Recent acquisitions

The library recently acquired the following titles. Contact us to borrow these books!

Epstein, Helen.
The invisible cure : Africa, the West, and the fight against AIDS
New York, NY, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007
C 510 EPS 2007
Epstein, a public health specialist and molecular biologist who has worked on AIDS vaccine research, overturns many of our received notions about why AIDS is rampant in Africa and what to do about it. She charges that Western governments and philanthropists, though well-meaning, have been wholly misguided, and that Africans themselves, who understand their own cultures, often know best how to address HIV in their communities. Most significant is Epstein's discussion of concurrent sexual relations in Africa. Africans often engage in two or three long-term concurrent relationships—which proves more conducive to the spread of AIDS than Western-style promiscuity. Persuade Africans to forgo concurrency for monogamy, and the infection rate plummets, as it did in Uganda in the mid-1990s. On the other hand, ad campaigns focused on condom use helped imply falsely that only prostitutes and truck drivers
get AIDS. In addition, Epstein examines what she calls the "African earthquake": social and economic upheaval that have also eased the spread of HIV. Epstein is a lucid writer, translating abstruse scientific concepts into language nonspecialists can easily grasp.
Provocative, passionate and incisive, this may be the most important book on AIDS published this year—indeed, it may even save lives.
(May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.

Fan, Hung Y.; Conner, Russ F.; Villarreal, Luis P.
AIDS : science and society
Sudbury, MA, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007
C 200 FAN 2007
"The new Fifth Edition of AIDS: Science and Society provides readers with a firm overview of AIDS from both biomedical and psychosocial perspectives. The book covers the molecular and cellular aspects of the HIV virus and the immune system’s response to it, and then considers epidemiology and its role in understanding HIV/AIDS."

Kartikeyan, S.; Bharmal, R. N.; Tiwari, R. P.; Bisen, P. S.
HIV and AIDS : Basic elements and priorities
Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Springer, 2007
C 200 KAR 2007
In June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first evidence of a new disease that would later become known as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV and Aids: Basic Elements and Priorities is a concise collection of all aspects of this disease and a source of readily available knowledge. It examines all currently advocated preventive measures such as health education, condom use, safer sex practices, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Coverage includes: up-to-date information on multiple dimensions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic; a discussion on new anti–retroviral therapy/drugs, new drugs under clinical trials and preventive HIV vaccine; coverage of current ethical, legal and social issues related to HIV/AIDS; an evaluation of general public awareness about HIV/AIDS; a global perspective and information about HIV/AIDS.

New Journal received: AIDS Care, Vol. 19, no 4, April 2007

AIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV

Contact the library to request copies of articles.

In this issue:

Time perspective and quality of life among HIV-infected patients in the context of HAART
pp. 449 – 458 Abstract

Estimating the impact of alcohol consumption on survival for HIV+ individuals
pp. 459 – 466 Abstract

Occupational therapy for advanced HIV patients at a home care facility: a pilot study
pp. 467 – 470 Abstract

Acceptability of male circumcision for prevention of HIV infection in Zambia
pp. 471 – 477 Abstract

Continuation with cotrimoxazole prophylaxis for the prevention of opportunistic infections in HIV-infected persons in rural Zimbabwe: feasibility, obstacles and opportunities
pp. 478 – 481 Abstract

Long-term follow-up of uninfected children born to HIV-infected women and exposed to antiretroviral therapy: survey of parents' and health professionals' views
pp. 482 – 486 Abstract

Late presentation for HIV care in central Haiti: factors limiting access to care
pp. 487 – 491 Abstract

Protease inhibitors and cardiovascular disease: analysis of the Los Angeles County adult spectrum of disease cohort
pp. 492 – 499 Abstract

Barriers to access to medical cannabis for Canadians living with HIV/AIDS
pp. 500 – 506 Abstract

A randomised control trial of structured interrupted generic antiretroviral therapy versus continuous therapy in HIV-infected individuals in Southern India
pp. 507 – 513 Abstract

Differences between HIV-positive gay men who 'frequently', 'sometimes' or 'never' engage in unprotected anal intercourse with serononconcordant casual partners: Positive Health cohort, Australia
pp. 514 – 522 Abstract

