Recent acquisitions on Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Barlow, David. Sexually transmitted infections : The facts
Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006
B 700 BAR 2006 (Click on call number to borrow this book!)
"With all the attention heaped upon the most deadly sexually transmitted infection of all (HIV), other non-fatal forms of infection have been somewhat neglected, and even overlooked in sexual education. However, incidences of STIs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea have been dramatically and silently rising in many parts of the world in recent years - though receiving far less attention. It is now recognized that this is a major public health issue, affecting thousands of people, irrespective of background, education or social class. Providing essential information on all the main forms of sexually transmitted infections, the book delivers essential, accessible, pragmatic, information that should be read by all adults."

Canadian guidelines on sexually transmitted infections
Ottawa, ON, Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006
B 700 CAN 2006
Available online: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/std-mts/sti_2006/pdf/sti2006_e.pdf

Sutton, Amy L. (Ed.) Sexually transmitted diseases sourcebook : Basic consumer health information about Chlamydial infections, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis, Herpes, HIV/AIDS, Human papillomavirus, Pubic lice, Scabies, Syphilis, Trichmoniasis, Vaginal infections and other sexually transmitted diseases, including facts about risks factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections; along with updates on current research initiatives, a glossary of related terms and resources for additional help and information.
Detroit, USA, Omnigraphics, 2006
Call number: B 700 SEX 2006

Sexually Transmitted Infections : A guide for people with HIV
London, UK, Terrence Higgins Trust, 2005
Available online
This booklet explains some of the specific issues about STIs relevant to people with HIV. It explains how STIs might impact on their health, and on the risks of HIV transmission. It also gives guidance on screening and treatment.

HIV & sex
London, UK, NAM, 2006
Available online.
"This booklet is an introduction to sexual health for people with HIV. It is in two broad sections. The first looks at how having HIV might affect the way you regard sex.The second section explains why sexual health is important and the steps you can take to protect your own and other people's sexual health. This booklet is not intended to replace discussion with your doctor. However, it might help you to decide what questions you would like answered."

All these publications are available in the library. Visit us or contact us to borrow them.

Uganda: Country's Invisible Cure for HIV/Aids

Source: AllAfrica

John Donnelly
Kampala

HALFWAY through The Invisible Cure, author Helen Epstein writes about finding a long- forgotten document in a small research library in Canada. Reading through the paper, Epstein says, "I felt as though a small stick of dynamite had gone off in my head."

Epstein had unearthed a rare copy of a detailed study on the sexual behaviour of Ugandans in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period that coincided with the country's historic drop in HIV rates. In short, Epstein knew, the research done by Maxine Ankrah, an African-American academic, would give invaluable insights into what had halted the epidemic - insights that could then be applied to other countries with high rates of H.I.V. and Aids.

Before Epstein's discovery, Ankrah's research seemed destined for oblivion. A United Nations Aids researcher had read it, failed to understand its significance or to credit it and, Epstein recounts, wrongly concluded that an increase in condom use was responsible for the decrease of the HIV rate in Uganda. In reality, according to three later analyses of Ankrah's study, the primary reason for the decline was completely different: substantial numbers of Ugandans had ended affairs and remained faithful to one partner

Uganda has long been a focal point in the contentious world of Aids policy. But sometimes a bolt of clarity shoots out of the blue, as it did for Epstein when she read Ankrah's paper - and as it will for readers of this book who yearn for insights on how a deadly virus now infects an estimated 25 million Africans and has killed untold millions more. Reading The Invisible Cure is like travelling into remote and hard-to comprehend territory with an unblinking and sure-footed guide. (...)

Click here to view the complete text of this book review.
The Invisible cure is also available in the library. Use our catalogue to borrow it.

Alcohol consumption linked to HIV disease progression, study shows

Source: Science daily

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found a link between alcohol consumption and HIV disease progression in HIV-infected persons.

Alcohol use is common among HIV-infected persons, and its impact on HIV disease progression has been examined in in-vitro, animal and human studies. Alcohol may adversely affect immunologic function in HIV-infected persons by various mechanisms, including increased HIV replication in lymphocytes.

