Tori Rodriguez, MA, LPC

Although the overall number of new HIV infections has declined worldwide, it is estimated that 5000 new infections occur each day.

Although rates of AIDS-defining malignancies have declined in recent decades, cancer remains a leading cause of mortality in people living with HIV.

Depression is a common comorbidity in people living with HIV, with lifetime prevalence estimates ranging from 22% to 61%.

As part of the World Health Organization’s goal to eliminate viral hepatitis as a global health threat by 2030, the incidence of chronic new infections must decrease by 90%.

For patients with serious infectious diseases, the first 48 hours represent a critical window for antibiotic administration.

Following diagnosis, 66.2% of women with the disease survive 5 or more years.1 HPV causes the majority of cervical cancer cases.

There is a lack of consensus among experts and professional organizations whether HCV screening in pregnant women should be risk based or universal.

Adolescents infected with HIV have a greater risk for psychiatric hospitalizations compared with those not infected with HIV.

Children infected with hepatitis C face environmental, provider, and system-based challenges, such as underreporting.

There is an opportunity to improve HCV treatment rates for people who inject drugs by integrating DAA therapy into current models of community-based addiction.

Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of HIV-2 infection in their patients coming from endemic areas, especially West Africa.

Numerous barriers to palliative care in patients living with HIV have been identified.

A serological pattern called isolated anti-HBc, characterized by the presence of hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) and the absence of hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B surface antibody, is explored further in the Q&A.

Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of healthcare-associated infections, with as many as 500,000 cases occurring annually in the United States. Efforts to prevent transmission within hospitals typically focus on patients with symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection.

Although the CDC recommends routine HIV screening for all people age 13-64 years, numerous barriers to HIV testing in healthcare settings have been identified, including lack of access and fear of stigma and discrimination.

The connection between vitamin D deficiency and the incidence and severity of HIV is examined in a featured article.

It has been proposed that inflammation stemming from persistent pathogens may influence the development of mood disorders.

Infectious Disease Advisor speaks with Elizabeth D. Lowenthal, MD, about the challenges associated with revealing HIV seropositive status to children.

Although internet-based surveillance methods have recently been established to enhance vector-borne disease surveillance, assessment of their utility is required to determine how best to position this technology to improve infectious disease outcomes.

While immunocompromised patients are the most susceptible to CNS fungal infections, they can also occur in immunocompetent patients undergoing invasive procedures such as neurosurgery and in patients exposed to contaminated devices or drugs.

Although efforts to debunk antivaccination beliefs often rely on fact-based strategies, emerging evidence suggests it may be more effective to target the psychological roots of these beliefs.

Although substantial emphasis is placed on vaccinations in considering how to limit the spread of influenza, simple hygienic methods have been found to be the most effective and should be more widely supported.

The potential role of vaccinations in combatting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is currently undervalued. The distribution and development of new vaccines should be priorities in efforts to address the AMR crisis.

The new WHO guidelines restricts antibiotic use in animals for purposes of growth promotion as well as avoidance of use for disease prevention.

Community-acquired pneumonia and other acute infections can cause or exacerbate cardiovascular complications.

Despite worse outcomes in older adults, treatment efficacy and safety of direct-acting antivirals appear to be similar between older adults and younger patients, based on limited available data. Age should not be considered a barrier to treatment in older HCV-infected adults.

The goal of ART in neonates has expanded from reducing morbidity and mortality to the possibility of facilitating remission, but further research is needed to advance this goal, and additional treatment options are also needed for this population.

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation could provide a safe alternative treatment in HIV-depression by targeting both depression and other comorbidities that can burden people living with HIV.

Differences in life expectancy have widened between wealthy and low-income Americans: the poorest 1% of citizens have a life expectancy 10.1 years and 14.6 years shorter for women and men, respectively, compared with the richest 1%.

Vaccination may confer modest reductions in acute otitis media (AOM) and AOM-targeted antibiotic use but use of influenza vaccine as a strategy to reduce AOM is likely unjustified.