Differential improvement in survival among patients with AIDS after the introduction of HAART
pp. 523 – 531 Abstract

Oral health needs of HIV/AIDS orphans in Gauteng, South Africa
pp. 532 – 538 Abstract

The Evolution of HIV illness representation among marginally housed persons
pp. 539 – 545 Abstract

The effect of homelessness on hospitalisation among patients with HIV/AIDS
pp. 546 – 553 Abstract

Community perspectives on care options for HIV prevention trial participants
pp. 554 – 560 Abstract

Preliminary findings of an intervention integrating modified directly observed therapy and risk reduction counseling
pp. 561 – 564 Abstract

A study on burnout syndrome in healthcare providers to people living with HIV
pp. 565 – 571 Abstract

HIV testing and disclosure: a qualitative analysis of TB patients in South Africa
pp. 572 – 577 Abstract


Contact the library to request copies of articles

Targeting HIV better than broad screening -study

Source: Reuters
By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO, June 11 (Reuters) - A program targeting people most likely to be infected with HIV and offering counseling to prevent further infection would be far more effective than the government's recommendations for mass testing, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for widespread HIV testing of those aged 13 to 64, regardless of risk, would cost $864 million a year.

The CDC's recommendations for mass screening would not require counseling, and patients could opt out of testing if they chose.

A plan that targets those at high risk and offers counseling services could pick up more than three times as many people with HIV and could prevent four times as many new infections -- all for the same price, according to an analysis by David Holtgrave, an expert on HIV prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

"It's really a question of which policy would be more effective," said Holtgrave, whose study appears in the June edition of the journal PLoS Medicine.

His analysis found that the CDC's new testing strategy -- announced in September -- could diagnose nearly 57,000 cases of HIV in a one-year period.

But a strategy that zeros in on likely targets of HIV infection -- by geography, health care setting or risky behavior -- would identify 188,000 people with the disease out of an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people in the United States living with HIV but not knowing they are infected.
(...)

Click here to read the complete article

Africa's AIDS epidemic slowing - World Bank

Source: Reuters
By Arthur Asiimwe

KIGALI, June 13 (Reuters) - The pace of Africa's deadly AIDS epidemic is slowing as communities are empowered to help themselves in tandem with better delivery of condoms and live-saving treatments, a World Bank report said on Wednesday*.

Launched in the Rwandan capital Kigali, the study noted a marked increase in access to HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes on a continent where the disease killed more than 2 million people last year. Another 25 million became infected.

"AIDS stole into Africa like a thief in the night," Joy Phumaphi, a former Botswana health minister and senior World Bank official, said in a statement. "All these years later, we still must stay vigilant ... even when it seems that infections are starting to fall and more people are being saved with treatment."

The World Bank report said the epidemic was showing signs of slowing in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe, as well as in urban Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi and Zambia.

"The mobilisation of empowered 'grassroots' communities, along with delivering condoms and life-saving treatments, are beginning to slow the pace of the ... epidemic," the study said, without giving specific statistics for the decrease. Southern Africa, however, remains the epicentre of the disease with unprecedented infection rates, the report added. One recent household survey in Botswana's second biggest city, Francistown, showed a staggering 70 percent of women aged 30-34 and men aged 40-44 carried the HIV virus, it said.

The study assesses the results of the bank's six-year, $1.28 billion Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program (MAP), set up in 2000 to increase access to prevention, care and treatment plans. The scheme tested almost seven million people in 25 countries, distributed nearly 1.3 billion condoms and set up some 1,500 new counselling centres, among other activities. It also financed civil society and youth groups and organisations for people living with HIV, as well as paying for anti-retroviral treatment for 26,699 people in 27 countries.

Global funding for HIV has more than quadrupled between 2001 and 2005 to over $8 billion a year, the Bank said. Last week, at the G8 summit in Germany, leaders announced a $60 billion commitment to fight the disease in Africa, although critics said the promised funding did not come with timelines. But the Bank said HIV/AIDS would remain an enormous economic, social and human challenge to sub-Saharan Africa for the foreseeable future.
"In sum, HIV/AIDS threatens the development goals in the region unlike anywhere else in the world," it said.

