STI Podcast

Fiji has been reporting a significant rise in the incidence of Human immunodeficiency (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) over the last 3 years.  Health officials estimate that about 9,000 people are living with HIV in Fiji today, nearly 1% of the population. A startling 2,016 new cases of HIV alone were reported in 2025, compared to 1,583 cases in 2024. Among people starting HIV treatment in 2024, 48% were people who inject drugs, highlighting the disproportionate impact on this group, and unsafe injecting drug use being the major driver of transmission, exposing urgent gaps in access to prevention and stigma-free care.

In addition, an estimated 59 infants were born with HIV in 2025, up from 31 in 2024, demonstrating the spread of HIV through sexual transmission and from birthing parent to child. There are limited epidemiological data available on HCV in Fiji but it's sharp rise has also been observed.

Links:

Fiji strengthens its HIV response through evidence-based harm reduction

Fiji’s HIV Epidemic Escalates

Strengthening Fiji’s HIV response through shared expertise and regional collaboration

Participants:

Host: Ass Prof/Dr Fabiola Martin, Canberra Sexual Health Centre and Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

Dr Jason Mitchell, Lead of the SRH and HIV Unit at Ministry of Health and Medical Services and Chairperson of the National HIV Outbreak and Cluster Response Taskforce in Fiji

The experience of treating and/or losing a patient to anal cancer is deeply upsetting. Therefore, the early detection and treatment of precursors are of utmost importance to patients and clinicians. People with HIV have a higher prevalence and incidence of Human Papilloma Virus infection, an oncogenic virus, which may cause intraepithelial neoplasia, the precursor of squamous cell carcinomas in the anal canal. Though encouraging progress has been made to support gay and bisexual men and transgender women with HIV from developing anal cancer, research and health policies do not offer specific prevention strategies against anal cancer in people assigned female at birth. In this podcast Dr Tamzin Cuming outlines progress made so far and areas of research and health care that need further attention.

 
Links:

https://iansoc.org/Board-of-Directors

 

Host: Ass. Prof./Dr. Fabiola Martin, BMJ STI Podcast Editor, Sexual Health and HIV Specialist, Clinical Associate Professor, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Guest: Dr Tamzin Cuming, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, President of International Anal Neoplasia Society, Homerton Hospital, in London, UK

Previously we reported on the Rise of Syphilis world wide. Today we focus on the devastating effects of syphilis on parents and their children. Hand in hand with an increase in syphilis incidence in adults the rates of congenital syphilis are rising and missed opportunities to test and treat birthing parents, their partners and babies are preventable contributing factors. Congenital syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum transmission to the foetus during pregnancy and birth, resulting in diverse clinical presentations. Congenital syphilis in a foetus may be associated with a full-term, seemingly healthy infant, but it can also cause multi-organ dysfunction, prematurity, and/or stillbirth. Routine screening and early treatment of pregnant people affected by syphilis is the hallmark of effective intervention to decrease infant morbidity and mortality.

Host: Ass Prof/Dr Fabiola Martin, Canberra Sexual Health Centre and Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Guests:

- Professor Clare Nourse, Member of the Order of Australia, a paediatric infection specialist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital and clinical professor of paediatrics at the University of Queensland
- Dr Justin Penner, Consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust, London, UK and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London

Continuing on the search for innovative strategies to shape the future of HIV cure research in the second part of this series, Dr Jillian Lau discusses how anti–PD1 immunotherapies and carefully designed treatment interruption studies are helping clinicians and scientists to better understand pathways to durable HIV remission. Dr Ming Lee then breaks down the results of the RIO study, highlighting the promising potential of broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs) in sustaining viral control without ongoing therapy. Together, they offer a forward-looking perspective on the scientific breakthroughs moving us closer to an HIV cure.

Listen to part 1 of this podcast:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/world-aids-day-pt-1-progress-towards-an-hiv-cure/id356342980?i=1000739054089&uo=4

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/73LY8Eie8EQ7I5FKF6F0SM

Web: https://stibmj.podbean.com/e/world-aids-day-pt-1-progress-towards-an-hiv-cure/ 

Links:

Sustained HIV-1 remission after heterozygous CCR5Δ32 stem cell transplantation

Host: Dr Ming Lee, Sexual Health Specialist, Canberra Sexual Health Centre, ACT, Australia; Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London, London, UK
 
Guests: 
- Professor Christian Gaebler, Professor, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Professor Beatriz Mothe, Group Leader and Senior Research Scientist, IrsiCaixa, Barcelona, Spain
- Dr Jillian Lau, Infectious Disease Physician and Post doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia

In the first of this two-part series, we explore the latest advances in the search for an HIV cure. Professor Christian Gaebler shares insights from the remarkable case of the second Berlin patient —an individual cured of HIV following a stem cell transplant—and reflects on what similar cases mean for the future of curative strategies. We’re also joined by Professor Beatriz Mothe, who discusses the promise of therapeutic vaccines and their role in long-term HIV remission, and the results of the AELIX003 study. 

Links:

Sustained HIV-1 remission after heterozygous CCR5Δ32 stem cell transplantation

Host: Dr Ming Lee, Sexual Health Specialist, Canberra Sexual Health Centre, ACT, Australia; Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London, London, UK
 
Guests: 
- Professor Christian Gaebler, Professor, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Professor Beatriz Mothe, Group Leader and Senior Research Scientist, IrsiCaixa, Barcelona, Spain
- Dr Jillian Lau, Infectious Disease Physician and Post doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia