HIV-AIDS - Immunity, Eradication and Its Disappearing Victims

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the retrovirus responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been around since between 1884 and 1924 (while lentiviruses, the genus to which HIV belongs, have existed for over 14 million years) when it entered the human population from a chimpanzee in southeastern Cameroon during a period of rapid urbanization. At the time, no one noticed nor knew that it would result in one of the deadliest pandemics. Nor was anyone aware that some would possess a natural immunity, a cure would remain elusive a decade into the 21st century, and a significant number of deceased victims would be purged from mortality statistics distorting the pandemic's severity.

As the number of cases spread from Cameroon to neighboring countries, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Central African Republic, they drew little attention even as victims died in scattered numbers from a series of complications (e.g. Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), Kaposi's sarcoma, etc.) later attributed to AIDS. This was likely because of Africa's limited interaction with the developed world until the widespread use of air travel, the isolated, low incidence of cases, HIV's long incubation period (up to 10 years) before the onset of AIDS, and the absence of technology, reliable testing methods and knowledge surrounding the virus. The earliest confirmed case based on ZR59, a blood sample taken from a patient in Kinshasha, DRC dates back to 1959.

The outbreak of AIDS finally gained attention on June 5, 1981 after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) detected a cluster of deaths from PCP in Los Angeles and New York City. By August 1982, as the incidence of cases spread, the CDC referred to the outbreak as AIDS. The responsible retrovirus, HIV, was isolated nearly a year later (May 1983) by researchers from the Pasteur Institute in France and given its official name in May 1986 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. During this period, HIV-related mortality rates rose steadily in the United States peaking in 1994-1995.

HIV:

HIV is spherical in shape and approximately 120 nanometers (nm) in diameter (or 60 times smaller than a red blood cell). It is composed of two copies of single-stranded convoluted RNA surrounded by a conical capsid and lipid membrane that prevents antibodies from binding to it. HIV also consists of glycoprotein (gp120 and gp41) spikes and is a highly mutating virus. Its genome changes by as much as 1% each year, significantly faster than "killer" cytotoxic T-Cells (CD8+) can adapt. It is transmitted through bodily fluids.

Per CD4 Cell Tests (Fact Sheet Number 124, AIDS InfoNet, 21 March 2009), when "HIV infects humans" it infects "helper" T-4 (CD4) cells that are critical in resisting infections. HIV does so by merging its genetic code with that of T-4 (CD4) cells. HIV's spikes stick to the surface of T-4 (CD4) cells enabling its viral envelope to fuse with their membrane. Once fused, HIV pastes its contents into the DNA of T-4 (CD4) cells with the enzyme, integrase, so that each time T-4 (CD4) cells replicate, they produce additional "copies of HIV," reducing the count of healthy T-4 (CD4) cells. Then as healthy T-4 (CD4) cells, which come in millions of families geared towards specific pathogens are eliminated, the body is rendered defenseless against the pathogens "they were designed" to fight until ultimately, the immune system is overwhelmed.

When the T-4 (CD4) cell count drops below 200 cells per cubic mm of blood (or a percentage of? 14% of total lymphocytes; normal counts range from 500-1600 or 30%-60% of lymphocytes), indicative of serious immune system damage, the victim is deemed to have AIDS ("the end point of an infection that is continuous, progressive and pathogenic per Richard Hunt, MD (Human Immunodeficiency Virus And AIDS Statistics, Virology - Chapter 7, Microbiology and Immunology On-line (University of South Carolina School of Medicine, 23 February 2010)) and is vulnerable to a multitude of opportunistic infections. Examples are PCP, a fungal infection that is a major killer of HIV-positive persons, Kaposi's sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that attacks the brain and other parts of the body and cryptococcosis, a fungal infection that attacks the brain and spinal cord (both usually occur when the T-4 (CD4) cell count drops below 100), and mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), a bacterial infection that can be localized to a specific organ (usually the bone marrow, intestines, liver, or lungs) or widespread, in which case it is referred to as disseminated mycobacterium avium complex (DMAC) (which often occurs when the T-4 (CD4) cell count drops below 50).

Natural Immunity:

Since the onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in 1981 cases of people with a natural immunity to HIV have been documented. Although these persons, called long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) are infected with HIV, they never develop AIDS. When LTNPs are infected, some suffer an initial drop in their T-4 (CD4) cell count. However, when their T-4 (CD4) cell count reaches around 500 it stabilizes and never drops again preventing the onset of AIDS. Furthermore, while CD8+ T-Cells (even in large numbers) are ineffective against HIV-infected T-4 (CD4) cells in progressors (persons without a natural immunity to HIV), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported in a December 4, 2008 press release that "CD8+ T-Cells taken from LTNPs [can efficiently] kill HIV-infected cells in less than [an] hour" in which "a protein, perforin (produced only in negligible amounts in progressors), manufactured by their CD8+ T-Cells punches holes in the infected cells" enabling a second protein, "granzyme B" to penetrate and kill them.

