mortality across the EU/EEA for the four disease groups being monitored by ECDC for the SDGs. Although progress has been made in some areas, many countries are not on track to meet the 2030 targets, and significant data gaps hinder a complete assessment.
Race against time: New treatment for deadly HIV complication enters trials
April 23, 2025 - By Angeline Ochieng - Daily Nation - A crucial drug for treating a deadly opportunistic infection common in individuals with advanced HIV disease has entered Phase II clinical trials in Africa, offering fresh hope to people living with the virus and overburdened health systems.
The trial is testing a new easy-to-administer and patient-friendly sustained-release formulation of flucytosine, a key medication in the treatment of the HIV-linked meningitis.
Cryptococcal meningitis is a serious fungal infection that commonly affects individuals with advanced HIV disease. It is a major cause of HIV-related deaths.
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Few new HIV cases among Polish PrEP users – most caused by errors with event-based PrEP
23 April 2025 - By Gus Cairns - aidsmap - There have been almost no scientific studies of the effectiveness of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in central or eastern Europe. However, a recent study of 887 PrEP users, all gay and bisexual men, in the Polish city of Wroclaw, found only nine HIV infections (1% of PrEP users) over a three-year period from 2020 to 2023.
All 887 PrEP users took oral tenofovir disoproxil/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) pills. Strikingly, there were no HIV infections in men currently taking them daily; all were in men who had chosen to take event-based PrEP, apart from one in a man who had recently stopped daily use. As elsewhere, the prescribed regimen for event-based dosing is the ‘2-1-1’ pattern: a double dose taken before having sex, followed by a single dose 24 hours after that if sex does happen, and another 24 hours after that.
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PrEP HIV Prevention Now Available Directly from Illinois Pharmacists
SPRINGFIELD - April 22, 2025 - Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) - Standing order from IDPH will make lifesaving HIV prevention drugs more accessible
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has issued a standing order that will allow Illinoisans to obtain the HIV preventive medication known as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) directly from a pharmacist without first requiring a doctor's prescription.
PrEP is one of the most effective means of preventing HIV infection. Studies have shown that when taken as directed, it reduces the risk of HIV infection through sexual transmission by as much as 99 percent. The order, signed by IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra, will make it easier for people at risk of exposure to HIV to obtain either of the two oral medications used in the PrEP regimen. It also streamlines the process for pharmacists to receive reimbursement for providing PrEP services.
How a potential HIV cure may affect HIV transmission
22-Apr-2025 - University Medical Center Utrecht - A mathematical modeling study coordinated by UMC Utrecht has shown that sustained HIV remission (without rebound) or HIV eradication cure scenarios could consistently reduce new HIV infections among men who have sex with men
A mathematical modeling study coordinated by UMC Utrecht has shown that sustained HIV remission (without rebound) or HIV eradication cure scenarios could consistently reduce new HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Netherlands as compared to a scenario without a cure. The investigators anticipate that introduction of either of these cure scenarios could contribute to ending the HIV epidemic among MSM in the Netherlands. In contrast, transient HIV remission with a risk of rebound could increase new infections if rebounds are not closely monitored, and could potentially undermine HIV control efforts.
Spilling the chai: Life with HIV through the lens of this Pakistani-Canadian
April 22, 2025 - CBC - When Asif Ali learned of his HIV diagnosis, stark images from 90s films he'd seen flashed through his mind. Now, he's sharing his story to change the narrative and shine a light on South Asian storytelling, in this CBC Ottawa Creator Network video.
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Nadler Statement On Proposed Trump Cuts to Domestic HIV Programs
Washington, DC - 21, 2025 - Congressman Jerry Nadler New York’s 12th - Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) made the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s reported plan to slash over $40 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services and eliminate all dedicated domestic HIV prevention programs:
“It is unconscionable that the Trump Administration has proposed cutting over a third of the Department of Health and Human Services’ budget. As a proud, longtime champion for federal HIV prevention and assistance programs, I am appalled that the Administration’s proposed budget would eliminate all federal HIV prevention efforts and devastate funding for HIV research. This is yet another exceptionally cruel and reckless move by the Trump Administration, and it would have devastating consequences for our nation’s public health.”
Fighting for funds: A new era of HIV activism
04/21/2025 - By Ida Jooste - Mail&Guardian - “So the US funding cuts happened and I was looking for the noise! I was asking the other day, ‘Where are my peple, why aren’t they shouting?’” says Sisonke Msimang, a South African writer and political scientist.
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Obamacare returns to SCOTUS, with preventive care on the line
04/21/2025 - By Alice Miranda Ollstein - POLITICO - The lawsuit, brought by conservative employers in Texas, targets the expert panel that advises HHS on which preventive care services insurers must cover without cost-sharing.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on Obamacare’s mandate that insurance companies cover everything from depression screenings to HIV-prevention drugs.
