Source: Science daily
University of Toronto researchers have uncovered the basis by which pregnant women protect themselves against malaria and have also discovered how the HIV virus works to counteract this defence. The research could lead to improved vaccines for pregnant women in malaria-ravished regions.
Malaria is a parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes that kills more than one million people every year. While the disease affects mostly children, malaria also severely affects pregnant women, especially during their first pregnancy, accounting for an estimated 400,000 cases of severe anaemia and 200,000 infant deaths each year. With the recent realization that HIV further aggravates pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) there is an urgent need to understand these diseases during pregnancy and turn this knowledge into effective therapies.
Until now the mechanisms by which pregnant women defend themselves against malaria and how HIV impairs this defence have been unknown, but a paper published in PLoS Medicine pinpoints how the virus targets the immune response in pregnant women. "PAM can be a deadly condition that leaves mothers and their children particularly vulnerable," says Professor Kevin Kain, an infectious disease specialist and lead author of the study. "We set out to understand how women acquire protection against malaria during pregnancy and how HIV infection impairs that protection. By understanding how they lost protection in the face of HIV we learned how they acquired protection against malaria in the first place."
The research article, HIV Impairs Opsonic Phagocytic Clearance of Pregnancy-Associated Malaria Parasites, is available online, on PLOS Medicine website.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
WHO and UNAIDS Issue New Guidance on HIV Testing and Counseling in Healthcare Facilities
Source: World Health OrganizationNew recommendations aim for wider knowledge of HIV status and greatly increased access to HIV treatment and prevention
30 MAY 2007 | LONDON -- WHO and UNAIDS today issued new guidance on informed, voluntary HIV testing and counselling in the world's health facilities, with a view to significantly increasing access to needed HIV treatment, care, support and prevention services. The new guidance focuses on provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling (recommended by health care providers in health facilities).
Today, approximately 80% of people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries do not know that they are HIV-positive. Recent surveys in sub-Saharan Africa showed on average just 12% of men and 10% of women have been tested for HIV and received their test results.
Increased access to HIV testing and counselling is essential to promoting earlier diagnosis of HIV infection, which in turn can maximize the potential benefits of life-extending treatment and care, and allow people with HIV to receive information and tools to prevent HIV transmission to others.
"Scaling up access to HIV testing and counselling is both a public health and a human rights imperative," said WHO HIV/AIDS Director Dr Kevin De Cock. "We hope that the new guidance will provide an impetus to countries to greatly increase availability of HIV testing services in health care settings, through realistic approaches that both improve access to services and, at the same time, protect the rights of individuals. Without a major increase in HIV testing and counselling in health facilities, universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care will remain just a noble goal."
Click here to read the presse release.
A copy of "GUIDANCE ON PROVIDER-INITIATED HIV TESTING AND COUNSELLING IN HEALTH FACILITIES" is available in the library.
Monday, May 28, 2007
New research supports Vancouver's safe injection site
Source: CBC
Independent researchers have released new scientific findings on the impact of Vancouver's safe-injection site that they hope will answer the federal government's criticism that more study is needed before a decision is made on its future.
The Conservative government has been highly skeptical of the project, which opened its doors to addicts in Vancouver's troubled Downtown Eastside in 2003.
Dr. Evan Wood, chief author of the report, says that the impact of the safe injection site is 'remarkable.'
(CBC) Health Minister Tony Clement is set to announce major changes to Canada's national drug strategy next week and there are fears they could spell the demise of North America's only safe-injection site.
The researchers have previously shown the facility has reduced the spread of HIV and reduced crime in the area.
In a paper published Friday in Addiction, the world's foremost medical journal on drug dependency, researchers with the independent B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS say the new results are also very clear.
They say InSite deserves credit for a 30 per cent increase in the number of addicts getting off the streets and into detox and treatment programs.
(...)
Read more on CBC website
Independent researchers have released new scientific findings on the impact of Vancouver's safe-injection site that they hope will answer the federal government's criticism that more study is needed before a decision is made on its future.
The Conservative government has been highly skeptical of the project, which opened its doors to addicts in Vancouver's troubled Downtown Eastside in 2003.
Dr. Evan Wood, chief author of the report, says that the impact of the safe injection site is 'remarkable.'
(CBC) Health Minister Tony Clement is set to announce major changes to Canada's national drug strategy next week and there are fears they could spell the demise of North America's only safe-injection site.
The researchers have previously shown the facility has reduced the spread of HIV and reduced crime in the area.
In a paper published Friday in Addiction, the world's foremost medical journal on drug dependency, researchers with the independent B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS say the new results are also very clear.
They say InSite deserves credit for a 30 per cent increase in the number of addicts getting off the streets and into detox and treatment programs.
(...)
Read more on CBC website
Thursday, May 24, 2007
New book: Criminal HIV Transmission
Bernard, Edwin J. Criminal HIV transmissionLondon, NAM, 2007
H 600 BER 2007
"[p]rovides evidence-based information that may be relevant to the investigation, prosecution, and defence of criminal HIV transmission cases. Primarily aimed at individuals who work within - or are in contact with - the criminal justice system, this book may also be helpful for HIV support organizations, members of the media, and other interested parties, including potential complainants and defendants."
Two new resources on homosexuality in Africa
Hoad, Neville. African intimacies : Race, homosexuality, and globalizationMineapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 2007
C 510 HOA 2007
"There have been few book-length engagements with the question of sexuality in Africa, let alone African homosexuality. African Intimacies simultaneously responds to the public debate on the “Africanness” of homosexuality and interrogates the meaningfulness of the terms “sexuality” and “homosexuality” outside Euro-American discourse.
Speculating on cultural practices interpreted by missionaries as sodomy and resistance to colonialism, Neville Hoad begins by analyzing the 1886 Bugandan martyrs incident—the execution of thirty men in the royal court. Then, in a series of close readings, he addresses questions of race, sex, and globalization in the 1965 Wole Soyinka novel The Interpreters, examines the emblematic 1998 Lambeth conference of Anglican bishops, considers the imperial legacy in depictions of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and reveals how South African writer Phaswane Mpe’s contemporary novel Welcome to Our Hillbrow problematizes notions of African identity and cosmopolitanism.
