Source: BBC News
Dozens of blood banks in Peru have been closed after at least four people were infected with the HIV virus through contaminated transfusions.
The government said all 240 of the country's facilities would be thoroughly screened, amid what is being described as a national emergency. The patients were all infected at a hospital in the port city of Callao. Officials insisted Peru's blood banks met international standards and urged people to continue giving blood.
"We do not want people to panic, what we have to do is be more careful, strengthen our care [of patients]," said Health Minister Carlos Vallejos.
Public alarm
The crisis was prompted after 44-year-old Judith Rivera contacted the media earlier this week to say she had been infected with HIV during a routine operation. Mrs Rivera, a mother of four, said she was taking legal action to claim compensation.
"What is done is done, as they say, and a life has no price tag," she said during a news conference.
Health officials later revealed that three other patients had been infected with the virus after having blood transfusions at the same hospital - one of them a child aged 11 months.
The Washington-based Pan American Health Organization says its latest figures show that up to a quarter of the blood in Peru's banks is not properly screened. In a further blow to the health system, officials also confirmed that 30 patients who attended a dialysis treatment centre had been infected with Hepatitis C. The BBC's Dan Collyns, in Lima, says Peruvians are alarmed and are avoiding public hospitals. He says the government's response to the crisis is unlikely to restore public confidence in the country's flagging health service.
Friday, September 14, 2007
European researchers develop method of calculating short-term risk of HIV disease progression
Source: AIDSMAP
A new HIV risk score can accurately calculate the short term risk of HIV disease progression, according to researchers who have tested it in a cohort of 5150 HIV-infected people. The research is published in the September edition of AIDS.
The researchers hope the scoring system – which will soon be available on the web – will make treatment decisions easier for both patients and clinicians.
Other prognostic HIV scores have been developed but have tended to be designed to predict long-term clinical progression in patients before they have started antiretroviral therapy. They have also not used routinely measured lab values.
The new tool, called the EuroSIDA risk score, has been designed to be used in people already on anti-HIV treatment and calculates the risk of disease progression in the short-term, for example three, six or twelve months. (...)
Click here to read the entire article
A new HIV risk score can accurately calculate the short term risk of HIV disease progression, according to researchers who have tested it in a cohort of 5150 HIV-infected people. The research is published in the September edition of AIDS.
The researchers hope the scoring system – which will soon be available on the web – will make treatment decisions easier for both patients and clinicians.
Other prognostic HIV scores have been developed but have tended to be designed to predict long-term clinical progression in patients before they have started antiretroviral therapy. They have also not used routinely measured lab values.
The new tool, called the EuroSIDA risk score, has been designed to be used in people already on anti-HIV treatment and calculates the risk of disease progression in the short-term, for example three, six or twelve months. (...)
Click here to read the entire article
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
New Issue of AIDS Education and Prevention (Vol. 19, no 4, August 2007)
In this issue:Focusing HIV Prevention on Those Most Likely to Transmit the Virus
Authors: Gary R. West, Amy L. Corneli, Kim Best, Katie M. Kurkjian and William Cates Jr.
pp. 275-288
Abstract
Interaction of Cognitive Performance and Knowing Someone Who Has Died from AIDS on HIV Risk Behaviors
Authors: Mary M. Mitchell, S. Geoff Severtson and William W. Latimer
pp. 289-297
Abstract
HIV–Related Communication and Perceived Norms: An Analysis of the Connection Among Injection Drug Users
Authors: Melissa A. Davey–Rothwell and Carl A. Latkin
pp. 298-309
Abstract
Changes in Sexual Behavior during a Safety and Feasibility Trial of a Microbicide/Diaphragm Combination: An Integrated Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
Authors: Greg Guest, Laura Johnson, Holly Burke, Reathe Rain-Taljaard, Lawrence Severy, Claire von Mollendorf and Lut Van Damme
pp. 310-320
Abstract
Current Sexual Activity and Risky Sexual Behavior in Older Men With or At Risk for HIV Infection
Authors: Nina A. Cooperman, Julia H. Arnsten and Robert S. Klein
pp. 321-333
Abstract
Sexual Behaviors of Individuals With HIV Living in South India: A Qualitative Study
Authors: A.K. Sri Krishnan, Ellen Hendriksen, Snigda Vallabhaneni,
pp. 334-345
Abstract
Structural Violence Against Kothi–Identified Men Who Have Sex with Men in Chennai, India: A Qualitative Investigation
Authors: Venkatesan Chakrapani, Peter A. Newman, Murali Shunmugam,
pp. 346-364
Abstract
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
AIDS Vancouver rides a custom chopper to 'Spread The Word'
There is no cure for HIV disease and infection rates continue to increase. There were 420 positive HIV test results in Vancouver in 2005 bringing the total to 12,342 since 1989.That's why AIDS Vancouver and Vancouver Custom Chopper are launching the AIDS Vancouver Custom Chopper Raffle to help spread the word about HIV disease.
