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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - March 2015
Undetectable – The Game Changer to End HIV by 2020 | Ending HIV
Published on Mar 31, 2015 - HIV treatments have changed – if an HIV positive person is on treatment and has an undetectable viral load, the risk of transmission is almost zero, and it improves their health.
Now more than ever we know we can end HIV by 2020 if we test more, treat early and continue to stay safe.
ACT UP DEMANDS GOV. CUOMO RELEASE BLUEPRINT TO END AIDS IN NEW YORK
NEW YORK CITY, MARCH 31, 2015 – AIDS Activists Stage April Fools’ Day Demonstration at Gov. Cuomo’s NYC Office.
“No more delays. Let’s get to work ending the AIDS Epidemic!” Activists say.
On April Fool’s Day, ACT UP New York and allies will stage a demonstration outside the New York City office of Governor Andrew Cuomo to demand the release of the
Ending the AIDS Epidemic Blueprint at a public event in Albany without delay. The group has committed to escalating, bi-weekly demonstrations until the Governor releases the Blueprint to End the AIDS Epidemic in New York State by 2020.
House Votes to Defund HIV Prevention to Pay for Abstinence Education
March 31, 2015 - Texas has the third highest rate of HIV infections in the country, but that didn’t stop lawmakers from passing an amendment that defunds HIV/STD prevention programs Tuesday.
The amendment to the House budget proposal—offered by Rep. Stuart Spitzer (R-Kaufman)—diverts $3 million over the next biennium to abstinence-only sexual education programs.
Read more...
Predictors of HIV-related peripheral neuropathy in the modern era
March 30, 2015 - HIV infection can cause many problems, including some that affect the nerves. The nervous system that permeates the vast majority of the body
outside of the brain is called the peripheral nervous system. As early as 1983, doctors in Manhattan noted the strange appearance of injury to the nerves in the feet and legs of people with HIV. This type of injury is called peripheral neuropathy (PN).
HIV patients experience better kidney transplant outcomes than Hepatitis C patients
31-MAR-2015 - PHILADELPHIA - Findings illustrate need to effectively treat Hepatitis C to ensure better transplant outcomes
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)-positive kidney transplant patients experienced superior outcomes when compared to kidney transplant patients with Hepatitis C and those infected with both HIV and Hepatitis C, according to a study led by researchers
at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published online in Kidney International.
Kenya court urges change to law criminalising women who pass HIV to baby -
NAIROBI, March 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Human rights groups have welcomed moves to change a Kenyan law passed to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, which criminalises pregnant women who pass HIV/AIDS to their babies,
saying it discouraged people from finding out their status.
Read more...
Vancouver’s drug users need compassion, not Tories’ contempt
Mar 31, 2015 - On Monday, March 23, Bill C2 – the “Act to Amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act” – passed in the House of Commons. While Vancouver’s supervised Injection site “Insite” was recently granted
a one year extension under the existing legislation, should Bill C2 eventually become law then it may well cause the eventual closure of InSite, and will make it almost impossible for any new sites to open in other communities. The Conservative government has labelled this law the “Respect for Communities Act”.
“Contempt for the Health of Communities” would be more accurate.
Read more...
Zambians living with HIV being sent back from China
Mar 31, 2015 - ZAMBIANS who are found to be HIV positive while living in China are being sent back, it has been discovered.
Read more...
Dramatic performance about homosexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention
MARCH 31, 2015 - An audience of more than 200 made up of staff and students from the Hanoi University of Pharmacy have just watched the drama named “Three in one” free of charge at the Vietnam National Drama Theatre.
After the drama, an exchange program was held between the troupe and students about the drama and knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Many questions about safe sex, HIV infection prevention, reducing stigma and discrimination against
people with HIV and those vulnerable to HIV were raised during the program.
Read more...
French study hints at marijuana’s potential for reducing diabetes risk
March 30, 2015 - Thanks to the widespread availability of potent combination anti-HIV therapy (commonly called ART or HAART), many
HIV-positive people are living longer and researchers increasingly expect that some of these people will reach old age. As HIV-positive people age, their risk for type 2 diabetes and other complications related to aging will likely increase. The precursor to type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance and we discuss this next.
