An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
August 19th, 2024
More on Munich and the 25th Annual International AIDS Conference
Longtime readers may note the absence of this year’s Really Rapid Review™ (RRR) of the latest big HIV conference, the one that just happened in Munich. These RRR posts have been a regular on this site for a gazillion years, give or take a few, with a brief break during the peak of the pandemic.
My excuse this time? Pretty mundane, I’m afraid. Due to some additional obligations, deadlines, and other matters, I simply never got around to it. And of course if I write it now, more than 2 weeks after the conference has ended, it would classify solely as a Review, not meeting the validated criteria for being a Really Rapid one. Oh well.
For just under 40% of you, however, you might not even notice. The evidence? Here’s the results of the poll on who you are — many thanks for voting!
Not-so-bold statement — for most of the non-ID readers, the RRR posts probably aren’t your cup of tea anyway. For each conference summary, you probably scrolled to the bottom for the funny video*, or just skipped the post entirely.
(*Important note — there are some funny videos at the end of this post.)
The results of this poll were a pleasant surprise, as one of my goals in writing has always been to appeal to a broader audience, even if the core of what I write about is my specialty, Infectious Diseases. Let’s face it, the community of ID specialists is small, in inverse proportion to the number of microbes, antimicrobials, and taxonomic changes over the years for various fungi*.
(*Total inside joke, that last one, about the fungi. Candida krusei is now Pichia kudriavzevii? C’mon, give me a break.)
As a compensation to our ID readers, I offer instead something I hope you’ll find of interest, which is a video of a Munich conference summary I did with one of the leaders in the HIV field, Dr. Laura Waters. She covered the HIV treatment studies; the prevention and non-ART complications went to me. But we both chimed in frequently on each other’s presentations, with lots of active discussion.
Plus, if you don’t know about Laura, you certainly should — she’s a GU/HIV consultant and the HIV Lead at the Mortimer Market Centre in London, and the former chair of the British HIV Association (BHIVA), among other achievements.
She’s also an insightful analyst of HIV clinical research, a go-to person to give a skilled and often trenchant interpretation of a study’s design, analysis, and conclusions. If you’re wondering who that intelligent and funny person is with the English accent who pops up first to the conference microphone after a study presentation — the person asking the best question — let me introduce you to Dr. Laura Waters.
(She even has a Wikipedia page! Impressed.)
Anyway, here’s the video. Enjoy!
Before I entirely leave Munich, however, I want to share a brilliant insight about travel and hotel rooms made by tech person and writer Trung Phan (who likely is making his first appearance on an Infectious Diseases blog).
It’s about the showers — yes, the showers. In a section of a post entitled, Hotel Showers Are Insane, he writes:
The thing about old hotels is that they need to be renovated. My amateur analysis is that it’s possible to renovate most older structures and maintain the charm of the original facade…except the bathroom. Updating the toilet and shower to modern standards often involves making it look modern and, therefore, a bit out of place.
This is all fine except for the fact that hotel showers have turned into SAT exams. We stayed at 8 hotels on the trip and every single one had a different and confusing knob/heat/spray setting (half of them had to include instructions) …When you need a shower instruction manual, it is time to go back to the drawing board.
Let the record show that while Munich is a beautiful, vibrant city with a great public transit system, historic sites, river surfing, and wonderful restaurants, the shower in my hotel room was every bit as inscrutable as the description above. I’m still convinced I never mastered its numerous byzantine settings.
If you add that many hotel showers in Europe have no full door or shower curtain — or strangely, no water barrier at all — these showers present a mystifying challenge that defies full explanation.
So agree, Trung — they are insane.
7 Responses to “More on Munich and the 25th Annual International AIDS Conference”
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Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
Biography | Disclosures | Summaries
Learn more about HIV and ID Observations.
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Dear Dr. Sax,
Thank you for all things HIV and Observations over the years!
Important and great news for providers who treat patients with syphilis.
Generic PCN G benzathine (generic Bicillin L-A) is now available from Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs for under $30 per 2.4 million unit treatment dose! (In the current shortage, price gouging middlemen are now charging over $800 per dose.)
Physicians/clinics/hospitals can create an account and order directly from Cost Plus Drugs here:
https://costplusdrugs.graphite.direct/SelfRegister
FDA Dear Provider Letter:
https://www.fda.gov/media/179787/download?attachment
National Coalition of STD Directors Announcement:
https://www.ncsddc.org/ncsd-applauds-mark-cuban-and-mark-cuban-cost-plus-drug-company-for-importing-crucial-syphilis-drug/
I have no conflict of interest and take zero money from Cost Plus Drugs.
I am not on social media – everyone please spread the word!
Our patients deserve first-line treatment.
Eamonn A. Vitt MD
Instructor in Clinical Medicine
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Dear Dr Sax,
Well this is the highlight of my career thus far! Thank you for the lovely words.
Laura Waters MBBS MD FRCP
Dear Dr Sax,
I am a non ID reader and have been a faithful subscriber since you started.
You blog has been essential to keeping abreast of changes. Most importantly your thinking and general approach to many topics has enhanced my clinical thinking.
I also share your blog with my colleagues and students. You are like a trace essential mineral. Maybe small but critical. On top of it you keep it simple and comprehensible while telling us your thought process. Thank you!!!!
Ha ha, that’s a first! But thank you!
-Paul
Like a trace essential mineral! Brilliant! I just may borrow that. 🙂
Good evening from Spain:
Thank you for your great and funny review!!!
You show it is not always neccesary to be physically present at some congresses. It might even better to listen main conclussions from clear and concise people as you and Laura.
Congratulations!!!
“Candida krusei is now Pichia kudriavzevii?”
Someone has to get the people who keep doing this under control.