* The World Bank report, The Africa Multi-Country AIDS Program 2000–2006, is available in the library and online. Click here to access it.

New journal: Treatment update 161, March/April 2007

In this issue:

I ANTI-HIV AGENTS
A. Getting to know your co-receptors
B. Maraviroc—coming soon
C. Maraviroc—absorption and drug-interaction issues
D. Access to maraviroc

II SIDE EFFECTS AND COMPLICATIONS
A. Stimulating growth hormone
B. Tesamorelin—results from Phase III
C. Clinical trials of tesamorelin in Canada

This journal is available in the library and online, on CATIE's Website.

New journal issue: AIDS, Vol. 21, no 8, May 11, 2007

Here is a selection of articles from this issue:

Early clinical and immune response to NNRTI-based antiretroviral therapy among women with prior exposure to single-dose nevirapine.
pp. 957-964
Abstract

Recent epidemic of acute hepatitis C virus in HIV-positive men who have sex with men linked to high-risk sexual behaviours.
pp. 983-991
Abstract

Twin pregnancy as a risk factor for mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1: trends over 20 years.
pp. 993-1002
Abstract

Trends in HIV prevalence in blood donations in Europe, 1990-2004.
pp. 1011-1018
Abstract

The complete table of contents is available here.
Contact the library if you need copies of articles

New book in the library - Body count : Fixing the blame for the global AIDS catastrophe

Gill, Peter. Body count : Fixing the blame for the global AIDS catastrophe
New York, NY, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006
C 500 GIL 2006
"In the last quarter of a century, 25 million people have died of AIDS-related infections and over 40 million have become HIV-positive. In this book, the author argues that many of these lives could have been saved and that many of these infections could have been averted, and criticizes those in positions of authority who have done nothing or actively hindered the fight to curb the spread of HIV. The book also includes interviews with politicians, church leaders, advocates and HIV-positive people."

Contact the library to borrow this book.

Zimbabwe to put 40,000 more on ARVs by year-end

Source: Reuters

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will put 40,000 more people on life saving anti-retroviral drugs by the end of the year despite an economic crisis that has hobbled the country's health care, state media reported on Tuesday.

The southern African country is among the worst hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, killing more than 3,000 people every week and accounting for 70 percent of hospital admissions.

But Zimbabwe, in the grips of a deep recession, has also become one of the few AIDS bright spots on the continent after its HIV prevalence rate declined to 18.1 percent last year from 25 percent six years ago.

Health Minister David Parirenyatwa said the number of people receiving the life-prolonging medicines has increased from 60,000 in December to 80,000 this month but that the government would add another 40,000 patients by the end of the year.

"Currently the number of people on ARVs has grown to 80,000 since December last year and we hope to achieve our target of getting 120,000 by the end of the year," Parirenyatwa told the official Herald newspaper.

Parirenyatwa said that at least 300,000 people living with HIV/AIDS were in urgent need of ARVs.

Zimbabwe's drive to increase access to ARVs has been hampered by a severe shortage of foreign currency, itself a sign of an economic crisis that has pushed inflation past 3,700 percent and increased poverty levels.

The crisis has been particularly felt in the health sector, where basic drugs are in short supply while strikes for better pay by doctors and nurses have worsened the situation.

President Robert Mugabe -- who says Zimbabwe is showing the way for Africa in the fight against HIV/AIDS -- rejects charges of mismanagement and blames the West for sabotaging the economy as punishment for seizing white-owned farms to distribute to blacks.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved

Bush Seeks $30b for HIV/Aids in Africa

Source: AllAfrica

Constance Ikokwu
Washington D.C.

President George W. Bush yesterday, announced his intention to double America's financial commitment to fighting HIV/Aids in Africa, from $15 billion to $30 billion, if the plan is approved by Congress. This will bring America's financial contribution to fighting the pandemic to $48.3 billion across 10 years, assuming Congress approves the President's request.

The additional aid will help provide treatment for HIV/Aids patients under Bush's Aids relief programme, the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PREPAR). The initial 5-year $15 billion authorizing legislation approved in 2003 for PREPARE expires at the end of Fiscal Year 2008. A reauthorization is thus needed to keep the programme afloat.


