Surrey teachers' controversial resolution one of several to be debated at union annual meeting
Janet Steffenhagen, with files from Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun
Teachers in Surrey, B.C.'s largest school district, want laws changed to ensure classroom teachers are informed when any of their students has HIV, AIDS, hepatitis or other diseases that can be transmitted through blood or body fluids.
The Surrey teachers say it's a matter of safety and later this month they will ask the B.C. Teachers' Federation to back their position and lobby the provincial government for action.
The resolution is one of several controversial proposals to be debated by hundreds of teachers from around the province when they gather in Vancouver for the union's annual meeting, starting March 18.
"Young children often cut themselves using scissors or pins, bite or scratch each other, or throw up," the Surrey Teachers' Association says in written comments supporting the resolution.
"Diseases such as hepatitis and HIV-AIDs are becoming more common and we as teachers need to be informed enough to protect ourselves and our students."
Surrey president John Wadge said his members were sufficiently concerned about the issue that they voted to send it to the general meeting for debate.
But he said the BCTF will have to balance safety concerns with student privacy rights.
"I think the right-to-privacy issues are very valid and may win the day," he said in an interview Tuesday.
Paul Lewand, chairman of the BC Persons with AIDS Society, said a child's HIV status should remain a private matter between the child's family and the family's physicians. The virus still carries a huge social stigma, and could put the child at risk of serious discrimination, he said.
"School is a tough enough time to get through if you can blend in, and if that ability to blend in is taken away it will be hell [for the student]," he said. "It would change their whole school experience and would be something that could never be taken back."
Lewand said his organization could think of no case where HIV has been transmitted in a school, prompting members to question why the discussion has cropped up. "Someone is pushing a personal, private agenda that has nothing to do with the welfare of the children or the school system," he said.
(...)
Click here to read the article
Thursday, March 08, 2007
International Women's Day: some resources on women and HIV
Sexual and reproductive health of women living with HIV/AIDS : Guidelines on care, treatment and support for women living with HIV/AIDS and their children in resource-constrained settingsJ 220 SEX 2006
Available online! Click here to access the resource.
"The sexual and reproductive health of women living with HIV/AIDS is fundamental to their well-being and that of their partners and children. This publication addresses the specific sexual and reproductive health needs of women living with HIV/AIDS and contains recommendations for counselling, antiretroviral therapy, care and other interventions. Improving women's sexual and reproductive health, treating HIV infections and preventing new ones are important factors in reducing poverty and promoting the social and economic development of communities and countries. Sexual and reproductive health services are uniquely positioned to address each of these factors."
A woman's story : overcoming the shame of HIVHomewood, Kingdom Publishing, 2005
Call numer: J 210 BYT 2005 ((Click on call number to borrow this book!)
"HIV/AIDS is on the increase among Black women, yet there is a silence that speaks volumes in the community, the nation and the church about this epidemic. Have we forsaken our mothers, daughters and sisters in order to hide the shame of our own lack of involvement? What price will we pay for our detachment from the most indiscriminate health crisis of our time? Perhaps there is hope, if we begin to look at HIV/AIDS through the eyes of those who have been there."
HIV, pregnancy and women's healthLondon, HIV i-Base, 2005
Available online! Click here to access the resource.
"This booklet aims to help you get the most out of your own HIV treatment and care if you are considering pregnancy or during your pregnancy."
DVD
In women's hands : A film on women, HIV, and hopeWashington, D.C., Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), 2005
Call number: VJ 210 INW 2005 ((Click on call number to borrow this DVD!)
"Kimberly was 21 and in college in the U.S. Little did she know that her boyfriend was HIV positive. After donating blood she learned that her decision to not use a condom with him one night would change her life forever.
Just across the ocean in the U.K., a similar decision would leave 18 year-old Hyshana with an STI – a reality that many adolescents now face.
In South Africa, Virginia lives in rural Kwazulu Natal with her two children, and waits for her husband for months at a time to return from his job hundreds of miles away. When he returns, she can’t possibly ask him to use a condom. He is her husband after all.
These stories, more powerfully articulate the potential role of microbicides and the importance of public and private sector leadership as well as citizen involvement in this issue. It was this demand and these personal stories that inspired the Global Campaign for Microbicides to produce short film on the need for microbicides.
In Women’s Hands will be an important tool for creating discussion and awareness around the HIV/STI epidemic among women, how microbicides could make a difference and the importance of advocacy for microbicides." (from website)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Circumcised partner may boost women's HIV risk
Source: Canada.com
MARIA CHENG, Associated Press
Published: Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Circumcision may reduce men's chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent — but early results suggest the procedure may put women at increased risk of infection, according to preliminary data presented Tuesday.
Early results announced at a U.N. consultation in Switzerland on the potential impact of male circumcision on AIDS in Africa suggested that if HIV-positive men do not abstain from sex while healing from circumcision surgery, their female partners might have a higher chance of catching HIV from them.
However, experts said the results were not conclusive — and highly susceptible to other factors, such as condom use — demonstrating the difficulties of utilizing circumcision in HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 60 percent of those with AIDS are women.
Previous studies have confirmed the dramatic impact circumcision has in cutting men's HIV infection rates, but a big question has been the resulting effect on women.
The first evidence — though very preliminary — suggests there is a period immediately following surgery when men may more easily transmit the virus to their female partners.
"Women are already so vulnerable in this epidemic," said Jennifer Kates, an AIDS expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation who is not connected to the study. "We need to be particularly careful about anything that could put them at even greater risk."
Click here to read the article
MARIA CHENG, Associated Press
Published: Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Circumcision may reduce men's chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent — but early results suggest the procedure may put women at increased risk of infection, according to preliminary data presented Tuesday.
Early results announced at a U.N. consultation in Switzerland on the potential impact of male circumcision on AIDS in Africa suggested that if HIV-positive men do not abstain from sex while healing from circumcision surgery, their female partners might have a higher chance of catching HIV from them.
However, experts said the results were not conclusive — and highly susceptible to other factors, such as condom use — demonstrating the difficulties of utilizing circumcision in HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 60 percent of those with AIDS are women.