Researchers assessed CD4 cell counts, HIV RNA levels [viral load], and alcohol consumption in 595 HIV-infected persons with alcohol problems. The relation of HIV disease progression to alcohol consumption was studied using longitudinal regression models controlling for known prognostic factors, including adherence and depressive symptoms, and stratified by antiretroviral therapy (ART) use. Among subjects who were not on ART, heavy alcohol consumption was associated with a lower CD4 cell count. Among subjects who were on ART, heavy alcohol consumption was not associated with a lower CD4 cell count or higher HIV viral load. "

Alcohol use in patients with a prevalent disease such as HIV, can have important public health consequences," said lead author Jeffrey Samet, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine at BUSM and chief of General Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center. "HIV-infected persons who drink alcohol heavily and are not on ART might decrease their risk of disease progression if they abstain from alcohol use."

Researchers further noted that there is extensive evidence about the efficacy of a brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use in nondependent drinkers in medical settings and of the efficacy of psychosocial and pharmacologic treatments for alcohol dependence. "Although limited evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of intervention for alcohol problems specifically in people with HIV, its implementation among HIV-infected populations seems to be a worthwhile goal," according to senior author Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at BUSM, director of the Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit at Boston Medical Center, and associate director of the Boston University School of Public Health Youth Alcohol Prevention Center.

The study appears in the August issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. Contact the library to request a copy.

Food 'no substitute' in HIV fight

Source: BBC News

Scientists in South Africa say they have found no evidence that healthier eating is a substitute for medical drugs when treating HIV/Aids and TB. This follows an exhaustive study on the links between nutrition and treatment. South Africa's health minister has faced ridicule in the past for stressing the benefits of beetroot, garlic and potatoes in fighting HIV. South Africa has one of the world's highest HIV infection rates and has increased the rollout of Aids drugs.

Controversy

The researchers say that scientific evidence about conditions in South Africa was urgently needed. The report by the Academy of Science of South Africa concludes that no food has been identified as an effective alternative to appropriate medication in fighting HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. It acknowledges that nutrition is important for general health, but is not sufficient to contain either the HIV/Aids or the TB epidemic. It says a well-fed population on its own will not resist HIV/Aids without anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.

Controversial Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been criticised for over-emphasising the importance of nutrition, and under-playing the role of ARVs. But the government has now adopted a comprehensive approach and about 280,000 people were on ARV treatment at the end of March this year. However, that is still well short of the estimated 800,000 who are thought to need ARVs in South Africa.

New issue of AIDS Patient Care and STDs, Vol. 21, no 7, July 2007

In this issue:

Case Report: An Uncommon Presentation of HIV-Related Lymphoma
pp. 443-446.
Abstract

Merkel Cell Carcinoma and HIV Infection: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
pp. 447-451.
Abstract

Global Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with HIV Infection: Concordance and Differences in Estimates According to Three Risk Equations (Framingham, SCORE, and PROCAM)
pp. 452-457.
Abstract

Tobacco Addiction and HIV Infection: Toward the Implementation of Cessation Programs. ANRS CO3 Aquitaine Cohort
pp. 458-468.
Abstract

Risk Factors for Grade 3–4 Liver Enzyme Elevation in HIV and Hepatitis C Coinfected Patients on Combination Antiretroviral Therapy
pp. 469-478.
Abstract

Hepatitis C Infection Is Associated with Lower Lipids and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in HIV-Infected Men
pp. 479-491.
Abstract

Disclosure of Positive HIV Serostatus by Men Who Have Sex with Men to Family and Friends Over Time
pp. 492-500.
Abstract

Posttraumatic Stress and Trauma History in Adolescents and Young Adults with HIV
pp. 501-508.
Abstract

Experiences and Perceptions of Patients with 100% Adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: A Qualitative Study
pp. 509-520.
Abstract

130 Canadian doctors call on Prime Minister to support InSite

Source: CNW Group

VANCOUVER, Aug. 21 /CNW/ - The executive directors of PHS Community Services Society (PHS), one of the operators of Canada's only supervised injection site, have responded to yesterday's comments by Minister of Health Tony Clement by pointing to a commentary published today, supported by 130 doctors and scientists, that states the treatment of substance abuse is being judged by "an entirely different standard than the treatment of other common conditions".

The commentary by respected University of Toronto research scientist, Stephen Hwang, was published today in Open Medicine and says that the current uncertainty over InSite's future is "an alarming example of a recent trend towards the increased politicization of science".

"In a series of peer-reviewed research articles, the supervised injection facility in Vancouver has been shown to provide a number of benefits, including reduced needle sharing, decreased public drug use, fewer publicly discarded syringes, and more rapid entry into detoxification services by persons using the facility," the commentary reads.

