Health
Officials link Calif. man’s death to meningitis
Current strain reported in nine gay, bi men in L.A. area

Histopathology of bacterial Meningitis. (Image by Marvin 101; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
LOS ANGELES — A man’s death was linked to an invasive meningococcal outbreak affecting gay and bisexual men in Southern California, public health officials said last week according to the Los Angeles Times.
This strain of the rare disease was first identified in May and since then, nine men in Los Angeles and Orange counties have fallen ill with a meningococcal infection, according to Dr. Karen Smith, public health officer for the California Department of Public Health. Most of the men were gay or bisexual. One of them has died from the infection, the Times reports.
“We are concerned that gay and bisexual men in Southern California may be at increased risk for meningococcal disease,” Smith said in a statement.
She urged men who have sex with other men to get a meningitis vaccination. HIV-infected people, she said, have an increased risk of getting sick from meningococcal disease.
The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended this week that all HIV patients routinely receive meningococcal vaccines.
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, called on public health officials to increase the supply of vaccines and work closely with community health organizations to spread awareness.
The foundation is working to make the vaccines available at Southern California-area wellness centers next week, he said, according to the Times.
“Gay men are extremely over-represented in these meningitis case numbers in Los Angeles,” Weinstein said in a statement. “The CDC and the NIH, in conjunction with local health departments, should really be studying the issue far more intensively.”
The rare infection is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitides, which affect the bloodstream and can lead to meningitis. At least six cases were caused by a particular strain of meningococcal bacteria, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Meningococcal disease spreads by close exposure to sneezing or coughing, or direct contact with saliva or nose mucus, the health department said. Symptoms usually begin within a few days of exposure and include fever, vomiting, severe headache, stiff neck, confusion, a rash and muscle pains.
Smoking, having close contact with an infected person such as kissing or sharing beverages or cigarettes and living in group settings for prolonged periods are associated with an increased risk of illness.
Outbreaks and cluster of serogroup C meningococcal disease have been reported in New York City, Los Angeles County and Chicago since 2014.
Health
Gilead awards $5 million grant to HRC’s HIV and health equity programs
Money to support efforts to end the epidemic and combat stigma

The Human Rights Campaign was awarded a $5 million grant from drugmaker Gilead Sciences to expand the organization’s HIV and health equity programs, supporting efforts to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 while combatting stigma in Black and Latino communities.
Funds will be used over the next three years for the HRC Foundation’s HIV and Health Equity Program, its Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program, and its Transgender Justice Initiative, HRC said in a statement Wednesday announcing receipt of the award, which extends Gilead’s $3.2 million grant to the HRC Foundation in 2021.
The organization said its HIV and Health Equity Program plans to develop a “benchmarking tool for institutions that provide HIV services, helping better evaluate the quality of care and measure racially and socially inclusive approaches” while defining “best practices, policies and procedures to optimize HIV service provision for BIPOC LGBTQ+ communities.”
HRC President Kelley Robinson said, “Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, racism and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination have created dangerous hurdles for those seeking prevention or treatment.”
“With the generous support of Gilead Sciences, we’ll be able to continue providing critical
resources to help overcome these hurdles, especially focusing on Black and Latine communities in the U.S. South,” Robinson added. “We’ll also be able to expand our efforts, as we seek to remove institutional barriers often unknowingly created by HIV service providers. We must decrease the disparities that place an unnecessary burden on Black and Latine LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV.”
Gilead Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and General Counsel Deborah Telman said the company “is committed to advancing health equity, particularly in Black communities and other communities of color that are disproportionately affected by HIV.”
“This grant will build on the impactful work HRC has done with community partners and HBCUs to increase awareness of HIV treatment and prevention options and reduce health disparities, combat discrimination and fight stigma,” Telman said.
Health
New CDC data shows HIV infections dropped, but mostly among whites
Socioeconomic factor into disproportionate rates

Data published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a significant decline in new HIV infections, but suggests the impact of prevention efforts was far less substantial for Black and Latino populations.
From 2017-2021, as rates of HIV testing, treatment and the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication rose, new cases dropped by 12 percent overall and by as much as 34 percent among gay and bisexual males aged 13-24.
The numbers show a “move in the right direction,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a press release.
However, when broken down by race, the CDC found new infections were down by 27 percent and 36 percent, respectively, among Black and Latino populations, compared with 45 percent of whites.
Similarly, by 2021 about one third of those who are considered eligible were taking PrEP for HIV prevention, but the CDC noted this number includes “relatively few Black people or Hispanic/Latino people” despite the significant increase in prescriptions up from just 13 percent in 2017.
“Longstanding factors, such as systemic inequities, social and economic marginalization and residential segregation,” Walensky noted, continue to act as barriers “between highly effective HIV treatment and prevention and people who could benefit from them.”
She added, “Efforts must be accelerated and strengthened for progress to reach all groups faster and equitably.”
Robyn Neblett Fanfair, acting director of the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, said that “At least three people in the U.S. get HIV every hour — at a time when we have more effective prevention and treatment options than ever before.”
“These tools must reach deep into communities and be delivered faster to expand progress from some groups to all groups,” she said.
The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute issued a press release following the CDC’s announcement of the new data, noting both the encouraging progress and need for improvement.
“It appears that our investments in HIV prevention are providing some positive results, but the persistent high number of new diagnoses and the low usage of PrEP among the communities most impacted by HIV point to the need for increased resources, particularly for a national PrEP program,” said the group’s executive director, Carl Schmid.
President Joe Biden’s FY24 budget requested $237 million for a national PrEP program along with $850 million to support the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ “Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S.” initiative.
Health
Officials eye mpox prevention, vaccination initiatives for this summer’s LGBTQ events
New cluster of cases reported in Chicago

Federal health agencies, in coordination with their state and local counterparts and community partners, are exploring opportunities to offer mpox prevention initiatives and vaccinations at LGBTQ events this summer, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis said on Thursday.
Daskalakis, the deputy coordinator for the White House’s national mpox response, described these deliberations in response to a question from the Washington Blade during a media telebriefing on mpox that was hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC on Monday issued a Health Alert Network Health Update on the potential risk for new mpox cases.
Since the peak of about 460 cases per day in August 2022, new cases have steadily declined, but following the cluster recently reported in the Chicago area, the update warns, “spring and summer season in 2023 could lead to a resurgence of mpox as people gather for festivals and other events.”
“We have the vaccine, and we have organizations that are willing to do it,” Daskalakis said during Thursday’s call, adding that resources are available and can be deployed flexibly because they are built into existing “HIV and STI funding to allow for this work.”
And the Mpox Crisis Response Cooperative Agreement, Daskalakis said, “provides even more resources locally for such efforts.”
Daskalakis and CDC Mpox Response Incident Manager Dr. Christopher R. Braden also briefed reporters on findings from new studies on the efficacy of the JYNNEOS vaccine for the prevention of mpox.
That data, per the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reveals that “Among gay, bisexual, and other MSM and transgender adults aged 18-49 years, two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine were 86 percent effective against mpox, indicating substantial protection against mpox.”
Additionally, “All routes of vaccine administration provided similar protection.”
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