Bush thanked Congress for its "strong bipartisan support for PREPAR" while disclosing that through March 31, 2007, America would have supported treatment for 1.1 million people in the 15 focus countries, including more than 1 million in Africa. PREPAR hopes to continue treatment for 2.5 million people, prevention of more than 12 million new infections and care for more than 12 million people, including 5 million orphans and vulnerable children.

"PEPFAR's success is rooted in support for country-owned strategies and programs with commitment of resources and dedication to results, achieved through the power of partnerships with governments, non-governmental, faith- and community-based organizations and the private sector. With full implementation of a new "Partnership Compact" model, the next phase of the American people's commitment to those suffering from HIV/Aids will continue to expand life-saving treatment, comprehensive prevention programs and care for those in need, including orphans and vulnerable children, to support," said the President.

HIV And Malaria Combine To Adversely Affect Pregnant Women And Their Infants

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.

WHO and UNAIDS Issue New Guidance on HIV Testing and Counseling in Healthcare Facilities

Source: World Health Organization

New 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.

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

New book: Criminal HIV Transmission

Bernard, Edwin J. Criminal HIV transmission
London, 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 globalization
Mineapolis, 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

New issue of AIDS and Behavior

Volume 11, Number 3 / May, 2007

In 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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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 2007

Special 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.

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

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 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

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

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."

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.

Teachers want to know which students have AIDS

Surrey teachers' controversial resolution one of several to be debated at union annual meeting
Janet Steffenhagen, with files from Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun

Teachers in Surrey, B.C.'s largest school district, want laws changed to ensure classroom teachers are informed when any of their students has HIV, AIDS, hepatitis or other diseases that can be transmitted through blood or body fluids.

The Surrey teachers say it's a matter of safety and later this month they will ask the B.C. Teachers' Federation to back their position and lobby the provincial government for action.

The resolution is one of several controversial proposals to be debated by hundreds of teachers from around the province when they gather in Vancouver for the union's annual meeting, starting March 18.

"Young children often cut themselves using scissors or pins, bite or scratch each other, or throw up," the Surrey Teachers' Association says in written comments supporting the resolution.

"Diseases such as hepatitis and HIV-AIDs are becoming more common and we as teachers need to be informed enough to protect ourselves and our students."

Surrey president John Wadge said his members were sufficiently concerned about the issue that they voted to send it to the general meeting for debate.

But he said the BCTF will have to balance safety concerns with student privacy rights.

"I think the right-to-privacy issues are very valid and may win the day," he said in an interview Tuesday.

Paul Lewand, chairman of the BC Persons with AIDS Society, said a child's HIV status should remain a private matter between the child's family and the family's physicians. The virus still carries a huge social stigma, and could put the child at risk of serious discrimination, he said.

"School is a tough enough time to get through if you can blend in, and if that ability to blend in is taken away it will be hell [for the student]," he said. "It would change their whole school experience and would be something that could never be taken back."

Lewand said his organization could think of no case where HIV has been transmitted in a school, prompting members to question why the discussion has cropped up. "Someone is pushing a personal, private agenda that has nothing to do with the welfare of the children or the school system," he said.

(...)
Click here to read the article

International Women's Day: some resources on women and HIV

Sexual and reproductive health of women living with HIV/AIDS : Guidelines on care, treatment and support for women living with HIV/AIDS and their children in resource-constrained settings
J 220 SEX 2006
Available online! Click here to access the resource.
"The sexual and reproductive health of women living with HIV/AIDS is fundamental to their well-being and that of their partners and children. This publication addresses the specific sexual and reproductive health needs of women living with HIV/AIDS and contains recommendations for counselling, antiretroviral therapy, care and other interventions. Improving women's sexual and reproductive health, treating HIV infections and preventing new ones are important factors in reducing poverty and promoting the social and economic development of communities and countries. Sexual and reproductive health services are uniquely positioned to address each of these factors."

A woman's story : overcoming the shame of HIV
Homewood, Kingdom Publishing, 2005
Call numer: J 210 BYT 2005 ((Click on call number to borrow this book!)
"HIV/AIDS is on the increase among Black women, yet there is a silence that speaks volumes in the community, the nation and the church about this epidemic. Have we forsaken our mothers, daughters and sisters in order to hide the shame of our own lack of involvement? What price will we pay for our detachment from the most indiscriminate health crisis of our time? Perhaps there is hope, if we begin to look at HIV/AIDS through the eyes of those who have been there."

