It may soon be possible to monitor adherence to antiretroviral therapy or tuberculosis treatment using a simple breath test which has been developed by researchers at the University of Florida and Xhale Inc. It is hoped that the device could be particularly useful in clinical trial settings, and it could also have potential to act as an adjunct or replacement to directly observed therapy, a cornerstone of tuberculosis treatment programmes in many settings.

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New report on guidance for professionals on Asylum Seekers and HIV

The National AIDS Trust has published a report, HIV and the UK Asylum Pathway which makes the case for the needs of HIV-positive asylum seekers to be better supported throughout the asylum process and the HIV prevention needs of migrants to be considered earlier. More people than ever before are living with HIV in the UK, and a significant number of asylum applicants are coming from high prevalence countries.

Scotland takes action on sexual health.

Respect and Responsibility - Strategy and Action Plan for Improving Sexual Health - Scotland's first strategy for sexual health - sets out clear challenges for Government, NHS Boards, local authorities and other agencies to deliver better sexual health services across the country.

New ‘rough sex’ website for gay men launched

Terrence Higgins Trust has just launched a new website called ‘Hardcell’ aimed at gay men interested in rough sex, S&M and other other hard core sexual practices. The site combines facts about sexual health and recreational drug use with information about sex acts and rough sex.

Nurse’s death prompts needle stick concerns

The death of a 42-year-old nurse from AIDS-related pneumonia seven years after she received an accidental needle stick injury whilst taking a blood sample from an HIV positive patient has prompted concerns across the NHIS this spring.

March 2008 Issue 137

Is it time to give up the search for an Aids vaccine?

New report on guidance for professionals on Asylum Seekers and HIV

Researchers developing breath test which could monitor adherence to treatment

Scotland takes action on sexual health

New ‘rough sex’ website for gay men launched

Nurse’s death prompts needle stick concerns

‘Hepatitis C linked to hard sex’

‘If you can’t get up, get down. If you can’t get down, get out!’

Manchester HIV prosecution dismissed but more on way

Issue 136 Click Here

Issue 137

Charity honours African community activists

Queen breaks HIV taboo in Uganda

HIV activists join the US election campaign trail

Elton & David ride to the rescue in Lesotho

‘Egypt is torturing people with HIV’

Stick to condom advice, say experts

European HIV cases ‘have doubled since 1999’

‘Kenyan civil war fuelling HIV crisis’

British man gets prison in Sweden for HIV transmission

Compiled by Martin Flynn

Issue 136 Click Here

Issue 137

Abacavir implicated in heart attacks

Gay men with HIV have near-normal death rates

One shot a month – the next stage in HIV therapy?

Resistance rates tumble – but there may be more there than meets the eye

Does undetectable mean uninfectious?

Compiled by Gus Cairns

Issue 136 Click Here

Issue 137

NHS “failing” patients who catch hepatitis C

Faster hep C damage in people who already have HIV

Tenofovir works better for hep C patients

Continued interferon doesn’t help

Issue 136 Click Here

‘Hepatitis C linked to hard sex’

Some HIV positive gay men in London are being re-infected with sexually transmitted hepatitis C (HCV) rather than relapsing after treatments, it was reported last month. Speaking at the February CROI conference in Boston, Dr Rachel Jones, of London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, presented a study which revealed that some gay men with the virus were becoming sexually re-infected with HCV after they had already been successfully treated.

Many sexually active people over the age of 50 are putting themselves at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a survey from SAGA magazine has revealed. More than 10 per cent of the 8,000 surveyed by the magazine admitted not using condoms, despite not knowing their partner’s sexual history. Sixty five per cent of over 50s surveyed were sexually active and nearly half said they had sex at least once a week. The government’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) says that there has been a rise in STI diagnoses in all age groups.

More money for HIV care as UK epidemic gets worse

The Government has committed an extra £17.6 million in funding over the next three years in the AIDS Support Grant to local authorities to help improve the social care needs of people living with HIV.

Prosecutions against HIV positive defendants for recklessly passing on the virus are continuing across the country, it emerged this month, despite some recent successes in court.