Inside This Issue: Highlights from the 2018 International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
In Brief is NEAETC's news service covering the latest developments and educational resources about HIV, hepatitis, health disparities, and related topics. To subscribe, please click HERE.
Highlights from the 2018 International AIDS Conference
The 2018 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018) took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between July 23 and 27. This biennial event is the largest conference on any global health issue in the world. The theme of AIDS 2018 was “Breaking Barriers Building Bridges” – designed to draw attention to the need for rights-based approaches to more effectively reach key populations, including in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the North-African/Middle Eastern regions where epidemics are growing.
This issue of In Brief is devoted to highlights from AIDS 2018 in the form of headlines from the HIV, medical, and scientific press, together with links to more detailed coverage. For your convenience, we have curated the headlines by topic, so that you may quickly review important developments and then explore in depth the news of greatest interest to you.
Video Sessions from AIDS 2018
The AIDS 2018 YouTube Channel includes videos of many presentations, daily summaries, and highlights from the conference. As this newsletter went to press, new content was still being added to the page.
Daily Summaries from AIDS 2018
Rapporteur Summaries: This page on the official AIDS 2018 site has links to daily summaries from the five main conference tracks: basic and translational research; clinical research; epidemiology and prevention research; social and political research, law, policy, and human rights; and implementation research, economics, systems, and synergies with other health and development sectors. Summaries are also provided for community and leadership activities.
Blog Posts and Videos from HIV.gov: The Department of Health and Human Services HIV.gov site has published a series of blog posts and associated videos summarizing news from AIDS 2018:
Live from AIDS 2018 with HRSA’s Harold Phillips
New HIV Research Findings from AIDS 2018 with NIH’s Dr. Carl Dieffenbach
Elton John AIDS Foundation and PEPFAR Reaffirm Commitments to HIV Support for Key Populations
Fauci: HIV Remission Free of Antiretroviral Therapy Is a Feasible Goal
Live from AIDS 2018 with USAID’s Polly Dunford
CDC’s Hank Tomlinson Live from AIDS 2018 on Successes in the Global Response to HIV
NIH’s Dr. Carl Dieffenbach Shares Research Highlights from the Second Day of AIDS 2018
CDC’s Eugene McCray Discusses HIV Prevention Advances from AIDS 2018
Ambassador Birx Discusses PEPFAR’s 15th Anniversary and Highlights of AIDS 2018
Research Highlights Wrap-up from AIDS 2018 with NIH’s Dr. Carl Dieffenbach
Really Rapid Review: International AIDS Conference 2018, Amsterdam: This brief summary by Paul Sax was published in NEJM Journal Watch shortly after the conference ended. It includes a series of two- to four-sentence summaries of over 20 developments in the prevention, treatment, and management of HIV infection and viral hepatitis.
AIDS 2018: Focus on Specific Population Groups
African Americans
Kaposi Sarcoma Still a Concern, Especially for African-American Men (Poz)
LGBT
Digital Innovations Are Promoting HIV Testing and Prevention to MSM in Asia (AIDSmap)
Elton John Announces HIV Funding for LGBT and People Who Inject Drugs in Eastern Europe, Central Asia (Science Speaks Blog)
HIV Elimination in Gay Men: What Is Working? (AIDSmap)
Hormone Treatment Tied to Lower Truvada Level in Trans Women on PrEP (Poz)
Persons Who Inject Drugs
Researchers Warn of More HIV Outbreaks Among Injection Drug Users (Poz)
Series of HIV Outbreaks in People Who Inject Drugs Shows That ‘Complacency Is the New Problem’ (AIDSmap)
Opioid Medication Treatment, Outreach to Sex Workers Rank Among Most Cost Effective HIV Interventions, Researchers Say (Science Speaks Blog)
Sex Workers
Laws Meant to End Demand for Sex Work Increase Workers’ HIV Risks, Researchers Say (Science Speaks Blog)
Opioid Medication Treatment, Outreach to Sex Workers Rank Among Most Cost Effective HIV Interventions, Researchers Say (Science Speaks Blog)
