A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Access to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis: Lessons for Future Public Health Crises.

Background: The World Health Organization is committed to strengthening access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention and its integration into primary care services. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the delivery of primary care, including HIV-related services. To determine the extent of this disruption, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the changes in access to PrEP services during the pandemic and the reasons for these changes.

Hiding in plain sight: highlighting the research gap on access to HIV and other sexual health services for underrepresented gay men in developed Western countries - insights from a scoping review with a focus on Arab men.

Background: Strategies pertaining to HIV and sexual health for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) have shifted focus towards underrepresented subgroups within some developed Western countries. Although emerging research exists on some subgroups, limited attention has been given to the needs of Arab GBMSM in these contexts. Considering they are part of a large diaspora, understanding their access to services is crucial.

Mpox (monkeypox) knowledge, concern, willingness to change behaviour, and seek vaccination: results of a national cross-sectional survey.

Background: In mid-2022, a global mpox (formerly 'monkeypox') outbreak affecting predominantly gay and bisexual men emerged in non-endemic countries. Australia had never previously recorded mpox cases and there was no prior research on knowledge or attitudes to mpox among gay and bisexual men across Australia.

Methods: We conducted a national, online cross-sectional survey between August 2022 and September 2022.

Perceived risk of HIV transmission by blood transfusion among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) in Australia.

Background: In Australia, men who have sex with men (MSM) are deferred from blood donation for 3 months from last sexual contact. Internationally, deferral policies for MSM are evolving in the direction of expanded inclusivity in response to community expectations. To inform future policy options, we assessed perceptions of the risk of HIV transmission from blood transfusion among Australian MSM.

The effect of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) on negotiating casual sex between gay men: disclosure, assumptions, and communication.

Background: The disclosure of HIV status and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use can be important in the negotiation of safe sex. With the rapid uptake of PrEP in Australia, norms and expectations about discussion and disclosure may have changed.

Methods: We explored the disclosure of PrEP use, HIV status and communication with sex partners by HIV-negative gay men in Sydney, Australia.

Optimisation of treatments for oral infection: Pharmacokinetics Study (STI-PK project) - study protocol for non-randomised clinical trial.

Introduction: infections are common and incidence increasing. Oropharyngeal infections are associated with greater treatment failure compared with other sites and drive transmission to anogenital sites through saliva. Gonococcal resistance is increasing and new treatments are scarce, therefore, clinicians must optimise currently available and emerging treatments in order to have efficacious therapeutic options.

COVID-19 Testing in a Weekly Cohort Study of Gay and Bisexual Men: The Impact of Health-Seeking Behaviors and Social Connection.

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) have developed community norms for regular HIV/STI testing. We investigated factors associated with self-reported COVID-19 testing in response to reported COVID-19 cases and public health restrictions. Participants responded to weekly cohort surveys between 10th May 2021 and 27th September 2021.

Blood donation behaviour and attitudes towards the 12-month deferral policy among gay and bisexual men in New Zealand.

Background And Objectives: Gay and bisexual men (GBM) are deferred from donating blood in many countries. Perceptions by GBM that blood donor deferral policies are unjustifiably discriminatory, especially due to advances in HIV prevention, could contribute to non-compliance and need to be understood. We explore blood donation interest and history among GBM and attitudes towards donor deferral policies for the first time in New Zealand (NZ).

Individual level peer interventions for gay and bisexual men who have sex with men between 2000 and 2020: A scoping review.

Background: Peer-led interventions are central to the global HIV response for gay and bisexual men who have sex with men [GBMSM]. Since the year 2000, technological advancements in HIV and an increased response to the health disparities faced by GBMSM outside of HIV, have contributed to the expanding scope of their content and delivery. This review sets out to characterise the evidence base for individual level peer interventions for GBMSM, overview approaches to implementing and evaluating them and identify future priorities for their delivery and evaluation.

Synthesis, structural characterization, DFT calculations, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations of a novel ferrocene derivative to unravel its potential antitumor activity.

In this article, we describe a set of subsequent five-steps chemical reactions to synthesize a ferrocene derivative named 1-(5-(diphenylphosphaneyl)cyclopenta-1,3-dien-1-yl)ethyl)imino)-1,3-dihydroisobenzofuran-5-yl)methanol (). Structural characterization of and its intermediate products was also performed and reported to attest to their formation. A molecular docking study was performed to propose the novel synthesized ferrocene derivative () as a potential antitumor candidate targeting the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases interacting kinase (Mnk) 1.

Relationship Between Sexual Behaviors with Non-committed Relationship Partners and COVID-19 Restrictions and Notification Rates: Results from a Longitudinal Study of Gay and Bisexual Men in Australia.

Introduction: COVID-19 related lockdowns have impacted the sexual activity of gay and bisexual men (GBM). We investigated trends in sexual behaviors and the COVID-19 context in which they occurred (COVID-notification rates and jurisdictional restrictions) to understand changes in the duration and severity of periods of lockdown on the sexual behavior of Australian GBM.

Methods: In an online, prospective observational study of 831 GBM from May 2020 to May 2021, we investigated associations between changes in sexual behavior among Australian GBM, lockdowns, and COVID-19 notification rates through weekly surveys from May 2020 to May 2021.

