Maryam Shahmanesh

Abstract HIV incidence is declining globally, but around half of all new infections are in sub-Saharan Africa—where adolescent girls and young women bear a disproportionate burden of new infections. Those who sell sex are at particularly high risk. Despite declining incidence rates and availability of effective biomedical prevention tools, we are not on track, globally or in Africa, to achieve UNAIDS 2025 prevention targets.

Section snippets Basophils: from development to disease impact In 1879, Paul Ehrlich identified and classified granulocytes as neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils based on characteristics of their cytoplasmic granules [1]. Among granulocytes, basophils are the rarest in human and mouse peripheral blood, representing less than 1% of the leukocyte population. Basophils share various similarities with mast cells and have been regarded as ‘circulating mast cells’ [2,3].

The authors have declared no competing interest. ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT03757104 The research is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number R01AI124389 (PIs: FT and TB).