HIV, pregnancy and women's health
London, HIV i-Base, 2005
Available online! Click here to access the resource.
"This booklet aims to help you get the most out of your own HIV treatment and care if you are considering pregnancy or during your pregnancy."



DVD
In women's hands : A film on women, HIV, and hope
Washington, D.C., Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), 2005
Call number: VJ 210 INW 2005 ((Click on call number to borrow this DVD!)
"Kimberly was 21 and in college in the U.S. Little did she know that her boyfriend was HIV positive. After donating blood she learned that her decision to not use a condom with him one night would change her life forever.
Just across the ocean in the U.K., a similar decision would leave 18 year-old Hyshana with an STI – a reality that many adolescents now face.
In South Africa, Virginia lives in rural Kwazulu Natal with her two children, and waits for her husband for months at a time to return from his job hundreds of miles away. When he returns, she can’t possibly ask him to use a condom. He is her husband after all.
These stories, more powerfully articulate the potential role of microbicides and the importance of public and private sector leadership as well as citizen involvement in this issue. It was this demand and these personal stories that inspired the Global Campaign for Microbicides to produce short film on the need for microbicides.
In Women’s Hands will be an important tool for creating discussion and awareness around the HIV/STI epidemic among women, how microbicides could make a difference and the importance of advocacy for microbicides." (from website)

Circumcised partner may boost women's HIV risk

Source: Canada.com

MARIA CHENG, Associated Press
Published: Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Circumcision may reduce men's chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent — but early results suggest the procedure may put women at increased risk of infection, according to preliminary data presented Tuesday.

Early results announced at a U.N. consultation in Switzerland on the potential impact of male circumcision on AIDS in Africa suggested that if HIV-positive men do not abstain from sex while healing from circumcision surgery, their female partners might have a higher chance of catching HIV from them.

However, experts said the results were not conclusive — and highly susceptible to other factors, such as condom use — demonstrating the difficulties of utilizing circumcision in HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 60 percent of those with AIDS are women.

Previous studies have confirmed the dramatic impact circumcision has in cutting men's HIV infection rates, but a big question has been the resulting effect on women.

The first evidence — though very preliminary — suggests there is a period immediately following surgery when men may more easily transmit the virus to their female partners.

"Women are already so vulnerable in this epidemic," said Jennifer Kates, an AIDS expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation who is not connected to the study. "We need to be particularly careful about anything that could put them at even greater risk."

Click here to read the article

Safe injection site breaks treaties, UN agency says

Source: Vancouver Sun

Federal health minister will be urged to shut down initiatives
Steven Edwards, with files from Darah Hansen, CanWest News Service; with files from Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, March 02, 2007

UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations drug control agency is expected to warn Health Minister Tony Clement at a conference later this month that Canada is flouting international drug control treaties by enabling illicit drug use at a supervised injection site in Vancouver.

Clement will be urged to shut down the initiative, which the agency says effectively condones the use of drugs that Canada has agreed in an international forum are banned substances outside prescription.

"In a way, [Canada] is encouraging illicit trafficking," Zhu Li-Qin, chief of the Convention Evaluation Section of the UN's International Narcotics Control Board, said in an interview from the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

"Traffickers are searching for markets, and a [supervised site] serves as a small market where people go and legally inject drugs."

Officials will notify Clement of the board's findings through established contacts at Health Canada and directly to a Canadian delegation at the annual meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna March 12-16.

Article Four of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs says countries will pass laws to make sure drugs are used only for medical and scientific purposes.

"Generally, in international law, when you sign a treaty, you are supposed to conform both your domestic legislation and your domestic behaviour to the obligations you have under the treaty," said Melvyn Levitsky, a retired U.S. ambassador on the board.

"Although we understand the compulsion behind these sites, the convention says drugs are supposed to be used for medical or scientific purposes -- not for getting public nuisances off the streets."

Other countries facing board criticism for operating supervised injection sites are Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.

