As of 2011, 38% of all US citizens diagnosed with HIV were from a block of nine states in the south-east, sometimes referred to as “the South”: Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, N. and S. Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Death rates among those living with HIV in this region were, by far, the highest of […]
Category: Epidemiology
Living dangerously in the Dominican Republic and Mexico City: can cash transfer payments be used to counteract the “risk premium”?
The Caribbean has the highest levels of HIV outside sub-Saharan Africa – and the Dominican Republic (DR), which together with Haiti accounts for 70% of all people living with HIV in the Caribbean region, is a hotspot. While there has been a 73% reduction in the rate of new infections in the DR between 2001 […]
Tracking the origin, early spread, and ignition of pandemic #HIV-1 through new approaches to phylogenetic analysis
“Distribution of HIV-1 subtypes in a population”, state Mumtaz & Raddad (STI) in a study of the HIV pandemic in the Middle East, “tracks the spread and evolution of the epidemic”. Various studies covered in our previous blogs have attempted to read the history of the progress of the HIV epidemic through the evidence of […]
“Hispanic” label masks the specificity of the Puerto Rican #HIV problem in US Northeast
Interventions for HIV prevention should be informed by an understanding of the long-term source of infection, and not just by recent distribution (Mishra & Boily (STIs)). Amongst recent studies that have sought to inform future interventions are investigations of known subgroups thought to be a potential bridge into the wider population – such as migrant […]
How does neighbourhood impact on STI (Chlamydia) risk?
The influence of neighbourhood on STI (and more particularly Chlamydia) acquisition is widely recognized fact. Biello & Nikkolai argue for UK urban populations that neighbourhood socio-economic status (SES) is more closely correlated with Chlamydia risk than individual SES (http://sti.bmj.com/content/87/7/560.abstract?sid=88b6a7a5-11c9-472d-bd9a-39664d4142b7). In another UK study (Birmingham), Shahmanesh & Ross find residence in neighbourhoods having certain SES characteristics […]
HPV re-activation in older women: an increased cancer risk unrelated to sexual behaviour?
Older women who have had ≥5 lifetime sexual partners could turn out to be a relatively high-risk group for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and associated cervical lesions – regardless of declining sexual activity. If – that is – Gravitt, Viscidi et al. (http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/207/2/272.full.pdf+html?sid=4bc8141c-9b7c-4a13-8a43-451d6fa85fcf; http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/207/2/211.full.pdf+html?sid=4bc8141c-9b7c-4a13-8a43-451d6fa85fcf) are correct to see the results of their cohort study of […]
Female sex workers bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic
A meta-analysis in The Lancet Infectious Diseases offers a global picture of the heightened risks of HIV borne by female sex workers in low- and middle-income countries. The analysis includes 112 papers and national reports, extracted from 19,180 relevant studies, and covers 50 low- and middle-income nations. A table gives, for each of the 50 […]
No rise in UK Chlamydia; but disquieting trends for MSM
The annual report of the UK Health Protection Agency (17th June, 2011) offers a concise and accessible statistical overview of recent trends in STIs (not including HIV/AIDS), as well as details of the UK Chlamydia screening programme and the recent epidemic of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). The overall picture suggests a slight decline (1%) in STIs […]
Why did the HIV epidemic decline in Zimbabwe ?
Why did Zimbabwe experience a remarkable decline in HIV prevalence, from 29% to 16% of adult population between 1997 and 2007, with incidence decline strongly accelerated between about 1999 and 2003? Why was this decline experienced in Zimbabwe and not in other countries? Are there lessons to be learnt from Zimbabwe’s experience? Basing itself on […]
Should boys have HPV vaccination?
3rd February saw the publication of the results of a 4 year study to ascertain the efficacy of HPV vaccine for boys against HPV strains 6, 11, 16 and 18 . The sponsors were Merck, producers of the HPV vaccine, Gardasil. The double-blind study included 4,065 healthy men aged 16-26 in 18 countries. Efficacy was […]