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.

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

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

- 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

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.

Links:

Host: Dr Ming Lee, Sexual Health Specialist, Canberra Sexual Health Centre, ACT, Australia; Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London, London, UK

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. 

Host: Dr Ming Lee, Sexual Health Specialist, Canberra Sexual Health Centre, ACT, Australia; Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London, London, UK

Over the last decade we have seen an exponential surge in research and peer reviewed publications about the sexual health of trans and gender diverse people. We now know that sexually transmitted infections are highly prevalent in this key population and there is an urgent need for concentrated efforts made by patient advocates, health care providers, public health policy developers and governments to improve health and prevent harm in this underserved population. Today we discuss with Prof Jade Ghosn, his team's latest publication in STI BMJ titled: "Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake and retention in care in a group of transgender women at high risk of HIV: a French cohort of follow-up" and with Alisha Goburdhun, her team's work in supporting and advocating for trans clients at Accpetess-T.

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

Guests: Alisha Goburdhun, Heath Mediator at Acceptess-T, Paris, France

Prof Jade Ghosn, Infectious Diseases Specialist at the Sexual Health Clinic in Bichat University Hospital in Paris, France

Most people requiring HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are offered a daily or event driven oral tablet which contains two HIV antiretroviral drugs combined. Oral medication, however, may not be a feasible and/or effective PrEP option for some. FDA has approved two long-acting injectable HIV anti-viral drugs: Cabotegravir, an HIV integrase inhibitor (2 monthly injections) and Lenacapavir an HIV capsid inhibitor (6 monthly injections) as safe and efficacious HIV PrEP. Today we will discuss the efficacy of and access to long-acting HIV PrEP with Prof Sinead Delany-Moretlwe and Dr Claire Dewsnap.

STI has published extensively on the topic, here are a few examples of recent articles:

Host: Ass Prof/Dr Fabiola Martin, Sexual Health Specialist, Associate Professor at Australian National University

Guests: Prof Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Professor of Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Dr Claire Dewsnap, President of the British HIV Association for HIV & Sexual Health (BASHH) and Consultant in Genitourinary Medicine, Sheffield Teaching Hospital, Sheffield, UK

Worldwide the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections is increasing. Today we will discuss innovative ways of testing and treating large number of patients with STIs that are equitable, reliable and potentially cost-effective. We will discuss the eSexual Health Clinic (eSHC) research published in The Lancet Public Health in 2017 and NIHR funded  SEQUENCE Digital research program based in UK as well as the multi-site co-designed EmERGE research program based in UK, Croatia and Zambia.

Host: Ass Prof/Dr Fabiola Martin, Sexual Health Specialist, Associate Professor at Australian National University

Guests: Professor Claudia Estcourt, Professor of Sexual Health & HIV in Glasgow, Scotland and in London and a sexual health clinician

Dr Mary Darking, Principal Lecturer in Social Policy and Innovation at Brighton University

Lancet paper:

Today we will discuss the evolution and efficacy of antenatal testing for blood borne pathogens as a strategy to improve pregnancy outcomes and prevent parent to child transmission. Over the last 40 years the number of infections tested for in the antenatal setting has expanded which has been followed closely by treatment guidelines for each infection. However, there are stark regional differences in the infections routinely tested for. Brazil has recently added Human T Leukaemia Virus (HTLV) to its antenatal testing and is planning to test 2.5 million pregnancies yearly. Pregnant people who test positive for HTLV are advised to avoid breast feeding and are provided with formula milk free of charge. Health care providers are being offered upskilling in HTLV care provision. This way Brazil aims to "Take HTLV out of Invisibility" and ultimately eliminate HTLV in Brazil.

Host: Ass Prof/Dr Fabiola Martin, Sexual Health Specialist, Associate Professor at Australian National University

Guests: Professor Graham Taylor, Head of Section of Virology at Imperial College London and a founder of the National Centre for Human Retrovirology at St. Mary’s Hospital – the UK’s clinical service for people living with Human T Leukaemia Virus (HTLV) infection.

Dr Pâmela Cristina Gaspar, General Coordinator of Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance at Ministry of Health of Brazil, Brasilia, Brazil Host: Ass Prof/Dr Fabiola Martin, Sexual health, HIV and HTLV Specialist, Canberra, Australia and Australian National University

Brazil HTLV ANC testing:

 NACCHO-ASHM, Australia, HTLV testing guidelines:

Today we will discuss different types of HIV and Syphilis antibody testing performed at home by the patient or consumer. Home testing for HIV and Syphilis empower people, especially pregnant women who live in remote areas or are marginalised and hard to reach, to screen themselves for these two serious and communicable infections at home and seek additional confirmitory testing, treatment and support if their screening test is reactive. We will discuss what these tests are, how they can be used as well as review their merits and potential risks.

Host: Dr Fabiola Martin, Sexual Health Specialist, Associate Professor at Australian National University

Guest: Dr Bobbie Van Der Pol, Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Director of the UAB STD Diagnostics Laboratory and President of the International Society for STD Research.