"The board regrets that no measures have been taken to terminate the operation of such facilities in the countries concerned," says the report.

The board noted in its 2003 report that the Canadian government, then under the Liberals, had approved the establishment of the Vancouver facility, called Insite, and billed as a "safe, health-focused place where people can go to inject drugs."

Click here to read the article.

See also : UN report unwittingly makes the case for prescribing drugs to addicts, Vancouver Sun, published March 3

and Safe injection site illegal, says UN, Today's family news, March 7

AIDS: New trial shows needs for caution in adopting circumcision strategy

Source: Yahoo news

Early data from a trial in Uganda shows that policymakers must be prudent when including circumcision among their tactics for fighting AIDS, researchers said on Tuesday.

Last year, three groundbreaking studies conducted in Africa found that male circumcision halved a man's risk of being infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

That discovery ignited hopes that the flagging quarter-century-old war against AIDS in Africa could be transformed by a simple, low-cost operation.

The new trial, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, explores a different angle of the circumcision story -- to see whether men who are infected with HIV and are circumcised are any less likely to infect their female partner.

US and Ugandan researchers are following 997 HIV-infected men in Rakai, Uganda. Some of them have been given circumcision, while the others have remained uncircumcised to act as a comparison.

A proportion of volunteers in both groups had uninfected long-term female partners at the start of the study. These women were also enrolled and monitored.

A review at the study's six-month mark looked at 70 couples in the "circumcised" group and found that 11 of the women had become infected. Among 54 couples in the "uncircumcised" group, four women had become infected.

The study is still underway and the data is not considered conclusive.

But the researchers said they were concerned, as several of the infections had been transmitted by men who had had sex before their wounds had fully healed from the circumcision surgery.

The AIDS virus can be carried in the blood, as well as in semen.

This means that, before circumcision can be universally endorsed as a prevention strategy, men and women have to be fully aware about the need to refrain from intercourse for a month or so while the penile wound has healed, the researchers said.

Both partners must be fully versed in safe-sex awareness, especially in condom use.
(...)

Click here to read the article.

New books in the library!

The February list of new acquisitions is now available!
New books and reports, journal articles and educational videos are listed by subject. Links to online publications are also provided.

Print copies are available in the library. If you want to receive the list by email, it's easy! Just call us at 604-893-2248 or send us an email. You can also subscribe and receive the list every month.

UBC researcher finds new way to treat devastating fungal infections

Source UBC

VANCOUVER, CANADA -- Devastating blood-borne fungal infections that can be lethal for HIV/AIDS, cancer, and organ transplant patients may be treated more successfully, thanks to a new drug delivery method developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Pharmaceutical Sciences Prof. Kishor M. Wasan has created a liquid preparation that incorporates drug molecules in fat (lipid-based formulation) so that Amphotericin B, a potent anti-fungal agent, can be taken by mouth with minimal side effects. The agent, used for about 50 years, is currently administered intravenously and has significant toxic side effects, notably severe kidney toxicity as well as serious tissue damage at the intravenous injection site.

Wasan and his research team have discovered that the oral preparation triggers a different molecular interaction than intravenous delivery. The lipid-based system attacks fungal cells only while inhibiting the drug’s interaction with kidney cells – boosting effectiveness and dramatically reducing toxicity.
(...)

Click here to read the media release.

Natural HIV barrier snares AIDS virus

Source: WebMD

Protein in Specialized Skin Cells Traps and Destroys HIV
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDMarch 5, 2007 -- A natural barrier to HIV snares and destroys the AIDS virus, Dutch researchers report.

The newly discovered barrier is a powerful first line of defense against HIV infection. But at least one new strategy for preventing HIV transmission may breach this barrier, inadvertently opening the door to infection.

HIV targets T cells, a type of immune cell. It gets to T cells via a type of skin cell called a dendritic cell. Dendritic cells are supposed to warn T cells about foreign invaders. But HIV subverts this line of communication and uses dendritic cells to carry an infectious virus to the T cells.

That doesn't happen if HIV first encounters a specialized kind of dendritic cell called a Langerhans cell. It's hard for HIV to infect Langerhans cells -- and now scientists know why. It's because the cells carry a special molecule, dubbed Langerin.