Hoad’s assessment of the historical valence of homosexuality in Africa shows how the
category has served a key role in a larger story, one in which sexuality has been made in line with a vision of white Western truth, limiting an understanding of intimacy that could imagine an African universalism."
Johnson, Cary Alan. Off the map : How HIV/AIDS programming is failing same-sex practicing people in Africa.New York, NY, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), 2007
C 510 JOH 2007
Online access: http://www.iglhrc.org/files/iglhrc/otm/Off%20The%20Map.pdf
"Off the Map explores the ways in which HIV/AIDS stakeholders are potentially jeopardizing overall efforts to combat the AIDS epidemic. The report examines the ways in which same-sex desire and behavior have been simultaneously erased and criminalized in Africa and looks at the small, but important body of knowledge regarding same-sex transmission of HIV on the continent. Same-sex practicing men and women are at increased risk of contracting HIV, not solely because of bio-sexual vulnerabilities, but as a result of an interlocking set of human rights violations that prevent access to effective HIV prevention, voluntary counseling and testing, treatment, and care."
New Issue of AIDS Patient care and STDs
In this issue:Case Report
Destructive Osteomyelitis Associated with Early Secondary Syphilis in An HIV-Positive Patient Diagnosed by Treponema Pallidum DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction
George Kandelaki, Rajendra Kapila, Helen Fernandes
pp. 229-233.
Abstract
Immune Reconstitution Syndrome in a Patient with AIDS with Paradoxically Deteriorating Brain Tuberculoma
Chen-Hsiang Lee, Chun-Chung Lui, Jien-Wei Liu
pp. 234-239.
Abstract
Tenofovir and Abacavir Combination Therapy: Lessons Learned from an Urban Clinic Population
Bruce L. Gilliam, Mohammad M. Sajadi, Anthony Amoroso, Charles E. Davis, Farley R. Cleghorn, Robert R. Redfield
pp. 240-246.
Abstract
Lack of Effect of Gastric Acid-Reducing Agents on the Pharmacokinetics of Lopinavir/Ritonavir in HIV-Infected Patients
Yi-Lin Chiu, Cheri E. Klein, William C. Woodward, Kathryn R. King, Christian Naylor, Walid Awni, Scott Brun
pp. 247-251.
Abstract
An Evaluation of Awareness: Attitudes and Beliefs of Pregnant Nigerian Women toward Voluntary Counseling and Testing for HIV
Kingsley C. Okonkwo, Kimberly Reich, Adewale I. Alabi, Nwaife Umeike, Sharon A. Nachman
pp. 252-260.
Abstract
Desire for a Child Among Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Northeast Brazil
Aglaêr A. Nóbrega, Fabíola A.S. Oliveira, Marli T.G. Galvão, Rosa S. Mota, Regina M. Barbosa, Inês Dourado, Carl Kendall, Ligia R.S. Kerr-Pontes
pp. 261-267.
Abstract
Desire to Have Children: Gender and Reproductive Rights of Men and Women Living with HIV: A Challenge to Health Care in Brazil
Vera Paiva, Naila Santos, Ivan França-Junior, Elvira Filipe, José Ricardo Ayres, Aluisio Segurado
pp. 268-277.
Abstract
Prevalence and Determinants of Fertility Intentions of HIV-Infected Women and Men Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in South Africa
Landon Myer, Chelsea Morroni, Kevin Rebe
pp. 278-285.
Abstract
Antiviral Briefs
pp. 286-288.
Drug Developments and STD News
pp. 289-291.
Contact the library to request copies of articles
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
New issue of AIDS and Behavior
Volume 11, Number 3 / May, 2007In this issue:
Acceptability of Male Circumcision for Prevention of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review
Authors N. Westercamp and R. C. Bailey
pp. 341-355
Full text
Male Circumcision to Prevent HIV Transmission and Acquisition: What Else do We Need to Know?
Author Adamson Sinjani Muula
pp. 357-363
Abstract
Mediational Analysis in HIV/AIDS Research: Estimating Multivariate Path Analytic Models in a Structural Equation Modeling Framework
Authors Angela Bryan, Sarah J. Schmiege and Michelle R. Broaddus
pp. 365-383
Abstract
Medication Beliefs as Mediators of the Health Literacy–Antiretroviral Adherence Relationship in HIV-infected Individuals
Authors Joseph Graham, Ian M. Bennett, William C. Holmes and Robert Gross
pp. 385-392
Abstract
Using Theory to Understand How Interventions Work: Project RESPECT, Condom Use, and the Integrative Model
Authors Fen Rhodes, Judith A. Stein, Martin Fishbein, Risë B. Goldstein and Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus
pp. 393-407
Abstract
Knowledge of Maternal HIV/AIDS and Child Adjustment: The Moderating Role of Children’s Relationships with their Mothers
Authors Deborah J. Jones, Sarah E. Foster, Alecia A. Zalot, Charlene Chester and Antonette King
pp. 409-420
Abstract
The Stress Moderating Role of Benefit Finding on Psychological Distress and Well-being among Women Living with HIV/AIDS
Authors Karolynn Siegel and Eric W. Schrimshaw
pp. 421-433
Abstract
Prevalence and Correlates of Condom Use and HIV Testing Among Female Sex Workers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Implications for HIV Transmission
Authors Catherine S. Todd, Gulchaekra Alibayeva, Mumtaz M. Khakimov, Jose L. Sanchez, Christian T. Bautista and Kenneth C. Earhart
pp. 435-442
Abstract
The Importance of Discreet Use of the Diaphragm to Zimbabwean Women and their Partners
Authors Mi-Suk Kang, Jessica Buck, Nancy Padian, Sam F. Posner, Gertrude Khumalo-Sakutukwa and Ariane van der Straten
pp. 443-451
Abstract
Perceptions of Community HIV Prevalence, Own HIV Infection, and Condom Use among Teachers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Authors Li-Wei Chao, Jeff Gow, Olagoke Akintola and Mark Pauly
pp. 453-462
Abstract
Contact the library to request photocopies.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Asian drug users need more HIV prevention help
Source: Reuters
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING, May 14 (Reuters) - Asian countries need to wake up to the threat of HIV transmission via intravenous drug use and spend more money on needle exchanges and other programmes or risk a rapid rise in new cases, a U.N. health official said on Monday.