Trust, Familiarity, Optimism, and Pleasure: Australian Gay Men Accounting for Inconsistent HIV Prevention Practices in the PrEP Era.

Despite an increase in the range of effective HIV risk reduction strategies that are available, some gay and bisexual men (GBM) do not use any of them consistently. Understanding why GBM do not always use a protective strategy may help develop more effective responses. Semi-structured interviews with 24 sexually active GBM in Sydney, Australia were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Understanding and responding to remote mental health help-seeking by gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in the U.K. and Republic of Ireland: a mixed-method study conducted in the context of COVID-19.

Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) are at far greater risk of experiencing poor mental health (MH) than wider society. This disparity was exacerbated by additional 'unique to sexual minority status' COVID-19 stressors. This sequential, mixed-methods study examined remote MH help-seeking among GBMSM in the U.

How to have sex in a pandemic: the development of strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission in sexual encounters among gay and bisexual men in Australia.

Although many studies reported on decreases in sexual partner numbers among gay and bisexual-identifying men in the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, few studies have explored COVID-19 risk-reduction strategies. Drawing on free-text responses in an online survey (from April to July 2020), we describe the ways in which men sought to minimise the risk of COVID-19 in sexual encounters. Partner selection was an important strategy, in particular, restricting sex to men they already knew.

Reasons for not Using HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) among Gay and Bisexual Men in Australia: Mixed-Methods Analyses from a National, Online, Observational Study.

Although approximately 31,000 Australian gay and bisexual men (GBM) are eligible for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), only 18,500 people currently use it, indicating a need to investigate why GBM do not use it. This article uses data from a national, online, observational study. It adopts a mixed-methods analysis to responses to survey questions asking about reasons Australian GBM were not using PrEP in 2018, according to their level of HIV risk as delineated by the Australian PrEP prescribing guidelines at the time.

Maintenance of broad neutralizing antibodies and memory B cells 1 year post-infection is predicted by SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cell responses.

Understanding the long-term maintenance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunity is critical for predicting protection against reinfection. In an age- and gender-matched cohort of 24 participants, the association of disease severity and early immune responses on the maintenance of humoral immunity 12 months post-infection is examined. All severely affected participants maintain a stable subset of SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific memory B cells (MBCs) and good neutralizing antibody breadth against the majority of the variants of concern, including the Delta variant.

Increase in Depression and Anxiety Among Australian Gay and Bisexual Men During COVID-19 Restrictions: Findings from a Prospective Online Cohort Study.

We examined depression and anxiety prior to and during COVID-19 restrictions in Australian gay and bisexual men (GBM). In an online cohort, a COVID-19-focused survey was conducted in April 2020. During 2019 and in April 2020, 664 GBM completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, measuring depression) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7, measuring anxiety).

Qualitative Findings on the Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Australian Gay and Bisexual Men: Community Belonging and Mental Well-being.

COVID-19 may threaten the already poor mental health outcomes of Australian gay and bisexual men and cut ties to important social/sexual networks and community. Qualitative research into the experiences of gay and bisexual men during COVID-19 regulations is currently sparse. We report on 489 responses to a qualitative free-text question asking Australian gay and bisexual men about the impacts of COVID-19 during April 2020.

Long-term protection from HIV infection with oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in gay and bisexual men: findings from the expanded and extended EPIC-NSW prospective implementation study.

Background: Daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective in preventing HIV, but few long-term data are available on effectiveness and adherence in real-world settings. Here, we report trends in HIV incidence over 3 years in individuals at high risk who were prescribed PrEP in New South Wales (NSW), as well as adherence before the transition to subsidised PrEP.

Methods: Expanded PrEP Implementation in Communities-New South Wales (EPIC-NSW) was a pragmatic, prospective, single-arm, implementation study of daily, oral PrEP in 31 sites (sexual health clinics, general practices, and a hospital) in NSW, Australia.

High Levels of Prevention-Effective Adherence to HIV PrEP: An Analysis of Substudy Data From the EPIC-NSW Trial.

Background: Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prevents HIV infection but relies on good adherence at times of risk, termed "prevention-effective adherence." Most studies assess adherence without reference to sexual behaviur, making it challenging to determine if poor adherence coincides with HIV risk.

Setting: We examined data from a behavioral substudy of a large-scale PrEP implementation trial in New South Wales, Australia.

Changes in Sexual Behaviour Following PrEP Initiation Among Australian Gay and Bisexual Men in Relationships: Results from a Prospective Observational Study.

Few studies have examined changes in sexual behaviour following HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) initiation among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) in relationships. In a national, online, prospective study of GBM in Australia, we compared sexual behaviours prior to and after PrEP initiation among HIV-negative and unknown-HIV-status men (recruited 2014-2017) not taking PrEP at baseline and who completed at least one six-monthly follow-up by July 2018. Among men in relationships who did not initiate PrEP (n = 339), we compared their most recent survey to their prior one, while among men in relationships who initiated PrEP (n = 81), we compared follow-ups before and after PrEP initiation.

Long-term persistence of RBD memory B cells encoding neutralizing antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Considerable concerns relating to the duration of protective immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) exist, with evidence of antibody titers declining rapidly after infection and reports of reinfection. Here, we monitor the antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) for up to 6 months after infection. While antibody titers are maintained, ∼13% of the cohort's neutralizing responses return to background.