A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an oral tablet or vaginal gel containing antiretroviral drugs can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the study cannot show that one of the study products, oral tenofovir, marketed under the trade name Viread, is effective. Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic (VOICE) http://1.usa.gov/pehjXH [NIH News]

Today is  the 4th annual National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: http://bit.ly/njvJ9u [aids.gov]

Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant HIV-1-Infected Women for Maternal Health and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission in the United States – Updated September 14, 2011 http://1.usa.gov/o1j0pz [AIDSinfo.gov]

http://www.incarecampaign.org
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantees and their subproviders across the country are invited to join this national retention Campaign sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau in coordination with the National Quality Center. The goal of the in+care Campaign is to bring patients back to care and keep others from falling out of care. This national initiative is a no-cost, voluntary quality improvement effort focused on retention.

CDC researchers published the first national-level analysis that compares trends in primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) by age group and race/ethnicity; the analysis found that recent increases in P&S syphilis in this population are occurring mostly among young MSM, aged 15-29 years. Black and Hispanic men who have sex with men bear the greatest syphilis burden: http://1.usa.gov/ndwtoY [CDC NCHHSTP Newsroom]

August 7-13 is National Health Center Week. To find a health center near you, go to: http://bit.ly/WoDWU, Find a Health Center from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

http://bit.ly/puuDZj
Google+: A primer for the HIV/AIDS Community
August 9, 2011
By Michelle Samplin-Salgado, New Media Strategist, AIDS.gov
Co-authored by Jodi Sperber, Consultant,  John Snow Inc.
Google+ was released to a limited audience (in beta) on June 28, 2011 and has received a lot of attention since then. Within the first month, over 10 million people signed up to try it out. You may have seen the which is similar to the “like” on Facebook, but what’s it really about? This entry on blog.AIDs.gov provides a basic overview.

From the NCHHSTP Newsroom:  The CDC’s first multi-year estimates from its national HIV incidence surveillance find that overall, the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States was relatively stable. However, HIV infections increased among young men who have sex with men (MSM) between 2006 and 2009, driven by alarming increases among young, black MSM – the only subpopulation to experience a sustained increase during the time period. http://1.usa.gov/osnWKF

http://www.samhsa.gov/hiv/
SAMHSA is working to ensure that individuals who are at high risk for or have a mental and/or substance use disorder and who are most at risk for or are living with HIV/AIDS have access to and receive appropriate behavioral health services (including prevention and treatment), HIV/AIDS care and medical treatment through its many grant programs and technical assistance opportunities. [blog.AIDS.gov post: http://go.usa.gov/K2M]

CDC Trial and Another Major Study Find PrEP Can Reduce Risk of HIV Infection among Heterosexuals
http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/PrEPHeterosexuals.html
A new CDC study called the TDF2 study, along with a separate trial released today, provide the first evidence that a daily oral dose of antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV infection can reduce HIV acquisition among uninfected individuals exposed to the virus through heterosexual sex.