HIV
Syphilis is on the rise in Queensland, but it’s easily treated
The curable bacterial infection syphilis can be life threatening if left untreated and new infections more than doubled in Queensland in the last five years. Gay, bisexual men and other men who have sex with men represented 59% of all new syphilis infections in Queensland in the ten years from 2008 until 2018. The biggest …
Grindr’s Chinese owners agree to sell app by June 2020 after privacy fears
The Chinese owners of Grindr have agreed to sell the gay app by next June after demands from the US government over security and privacy concerns. Grindr calls itself “the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people” and claims more than 3 million daily users worldwide. The company is based …
Do you have to tell your boss that you’re HIV positive?
One of the biggest fears of people living with HIV is having to disclose their status to their employer, risking possible discrimination. The good news is that in most professions, you are not legally required to tell an employer, or prospective employer, that you are HIV positive with only a few exceptions, the main one …
Study of nearly 1000 couples confirms ART treatment prevents HIV transmission
A new European study has confirmed that there is zero risk of transmitting HIV to a partner while on effective antiretroviral treatment. The study, called PARTNER2 and published today in journal The Lancet, investigated 972 male couples across Europe where one partner with HIV was receiving treatment to suppress the virus. The study found there …
AskDocQ: U=U means if a person with HIV is undetectable, they can’t pass it on
A person with HIV who is on treatment and is undetectable cannot transmit HIV to their sexual partner. There is no risk. Zero. Brisbane LGBTIQ health specialist Dr Fiona Bisshop explains why. I need to have a rant about U=U and HIV. I’ve written about this before, and sorry for repeating myself, but every time I think …
OPINION: Social media shaming and blaming shows HIV stigma persists
The response on social media last month to a Sydney PrEP user who shared his story of contracting HIV while taking the prevention medication has shown that HIV stigma is still sadly persistent, writes Douglas Billing. After scrolling through threads on social media following the articles that have been published regarding a man who has …
Australia’s first HIV self-testing device is now on sale
Australia’s first HIV self-testing device to receive TGA approval goes on sale today. The Atomo Self Test is a finger-prick blood test that allows people to test themselves for HIV at home, providing them with a result in as little as fifteen minutes after performing the test. The testing kits go on sale today through …
Advocates say $45 million in federal budget will boost HIV prevention
The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations has said the federal government’s allocation of $45 million in Tuesday’s budget to prevent, diagnose and treat sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses will greatly aid efforts to fight HIV. The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) said the funding over four years will foster nationally consistent HIV prevention …
Monthly injection to treat HIV ‘as effective as daily pills’ in initial trials
A monthly injection to treat HIV has been found to work just as well as daily pill regimens in two initial trials. The results of two trials by company ViiV Healthcare were presented at an HIV research conference last week and showed the injectable antiretroviral treatment, a combination of drugs cabotegravir and rilpivirine, was just …
AskDocQ: Beyond the headlines, the truth about HIV ‘cure’ case
You might have heard about the story that broke last week — a second person “cured” of HIV. Nicknamed the “London patient,” he underwent a cancer treatment which prevented the virus from re-infecting his donor cells, thus effectively clearing his immune system of all trace of HIV. Newspaper front pages loudly proclaimed that he is …