Around one-third of new infections worldwide, excluding sub-Saharan Africa, are from injected drug use.
Asia has about 6 million users, and most new HIV cases are blamed on dirty injecting equipment, according to the United Nations.
But less than one-tenth of Asian users have access to prevention services, UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director Prasada Rao told Reuters in an interview.
"If you look at comprehensive interventions, which means giving the option of both needle exchange and drug substitution, I think very few countries are doing it," he said by telephone from a conference in the Polish capital Warsaw.
"They have to prioritise interventions among intravenous drug users and the aim is for at least 80 percent coverage by 2010," Rao added.
"That requires enormous scale up in terms of resources and also in creating an environment where drug users can come out and access these services. Because in most of these countries they are still criminalised, and police raid them and catch them.
"It needs a change of attitude and a change of legislation relating to drug use. Because most often they don't distinguish between the supplier of drugs and the ultimate victim who is the user," he said. (...)
Click here to read the article
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING, May 14 (Reuters) - Asian countries need to wake up to the threat of HIV transmission via intravenous drug use and spend more money on needle exchanges and other programmes or risk a rapid rise in new cases, a U.N. health official said on Monday.
Around one-third of new infections worldwide, excluding sub-Saharan Africa, are from injected drug use.
Asia has about 6 million users, and most new HIV cases are blamed on dirty injecting equipment, according to the United Nations.
But less than one-tenth of Asian users have access to prevention services, UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director Prasada Rao told Reuters in an interview.
"If you look at comprehensive interventions, which means giving the option of both needle exchange and drug substitution, I think very few countries are doing it," he said by telephone from a conference in the Polish capital Warsaw.
"They have to prioritise interventions among intravenous drug users and the aim is for at least 80 percent coverage by 2010," Rao added.
"That requires enormous scale up in terms of resources and also in creating an environment where drug users can come out and access these services. Because in most of these countries they are still criminalised, and police raid them and catch them.
"It needs a change of attitude and a change of legislation relating to drug use. Because most often they don't distinguish between the supplier of drugs and the ultimate victim who is the user," he said. (...)
Click here to read the article
HIV trial set to make legal history in Canada
By Bill Dunphy
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 14, 2007)
Jury selection begins today in what is likely the first Canadian case of murder by disease.
Fifty-year-old Johnson Aziga, of Hamilton, is charged with killing two women, 48 and 29, by infecting them with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Aziga is alleged to have had unprotected sex with 13 partners without telling any of them that he had been diagnosed with HIV back in 1996: two of his partners have since died from AIDS-related illnesses, five have acquired HIV and six remain HIV negative. The liaisons are alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2003, after Aziga had separated from his wife of 15 years.
All of the alleged victims were women. Their identities are protected by laws governing sexual assault charges.
Aziga has been in custody since his arrest in August 2003, but at the time of his arrest he was living in Hamilton and working in Toronto as an analyst for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.
It is believed Aziga's case is the first murder charge in Canada arising from the sexual transmission of a disease and that has caused some controversy with AIDS activists saying it risks criminalizing a public health problem that is better tackled through education. And, because Aziga's case (and criminal charges arising in other AIDS cases) pivot on allegations of knowingly exposing sexual partners to the risk of HIV without informing them of the risk, they fear this case and others may lead to fewer people getting tested for HIV.
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 14, 2007)
Jury selection begins today in what is likely the first Canadian case of murder by disease.
Fifty-year-old Johnson Aziga, of Hamilton, is charged with killing two women, 48 and 29, by infecting them with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Aziga is alleged to have had unprotected sex with 13 partners without telling any of them that he had been diagnosed with HIV back in 1996: two of his partners have since died from AIDS-related illnesses, five have acquired HIV and six remain HIV negative. The liaisons are alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2003, after Aziga had separated from his wife of 15 years.
All of the alleged victims were women. Their identities are protected by laws governing sexual assault charges.
Aziga has been in custody since his arrest in August 2003, but at the time of his arrest he was living in Hamilton and working in Toronto as an analyst for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.
It is believed Aziga's case is the first murder charge in Canada arising from the sexual transmission of a disease and that has caused some controversy with AIDS activists saying it risks criminalizing a public health problem that is better tackled through education. And, because Aziga's case (and criminal charges arising in other AIDS cases) pivot on allegations of knowingly exposing sexual partners to the risk of HIV without informing them of the risk, they fear this case and others may lead to fewer people getting tested for HIV.
Friday, May 11, 2007
HIV uproar over PM plan
Source: Herald Sun
A PLAN by the Howard Government to monitor the movements of HIV-positive visitors in Australia has sparked an international storm.
Mr Howard has reportedly written to immigration and health ministers asking for advice on possible risks to public health of HIV-positive tourists.
The plan could involve restricting or tracking high risk HIV-visitors.
But gay advocates overseas have already seized on the reports, calling the policy "disgusting" and "discriminatory".
"To deny entry based on HIV status would mean that you are deeming those individuals as 'lesser citizens' or 'lesser humans' than their peers," the Minnesota Daily wrote.
See also Plan to track HIV positive visitors , GayNZ.com
A PLAN by the Howard Government to monitor the movements of HIV-positive visitors in Australia has sparked an international storm.
Mr Howard has reportedly written to immigration and health ministers asking for advice on possible risks to public health of HIV-positive tourists.
The plan could involve restricting or tracking high risk HIV-visitors.
But gay advocates overseas have already seized on the reports, calling the policy "disgusting" and "discriminatory".
