Current Issue : April-June Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
To better understand recent adolescent (10–19 years) HIV trends in Central America, we analyzed routine data from countries supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Nicaragua, over the period from October 2020 to September 2024. Key PEPFAR indicators included HIV testing, HIV positivity rates, new treatment initiations, advanced HIV disease (AHD) at diagnosis, viral load coverage (VLC), viral load suppression (VLS), and multimonth dispensing (MMD) uptake for children and adolescents living with HIV (CALHIV) from 10–19 years of age. Since October 2020, the number of HIV tests conducted among adolescents has increased; however, the positivity rate has remained stable at approximately 2%. The number of adolescents initiating treatment increased by 21%. At the same time, VLS has shown steady regional improvement (from 73% to 90%), though VLC is a persistent challenge (80%). Treatment interruption rates have been relatively stable, fluctuating between 2% and 3%. Advanced HIV is high in adolescents new to treatment (34%), especially among females (40%), though cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) testing at diagnosis has only been collected recently and coverage is not complete. The high prevalence of AHD among adolescents underscores the need to reinforce earlier and more targeted interventions for adolescents, especially in countries with greater HIV prevalence such as Panama and Guatemala....
Objective: To investigate HIV/AIDS knowledge levels and associated determinants among university students in a border region of Yunnan Province, providing evidence for targeted campus-based HIV prevention education programs. Methods: An anonymous online survey was conducted from November 2024 to February 2025 using a self-designed questionnaire distributed through the Wenjuanxing platform to 1017 university students at a border institution in Yunnan Province. Data were analyzed using R 4.3.0, employing chi-square tests, rank-sum tests, and binary logistic regression analysis. Results: Among 923 valid responses (response rate: 90.8%), the overall HIV/AIDS knowledge awareness rate was 65.9% (608/923), with only 0.9% achieving perfect scores. Critical knowledge gaps were identified in understanding “primary HIV transmission routes” (45.7%), “World AIDS Day date” (55.4%), “absence of curative treatments in China” (57.0%), and “kissing does not transmit HIV” (59.5%). Univariate analysis revealed significant associations (P < 0.05) between knowledge levels and gender, ethnicity, residence, academic year, major, active information-seeking behavior, prior HIV education, and sexual ex-perience. Multivariate logistic regression identified medical majors (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.02 - 1.77) and active knowledge-seeking (OR = 4.48, 95% CI: 3.35 - 5.99) as facilitating factors, while sexual experience (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.27 - 0.68) and first-year enrollment (OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.49 - 0.85) emerged as barriers to adequate knowledge. Conclusions: HIV/AIDS knowledge among students at this Yunnan border university remains suboptimal at 65.9%, with substantial deficits in critical areas. Enhanced HIV prevention and sexual health education should prioritize ethnic minority students, freshmen, and non-medical majors, focusing on transmission routes and prevention measures to improve cognitive levels and inform evidence-based campus health education initiatives....
Background: Developing an effective vaccine is crucial for the prevention and control of AIDS. Viral vector-based vaccines, particularly those utilizing homologous or heterologous prime-boost strategies, represent an important direction in current HIV vaccine research. Methods: In this study, replication-defective chimeric adenovirus Ad5F35 and modified vaccinia virus Ankara (rMVA) vector vaccines expressing the HIV-1 AEgp145 were successfully constructed, designated as Ad5F35-AEgp145 and rMVA-AEgp145, respectively. Sixty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups: Ad5F35 alone, rMVA prime/Ad5F35 boost, and PBS control. The mice were immunized intramuscularly at weeks 0 and 3, and humoral and cellular immune responses were assessed at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after the initial immunization. Results: The homologous Ad5F35 and heterologous rMVA/Ad5F35 vaccination regimens elicited comparable levels of HIV Env-specific cellular immune responses, peaking at 2100 ± 222 SFCs/million splenocytes and 2200 ± 619 SFCs/million splenocytes, respectively (p > 0.05). Compared to the heterologous regimen, the homologous Ad5F35 regimen induced significantly higher levels of gp120-binding antibodies at weeks 4 and 8 post-initial immunization, with geometric mean titers of 1:25,600 ± 7011 versus 1:1280 ± 150.7 and 1:10,240 ± 4048 versus 1:2560 ± 391.9, respectively. Furthermore, neutralizing activity at week 8 was significantly higher in the homologous group, with a 50% neutralization titers of 1:45 compared to 1:12 in the heterologous group (p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the Ad5F35-AEgp145 vaccine, whether administered alone or in combination with rMVA-AEgp145, effectively induces strong and comparable cellular immune responses targeting HIV-1 Env in mice. While both regimens are effective, homologous immunization elicits moderately higher levels of antibody responses. These findings provide an important foundation for the further investigation of vector-based HIV vaccine formulations....