The commentary, Science and Ideology: A Call for Action, can be read in full here:
http://www.communityinsite.ca/Commentary%20-%20Science%20and%20Ideology_CMAJ-1.htm

"This commentary reflects our view that any judgment on InSite should be a health issue, not a political issue," said Liz Evans, executive director of PHS. "This latest academic commentary, and its high-level of support from the scientific community, adds to the overwhelming consensus that InSite saves lives and improves public safety in our communities."

A total of 24 peer-reviewed papers have been published over the last few years in prestigious medical journals including the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the British Medical Journal, stating that InSite has reduced public injections, overdose fatalities, and the transmission of blood-borne infections, like HIV and Hepatitis C.

On Friday, PHS and two addicted people who use InSite issued a statement of claim in the BC Supreme Court that questions the need for its current exemption from the Federal Government of Canada to continue to operate.

"We would rather not be in court on this issue, but we see this as an opportunity to get some much-needed clarification on the future of InSite," said Mark Townsend, executive director of PHS. "We need to be able to operate on a long-term basis, so that we can move past this recurring debate and focus on continuing to save lives."

HIV denialists spread misinformation online: Consequences could be deadly

Source: Science Daily

The Internet is serving as a fertile medium for "HIV denialists" to spread false ideas about HIV/AIDS, which could have terrible public health consequences, say scientists in a policy paper in PLoS Medicine.

"It may seem remarkable that, 23 years after the identification of HIV, there is still denial that the virus is the cause of AIDS," say Tara Smith (University of Iowa College of Public Health) and Steven Novella (Yale University School of Medicine). But with the arrival of the Internet, HIV denialist organizations such as "Reappraising AIDS" have reignited their campaign to spread misinformation.

There is a consensus in the scientific community that HIV is the cause of AIDS, based upon over two decades of robust research. Deniers must therefore reject this consensus, say Smith and Novella, "either by denigrating the notion of scientific authority in general, or by arguing that the mainstream HIV community is intellectually compromised."

It is therefore not surprising, they say, that much of the newer denial literature on the Internet reflects a basic distrust of authority and of the institutions of science and medicine. Distrusting mainstream medical practitioners, many HIV deniers turn to unproven "alternative" medicines in search of treatment.

Many members of the general public do not have the scientific background to critique the assertions put forth by these groups, say Smith and Novella. Those who believe the false information spread by HIV denialists could end up putting themselves at risk of HIV infection (e.g. by abandoning safe sex), while those who are already infected could end up seeking unproven, ineffective remedies.

"The effect of denial groups on public perception of HIV infection is an area ripe for careful research," they say "as this denial can have lethal consequences."

Citation: Smith TC, Novella SP (2007) HIV denial in the Internet era. PLoS Med 4(8): e256. (available here)

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Public Library of Science.

Canadians want to ramp up global AIDS initiatives: poll

Source: CBC News

Most Canadians want the federal government to help increase access to treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS in developing countries, according to an Ipsos-Reid poll released Friday. Ninety-one per cent of those surveyed said that it's "very important" (46 per cent) or "somewhat important" (45 per cent) that the federal government should help facilitate access to drugs and medical treatments.

Residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were most likely to believe this is important, accounting for 93 per cent of the responses. Forty-eight per cent of respondents felt that current spending on HIV and AIDS outside of Canada is too little, while 43 per cent said the government spends "the right amount."

Stephen Lewis, board chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, told CBC.ca that the poll highlights a large divide between the views of Canadians and their politicians. He spoke at a press conference in Toronto announcing the results of the Ipsos-Reid poll.

"I've never fully understood that. The G8 governments have always had this extraordinary disconnect between what obviously the public feels about the issue and what the politicians express or do on the issue. I don't know what that means," he said. "Does it mean that the budget is more important than human well-being? How do they go to Africa for their photo ops and then they come back and it's business as usual?"

Lewis used the press conference to lobby the federal government for more aid. "We are calling on Canada to provide five per cent of the global [AIDS] fund, which is $900 million over the next three years."

Read the rest of the article
More information here: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=3596

Rare blood virus found in almost 4 in 1,000 in Nunavut

Source: CBC News

Almost four in every 1,000 people in Nunavut may have a rare, incurable yet preventable virus called HTLV-1, a research report prepared for the Nunavut government has found. Known as the Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type One, HTLV-1 is transmitted through sexual intercourse, breastfeeding, blood-to-blood contact and needle sharing. In less than five per cent of those infected, it can cause cancer of the blood and disorders affecting the bladder, legs and nervous system.