Stephen Lewis, Celebrated Humanitarian and Former U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, to Address Walden University Doctoral Students
Minneapolis—March 30, 2015 - Stephen Lewis, one of the world's most influential commentators on social affairs, international development and human rights, will speak to more than 450 doctoral students
at Walden University's academic residency on Wednesday, April 1, at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center hotel in Virginia. Lewis is a celebrated humanitarian, speaker and best-selling author known for his powerful presentations on the topics of social justice, international development, HIV/AIDS and climate change.
Identification of drug combinations that reverse HIV-1 latency
March 30, 2015 - A new study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation reports on the development of a multifaceted approach for identifying drug combinations that reverse HIV-1 latency. Robert Siliciano and colleagues collected T cells from HIV-infected individuals and assayed these cells for the presence of HIV-1 within cells and the production and section of intact virus, which is indicative of reactivation.
Read more...
Vancouver Coastal Health considers more drug injection sites
MARCH 30, 2015 - VCH awaits nod from Health Canada on current “illegal” injection facility
Vancouver Coastal Health will consider adding supervised drug injection services to existing health clinics, if Health Canada grants an exemption to a downtown facility that has “illegally” operated an injection room for its registered clients since February 2002.
Read more...
How an HIV outbreak hit rural Indiana -- and why we should be paying attention
MARCH 30, 2015 - "When you don't have a health-care system where people have access to testing and treatment, the introduction of one infection into a community of drug users can turn into an outbreak," said Tony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Read more...
Syphilis a danger in TT
MARCH 30, 2015 - SYPHILIS, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) may seem like a disease from yesteryear when Ebola and HIV/Aids are making headlines every day. However, People’s National Movement MP Dr Amery Browne said this was not the case at all.
The grayest heads among us still think of AIDS as a terrible new disease. But younger adults have never known a world without it, and many of the youngest think He said syphilis was not an STI that had a specific period, but was presented throughout the year. Browne said the disease continued to be spread in TT
and thus the reason why he has been calling for stronger prevention programmes associated with HIV and other STIs. He explained that the presence of one STI facilitated the spread of other STIs including HIV, which in some ways connected them.
Read more...
A World Shared With H.I.V.
MARCH 30, 2015 - The grayest heads among us still think of AIDS as a terrible new disease. But younger adults have never known a world without it, and many of the youngest think of it only as an annoying condition you take a pill for. They know nothing of the anguish and heroism that once surrounded the word “AIDS.”
Read more...
Gay rights activist Larry Kramer talks homophobia, film and a cure for AIDS
03/30/15 - The Penn LGBTQ Center for QPenn brought gay-rights and AIDS activist, playwright and author Larry Kramer to Penn on Thursday night. Kramer is the founder of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP, a protest organization that fights for the rights of gay men and raises awareness for the importance of AIDS funding.
Read more...
Activists protest denial of condoms to Africa’s high-risk groups
March 30, 2015 - HARARE - With restrictions blocking the distribution of condoms in schools and prisons in Africa, health experts say the continent’s opportunity to halt the spread of HIV and Aids in line with
the UN Millennium Development Goals may be squandered, “It will be hard for Africa to win the war against HIV and Aids if certain groups of people like students and prisoners are being skipped from preventive measures,” Tamasha Nyerere, an independent HIV and Aids counsellor based in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian capital, told IPS.
Read more...
Meet Britain’s First HIV-Positive Parliamentary Candidate
March 30, 2015 - In a poignant interview, Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett, the Lib Dem candidate for Vauxhall, reveals the extraordinary, harrowing story of how he contracted the virus, and explains why he felt compelled to speak out.
Read more...
Most HIV-positive gay men in European survey are on HIV treatment, though fewer in the east
30 March 2015 - The large EMIS survey of gay men living in Europe has found that over 70% of respondents with HIV are taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). Of those who have never started ART or have stopped, by far the most common reason was a doctor’s recommendation that they did not need to take it.