Per Genetic HIV Resistance Deciphered (Med-Tech, 7 January 2005) the roots of this immunity dates back a thousand years due to "a pair of mutated genes - one in each chromosome - that prevent their immune cells from developing [Chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5 (CCR5) receptors] that let [HIV penetrate]." This mutation likely evolved to provide added protection against smallpox according to Alison Galvani, professor of epidemiology at Yale University. Based on the latest scientific evidence, the mutated CCR5 gene (also called delta 32 because of the absence or deletion of 32 amino acids from its cytokine receptor) located in Th2 cells, developed in Scandinavia and progressed southward to central Asia as the Vikings expanded their influence. Consequently up to 1% of Northern Europeans (with Swedes being in the majority) followed by a similar percentage of Central Asians have this mutation, which if inherited from both parents provides them total immunity while another 10-15% of Northern Europeans and Central Asians having inherited the mutation from one parent exhibit greater resistance in lieu of complete immunity to HIV.

At the same time, even though the CCR5 mutation is absent in Africans, a small also exhibit percentage natural immunity (possibly developed through exposure) to HIV/AIDS - CD8+ T-Cell generation that effectively kills HIV-infected cells and mutated human leukocyte group A (HLA) antigens that coat the surface of their T-4 (CD4) cells to prevent HIV from penetrating based on an intensive study of 25 Nairobi prostitutes who per The Amazing Cases of People with Natural Immunity against HIV (Softpedia, 27 June 2007) have "had sex with hundreds, perhaps thousands of HIV-positive clients" and shown no sign of contracting HIV.

In addition, people with larger numbers of the CCL3L1 gene that produces cytokines (proteins that "gum" up CCR5 receptors) to prevent HIV from entering their T-4 (CD4) cells, per Genetic HIV Resistance Deciphered have greater resistance to HIV in comparison to others within their ethnic group that possess lesser quantities of the CCL3L1 gene and get "sick as much as 2.6 times faster."

At the same time, up to 75% of newborn babies also possess natural immunity (for reasons still not known) when exposed to HIV-positive blood. Although born with HIV antibodies - thus HIV-positive, newborns "usually lose HIV antibodies acquired from their HIV-positive mothers within 12-16 - maximum 18 months," in which their "spontaneous loss of [HIV] antibodies" without medical intervention is called seroreversion. "However, with the exception of very few instances, these infants are not HIV-infected" conclusive proof of a natural immunity to HIV.[1] Furthermore, when pregnant HIV-positive women are administered highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which lowers the viral concentration of HIV in their blood, an astonishing 97% of their newborns lose their HIV antibodies through seroreversion to become HIV-free per the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) as posted under Surveillance Monitoring for ART Toxicities Study in HIV-Uninfected Children Born to HIV-Infected Mothers (SMARTT) (Clinical Trials.gov, 29 March 2008). However, at this time, it is not known if these newborns retain their natural immunity throughout their lives.

Eradication:

With a cure perhaps unattainable, eradication of HIV/AIDS in the same way as smallpox (with no cure) was eliminated, may be the most feasible option. According to Dr. Brian Williams of the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis, eradication of HIV/AIDS is an achievable goal that could be attained by 2050 if the current HIV/AIDS research paradigm is changed from focus on finding a cure to stopping transmission.

Per Dr. Williams such an effort would require testing billions of people annually. Though costly, the benefits would exceed the costs "from day one" according to the South African epidemiologist. Anyone found with HIV antibodies would immediately be administered antiretroviral therapy (which reduces HIV concentration 10,000-fold and infectiousness 25-fold) to halt transmission, effectively ending such transmission by 2015 and eliminating the disease by 2050 as most carriers die out, according to his estimate. The reason for this optimism, per Steve Connor, Aids: is the end in sight? (The Independent, 22 February 2010), is a "study published in 2008 [that] showed it is theoretically possible to cut new HIV cases by 95%, from a prevalence of 20 per 1,000 to 1 per 1,000, within 10 years of implementing a programme [sic] of universal testing and prescription of [HA]ART drugs."

Even though clinical trials to test Dr. Williams' vision will start in 2010 in Somkhele, South Africa, access to HAART still needs to be improved greatly to purge the disease. Presently only about 42% of HIV-positive people have access to HAART.

Furthermore, for eradication efforts to succeed, prevention programs (which currently reach fewer than 1 in 5 in sub-Saharan Africa, the epicenter of the pandemic where the average life-expectancy has fallen below 40 leaving about 15 million children orphaned) will have to continue to play an essential role in stopping transmission. Such programs though not limited to, must include abstinence, condom distribution, education re: transmission, safe sex, etc., and needle distribution to drug users (the latter which is badly lacking according to Kate Kelland, Failure to aid drug users drives HIV spread: study (Reuters, 1 March 2010) with "more than 90% of the world's 16 million injecting drug users offered no help to avoid contracting AIDS" despite the fact that such users often share needles and approximately 18.75% are believed to be HIV-positive).

Proof that such efforts can work is evident when the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) created in 2003 for Africa that provides funding focused on HAART and palliative care for HIV/AIDS patients, HIV/AIDS awareness education and prevention programs (condoms, needle-exchanges, and abstinence) and financial assistance to care for the pandemic's orphans and other vulnerable children, is considered. Per Michael Smith, PEPFAR Cut AIDS Death Rate in African Nations (Med Page Today, 6 April 2009), the program "averted about 1.1 million deaths [from 2004-2007]... a 10% reduction compared to neighboring African countries."