Previous studies have confirmed the dramatic impact circumcision has in cutting men's HIV infection rates, but a big question has been the resulting effect on women.
The first evidence — though very preliminary — suggests there is a period immediately following surgery when men may more easily transmit the virus to their female partners.
"Women are already so vulnerable in this epidemic," said Jennifer Kates, an AIDS expert at the Kaiser Family Foundation who is not connected to the study. "We need to be particularly careful about anything that could put them at even greater risk."
Click here to read the article
Safe injection site breaks treaties, UN agency says
Source: Vancouver Sun
Federal health minister will be urged to shut down initiatives
Steven Edwards, with files from Darah Hansen, CanWest News Service; with files from Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, March 02, 2007
UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations drug control agency is expected to warn Health Minister Tony Clement at a conference later this month that Canada is flouting international drug control treaties by enabling illicit drug use at a supervised injection site in Vancouver.
Clement will be urged to shut down the initiative, which the agency says effectively condones the use of drugs that Canada has agreed in an international forum are banned substances outside prescription.
"In a way, [Canada] is encouraging illicit trafficking," Zhu Li-Qin, chief of the Convention Evaluation Section of the UN's International Narcotics Control Board, said in an interview from the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
"Traffickers are searching for markets, and a [supervised site] serves as a small market where people go and legally inject drugs."
Officials will notify Clement of the board's findings through established contacts at Health Canada and directly to a Canadian delegation at the annual meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna March 12-16.
Article Four of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs says countries will pass laws to make sure drugs are used only for medical and scientific purposes.
"Generally, in international law, when you sign a treaty, you are supposed to conform both your domestic legislation and your domestic behaviour to the obligations you have under the treaty," said Melvyn Levitsky, a retired U.S. ambassador on the board.
"Although we understand the compulsion behind these sites, the convention says drugs are supposed to be used for medical or scientific purposes -- not for getting public nuisances off the streets."
Other countries facing board criticism for operating supervised injection sites are Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.
"The board regrets that no measures have been taken to terminate the operation of such facilities in the countries concerned," says the report.
The board noted in its 2003 report that the Canadian government, then under the Liberals, had approved the establishment of the Vancouver facility, called Insite, and billed as a "safe, health-focused place where people can go to inject drugs."
Click here to read the article.
See also : UN report unwittingly makes the case for prescribing drugs to addicts, Vancouver Sun, published March 3
and Safe injection site illegal, says UN, Today's family news, March 7
Federal health minister will be urged to shut down initiatives
Steven Edwards, with files from Darah Hansen, CanWest News Service; with files from Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, March 02, 2007
UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations drug control agency is expected to warn Health Minister Tony Clement at a conference later this month that Canada is flouting international drug control treaties by enabling illicit drug use at a supervised injection site in Vancouver.
Clement will be urged to shut down the initiative, which the agency says effectively condones the use of drugs that Canada has agreed in an international forum are banned substances outside prescription.
"In a way, [Canada] is encouraging illicit trafficking," Zhu Li-Qin, chief of the Convention Evaluation Section of the UN's International Narcotics Control Board, said in an interview from the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
"Traffickers are searching for markets, and a [supervised site] serves as a small market where people go and legally inject drugs."
Officials will notify Clement of the board's findings through established contacts at Health Canada and directly to a Canadian delegation at the annual meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna March 12-16.
Article Four of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs says countries will pass laws to make sure drugs are used only for medical and scientific purposes.
"Generally, in international law, when you sign a treaty, you are supposed to conform both your domestic legislation and your domestic behaviour to the obligations you have under the treaty," said Melvyn Levitsky, a retired U.S. ambassador on the board.
"Although we understand the compulsion behind these sites, the convention says drugs are supposed to be used for medical or scientific purposes -- not for getting public nuisances off the streets."
Other countries facing board criticism for operating supervised injection sites are Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.
"The board regrets that no measures have been taken to terminate the operation of such facilities in the countries concerned," says the report.
The board noted in its 2003 report that the Canadian government, then under the Liberals, had approved the establishment of the Vancouver facility, called Insite, and billed as a "safe, health-focused place where people can go to inject drugs."
Click here to read the article.
See also : UN report unwittingly makes the case for prescribing drugs to addicts, Vancouver Sun, published March 3
and Safe injection site illegal, says UN, Today's family news, March 7
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
AIDS: New trial shows needs for caution in adopting circumcision strategy
Source: Yahoo news
Early data from a trial in Uganda shows that policymakers must be prudent when including circumcision among their tactics for fighting AIDS, researchers said on Tuesday.
Last year, three groundbreaking studies conducted in Africa found that male circumcision halved a man's risk of being infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
That discovery ignited hopes that the flagging quarter-century-old war against AIDS in Africa could be transformed by a simple, low-cost operation.
The new trial, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, explores a different angle of the circumcision story -- to see whether men who are infected with HIV and are circumcised are any less likely to infect their female partner.
US and Ugandan researchers are following 997 HIV-infected men in Rakai, Uganda. Some of them have been given circumcision, while the others have remained uncircumcised to act as a comparison.
A proportion of volunteers in both groups had uninfected long-term female partners at the start of the study. These women were also enrolled and monitored.
A review at the study's six-month mark looked at 70 couples in the "circumcised" group and found that 11 of the women had become infected. Among 54 couples in the "uncircumcised" group, four women had become infected.
The study is still underway and the data is not considered conclusive.
But the researchers said they were concerned, as several of the infections had been transmitted by men who had had sex before their wounds had fully healed from the circumcision surgery.
The AIDS virus can be carried in the blood, as well as in semen.
This means that, before circumcision can be universally endorsed as a prevention strategy, men and women have to be fully aware about the need to refrain from intercourse for a month or so while the penile wound has healed, the researchers said.
Both partners must be fully versed in safe-sex awareness, especially in condom use.
(...)
Click here to read the article.
Early data from a trial in Uganda shows that policymakers must be prudent when including circumcision among their tactics for fighting AIDS, researchers said on Tuesday.
Last year, three groundbreaking studies conducted in Africa found that male circumcision halved a man's risk of being infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
That discovery ignited hopes that the flagging quarter-century-old war against AIDS in Africa could be transformed by a simple, low-cost operation.
