Williams, O.D., Dean, J.A., Crothers, A. et al. Economic evaluation of alternative testing regimes and settings to detect undiagnosed HIV in Australia. BMC Health Serv Res 21, 30 (2021) Background: The study aimed to estimate the comparative costs per positive diagnosis of previously undetected HIV in three testing regimes: conventional; parallel and point of care (POC) testing. The regimes are...
HIV in Australia 2021: infographics
AFAO, December 1st, 2020 Each year, AFAO develops the ‘HIV in Australia’ summary of the latest key HIV data and stats. The latest summary has just been released. Key points: Rapid uptake of PrEP, in combination with treatment as prevention, has led to declines in HIV notifications among Australian-born gay and bisexual men. Across the last six years, there has been a 44% decrease in HIV...
Shortage of norethisterone-containing pills in Australia: Advice for GPs
July/August 2020 The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) advises: Consumers and health professionals are advised that there is a shortage of oral contraceptive pills containing the combination ethinylestradiol and norethisterone. The affected products are: Brevinor – norethisterone 0.5 mg and ethinylestradiol 35 micrograms Norimin – norethisterone 0.5 mg and ethinylestradiol 35...
Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of existing needle and syringe programmes in preventing hepatitis C transmission in PWID
Drug and Alcohol Findings (UK), 2019 What would happen to rates of infection with hepatitis C if we closed down all the needle exchanges? Research has established that needle/syringe programmes are a cost-effective way to reduce spread of HIV, but just two studies have considered the same issue in relation to hepatitis C. In three UK municipalities, the answers were predicted to be more...
New evidence supports HIV screening in young adulthood
Science Daily, December 19, 2017 A new study suggests that the most beneficial age for a one-time screening HIV test of the general population would be age 25. The report — led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health — will be published in the Journal of...
People who use drugs require prioritisation not exclusion in efforts to eliminate Hepatitis C
6th International Symposium on Hepatitis Care in Substance Users, 6th Sept 2017 An international conference bringing together hepatitis C experts from around the world is today calling for strategies to prioritise people who use drugs, saying hepatitis C elimination is impossible without them. “The number of people around the world dying from hepatitis C is increasing. We have the tools to...