What You Need to Know…

Alisha Ostbergantiretroviral therapy, Blog, harm reduction, living with HIV, prevention, research, support, testing, treatment

At HIV Community Link we are committed to staying up-to-date on the latest and greatest information and trends affecting our work and the communities we serve. One way we do this is through our new series: What You Need to Know. The first four topics in this series are based on the most common and frequently asked questions we receive in-person, online, by phone, email and social media. Get in touch with all your questions – we’re the LINK!

2 Months or a Year – HCV Treatment Improvements

Alisha Ostbergantiretroviral therapy, Blog, harm reduction, stigma, STIs, testing, treatment

New direct-acting Antivirals are changing chronic Hepatitis C treatment for the better. Hepatitis C (HCV) treatment has gone from a once exhausting 48 weeks duration to as a little as 8 weeks with a 95% sustained virologic response (SVR). SVR is defined as a viremia (the presence of viruses in the blood) 24 weeks after completion of antiviral therapy for chronic HCV infection (. In analyses of SVR durability, the incidence of late relapse is extremely low, less than 1%.

New Technologies are Changing the Dynamics of HIV Risk

Alisha Ostbergantiretroviral therapy, Blog, condoms, Gay Men, harm reduction, HEAT, living with HIV, MSM, prevention, safer sex

Is a person who does not know their HIV status or who has never been tested pose a higher risk for HIV transmission due to their unknown or assumed HIV negative status than a person on TasP with controlled virus or on PreP and known HIV status? These are some of the questions being raised as a result of these new and emerging technologies.