Prosecuting Clients vs. Sex Workers Doesn’t Ease Health Care Access (Poz)
Women
Dolutegravir Brings Faster Viral Suppression in Late Pregnancy (AIDSmap)
Lynne Mofenson, M.D., Explains the Dolutegravir Risks for People with HIV Who Want to Get Pregnant (TheBodyPro)
Unintended Pregnancies and Desire for Children: Reproductive Health Needs of Women Living with HIV (AIDSmap)
Most Adolescent PrEP Users in U.S. Are Young Women (AIDSmap)
Hormone Treatment Tied to Lower Truvada Level in Trans Women on PrEP (Poz)
Youth
Most Adolescent PrEP Users in U.S. Are Young Women (AIDSmap)
Progress Against HIV in Young People Lags Behind as Africa’s Youth Population Grows (AIDSmap)
Young Adults with Life-Long HIV Have a Higher Risk of Cancer (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
AIDS 2018: Focus on the Global Epidemic
Is the Golden Age of International HIV Funding Coming to an End? (Poz)
The HIV Pandemic: Time to Recalibrate and Target the Weak Spots (TheBodyPro)
Series of Community-Wide HIV Household Surveys Have Shown Directions, Possibilities, PEPFAR Leader Says (Science Speaks Blog)
The Way to 90-90-90 Success Against HIV (and More) Can Be Found in Amsterdam (Science Speaks Blog)
Why Are Some Countries Slow to Implement HIV Treatment Guidelines? (AIDSmap)
Elton John Announces HIV Funding for LGBT and People Who Inject Drugs in Eastern Europe, Central Asia (Science Speaks Blog)
Deal Gives Resource-Limited Countries Affordable Access to ID Testing (Healio)
HIV Treatment Services in African Countries Need to Adapt to Serve Mobile and Migrant Populations (AIDSmap)
PrEP Spreads Across Africa – Slowly (AIDSmap)
Progress Against HIV in Young People Lags Behind as Africa’s Youth Population Grows (AIDSmap)
Botswana Benefits from Enhanced HIV Treatment and Prevention Program (Poz)
Dolutegravir: Update on Infant Neural Tube Defects from Botswana (AIDSmap)
High Uptake of HIV Testing When Self-Tests Are Offered to Outpatients in Malawi (AIDSmap)
HIV Test-and-Treat Program Posts Great Success in Kenya and Uganda (Poz)
Nearly 8 in 10 Namibians With HIV Are Virally Suppressed (Poz)
Digital Innovations Are Promoting HIV Testing and Prevention to MSM in Asia (AIDSmap)
AIDS 2018: Focus on HIV Continuum of Care & Ending the Epidemic
The Way to 90-90-90 Success Against HIV (and More) Can Be Found in Amsterdam (Science Speaks Blog)
What’s Right – and What’s Not – On the Road Towards Epidemic Control? (AVAC)
Series of Community-Wide HIV Household Surveys Have Shown Directions, Possibilities, PEPFAR Leader Says (Science Speaks Blog)
Universal Test and Treat Greatly Improves Retention in Care (AIDSmap)
Test and Treat Studies Show High Rates of HIV Diagnosis, Viral Suppression (AIDSmap)
PrEP Use Linked to Fewer New HIV Infections in U.S. States (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
Rapid Treatment Initiation and Less Time with Detectable HIV Linked to Falls in New HIV Diagnoses in San Francisco and Melbourne (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
HIV Elimination in Gay Men: What Is Working? (AIDSmap)
Opioid Medication Treatment, Outreach to Sex Workers Rank Among Most Cost Effective HIV Interventions, Researchers Say (Science Speaks Blog)
Prosecuting Clients vs. Sex Workers Doesn’t Ease Health Care Access (Poz)
AIDS 2018: Focus on Living with HIV
Three-Quarters of Deaths of People with HIV in London Are Due to Non-AIDS Conditions (AIDSmap)
Young Adults with Life-Long HIV Have a Higher Risk of Cancer (AIDSmap); additional coverage from Poz
Diarrhoea Continues to Affect the Quality of Life of People with HIV in the Modern Treatment Era (AIDSmap)
Having HIV Is Independently Linked to Heart Failure (Poz)
HIV Is Independently Linked to Poorer Mental Health (Poz)
HIV Linked to Higher Risk of Heart Failure (AIDSmap)
Kaposi Sarcoma Still a Concern, Especially for African-American Men (Poz); related coverage from AIDSmap
AIDS 2018: Focus on Policy and Legal Issues
The HIV Pandemic: Time to Recalibrate and Target the Weak Spots (TheBodyPro)
Why Are Some Countries Slow to Implement HIV Treatment Guidelines? (AIDSmap)
Donor Funding for HIV Stalls, Increasing Pressure on High-Burden Countries to Mobilise Domestic Resources (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