The overall prevalance rate of the virus in the territory is still low at 3.7 for every 1,000 people. But health officials are stressing the importance of safer sex practices and testing, said Dr. Geraldine Osborne, Nunavut's associate medical officer of health

"It's a concern as much as any sexually transmitted disease — as much as hepatitis C, hepatitis B, all these other viruses that are here that are preventable," Osborne told CBC News.
The study, which had its final report published in July, was prepared by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Nunavut Health and Social Services.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

bioLytical Gains Support of BC Persons with AIDS Society and AIDS Vancouver in HIV Testing and Awareness Campaign

Source: bioLytical Laboratories

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 9, 2007) - bioLytical today announced the added support of the BC Persons with AIDS Society and AIDS Vancouver for the inaugural Test Your Commitment Campaign. Through the campaign bioLytical hopes to bring increased awareness to HIV and the ease of being tested. Running August 10th at the Vancouver Art Gallery and August 11th at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby, the Test Your Commitment campaign will feature live demonstrations of the INSTITM kit, the only Health Canada approved rapid HIV test for point-of-care testing. At 60 seconds for a reading, the INSTITM HIV test is the fastest HIV diagnostic test in the world.

Upon consultation with local HIV/AIDS community groups, including BC People With AIDS Society (BCPWA) and AIDS Vancouver, bioLytical agreed the public would be best served with an HIV awareness and education campaign. 15,000 Canadians are HIV positive and do not know it.

Community organizations raised concerns that testing public venues would risk confidentiality of test results. As an alternative solution, it was decided to showcase the INSTITM kit through live testing of public personas and local celebrities. While the focus of the campaign will be on the importance of getting tested for HIV, actual testing will be encouraged in private point-of-care facilities across the province. AIDS Vancouver will be on hand supporting the event by providing educational support and information.

"These community organizations work directly within HIV communities and are an invaluable source of knowledge and insight into events such as this," comments Carl Roy, CEO bioLytical, "We appreciate their concerns and recognize the importance of confidentiality."

BCPWA Society and AIDS Vancouver recognize the benefits the INSTITM kit offers in terms of increasing the accessibility of HIV testing. Both groups believe the INSTITM kit, when applied together with confidential care and counselling, will benefit HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care.

"The INSTITM kit provides a welcome advancement in addressing the HIV epidemic," says Paul Lewand, Chair of BCPWA. "Being able to obtain HIV test results in just 60 seconds makes HIV testing much more accessible and convenient. The rapidity of the test could translate to greater numbers being tested and becoming aware of their HIV status. The sooner HIV positive people are aware of their status, the sooner they can implement an appropriate care and treatment regime, and the sooner they can take steps necessary to avoid further infections."

"AIDS Vancouver welcomes new opportunities to increase public education and awareness about HIV disease. Combined with proper standards for client-confidentiality, informed consent and counselling, the point of contact test kit has potential to be an extremely useful tool for health care providers," comments William Booth, Executive Director, AIDS Vancouver. "We appreciate that bioLytical recognizes the importance of collaborating with community-based organizations such as AIDS Vancouver, who provide care and support services for individuals living with HIV disease."

Currently in British Columbia, the INSTITM test is only available at limited locations. Though approved for use by all point-of-care facilities, the provincial healthcare system has yet to cover the cost of the kit under the current healthcare plan. It is hoped that B.C. will follow the example of the Ontario government and offer the test free of charge as part of the provincial healthcare system. Such government funding would alleviate supply demands on individual clinics and physicians.

ABOUT THE BRITISH COLUMBIA PERSONS WITH AIDS SOCIETY

The British Columbia Persons With AIDS Society (BCPWA Society), a non-profit, consumer-driven organization is in its 20th year of operation, is dedicated to empowering persons living with HIV disease and AIDS through mutual support and collective action. As western Canada's largest AIDS organization, with a membership of more than 4,400 HIV+ individuals, the Society provides support and advocacy services, treatment information, and volunteer opportunities to its diverse membership.

ABOUT AIDS VANCOUVER

AIDS Vancouver was founded in 1983 as one of the first AIDS service organizations in Canada. For the past 20 years, AV has been at the forefront of community response to the epidemic here in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Their 28 paid staff and 300 volunteers strive to provide a comprehensive and integrated range of health promotion, education, and support services.

ABOUT INSTITM HIV-1 RAPID ANTIBODY TEST

The INSTITM HIV-1 Rapid Antibody Test is a rapid, in-vitro, qualitative test for the detection of antibodies to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in human whole blood, serum or plasma. The test is capable of providing results in 60-seconds and is intended for use as a screening assay by trained personnel in medical facilities, clinical laboratories, emergency care situations, and physicians' offices.

