Microbiology Today November issue: HIV and AIDS

06 November 2018

MT-Nov-18-news.jpg

The November issue of Microbiology Today explores the various topics surrounding HIV and AIDS. The five feature articles look at the different ways in which HIV and AIDS affect people around the world today, examining the individual stories of those suffering from the disease, diagnosis, associated infections and how conditions such as pregnancy can affect those that are HIV-positive.

In the first article, Paul Hine focuses on the impact of HIV and AIDS on individuals around the world, using the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS’s (UNAIDS) 90:90:90 targets to look at the progress that has been made in HIV awareness, diagnosis and treatment.

Next, Gary Murphy, Colin S. Brown, Daniel Bradshaw, John Saunders and Noel Gill highlight the potential issues involved in the increased use of pre-exposure prophylaxis. They specifically focus on the issue of atypical test results, stressing the importance of follow-up testing and sharing of experiences to ensure that those involved receive the best standard of care.

Yvonne Gilleece then explores some of the breakthroughs and remaining challenges for those living with HIV in pregnancy. She assesses the impact of the various interventions employed to reduce the risk of transmission, as well as highlighting the remaining challenges.

The penultimate featured article looks at HIV from a slightly different angle, exploring the risk posed by the fungal disease cryptococcosis for those that are infected with the virus. Taking us through the characteristics of the organism and disease progression, Xin Zhou, Robin C. May and Elizabeth R. Ballou outline the dangers of this opportunistic pathogen.

Emma Thomson’s article also focuses on the effect of other diseases on those already infected with HIV, this time looking at co-infection with hepatitis C virus. She examines this issue in the context of antiretroviral therapy, underlining the risk of faster disease progression, despite the action of antiretroviral medication.  

Finally, in his Comment article, Robin Weiss examines the progress and challenges involved in the search for a vaccine to protect against, if not completely prevent, HIV infection. Looking to the future, he explores potential avenues for development.

The issue also contains updates from our journals, information about next year’s Annual Conference and Focused Meeting programme, a Q&A with members of the ECM Forum and more.

View the latest issue online.

 


Image: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute/Science Photo Library.