STI Podcast

Impact of HIV infection on COVID-19 clinical outcome

In this podcast we discuss the reported impact of HIV infection on people who are hospitalised with COVID-19, by reviewing three publications:
1. Outcomes of COVID-19 Related Hospitalization Among People With HIV in the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterization Protocol: A Prospective Observational Study. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 23 October 2020 (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Clinical-HIV-2021).
2.Epidemiology and outcomes of COVID-19 in HIV-infected individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nature, Scientific Reports, 18 March 2021 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-85359-3).
3. Clinical features and prognostic factors of COVID-19 in people living with HIV hospitalized with suspected or confirmed SARS has just been released. WHO Global Clinical Platform, 15 July 2021 (https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa1605/5937133).
STI's Podcast Editor, Dr Fabiola Martin, interviews Prof Anna Maria Garretti, Diseases at the Policlinico Tor Vergata, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Chair of the British HIV Association Vaccination Guidelines Panel, and Editor in Chief of the STI Journal; and Associated Research Professor Dr Paddy Ssentongo, from the Penn State University, Pennsylvania, USA.
Read the blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/sti/2021/09/16/c19-plwh-revisited/

2021 World Hepatitis Day

On World Hepatitis Day 2021, we discover how Australian patients, patient advocates and health care providers are working together to reach the WHO elimination targets for chronic Hepatitis C virus infection.
Professor Gail Matthews, Infectious Diseases Physician and Program Head of Therapeutic Research and Vaccine Program at The Kirby Institute, Ms Carrie Fowlie, CEO of Hepatitis Australia, and Ms Lisa Carter, Patient advocate and peer educator at Hepatitis SA, join Dr Fabiola Martin to discuss the many different approaches needed to eliminate hepatitis C.
Related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/sti/2021/07/27/world-hepatitis-day-2021/

STI and HIV 2021 World Congress: taking virtual and accessibility to another level

July 2021 marks 40 years from the first reports of a 'strange disease' soon to be known as HIV/Aids. In this "very special edition" themed Sexual Diversity and the City, the STI & HIV 2021 World Congress is inviting people from all walks of life, with some being able to participate for free.
Listen to all the details in this conversation of STI's Social Media Editor Harrison Austin with Henry de Vries, Professor of skin infections at the University of Amsterdam and President of the Congress, and Mark Vermeulen, Executive Director of Aidsfonds – Soa Aids Nederland.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (https://sti.bmj.com/) is the official journal of the STI & HIV 2021 World Congress, held as a virtual event on 14-17 July. The mission is to address diversity, health, and sexuality in the urban context. This bi-annual meeting is organised by the International Society for STD Research (ISSTDR) in collaboration with the International Union against STI World (IUSTI World) and is dedicated to STI in its broadest sense.
https://www.stihiv2021.org/

HPV vaccine uptake: achievements and challenges

Today we focus on the challenges and success stories of HPV vaccine uptake, specifically in Italy and Australia. The HPV vaccine rollout has translated into a significant reduction in the prevalence of cervical and anal cancers. Since its discovery, many different strategies have been used to increase and maintain its uptake in school children, both girls and boys.
STI's Podcast Editor, Dr Fabiola Martin, interviews Prof Anna Maria Garretti, Diseases at the Policlinico Tor Vergata, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Chair of the British HIV Association Vaccination Guidelines Panel, and Editor in Chief of the STI Journal; Prof Carlo Giaquinto, Director of the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit at the Department of Woman's and Child's Health of the University of Padova Prof; and Ian Frazer, Clinical immunologist and scientist, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia.
Read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/sti/2021/06/04/hpv-vaccine-uptake-achievements-and-challenges/
Related content from STI:
https://sti.bmj.com/content/early/2020/09/02/sextrans-2020-054428
https://sti.bmj.com/content/95/5/386
https://sti.bmj.com/content/95/8/608
https://sti.bmj.com/content/early/2020/12/23/sextrans-2020-054726

COVID-19 Vaccine and People who live with HIV

Thousands of people are currently being vaccinated against COVID-19 worldwide. In this podcast, we discuss if the authorised vaccines are useful to people who live with HIV.
STI's Podcast Editor, Dr Fabiola Martin, interviews Prof Anna Maria Garretti, Diseases at the Policlinico Tor Vergata, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Chair of the British HIV Association Vaccination Guidelines Panel, and Editor in Chief of the STI Journal; Dr Laura Waters, Sexual Health and HIV specialist at The Mortimer Market Centre, London, and chair of BHIVA; and Mr Simon Collins, HIV patient advocate and editor of the HIV Treatment Bulletin at the i-Base.
Read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/sti/2021/04/23/2021episode3/
Related article: https://www.bhiva.org/SARS-CoV-2-vaccine-advice-for-adults-living-with-HIV-plain-english-version-update

HIV endemic in Indonesia: Are we there yet?

In this podcast, we explore how the HIV endemic has evolved over time in Indonesia and is tracking against UNAIDS 90:90:90 treatment for all goals. We discuss the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the already stressed health care system in Indonesia.
Dr Fabiola Martin interviews Dr Keerti Gedela, Consultant physician and researcher in HIV and sexual health medicine, Chelsea & Westminster NHS Trust, London, and Dr Hendry Luis, general physician with an interest in HIV and Sexual Health Medicine, working at the Bali Peduli Foundation, Indonesia.
Read the related blog post: https://blogs.bmj.com/sti/?p=1476&preview=true
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Trans and Gender Diverse People and Health Care Services

In this podcast, we focus on why health care services need to adapt and provide inclusive and non-discriminating services for people independent of their gender or sexual preferences.
Dr Fabiola Martin interviews Dr Jae Sevelius, Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco, USA, and Dr Graham Neilsen, Sexual Health Specialist at Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital and Stonewall Medical Centre, Brisbane, Australia. They also discuss gender affirmation and healthcare empowerment research and actions taken to improve provide inclusive health care provision.

The U=U Message, ep. 3/3: a conversation with Prof Paul Volberding

In the third episode to honor World AIDS Day, on the 1st December, we are discussing the U=U message with Professor Paul Volberding, University of California San Francisco. We touch on the recently published multicentre study: Undetectable equals untransmittable (U = U): awareness and associations with health outcomes among people living with HIV in 25 countries discuss by Okoli et al. Read the open-access paper on the Sexually Transmitted Infections website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2020-054551 .
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The U=U Message, ep. 2/3: a conversation with Brent Allan

In the second episode to honor World AIDS Day, on the 1st December, we are discussing the U=U message with Brent Allen, HIV patient representative. He explains why U=U means so much to people who live with HIV and those who are HIV negative.
Read the related paper: Undetectable equals untransmittable (U = U): Awareness and associations with health outcomes among people living with HIV in 25 countries. Read the open-access paper on the Sexually Transmitted Infections website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2020-054551 .
Please subscribe to the STI podcast via all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify to get the latest episode onto your device.

The U=U Message, ep. 1/3: a conversation with Chinyere Okoli

To honor World AIDS Day, on the 1st December, we are bringing you three special interviews over the next few days. In this first episode, we are discussing the U=U message with Chinyere Okoli, clinical pharmacist at ViiV Health care and principle investigator of the study: Undetectable equals untransmittable (U = U): Awareness and associations with health outcomes among people living with HIV in 25 countries. Read the open-access paper on the Sexually Transmitted Infections website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2020-054551 .
Please subscribe to the STI podcast via all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify to get the latest episode onto your device.