"To deny entry based on HIV status would mean that you are deeming those individuals as 'lesser citizens' or 'lesser humans' than their peers," the Minnesota Daily wrote.
See also Plan to track HIV positive visitors , GayNZ.com
Thursday, May 10, 2007
U.N. study sees subtle discrimination
Source: International Business Times
By Bradley S. Klapper
Posted 10 May 2007
The disabled, gays and lesbians, and people living with HIV/AIDS are suffering from new and more subtle forms of workplace discrimination, the U.N. labor agency said Thursday.
Despite major advances in the fight against discrimination, gender, race and religion continue to determine how people are treated in the employment market and at the workplace, the International Labor Organization said in its flagship report on global working conditions.
Women are especially prone to labor discrimination, the ILO said in outlining only a mixed bag of success since the last installment of its "'equality at work"' series four years ago.
"'It's striking to see how everywhere in the world, irrespective of how rich or how poor a country is, or what type of political system it has, discrimination is there,"' said Manuela Tomei, author of the 127-page report. "'Discrimination is a never-ending story of human nature. But it's something that society can no longer tolerate."'
While more women are joining the work force around the world, they continue in every geographical region to be paid less than men for the same jobs, the report said.
(...)
Discrimination against gays and lesbians "'has only recently been recognized as intolerable"' by many nations, Tomei said, but noted that homosexuality remains illegal in over 75 countries, "'subject to corporal punishment and even the death penalty."'
The use of AIDS tests is "'extremely widespread"' in screening job seekers, despite laws specifically targeting the practice, Tomei said. "'Many people are subject to AIDS tests without even knowing it,"' she added. (...)
Click here to view the article.
The study, "Equality at work: Tackling the challenges", is available online at http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@webdev/documents/publication/wcms_082607.pdf
By Bradley S. Klapper
Posted 10 May 2007
The disabled, gays and lesbians, and people living with HIV/AIDS are suffering from new and more subtle forms of workplace discrimination, the U.N. labor agency said Thursday.
Despite major advances in the fight against discrimination, gender, race and religion continue to determine how people are treated in the employment market and at the workplace, the International Labor Organization said in its flagship report on global working conditions.
Women are especially prone to labor discrimination, the ILO said in outlining only a mixed bag of success since the last installment of its "'equality at work"' series four years ago.
"'It's striking to see how everywhere in the world, irrespective of how rich or how poor a country is, or what type of political system it has, discrimination is there,"' said Manuela Tomei, author of the 127-page report. "'Discrimination is a never-ending story of human nature. But it's something that society can no longer tolerate."'
While more women are joining the work force around the world, they continue in every geographical region to be paid less than men for the same jobs, the report said.
(...)
Discrimination against gays and lesbians "'has only recently been recognized as intolerable"' by many nations, Tomei said, but noted that homosexuality remains illegal in over 75 countries, "'subject to corporal punishment and even the death penalty."'
The use of AIDS tests is "'extremely widespread"' in screening job seekers, despite laws specifically targeting the practice, Tomei said. "'Many people are subject to AIDS tests without even knowing it,"' she added. (...)
Click here to view the article.
The study, "Equality at work: Tackling the challenges", is available online at http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/@webdev/documents/publication/wcms_082607.pdf
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Twin pregnancies involve greater risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission unless potent anti-HIV drugs used
Source: Aidsmap
Michael Carter, Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Twin pregnancies involve an increased risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, according to the results of a large French study published in the May 11th edition of AIDS. However, the risk was only higher in the period before effective anti-HIV treatment became available, and since 1997, the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission has been equally low for both twin and single pregnancies. Known complications of twin pregnancies, especially premature rupture of the membranes, were associated with HIV transmission to a twin, and the investigators found that the twin born first was significantly more likely to acquire HIV infection than the second twin, probably because of exposure to HIV in the birth canal.
There has been little previous examination of the risks of mother-to-child transmission in twin pregnancies. The only study to examine this issue was conducted in the 1980s, before antiretroviral therapy was used to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and involved only 22 pairs of twins. It found that twin pregnancies did not involve any increased HIV transmission risk.
Nevertheless, it is well known that multiple pregnancies have an increased risk of complications, such as premature labour or rupture of the membranes, and such complications are known to increase the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. (...)
Click here to read the article.
Michael Carter, Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Twin pregnancies involve an increased risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, according to the results of a large French study published in the May 11th edition of AIDS. However, the risk was only higher in the period before effective anti-HIV treatment became available, and since 1997, the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission has been equally low for both twin and single pregnancies. Known complications of twin pregnancies, especially premature rupture of the membranes, were associated with HIV transmission to a twin, and the investigators found that the twin born first was significantly more likely to acquire HIV infection than the second twin, probably because of exposure to HIV in the birth canal.
There has been little previous examination of the risks of mother-to-child transmission in twin pregnancies. The only study to examine this issue was conducted in the 1980s, before antiretroviral therapy was used to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and involved only 22 pairs of twins. It found that twin pregnancies did not involve any increased HIV transmission risk.
Nevertheless, it is well known that multiple pregnancies have an increased risk of complications, such as premature labour or rupture of the membranes, and such complications are known to increase the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. (...)
Click here to read the article.
Monday, May 07, 2007
The 2007 National Conference on Latinos and AIDS
A National Forum on HIV/AIDS for Health Professionals Who Provide Care for Latinos
July 30-31st, 2007
Miami Beach Resort & Spa - Miami, FL
http://www.minority-healthcare.com/ncla_2007/index.html
The goal of this activity is to update the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of healthcare providers who care for patients with HIV/AIDS. This activity is also designed for healthcare media, federal and state legislators, AIDS service organization officers, social workers, peer counselors, church leadership and corrections healthcare personnel. The objectives are to familiarize participants with the epidemiology of HIV in the United States, current guidelines and cutting edge clinical modalities for the management of HIV, current research encompassing drug abuse and its connection to the HIV epidemic, social and psychiatric concerns of the HIV-infected patient, policy initiatives, trends and political issues which impact all HIV-infected patients.