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UK Aids Memorial Quilt to be shown at Tate Modern
April 21, 2025 - By Jess Warren - BBC News - The UK Aids Memorial Quilt collection is to be displayed in the Tate Modern later this year.
A combination of 42 quilts and 23 individual panels, which represents about 385 people who lost their lives to HIV/Aids in the UK, will be displayed in the art gallery's Turbine Hall.
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‘People still think it’s a death sentence,’ Toronto play reveals what life is like for a person living with HIV today
April 20, 2025 - By Devon Banfield - NOW Toronto - A play hitting the stage in Toronto explores what life is currently like for someone living with HIV.
Toronto playwright and actor Mark Keller says that he was inspired to write his award-winning play POZ after he was diagnosed with HIV ten years ago.
Determined to do anything other than sit with his pain, Keller had the idea for POZ, a 70-minute stage play that dives into a personal story about his life with HIV. But it took ten years for POZ to come to fruition, with Keller saying he needed to experience life with HIV before he was able to create a play about it.
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Activists Carry Hundreds of Coffins to State Dept. to Protest Cuts to PEPFAR
April 19, 2025 - Peter Staley - On April 17 2025, AIDS activist pallbearers delivered a mountain of coffins to Marco Rubio’s door at the State Department demanding a full reinstatement of PEPFAR, the federal program which had been keeping 20 million people with HIV around the world alive and healthy. The demo was widely covered by NYT, NPR, Rachel Maddow Show, Politico, and many other outlets.
Campaigners and charities horrified by revelations about impact of Trump’s ‘reckless’ USAID cuts
18 April 2025 - By David Maddox - The Independent - Trump has been accused of giving ‘millions of people a death sentence’ after The Independent exposed the reality of the cuts on the ground
Donald Trump has been accused of “giving millions of people a death sentence” following revelations in The Independent about the impact on the Aids pandemic of his decision to dismantle USAID.
Veteran LGBT+ and HIV campaigner Peter Tatchell joined leading politicians and charities in expressing his disgust at the massive cuts by the White House, which are facing a legal challenge in the US.
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Political action group ACT UP Cleveland meets for the first time in over 20 years amid threats to HIV/AIDS funding
April 17, 2025 - By H.L. Comeriato - The Buckeye Flame - ‘We have lived this nightmare before.’
The Cleveland chapter of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) drew nearly 100 people to its first public meeting in more than two decades.
With massive cuts to federal AIDS programs looming, longtime activists and organizers joined dozens of young people interested in reviving the group, widely known for acts of civil disobedience and direct political action around AIDS in the late 1980s and 1990s.
On the second floor of the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, in the city’s Gordon Square Neighborhood, ACT UP veteran and long term HIV survivor Gil Kudrin addressed the crowd.
‘We have to plan for the worst and hope for the best’
Apr 16, 2025- words and images by Mark S. King - Positively Aware - An air of anxiety at the 2025 Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit
The Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit, an NMAC project that serves as an annual gathering of public health workers, community advocates and researchers focused on HIV prevention, might be forgiven if there was an odd disconnect between its program agenda and the topics that were most prominent in the minds of its attendees.
After all, the 2025 Summit, which ran April 10–12 in Atlanta, was designed before the dismantling of huge swaths of federal assistance programs, before the freezing of billions of dollars of HIV programs, before NIH research grants were rescinded, and before governmental web pages devoted to HIV were taken down and any mention of transgender people was wiped away.
And so, the summit’s array of workshops and presentations on making PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) more available, injectable medications, digital health, and HIV testing programs became an eerie snapshot of life as we knew it as HIV advocates only a few short months ago, before the public health landscape changed swiftly and dramatically.
Gary Dell'Abate on His Decades of Activism in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS on Behalf of Late Brother
April 16, 2025 - By Chris Gardner - The Hollywood Reporter - Ahead of receiving the Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award, Dell’Abate talks his history in fight on behalf of his late brother Steven.
In New York City on May 8, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation will honor veteran actress Rosie Perez and The Howard Stern Show icon Gary Dell’Abate by shining a light on their decades of activism on behalf of the cause. It will surely be a big night for the pair, and if Dell’Abate’s mother were still alive, he knows exactly what she would say.
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UNAIDS reacts to WHO Member States reaching Pandemic Agreement consensus
GENEVA, 16 April 2025 - UNAIDS - Delegates at the World Health Organization (WHO) Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) have today reached a consensus on the Pandemic Agreement. Negotiations began in 2021, with an aim of building a framework for pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response that learned from the COVID-19 and AIDS pandemics.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other stakeholder played an important role in supporting the process by advocating for an agreement that centres equity and human rights.
In response to the news of the consensus Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, stated:
“During COVID-19, we at UNAIDS watched in horror as the world failed to learn the lessons of AIDS, a pandemic we have been fighting for decades. The consensus reached today is a critical first step towards ensuring the world never makes the same mistakes again – and proof that, in a time of instability, global cooperation can deliver for humanity.”
ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION JOINS FORCES WITH BRANDI CARLILE’S LOOKING OUT FOUNDATION TO RAISE $1 MILLION TO PROTECT HIV CARE AROUND THE WORLD
NEW YORK, April 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION - Following their collaborative studio album “Who Believes In Angels?”, the two iconic artists and longtime friends announce their initiative to deliver life-saving HIV care and services
Today, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Looking Out Foundation announced a landmark initiative—the “Who Believes In Angels?” Campaign—to address the urgent global humanitarian crisis caused by recent cuts to HIV/AIDS funding in the United States.
The partnership, spearheaded by global superstar Elton John and multi-Grammy-winning artist Brandi Carlile, is bringing their communities together to raise funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s lifesaving work globally and its Rocket Response Fund. This emergency initiative will help Elton John AIDS Foundation’s partners maintain essential services following significant cuts in funding due to the termination of USAID support. The Rocket Response Fund will direct resources to reopen clinics, restore access to essential medications, and maintain prevention services — ensuring people around the world continue to receive the vital HIV care they need.
Preventive care may no longer be free in 2026 because of HIV stigma – unless the Trump administration successfully defends the ACA
April 15, 2025 - The Conversation - Many Americans were relieved when the Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act in place following the law’s third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision permitted widely supported policies to continue, such as ensuring health coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, allowing coverage for dependents up to age 26 on their parents’ plan, and removing annual and lifetime benefit limits.
But millions are still at risk of losing access to lifesaving medicine and preventive services, following the Supreme Court’s decision to hear another case – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. v. Braidwood – that has been working its way through lower courts for several years.
The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation Issues Emergency Grant Cycle to Address Forthcoming Gap Funding
LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation - In response to the current Administration's decisions that will create significant funding gaps for many vital domestic HIV programs, ETAF is launching a competitive emergency grant cycle to provide financial resources to organizations in need.
This new initiative will be aimed at ensuring that critical, wrap-around health services for HIV treatment & prevention and programs focused on Transgender communities can continue to operate into the near future.
The application process for this emergency grant cycle opens on April 16, 2025 and will remain open until May 31, 2025. During this period, organizations that have the following direct-service programs are encouraged to apply:
Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, HIV/AIDS pioneer, memorialized at Judson
April 14, 2025 - By Gay City News - Patients, colleagues, and friends gathered at Judson Memorial Church on April 12 to remember the life and work of early HIV/AIDS trailblazer Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, who died in London in 2021 at the age of 88.
Sonnabend was a native of South Africa who grew up in what is now Zimbabwe before training in London and moving to New York City, where he was a medical researcher with a practice in Greenwich Village. He was known for sounding the alarm about what would become HIV/AIDS at a time when health authorities were slow to respond to it.
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At 1.27%, Punjab’s sero-positivity rate for HIV exceeds nat’l average
April 14, 2025 - Chabigarh News - Times of India - Chandigarh: Amid its ongoing struggle with drug addiction, Punjab now faces another pressing health concern—an alarming rise in HIV/AIDS cases. The state continues to report HIV sero-positivity levels significantly above normal average, raising red flags among public health officials.
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Haunted by hopelessness: 12 Zambians share their stories as HIV drugs run out
April 14, 2025 - By Gabrielle Emanuel, Rebecca Davis - Goats and Soda - NPR - People are falling ill because the U.S.-funded clinics where they got their HIV medications and care have suddenly been shuttered. The staff is gone. The electricity has been shut off. Some patients have already run out of their daily pills that keep HIV at bay — and they have started to feel the physical consequences of the virus surging back.
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Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter review – a headlong rush through the turbulent Aids era
13 April 2025 - By Nick Duerden - The Guardian - Porter’s urgent prose propels the reader into the gay scene of the 1980s and early 90s as his protagonist’s life is torn apart by the HIV crisis
he humble comma, normally so easily overlooked within a page of text, is clearly Charlie Porter’s weapon of choice for his debut novel. Here, he wields it to propel his narrative forward in the kind of urgent, endless staccato rush that sometimes requires the reader to look briefly up and away, if only to gulp at some fresh air.
Nova Scotia House, the 51-year-old journalist’s first work of fiction after two books on fashion, tells the story of living through the Aids crisis of the 1980s and early 90s, and how those who survived it will be forever accompanied by the ghostly presence of those who didn’t.
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Eliminating worm infections as a key strategy for HIV/AIDS prevention
11 April 2025 - German Center for Infection Research - Researchers from the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the LMU University Hospital Munich, the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) – Mbeya Medical Research Center (MMRC) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), together with colleagues from Bonn, have discovered a risk factor for HIV infection that has received little attention to date. In an earlier cohort study conducted in Tanzania, they had demonstrated for the first time that infection with the worm Wuchereria bancrofti increases the risk of contracting HIV. This link has now been further investigated in the context of a national program in Tanzania to eliminate W. bancrofti—the causative agent of lymphatic filariasis. The follow-up study confirms that the containment of this worm infection leads to a reduction in new HIV infections. The results of the RHINO study have now been published in the journal The Lancet HIV.
