A report on Julia Del Amo's presentation "HIV & Migration: a Renewed Challenge"
Since 2015, Europe has been in the grip of a “Migrant Crisis”1 , shifting the population landscape in some countries and a change in the political climate.
As Julia Del Amo from the National Center for Epidemiology, Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid explained in her session “HIV & Migration: a Renewed Challenge”, the UN definition of a migrant is incredibly broad2 and this is reflected in the challenges that are faced domestically, politically and economically when considering these groups. She delivered an enlightening presentation on Wednesday morning at the Glasgow 2018 conference outlining patterns of HIV such as country of origin for newly acquired HIV cases & HIV positive migrants in Europe; acquisition method and trends in HIV positive migrants from specific regional ‘hotspots’.
Of course, the situations in Europe and Australia greatly differ. With strict border controls and compulsory HIV testing when applying for permanent visas, it could be argued that this data does not apply to us – and certainly Australia has some of the lowest rates of HIV positive migration in the world. But there would be few Clinicians among us who do not have patients who have migrated either legally or illegally to this country and there were many elements of this presentation that could be translated into greater awareness and care for this cohort.
A report on Sarah Fidler's presentation "Approaches towards a cure for HIV"
This presentation, on the third day of the conference was one of the best attended - with an entirely packed auditorium. As a Clinical Trials Coordinator, the question of a cure comes up on a regular basis in my work. Even though we now have U=U, and with most patients having a very small burden, there are still those who yearn to be pill and disease free.