The "Disappearing" Victims:

Despite reason for optimism based on Dr. Williams' vision of eradication, the "disappearance" of HIV/AIDS victims is highly disturbing. In fact, when current statistics are compared to past statistics, more than 19 million victims or triple the number of murdered Holocaust victims (1933-1945) have been purged from the official record (effectively minimizing the severity of the pandemic) without as much as a whimper of protest, possibly because demographically speaking, a statistically-significant number of the deceased fall into groups that have been and continue to be the subjects of racial, gender, cultural, and even religious discrimination. In the words of Charles King, an activist who spoke in San Francisco on World AIDS Day in 2007, it is likely because HIV/AIDS has mainly "taken the lives of people deemed expendable"[2] the same mentality used to justify Hitler's "Final Solution" and other pogroms.

Back on January 25, 2002 in AIDS Death Toll 'Likely' to Surpass That of Bubonic Plague, Expert Says in British Medical Journal Special Issue on HIV/AIDS (Kaiser Network), it was written, "AIDS - which has already killed 25 million people worldwide - will overtake the bubonic plague as the 'world's worst pandemic' if the 40 million people currently infected with HIV do not get access to life-prolonging drugs..."

A year earlier, UNAIDS listed the global death toll as 21.8 million with an increase of 3.2 million in 2002. By 2003, based on statistics reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS, and U.S. Census Bureau as tabulated in The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Current & Future Challenges by Jennifer Kates, M.A., M.P.A., Director HIV Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation the global death toll had risen to 28 million by February 2003. Add annual mortality statistics of 3 million (2003), 3.1 million (2004 and 2005), 2.9 million (2006), 2.1 million (2007), and 2 million (2008, the most recent complete year of reporting) per UNAIDS, and an estimated, conservative total of 1.4 million (if another 28% decline as occurred between 2006 and 2007 took place between 2008 and 2009) the global death toll for year-end 2009 would be roughly 45.6 million. Yet, when UNAIDS released its latest report in November 2009 as reported in the Mail & Guardian (South Africa, 24 November 2009) the worldwide death toll through 2008 was listed as "passing 25 million," approximately 19.2 million below the actual mark.

Per AIDS cases drop due to revised data (MSNBC, 19 November 2007), the "disappearing" victims can be attributed to "a new methodology." While this may make sense with regard to prevalence since "[p]revious AIDS numbers were largely based on the numbers of infected pregnant women at clinics, as well as projecting the AIDS rates of certain high-risk groups like drug users to the entire population at risk" versus the new methodology that incorporates data from "national household surveys," it does not with regard to mortality figures which are calculated primarily from national AIDS registries and/or death certificates based on the presence of HIV, T-4 (CD4) cell counts below 200, and death caused by opportunistic AIDS-related infections resulting from such low T-4 (CD4) cell counts.

In retrospect, when viewing the approximate 45.6 million figure, few pandemics have killed more than HIV/AIDS - Smallpox (which had come in waves since 430 BC until the World Health Organization (WHO) certified its eradication in 1979), killed 300-500 million, Black Death/Bubonic Plague killed approximately 75 million from 1340-1771, and Spanish Influenza killed between 40-50 million from 1918-1919.

Optimism for the Future:

Until HIV/AIDS can be certified as eradicated by the WHO, despite the terrible economic toll it has taken, especially on sub-Saharan Africa (due to lost skills, shrinking workforces, rising medical costs) and other developing regions and its devastating toll in human lives and on families, there is reason for optimism.

As of December 2008, per UNAIDS, 33.4 million people are infected with HIV, a 1.2% increase from a year earlier with much of the rise attributed to a declining mortality rate due to a 10-fold increase in availability of HAART since 2004. About 2.7 million persons were newly infected in 2008, 18% and 30% decreases in new HIV infections globally since 2001 and 1996, respectively. In another promising sign, new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, responsible for about 70% of all HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2008, has fallen by 15% since 2001. At the same time, there were approximately 2 million HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2008, a 35% reduction from 2004 levels when the global mortality rate peaked.

Presently, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has begun to decline or stabilize in most parts of the world. Declines have been recorded in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia (although the mortality rate is increasing in East Asia) while the pandemic has stabilized in the Caribbean, Latin America, North America and Western and Central Europe. The only part of the world where the HIV/AIDS pandemic is worsening is the Eastern European (especially in Ukraine and Russia) and Central Asian region.

The declines should continue as new methods of prevention and treatment are developed. Based on studies of NLTPs, a new class of treatments focused on genetic therapy to delete the necessary 32 amino acids from CCR5 receptors, elicit perforin and granzyme B production, and develop protease inhibitors to provide immunity to HIV and halt its spread may be developed in the future.

Though still a long way off and potentially very expensive (up to $20,000 per treatment), Drugs.com Med News reported in Gene Therapy Shows Promise Against HIV (19 February 2010) that when researchers removed immune cells from eight HIV-infected persons, modified their genetic code and reinserted them, the "levels of HIV fell below the expected levels in seven of the eight patients [with] signs of the virus disappear[ing] altogether in one" even though HAART treatment was halted. A study by UCLA AIDS Institute researchers, which removed CCR5 receptors by "transplanting a small RNA molecule known as short hairpin RNA (shRNA), which induced RNA interference into human stem cells to inhibit the expression of CCR5 in human immune cells" mimicking those of LTNPs through the use of "a humanized mouse model," as reported on February 26, 2010 in Medical News Today in Gene-Based Stem Cell Therapy Specifically Removes Cell Receptor That Attracts HIV, showed similar success in that it resulted in a "stable, long-term reduction of CCR5."