Read more...
Casey House expansion a boon to people living with HIV/AIDS
Mar 29 2015 - Groundbreaking ceremony Monday for new 58,000-square-foot facility
Casey House, which opened its doors in 1988, is currently undergoing a massive expansion that will see it better equipped to treat patients like Kaighin — people who have beat the odds due to advancements in anti-retroviral therapy.
As HIV epidemic rages in Indiana, lessons to be learned from Vancouver
March 29, 2015 - As infections spread among intravenous drug users, officials reconsider syringe exchanges
PBS NewsHour Weekend traveled to Vancouver last year to examine how their program works, including a look inside a controversial facility where medical staff help addicts inject illegal drugs safely.
Read more...
Needle Exchanges Gain Currency
March 29, 2015 - As infections spread among intravenous drug users, officials reconsider syringe exchanges
Evidence that HIV and hepatitis C are spreading among intravenous drug users is prompting more state and local officials to consider setting up needle exchanges—including some who had been resistant to such programs.
Read more...
Activists Protest Denial of Condoms to Africa’s High-Risk Groups
HARARE, Mar 28 2015 (IPS) - The HIV epidemic that now grips Austin, Ind., seemed to come out of nowhere. Since the first diagnosis in mid-December, the number of infected there and in the surrounding region has skyrocketed — 26 by the beginning of March, 72 as of this Wednesday.
It’s the worst HIV outbreak in state history, and has local and federal officials scrambling to stem the spread of the disease.
Read more...
Kramer calls AIDS scourge act of ‘genocide’
March 27, 2015 - NEW YORK - The Gay Men’s Health Crisis honored Larry Kramer, the legendary AIDS activist and playwright who was a founding member of the agency in 1982, at its spring gala Monday night.
Upon receiving the Larry Kramer Activism Award, Kramer gave a blistering speech that criticized U.S. elected officials for neglect.
Read more...
NYU developing HIV antibodies and RNA test in a single POC
27-Mar-2015 - NYU team partners with Rheonix, Inc. on NIH grant to help achieve a commercial-ready test for use in the developing world
New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) has received a sub-award in the amount of $335,000 from a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH
) to complete the development of a fully automated self-confirming assay that can simultaneously detect HIV/AIDS antibodies and viral RNA from the AIDS virus in a single specimen.
Indiana is battling the worst HIV outbreak in its history
Mar 26, 2015 - The HIV epidemic that now grips Austin, Ind., seemed to come out of nowhere. Since the first diagnosis in mid-December, the number of infected there and in the surrounding region has skyrocketed — 26 by the beginning of March, 72 as of this Wednesday.
It’s the worst HIV outbreak in state history, and has local and federal officials scrambling to stem the spread of the disease.
Read more...
When HIV Infects the Brain
Mar 26 2015 - A new study reports that the virus can infiltrate the central nervous system within months of infection.
A study published Thursday in the online journal PLOS Pathogens gives reason for pause, showing that HIV can behave more insidiously than previously seen. Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina have found that the virus can settle in people’s
brains as early as four months after infection. In turn, HIV in the brain can genetically mutate—differentiating itself from the type circulating in the blood—which means that certain drugs used to treat the virus may not work as well in the central nervous system as they do in other parts of the body. Over time,
untreated HIV can cause negative neurological and mental-health effects, such as brain swelling and a form of dementia.
Read more...
STUDY: People With HIV Age 14 Years Faster
Mar 25, 2015 - New study shows evidence HIV accelerates age-related diseases.
Researchers think that it is the HIV itself that accelerates the aging process by 14 years, rather than medications used to treat it. Scientists from the UCLA AIDS Institute and Center for AIDS Research and the Multi-Center AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) investigated whether
the virus induced age-associated epigenetic changes (that is, changes to the DNA that then led to changes in expression of genes but do not change the genetic code). These kinds of transitions can be brought on by environmental factors or the aging process itself.
