HIV Ireland
NewsDesk Weekly
8 July 2016
 

Our NewsDesk will be taking a break for the next four weeks but it will be back in your inboxes for the 5th of August.
 

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HIV

 
HPSC - Weekly HIV & STIs Report - Week 26, 2016
Latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show a total of 4 new cases for week 26 - 2016, bringing the total to 274 HIV new notifications for 2016 to date.

 
UK guide to PrEP
i-base, 8 July 2016
This new guide has been published to support people using PrEP in the UK – especially when using generic PrEP bought online after the recent decision by NHS England to block doctors from prescribing PrEP – even to people with a very high HIV risk.
 

Gay and Bi Men Are Resorting to Desperate Measures to Get HIV Prevention Meds
Broadly, 6 July 2016
Under British guidelines, anyone telling doctors they've been potentially exposed to HIV is prescribed an emergency course of PEP. Many gay men tell doctors they have been exposed to infection solely to get PrEP, and the practice is known as "clinic-hopping".


'Painful history of AIDS is looking like it's future': Despite huge advances the 'HIV epidemic continues among gay men across the world', experts warn
Daily Mail, 8 July 2016
A new US study has found that high rates of HIV among MSM continue in many regions of the world because of discrimination, stigma and lack of access to prevention.
 
 
I dislike being called HIV positive or people using the term being HIV positive
Positive Moving On, 7 July 2016
“People are not called diabetic positive, epilepsy positive and so on which for me (the term HIV positive) sets people living with HIV apart from others who are living with a medical condition”.
See also:
I HATE when gay men use the word ‘Poz’
FS Mag, 7 July 2016


Transgender woman ‘advised not to donate blood’
The Irish Times, 4 July 2016
Transgender rights advocates are to contact the Irish Blood Transfusion Service to discuss the service’s policy on blood donations from trans people, after a transgender woman – blood donor for over 20 years – has been advised not to donate while her eligibility has been reviewed.


Arkansas man fired from McDonalds for being HIV-positive: lawsuit
The Raw Story, 5 July 2016
A McDonald's worker is suing the fast food chain after he claims he was fired for being HIV positive. The employee had disclosed his status to a co-worker.


Atripla three times weekly maintains HIV viral suppression for 24 weeks
Aidsmap, 5 July 2016
People with undetectable viral load who switched from a daily Atripla regimen to taking the medication just every other weekday were able to maintain viral suppression for six months, with good tolerability and less side effects.


 

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STIs


Guidance on Management of Outbreaks of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
HPSC, 4 July 2016
The new guidance published by the HPSC is designed for health professionals involved in the prevention, investigation, and control of outbreaks of STIs.


National AIDS Trust responds to increased STI rates amongst gay and bisexual men
NAT, 5 July 2016
Latest figures by Public Health England show that there has been a large increase in rates of gonorrhoea and syphilis amongst MSM.


Updated STIs annual data tables
Public Health England, 5 July 2016
Updated information on STIs diagnoses and sexual health services in England by demographic characteristics and geographical region.
 

Rise in syphilis and gonorrhoea diagnoses in England
The Guardian, 5 July 2016
Big rises in diagnoses of syphilis and gonorrhoea in England along with continuing high levels of other STIs have alarmed sexual health campaigners.
See also:
Free NHS chlamydia test shunned by under-25s despite being group most at risk of infection
The Sun, 4 July 2016
A Chlamydia screening programme in UK has flopped with the majority of people at risk not getting free tests.