"We all have a responsibility to protect ourselves and others," said William Booth, executive director for AIDS Vancouver. "Don't ask don't tell doesn't work."
Of the 2,500 Canadians that will test positive for HIV this year 1,300 won't know where they contracted the infection according to AIDS Vancouver's national statistics.
"The demand for care and support services is greater than we can meet," Booth said. "We are only getting resources for delivering support programs but not for prevention. Yet if we invested more resources for prevention we would need much less for services."
A United Nations Population Fund report released globally last month states there is an estimated 30 per cent HIV prevalence rate in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside- the same as Botswana.
"We wanted to make this chopper special for AIDS Vancouver," Teather said. "AIDS is a horrible disease and it's affecting our young people so we want to help AIDS Vancouver in the work they are doing to fight this disease."
The prize motorcycle is a 2007 Phantom Chopper designed by Vancouver Chopper owner Troy Teather and comes with an 88 cubic inch Harley Davidson engine, a Berrie Dale original stitch-leather seat and a 70's throwback James Brown paint theme.
"While we have made tremendous progress over the years, increasing awareness must remain a top priority in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan. "This is why it is so important to 'Spread The Word.' There is a risk of complacency associated with the success we have achieved."
For More Information or to set up interviews please contact John Pigeon at 604-987-9699 or by email at johnp@vancouverchopper.com
Click here for the downloadable form to order tickets.
Drug deaths too high in Downtown Eastside: study
Source: CTV News
VANCOUVER -- A report on illegal drug use in Vancouver says deaths were down in Vancouver and the rest of B.C. for 2006.
However, residents of the Downtown Eastside don't fare well in the report from the Canadian Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use. It says residents there have seven times the provincial rate of drug-induced deaths and a 33 per cent higher death rate than the rest of the province.
Vancouver's rate of newly diagnosed hepatitis C cases declined from 2006 and new cases of HIV were down from 2005 in connection to intravenous drug use. The report also says the weight of ecstasy seized by police in 2005 is over 40 times that seized in 2002.
The group says the study was done to provide policy makers and community leaders with better information to help develop harm reduction and prevention techniques to reduce drug use.
VANCOUVER -- A report on illegal drug use in Vancouver says deaths were down in Vancouver and the rest of B.C. for 2006.
However, residents of the Downtown Eastside don't fare well in the report from the Canadian Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use. It says residents there have seven times the provincial rate of drug-induced deaths and a 33 per cent higher death rate than the rest of the province.
Vancouver's rate of newly diagnosed hepatitis C cases declined from 2006 and new cases of HIV were down from 2005 in connection to intravenous drug use. The report also says the weight of ecstasy seized by police in 2005 is over 40 times that seized in 2002.
The group says the study was done to provide policy makers and community leaders with better information to help develop harm reduction and prevention techniques to reduce drug use.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Recent acquisitions on Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Barlow, David. Sexually transmitted infections : The factsOxford, 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 & sexLondon, 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: AllAfricaJohn 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.
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.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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."
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.
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.
Monday, August 13, 2007
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
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.
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
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
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
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
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
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
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
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
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, July 30, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
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).
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).
Monday, July 23, 2007
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."
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."
Thursday, July 19, 2007
New issue of AIDS Care received (Vol. 19, no 6, July 2007)
AIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIVIn 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.
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.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
New UNAIDS publication: Improving confidentiality and security of HIV information
Source: UNAIDS
In middle-and lower-income countries there is a push to improve patient management and the monitoring and evaluation of HIV services. To do this, all information systems, either paper-based or electronic, need to allow for relatively easy access to information. To ensure that patient confidentially is not compromised in the process, new guidelines have been released.