Read more...
HIV Prevention on the Line: Time to Mobilize -- Again
Mar 25, 2015 - In 2015, the International AIDS Society (IAS) will hold a conference in Vancouver, returning to the city for a large-scale meeting the first time since the 1996 AIDS Conference that heralded the beginning of the era of highly active antiretroviral treatment. And in 2016, the IAS will convene the large, biennial International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa -- 16 years after the 2000 conference that revolutionized global expectations of AIDS treatment in low-income settings.
Read more...
For most children with HIV and low immune cell count, cells rebound after treatment
25-Mar-2015 - Study led by UCLA doctor finds t-cell level returns to normal with time
Most children with HIV who have low levels of a key immune cell eventually recover levels of this cell after they begin treatment, according to a new study conducted by researchers at UCLA and other institutions in the U.S. and Brazil.
Construction Begins On New Casey House HIV/AIDS Health Care Centre
Mar 25, 2015 - With 1 in 120 adult Torontonians now HIV positive, more people are living with HIV in Toronto than ever before. Responding to this growing and evolving need,
Casey House is building a new, modern and greatly expanded home for advanced HIV/AIDS care at the corner of Jarvis and Isabella Streets.
Read more...
Indiana governor declares emergency in response to HIV epidemic
Mar 25, 2015 - Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will declare a public health disaster emergency for Scott County in response to an HIV outbreak there, he announced today.
Read more...
Insite supervised injection site receives Health Canada exemption
Mar 25, 2015 - Advocates fear new federal legislation will make it harder to open safe injection sites in future
Canada's first supervised injection site has received a Health Canada exemption that allows it to continue to operate, days after passage of federal legislation that critics fear will make it harder to open new facilities.
Read more...
CDC heads to Indiana for HIV outbreak
Mar 25, 2015 -SCOTT COUNTY, Ind. (WKRC) - A medical team from the Centers for Disease Control is going to Indiana to help address an outbreak of HIV.
Read more...
AIDS specialist advocates sweeping approach to battle against hepatitis C
March 25, 2015 - But B.C. health minister says that would cost billions
Could hepatitis C be the next communicable disease to come under a targeted attack in B.C.?
It will be if HIV/AIDS expert Dr. Julio Montaner has his way.
Read more...
Aging eyes and macular degeneration
25 March 2015 - In Canada and other high-income countries the widespread availability of potent combination anti-HIV therapy (commonly called ART or HAART)
has tremendously reduced deaths from AIDS-related infections. Furthermore, researchers increasingly expect that some ART users will live into their 80s. Therefore, among patients whose immune systems
have improved and stabilized thanks to ART, the focus of care will likely eventually shift to the prevention and treatment of conditions related to the aging process. One such complication affects the eye and is called age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
End-of-life planning website launched for LGBT seniors
March 25, 2015 - LGBT End-of-Life Conversations helps seniors find services that are LGBT-friendly
The recognition of LGBT rights may have come a long way in Vancouver and other parts of Canada, but many queer seniors still face discrimination when it comes to end-of-life care, says one B.C. gerontology expert.
Simon Fraser University gerontology professor Gloria Gutman and a colleague recently launched LGBT End-of-Life Conversations, a website that helps seniors in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax find LGBT-friendly service providers who can help with things like accessing housing or health
care facilities, or preparing living wills or representation agreements.
Read more...
Julio Montaner: HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention
Uploaded on Mar 24, 2015 - Dr. Julio Montaner, of UBC/Providence Health Care BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, is a global leader in the treatment and prevention of an otherwise deadly disease.
Larry Kramer: Thirty-four years is a long time for every President and every Congress to sit back and let us die
Mar 24, 2015 - THIRTY-FOUR YEARS. HIV/AIDS has been our plague for 34 years. We should have known more about this plague by now. 34 years is a very long time to let people die.
Read more...
Elizabeth Taylor would be horrified by the rate of HIV in gay men, says her granddaughter
Mar 24, 2015 - Elizabeth Taylor would be "horrified" to learn that the highest rate of HIV is still in young gay men, according to her granddaughter Naomi deLuce Wilding.