The new trial, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, explores a different angle of the circumcision story -- to see whether men who are infected with HIV and are circumcised are any less likely to infect their female partner.
US and Ugandan researchers are following 997 HIV-infected men in Rakai, Uganda. Some of them have been given circumcision, while the others have remained uncircumcised to act as a comparison.
A proportion of volunteers in both groups had uninfected long-term female partners at the start of the study. These women were also enrolled and monitored.
A review at the study's six-month mark looked at 70 couples in the "circumcised" group and found that 11 of the women had become infected. Among 54 couples in the "uncircumcised" group, four women had become infected.
The study is still underway and the data is not considered conclusive.
But the researchers said they were concerned, as several of the infections had been transmitted by men who had had sex before their wounds had fully healed from the circumcision surgery.
The AIDS virus can be carried in the blood, as well as in semen.
This means that, before circumcision can be universally endorsed as a prevention strategy, men and women have to be fully aware about the need to refrain from intercourse for a month or so while the penile wound has healed, the researchers said.
Both partners must be fully versed in safe-sex awareness, especially in condom use.
(...)
Click here to read the article.
New books in the library!
The February list of new acquisitions is now available! New books and reports, journal articles and educational videos are listed by subject. Links to online publications are also provided.
Print copies are available in the library. If you want to receive the list by email, it's easy! Just call us at 604-893-2248 or send us an email. You can also subscribe and receive the list every month.
UBC researcher finds new way to treat devastating fungal infections
Source UBC
VANCOUVER, CANADA -- Devastating blood-borne fungal infections that can be lethal for HIV/AIDS, cancer, and organ transplant patients may be treated more successfully, thanks to a new drug delivery method developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Prof. Kishor M. Wasan has created a liquid preparation that incorporates drug molecules in fat (lipid-based formulation) so that Amphotericin B, a potent anti-fungal agent, can be taken by mouth with minimal side effects. The agent, used for about 50 years, is currently administered intravenously and has significant toxic side effects, notably severe kidney toxicity as well as serious tissue damage at the intravenous injection site.
Wasan and his research team have discovered that the oral preparation triggers a different molecular interaction than intravenous delivery. The lipid-based system attacks fungal cells only while inhibiting the drug’s interaction with kidney cells – boosting effectiveness and dramatically reducing toxicity.
(...)
Click here to read the media release.
VANCOUVER, CANADA -- Devastating blood-borne fungal infections that can be lethal for HIV/AIDS, cancer, and organ transplant patients may be treated more successfully, thanks to a new drug delivery method developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Prof. Kishor M. Wasan has created a liquid preparation that incorporates drug molecules in fat (lipid-based formulation) so that Amphotericin B, a potent anti-fungal agent, can be taken by mouth with minimal side effects. The agent, used for about 50 years, is currently administered intravenously and has significant toxic side effects, notably severe kidney toxicity as well as serious tissue damage at the intravenous injection site.
Wasan and his research team have discovered that the oral preparation triggers a different molecular interaction than intravenous delivery. The lipid-based system attacks fungal cells only while inhibiting the drug’s interaction with kidney cells – boosting effectiveness and dramatically reducing toxicity.
(...)
Click here to read the media release.
Natural HIV barrier snares AIDS virus
Source: WebMD
Protein in Specialized Skin Cells Traps and Destroys HIV
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDMarch 5, 2007 -- A natural barrier to HIV snares and destroys the AIDS virus, Dutch researchers report.
The newly discovered barrier is a powerful first line of defense against HIV infection. But at least one new strategy for preventing HIV transmission may breach this barrier, inadvertently opening the door to infection.
HIV targets T cells, a type of immune cell. It gets to T cells via a type of skin cell called a dendritic cell. Dendritic cells are supposed to warn T cells about foreign invaders. But HIV subverts this line of communication and uses dendritic cells to carry an infectious virus to the T cells.
That doesn't happen if HIV first encounters a specialized kind of dendritic cell called a Langerhans cell. It's hard for HIV to infect Langerhans cells -- and now scientists know why. It's because the cells carry a special molecule, dubbed Langerin.
Langerin grabs HIV and throws it in a kind of garbage disposal within the Langerhans cell, find Lot de Witte of Vrije University, Amsterdam, and colleagues. When the researchers disabled the Langerin molecule, HIV easily infected Langerhans cells.
"Thus Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV infection," de Witte and colleagues conclude.
HIV Prevention Method Has Flaw
As the AIDS epidemic rages on, researchers are looking for ways to prevent HIV infection. One powerful method would be a vaginal microbicide -- an easy-to-apply gel that would block HIV and protect women from being infected by their sex partners.
Because dendritic cells carry HIV to T cells, one promising vaginal-gel ingredient is a molecule called mannan. Mannan breaks the tether that dendritic cells use to haul HIV across mucous membranes.
But de Witte and colleagues find that mannan also disables Langerin, breaching this natural barrier to HIV.
"Inhibitors such as mannan have an unwanted and completely counteractive effect on Langerhans cells -- namely, they negate the protective function of Langerhans cells and enable [HIV] transmission by dendritic cells," they warn.
Instead, the researchers suggest using another molecule that keeps dendritic cells from latching on to HIV without affecting Langerhans cells.
De Witte and colleagues report their findings in the advance online issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
Protein in Specialized Skin Cells Traps and Destroys HIV
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDMarch 5, 2007 -- A natural barrier to HIV snares and destroys the AIDS virus, Dutch researchers report.
The newly discovered barrier is a powerful first line of defense against HIV infection. But at least one new strategy for preventing HIV transmission may breach this barrier, inadvertently opening the door to infection.
HIV targets T cells, a type of immune cell. It gets to T cells via a type of skin cell called a dendritic cell. Dendritic cells are supposed to warn T cells about foreign invaders. But HIV subverts this line of communication and uses dendritic cells to carry an infectious virus to the T cells.
That doesn't happen if HIV first encounters a specialized kind of dendritic cell called a Langerhans cell. It's hard for HIV to infect Langerhans cells -- and now scientists know why. It's because the cells carry a special molecule, dubbed Langerin.
