Two issues discussed at the recent ISSTDR (International Society Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research) for Conference (11th-14th July) in Montreal, Canada, have made the headlines. First, the emergence in Japan of a new drug resistant “superbug” – an apparently untreatable strain of Gonorrhea (H041). Dr Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria reported […]
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Widespread abuses of HPV testing in the US?
The US-based journal Obstetrics and Gynecology carries a front-page editorial: “Abuses in Human Papillomavirus DNA Testing”. A study featuring in July’s issue based on a survey of nationally representative samples of smear-test (pap test) providers reports widespread overuse of HPV testing in the context of routine smear tests. The editorial dramatically concludes that this “seriously […]
First ever WHO guidelines on HIV prevention and treatment for MSM and TG
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its first ever guidelines on the prevention and treatment of HIV for populations of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender individuals (TG). The guidelines have been in preparation since the September 2008 WHO global consultation in Geneva. Both populations – MSM and TG – are […]
Screening for syphilis in pregnancy: evidence for the effectiveness of doing something
2 million pregnant women, mostly in low and middle-income countries, have syphilis in pregnancy resulting in adverse outcomes in 69% of cases. Given known low costs of screening and treatment, the figures are appalling. Is it really lack of evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that is holding things back? Yet one can only support […]
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 […]
PrEP no panacea
One potential approach to HIV prevention attracting much current interest is the use of “pre-exposure prophylaxis” (PrEP). This involves taking anti-retroviral drugs (ARV) before exposure to HIV in order to reduce the risk of transmission. In parallel with clinical trials currently underway to establish the efficacy of PrEP, an important body of research is investigating […]
The right way forward for global HIV/AIDS response?
Almost thirty years exactly after the first official AIDS diagnosis on 1st June 1981, and 10 years since the landmark UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, member countries meet once again to review the global response to HIV AIDS at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV/ AIDS from 8–10 June in New […]
Dramatic impact of ART provision on HIV transmission to non-infected partners
Immediate initiation of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) on diagnosis with HIV produces a 96% reduction in transmission to a non-infected partner. This is the remarkable finding of a large, multi-national, randomized clinical trial, begun in April 2005 by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), and enrolling 1,760 HIV sero-discordant couples at 13 sites across Africa, Asia […]
US Republicans prepared to put the poor at risk in order to make a political stand on abortion
A key provider of free STI testing and treatment to America’s poor and uninsured, Planned Parenthood (PP), faces the immediate loss of all public funding in Indiana State. This is thanks to a new law signed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels (likely Republican presidential nominee) intended to defund sexual health service providers who perform abortions. […]
HAART and mortality in China
A recent study published in the Lancet seeks to give a statistical picture of HAART coverage in China and its impact on mortality from 2002 to 2009. It is based on a correlation of data from the Chinese national epidemiological database, which records positive HIV results, and a “treatment” database. HIV affects an estimated 740,000 […]