The ‘Interim Guidelines on Protecting the Confidentiality and Security of HIV Information’ offer information on data transfer, guiding principles, even disposal of information all to help maintain patient confidentiality.
Developed through a special workshop supported by UNAIDS and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), international health professionals and people living with HIV reviewed existing materials that could then be adapted to middle- and lower-income countries.
The new guidelines provide definitions, guiding principles and technical recommendations for the maintenance of privacy, confidentiality and security in working with HIV-related information.
The "Interim Guidelines on Protecting the Confidentiality and Security of HIV Information" are available in the library and online.
In middle-and lower-income countries there is a push to improve patient management and the monitoring and evaluation of HIV services. To do this, all information systems, either paper-based or electronic, need to allow for relatively easy access to information. To ensure that patient confidentially is not compromised in the process, new guidelines have been released.
The ‘Interim Guidelines on Protecting the Confidentiality and Security of HIV Information’ offer information on data transfer, guiding principles, even disposal of information all to help maintain patient confidentiality.
Developed through a special workshop supported by UNAIDS and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), international health professionals and people living with HIV reviewed existing materials that could then be adapted to middle- and lower-income countries.
The new guidelines provide definitions, guiding principles and technical recommendations for the maintenance of privacy, confidentiality and security in working with HIV-related information.
The "Interim Guidelines on Protecting the Confidentiality and Security of HIV Information" are available in the library and online.
HIV test gives results in just 60 seconds
Source: The Globe & Mail
KEITH LESLIE - Canadian Press
TORONTO -- Ontario has become the first jurisdiction in North America to offer HIV tests that provide results in just 60 seconds and will double the number of sites across the province where anonymous tests are available, Health Minister George Smitherman announced yesterday.
It will cost about $350,000 a year to have the HIV tests available at 50 sites, which Mr. Smitherman said is a small price to pay - especially when it eliminates the agonizing three-week wait patients currently endure for results.
"I'm a gay man, and I'm one of those that has experienced that gut wrenching three-week wait," he said. "Everybody remembers that wait, and accordingly, you can't put a price on it."
The entire process with the new tests, which involves taking a drop of blood along with pre- and post-test counselling, takes about 20 minutes.
The tests will be available at anonymous testing sites, sexually transmitted disease clinics and community health centres across the province, including 24 new sites in northern and rural Ontario, but not through family doctors. "This is an initiative that is linked to the anonymous testing sites," Mr. Smitherman said.
"If we look at the profile of HIV and AIDS, we really appropriately have to tailor our initiatives to reducing barriers for those at-risk communities."
With faster HIV-test results, patients who need treatment will get it faster, Mr. Smitherman said.
It's estimated that 30 per cent of people who are HIV positive are unaware of their status - up to 15,000 Canadians - and Mr. Smitherman said the 60-second point of care tests may help convince those reluctant to be tested to actually go to a clinic.
(...)
Click here to read the article
KEITH LESLIE - Canadian Press
TORONTO -- Ontario has become the first jurisdiction in North America to offer HIV tests that provide results in just 60 seconds and will double the number of sites across the province where anonymous tests are available, Health Minister George Smitherman announced yesterday.
It will cost about $350,000 a year to have the HIV tests available at 50 sites, which Mr. Smitherman said is a small price to pay - especially when it eliminates the agonizing three-week wait patients currently endure for results.
"I'm a gay man, and I'm one of those that has experienced that gut wrenching three-week wait," he said. "Everybody remembers that wait, and accordingly, you can't put a price on it."
The entire process with the new tests, which involves taking a drop of blood along with pre- and post-test counselling, takes about 20 minutes.
The tests will be available at anonymous testing sites, sexually transmitted disease clinics and community health centres across the province, including 24 new sites in northern and rural Ontario, but not through family doctors. "This is an initiative that is linked to the anonymous testing sites," Mr. Smitherman said.
"If we look at the profile of HIV and AIDS, we really appropriately have to tailor our initiatives to reducing barriers for those at-risk communities."
With faster HIV-test results, patients who need treatment will get it faster, Mr. Smitherman said.
It's estimated that 30 per cent of people who are HIV positive are unaware of their status - up to 15,000 Canadians - and Mr. Smitherman said the 60-second point of care tests may help convince those reluctant to be tested to actually go to a clinic.
