Uptake and impact of COVID-19 vaccination among HIV key populations: a cohort study from Tamil Nadu, India / Journal of Rural Medicine

Objective: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Key Populations (KPs) include Female Sex Workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender (TG), and transsexual (TS) persons. This study assessed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine uptake among KPs for HIV in India, adverse events following immunization (AEFI), and breakthrough infections among the vaccinated.Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted among 421 KPs enrolled in 41 Targeted Intervention (TI) clusters in 31 districts of the Tamil Nadu State Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Control Society (TANSACS), India, from June to September 2022. A semi-structured, bilingual (English and Tamil), interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, vaccination status, AEFIs, and breakthrough infections among the KPs under the TIs.Results: Among the KPs, 45.4% were FSWs, 37.1% were MSM, 16.2% were TG, and 1.4% were TS persons. Among them, 4.3% had HIV, and 2.9% had syphilis or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The COVID-19 vaccine uptake rate was 96%. Among the KPs, TG/TS persons had the highest vaccine uptake (98.6%), followed by FSWs (96.3%) and MSM (94.2%). AEFIs were reported by 85.4% of the participants. HIV positive status was significantly associated with the incidence of AEFI. The breakthrough infection rate was 5.4% among the vaccinated participants.Conclusion: The COVID-19 vaccine uptake among HIV KPs was high in Tamil Nadu. AEFIs and breakthrough infections among COVID-19 vaccinated HIV KPs may be low, with mild AEFIs.

Notícias sobre a nova classificação das identidades trans: uma análise das fontes citadas em reportagens publicadas no Brasil / News about the recent classification of trans identities: an analysis of the sources cited in reports published in Brazil / Noticias sobre la nueva clasificación de las identidades trans: un análisis de las fuentes citadas en reportajes publicados en Brasil

A divulgação da décima primeira edição da Classificação Estatística Internacional de Doenças e Problemas Relacionados com a Saúde (CID-11), em junho de 2018, mereceu atenção da imprensa internacional e nacional. Nessa versão, as identidades trans deixaram de ser classificadas como doença mental e foram categorizadas como incongruência de gênero no novo capítulo relacionado à saúde sexual. Considerando que práticas discursivas conformam e são conformadas por práticas sociais e que o processo de despatologização é marcado pelos conceitos de medicalização e biomedicalização, este trabalho identifica e analisa as fontes citadas na cobertura jornalística produzida no Brasil. O objetivo é entender, a partir dos atores sociais que foram selecionados, entrevistados e citados como fontes, os sentidos construídos pelos principais jornais do país sobre o tema. Observa-se que fontes institucionais do campo da saúde concorrem com outras do campo jurídico, com representantes de movimentos sociais e pessoas trans, que falam por si.

The release of the eleventh edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11) in June 2018 received international and national press coverage. In this version, transgender identities are no longer described as a mental health condition. Instead, they are classified as gender incongruence in the chapter on sexual health. Considering that discursive practices conform and are conformed by social practices and that the process of despatologization is marked by the concepts of medicalization and biomedicalization, this work identifies and analyzes the sources quoted in the journalistic coverage produced in Brazil. This study, focusing on social actors quoted as sources, aims to understand the meanings constructed by the main Brazilian newspaper about this subject. It concludes that institutional sources in the health field compete with others in the legal field, with members of social movements and trans people, who speak for themselves.

La divulgación de la undécima edición de la Clasificación Estadística Internacional de Enfermedades y Problemas relacionados con la Salud (CID-11), en junio de 2018, mereció atención de la prensa internacional y nacional. En esa revisión, las identidades trans dejaron de ser clasificadas como enfermedad mental y fueron categorizadas como incongruencia de género en el nuevo capítulo relacionado a la salud sexual. Considerando que las prácticas discursivas conforman y son conformadas por prácticas sociales y que el proceso de despatologización está marcado por los conceptos de medicalización y biomedicalización, este trabajo identifica y analiza las fuentes citadas en la cobertura periodística producida en Brasil. El objetivo es entender, a partir de los actores sociales que fueron seleccionados, oídos y citados como fuentes, los sentidos construidos por los principales diarios del país sobre el tema. Observa que fuentes institucionales del campo de la salud concurren con otras del campo jurídico, con representantes de movimientos sociales y personas trans, que hablan por sí.

An update on HIV in transgenders of Pakistan

Objective: HIV is a worldwide contagious disease and recent emergence in transgenders reflecting the alarming situation in Pakistan. Transgender people are one of the most affected groups by the HIV epidemic and are 49 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population. HIV is an emerging disease in Pakistan. Transgender people in Pakistan often face legal, economic, social and religious exclusion. Even though research on HIV/AIDS has conducted since several years ago, still we have a little knowledge about HIV in transgender people. This study aims to investigate the current status of HIV infection among Pakistan transgender population. Methods: Overall cases of HIV in 2017 were retrieved from all four provinces of Pakistan by using all available published data. Results: In 2017, totally 66 264 positive HIV cases were reported in transgenders from Punjab (n=52 656), Sindh (n=13 596) and KPK (n=22) provinces of Pakistan. In Sindh province majority of the patients were from Karachi (n=9 123) followed by Hyderabad (n=1 062), Sukkur (n=1 609), Larkana (n=1 130), Mirpurkhas (n=289) and Nawabshah (n=383), respectively while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), the number of HIV/AIDS transgender patients increased up to 450, out of which 22 cases were registered under provincial AIDS control program in 2017. Conclusions: More efforts by international agencies are needed to combat HIV among transgender communities in Pakistan. Government and NGOs should collaborate to find some strategies for control and prevention of HIV. Social and human rights activists should help and encourage them mainly at the point where their legal rights are not respected. Transgender communities and health department should go hand in hand. Initiatives should be taken to link social justice, human rights, health and advocacy to prevent HIV among transgender in near future.

Assessment of Oral Mucosal Lesions among Eunuchs Residing in Bhopal City, Madhya Pradesh, India: A Cross-sectional Study.

Aim: The present cross-sectional study following the STROBE guidelines was conducted to assess the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions among males, females, and eunuchs residing in Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh India. Materials and Methods: Based on convenient non-probability snowball sampling technique, all the self-identifi ed eunuchs residing in the city of Bhopal who were present at the time of examination and who fulfi lled the selection criteria were examined. A cross section of the general population (males and females) residing in the same locality where these eunuchs live was also examined. The World Health Organization (WHO) oral health assessment proforma (1997) was used to collect the information on oral mucosal lesions. All the obtained data were analyzed by using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Results: Overall prevalence of oral mucosal lesions was 127 (19.9%) among the study subjects. Fifty-nine (28.5%) eunuchs, 56 (25.7%) males, and 12 (5.6%) females were observed to have some oral mucosal lesions. Oral submucous fi brosis (6.4%), leukoplakia (5.5%), and traumatic ulceration (4.2%) were the major oral mucosal conditions observed. Conclusion: The information presented in this study adds to our understanding of the common oral mucosal lesions occurring in the eunuch population. Efforts to increase patient awareness of the oral effects of tobacco use and to eliminate the habit are needed to improve the oral and general health of eunuchs.