Expert Says Tariffs & USAID Cuts Could Lead to Job Losses, Rollback of HIV/AIDS Gains & Greater China Influence in Lesotho
Newswise - 11 April 2025 - by College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Before President Donald Trump abruptly changed course on tariffs, Lesotho--the 12th smallest African nation--was near the top of the list of countries whose products would be taxed at the U.S. border. Charles Fogelman, a professor of Global Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an expert on the politics of Lesotho, describes how the ever-changing tariff news and the cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development will affect this tiny nation.
Trump’s Revenge on Public Health
April 11, 2025 - By Katherine J. Wu - The Atlantic - The attacks on HIV research are just the beginning of unraveling decades of progress.
If the United States learned any lesson from HIV, it should have been that negligence can be a death sentence. In the early 1980s, the virus’s ravages were treated as “something that happens over there, only to those people,” Juan Michael Porter II, a health journalist and an HIV activist, told me. But the more the virus and the people it most affected were ignored, the worse the epidemic got.
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Healio begins live coverage of European ID conference
April 11, 2025 - By Gerard Gallager - Healio - Healio will have live coverage of this year’s ESCMID Global, one of the largest medical conferences dedicated to infectious diseases and clinical microbiology in the world.
The conference, known informally for years as ECCMID, was renamed last year for the organization that runs it — the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) — and to reflect its global focus, organizers said.
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WISHstory: Ryan White barred from attending school due to AIDS diagnosis, pushes back (1985)
Apr, 10, 2025 - WISH-TV - Ryan White, a teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, was diagnosed with AIDS in Dec. 1984 following a blood transfusion.
The teenager was being kept out of the Western Middle School in Howard County as parents and teachers feared AIDS.
This story aired on July 31, 1985, and was WISH-TV reporter Leslie Olsen's first coverage of Ryan over five years.
Trump administration plans to remove all members of HIV advisory council
April 10, 2025 - By Dan Levine - Reuters - April 9 - The Trump administration plans to remove all the members of a presidential advisory council on HIV/AIDS and provided no timeline for replacing them as the government overhauls its prevention and treatment efforts for the disease.
The 30-year-old Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) had more than 30 members before U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration in January, according to an archived version of its web page.
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HHS closes CDC lab that tracks STIs, alarming experts
April 09, 2025 - Healio - The Trump administration has shut down a CDC laboratory dedicated to tracking STIs, which experts said could weaken the country’s ability to keep an eye on drug-resistant infections, including gonorrhea.
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Uncovering HIV’s Hiding Places
April 9, 2025 - By Jeffrey Laurence, MD - amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research - Researchers scour blood and tissues in search of an elusive marker for HIV reservoir cells
HIV reservoirs persist in multiple cell types and tissues despite effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), presenting the primary obstacle to curing HIV. Revealing such HIV hiding places is thus critical to eradicating the virus.
One approach involves cellular labels, so-called phenotypic protein markers, several of which have been reported by multiple research groups as being enriched among HIV reservoir cells. Some of these proteins could also shield those cells from immune recognition and destruction and promote their survival, thus offering clues to novel types of ART.
Ranking Member Frankel Statement at PEPFAR Hearing
April 8, 2025 - Congresswoman Lois Frankel - Appropriations Committee Democrats - Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), Ranking Member of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the subcommittee's hearing to assess the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR):
Good morning.
Thank you to our witnesses, Dr. Mark Dybul and Ms. Catherine Connor, for joining us today to discuss the future of PEPFAR—one of the most effective and most bipartisan global health achievements in American history.
Since its launch under President George W. Bush in 2003, PEPFAR has saved more than 26 million lives, supported HIV testing for over 71 million people, prevented 5.5 million babies from being born with HIV, and provided care to 7 million orphans and vulnerable children. It has trained over 330,000 healthcare workers and helped build health systems that serve more than 50 countries across Africa, developing countries in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
People Living With HIV Still Face Discrimination In Malaysian Hospitals, Says MAC
KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 - By Alifah Zainuddin - CodeBlue - Discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) in both public and private hospitals remains an issue in Malaysia, says the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC).
Many cases of discrimination go unreported due to fear of stigma, lack of awareness about patient rights, and reluctance to file formal complaints.
MAC president Assoc Prof Dr Raja Iskandar Shah Raja Azwa said some health care workers continue to hold outdated fears about HIV transmission, leading to inappropriate practices such as double gloving, unnecessary additional precautions, refusal to perform medical procedures, delayed treatment, and breaches of confidentiality.
“Discriminatory practices, such as refusing treatment, making unnecessary referrals, or avoiding physical contact, violate medical ethics and professional conduct guidelines,” Dr Raja Iskandar told CodeBlue in an email response. “Every patient deserves access to dignified, non-judgmental health care.”
TOMORROW: Media Briefing on the Global State of Malaria: New Research, Evolving Risks, and Silver Linings
Newswise - 8 April 2025 - by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health - The live briefing will take place from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. EDT (1:00 to 1:30 p.m. GMT // 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. Nairobi) on Wednesday, April 9, via Zoom, and will feature two experts from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Jane M. Carlton, PhD, and George Dimopoulos, PhD, MBA, will discuss the latest research, the need for sustained investment, why malaria is so challenging to eradicate, and how modifying mosquitoes may be a way to combat the disease.
Public Health will host an expert briefing for the media about efforts to control and prevent malaria around the world. Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that in 2023 took nearly 600,000 lives in 83 countries, the majority being children under age 5 in the WHO African Region.
In the U.S., the risk of contracting malaria remains low; however, continued vigilance is needed to prevent increases in both domestic cases from foreign travel and, as occurred in 2023 for the first time in 20 years, locally transmitted cases.
Here’s What Parents Need to Know About a Measles Outbreak
Newswise- 7-April-2025 - by Children's Hospital Los Angeles - Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases. Thankfully, modern medicine provides an extremely effective tool against outbreaks, severe illness, and death.
A recent study estimates that, over the last 50 years, the measles vaccine has helped prevent more than 93 million deaths globally. But while high vaccination rates nearly eliminated measles in the U.S. in the 2000s, outbreaks have become more common in recent years due to lower vaccination levels in some communities.
Michael Smit, MD, MSPH, is the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He’s spent his career exploring how infections spread, and how outbreaks can be prevented.
“If your goal is to avoid catching measles—and spreading it to others—the vaccine is your best bet,” he says. “I recommend the vaccine to everybody eligible to receive it.”
Here's what parents need to know about staying safe and healthy in a measles outbreak.
SA scientists release promising HIV cure trial results
5 April 2025 - By Lyse Comins - The Mail & Guardian - South African scientists have released the findings of the first HIV cure trial in Africa with promising results showing viral suppression in 20% of women who stopped taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) after 18 months.
The study involved 20 women who tested positive for HIV at the Females Rising through Education, Support and Health (Fresh) clinic in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, and started taking antiretroviral treatment a day after knowing their status.
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Do You Feel Love?
Apr 5 2025 - By Mark S. King - My Fabulous Disease - More than ten years ago, when pop icon Donna Summer died, I wrote a tribute to the impact her music had made on me as a young gay man growing up in Louisiana in 1977.
A few weeks ago, producer Becky Ripley at BBC Radio 4 in Bristol, UK somehow ran across that essay and read it. She was working on a new episode of their long-running show and podcast, “Soul Music” that would focus on the Donna Summer song, “I Feel Love.” She booked me for an interview in-studio.
That episode, released today, allows me to tell the story of finding my tribe during a time when feeling love was anything but a given, so early in the gay pride movement were we that self-love was a hard-earned journey. But Donna’s song, and its invitation to the dance floor and, for me, to a community that embraced me, was a soothing balm to my longing.
Find HIV Where it Hides – UCSF Grad Slam 2025 1st Place and People's Choice Winner, Sophia Miliotis
April 4. 2025 - UC San Fran - Sophia Miliotis presents her winning Grad Slam talk, "Finding HIV: A Swipe in the Right Direction," about her research to find latent HIV virus in the body and kill it.
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It’s time to ACT UP for HIV long-term survivors!
April 4, 2025 - The Reunion Project - To fight back, consider joining one of hundreds of events taking place tomorrow, April 5, for a mass mobilization and say, Hands Off! Enough is Enough! For more information go to handsoff2025.org.
Over the past several weeks we have seen drastic and devastating cuts to HIV treatment, prevention and care programs here in the U.S. The Reunion Project recognizes that these cuts have the potential to undo decades of progress. According to a statement issued by NMAC, "As part of a broad restructuring ordered by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the entire staff of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) has been laid off. The Office of Minority Health has been dissolved, and major HIV prevention programs at the CDC have been slashed, forcing state and local health departments, community-based organizations, to severely curtail and in some cases eliminate services in the most underserved communities."
We must fight back against these cuts and demand protections for all people living with and vulnerable to HIV.
Molecular Stool Test Could Improve Detection of Tuberculosis in Adults with HIV
April 04, 2025 - Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) - Prospective multicentre study highlights the potential of the Xpert MTB/Ultra stool test for diagnosing tuberculosis in people living with HIV
The Xpert MTB/Ultra molecular diagnostic test for stool samples, until now recommended only for children, could be established as an additional test for diagnosing tuberculosis in adults living with HIV. This is the main conclusion of the Stool4TB Alliance study, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM), the Research Center Borstel, the Makerere University, the Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation – Eswatini, and The Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development. The results, published in The Lancet Microbe, could represent a paradigm shift in the diagnosis of the disease in this population.
