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U.S. Government Updates Guidelines for HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in April issued their latest guidelines for non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for people potentially exposed to HIV through sex or shared injection equipment. The update includes new antiretrovirals approved since the last revision, with the preferred regimen now being raltegravir (Isentress) or dolutegravir (Tivicay) plus tenofovir/emtricitabine (the drugs in Truvada).

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Gay Men Better at Predicting When They Won't Have Sex than When They Will

A study in which a group of HIV negative gay and bisexual men from New York City were asked to predict each day whether they would have sex the following day, and then compared their prediction with what actually happened, found that men generally overestimated the likelihood they would have sex. This study, published in the April 1 Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, suggests possible pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) dosing strategies.

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AIDS 2014: Only Half of People Who Start HIV Post-exposure Prophylaxis Complete the Course

There are significant losses at each step of the post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) "treatment cascade," according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of 97 studies presented to the 20th International AIDS Conference last month in Melbourne. The problems with uptake, adherence, and completion point to a need for a simplified approach, researchers said.

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Only 1 HIV Infection Due to Occupational Exposure Since 1999

A total of 58 confirmed and 150 possible cases of occupationally acquired HIV infection among healthcare workers were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 1985 and 2013, but only a single confirmed case has occurred since 1999, according to a report in the January 9 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Investigators attributed the recent lack of infections to improved precautions and antiretroviral post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). 

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CROI 2014: Self-Reports Did Not Reflect Actual Gel or Pill Use in VOICE PrEP Trial

Self-reported adherence to daily tenofovir or Truvada pills or tenofovir vaginal gel for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV infection did not match drug levels in the body, helping to explain the lack of protection seen in the VOICE trial, researchers reported at the 21st Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2014) this month in Boston.

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