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Understanding the sexual relationships of young women is critical for preventing HIV infections. This study aimed to describe the sexual behaviour of partners, comparing the accuracy of sexual health knowledge between partners. The study took place in 2017 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to select 18–27-year-old sexually active women. Consenting female participants completed a structured and semi-structured interview, while consenting male sexual partners identified through the female participant completed a structured questionnaire on sexual health information. Using a reflexive inductive approach and thematic analysis, we identified key discrepancies in the assumptions partners make about each other's sexual health information. Twenty-three sexual dyads were identified and four key discrepancies were identified: Age: partners either over or underestimated the age of their partners, HIV status: where partners were unaware of, or incorrectly assumed their partner's status, Lack of awareness of partner's concurrent relationships and more general knowledge of the partner's sexual health behaviours. Discussions about sexual health are mediated by relationship length, type of partner, power and perceived fidelity. While it is possible to undertake dyadic level research, ethical tensions remain. Sex-positive and egalitarian sexual health interventions that target the individual, as well as the sexual relationship, are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women continue to be at special risk for HIV acquisition due to a complex mix of biological, behavioural, structural, cultural and social factors, with unacceptable rates of new infection. Scientific advances over the past decade have highlighted the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs as pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV acquisition (sexually, parenterally and vertically) and ARV treatment (ART) for HIV‐positive patients to prevent onward transmission (treatment as prevention – TasP). This paper reviews the evidence base for PrEP and TasP, describes new products in development and the need to translate research findings into programmes with impact at the population level., Introduction In the fourth decade of the HIV epidemic, the control of HIV transmission remains a global challenge – in 2012, there were an estimated 2.3 million new HIV infections [...]

Passive immunization with broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) is a promising approach to reduce the 1.7 million annual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections globally. Early studies on bnAbs showed safety in humans, but short elimination half-lives and low potency and breadth. Since 2010, several new highly potent bnAbs have been assessed in clinical trials alone or in combination for HIV prevention. Published data indicate that these bnAbs are safe and have a half-life ranging from 15 to 71 days. Only intravenous VRC01 has advanced to an efficacy trial, with results expected in late 2020. If bnAbs are shown to be effective in preventing HIV infection, they could fast-track vaccine development as correlates of protection, and contribute as passive immunization to achieving the goal of epidemic control. The purpose of the current review is to describe the current status and provide a synopsis of the available data on bnAbs in clinical trials for HIV prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Young girls in sub Saharan Africa are reported to have higher rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection compared to boys in the same age group. Knowledge of HIV status amongst high schools learners provides an important gateway to prevention and treatment services. This study aimed at determining the HIV prevalence and explored the feasibility of HIV testing among high school learners. Methods Between September 2010 and February 2011, a linked, anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted in two public sector high schools in the rural KwaZulu-Natal midlands. Following written informed consent, dried blood spot samples (DBS) were collected and tested for HIV. The overall and age-specific HIV prevalence were compared with select demographic variables. Results The HIV prevalence in learners aged 12 to 25 in school A was 4.7% (95% CI 2.8-6.5) compared to 2.5% (95% CI 1.6-3.5) in school B, (p = 0.04). Whilst the HIV prevalence was similar for boys at 1.3% (95% CI 0-2.8) in school A and 1.7% (95% CI 0.5-2.8) in school B, the prevalence in girls was consistently higher and was 7.7% (95% CI 4.5-10.9) in school A and 3.2% (95% CI 1.8-4.6) in school B. The age-specific HIV prevalence in girls increased 1.5 to 2 fold for each two year age category, while for boys the prevalence was stable across all age groups. Conclusions The high HIV prevalence in female learners underscores the importance of sexual reproductive health and schools-based HIV testing programs as an important gateway to prevention and treatment services.

Introduction: The provision of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services was piloted in three public sector facilities in a high HIV disease burden, low circumcision rate province in South Africa to inform policy and operational guidance for scaleup of the service for HIV prevention. We report on adverse events (AEs) experienced by clients following the circumcision procedure. Methods: Prospective recruitment of HIV-negative males aged 12 and older volunteering to be circumcised at three select public health facilities in KwaZulu-Natal between November 2010 and May 2011. Volunteers underwent standardized medical screening including a physical assessment prior to the surgical procedure being performed. AEs were monitored at three time intervals over a 21-day period post-operatively to determine safety outcomes in this pilot demonstration programme. Results: A total of 602 volunteers participated in this study. The median age of the volunteers was 22 years (range 12-56). Most participants (75.6%) returned for the 48-hour post-operative visit; 51.0% for day seven visit and 26.1% for the 21st day visit. Participants aged 20-24 were most likely to return. The AE rate was 0.2% intra- operatively. The frequency of moderate AEs was 0.7, 0.3 and 0.6% at 2-, 7- and 21-day visits, respectively. The frequency of severe AEs was 0.4, 0.3 and 0.6% at 2-, 7- and 21-day visits, respectively. Swelling and wound infection were the most common AEs with mean appearance duration of seven days. Clients aged between 35 and 56 years presented with most AEs (3.0%). Conclusions: VMMC can be delivered safely at resource-limited settings. The intensive three-visit post-operative review practice may be unfeasible due to high attrition rates over time, particularly amongst older men. Keywords: medical male circumcision; HIV prevention; adverse events; follow-up visit., Introduction The province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with a HIV prevalence of about 15.8% [1] and low male circumcision rates [2] could potentially benefit enormously from programmatic scale-up of voluntary [...]

Objectives: Adolescent females in sub-Saharan Africa bear a disproportionate burden of new HIV infections but have been excluded from prognostic research, such as developed risk calculators. This study examines whether validated risk calculators, which calculate HIV risk among sub-Saharan African women, can be modified to assess HIV risk among adolescent girls. The performance of selected risk variables from validated calculators and the literature was evaluated among adolescent females using modern advanced statistical tools.Methods: Risk variables for the updated tool were selected from the CAPRISA 007 (CAP007) trial (2010-2012) questionnaires. An initially HIV-seronegative cohort of rural South African female high school students (n=1049) aged 14-25 years was selected. The number and characteristics of latent factors, or dimensions, underlying selected variables were assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The updated tool's effectiveness identifying trends in adolescent risk were assessed with latent class analysis (LCA).Results: EFA identified two key latent factors: sexual behaviour and socioeconomic risk factors. Latent sexual behaviour risk influenced contraception use (0.883), perceived HIV risk (0.691) and pregnancy (-0.384). Latent socioeconomic risk influenced low HIV knowledge (0.371), financial dependence (0.532), prior HIV testing (-0.379) and alcohol use (-0.332). Using LCA, three underlying categories of adolescent females were identified: those with no, low and high risk of HIV (1.10%, 2.26% and 2.91% 1-year seroconversion rates, respectively). Herpes simplex virus serotype-2, condom contraception, alcohol use, pregnancy and age were significantly associated with higher risk class membership, while non-condom contraception was associated with lower risk class membership.Conclusions: Adolescent females are at unequal risk of acquiring HIV. Findings suggest the updated tool captures two main facets of adolescent characteristics and may identify differential risk. This work supports further investigation to inform development of targeted differentiated interventions and efficient prognostic tools for adolescents in high-risk settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]