How Your Immune System Plays Matchmaker to Find and Kill HIV
Graduate students present research about how to track down HIV, fight brain tumors with T cells, and treat brain disorders prenatally.
April 04 2025 - By Trudy Ring - UCSF - What do the Tinder dating app and our immune system have in common? They are both committed to swiping candidates to screen for the perfect match. However, instead of love, our immune system is looking for signs of viruses in cells that should be destroyed, according to Sophia Miliotis, a UC San Francisco PhD student and winner of UCSF’s 2025 Grad Slam, the university’s annual PhD student research communication competition.
But, there’s a catch with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, Miliotis pointed outs. It doesn’t play by the matchmaking rules. HIV evades immune detection by rapidly mutating and generating millions of unique pieces of the virus, called peptides, that our immune system can’t recognize. As a result, some HIV-infected cells escape and lay dormant for decades, possibly coming to the surface if medication is interrupted.
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Liias’ bill codifying Apple Health coverage for HIV antiviral drugs signed into law
OLYMPIA - April 04, 2025 - Bipartisan legislation ensuring the state’s Medicaid program continues to cover HIV antiviral drugs without prior authorization was signed into law Friday.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds), requires the Health Care Authority continue covering all HIV antiviral drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration without prior authorization for clients enrolled in Apple Health, the state’s Medicaid program. The Legislature appropriated funds for this coverage in the 2023-25 operating budget, and the bill codifies the requirement in state law.
“This brings us one step closer to eradicating HIV and AIDS in Washington. Now patients statewide will continue to have access to antiviral drugs without any unnecessary barriers,” Liias said. “We know this is policy reduces transmission and keeps people healthy, and I’m thrilled to see it signed into law.”
Social Security demands that gay activist living with AIDS repay $200k in benefits
The federal agency claims Paul Aguilar has been overpaid.
April 04 2025 - By Trudy Ring - ADVOCATE - Paul Aguilar, an AIDS activist in San Francisco, has received a letter from the Social Security Administration demanding that he repay about $200,000 in disability benefits he has received.
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Unprecedented Cuts Across Health and Human Services Put Lives in Peril
New York, NY, April 3, 2025 - amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research - More than one million people living with HIV in the U.S. rely on services that can only be provided by a fully funded HIV response
amfAR is gravely concerned by budget and staffing cuts that will significantly weaken the United States’ domestic and global response to the HIV epidemic. Investments in HIV prevention, which increased during President Trump’s first term with the creation of the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, have resulted in a decrease in new HIV infections. Reductions across the Department of Health and Human Services will erode all the major progress that has been made since 2019 and significantly undermine decades of bipartisan progress and risk reversing hard-won gains in HIV prevention, treatment, and research.
Grant cancelations at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) threaten to curtail innovation, slowing development of new treatments not only for HIV, but for a range of other diseases as well. Staffing reductions at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will delay the approval of life-saving interventions. And cuts to HIV prevention and surveillance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will severely hinder the ability of public health professionals to monitor and control the spread of HIV in the U.S.
Russia bans Elton John Aids Foundation over its support for LGBTQ+ rights
Apr 3 2025 - By Pjotr Sauer - The Guardian - Designation as ‘undesirable organisation’ exposes nonprofit’s staff and partners to possible criminal prosecution
Russian authorities on Thursday banned the Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF), which focuses on HIV/Aids prevention, citing its support for LGBTQ+ rights as a reason for the move.
Founded by the British singer and songwriter in 1992, the organisation funds HIV treatment programmes in countries including Russia. It also advocates for LGBTQ+ people, who have faced years of brutal persecution in Russia.
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Continued decline in new HIV cases in 2024 reflects success of prevention and control efforts in Hong Kong
Newswise - Apr.2,2025 - by American Public Health Association (APHA) - - The Department of Health (DH) today (April 3) summarised the situation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and released the findings of a survey on HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among female sex workers (FSWs) in Hong Kong in 2024. The decline in the number of new cases of HIV infection in Hong Kong for the ninth consecutive year and a prevalence rate well below the global average reflected the success of Hong Kong's prevention and control efforts. However, due to the high proportion of late presentation, the DH encouraged the public to undergo HIV antibody testing, and to use condoms regularly and correctly to minimise the risk of HIV infection.
