Top HIV and Health Stories of 2016

It's been an amazing year in the field of HIV healthcare, with advances in Pre-Exposure Phrophylaxis, testing, medication and research. But there's also been some disappointing setbacks, like drug-resistant HIV, new highs in STDs and HIV, a mid-year meningitis scare among MSM, and criminalization among black men with HIV. As we move into 2017, let's remember: together, we can end AIDS in our lifetime!

Study Confirms 'Patient Zero' Not Source of HIV/AIDS Outbreak
Using sophisticated genetic techniques, an international team of scientists have managed to reconstruct exactly how HIV/AIDS arrived in the U.S. In doing so, they've exonerated the man who has long been blamed for bringing the pandemic to the West. In a New York Times article, researchers cleared Patient Zero, aka Ga�tan Dugas, a globe-trotting, sexually insatiable French Canadian flight attendant who supposedly picked up HIV in Haiti or Africa and spread it to dozens, even hundreds, of men before his death in 1984. Click here.

Gay Man on PrEP Contracts Drug-Resistant HIV
Researchers have documented the first instance in which a PrEP user has contracted a multi-drug resistant strain of HIV. The gay man, who was using a daily regimen of Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis, reportedly contracted a strain of HIV that is resistant to both the tenofovir and emtricitabine in Truvada. POZ Magazine reports that the 43-year-old Canadian MSM had good adherence to PrEP, not missing doses over the 24 months on Truvada. However, at the end of that time, tests indicated that he had been recently infected with HIV, as the p24 antigen, which appears within three weeks of HIV infection, was still present in his system. He tested negative for HIV antibodies, which don't appear until two to eight weeks after infection. Click here.

Diarrhea Troublesome Side Effect Among HIV+; Mytesi Helps
There is clear evidence that diarrhea among HIV-positive patients is under-recognized and underreported. A new study by Patrick Clay, Pharm.D, revealed that HIV patients experience and self-medicate GI-symptoms, such as diarrhea, without their doctor's knowledge -- the study used 'real world' data comparing healthcare providers' perceptions and clinical records to their patients' perceptions of ART tolerability and self-management. Click here.

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STDs Hit New High in U.S.
Federal officials say that more cases of sexually transmitted diseases were reported last year than ever before. And it comes just as state and local health departments are losing funding. NBC News reports that more than 1.5 million people were reported to have chlamydia, the most common STD. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 400,000 cases of gonorrhea and nearly 24,000 cases of syphilis have been recorded. While all three can be cured with antibiotics, people often don't know they're infected because early stages don't come with obvious symptoms. "The STD epidemic is getting worse in the United States and, in fact, is at its highest levels yet," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. Click here.

New Method Wellness Now Offers LGBTQ Addiction Program
This summer, New Method Wellness, an Orange County-based rehab facility taking a holistic approach to substance abuse treatment, announced the launch of its LGBTQ-inclusive addiction program. "When I was speaking with LGBT staff members, we discussed how we wanted to create an avenue for LGBTs who suffer more from addiction and substance abuse than the general population," said co-creator Parris Wells, Director of Marketing for New Method Wellness. Click here.

Despite Signs of Hope, HIV Ravages Gay Men and Transgender Women Worldwide
As 18,000 delegates gather at the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa this week, there are promising signs that we have turned the corner with the generalized epidemic: millions more people are on anti-retroviral treatment, new infections are down, and deaths from AIDS have decreased. But within concentrated epidemics among gay and bisexual men and transgender women around the world, HIV continues to rage out of control, thanks to paltry funding and continued structural barriers such as criminalization, discrimination, and violence. As a result, among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women, HIV epidemics may actually be getting worse. Click here.

Northern Ireland to Lift Lifetime Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood
A lifetime ban on gay men donating blood that was created in the UK during the '80s AIDS crisis is about to be lifted, reports the BBC. Health Minister Michelle O'Neill said the new policy will come into effect on September 1. England, Scotland and Wales lifted the ban in November 2011. O'Neill said that she would lift the ban in favor of a "one-year deferral system," as is the case with the rest of the UK. This means that men who have sex with men can give blood one year after their last sexual contact with a man. Click here.

FDA Establishes Public Docket for Comment on Blood Donor Deferral Recommendations
Elected officials, AIDS Service Organizations and other advocates are encouraged by the FDA's move to establish a public docket for comment on the Agency's blood donor deferral recommendations for reducing the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission as described in the document entitled "Revised Recommendations for Reducing the Risk of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission by Blood and Blood Products; Guidance for Industry" dated December 2015.

"I have long fought to end discriminatory blood donation policies and improve them, including for healthy gay and bisexual men," said U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin. "It is encouraging that the FDA is taking another step forward to develop better blood donor policies that are grounded in science, don't unfairly single out one group of individuals, and allow all healthy Americans to donate. I will continue to push for policies that secure our nation's blood supply in a scientifically sound manner based on individual risk." Click here.

On National HIV/AIDS Testing Day, Everyone is 'Doing It'
June 27 marked National HIV Testing Day (NHTD), the annual observance to promote HIV testing and to encourage people of all ages to get tested for HIV and to know their status. The theme of this year's event is "Doing It."

"'Doing It' is a new national HIV testing and prevention campaign designed to motivate all adults to get tested for HIV and know their status. As part of the Act Against AIDS initiative, 'Doing It' delivers the message that HIV testing should be a part of everyone's regular health routine to keep ourselves and our community healthy. He's doing it. She's doing it. We're doing it. YOU should be doing it, too," reads the website. Click here.