Langerin grabs HIV and throws it in a kind of garbage disposal within the Langerhans cell, find Lot de Witte of Vrije University, Amsterdam, and colleagues. When the researchers disabled the Langerin molecule, HIV easily infected Langerhans cells.

"Thus Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV infection," de Witte and colleagues conclude.

HIV Prevention Method Has Flaw
As the AIDS epidemic rages on, researchers are looking for ways to prevent HIV infection. One powerful method would be a vaginal microbicide -- an easy-to-apply gel that would block HIV and protect women from being infected by their sex partners.

Because dendritic cells carry HIV to T cells, one promising vaginal-gel ingredient is a molecule called mannan. Mannan breaks the tether that dendritic cells use to haul HIV across mucous membranes.

But de Witte and colleagues find that mannan also disables Langerin, breaching this natural barrier to HIV.

"Inhibitors such as mannan have an unwanted and completely counteractive effect on Langerhans cells -- namely, they negate the protective function of Langerhans cells and enable [HIV] transmission by dendritic cells," they warn.

Instead, the researchers suggest using another molecule that keeps dendritic cells from latching on to HIV without affecting Langerhans cells.

De Witte and colleagues report their findings in the advance online issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

HIV transmission risk highest early in infection-study

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters)
People may be most likely to transmit the AIDS virus when they are first infected -- before they start showing symptoms and even before many screening tests detect the virus, Canadian researchers reported on Monday.

This may help explain why the HIV epidemic moves so quickly, they report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases*.

Their genetic analysis of HIV-infected patients in Quebec showed that nearly half of all transmissions occurred when patients were in the early stages of the disease.

"The early infection stage can be entirely asymptomatic," said Dr. Mark Wainberg, of the McGill AIDS Center in Montreal, who led the study.

"This is why people who are recently infected may not know it, and will probably often test negative by conventional antibody screening," Wainberg said in a statement.

Early on, the body has not yet mounted an immune defense against the virus. It does not produce many antibodies -- which is what most quick screening tests look for.

"Hence, we must do a much better job of identifying recently infected people if we are to be able to counsel them to modify high-risk sexual behavior and desist from transmitting the virus," Wainberg added.

Wainberg and colleagues from several hospitals and health clinics in Canada studied HIV transmission through phylogenetic analysis, which is a way to draw the family tree of the virus.

Viruses mutate when they live inside a person's body, and the mutations can be steadily clocked to estimate the first date of infection.

The study found that 49 percent of early infections appeared to cluster in a way that would suggest that most new infections were transmitted by people who themselves were in the early stages of infection, before the virus had time to mutate much.

This is in part because people have many copies of the virus in their blood when they first become infected. The more virus there is -- a measure called viral load -- the more people are likely to infect someone else.

The AIDS virus infects 39 million people globally and has killed more than 25 million since it was first identified in the early 1980s. There is no cure, although drug treatment can keep symptoms at a minimum and extend life.

* High Rates of Forward Transmission Events after Acute/Early HIV-1 Infection, The Journal of Infectious diseases, 1 April 2007, Volume 195, Number 7. Free access!

New HIV/AIDS Resource Center for Women at The Body

The Body, one of the most comprehensive online sources of information on HIV/AIDs recently launched a new website: the HIV/AIDS Resource Center for Women.

As stated in the overview, "After more than 25 years and 25 million deaths, the world has yet to realize that HIV isn’t just a man’s problem. Although it has escaped the notice of most media -- and even many in the health care and health policy fields -- HIV has quietly become the third most-deadly disease for women in the United States, behind only cancer and heart disease. It’s also the leading cause of death for African-American women between the ages of 25 and 34."

In Canada, "Women account for a growing proportion of positive HIV tests reports with known age and gender among adults in Canada. The proportion of females each year has risen, from 12.0% in the years between 1985 and 1997 to 24.9% of adult positive HIV test reports between 1999 and 2002. In 2005, this proportion again increased, though only slightly to 25.4%." (Public Health Agency of Canada, EPI update 2006).

The HIV/AIDS Resource Center for Women offers basic information on HIV/AIDS for women, personal stories of women, interviews with experts, news and links to other resources.