HIV Ireland
NewsDesk Weekly
20 November 2015
HIV
HPSC - Weekly HIV & STI Report - Week 45, 2015
Latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show 7 new cases for week 45-2015, bringing the total to 411 HIV new notifications for 2015 to date.
HIV: the road to zero
Medical Independent, 20 November 2015
The author examines the current situation of HIV prevention and treatment in Ireland, including stats, sexual health strategies, testing programs, the call for wide use of PrEP, and the impact of purchase of sex criminalisation on sex workers health.
Substance misuse services for men who have sex with men involved in chemsex
PHE, November 2015
Public Health England has published a briefing for commissioners and providers of substance misuse services about MSM involved in chemsex. It contains background information, recent data and prompts for local areas and services including: understanding local need; supporting services to meet need; and recognising and responding appropriately to individual need.
Truth about HIV Transmission among Addicts and Alcoholics
Psychology Today, 18 November 2015
The author of this article reviews the difference between the cultures of various drugs of choice, specifically cocaine versus heroin, in full-blown addiction, and how they can affect decision making in regard of HIV prevention.
Free HIV home sampling launched to increase HIV testing
PHE, 18 November 2015
Public Health England has launched the first nationally available HIV kit for testing those at higher-risk and has announced new funding for innovative HIV prevention projects.
HIV Testing Saves Lives - Bad Journalism Kills
Huffington Post, 12 November 2015
Some media still talk about HIV as a punishment for promiscuity. This kind of stigma hurts everybody as it hampers prevention by dissuading people from testing.
The Burden of Proof
GNP Plus, November 2015
There are a multitude of laws in regard of HIV prosecutions. This article examines prosecutions for sexual HIV exposure and HIV transmission, which appear to be the most common types of prosecution worldwide.
See also:
Charlie Sheen Is HIV-Positive – Could His Exes Sue Him?
People, 17 November 2015
Why an HIV diagnosis is treated like a crime in most U.S. states
The Daily Dot, 18 November 2015
Sean Strub, campaigner for the SERO Project group, and JD Davids, editor of The Body, explain how HIV-specific laws and increased sentencing have created a "viral underclass" that legalizes discrimination, and how misinformation, hysteria and the underlying bias against people living with HIV are obstacles to ending the HIV epidemic.
I Am Charlie
The Huffington Post, 19 November 2015
Gus Cairn, Editor at Aidsmap and HIV-positive activist, talks about stigma and says that “infection with this virus is still regarded as a sentence of actual and social death, and those of us who live with it as selfish agents of doom.”
All caught up… in what I’m not
Positive Lite, 16 November 2015
Not just semantics. Don Short says “what I “am” is not HIV-positive. That would mean, to me, a sole identity. I have HIV, a pesky virus, but I am not the virus.”
How to cope if you’re HIV-positive and hearing or reading hurtful comments
Star Observer, 17 November 2015
The author of this article addresses the impact online comments, media reporting and real life interactions may have on people living with HIV.
Why Facebook friends and HIV connections go hand in hand
Positive Lite, 19 November 2015
Bob Leah, editor at Positive Lite, talks about the importance of social media for advocacy and for people living with HIV.
HIV: the ongoing stigma and its impact on testing
Medical News Today, 19 November 2015
HIV stigma is discouraging testing, and lack of early HIV testing diminishes the benefits of ART.
What is safe sex for someone with HIV?
CNN, 18 November 2015
With the right precautions, people living with HIV can still have sex safely. Experts illustrate the various prevention options.
'Early testing' needed to halt HIV deaths in Scotland
BBC News, 16 November 2015
The Terrence Higgins Trust has raised concerns about availability of HIV testing and is calling for more people to get tested early for the infection to halt the trend of late diagnosis and deaths in Scotland.
The Number One Reason People Avoid HIV Testing
Shape, 19 November 2015
A new study published in Aids and Behaviour examines the psychological factors related to HIV testing.
HIV treatments boosted with vitamin D
TV3, 19 November 2015
HIV treatments in adults could be less effective due to low levels of vitamin D. The researchers found a link between the rise in immune function to whether the person being treated had adequate levels of the vitamin.
Drug for alcoholism can unmask HIV hiding in cells
The Guardian, 17 November 2015
Researchers in US and Australia say that generic medication disulfiram can wake the HIV virus from dormancy.
Researchers Test a New Way to Protect People from HIV
University of Rochester, 19 November 2015
A new vaccine trial at the University of Rochester Medical Center will test an experimental antibody against HIV.
Breastfeeding babies protected against HIV infection from their HIV-positive mothers with 12 months of liquid antiretroviral drug treatment
The Lancet, 18 November 2015
A study from four countries in Africa, published in The Lancet, shows that providing babies with up to 12 months of liquid formula HIV drugs, while breastfeeding with their HIV-positive mothers, is highly effective at protecting them from infection.