Langerin grabs HIV and throws it in a kind of garbage disposal within the Langerhans cell, find Lot de Witte of Vrije University, Amsterdam, and colleagues. When the researchers disabled the Langerin molecule, HIV easily infected Langerhans cells.
"Thus Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV infection," de Witte and colleagues conclude.
HIV Prevention Method Has Flaw
As the AIDS epidemic rages on, researchers are looking for ways to prevent HIV infection. One powerful method would be a vaginal microbicide -- an easy-to-apply gel that would block HIV and protect women from being infected by their sex partners.
Because dendritic cells carry HIV to T cells, one promising vaginal-gel ingredient is a molecule called mannan. Mannan breaks the tether that dendritic cells use to haul HIV across mucous membranes.
But de Witte and colleagues find that mannan also disables Langerin, breaching this natural barrier to HIV.
"Inhibitors such as mannan have an unwanted and completely counteractive effect on Langerhans cells -- namely, they negate the protective function of Langerhans cells and enable [HIV] transmission by dendritic cells," they warn.
Instead, the researchers suggest using another molecule that keeps dendritic cells from latching on to HIV without affecting Langerhans cells.
De Witte and colleagues report their findings in the advance online issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
HIV transmission risk highest early in infection-study
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters)
People may be most likely to transmit the AIDS virus when they are first infected -- before they start showing symptoms and even before many screening tests detect the virus, Canadian researchers reported on Monday.
This may help explain why the HIV epidemic moves so quickly, they report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases*.
Their genetic analysis of HIV-infected patients in Quebec showed that nearly half of all transmissions occurred when patients were in the early stages of the disease.
"The early infection stage can be entirely asymptomatic," said Dr. Mark Wainberg, of the McGill AIDS Center in Montreal, who led the study.
"This is why people who are recently infected may not know it, and will probably often test negative by conventional antibody screening," Wainberg said in a statement.
Early on, the body has not yet mounted an immune defense against the virus. It does not produce many antibodies -- which is what most quick screening tests look for.
"Hence, we must do a much better job of identifying recently infected people if we are to be able to counsel them to modify high-risk sexual behavior and desist from transmitting the virus," Wainberg added.
Wainberg and colleagues from several hospitals and health clinics in Canada studied HIV transmission through phylogenetic analysis, which is a way to draw the family tree of the virus.
Viruses mutate when they live inside a person's body, and the mutations can be steadily clocked to estimate the first date of infection.
The study found that 49 percent of early infections appeared to cluster in a way that would suggest that most new infections were transmitted by people who themselves were in the early stages of infection, before the virus had time to mutate much.
This is in part because people have many copies of the virus in their blood when they first become infected. The more virus there is -- a measure called viral load -- the more people are likely to infect someone else.
The AIDS virus infects 39 million people globally and has killed more than 25 million since it was first identified in the early 1980s. There is no cure, although drug treatment can keep symptoms at a minimum and extend life.
* High Rates of Forward Transmission Events after Acute/Early HIV-1 Infection, The Journal of Infectious diseases, 1 April 2007, Volume 195, Number 7. Free access!
WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters)
People may be most likely to transmit the AIDS virus when they are first infected -- before they start showing symptoms and even before many screening tests detect the virus, Canadian researchers reported on Monday.
This may help explain why the HIV epidemic moves so quickly, they report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases*.
Their genetic analysis of HIV-infected patients in Quebec showed that nearly half of all transmissions occurred when patients were in the early stages of the disease.
"The early infection stage can be entirely asymptomatic," said Dr. Mark Wainberg, of the McGill AIDS Center in Montreal, who led the study.
"This is why people who are recently infected may not know it, and will probably often test negative by conventional antibody screening," Wainberg said in a statement.
Early on, the body has not yet mounted an immune defense against the virus. It does not produce many antibodies -- which is what most quick screening tests look for.
"Hence, we must do a much better job of identifying recently infected people if we are to be able to counsel them to modify high-risk sexual behavior and desist from transmitting the virus," Wainberg added.
Wainberg and colleagues from several hospitals and health clinics in Canada studied HIV transmission through phylogenetic analysis, which is a way to draw the family tree of the virus.
Viruses mutate when they live inside a person's body, and the mutations can be steadily clocked to estimate the first date of infection.
The study found that 49 percent of early infections appeared to cluster in a way that would suggest that most new infections were transmitted by people who themselves were in the early stages of infection, before the virus had time to mutate much.
This is in part because people have many copies of the virus in their blood when they first become infected. The more virus there is -- a measure called viral load -- the more people are likely to infect someone else.
The AIDS virus infects 39 million people globally and has killed more than 25 million since it was first identified in the early 1980s. There is no cure, although drug treatment can keep symptoms at a minimum and extend life.
* High Rates of Forward Transmission Events after Acute/Early HIV-1 Infection, The Journal of Infectious diseases, 1 April 2007, Volume 195, Number 7. Free access!
Monday, March 05, 2007
New HIV/AIDS Resource Center for Women at The Body
The Body, one of the most comprehensive online sources of information on HIV/AIDs recently launched a new website: the HIV/AIDS Resource Center for Women.As stated in the overview, "After more than 25 years and 25 million deaths, the world has yet to realize that HIV isn’t just a man’s problem. Although it has escaped the notice of most media -- and even many in the health care and health policy fields -- HIV has quietly become the third most-deadly disease for women in the United States, behind only cancer and heart disease. It’s also the leading cause of death for African-American women between the ages of 25 and 34."
In Canada, "Women account for a growing proportion of positive HIV tests reports with known age and gender among adults in Canada. The proportion of females each year has risen, from 12.0% in the years between 1985 and 1997 to 24.9% of adult positive HIV test reports between 1999 and 2002. In 2005, this proportion again increased, though only slightly to 25.4%." (Public Health Agency of Canada, EPI update 2006).
The HIV/AIDS Resource Center for Women offers basic information on HIV/AIDS for women, personal stories of women, interviews with experts, news and links to other resources.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Life support on HBO
Inspired by a true story, this HBO Films presentation uses a mix of actors and real people from the HIV/AIDS community to tell the story of an HIV-positive Brooklyn woman named Ana (Queen Latifah), who channels her energy and regret over past drug addiction into working for Life Support, an AIDS outreach group. When Kelly's HIV-infected gay friend Amare (Evan Ross) disappears, Ana, looking to connect with her daughter while helping a lost soul, throws herself into searching for him. She embarks on a dangerous but necessary journey, and as she seeks to save one life and heal another, Ana learns a poignant lesson about loving and letting go.
