Antiretroviral therapies for HIV, while extremely effective, need to be taken daily for life. Designing antibody treatments that need to be taken only once could improve compliance and reduce drug resistance.
The term ‘MSM’ allows public health interventions to gloss over the social, political and cultural complexities of identity. But it’s not without its limitations.
Judge Reed O'Connor ruled in a case that coverage for HIV prevention medicine PrEP violated the religious freedom of the plaintiffs. It is unclear whether the order will extend nationwide.
The spread of misinformation in many pandemics, including the smallpox and 1918 influenza outbreaks, have undermined efforts to contain infections and prevent deaths.
Giulia Wegner, University of Oxford et Kris Murray, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Infectious diseases originating in wild animals are high and may be increasing. This is a sign that ecosystem degradation is undermining the planet’s capacity to sustain human wellbeing.
To control monkeypox, there is a short window — weeks, not months — in which to vaccinate the most susceptible and to encourage and support self-isolation for those who have symptoms.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu didn’t stop his fight for human rights once apartheid came to a formal end in 1994. He continued to speak critically against politicians who abused their power.
HIV services must be comprehensive to ensure that people take their medication as prescribed and avoid onward transmission of the virus.
Even before the advent of COVID-19, donors had begun to exit HIV programmes with increasing frequency.
Stigma and criminalisation of same-sex relationships makes it difficult for transgender women and men who have sex with men to seek preventive services. This compounds their risk for HIV infection.
It is urgent and overdue to implement PrEP in pregnancy and during breastfeeding. Failure to do so allows ongoing avoidable HIV infection among women in South Africa and their infants.
Budgets on their own don’t solve structural issues. But they do provide some insight into government plans for addressing its broader developmental priorities.
The provision of better health services and social grants has aided rural women’s progress in South Africa, but there are still tremendous needs to be met.
Professor of medicine and deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
Director, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital and Consultant Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Associate Professor, Public Health & Social Policy; Special Advisor Health Research, Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation, University of Victoria