ABOUT BIOLYTICAL LABORATORIES

bioLytical Laboratories (Inc.) is a leading developer and manufacturer of diagnostic tests for global health care markets. bioLytical is a privately owned company with headquarters and a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located in Richmond, British Columbia, with offices in United Kingdom and Uganda, Africa. For more information about bioLytical and INSTITM, please visit www.biolytical.com.

This news release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, an advertisement, solicitation or offering of securities of bioLytical Laboratories. The statements made in this news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations.


For more information, please contact

Smith Biotech
Amanda Smith, BSc.
Media Contact for bioLytical Laboratories
(778) 846-4116
Email: amanda@smithbiotech.com

or

Media Contact for AIDS Vancouver
Arthur Yee
(604) 893-2241
(604) 893-2211 (FAX)
Email: arthury@aidsvancouver.org

Pfizer wins U.S. approval for new HIV drug

Source: Reuters

Pfizer Inc (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday that U.S. regulators approved its AIDS drug, Selzentry, the first in a new class of oral HIV medicines. Selzentry is the first drug designed to keep the HIV virus that causes AIDS from entering healthy immune cells. Older AIDS medicines attack the virus itself. The drug, also known as maraviroc, blocks the CCR5 co-receptor that serves as a main doorway for the HIV virus into immune cells.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Selzentry for use in patients who have tried other medicines and for those for whom a diagnostic test has confirmed their HIV strain is linked to the CCR5 receptor. About 50 percent to 60 percent of patients who have been treated with other AIDS drugs meet that definition, the FDA said.

Selzentry will come with a "black box" warning, the strongest for prescription drugs, about the risk of liver toxicity, the FDA said. The drug's label also will mention the possibility of heart attacks under a list of warnings and precautions, the agency said.

The most common problems reported in studies of patients who took Selzentry included cough, fever, upper respiratory tract infections, rash, abdominal pain and dizziness.
Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, expects Selzentry to be available next month.
In the company's studies, about 45 percent of patients who took maraviroc had their HIV virus suppressed to undetectable levels. The same was true for 23 percent who got a placebo. All patients also were treated with a cocktail of the best available drugs and had tried other regimens.

Click here to read the entire article

Study helps explain how HIV becomes AIDS

Finding could help scientists seeking therapies to block virus progression

Source: University of California Irvine, Calif., July 31, 2007
A new UC Irvine study sheds light on how HIV develops into AIDS and suggests a possible way to block the deadly transformation.

UCI biologist Dominik Wodarz has shown for the first time that the development of AIDS might require HIV to evolve within a patient into a state where it spreads less efficiently from cell to cell. This counters the current belief that AIDS develops when the virus evolves over time to spread more efficiently within a patient, ultimately leading to the collapse of the immune system.

The study also finds that multiple HIV particles must team up to infect individual cells, called co-infection, in order for deadly strains to emerge and to turn the infection into AIDS. If just one virus particle infects a cell, the deadliest strains may not be able to evolve, stopping HIV from progressing to AIDS. By keeping more than one HIV particle from infecting a cell, scientists might be able to ward off AIDS, the study suggests. AIDS killed more than 17,000 people in the United States in 2005.

“If this is true, a new approach to therapy could be to block the process of co-infection in cells,” said Wodarz, who used a mathematical model to draw his conclusions. “This would prevent deadly HIV strains from emerging and the patient would remain healthy, despite carrying the virus.”

The study appears online July 31 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
http://www.journals.royalsoc.ac.uk/content/l7237342p6683318/ (access to full-text restricted)

Click here to read to complete press release

New study points to need for better HIV education among inmates

Source: CBC News
Published: Monday, July 30, 2007 | 5:29 PM ET
Canadian Press: KRISTINE OWRAM

TORONTO (CP) - Offenders who are admitted to Ontario remand facilities are 11 times more likely to be infected with HIV and 22 times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than members of the general population - numbers that point to the need for better education and preventive measures among inmates, a new study suggests.

The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, indicates injection drug use is by far the most important risk factor in the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C among inmates of Ontario's remand facilities.

"This shows the importance of education, because in some cases, there were people who knew they were infected and still were engaging in behaviours that would transmit the infection," said Liviana Calzavara, one of the authors of the study. Calzavara, who is deputy director of the HIV Social, Behavioural and Epidemiological Studies Unit at the University of Toronto's department of public health sciences, added that one-third of the inmates who tested positive for hepatitis C weren't aware they were infected. "This study draws attention to issues around education for individuals in terms of how to avoid it, how to avoid transmitting it to others and treatment that is available that would limit the health effects," she said.