LA County Dept. of Health Urges MSM and HIVers to Get Meningitis Vaccine
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health expanded their recommendations for Southern California that men who have sex with men (MSM) and people with HIV get vaccinated for meningitis. Towleroad reports that The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health are assisting local health departments with the investigation and management of an increase in cases. The local health departments have collectively agreed to expand the recommendation to include all gay/MSM rather than only those in 'high risk' groups. Click here.

NYC's New HIV Prevention Campaign Targets Transgenders
A new public health campaign launched by the New York City Department of Health is targeting transgender people by featuring them in subway and bus ads promoting HIV prevention. Working under the tagline "We Play Sure," the campaign seeks to raise awareness of condom use and PrEP to prevent HIV.

"We looked at folks who are getting HIV and made sure that we had people who look like them," said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis in an article in DNA Info. The ads feature a wide range of sexual and gender orientations, include a gay white couple, transgender model Carmen Carrera, a heterosexual black couple and a black woman. Daskalakis, who made his name several years ago by going out to sex clubs to inject gay men with the meningitis vaccine at the height of the outbreak in 2013, curbing that outbreak, is now NYC's head of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. Click here.

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In the Face of Drug Gouging, Noted AIDS Activists Remobilize
Last fall, AIDS activists were in an uproar after "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, boosted the price of the lifesaving drug Daraprim 5,000 percent -- from $13.5 per pill to $750. His promise to lower the price was a hollow one. Soon after, the FBI took down this new poster boy for corporate greed over securities fraud. But it was hardly the end of pharmaceutical price gouging.

"The enormous, overnight price increase for Daraprim is just the latest in a long list of skyrocketing price increases for certain critical medications," said Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings in a statement to the Washington Post. "Americans should not have to live in fear that they will die or go bankrupt because they cannot afford to take the life-saving medication they need." Click here.

HIV Criminalization Study Shows Pattern of Racism
A pioneering study of Canadian media, focusing on the newspaper coverage of HIV non-disclosure and transmission cases, identified a clear pattern of racism towards Black men in Canadian mainstream newspaper articles from 1989 though 2015. These startling findings dovetail with the theme of the recent World AIDS Day 2016 - HIV Stigma: Not Retro, Just Wrong.
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The just-released report, "Callous, Cold and Deliberately Duplicitous" proves that in Canadian media coverage, Black men are repeatedly represented in sensationalistic and racially stereotypical terms, and demonized as deceitful sexual predators. This trend occurs despite evidence that the majority of people who face criminal charges for HIV non-disclosure in Canada are white. Click here.

British HIV Therapy Claims to Have Cure Within Its Sights
A team of scientists from five UK universities says it has come close to finding a potential cure for HIV, after a new therapy has rendered the virus completely undetectable in a 44-year-old man's blood -- although they warn that it could be the result of regular HIV drugs. The UK Telegraph reports that the man is one of 50 people currently in trial for a treatment that targets HIV even in its dormant state. Click here.

Broad Use of PrEP Could Reduce HIV Among MSM
There is an extensive and growing body of evidence indicating that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in preventing HIV infection among gay, bisexual, and other MSM. However, only limited information has been available on the projected impact that the extensive rollout of PrEP could have on new HIV infections among high-HIV-incidence groups, such as MSM. In a new study, researchers describe their use of a mathematical model to estimate the impact that the rollout of PrEP, based on the behavioral indications in CDC's PrEP guidelines, could have on HIV incidence in U.S. MSM. Other variables considered in the model were the percentage of MSM with indications for PrEP who receive treatment. Click here.

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International Aids Society Releases New Strategy To Guide Global HIV Cure Research
A comprehensive new strategy, developed by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and published online in the journal Nature Medicine, presents key priorities for research to develop what experts consider to be one of the most important global health goals of our time -- a cure for HIV.�

"Not long ago, few considered the possibility that a cure for HIV infection could some day be possible," said Nobel Laureate Fran�oise Barr�-Sinoussi, co-chair of the IAS Towards an HIV Cure Initiative. "Today, thanks in part to advances such as the cure of an HIV-infected individual through a stem cell transplant, the identification of a small cohort of individuals who are able to control infection following treatment, and some noteworthy advances in cell, gene and immune therapy, the search for a cure has become a top priority in HIV research.�In 2016, that search is marked by growing scientific interest, an increasing number of novel research strategies in development, and a new optimism that a cure or sustainable remission for HIV is feasible." Click here.

As Many as 4 in 10 Gay Men Have HIV in Some Southern Cities
Three out of every 10 gay or bisexual men in several cities in the U.S. South have been diagnosed with the AIDS virus, three times the national rate, according to a study about how common HIV infections are in metro areas. The study echoes other research that reported higher rates of HIV diagnoses in the South, in urban areas, and in gay and bisexual men, but it is the first to look at how common HIV diagnoses are in these men by city.

"For the first time, we can see not only the numbers, but the proportions," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Click here.

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FDA Approves Descovy, Fixed-Dose HIV ART Medication
On April 4, Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Descovy� (emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg, F/TAF), a fixed-dose combination for the treatment of HIV. Descovy is indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older. Descovy is not indicated for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 in adults at high risk.

"As the first new HIV treatment backbone approved by the FDA in more than a decade, Descovy represents an important evolution in HIV care. As part of a single tablet regimen or partnered with a third agent, the components of Descovy offer patients a simple and effective combination with a safety profile that has the potential to improve health," said Norbert Bischofberger, PhD, Executive Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer, Gilead Sciences. Click here.