New issue of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Vol. 18, no 2, March/April 2007Special Issue: Cultural Dynamics in HIV Prevention Among Young People
Cultural Dynamics in HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Among Young People
Hare ML, Villarruel AM
pages 1-4
Abstract
Scaffolded Interviewing With Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Youth: A Developmental Approach to HIV Education and Prevention
Welle DL, Clatts MC
pages 5-14
Abstract
Research Brief: The Need for Historically Grounded HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Among Native Americans
Lowe J
pages 15-17
Abstract
Childhood Abuse History and Risk Behaviors Among Teen Parents in a Culturally Rooted, Couple-Focused HIV Prevention Program
Lesser J, Koniak-Griffin D, Gonzalez-Figueroa E, Huang R, Cumberland WG
pages 18-27
Abstract
Research Brief: Sexual Communication and Knowledge Among Mexican Parents and Their Adolescent Children
Gallegos EC, Villarruel AM, Gómez MV, Onofre DJ, Zhou Y
pages 28-34
Abstract
Culture-Specific Factors Contributing to HIV Risk Among Jamaican Adolescents
Hutchinson MK, Jemmott LS, Wood EB, Hewitt H, Kawha E, Waldron N, Bonaparte B
pages 35-47
Abstract
Sexual Stigma, Sexual Behaviors, and Abstinence Among Vietnamese Adolescents: Implications for Risk and Protective Behaviors for HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Unwanted Pregnancy
Kaljee LM, Green M, Riel R, Lerdboon P, Tho LH, Thoa LTK, Minh TT
pages 48-59
Abstract
Early Adolescent Peer Leader Development in HIV Prevention Using Youth-Adult Partnership With Schools Approach
Fongkaew W, Fongkaew K, Suchaxaya P
pages 60-71
Abstract
Research Brief: Community Consultation to Develop an Acceptable and Effective Adolescent HIV Prevention Intervention
Kaponda CPN, Dancy BL, Norr KF, Kachingwe SI, Mbeba MM, Jere DL
pages 72-77
Abstract
Practice Brief: Adolescents and HIV Clinical Trials: Ethics, Culture, and Context
MacQueen KM, Karim QA
pages 78-82
Abstract
Contact the library for copies of articles. Please limit your requests to 5 articles.
Man with HIV gets life term for sex case
Source: SFGate.com
(05-07) 09:30 PDT DALLAS, (AP) --
An HIV-positive man who prosecutors say secretly videotaped sexual encounters with 131 young men was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to entice a 15-year-old boy to engage in sex acts.
During his trial, prosecutors alleged Willie Atkins knew of his condition yet endangered dozens of partners by rarely using condoms, and that there was no evidence that he warned anyone that he was HIV-positive.
Atkins was sentenced Friday for attempting to entice a minor for sex, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Because Atkins had two previous felony convictions, for aggravated robbery and firearms possession, he was eligible for the life sentence.
According to authorities, Atkins lured young men to his apartment by offering them jobs to work for his landscaping company, but authorities have had difficulty identifying the men. Jurors at his trial saw clips from 90 hours of sexually explicit videotape.
His defense attorney, Richard Franklin, said Atkins was being unfairly targeted.
"They want to say Willie Atkins gave all these people AIDS, spread HIV all over the place," Franklin said. "They can't be living in some parallel universe where they've never heard of AIDS. It can't be his fault alone, if he has any fault at all."
The "dangerous activity" each side engaged in "cancels each other out," he said.
(05-07) 09:30 PDT DALLAS, (AP) --
An HIV-positive man who prosecutors say secretly videotaped sexual encounters with 131 young men was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to entice a 15-year-old boy to engage in sex acts.
During his trial, prosecutors alleged Willie Atkins knew of his condition yet endangered dozens of partners by rarely using condoms, and that there was no evidence that he warned anyone that he was HIV-positive.
Atkins was sentenced Friday for attempting to entice a minor for sex, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Because Atkins had two previous felony convictions, for aggravated robbery and firearms possession, he was eligible for the life sentence.
According to authorities, Atkins lured young men to his apartment by offering them jobs to work for his landscaping company, but authorities have had difficulty identifying the men. Jurors at his trial saw clips from 90 hours of sexually explicit videotape.
His defense attorney, Richard Franklin, said Atkins was being unfairly targeted.
"They want to say Willie Atkins gave all these people AIDS, spread HIV all over the place," Franklin said. "They can't be living in some parallel universe where they've never heard of AIDS. It can't be his fault alone, if he has any fault at all."
The "dangerous activity" each side engaged in "cancels each other out," he said.
Brazil bypasses patent on HIV treatment
Source: Business day
BRASILIA — President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva authorised Brazil at the weekend to break the patent on an HIV/AIDS drug made by Merck and import a generic version from India instead.
It is the first time Brazil has bypassed a patent to acquire cheaper drugs for its HIV/AIDS prevention programme, a step recently taken by Thailand. Other countries, including Canada and Italy, have also used a clause in World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules to flout drug patents in the name of public health.
Talks over the price of Merck’s drug, Efavirenz, broke off on Thursday when the health ministry rejected the New Jersey-based company’s offer to cut its $1,59-a-pill price by 30%. Brazil wanted to pay what Merck charges Thailand, or $0,65 a pill.
“The compulsory licensing of Efavirenz is a legitimate and necessary measure to guarantee that all patients have access to the drug,” Lula da Silva’s office said in a statement.
Representatives of about 200000 HIV/AIDS patients who receive state-sponsored antiretroviral drugs applauded the decision, but drug makers reacted angrily. Merck said it was “profoundly disappointed”, calling the decision a misappropriation of intellectual property that would stifle research.
But Michel Lotrowska, who heads HIV/AIDS treatment efforts in Brazil for Medecins Sans Frontieres, a humanitarian group, said: “This is certainly an important advance in terms of widening access. We are very happy that Brazil is moving in the right direction.”
Brazil’s health ministry has said it plans to import a generic version of Efavirenz from India, paying about 45c a pill, and may also start making its own copy of the drug.