Premiere Saturday March 10 at 8PM. Click here to watch preview.
About Life support in the Washington Times
"Black women are the No. 1 people getting [the disease], and I wanted to create a film that would give black women a voice," said Nelson George, producer and writer of "Life Support." The multigenerational story is based on Mr. George's real-life experiences with his sister, Andrea Williams. She is a recovering drug addict who has been living with the virus for a decade, and who became an activist in a community service organization in Brooklyn, N.Y., called Life Support.
This project began as a way to deal with "the fears my family had," Mr. George said. However, "She evolved and gained knowledge ... and what we thought was a negative thing that would destroy her and be tragic for us turned to a positive, and she became focused and centered, and this was good and inspirational."
Mr. George, along with actress Gloria Reuben, will attend at the D.C. screening of "Life Support" tonight sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. It was released at the Sundance Film Festival in January and debuts March 10 on HBO.
"The purpose of this [film] is to reignite the dialogue about this virus," he said.
Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, which publishes a report card on the D.C. government's ability to deal with HIV/AIDS, spoke on the film. Though he has seen only trailers for "Life Support," Mr. Smith said that "the more that's out there [about HIV/AIDS] the more people will know. ... Leaders across the board have to speak out." In our past conversations, Mr. Smith often suggested that the biggest problem in eradicating HIV/AIDS is the community's unwillingness to talk about the disease.
"There has to be more frank, public talk about this issue at the highest levels," Mr. Smith said. "It's a sad situation. Some of it is so closeted that some people would rather die than get tested."
Read the article A breath of fresh dialogue in HIV/AIDS fight, by Adrienne Washington.
Premiere Saturday March 10 at 8PM. Click here to watch preview.
*********************************
About Life support in the Washington Times
"Black women are the No. 1 people getting [the disease], and I wanted to create a film that would give black women a voice," said Nelson George, producer and writer of "Life Support." The multigenerational story is based on Mr. George's real-life experiences with his sister, Andrea Williams. She is a recovering drug addict who has been living with the virus for a decade, and who became an activist in a community service organization in Brooklyn, N.Y., called Life Support.
This project began as a way to deal with "the fears my family had," Mr. George said. However, "She evolved and gained knowledge ... and what we thought was a negative thing that would destroy her and be tragic for us turned to a positive, and she became focused and centered, and this was good and inspirational."
Mr. George, along with actress Gloria Reuben, will attend at the D.C. screening of "Life Support" tonight sponsored by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. It was released at the Sundance Film Festival in January and debuts March 10 on HBO.
"The purpose of this [film] is to reignite the dialogue about this virus," he said.
Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, which publishes a report card on the D.C. government's ability to deal with HIV/AIDS, spoke on the film. Though he has seen only trailers for "Life Support," Mr. Smith said that "the more that's out there [about HIV/AIDS] the more people will know. ... Leaders across the board have to speak out." In our past conversations, Mr. Smith often suggested that the biggest problem in eradicating HIV/AIDS is the community's unwillingness to talk about the disease.
"There has to be more frank, public talk about this issue at the highest levels," Mr. Smith said. "It's a sad situation. Some of it is so closeted that some people would rather die than get tested."
Read the article A breath of fresh dialogue in HIV/AIDS fight, by Adrienne Washington.
14th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
From 26th February to 5th March 2007, aidsmap produces a daily email with the latest updates from the 14th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which is being held in Los Angeles, USA.To sign up and receive this daily email, click here and enter your details in the online form provided.
To find more information about the Conference, visit CROI 2007. Don't miss the webcast sessions!
New medications aid drug-resistant HIV patients
Source: Los Angeles Times
The findings bring "the opportunity for a new life," one doctor says.
By Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writer
In what some are hailing as the most important development in HIV therapy in a decade, two new classes of drugs have been found to block virus replication in patients resistant to existing drugs, researchers said Tuesday.
The two new classes, called integrase inhibitors and CCR5 inhibitors, doubled the number of patients in a group of studies whose infections could be brought under control, researchers said at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
This is "a pivotal moment" for patients who have become resistant to most AIDS drugs, said Dr. Eric Daar, chief of HIV medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. Daar, who was not involved in the research, estimated that about 20% of his patients are resistant to the existing classes of drugs.
Given the serious problems in treating drug-resistant patients, Daar said, the findings bring "the opportunity for a new life."
Dr. John Mellors, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, said the new findings hearken back to the introduction in the 1990s of the powerful drugs that converted HIV infection from a mostly fatal disease to one that could be managed for long periods of time.
"This is really a remarkable development in the field," said Mellors, who was not involved in the studies.
Closest to federal approval is maraviroc, developed by Pfizer Inc. The drug binds to a receptor on the surface of human cells known as CCR5, preventing HIV from locking on and entering the cells.
Maraviroc represents the first class of HIV drugs to target the human immune system rather than the virus itself.
Other companies have attempted to bring out CCR5 inhibitors, but with little success. Trials with GlaxoSmithKline's candidate, aplaviroc, were halted in 2005 because the drug caused liver toxicity.
Dr. Howard Mayer of Pfizer reported on studies of maraviroc in 1,049 patients in 13 countries: 840 received the experimental drug in combination with their regular drug regimen, while the rest received a placebo and their regular drugs.
About 44% of the patients receiving maraviroc saw their blood HIV concentrations fall to undetectable levels after 24 weeks of therapy, Meyer said, compared with 23% of those receiving the placebo.
Experts think the drug could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year.
The second new drug is Merck & Co.'s raltegravir, formerly known as MK-0158. It blocks an HIV enzyme called integrase, one of three enzymes used by the virus to copy itself in immune cells.
Dr. David Cooper from the University of New South Wales in Australia and Dr. Roy Steigbigel from State University of New York at Stony Brook reported on two studies involving 699 patients, two-thirds of whom received raltegravir in addition to their regular HIV drugs. Both studies were funded by Merck.