In the year of 2024, the DH received 365 new HIV cases, including 297 males and 68 females aged between 14 and 89. Among the cases with a reported route of transmission, 312 cases (99 per cent) acquired the infection through sexual contact, including 216 through homosexual or bisexual contact and 96 through heterosexual contact. Almost half of the cases (44 per cent) were reported by public hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, followed by Acquired Immuodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) service organisations. The cumulative total of locally reported HIV infections since 1984 is 12 403. The prevalence of HIV infection among the general public in Hong Kong remained at 0.1 per cent, well below the global average, demonstrating the effectiveness of AIDS control and prevention in Hong Kong," said the Consultant (Special Preventive Programme) of the Public Health Services Branch of the Centre for Health Protection of the DH, Dr Bonnie Wong.
Over 100 Public Health Leaders—Including Former HHS Secretaries, CDC Directors, U.S. Surgeon General, Governors, and State Health Officials—Urge Congress to Reject Trump Administration’s Dismantling of CDC and Public Health Programs
April 3, 2025 - Government Information Centre “GovHK (www.gov.hk)” - More than 100 of the nation’s most respected public health leaders—including former U.S. Secretaries of Health and Human Services, a former U.S. Surgeon General, multiple former CDC directors, former Governors, and retired state health directors and commissioners of health, as well as corporate and non-profit leaders—have issued a forceful open letter urging Congress to stop the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to dismantle the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and undermine the country’s public health infrastructure.The letter, organized by For Our Health, was released in direct response to drastic actions recently announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy. The administration’s plan would eliminate 10,000 full-time public health positions, restructure core CDC functions and transfer key responsibilities to a newly created “Administration for a Healthy America”—a move public health leaders warn will seriously compromise the nation’s ability to prevent and respond to health emergencies.
The signatories span political administrations and levels of government, having served under Presidents Carter, Clinton, George W. Bush, Biden and the first Trump administration. Their message is unified and urgent: the Trump administration’s actions pose a grave threat to the health and safety of the American people.
Global Fund Secures First Eighth Replenishment Pledge – A Historic Private Sector Commitment from Children’s Investment Fund Foundation
LONDON - 02 April 2025 - Global Fund - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) today announced the first pledge to its Eighth Replenishment Campaign – and it comes from the private sector. The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) has made a groundbreaking US$150 million commitment, a five-fold increase from its previous contribution. This historic pledge not only underscores CIFF’s unwavering commitment to global health, but also sets a powerful precedent for private sector leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.
B.C. doctor worries USAID cuts will lead to 6 million more HIV deaths over 4 years
April 2, 2025 - CBC - Dr. Julio Montaner, who is the physician-in-chief for the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, says that he is dumbfounded and devastated by the U.S. administration's decision to cut funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Montaner says the decision will lead to a significant uptick in HIV cases across the globe.
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USask research explores benefits of donor breast milk for HIV-exposed babies
April 2, 2025 - By Matt Olson - University of Saskatchewan (USask) - As the World Health Organization prepares to spotlight World Health Day on April 7 by kicking off a year-long campaign on maternal and newborn health, University of Saskatchewan (USask) health researchers are examining the benefits of donor breast milk for HIV-exposed infants.
he USask-led project is exploring both the accessibility and feasibility of using donor breast milk to supplement the feeding of babies born to a mother with HIV, or “HIV-exposed infants.”
Chloe Langen, a Master of Science student in the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, is helping to co-ordinate the project that will provide pasteurized human donor breast milk to HIV-exposed infants.
The hope of the project is to determine the efficacy of not only regularly supplying donor breast milk for HIV-exposed infants, but also the logistics of getting caregivers the donor milk.
Novel Point-of-Care Technology Delivers Accurate HIV Results in Minutes
Apr 2, 2025 - By Win Reynolds - Engineering News | Northwestern University - The low-cost test builds on existing platform that assesses COVID-19 and water quality
A team of Northwestern University scientists spanning disciplines has developed new technology that could lead to the creation of a rapid point-of-care test for HIV infection competitive with traditional lab-based HIV testing in a fraction of the time and without the need for a stressful wait while results are processed or confirmed in a clinical laboratory.
HIV-diagnostic technology traditionally relied on the detection of HIV-specific antibodies that form several weeks after infection. This has limited their use in early detection, complicating patient care and HIV prevention efforts. Newer tests that detect both HIV antibodies and the p24 antigen (an earlier marker of HIV infection) are now the gold standard for diagnosis, but require clinical labs to run results, contributing to longer processing times, higher costs, and the need for multiple patient visits.
The technology described in a study published April 2 in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics uses a nanomechanical platform and tiny cantilevers to detect multiple HIV antigens at high sensitivity in a matter of minutes. These silicon cantilevers are cheap and easy to mass produce and can be readily equipped with a digital readout. Built into a solar-powered device, this technology could be taken to hard-to-reach parts of the world where early detection remains a challenge to deliver fast interventions to vulnerable populations without waiting for a lab.
