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Objective: Our study aimed to reveal the syphilis coinfection data in patients living with HIV. In this context, data on coinfection rates, the period in which syphilis was diagnosed, reinfection rates, and the determination of the population at risk for syphilis in patients living with HIV/AIDS were presented. Methods: Patients with HIV/AIDS confirmed between January 2016 and December 2020 at a training and research hospital were retrospectively screened for syphilis serological examinations (RPR, TPHA). The conventional diagnostic algorithm was used in all patients. Results: The rate of syphilis co-infection was 23.38% (47/201) in 201 individuals living with HIV in our patient population. Of 47 HIV/syphilis co-infected patients included in the study, 4.2% were female, and 95.8% were male. The mean age of our patients was 41.11±12.42 years. Primary syphilis was diagnosed in 6 (14.2%) patients; secondary syphilis was diagnosed in 3 (7.1%) patients, and 38 (80.8%) patients were diagnosed in the latent syphilis period. We did not have a patient diagnosed with tertiary syphilis, neurosyphilis, or congenital syphilis. Twenty-six patients (55.3%) were heterosexual, 17 patients (36.2%) were men who had sex with men (MSM), and four patients (8.5%) were bisexual. While syphilis co-infection rates were 17.9% (26/145) in heterosexual individuals, it was 37.5% (21/56) in MSM and bisexual individuals. While 32 patients (68%) were in the HIV infection stage, 15 (32%) were diagnosed with AIDS. Reinfection was detected in 8.51% (4/47) of the patients. Conclusion: Most HIV/syphilis co-infected patients are male individuals who have sex with men diagnosed with latent syphilis. HIV/AIDS and syphilis infections are increasing every year in our country. Undetectable= Untransmissible approach causes prevention methods to be thrown into the background. Sexual protection with barrier methods in patients living with HIV continues to maintain its importance today due to co-infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is usually transmitted via fecal-oral route with contaminated food or water intake. However, there are also transmissions and outbreaks among men who have sex with men (MSM) through oral-anal sex. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of HAV and related risk factors among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals under our follow-up. Methods: 927 HIV-infected patients followed in the Infectious Diseases Outpatient Clinic between January 2015 and July 2019 were included in the study. The demographic findings and laboratory results of the patients were retrospectively reviewed from their files. Results: Of all patients, 463 (49.9%) were MSM, 403 (43.5%) had heterosexual contact, and 61 (6.6%) had unknown sexual orientation. The mean age of the patients was 35.75±11.22 years and 90.2% were male. 788 patients whose complete HAV serology data could be reached were included in the statistical evaluation. Anti-HAV IgG positivity was present in 590 (74.8%) patients. While 45% of 590 patients with anti-HAV IgG positivity were MSM, 69.6% of 198 seronegative patients were MSM. Seronegativity was found to be significantly higher in young, high educated and MSM patients (p<0.001). Conclusions: Since fecal-oral route is the main transmission route of HAV infection, prevention of viral contamination of food, water and environment is the most important control method. However, it is also known that being MSM is an increased risk for HIV infection and there are outbreaks among them. Identifying seronegative groups especially among HIVinfected individuals is important to reduce mortality and morbidity. The results support the fact that the young adults, especially MSM group in our country, have increased risk for HAV infection and need to be vaccinated routinely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) "90- 90-90" target aims to decrease the annual number of new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths to <200 000 by 2030. The aim of this article is to define the HIV epidemic and the response to the epidemic in Turkey within the context of UNAIDS target and to discuss how close we are to achieve this target. The number of new HIV diagnoses has increased by 2.5-fold between 2012 and 2016, which is most likely an underestimation. While heterosexual transmission rates started to decline recently, transmissions between men who have sex with men increased significantly. However, real life data are not in accordance with reported numbers. The 25-34 years age group has the highest number of new diagnoses with a recent decrease among 35-44 years and increase among 20-24 years. In Turkey, 48-52.4% of people living with HIV are diagnosed late and 24-30.6% with advanced disease. This may be due to the lack of targeted testing strategies for key populations and the diagnosis being made during the differential diagnosis of symptomatic cases (35-48.8%). Access to antiretroviral drugs in Turkey is better than it is in Central and Eastern European countries, and antiretroviral treatment is initiated for all people living with HIV regardless of the CD4 T cell count after publication of an official guideline on HIV diagnosis and treatment in 2013. Virologic success rates are high (76.6-90%) among those who start using antiretroviral treatment. Turkey has good standards for and better access to HIV treatment and management compared to many neighboring countries. Collaborative work of all stakeholders is crucial to control the HIV infection in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]