About 62% of the patients receiving raltegravir saw the HIV in their blood fall to undetectable levels after 16 weeks, compared with 35% of those receiving the standard drugs alone, the researchers said.
The drug, which has been fast-tracked by the FDA, was well tolerated by patients.
Gilead Sciences Inc. also has an integrase inhibitor in earlier stages of testing and will present results today.
"The big question now is how will these drugs be used in practice," said Dr. John Bartlett, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, who was not connected to the studies. "If they become first-line drugs, that could mean a paradigm shift."
The findings bring "the opportunity for a new life," one doctor says.
By Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writer
In what some are hailing as the most important development in HIV therapy in a decade, two new classes of drugs have been found to block virus replication in patients resistant to existing drugs, researchers said Tuesday.
The two new classes, called integrase inhibitors and CCR5 inhibitors, doubled the number of patients in a group of studies whose infections could be brought under control, researchers said at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
This is "a pivotal moment" for patients who have become resistant to most AIDS drugs, said Dr. Eric Daar, chief of HIV medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. Daar, who was not involved in the research, estimated that about 20% of his patients are resistant to the existing classes of drugs.
Given the serious problems in treating drug-resistant patients, Daar said, the findings bring "the opportunity for a new life."
Dr. John Mellors, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, said the new findings hearken back to the introduction in the 1990s of the powerful drugs that converted HIV infection from a mostly fatal disease to one that could be managed for long periods of time.
"This is really a remarkable development in the field," said Mellors, who was not involved in the studies.
Closest to federal approval is maraviroc, developed by Pfizer Inc. The drug binds to a receptor on the surface of human cells known as CCR5, preventing HIV from locking on and entering the cells.
Maraviroc represents the first class of HIV drugs to target the human immune system rather than the virus itself.
Other companies have attempted to bring out CCR5 inhibitors, but with little success. Trials with GlaxoSmithKline's candidate, aplaviroc, were halted in 2005 because the drug caused liver toxicity.
Dr. Howard Mayer of Pfizer reported on studies of maraviroc in 1,049 patients in 13 countries: 840 received the experimental drug in combination with their regular drug regimen, while the rest received a placebo and their regular drugs.
About 44% of the patients receiving maraviroc saw their blood HIV concentrations fall to undetectable levels after 24 weeks of therapy, Meyer said, compared with 23% of those receiving the placebo.
Experts think the drug could be approved by the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year.
The second new drug is Merck & Co.'s raltegravir, formerly known as MK-0158. It blocks an HIV enzyme called integrase, one of three enzymes used by the virus to copy itself in immune cells.
Dr. David Cooper from the University of New South Wales in Australia and Dr. Roy Steigbigel from State University of New York at Stony Brook reported on two studies involving 699 patients, two-thirds of whom received raltegravir in addition to their regular HIV drugs. Both studies were funded by Merck.
About 62% of the patients receiving raltegravir saw the HIV in their blood fall to undetectable levels after 16 weeks, compared with 35% of those receiving the standard drugs alone, the researchers said.
The drug, which has been fast-tracked by the FDA, was well tolerated by patients.
Gilead Sciences Inc. also has an integrase inhibitor in earlier stages of testing and will present results today.
"The big question now is how will these drugs be used in practice," said Dr. John Bartlett, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, who was not connected to the studies. "If they become first-line drugs, that could mean a paradigm shift."
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Two studies of adult male circumcision to prevent HIV
Source: Medical News Today
WHAT: In December 2006, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced an early end to two clinical trials of adult male circumcision in Kenya and Uganda because an interim review of trial data showed that medically performed male circumcision significantly lowered a man's risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse.
Two papers in The Lancet provide detailed analyses of these NIAID-funded trials. In the trial of 2,784 HIV-negative men in Kisumu, Kenya, the investigators found the rate of HIV acquisition in circumcised men to be 53 percent lower than in uncircumcised men. Investigators in the trial of 4,996 HIV-negative men in Rakai, Uganda, report that HIV acquisition was reduced by 51 percent in circumcised men.
ARTICLES:
"Male circumcision for HIV prevention in young men in Kisumu, Kenya: a randomised controlled trial," by R Bailey et al. The Lancet 369: 643-56 (2007). This trial was conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Manitoba and the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
"Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised trial," by R Gray et al. The Lancet 369: 657-66 (2007). This trial was conducted by scientists from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Copies of these articles are available in the library.
Online access is also possible on the Lancet's Website (free registration required)
WHAT: In December 2006, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced an early end to two clinical trials of adult male circumcision in Kenya and Uganda because an interim review of trial data showed that medically performed male circumcision significantly lowered a man's risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse.
Two papers in The Lancet provide detailed analyses of these NIAID-funded trials. In the trial of 2,784 HIV-negative men in Kisumu, Kenya, the investigators found the rate of HIV acquisition in circumcised men to be 53 percent lower than in uncircumcised men. Investigators in the trial of 4,996 HIV-negative men in Rakai, Uganda, report that HIV acquisition was reduced by 51 percent in circumcised men.
ARTICLES:
"Male circumcision for HIV prevention in young men in Kisumu, Kenya: a randomised controlled trial," by R Bailey et al. The Lancet 369: 643-56 (2007). This trial was conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Manitoba and the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
"Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised trial," by R Gray et al. The Lancet 369: 657-66 (2007). This trial was conducted by scientists from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, and Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Copies of these articles are available in the library.
Online access is also possible on the Lancet's Website (free registration required)
Smith gets jail in HIV sex case
Ex-Roughrider sentenced to six years: `I just want to say sorry for everything'
Source: Toronto Star
Feb 27, 2007 04:30 AM
REGINA–An apology to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, his children, his wife and his lovers wasn't enough to spare an HIV-positive former Canadian Football League linebacker a prison term for aggravated sexual assault.
Trevis Smith was sentenced yesterday to 5 1/2 years behind bars for knowingly exposing two women to the virus that causes AIDS by having unprotected sex with them and not revealing his condition.
Provincial court Judge Kenn Bellerose added another six months to the sentence for two bail violations Smith pleaded guilty to earlier in the day, making the sentence an even six years.