At the same time, as announced in HIV/AIDS drug puzzle cracked (Kate Kelland, Reuters, 1 February 2010), British and U.S. scientists succeeded (after 40,000 unsuccessful attempts) in growing a crystal to decipher the structure of integrase, an enzyme found in HIV and other retroviruses. This will lead to a better understanding how integrase-inhibitor drugs work and perhaps to a more effective generation of treatments that could impede HIV from pasting a copy of its genetic code in the DNA of victims' T-4(CD4) cells.

Likewise, per Structure of HIV coat may help develop new drugs (Health News, 13 November 2009) scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine "unraveled the complex structure" of the capsid coat (viewing its "overall shape and atomic details") "surrounding HIV" that could enable "scientists to design therapeutic compounds" to block infection.

At the same time, researchers at the University of Texas Medical School may have finally discovered HIV's vulnerability, per Achilles Heel of HIV Uncovered (Ani, July 2008) - "a tiny stretch of amino acids numbered 421-433 on gp120" that must remain constant to attach to T-4 (CD4) cells. To conceal its weakness and evade an effective immune response, HIV tricks the body into attacking its mutating regions, which change so rapidly, ineffective antibodies are produced until the immune system is overwhelmed. Based on this finding, the researchers have created an abzyme (an antibody with catalytic or helpful enzymatic activity) derived from blood samples taken from HIV-negative people with lupus (a chronic autoimmune disease that can attack any part of the body - skin, joints, and/or organs) and HIV-positive LTNPs, which has proven potent in neutralizing HIV in lab tests, thus offering promise of developing an effective vaccine or microbicide (gel to protect against sexual transmission). Although human clinical trials are to follow, it might not be until 2015 or 2020 before abzymatic treatments are available.

Elsewhere, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) scientists recently isolated two antibodies from a NLTP HIV-positive African patient - PG9 and PG16 (called broadly neutralizing antibodies (BNAbs) that bind to HIV's viral spike composed of gp120 and gp41 to block the virus from infecting T-4 (CD4) cells. Per Monica Hoyos Flight, A new starting point for HIV vaccine design (Nature Reviews, MacMillan Publishers Limited, November 2009) "PG9 and PG16, when tested against a larger panel of viruses [HIV] neutralized 127 and 116 viruses, respectively" providing additional hopes for developing an effective vaccine and novel treatment regimens that induce the body to produce BNAbs, which currently only the immune system of NLTPs can create.

At the same time, studies of newborn seroreversion and medically induced production of human leukocyte group A (HLA) antigens that coat the surface of T-4 (CD4) cells could also eventually lead to anti-HIV vaccine that could protect billions of people.

In the meantime until such developments bear fruit, HAART (despite its mild side effects such as nausea and headaches in some and serious to life-threatening side effects in others) has proven to be highly effective in containing HIV with, per Gerald Pierone Jr., MD in The End of HIV Drug Development as We Know It? (The Body Pro: The HIV Resource for Health Professionals, 18 February 2010) reporting, "about 80% of patients [receiving HAART] reach an undetectable viral load." Furthermore, greater access to antiretrovirals, per Drop in HIV infections and deaths (BBC News, 24 November 2009) "has helped cut the death toll from HIV by more than 10%" from 2004-2008 and saved more than 3 million lives based on UNAIDS and WHO statistics. HAART has also cut the age-adjusted mortality rate by more than 70% according to Kaiser Family Foundation's July 2007 HIV/AIDS Policy Fact Sheet, because of its effectiveness in delaying and even preventing the onset of AIDS.

Despite HAART's cost ($10,000-$15,000 per patient per year), the State of California in a report titled, HIV/AIDS in California, 1981-2008 called it "dramatic and life-saving" especially since early intervention results in greater mean T-4 (CD4) cell counts translating into fewer opportunistic infections and deaths. It also results in real cost savings because of the strong inverse relationship between T-4 (CD4) cell counts and associated medical expenses.

In conclusion, despite HIV/AIDS' "disappearing" victims, there is reason for optimism. Research over the last year has offered several promising leads - the underlying cause of NLTPs' immunity has been discovered, the structure of the HIV virus solved, and its weak point found - while improved access to HAART and HIV/AIDS education and prevention measures (with the exception of addressing intravenous drug users) have made significant inroads in reducing infection and mortality rates buying victims additional years and an enhanced quality of life.

______

[1] Orapun Metadilogkul, Vichai Jirathitikal, and Aldar S. Bourinbalar. Serodeconversion of HIV Antibody-Positive AIDS Patients Following Treatment with V-1 Immunitor. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. 7 September 2008.