(...)
Click here to read the article
Monday, June 25, 2007
New video: HIV Positive voices
HIV Positive Voices: An Inside Look at the AIDS Epidemic in Baltimore, Maryland, was produced by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs and Stuart Productions. It was awarded Best Documentary Under 30 Minutes at the Second Annual New York AIDS Film Festival.
This film is the story of four people who each represent a different form of HIV transmission. Their stories are gripping. Their lives difficult. But their outlook is positive.
HIV Positive Voices shows the devastating effect of what it is like to live with HIV and cope with the social stigma, rigorous treatment regimen and related health problems. It also shows that it is possible to live a productive and positive life even if you are HIV positive. The film is accompanied by a discussion guide that helps viewers understand and process the various aspects of the film. Each of the four people profiled in this Emmy Award winning documentary represents a different mode of HIV transmission. They have courageously chosen to speak out about their HIV status, and become positive voices for awareness, compassion and prevention.
Rickeena Free is a 15-year-old girl who contracted HIV perinatally from her mother. Rickeena maintains a positive, yet pragmatic, attitude about her infection as she and her mother educate others about HIV prevention and living with HIV.
David Waller contracted HIV/AIDS through injection drug use. This mode of transmission accounts for the majority of new HIV/AIDS cases in Baltimore. David served 20 years in prison for crimes related to his drug use. Now drug free, he has started a new life with a supportive family.
Kimberly Smolen learned she was HIV-positive when she donated blood following a successful run in the New York City marathon. She traces her infection back to a college boyfriend. Kimberly turned her life around after a self-destructive period that included drug addiction and homelessness.
Keith Barmer struggled to accept his HIV-positive status after his uncle raped him as a teenager. His life spiraled downward with drug Addiction and other risky behaviors. Now openly gay, Keith views his HIV status as an opportunity to help others either prevent HIV or live with HIV in a positive manner.
Contact the library to borrow this video.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
New Journal issue received: AIDS Education and Prevention, Vol. 19, no 3, June 2007
In this issue:Effectiveness of Antenatal Group HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing Services in Rural India
Authors: Deepti Gupta, Dekey Lhewa, R. Viswanath, S. Mini Jacob, S. Parameshwari, R. Radhakrishnan, Kristy Seidel, Lisa M. Frenkel, NM Samuel and Ann J. Melvin
Page start: 187
Abstract
Measurement of Stigma in People with HIV: A Reexamination of the HIV Stigma Scale
Authors: Janice Yanushka Bunn, Sondra E. Solomon, Carol Miller and Rex Forehand
Page start: 198
Abstract
Association Between Exposure to an HIV Story Line in The Bold and the Beautiful and HIV–Related Stigma in Botswana
Authors: Ann O'Leary, May Kennedy, Katina A. Pappas–DeLuca, Marlene Nkete, Vicki Beck and Christine Galavotti
Page start: 209
Abstract
The Relationship of Stigma to the Sexual Risk Behavior of Rural Men Who Have Sex with Men
Authors: Deborah Bray Preston, Anthony R. D'Augelli, Cathy D. Kassab and Michael T. Starks
Page start: 218
Abstract
Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of an HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Attitudinal Instrument
Authors: Carlos S. Zometa, Robert Dedrick, Michael D. Knox, Wayne Westhoff, Rodrigo Simán Siri and Ann Debaldo
Page start: 231
Abstract
Injection Drug Users' Strategies to Manage Perceptions of Personal Risk: How Do IDUs See HIV as Having Affected Them?
Authors: Katherine Clegg Smith, Tiffany Lefevre Lillie and Carl Latkin
Page start: 245
Abstract
Replicating a Teen HIV/STD Preventive Intervention in a Multicultural City
Authors: Diane M. Morrison, Marilyn J. Hoppe, Elizabeth A. Wells, Blair A. Beadnell, Anthony Wilsdon, Darrel Higa, Mary Rogers Gillmore and Erin A. Casey
Page start: 258
Abstract
Contact the library to request copies of articles.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
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.
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/HIVContact 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
Thursday, June 14, 2007
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
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: ReutersBy 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.
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.
Monday, June 11, 2007
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
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
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 catastropheNew 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
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
Monday, June 04, 2007
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.
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.
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