FROM THE EDITOR

New directions at the Journal

As some readers of the South African Journal of HIV Medicine will know, Professor Linda-Gail Bekker has elected to step down as editor, and I am moving into this position beginning with the September issue. Under Linda-Gail’s leadership the journal has grown considerably, and we are indebted to her for her contribution over the past years. On a personal note Linda-Gail has been immensely helpful during the handover of the editorship, and I am happy to report that she will continue to provide guidance while serving on the journal’s editorial board.

We are looking forward to continuing the journal’s emphasis on presenting research and clinical experiences from across the region, and keeping readers updated around local and international developments. To this end we will seek to expand several sections over the coming issues, including:

• feedback reports from local and international conferences

• editorial reviews intended to share viewpoints and promote discussion on important topics, and

• programmatic reports that share local experiences in implementing HIV treatment and prevention services on the ground.

These new sections will be in addition to the ongoing emphasis on research articles and case reports that are established strengths of the journal. We are also aiming to increase the number of articles published in each edition, so please keep your submissions coming. In addition I want to continue Linda-Gail’s ‘open door’ policy regarding suggestions for future content. If you have ideas, thoughts or feedback, please e-mail me directly (landon.myer@uct.ac.za).

This issue of the journal features a number of important contributions. An opinion piece from Nathan Geffen discusses the implications of the recently announced findings of HPTN 052, demonstrating that antiretroviral therapy is an effective form of HIV prevention in serodiscordant partnerships. There was a time when HIV prevention and treatment were distinct spheres (in both service delivery and our thinking about the epidemic), and these boundaries are rapidly falling away. Next, Coceka Mnyani and colleagues discuss the risks associated with invasive obstetric procedures in HIV-infected women, a valuable follow-up to the previous issue’s emphasis on PMTCT. In an original scientific article, Greg Jonsson and colleagues report on a survey of HIV-related knowledge among psychiatric patients in Soweto. A case report on HIV and primary lymphoma of the breast (Barnardt) reminds us of the unusual complications that can accompany advanced HIV disease, while another case report demonstrates the value of simple microscopy in diagnosing a deep fungal infection in an HIV-infected child (Crous). Finally, in a report back from a local meeting Kevin Rebe discusses the findings of a recent conference on the health of men who have sex with men.

This issue also features a special article on the teaching (and understanding) of clinical immunology in the context of HIV/AIDS. Clive Gray and colleagues developed an innovative approach to ‘lure clinicians into learning immunology’ – no easy task. This work has won several awards, and is well worth checking out: www.immunopaedia.org.

I hope that this breadth and depth is a flavour of things to come! Happy reading.

LANDON MYER

Editor

Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town