[2] Michael Crawford. AIDS: Where is Our Rage? The Bilerico Project. 2 December 2007. 28 February 2010. http://www.bilerico.com/2007/12/aids_where_is_our_rage.php

Additional Source:

Wikipedia. 24-28 February 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/

William Sutherland is a published poet and writer. He is the author of three books, "Poetry, Prayers & Haiku" (1999), "Russian Spring" (2003) and "Aaliyah Remembered: Her Life & The Person behind the Mystique" (2005) and has been published in poetry anthologies around the world. He has been featured in "Who's Who in New Poets" (1996), "The International Who's Who in Poetry" (2004), and is a member of the "International Poetry Hall of Fame." He is also a contributor to Wikipedia, the number one online encyclopedia and has had an article featured in "Genetic Disorders" Greenhaven Press (2009).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Sutherland

Hiv-Aids Treatment

Do you keep up with current events? Wow, I tell you, if you were to quit watching the news for six months, and then flip it back on; you'd be shocked at all the new problems. Nope, I didn't mention anything positive, did I? Well, if you do watch the news, local or world, then you surely know why. They never tell you anything good. Apparently they're only interested in announcing the bad stuff. It's a crazy society we all share, isn't it? On the other hand, I guess you may here about some new or experimental hiv aids treatment. They tend to slip this stuff in at times. With illnesses such as Cancer, the Bird flu, and HIV out there, how could they not? Are you up to date on the latest health afflictions?

When it comes to hiv aids treatment, the costs can get pretty hefty. It's the sad truth that a number of people infected with the virus, can't even afford a decent cocktail. One individual told me he was forking out hundreds each week for an hiv aids treatment. That is crazy! You'd think people around the globe would get a hint. Stop having casual and unprotected sex. It's like a freaking pandemic out there. Yet thousands more are constantly acquiring the deadly virus. Take Magic Johnson for instance. What is this guys deal? He apparently cheated on his wife and contracted the AIDS virus. Is this karma or what? However, what if he would have then passed it on to his wife? That would be atrocious. She is completely an innocent victim in it all. People really need to start thinking about the consequences of their actions. Unless you want to be spending your paychecks or life savings on a hiv aids treatment for the rest of your days, then I would watch your step. And I say rest of your days, as opposed to rest of your years, because who knows how long you have to live once you've contracted HIV.

Medicines such as the hiv aids treatment don't actually heal you. In reality, nothing can. The fact of the matter is that HIV is a virus that leads to the destruction of your immune system. Without your immune system defending your body, you're screwed. The hiv aids treatment alters the production of certain blood cells, so that you can attempt to live longer. If you require more information on HIV or an hiv aids treatment, just hop online.

Pastor reveals HIV's ‘Secrets'

Bishop Mark Tolbert recalls trying to teach a group of teens about sex, AIDS and abstinence and watching their eyes glaze over.</p><p>“So I said, ‘How about if we made a movie about this subject?' And their eyes lit up,” Tolbert recalled.</p><p>A year and lots of hard work later, the movie they made is ready for its spotlight.</p><p>“Secrets,” a high school thriller about a mysterious strain of the HIV virus working its way through the student population, debuts at 7:45 p.m. Friday on the Extreme Screen at Union Station. Admission is $9.</p><p>Tolbert, pastor of Victorious Life Church, 3400 the Paseo, said the film he produced was very much a community effort. Local writer Terry Goddard fashioned the screenplay with the input of young people.

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STDs Grow in Women & Teens

The CDC released shocking numbers this week, showing one out of every four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. And the numbers for Black women are also growing.More Black women in the country are dying from AIDS than any other disease. It is also one of the leading causes of death for women of all races, only falling behind Cancer and Heart disease.With this being Women's Health Month -- activists say it's time for our community to wake up and act.The problem is growing."African Americans account for only 13 percent of the total population but yet and still African Americans are accounting for over half of all new HIV infections," says Arkansas AIDS Foundation Executive Director Berna Thomas.Hardly anyone's talking about it."Sex is so taboo…in our community, we tend to lead toward ‘if we don't talk about it, then it doesn't exist'," Thomas says.But it does exist and Deborah Patton will talk."I believe I have a purpose in this epidemic today," Patton says.She's HIV positive."I was infected through unprotected sex.

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Merck Provides International Partnership With Experimental Drug To Develop Microbicide

Merck has agreed to provide the International Partnership for Microbicides with its experimental antiretroviral drug L'644 to develop a microbicide that could protect women against HIV, the partnership announced on Tuesday, Reuters reports (Fox, Reuters, 3/11). Microbicides include a range of products -- such as gels, films and sponges -- that could help prevent the sexual transmission of HIV and other infections (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/26). L'644 is a member of a class of drugs known as gp41 fusion inhibitors, which block HIV from attaching to immune system cells.

IPM's CEO Zeda Rosenberg said L'644 is the sixth antiretroviral to be tested by the group. "It's a completely different mechanism of action to what we have currently under development and what the field has under development," she said, adding, "It's pretty early in the life cycle for HIV.

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News Categories

Many developing countries around the world are locked in a bitter struggle against HIV/AIDS. The debilitating social and economic effects of the epidemic are already clear. In Yemen, a sustained campaign to educate and train both citizens and health professionals is well underway, but even more must be done. Members of Yemeni local councils and health and education professionals have an undeniably important role in the struggle against HIV/AIDS since they positively affect different groups in the society. Progressio, a British development organization, held a workshop on March 3rd and 4th at the International Development Training Center to educate them on HIV/AIDS. UNICEF, the local council of al-Wahdah district, and the Capital-secretariat also participated in this meeting.

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Sudanese Health Minister Sokaya Encourages Churches To Spread HIV/AIDS Awareness

Sudanese Health Minister Tabita Sokaya recently called on churches in the country's capital, Khartoum, to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS among their congregations, the Sudan Radio Service reports.

