Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which according to the WHO included hundreds of attacks on medical facilities and health workers, has interrupted access to lifesaving medications for people living with HIV, especially in the Donetsk region.
In April, a new variant of monkeypox (mpox) virus infection is identified in the UK and explodes into a global outbreak. amfAR helps guide the U.S. response to mpox and sound the alarm about the risk of acquiring the virus among those who comprise the majority of cases so far: men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly Black and Latino MSM as well as individuals living with HIV.
Two more individuals—the New York patient and the City of Hope patient—appear to have been cured of HIV after transplants using stem cells with the CCR5 mutation, an approach that has been a recurrent theme in amfAR’s cure research for the past 10 years.
The phenomenon of exceptional elite control—people who, without the use of ART, control HIV viral replication and do not experience immune dysfunction—has been noted in six individuals who have been followed for 30 years by researchers. Along with the Esperanza patient, reported in 2021, researchers propose they may be considered a good model for an HIV cure.
An instance of post-treatment control—another possible cure strategy—is reported by a research team in Spain. The Barcelona patient is a woman who had participated in a clinical trial of several immune-modifying interventions that variously suppress and stimulate immune function and stopped taking ART with no rebound of HIV for 15 years.
The WHO recommends use of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) as PrEP for people at substantial risk for HIV.
Dr. Anthony Fauci—one of the most cited scientists of all time, particularly in the field of HIV/AIDS—retires in December as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. The nation’s top infectious disease expert since 1984, Fauci has been medical advisor to seven U.S. Presidents.
According to new UNAIDS data, progress in prevention and treatment has diminished to the point where urgent action is needed to address the inequalities driving AIDS and prevent millions of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths. 1.5 million new infections occurred in 2021—more than 1 million higher than UNAIDS targets—and adolescent women and girls, as well as members of key populations, made up the majority.
The Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children by 2030 (UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO, and other partners) is launched to close the treatment gap between children and adults living with HIV (only 52% of children vs. 76% of adults are accessing lifesaving medications) and prevent new infant HIV infections.
2022 saw the passing of AIDS pioneers Dr. Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of HIV and Nobel Prize winner, and Dr. Paul Farmer, health equity advocate and co-founder of Partners in Health.
