Yellow fever is a viral infection, spread by mosquito bites. People travelling to many African and South American countries need to get vaccinated against it. There is a risk of infection in many countries in central and west Africa, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Uganda and parts […]
Computer systems used by some GPs are giving an incorrect alert on flu vaccines. People living with HIV are being urged to carry on having flu vaccinations and keep taking their antiretrovirals as normal. Some patient management and prescribing systems used in Primary Care settings have been giving incorrect warnings when GPs prescribe this year’s […]
A therapeutic vaccine has for the first time given exciting results in humans. Thirteen people took the HIV Conserv vaccine, a drug called romidepsin, and then stopped taking their conventional HIV treatment. While viral load quickly increased in eight people, the other five people have controlled HIV at very low levels for up to 28 weeks. This […]
The Chief Medical Officer in the UK, Professor Dame Sally C Davies, has written to the British HIV Association (BHIVA), recommending that all people living with HIV, regardless of their CD4 count, should be encouraged to go for a seasonal flu vaccination. She says: “As you know, people with immunosuppression are eligible to receive the seasonal flu […]
Persistent infection with certain strains of HPV (human papillomavirus) can cause ano-genital cancers, and may also be implicated in throat cancer. Vaccines have been developed that provide high-level protection against these strains of HPV and also other types of the virus that cause ano-genital warts. Since 2008, HPV vaccination has been recommended for adolescent girls in […]
People living with HIV continue to be at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease, according to a new study. Even in the era of modern antiretroviral therapy, risk of the infection was much higher among people living with HIV compared to the general population. Infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae can cause a range of bacterial diseases, from relatively mild […]
People living with HIV are particularly encouraged to receive vaccinations against some illnesses, such as the hepatitis A and B viruses and against flu and pneumococcal disease. There are other vaccinations that are safe for people with HIV and which might be useful or necessary, perhaps because of travel plans. It is known that, although vaccines are effective in […]