Sokaya last week during an HIV/AIDS awareness event organized by the Roman Catholic Church said that HIV/AIDS affects young and active people and that the country cannot afford to lose young people to the virus. Sokaya said the country is "in need of youth to build the new Sudan," adding, "As such, we must face HIV and AIDS and fight against it."

Sokaya added that the Ministry of Health will work in collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure access to antiretroviral drugs for HIV-positive people in the country. She also called on people to not discriminate against people living with the virus.

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Uganda: Parliament Lauds Aids Heroes

PARLIAMENT yesterday commended 22 individuals and organisations for their contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Those recognised include President Yoweri Museveni and his wife Janet, the late Philly Lutaya, Prof. Francis Miiro, Dr. Sam Okware, Noerine Kaleeba, Sister Dr. Miriam Duggan, Dr. Elly Katabira, Dr. Anthony Lwegaba, the late Dr. Lucille Teasdale and the late Dr. Piero Corti of Lacor Hospital in Gulu.

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AIDS Rates Surge Among African-American Men

The rates of HIV among young African-American men who have sex with men have skyrocketed, reported the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday.

The CDC's report showed that in the 33 states where data was collected, the number of HIV or AIDS cases increased among all adult and adolescent MSM in all age groups from 2001 through 2005. The largest increase came with African-American MSM ages 13-24, with a staggering 80% increase.

"This dramatic increase in HIV rates is yet another in a series of clarion calls to Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services that young people need culturally relevant and realistic sex education to protect their health and save their lives," said Debra Hauser, executive vice president of Advocates for Youth, in a release.

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Hiv Medication for Treatment

After the initial shock and fear wear off, it can take years to re-enter the dating arena, so I will try to help explain how to start dating again if you are HIV Positive. I was diagnosed with HIV 22 years ago, on April 15th, 1987, Tax Day. The place was 1600 Pacific Coast Highway, in San Diego, Ca. which happens to be the center for San Diego's health authorities. Back in those days a diagnoses of HIV was a sure fire death sentence, with maybe 1-2 years to live, if you were lucky.

There were no HIV Medications for treatment, they still didn't know what they were dealing with. When I was diagnosed I was handed a packet of papers, and as the voice of the person talking to me trailed off, I felt myself going into a bit if a shut off state of mind. I got up, walked out and when I hit the parking lot I fell to my knees and started crying. My girlfriend at the time just knelt down and held me and let me cry. She was in a bit of shock as well.

I lived in an area called Normal Heights, and the gay area of town was pretty close by, so I had to go to the gay community to find help and information about being HIV . The heterosexual community wasn't really affected at this point, and if you did have HIV and you were heterosexual, you kept your mouth shut so as not to be thought of as gay or an I.V. drug user. Some of the things a person goes through when they are diagnosed with HIV are "will I ever be loved again?", "will anyone ever love me for me", "will I ever find someone who will make love to me", "will I ever have sex again", "I'm trash", "Damaged goods", "Diseased". I mean serious deep down questions that hit right down to the heart of a persons soul and psyche.

Talk about suddenly feeling alone. Whoa. I went through it all, the head trips, the questions, how do you tell someone you are HIV , what if this or what if that? I remember getting picked up by a girl at "Billy Bones Bar", about 1 year after being diagnosed, we had gone to her car and started kissing. I had to stop her and tell her that I was HIV . At the same time I also tried to tell her that she couldn't get it from kissing, and she had nothing to worry about, but that really didn't matter as she reached over, opened my door and pushed me out and proceeded to take off. I remember asking her "Remember the pamphlet the surgeon general mailed out to everyone about HIV?" to which she answered yes, I asked if she had read it and she said no, she didn't think it was that important.

I asked her "Is it important now", to which she replied yes, and left. Throughout my life being a heterosexual and HIV , I have dated on and off, HIV Negative women, HIV Positive women, and I have had to deal with rejection all throughout this time. No matter how much you say you get used to it, you never really fully get over rejection, even when you expect it. I have however found a way to date, a process in which l set up the circumstances to better favor the person who is HIV , so that they will have a better chance when the time comes to disclose their status, and have the least amount of rejection when dating. It lets the other person get to know you before they see the "Scary Monster" called HIV.

The process starts when I would start dating someone, more like courting, in the old school way. Being a perfect Gentleman, no kissing, no messing around, just going out on dates and hanging out here and there, letting the person get to know me and me getting to know her. I let this happen for a while, several weeks, maybe even a few months. I like to let the tension build, sexual, attraction, wants and needs, whatever you want to call it. But the key here is to let the person get to know you and you get to know them.

And I do mean really get to know this person. Not only is this a good way of getting to know someone, but it is a good way of deciding if this person is right for you in the long run. Sometimes with this process you may NEVER even have to tell them you're HIV . You might decide you don't want to be any where near this person. Ok, so after a period of time goes by and the tension has built up just so much that you feel at anytime, maybe even the next time you say good bye to leave for the night, this might be THE time that something could happen, such as a goodbye kiss because the tension is so great, this might be the time to decide to tell this person.