Click here to read the article
BRASILIA — President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva authorised Brazil at the weekend to break the patent on an HIV/AIDS drug made by Merck and import a generic version from India instead.
It is the first time Brazil has bypassed a patent to acquire cheaper drugs for its HIV/AIDS prevention programme, a step recently taken by Thailand. Other countries, including Canada and Italy, have also used a clause in World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules to flout drug patents in the name of public health.
Talks over the price of Merck’s drug, Efavirenz, broke off on Thursday when the health ministry rejected the New Jersey-based company’s offer to cut its $1,59-a-pill price by 30%. Brazil wanted to pay what Merck charges Thailand, or $0,65 a pill.
“The compulsory licensing of Efavirenz is a legitimate and necessary measure to guarantee that all patients have access to the drug,” Lula da Silva’s office said in a statement.
Representatives of about 200000 HIV/AIDS patients who receive state-sponsored antiretroviral drugs applauded the decision, but drug makers reacted angrily. Merck said it was “profoundly disappointed”, calling the decision a misappropriation of intellectual property that would stifle research.
But Michel Lotrowska, who heads HIV/AIDS treatment efforts in Brazil for Medecins Sans Frontieres, a humanitarian group, said: “This is certainly an important advance in terms of widening access. We are very happy that Brazil is moving in the right direction.”
Brazil’s health ministry has said it plans to import a generic version of Efavirenz from India, paying about 45c a pill, and may also start making its own copy of the drug.
Click here to read the article
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Disadvantaged people with HIV feel healthcare discrimination
Source: Medscape
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 03 - Almost 40% of transitional housing residents with HIV infection report that they have experienced discrimination in their dealings with the healthcare system, researchers report in the May-June issue of Public Health Reports.
"Providers taking care of severely disadvantaged, HIV-infected patients, like those in our sample," lead researcher Dr. Nancy Sohler told Reuters Health, "should be aware that many of their patients may experience, perceive, and/or fear discrimination from within the healthcare system."
Dr. Sohler of City University of New York and colleagues surveyed 523 New York City area residents of temporary housing facilities for people with HIV.
Perceived discrimination was determined by asking participants if someone in the healthcare system had ever shown hostility or lack of respect toward them, ever paid less attention to them than others, or had ever refused them service.
In all, 39.6% responded positively, and were deemed to have experienced discrimination. Of this group, 59.8% concluded that an underlying reason was HIV infection, 49.8% cited drug use, 34.6% said it was because of homelessness, and race and ethnicity were implicated by 35.2%.
Perceived discrimination was significantly associated with the duration of infection, use of non-prescription opioids, being white, being female, and younger age.
Those who perceived discrimination were significantly more likely to give lower ratings of the quality of healthcare and for trust in HIV care providers.
"Our data," concluded Dr. Sohler, "show that perceived discrimination is a strong and consistent predictor of poor ratings of the healthcare system, which may negatively influence health behaviors. Thus, it is crucial for providers to address discrimination with their patients."
Public Health Rep 2007;122:347-355.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 03 - Almost 40% of transitional housing residents with HIV infection report that they have experienced discrimination in their dealings with the healthcare system, researchers report in the May-June issue of Public Health Reports.
"Providers taking care of severely disadvantaged, HIV-infected patients, like those in our sample," lead researcher Dr. Nancy Sohler told Reuters Health, "should be aware that many of their patients may experience, perceive, and/or fear discrimination from within the healthcare system."
Dr. Sohler of City University of New York and colleagues surveyed 523 New York City area residents of temporary housing facilities for people with HIV.
Perceived discrimination was determined by asking participants if someone in the healthcare system had ever shown hostility or lack of respect toward them, ever paid less attention to them than others, or had ever refused them service.
In all, 39.6% responded positively, and were deemed to have experienced discrimination. Of this group, 59.8% concluded that an underlying reason was HIV infection, 49.8% cited drug use, 34.6% said it was because of homelessness, and race and ethnicity were implicated by 35.2%.
Perceived discrimination was significantly associated with the duration of infection, use of non-prescription opioids, being white, being female, and younger age.
Those who perceived discrimination were significantly more likely to give lower ratings of the quality of healthcare and for trust in HIV care providers.
"Our data," concluded Dr. Sohler, "show that perceived discrimination is a strong and consistent predictor of poor ratings of the healthcare system, which may negatively influence health behaviors. Thus, it is crucial for providers to address discrimination with their patients."
Public Health Rep 2007;122:347-355.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
New issue of AIDS Patient care and STds, March 2007
Table of contents:Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculous Meningitis in an HIV-Positive Patient: A Challenging Disease
Abstract
Changing Treatment Paradigms: Hepatitis C Virus in HIV-Infected Patients
Abstract
Western Blot-Indeterminate Results in Nigerian Patients HIV Serodiagnosis: The Clinical and Public Health Implication
Abstract
Utilization of Health Care Services in Hard-to-Reach Marginalized HIV-Infected Individuals
Abstract
Testing Practices and Knowledge of HIV Among Prenatal Care Providers in a Low Seroprevalence State
Abstract
Predictors of Delayed HIV Diagnosis in a Recently Diagnosed Cohort
Abstract
Urine-Based Asymptomatic Urethral Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Screening and Sexual Risk-Taking Behavior in Men Who Have Sex with Men in Greater Boston
Abstract
Improvement of Psychosocial Adjustment to HIV-1 Infection through a Cognitive-Behavioral Oriented Group Psychotherapy Program: A Pilot Study
Abstract
Antiviral Briefs
Drug Developments and STD News
Contact the library for copies of articles. Please limit your requests to 5 articles.
Green tea extract protects against brain damage in new mouse model of HIV-related dementia
Tampa, FL (May 1, 2007) — A compound derived from green tea greatly diminished the neurotoxicity of proteins secreted by the human immunodeficiency virus, suggesting a new approach to the prevention and treatment of HIV-associated dementia, also known as AIDS dementia complex. The disorder is the most severe form of HIV-related neuropsychiatric impairment.