"For this, I apologize to this province and to the team that I represented the last seven years," Smith said from the prisoner's box in a barely audible voice before Bellerose made his ruling.
"I also want to apologize to the women that I've been involved with during this time and my wife for my actions and I ask that she'd forgive me for me committing adultery.
"I just want to say sorry for everything."
But Bellerose didn't waver.
"As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Smith was very deceitful and very dishonest," he said.
"I'm satisfied he displayed, throughout this whole time – from when he learned he had HIV in November of 2003 until the time of his arrest in October 2005 – a very indifferent attitude with respect to the expectations that the law required on his part to basically come clean with respect to his sexual partners."
Smith showed no reaction as the judge ruled. His wife, who had stood behind her husband throughout the entire trial and could be heard crying as he apologized, left court without talking to reporters.
His lawyer, Clemente Monterosso, also refused comment. An appeal of the conviction has already been filed.
[...]
To read the entire article, click here
Source: Toronto Star
Feb 27, 2007 04:30 AM
REGINA–An apology to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, his children, his wife and his lovers wasn't enough to spare an HIV-positive former Canadian Football League linebacker a prison term for aggravated sexual assault.
Trevis Smith was sentenced yesterday to 5 1/2 years behind bars for knowingly exposing two women to the virus that causes AIDS by having unprotected sex with them and not revealing his condition.
Provincial court Judge Kenn Bellerose added another six months to the sentence for two bail violations Smith pleaded guilty to earlier in the day, making the sentence an even six years.
"For this, I apologize to this province and to the team that I represented the last seven years," Smith said from the prisoner's box in a barely audible voice before Bellerose made his ruling.
"I also want to apologize to the women that I've been involved with during this time and my wife for my actions and I ask that she'd forgive me for me committing adultery.
"I just want to say sorry for everything."
But Bellerose didn't waver.
"As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Smith was very deceitful and very dishonest," he said.
"I'm satisfied he displayed, throughout this whole time – from when he learned he had HIV in November of 2003 until the time of his arrest in October 2005 – a very indifferent attitude with respect to the expectations that the law required on his part to basically come clean with respect to his sexual partners."
Smith showed no reaction as the judge ruled. His wife, who had stood behind her husband throughout the entire trial and could be heard crying as he apologized, left court without talking to reporters.
His lawyer, Clemente Monterosso, also refused comment. An appeal of the conviction has already been filed.
[...]
To read the entire article, click here
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Herpes treatment helps infected women also fight HIV
Source: Medical News Today
Levels of HIV come down in HIV-positive women who are also infected with herpes simplex and are being treated for it with the antiviral drug valacyclovir.
These are the findings of a study published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
The research was conducted in Burkina-Faso in Africa and took the form of a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Valocyclovir is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Valtrex.
Dr Nicolas Nagot of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues found that treating herpes simplex 2 (HSV-2) infections with valocyclovir reduced levels of HIV-1 RNA in both the blood plasma and the genital mucosa, with the latter being more significant.
And this effect seemed to get stronger over the three months of the study.
Once a woman has herpes, the risk of getting HIV is increased and other research studies have shown that when HSV-2 is present it increases the amount of HIV-1 in plasma and genital mucosa.
(...)
Levels of HIV come down in HIV-positive women who are also infected with herpes simplex and are being treated for it with the antiviral drug valacyclovir.
These are the findings of a study published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
The research was conducted in Burkina-Faso in Africa and took the form of a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Valocyclovir is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Valtrex.
Dr Nicolas Nagot of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues found that treating herpes simplex 2 (HSV-2) infections with valocyclovir reduced levels of HIV-1 RNA in both the blood plasma and the genital mucosa, with the latter being more significant.
And this effect seemed to get stronger over the three months of the study.
Once a woman has herpes, the risk of getting HIV is increased and other research studies have shown that when HSV-2 is present it increases the amount of HIV-1 in plasma and genital mucosa.
(...)
Health Canada examining information linking antiviral drug to development of treatment-resistant HIV
Source: Health Canada
February 21, 2007
For immediate release
OTTAWA - Health Canada is informing Canadians of new information submitted by the manufacturer of the antiviral drug Baraclude that suggests the drug may be linked to the development of a treatment-resistant strain of HIV in one patient with HIV.
Baraclude (the brand name for the drug entecavir) has been authorized in Canada since June 2006 for the treatment of active chronic infection with Hepatitis B virus in adults. This new information consists of a U.S. report of a patient, infected with both HIV and Hepatitis B virus, whose HIV infection became resistant to one of the more commonly used HIV treatment drugs while the individual was taking only Baraclude. In addition, this is one of three U.S. reports submitted by the manufacturer, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, concerning HIV patients who experienced a decrease in their HIV virus levels while using Baraclude, despite not being treated with HIV drugs. To date, studies of Baraclude do not suggest that the drug has any activity against HIV. Drugs which have activity against HIV may be associated with increased risk of developing treatment-resistant forms of HIV.
Health Canada is following up on this information and will provide Canadians with any new safety recommendations which may be warranted for the use of Baraclude when the review is completed.
Canadians taking Baraclude should consult with their physician if they have any questions or concerns.
Consumers requiring more information about this Information Update can contact Health Canada’s public enquiries line at (613) 957-2991, or toll free at 1-866-225-0709.
Any serious or unexpected adverse reactions in patients receiving Baraclude or any other drug should be reported to the Canadian Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Program (CADRMP) of Health Canada by one of the following methods:
Telephone: 1-866-234-2345
Facsimile: 1-866-678-6789
CADRMP
Marketed Health Products Directorate
Tunney's Pasture, AL 0701C
email: cadrmp@hc-sc.gc.ca
The CADRMP adverse reaction reporting form, including a version that can be completed and submitted online, is located on the MedEffect portal of the Health Canada Web site.
February 21, 2007
For immediate release
OTTAWA - Health Canada is informing Canadians of new information submitted by the manufacturer of the antiviral drug Baraclude that suggests the drug may be linked to the development of a treatment-resistant strain of HIV in one patient with HIV.