If I decide that this is now the right time to tell this person, I usually set up a nice little evening rendezvous with them at their place, and while I am there having a nice time, at some point I tell them I need to tell them "something". I let them know this because I feel that the relationship is "Going in that direction". I have them sit down and this does get easier each time this happens, it's the rejection that is never fully gotten used to. I sit them down, and I tell them "I need to let you know this because I feel we are headed in a direction that I am happy to be headed, but I Respect you and Care about you, so I need to tell you that I am HIV Positive." I also let them know that I am NOT god(should you believe in a god) and it is their right to decide if they want to be with me, and whatever their decision is, I will respect that decision. You might even want to have some pamphlets handy for them to read about HIV.

Assure them that everything is ok, and whatever they decide, even if they decide they don't want to continue seeing you in a romantic way, that everything is ok, and you respect their decision. But the key here is to let THEM decide. I WOULD NOT stress that they need to make a decision right then and there, give them some time. Once I have given my little talk, I ask them if they have any immediate questions they would like to ask, and if not, I sometimes will tell them that I am going to let them sit and digest what I just told them, and then I leave. I usually leave so they can quietly figure out what I have just told them.

These days, many people are more educated than they were in 1987 and it isn't as scary as it was 22 years ago, but some people are still not so educated, and they need time to chew on it. The key points in this process are to tell them BEFORE anything happens, before you kiss them, Definitely BEFORE SEX, and again never pressure them to make a decision right then. Just let them be, let them have control, let them decide. They will respect you more for telling them before anything happens, they will respect you more if you let them decide what is right for them without pressure, and they will definitely respect you more for RESPECTING THEM. One of the emotional advantages of letting them get to know you for a while before telling them is if they do start to like you romantically, they are somewhat "Addicted" to you, they like you, they want you, want to be with you, so it is natural that this will create a tie that binds.

Also it lets them get to know you as a person, not a monster that is scary and out to get them. I have found, in the past, that people see me for me, a human being, a person, and a non threatening entity, but as soon as they here those letters: H.I.V. come out of my mouth they cease to see me the person, and start seeing the Scary Monster that's out to kill them. Mind you like I said this is more in the past, as people tend to be educated more so than they were 22 years ago. Once you create the romantic energy between the two of you, it will go much easier telling them you are HIV Positive than if you tell them on your first date.

Trust me, I know, I have done this for the past 22 years and have had my share of rejection and acceptation. I now have a wonderful girlfriend to whom I intend to marry in the very near future, as well as a beautiful and healthy 10 month old daughter with her, who is also HIV Negative. One more thing I want to touch on, if you are one who is on the HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy), and your viral load is undetectable, this is fortunate for you, as studies show, since the year 2000, that anyone with a viral load of less than 1500 copies or is undetectable, is not likely to pass HIV on to their partner. These studies have been done through many reputable medical centers and hospitals such as Johns Hopkins, just google "The Hopkins HIV Report - May 2000" and that should show you the reports I speak of. This is the reason I now have an 8 month old daughter who is HIV Negative.

It is through the medical breakthroughs in recent years with HIV that have enabled people such as me to live normal and happy lives. I hope this information helps someone else, who is newly or even longer, diagnosed with HIV. There is life after Diagnoses.

Ghana: Ten Radio Stations to Participate in HIV/Aids Behavioural Change Programme

As part of efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Ghana, 10 radio stations in the country, one from each region, have been selected to undertake behaviour change communication on HIV/AIDS prevention, using radio soap opera.

The Ghana Aids Commission under the National Innovation Programme is funding the project, being implemented by the Centre for Development Communication (CEDCOM), a development communication consortium with its headquarters in Tamale.

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HIV/AIDS - Prevent It!

Aids . The sound of the word shocks some, and makes other cower. How did we let it get so far? There's no treatment for few illnesses, and helps is one of them.

Yet we have sex without protection, and we continue to share unclean needles. Come on! Granted, HIV / helps will never be a thing of the past, but we will do better in making the condition less common. In 2004, it was in charge of 3.5 million deaths worldwide. Thats not even the worst of it. 6.4 million folk newly contracted the pathogen in the same year! Rather than reducing the dangerous condition, we are multiplying it. This wishes to stop. It's as if 3.5 million was not enough dead in 2004, so we made a decision to raise the numbers for 2005. What are we thinking?! Mummies can share helps with their children during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding, and there isn't any way to stop it short of not becoming pregnant.

Drugs For Treating Aids May Prevent People From Catching Aids

In one of the most promising developments in more than twenty years, scientists claim that drugs used to manipulate HIV / helps in patients might also be valuable in stopping the disease in the 1st place. The drugs in question are tenofovir ( Viread ) and emtricitabine, or FTC ( Emtriva ), sold in combo as Truvada by Gilead Sciences Inc. Gilead is the California company famous for inventing Tamiflu. Prior research has been directed at finding a vaccine against HIV / aids with the objective of conditioning the immune mechanism against the illness.

They just keep the pathogen from reproducing, and have recently been used successfuly by medicare employees to stop them from getting infected by the virus carried by patients. This approach to fighting HIV / helps has been alluring analysts for a number of years, but has only in the near past become possible as preventive drugs have been developed that are safe for non-infected folks to take. That situation modified when Tenofovir came on the market in 2001. Tenofovir is dynamic and safe, and it only must be taken once per day. It also doesn't engage with other drugs or contraception tablets, and manifests less drug resistance than other assists medicines. ** Monkey studies show exciting results A major study by the CDC ( Centers for Illness Control and Prevention ) in Atlanta, Georgia concerned 6 macaques. The monkeys were given a mixture of Tenofovir and FTC and then administered a dangerous blend of monkey and human assists viruses. They were given the viruses in colonic doses to simulate contact between gay men. Each was given fourteen weekly exposures of the pathogen, and not one of the monkeys became infected. In a control group which did not receive the drugs, all but one got the illness, typically after only 2 exposures. The results were similarly impressive.