University of South Florida neuroscientist Brian Giunta, MD, reported the findings May 1 at Experimental Biology 2007 in Washington, DC. His presentation was part of the scientific program of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The study was conducted using a new mouse model for HIV-related dementia developed by Dr. Giunta and Jun Tan, MD, PhD, director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory at the Silver Child Development Center, USF Department of Psychiatry,
“These findings suggest that EGCG, the green tea-derived compound, may represent a new and natural compound for the prevention and treatment of this devastating disease,” Dr. Giunta said.
“This is a very important finding in the prevention and treatment of HIV-related dementia, which is usually observed in the late stages of HIV disease,” said Abdul S. Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate affairs at the College of Medicine. “The neuroprotective effects of EGCG, the green-tea extract, may offer an alternative to existing mono or combination antiretroviral therapies that are known to have poor central nervous system penetration.”
Click here to read the press release
University of South Florida neuroscientist Brian Giunta, MD, reported the findings May 1 at Experimental Biology 2007 in Washington, DC. His presentation was part of the scientific program of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The study was conducted using a new mouse model for HIV-related dementia developed by Dr. Giunta and Jun Tan, MD, PhD, director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory at the Silver Child Development Center, USF Department of Psychiatry,
“These findings suggest that EGCG, the green tea-derived compound, may represent a new and natural compound for the prevention and treatment of this devastating disease,” Dr. Giunta said.
“This is a very important finding in the prevention and treatment of HIV-related dementia, which is usually observed in the late stages of HIV disease,” said Abdul S. Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate affairs at the College of Medicine. “The neuroprotective effects of EGCG, the green-tea extract, may offer an alternative to existing mono or combination antiretroviral therapies that are known to have poor central nervous system penetration.”
Click here to read the press release
Drugs produced dramatic change in HIV patient
Tiko Kerr was at death's door in January 2006 when a new treatment was begun
Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The human immunodeficiency virus could have killed Vancouver artist Tiko Kerr 20 years ago, just as it claimed so many other promising lives.
Instead, his successful battle to live is now propelling him on a whirlwind world tour, talking to drug researchers, doctors and scientists about his story of survival and the two controversial AIDS drugs that helped him beat the odds.
"I've really come to the conclusion that the worse you have to go through, the greater the reward," Kerr says of his dramatic change in fortune.
The tour began in December, when Kerr, just shy of the one-year anniversary of his initial treatment with TMC114 and TMC125 as part of a small clinical trial at St. Paul's Hospital, travelled to New Jersey where he was invited to speak at the corporate headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, and its subsidiary, Tibotec, which developed the two drugs.
Colouring his talk with a mini-retrospective of his paintings over 25 years, Kerr related his own sometimes desperate struggle with the virus since his diagnosis in the mid-1980s.
"You kind of lived your life in gulps," he said of his mindset at the time he was told he was HIV-positive.
He also told of his life-and-death fight with his own government in order to gain access to the drugs. (...)
Click here to read the article
Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The human immunodeficiency virus could have killed Vancouver artist Tiko Kerr 20 years ago, just as it claimed so many other promising lives.
Instead, his successful battle to live is now propelling him on a whirlwind world tour, talking to drug researchers, doctors and scientists about his story of survival and the two controversial AIDS drugs that helped him beat the odds.
"I've really come to the conclusion that the worse you have to go through, the greater the reward," Kerr says of his dramatic change in fortune.
The tour began in December, when Kerr, just shy of the one-year anniversary of his initial treatment with TMC114 and TMC125 as part of a small clinical trial at St. Paul's Hospital, travelled to New Jersey where he was invited to speak at the corporate headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, and its subsidiary, Tibotec, which developed the two drugs.
Colouring his talk with a mini-retrospective of his paintings over 25 years, Kerr related his own sometimes desperate struggle with the virus since his diagnosis in the mid-1980s.
"You kind of lived your life in gulps," he said of his mindset at the time he was told he was HIV-positive.
He also told of his life-and-death fight with his own government in order to gain access to the drugs. (...)
Click here to read the article
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
A selection of new books available in the library
Stine, Gerald J.AIDS update 2007 : an annual overview of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
San Francisco, McGraw-Hill, 2007
C 200 STI 2007
AIDS Update 2007 presents a balanced review of current research and information on HIV infection, HIV disease, and AIDS. AIDS Update 2007 places this discussion within a biological, medical, social, economic and legal framework, helping readers to more fully understand this modern-day pandemic.
Overberg, Kenneth R.Ethics and AIDS : Compassion and justice in global crisis
Oxford, UK, Rowman & Littlefield, 2006
H 210 OVE 2006 (Click on call number to borrow this book!)
HIV and AIDS raise ethical questions that extend throughout the life cycle. Ethics and AIDS: Compassion and Justice in Global Crisis pulls together many of the these life issues in one book and carefully considers them in the context of the realities of the daily existence of people across the globe suffering from this terrible disease.
Lyon, Maureen E.; D'Angelo, Lawrence J. Teenagers HIV and AIDS : Insights from youth living with the virus.
Westport, Ct, Praeger Publishers, 2006
C 620 LYO 2006 (Click on call number to borrow this book!)
"Teenagers, HIV and AIDS is an extraordinary collaboration among scientists, clinicians and teenagers. This book blends a clear and authoritative update on the biology, psychology, prevention and treatment of HIV infection with the experiences of teens, told in their own voices, who are coping with infection..."
Survey prompts HIV warning
More than a third of gay men with HIV have unprotected sex, according to a new survey.
Source: Channel 4 news
The poll by University College London revealed a fifth of gay men without HIV also shy away from using condoms.
Worried researchers are calling for more efforts to discourage such risky behaviour.
The latest poll questioned 2,640 men in Manchester, Brighton and London in gay clubs, bars and saunas between 2003 and 2004.
The rate of HIV infection was highest in Brighton, at almost 14%, and lowest in Manchester, at 8.6%.
Across the entire sample, one in three men who were HIV positive did not know they had the infection - a figure that tallies with previous research.