This is particularly important because inmates tend to spend relatively short periods of time in remand centres - an average of 32 days - before moving on to somewhere else, said Calzavara. The study found that 56,000 adult and young offenders are admitted to remand facilities in Ontario each year, where they await the outcome of legal proceedings, serve sentences under 60 days, or await transfer to provincial or federal jails. This means there are significant opportunities for transmission of diseases to other populations through high-risk behaviours such as injection drug use or unsafe sex, said Calzavara.

Click here to read the complete article.
The study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is available HERE.

China bans AIDS rights meeting, group says

Source: Reuters

BEIJING, July 29 (Reuters) - China has banned AIDS activists from holding a meeting on the rights of people with the disease, one of the organisers said on Sunday, citing official fears over foreign involvement in the sensitive subject.

The conference would have brought together 50 Chinese and foreign experts and activists to discuss how to press the legal rights of people with HIV/AIDS.

But government authorities told the New York-based Asia Catalyst group to cancel the meeting planned for early August in Guangzhou near Hong Kong in the south, said Sara Davis, one of the organisers.

"Authorities informed us that the combination of AIDS, law and foreigners was too sensitive," Davis told Reuters. There were no plans to reschedule the meeting, she said.

Phone calls to government spokesmen in Guangzhou and Beijing were not answered on Sunday.

China has become increasingly open about AIDS in recent years, facing up to an epidemic once stigmatised as a disease of the West.

The nation had 203,527 officially registered cases of HIV/AIDS by the end of April, up from 183,733 at the end of October 2006. Of the latest figure, 52,480 had progressed to full-blown AIDS. But the United Nations estimates the true number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country to be around 650,000.

Nowadays, Beijing backs campaigns to educate citizens on avoiding infection, and victims infected through reckless commercial blood collection in rural Henan province have been given free medicines. But officials in the one-party state remain wary of local activists and foreign groups pressing legal claims of infected citizens or raising official complicity in the spread of the disease. Henan has informally blocked patients from suing officials over tainted blood.

The meeting co-organised with China Orchid AIDS Project, a Beijing-based group, had invited several experts from South Africa, India, the United States, Canada and Thailand. Planned topics included discrimination, blood safety and setting up a legal aid center for people with HIV/AIDS.

"Protecting legal rights is key to any successful fight against AIDS," said Davis in an emailed statement about the cancellation. "China has passed laws protecting those rights, and people with AIDS need assistance in order to exercise them."

In May, China barred a prominent AIDS and environmental activist couple from leaving the country, accusing them of endangering national security. Earlier in the year, Henan officials tried to stop Gao Yaojie -- a doctor who helped expose the rural AIDS epidemic there -- from going to Washington to collect a human rights award. They let her go after an international outcry.

Early treatment of HIV-infected infants with ART significantly reduces mortality

Source: AIDSMAP
Theo Smart, Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Treating HIV-infected infants with antiretroviral therapy (ART) as early as possible, within the first six to 12 weeks of life — rather than waiting until they show signs of immunological or clinical deterioration — dramatically decreases their risk of early death, according to findings from the Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy (CHER) trial, a South African study presented today at a late-breaker session of the 4th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Treatment and Pathogenesis in Sydney.

“Starting ART before 12 weeks of age reduces early mortality by 75%,” said Dr Avy Violari of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who, along with Dr Marc Cotton from Cape Town, led the study.

After only 32 weeks of follow-up, the difference between early and deferred treatment was so profound that the study’s Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) called for the deferred ART arm of the study to be terminated, and urged that infants who weren’t already on treatment “should be urgently recalled and assessed for ART.”

Click here to read the article.

Zimbabwe: Scientists Start Human Trials of Revolutionary HIV Treatment

Source: AllAfrica (Published in The Herald - Harare)
25 July 2007

SYDNEY.

Scientists have begun human trials of a revolutionary HIV treatment that genetically modifies people's cells to halt the virus, a conference of international experts in Sydney was yesterday. US professor John Rossi said the world-first trials began recently at the City of Hope hospital in California, the culmination of research that began in the early 1990s.

"We have already enrolled our first patient, who will be infused with his own genetically modified blood stem cells and we will enrol four more patients after him," said Rossi, the head of the hospital's molecular biology division.

The process, known as intra-cellular immunity, involves changing the genetic information in the human cells, known as T-cells, that the HIV virus normally locks into and infects before replicating and spreading. A piece of genetic material is introduced into the cells that makes then recognise HIV as a threat, stimulating the body's natural cellular defence mechanism to prevent the HIV cell from replicating.