Objective: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a significant public health challenge globally and in China. This study analyzes incidence trends of three nationally notifiable STDs to assess their disease burden. Methods: Based on national surveillance data (2006–2020) from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this study analyzed incidence trends of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/ AIDS), syphilis, and gonorrhea using joinpoint regression. Age-period-cohort modeling was subsequently employed to evaluate the independent effects of age, period, and birth cohort. Rate ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to quantify these associations. Results: Between 2006 and 2020, China observed a significant increase in the incidence of HIV/AIDS and syphilis (p < 0.001). Although gonorrhea incidence declined overall (p < 0.05), a notable increase was observed among adolescents under 20 years of age (p < 0.05). The average annual reported incidence was highest for syphilis (28.41 per 100,000), followed by gonorrhea (8.65 per 100,000) and HIV/AIDS (2.78 per 100,000). Geographically, HIV/AIDS incidence was highest in southwestern China. Syphilis incidence was elevated in the southwestern, southern, and northwestern regions, while gonorrhea showed a distinct concentration in southern China. Age-effect analysis revealed a bimodal pattern for both HIV/AIDS and syphilis, with incidence peaks in the 20–39 and ≥60 age groups. In contrast, gonorrhea showed a single peak in the 20–39 age group. Period-effect analysis, using the 2011–2015 period as reference (RR = 1), indicated evolving disease risks in subsequent years: HIV/AIDS risk increased markedly in 2016–2020 (RR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.41–1.65), syphilis risk increased modestly (RR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.06–1.22), while gonorrhea risk initially declined in 2006–2010 (RR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.34–1.54) before a slight rise in 2016–2020 (RR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03–1.19). Cohort analysis showed that HIV/ AIDS risk was highest among individuals born in 2011–2015 (RR = 124.81, 95% CI: 36.82–423.08). The peak risk for syphilis occurred in the 2006–2010 birth cohort (RR = 5.08, 95% CI: 1.28–19.99), while gonorrhea risk was highest in the 1921–1925 birth cohort (RR = 15.46, 95% CI: 2.00–119.62). Conclusion: HIV/AIDS and syphilis present growing threats in China, disproportionately affecting young adults and older populations, with increasing burden in recent birth cohorts. Although gonorrhea shows overall decline, its rise in adolescents warrants attention. A tiered prevention strategy is recommended: enhanced screening and education for HIV/syphilis in high-risk groups and regions, alongside sustained gonorrhea surveillance in key populations....
Introduction: The sixth month appointment (M6) is crucial because at the start of the ART course, it is an indicator of the prognosis of the evolution of care and decision-making on the continuity of treatment. Objective: The objective of this study is therefore to present the profile of People Living with HIV under treatment with Dolutegravir 6 months after starting ART in Kinshasa. Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional view at M6 of a prospective cohort to determine the profile of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) after 6 months of ARV Treatment (ART) in Kinshasa, DRC. During the M6 appointment, from April to August 2022, a sample of 5 ml of blood was taken for the various analyzes from all HIV patients included. The collection of sociodemographic data as well as biological and clinical data was carried out under the same conditions as at inclusion. The parameters recorded during M6 were: age, sex, and religion, level of study, marital status, profession, socio- economic level, height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), clinical profile, opportunistic infections as well as biochemical and molecular assessment. Results: In M6, 62 patients were registered including 38 women (61.3%), thus giving a sex ratio of 1.58 in favor of women. Fifty-seven (57) patients did not respond to the appointment, representing a loss rate of 47.89%. The most common age group is between 36 and 45 years old with 16 patients (26.7%). The mean age was 42.4 ± 13.3 years. The mean weight was 60.5 ± 15.4 kg with a mean BMI of 22.6 ± 5.8 kg/m2. Thirty-four (34) patients (61.82%) were in Clinical Stage 3. Thirty-six (36) patients (67.92%) had a normal clinical condition. The most common opportunistic infections among patients in M6 were: skin pruritus (25.8%), dermatitis (22.6%) and rash (21%). The mean values of biochemical parameters of patients in M6 were within normal ranges. The median VL value was 2.92 log10 RNA copies/ml with 17.75% of patients experiencing major failure of first-line treatment. Subtype A is dominant with 13 cases (20.98%); followed by CRF02_AG (16.13%) and C subtypes (14.52%). The mutations K65R (3 cases), T69P/N (6 cases), K70R (9 cases) and M184V (8 cases) were listed in M6. Conclusion: After 6 months of treatment, the majority of patients are in clinical stage 3 with a normal clinical state. Skin infections are the majority opportunistic infections. Certain biological parameters are considerably altered. A high virological failure rate with the presence of certain mutations associated with resistance to Lamivudine and Tenofovir....
Loading....