This was despite the fact that over two-thirds of these men said they had been to a sexual health clinic within the past year.
Some 18% of HIV negative men and 37% of HIV positive men said they had had unprotected sex with more than one partner in the past year.
Over the same period, one in five HIV negative men and four out of 10 HIV positive men said that they had had a sexually-transmitted infection.
Lead researcher Dr Danielle Mercey said: "This research shows we have to renew our efforts to ensure people with HIV get an early diagnosis and curb any risky behaviour. This involves expanding the number of venues where testing is done and increased focus on sexual health education."
Source: Channel 4 news
The poll by University College London revealed a fifth of gay men without HIV also shy away from using condoms.
Worried researchers are calling for more efforts to discourage such risky behaviour.
The latest poll questioned 2,640 men in Manchester, Brighton and London in gay clubs, bars and saunas between 2003 and 2004.
The rate of HIV infection was highest in Brighton, at almost 14%, and lowest in Manchester, at 8.6%.
Across the entire sample, one in three men who were HIV positive did not know they had the infection - a figure that tallies with previous research.
This was despite the fact that over two-thirds of these men said they had been to a sexual health clinic within the past year.
Some 18% of HIV negative men and 37% of HIV positive men said they had had unprotected sex with more than one partner in the past year.
Over the same period, one in five HIV negative men and four out of 10 HIV positive men said that they had had a sexually-transmitted infection.
Lead researcher Dr Danielle Mercey said: "This research shows we have to renew our efforts to ensure people with HIV get an early diagnosis and curb any risky behaviour. This involves expanding the number of venues where testing is done and increased focus on sexual health education."
Stephanie Nolen - This Wednesday at UBC
Wednesday, May 2, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m
Frederic Wood Theatre
6354 Crescent Road, UBC Point Grey Campus
Join moderator Hal Wake and his guest Stephanie Nolen, author and journalist as they discuss her newly released book 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa.
A description from the publisher's web site:
From one of our most widely read, award-winning journalists comes the powerful, unputdownable story of the very human cost of a global pandemic of staggering scope and scale. It is essential reading for our times.
In 28, Stephanie Nolen, the Globe and Mails Africa Bureau Chief, puts a human face to the crisis created by HIV-AIDS in Africa. She has achieved, in this amazing book, something extraordinary: she writes with a power, understanding and simplicity that makes us listen, makes us understand and care. Through riveting anecdotal stories -one for each of the million people living with HIV-AIDS in Africa- Nolen explores the effects of an epidemic that well exceeds the Black Plague in magnitude. It is a calamity that is unfolding just a 747-flight away, and one that will take the lives of these 28 million without the help of massive, immediate intervention on an unprecedented scale. 28 is a timely, transformative, thoroughly accessible book that shows us definitively why we continue to ignore the growth of HIV-AIDS in Africa only at our peril and at an intolerable moral cost.
28 stories are much more than a record of the suffering and loss in 28 emblematic lives. Here we meet women and men fighting vigorously on the frontlines of disease: Tigist Haile Michael, a smart, shy 14-year-old Ethiopian orphan fending for herself and her baby brother on the slum streets of Addis Ababa; Alice Kadzanja, an HIV-positive nurse in Malawi, where one in six adults has the virus, and where the average adult's life expectancy is 36; and Zackie Achmat, the hero of South Africas politically fragmented battle against HIV-AIDS.
28 also tells us how the virus works, spreads and, ultimately, kills. It explains the connection of HIV-AIDS to conflict, famine and the collapse of states; shows us how easily treatment works for those lucky enough to get it and details the struggles of those who fight to stay alive with little support. It makes vivid the strong, desperate people doing all they can, and maintaining courage, dignity and hope against insurmountable odds. It is in its humanity, beauty and sorrow a call to action for all who read it.
Admission is free but please pre-register at info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or by phoning 604-827-3491.
Frederic Wood Theatre
6354 Crescent Road, UBC Point Grey Campus
Join moderator Hal Wake and his guest Stephanie Nolen, author and journalist as they discuss her newly released book 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa.
A description from the publisher's web site:From one of our most widely read, award-winning journalists comes the powerful, unputdownable story of the very human cost of a global pandemic of staggering scope and scale. It is essential reading for our times.
In 28, Stephanie Nolen, the Globe and Mails Africa Bureau Chief, puts a human face to the crisis created by HIV-AIDS in Africa. She has achieved, in this amazing book, something extraordinary: she writes with a power, understanding and simplicity that makes us listen, makes us understand and care. Through riveting anecdotal stories -one for each of the million people living with HIV-AIDS in Africa- Nolen explores the effects of an epidemic that well exceeds the Black Plague in magnitude. It is a calamity that is unfolding just a 747-flight away, and one that will take the lives of these 28 million without the help of massive, immediate intervention on an unprecedented scale. 28 is a timely, transformative, thoroughly accessible book that shows us definitively why we continue to ignore the growth of HIV-AIDS in Africa only at our peril and at an intolerable moral cost.
28 stories are much more than a record of the suffering and loss in 28 emblematic lives. Here we meet women and men fighting vigorously on the frontlines of disease: Tigist Haile Michael, a smart, shy 14-year-old Ethiopian orphan fending for herself and her baby brother on the slum streets of Addis Ababa; Alice Kadzanja, an HIV-positive nurse in Malawi, where one in six adults has the virus, and where the average adult's life expectancy is 36; and Zackie Achmat, the hero of South Africas politically fragmented battle against HIV-AIDS.
28 also tells us how the virus works, spreads and, ultimately, kills. It explains the connection of HIV-AIDS to conflict, famine and the collapse of states; shows us how easily treatment works for those lucky enough to get it and details the struggles of those who fight to stay alive with little support. It makes vivid the strong, desperate people doing all they can, and maintaining courage, dignity and hope against insurmountable odds. It is in its humanity, beauty and sorrow a call to action for all who read it.
Admission is free but please pre-register at info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or by phoning 604-827-3491.
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