Baraclude (the brand name for the drug entecavir) has been authorized in Canada since June 2006 for the treatment of active chronic infection with Hepatitis B virus in adults. This new information consists of a U.S. report of a patient, infected with both HIV and Hepatitis B virus, whose HIV infection became resistant to one of the more commonly used HIV treatment drugs while the individual was taking only Baraclude. In addition, this is one of three U.S. reports submitted by the manufacturer, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, concerning HIV patients who experienced a decrease in their HIV virus levels while using Baraclude, despite not being treated with HIV drugs. To date, studies of Baraclude do not suggest that the drug has any activity against HIV. Drugs which have activity against HIV may be associated with increased risk of developing treatment-resistant forms of HIV.
Health Canada is following up on this information and will provide Canadians with any new safety recommendations which may be warranted for the use of Baraclude when the review is completed.
Canadians taking Baraclude should consult with their physician if they have any questions or concerns.
Consumers requiring more information about this Information Update can contact Health Canada’s public enquiries line at (613) 957-2991, or toll free at 1-866-225-0709.
Any serious or unexpected adverse reactions in patients receiving Baraclude or any other drug should be reported to the Canadian Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Program (CADRMP) of Health Canada by one of the following methods:
Telephone: 1-866-234-2345
Facsimile: 1-866-678-6789
CADRMP
Marketed Health Products Directorate
Tunney's Pasture, AL 0701C
email: cadrmp@hc-sc.gc.ca
The CADRMP adverse reaction reporting form, including a version that can be completed and submitted online, is located on the MedEffect portal of the Health Canada Web site.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Failure of HIV microbicide raises concerns
Source: The scientist
By Andrea Gawrylewski
A microbicide designed to ward off HIV is unexpectedly linked to an increased risk of infection, prompting speculation about the future of microbicides against HIV.
Researchers shut down an HIV microbicide clinical trial last month in Africa and India after early data indicated microbicide users had a higher rate of infection than women using a placebo. The discouraging results have surprised and disappointed researchers, and may ultimately have a negative impact on the future role of microbicides in preventing the spread of the virus.
Several other microbicides are in the pipeline for testing and development, but this trial failure may push some researchers in the direction of other HIV prevention options, predicted Daniel Kuritzkes, director of AIDS research at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "The field is moving towards more specific approaches -- use of topical applications of antiviral drugs, as opposed to true microbicides," he told The Scientist. "The [closed trial's] results would make me less enthusiastic about pursuing other [microbicides]. I would be a bit leery about getting into microbicide studies."
Enrollment for the phase III trial for the cellulose-sulfate compound, called Ushercell, began in 2005. When it was stopped, the trial's preliminary analysis included 1,333 women in India, Uganda, Benin, and South Africa. Initial results showed that 35 women had contracted HIV while using the compound, a higher rate of infection than that seen in women using a placebo. CONRAD, the Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit reproductive health organization that funded the development and testing of Ushercell, halted the trial immediately.
(...)
By Andrea Gawrylewski
A microbicide designed to ward off HIV is unexpectedly linked to an increased risk of infection, prompting speculation about the future of microbicides against HIV.
Researchers shut down an HIV microbicide clinical trial last month in Africa and India after early data indicated microbicide users had a higher rate of infection than women using a placebo. The discouraging results have surprised and disappointed researchers, and may ultimately have a negative impact on the future role of microbicides in preventing the spread of the virus.
Several other microbicides are in the pipeline for testing and development, but this trial failure may push some researchers in the direction of other HIV prevention options, predicted Daniel Kuritzkes, director of AIDS research at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "The field is moving towards more specific approaches -- use of topical applications of antiviral drugs, as opposed to true microbicides," he told The Scientist. "The [closed trial's] results would make me less enthusiastic about pursuing other [microbicides]. I would be a bit leery about getting into microbicide studies."
Enrollment for the phase III trial for the cellulose-sulfate compound, called Ushercell, began in 2005. When it was stopped, the trial's preliminary analysis included 1,333 women in India, Uganda, Benin, and South Africa. Initial results showed that 35 women had contracted HIV while using the compound, a higher rate of infection than that seen in women using a placebo. CONRAD, the Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit reproductive health organization that funded the development and testing of Ushercell, halted the trial immediately.
(...)
New UNAIDS Report
Just released!UNAIDS at country level. Supporting countries as they move towards universal access
C 500 UNA 2007
Geneva, UNAIDS, 2007.
This report is available online. Click here to download it. There's also a copy in the library.
Excerpts from the introduction:
"In 2005 and early 2006, the landscape of the AIDS response shifted dramatically. Global pessimism over the unchecked spread of the disease in the developing world receded in the face of impressive efforts to expand access to treatment. Signs that prevention efforts were bearing fruit were seen in a growing number of countries from the hardest-hit regions, which started to report drops in HIV rates, particularly among the young. (...)
During this period, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) focused its country support work on two main areas. The first was improving the architecture of the AIDS response in the face of increasing complexity, growing resources and the involvement of new actors.(...) The second priority of country work was securing political commitment to a dramatic expansion of services for prevention, treatment, care and support. Through the universal access process, countries and regions assessed the current state of the epidemic, identified barriers preventing the expansion of services and began to develop roadmaps to considerably expand key services."
How much do you know about HIV?
Test your knowledge about HIV by taking a quiz!
- amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research: Test your AIDS I.Q.
- AVERT: Quizzes page. Several quizzes on HIV, HIV statistics, HIV and women, World AIDS Day, Sex, Pregnancy, Condoms.
- The Body: HIV/AIDS Quiz
- The World Bank: What do you know about World AIDS Day?
- CDC - Business responds to AIDS / Labor responds to AIDS: HIV/AIDS Workplace tools - AIDS 101 Quiz
- PBS, The age of AIDS: Quiz
- amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research: Test your AIDS I.Q.
- AVERT: Quizzes page. Several quizzes on HIV, HIV statistics, HIV and women, World AIDS Day, Sex, Pregnancy, Condoms.
- The Body: HIV/AIDS Quiz
- The World Bank: What do you know about World AIDS Day?
- CDC - Business responds to AIDS / Labor responds to AIDS: HIV/AIDS Workplace tools - AIDS 101 Quiz
- PBS, The age of AIDS: Quiz
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