With risk on the rise and funding on decline, uOttawa-led team examines punishing costs of TB care across the globe
OTTAWA, On. (April 2, 2025) - University of Ottawa - Research team focuses on the true cost of global tuberculosis care as foreign aid is slashed and millions of people are more at risk from this top infectious disease killer
These are uniquely challenging times in the fight against the enduring and accelerating scourge of tuberculosis (TB) – an airborne illness caused by bacteria that kills more people than any other infectious disease despite the fact it’s preventable and curable.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a serious setback in TB progress as health resources were diverted. The slashing of foreign aid by the U.S. government, which had largely propped up international TB prevention and treatment efforts, threatens to hobble access to care for this chronic disease and provide new chances for TB to propagate and spread drug resistance. The result: Millions of people — especially the world’s most vulnerable – are more at risk.
Middle East and North Africa experiencing ‘escalating HIV epidemic’
2 April 2025 - By Katherine Hearst - MIDDLE EAST EYE - A new report from Frontline AIDS finds that cases in the region have surged by 116 percent since 2010 amid war and little funding
Frontline AIDS, a global organisation, has analysed HIV prevention and response strategies in its Prevention and Accountability Report for the Middle East and North Africa, finding that across Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia cases have risen by 116 percent since 2010, compared to a 39 percent decrease in new infections globally over the same period.
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FACT SHEET: Trump, Musk, & RFK Jr. Hollow Out HHS, Threatening Americans’ Health and Wellbeing
Washington, D.C. - 04.01.25 Minority News Release | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations - Trump carries out mass firings across HHS and subagencies today
Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), responded to the Trump administration’s mass firings across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its many subagencies, which are responsible for protecting Americans’ health and delivering essential health and social services.
“Today, two billionaires are making good on their vow to take a wrecking ball to the Department of Health and Human Services and put Americans’ health and wellbeing at serious risk–and Republicans are letting them,” said Senator Murray. “These firings make a lot of sense if you believe measles spreading like wildfire is good–or think we should be slashing cancer research. While Republicans work to pass more tax breaks for billionaires, Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. are ripping essential health services away from the American people and decimating our country’s ability to prevent outbreaks and keep families safe. There’s no two ways about it: this is the type of carelessness that gets people killed.”
The Trump Administration Just Gutted U.S. Health Institutions. What Will That Mean for Americans?
Apr 1, 2025 - By Alana Semuels - TIME - Employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) knew that mass layoffs would be coming on April 1. But many did not expect the cuts to be so deep—or the implications of the layoffs to be so potentially detrimental to the health and wellbeing of American families.
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Palm Springs HIV advocates navigate uncertainty after federal health agency cuts
April 1, 2025 - By Kendall Balchan - THE PALM SPRINGS POST - Recent mass layoffs at U.S. health agencies have created significant anxiety in Palm Springs, which has one of the nation’s largest populations of HIV-positive individuals.
Jeff Taylor, executive director of HIV+ Aging Research Project – Palm Springs (HARP-PS), said he woke up Tuesday morning to a torrent of phone calls and messages from people looking for reassurance amid the news of the day that the Trump Administration began mass layoffs of 10,000 staffers at U.S. health agencies, including the FDA, CDC and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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HIV Activists March in NYC to Protest “Death by 1,000 Musk Cuts”
April 1, 2025 - By Trent Straube - POZ - “Tesla = AIDS”: The action marked the 38th anniversary of ACT UP, the activist group whose lifesaving HIV triumphs are now threatened.
Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Elon Musk has got to go!” “Put him in a K-hole.” “Medicaid cuts killed me.” “Death by DOGE.” “Trans people exist. Billionaires shouldn’t.” “Telsa = AIDS.&rdquo So declared the chants and handmade posters at the “Death by 1,000 Musk Cuts” protest Saturday, March 29, in Manhattan, setting the tone for the day’s action.
Spearheaded by HIV activists, the demonstration began at the AIDS Memorialin Greenwich Village and ended with a die-in at a Tesla showroom. The action drew over 2,000 people, according to ACT UP/NY, one of the organizers, and included HealthGAP, Housing Works, Metro New York Health Care for All, the NYDocs Coalition, Physicians for a National Health Program, Rise and Resist, Planet Over Profit and others.
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FAU Secures $1.3M NIH Grant for HIV Self-Test Technology Breakthrough
Newswise - 1-Apr-2025 - by Florida Atlantic University - Engineering and Biomedical Researchers Will Develop Rapid, Easy-to-Use, Low-cost HIV Testing Platform
A new modelling study published in The Lancet HIV journal highlights the alarming potential impact of significant reductions in international funding for HIV prevention and treatment programmes. The research estimates that, globally, between 4.4 to 10.8 million additional new HIV infections and 770,000 to 2.9 million HIV-related deaths in children and adults could occur between 2025 and 2030 if funding cuts proposed by the top five donor countries, including the USA and the UK, are not mitigated. The most affected populations will likely be in sub-Saharan Africa, and marginalised groups who are already at a higher risk of acquiring HIV, such as people who inject drugs, sex workers, and men who have sex with men, as well as children.
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