Expanded Mexico City Policy Built Barriers to HIV Services, Researchers Say (Science Speaks Blog)
Harm Reduction, Human Rights, Meaningful Involvement of Most Affected Get Focus, Raise Questions of Commitment (Science Speaks Blog)
Criminalisation of HIV High on Agenda at AIDS 2018 (AIDSmap)
20 Global Experts Agree: Science Doesn’t Back HIV Crime Laws (Poz); related coverage from AIDSmap and Poz
Prosecuting Clients vs. Sex Workers Doesn’t Ease Health Care Access (Poz)
AIDS 2018: Focus on Transmission and Prevention
The “Undetectable = Untransmittable” Message Goes Global: I=I, N=N and B=B (AIDSmap); related coverage from Science Speaks Blog and TheBodyPro
Zero Transmissions Mean Zero Risk – PARTNER 2 Study Results Announced (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz and TheBodyPro
Time San Franciscans Spend with Transmissible HIV Has Greatly Declined (Poz)
Digital Innovations Are Promoting HIV Testing and Prevention to MSM in Asia (AIDSmap)
HIV Vax in Advanced Trial Posts Promising 2-Year Results (Poz)
PrEP Use Linked to Fewer New HIV Infections in U.S. States (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
PrEP Spreads Across Africa - Slowly (AIDSmap)
On-Demand Dosing as Effective as Daily Dosing in First Year of French PrEP Study (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
PrEP Before and After Sex Worked as Well as Daily PrEP in Preventing HIV, New Study Finds (TheBodyPro)
Unprecedented Hepatitis C Infection Rates Seen in Gay Men in Amsterdam PrEP Programme (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
Starting PrEP Is Tied to 21% Rise in STI Rate in Gay and Bi Australians (Poz); related coverage from AIDSmap
Hormone Treatment Tied to Lower Truvada Level in Trans Women on PrEP (Poz)
Just 15% of Those Who’ve Started PrEP Are Younger Than 25 (Poz)
Most Adolescent PrEP Users in U.S. Are Young Women (AIDSmap)
PrEP Does Not Lower Feminising Hormone Level in Transgender Women (AIDSmap)
Futuristic PrEP Tablets Can Signal Adherence to Regimen Via Computer (Poz)
AIDS 2018: Focus on Treatment and Cure Research
Anthony Fauci Discusses Research Approaches to Sustaining HIV Remission Without Antiretroviral Therapy (TheBodyPRO)
The Kick That Didn’t Kill: First-Ever Randomised HIV Cure Study Fails to Eliminate Infected Cells (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
Patients with HIV ‘Highly Satisfied’ with Long-Acting Injectable Therapy (Healio)
Why Are Some Countries Slow to Implement HIV Treatment Guidelines? (AIDSmap)
HIV Treatment Services in African Countries Need to Adapt to Serve Mobile and Migrant Populations (AIDSmap)
Dolutegravir-Based ART Recommended for All – if Reliable Contraception Is Available (AIDSmap); related coverage from TheBodyPro
Dolutegravir Dual Therapy Works Well for First-Time HIV Treatment (AIDSmap); related coverage from TheBodyPro
Brazil Confirms Dolutegravir Is the Most Effective Drug for First-Line HIV Treatment (AIDSmap)
Dolutegravir: Update on Infant Neural Tube Defects from Botswana (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
Dolutegravir Brings Faster Viral Suppression in Late Pregnancy (AIDSmap)
Doravirine Maintains Higher Rate of Virological Suppression Over Darunavir/Ritonavir Though 96 Weeks of Follow-Up (AIDSmap); related coverage from Healio and Poz
Reduced Dose Darunavir/Ritonavir Effective and Safe for People Switching While Virally Suppressed (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
Patients with HIV Achieve Virologic Suppression with Rapid Initiation Symtuza Treatment (Healio); related coverage from Poz
Switching to Symtuza Is Safe and Effective Regardless of Previous HIV Regimen (Poz)
Switching to ViiV’s Juluca Proves Effective Two Years into Major Trial (Poz)
ViiV’s 2-Drug Regimen Is on Par With a 3-Drug Combo (Poz)
AIDS 2018: Focus on Viral Hepatitis
Supervised Drug Consumption Sites Offer Opportunities for HCV Testing and Treatment (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz and Science Speaks Blog
Unprecedented Hepatitis C Infection Rates Seen in Gay Men in Amsterdam PrEP Programme (AIDSmap); related coverage from Poz
Zepatier Beats Almost All Acute Hepatitis C in Just 8 Weeks (Poz)