"Our approach has been to take blood stem cells and T-cells out of patients that are HIV infected and introduce into these cells genes that produce products that inhibit HIV replication," Rossi told the International Aids Society conference in Sydney. "This would be long-term, this is a permanent modification of these cells, so that as long as these cells persist in the patient, they will have resistance to the HIV infection."

Rossi said the ultimate goal of the research was to either completely control the HIV virus or reduce its presence in patients to such an extent that they needed fewer drugs to survive.

"It's a landmark trial in many ways and we're very excited about being the first people in the world to do this," he said.

Fighting Drug Resistance In Hepatitis C Virus

Aource: Science Daily
Researchers at McGill University have found a clue in developing new drug candidates to fight the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by identifying a defence mechanism in the virus similar to resistance found in HIV.

“If you understand the biochemical mechanisms of drug resistance, you may be able to develop drugs in the test tube that are more capable of doing their job in the clinic,” says Dr. Matthias Götte, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at McGill and a recipient of a national career award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Antiviral therapies commonly employ inhibitors, compounds that block enzymes from reproducing the virus. The infection eventually subsides as a result. However, a defence mechanism previously identified in HIV works when the virus enzyme “excises” inhibitors, removing them and allowing the virus to continue multiplying.

In their study, to be published in the August issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (AAC) but already available online, Götte and colleagues experimented with a promising class of inhibitors, called nucleoside analogues, to see whether hepatitis C uses a similar defence mechanism. They found that some of these inhibitors are efficiently excised, while others remain attached and block a crucial virus enzyme. Understanding how some nucleoside analogues counteract excision may enhance their function as drugs.

Since hepatitis C infection is a major cause of severe liver damage and liver cancer, further research is needed urgently, says Götte. There are an estimated 200 million hepatitis C-positive people worldwide. Approximately 1 per cent of Canadians are infected with the virus, some 250,000 people.

Several factors have held back the development of better treatment to fight HCV. People often carry the infection unknowingly because symptoms arise much later as compared with HIV. Tests for patient infection were only made comprehensive in the early nineties, and the tools required for advanced drug design were not available until recent years.

“Treatment success depends largely on the strain of virus causing infection, and the current hepatitis C therapy is often thwarted by the most common strain. The success rate is much lower than seen in HIV drug treatment,” says co-author Megan Powdrill, a graduate student who worked on the study. Dr. Claudia D’Abramo, a former graduate student, and Dr. Jérôme Deval, a former postdoctoral fellow, are also co-authors of the paper.

Götte’s group is taking lessons from HIV therapy and drug development to boost research on HCV. His group and colleagues from Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company in California, recently experimented with a drug called tenofovir. Unlike AZT, another major anti-HIV drug, tenofovir counteracts excision in HIV by forming an inactive complex with the enzyme. This paper will also be published in the August issue of AAC. “Although the formation of a similar complex with hepatitis C inhibitors is not evident,” said Götte, “this adds to our understanding of how viral resistance can be overcome.”

This research was funded by the Cancer Research Society, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the National Canadian Training Program in Hepatitis C (NCRTP-HepC) and the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ).

New HIV infections outpace treatment

Source: Boston.com
By Meraiah Foley, Associated Press Writer | July 23, 2007

SYDNEY, Australia --Access to life-extending HIV/AIDS drugs in developing countries has improved during the past three years, but new infections still dramatically outpace efforts to bring treatment to patients, health officials said Monday.

Three years ago, fewer than 300,000 people in the developing world were receiving the anti-retroviral drugs that help treat the virus. Last year, 2.2 million people in developing countries received the drugs, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"However, for every one person that you put in therapy, six new people get infected. So we're losing that game, the numbers game," Fauci told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

In many parts of the developing world where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is still growing exponentially, effective prevention strategies -- such as condom distribution, needle exchanges and basic education about the disease -- reach less than 15 percent of the population.

"The proven prevention modalities are not accessible to any substantial proportion of the people who need them," said Fauci, one of the keynote speakers at the Fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Sydney, Australia, which runs through Wednesday.

"Although we are making major improvements in the access to drugs, clearly prevention must be addressed in a very forceful way," he added.

According to recent World Health Organization statistics, only 28 percent of the world's HIV/AIDS patients are receiving anti-retroviral drugs.

Dr. Brian Gazzard, chairman of the British HIV Association, said that while great advances have been made in extending access to anti-retrovirals, the disease is still running rampant in parts of Asia and Africa.