Not one of the monkeys contracted the illness.

'We're now four months following the animals with no drug, no pathogen. They are uninfected and healthy,' reported a CDC analyst.

Now other research groups are pushing to have this drug mixture tested on humans. A $29 million CDC study of drug users in Botswana will now be switched to this new drug mixture. But a number of other studies have failed to materialize because studies of this nature straight away raise claims that scientists are using area folk as guinea pigs. The price of tenofovir and Truvada also make testing tricky. In African states prophylactics are now liberally donated by firms, help groups, UN agencies, and western executives. While the drugs are comparatively inexpensive, the cost remains an impediment. Nonetheless analysts have been reinvigorated by the shocking results out of Atlanta, and new tests are going ahead in pockets of interest around the globe.

$550 million to fight HIV/AIDS

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced $550 million in grants to fund primary care and support services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS in 56 cities and major urban areas.

The grants are awarded to 22 eligible metropolitan areas (EMAs) with the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS, and to 34 transitional grant areas (TGAs) experiencing increases in HIV/AIDS cases and emerging care needs.

The awards are provided under Part A of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which is administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration.

To be eligible as EMAs, metropolitan areas must have a cumulative total of more than 2,000 AIDS cases over the most recent five-year period and a population of 50,000 or more persons.

Cities are considered TGAs if they have at least 1,000, but not more than 1,999, cumulative AIDS cases during the most recent five years, and a population of 50,000 or more persons.

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Patient forum agrees on need for CL

A ''patient forum'' was held for the first time yesterday on access to drug and medical treatment. The forum, chaired by health advocate and former senator Jon Ungpakorn, was attended by about 100 cancer and heart disease patients as well as people living with HIV/Aids who shared their views on problems relating to public access to medicinal drugs.

The commerce and foreign ministers, and representatives from the Social Security Office and National Health Security Office were invited, but only representatives from the SSO and public health minister showed up.

Patient Chariya Chariyanakul said she had lived with breast, bone and lung cancer for several years. But the cost of the medicine needed to treat her did not affect her much, because the healthcare scheme for civil servants covered all expenses.

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HIV clinic offers fast, anonymous testing

If Dr. Jeff Cohen had his way, everyone would be tested for HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS.

But many people are afraid to find out, or can't stand the stress of waiting a week or two for results to come back from the lab.

Now a new rapid test for HIV is available under the province's anonymous testing program, and Cohen is hoping more people take advantage of its speed and accuracy to learn their status.

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ANC extends olive branch to TAC

Government and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) should bury the hatchet and unite in the fight against HIV/Aids, ANC national executive committee member Zweli Mkhize said on Friday.

"I am aware that there was quite a lot of strain between the TAC and government and I said to some of the members, I hope we could bury that as a chapter of the past," he told delegates at the TAC's 4th National Congress.

"We hope that we will try to reduce all the tensions... and bring us to a point where we will move forward as one army taking on one common enemy."

Mkhize, whose daughter is a member of the TAC, said the ANC's NEC, elected in December, could also "assist" to ensure that these tensions were avoided.

While relations between the TAC and government have thawed recently, they had in the past seen the NGO calling repeatedly for the resignation of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

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Tropics Expected To Be Next Emerging Disease Hotspot With Zoonoses The Primary Concern

Scientists from four well-known institutions say the next major disease like HIV/AIDS or SARS could occur in any of a number of developing countries concentrated along the equator. They encourage increased surveillance to prevent the spread of a potential outbreak.

Using global databases and sophisticated computer models to analyze patterns of emerging diseases, the researchers -- from the Consortium for Conservation Medicine (CCM) at Wildlife Trust, N.Y., the Institute of Zoology, London, U.K., Columbia University, N.Y., and the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. -- are able for the first time to plot, map and predict where the next pandemic might occur.

Funded through a Human and Social Dynamics Exploratory Research award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Arlington, Va., the research represents a major breakthrough in understanding where and why pandemic diseases emerge and provides a key tool for preventing them in the future.

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Blood donations down after hepatitis scare

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Blood donations have dropped since a hepatitis scare triggered a massive health alert in southern Nevada.Officials say donations at the United Blood Services' five fixed sites have dropped 25 percent since early March.

That's when 40,000 former patients at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada were told to be tested for potentially fatal viruses hepatitis B and C and HIV. The clinic was found to be practicing unsafe injection procedures.Blood bank recruiter Amy Hutch says many potential donors have expressed concerns about the safety of giving blood. She says she assures people that blood banks never reuse needle and dispose of needles immediately after their use.

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Uganda: Parliament Commends Aids Champions

PARLIAMENT yesterday passed a resolution recognising the outstanding contributions by key individuals and institutions in the fight against HIV/Aids hours to the commemoration of the 25 years of HIV/Aids response in Uganda.

The function is scheduled to take place today at Kasensero Fish Landing Site in Rakai District, where the first Aids case emerged in Uganda in 1982.

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