"The HIV epidemic is essentially uncontrolled, uncontrolled in Africa, uncontrolled completely in Asia right now," he told reporters at the conference, which has drawn 5,000 delegates from 133 countries. "The epidemic still is in an exponential growth phase ... and I think that is likely to continue."

New issue of AIDS Care received (Vol. 19, no 6, July 2007)

AIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV
In this issue:

The impact of HIV treatment on risk behaviour in developing countries: A systematic review
pp. 707 – 720
Abstract

Prevalence of HIV and factors associated with risk behaviours among Chinese female sex workers in Hong Kong
pp. 721 – 732
Abstract

Investigating factors associated with uptake of HIV voluntary counselling and testing among pregnant women living in North Uganda
pp. 733 – 739
Abstract

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in a context of universal access, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
pp. 740 – 748
Abstract

It's not just what you say: Relationships of HIV dislosure and risk reduction among MSM in the post-HAART era
pp. 749 – 756
Abstract

Self-monitoring of behaviour as a risk reduction strategy for persons living with HIV
pp. 757 – 763
FREE ACCESS

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in children: A comparative evaluation of caregiver reports and physician judgement
pp. 764 – 766
Abstract

A continuum-based outcome approach to measuring performance in HIV/AIDS case management
pp. 767 – 774
Abstract

What is a missed dose? Implications for construct validity and patient adherence
pp. 775 – 780
Abstract

The social and economic impact of parental HIV on children in northern Malawi: Retrospective population-based cohort study
pp. 781 – 790
Abstract

Differences in HIV disclosure by modes of transmission in Taiwanese families
pp. 791 – 798
Abstract

Participatory communication and HIV/AIDS prevention in a Chinese marginalized (MSM) population
pp. 799 – 810
Abstract

Paediatric HIV/AIDS disclosure: towards a developmental and process-oriented approach
pp. 811 – 816
Abstract

Acceptability of PRO2000 Vaginal Gel among HIV un-infected Women in Pune, India
pp. 817 – 821
Abstract

Are sexual partners met online associated with HIV/STI risk behaviours? Retrospective and daily diary data in conflict
pp. 822 – 827
Abstract

Psychiatric morbidity in HIV-infected children
pp. 828 – 833
Abstract

Contact the library to request copies of articles.

HIV patients build normal immune strength in study

Source: Reuters

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AIDS drug cocktails may be able to restore the ravaged immune systems of some people infected with HIV, researchers reported on Wednesday.

Immune cells known as CD4 T-cells returned to normal levels in an ideal group of patients, picked because they responded optimally to a combination of at least three AIDS drugs, the researchers reported in the Lancet medical journal.

The human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, plunders the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to a range of infections that may prove fatal.

AIDS is incurable, but doctors try to prop up the immune system with life-extending drug therapy aimed at reducing the amount of virus in the body.

The study involved 1,835 HIV-infected people drawn from a larger study involving more than 14,000 patients from across Europe, Israel and Argentina.

"I think it's very encouraging that if people can respond to treatment well enough and can suppress the virus for long enough, we have sufficient evidence to say their CD4 counts can return to normal," Dr. Amanda Mocroft of Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, one of the researchers, said in a telephone interview.

"Our previous understanding was that there was a plateau in CD4 counts so that CD4 counts would stop increasing after a sufficiently long time taking combination therapy," she added.

Mocroft said not all HIV patients respond as well to these drugs, and many, particularly in the hardest hit regions like sub-Saharan Africa, do not have access to them.

"This is sort of the best-case scenario, if you like, that we can identify a group of patients who we would expect to have a normal CD4 count with sufficient treatment," Mocroft said.

These patients were chosen because they responded well to the treatment, with the drugs suppressing the virus to very low levels. They were tracked for about five years.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said doctors who care for HIV-infected patients have noticed this restoration of normal levels of CD4 cells in some of them. Fauci credited Mocroft's team for documenting this phenomenon in a systematic way.

CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell, help protect the body from infection. But HIV targets CD4 cells, using them to create more copies of the virus, thus undermining the immune system.

After initial infection, a person can produce more CD4 cells to take the place of those attacked by HIV. But in time, the body cannot make enough, increasingly weakening the immune system.

Although it is impossible to eradicate the virus with existing drugs, it is possible to keep it at extremely low levels in some people with the right combination of drugs.

The AIDS virus infects close to 40 million people globally, most of them in Africa. It has killed more than 25 million.