Read more...
“PrEP as a bridge to ART” strategy dramatically reduces risk of HIV transmission for heterosexual serodiscordant couples
24 March 2015 - Serodiscordant couples (where one partner is HIV positive and the other HIV negative) can be at high risk of HIV transmission, but several
strategies are available to reduce this risk. Highly effective HIV prevention options include the use of antiretroviral treatment (ART) by the HIV-positive partner, and the ongoing use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
by the HIV-negative partner). PrEP involves the daily use of a pill called Truvada (a fixed-dose formulation of two anti-HIV drugs, tenofovir + FTC) and is available from Canadian healthcare providers through
“off-label” prescriptions. Research shows that the consistent and correct use of ART and PrEP can each reduce the risk of HIV transmission by over 90%.
HIV and Tuberculosis co-infection still a killer
24 March 2015 - On World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, Tuesday 24 th March, the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) reminds the global AIDS response and the movement of people living with HIV that universal access to TB diagnostics and treatment, as well as integrated HIV and tuberculosis service delivery are of crucial
importance for addressing HIV and AIDS and saving the lives of people living with HIV.
There are over one million people worldwide living with HIV and TB co-infection, and TB is the main cause of death for one quarter of people living with HIV. This burden is particularly high in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than three quarters of people with HIV live. Compounding this, national programs fail to detect an estimated three million TB cases a year.
UNAIDS calls for integration of services to end the dual epidemics of tuberculosis and HIV
GENEVA, 24 March 2015 - On World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, UNAIDS is calling for the scale-up of integrated HIV and TB services, particularly in the countries and regions most affected by the dual epidemics. Worldwide,
9 million people developed TB in 2013 and 1.5 million people still die of the disease every year. TB entrenches poverty in many countries, with annual income falling by an average of around 50% among affected families.
Experts say HIV/AIDS is about risky behavior, not sexuality
BAGUIO CITY, March 24 (PIA) - Though statistics shows that HIV is prevalent among males and commonly transmitted through homosexual contact, UNAIDS Philippines Country Director Bai Bagasao
that “We have to understand that transmission happens because of behavior and has nothing to do with sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Larry Kramer accepts Lifetime Activism Award (with introductions by Joe Mantello and Mark Ruffallo)
Published on Mar 24, 2015 - On March 23, 2015, celebrities including Jonathan Groff, Mark Ruffallo, Raúl Esparza, and Joe Mancello joined GMHC in honoring Larry Kramer with the inaugural Larry Kramer Activism Award.
Introductions by Joe Mantello and Mark Ruffallo.
Screening for cryptococcal meningitis and adherence support reduce mortality among people starting ART in Africa
24 March 2015 - Screening and treatment for cryptococcal meningitis combined with a short period of adherence support has the potential to significantly reduce mortality rates among people with very low CD4 counts starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings, investigators report in The Lancet.
Twelve-month mortality rates were 28% lower for patients who received the enhanced care package including meningitis screening/treatment and adherence support compared to individuals who received the standard of care.
Read more...
Today In Gay History – March 24, 1987: ACT UP Stages Its First Major Protest In NYC , Seventeen Arrested – Video
March 24, 2015 - THIRTY-FOUR YEARS. HIV/AIDS has been our plague for 34 years. We should have known more about this plague by now. 34 years is a very long time to let people die.
Read more...
Canadian Nurses Association disappointed with short-sighted Respect for Communities Act
March 23, 2015 - Ottawa - The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is disappointed that Bill C-2, Respect for Communities Act, was passed in the House of Commons today because it will impose unnecessary and excessive barriers for communities trying to establish supervised injection facilities.
Evidence clearly demonstrates that supervised injection sites and other harm reduction programs bring critical health and social services to vulnerable populations — especially those experiencing poverty, mental illness and homelessness. A government truly committed to public health and safety would enhance access to prevention and treatment services — instead of building more barriers.
Elizabeth Taylor would be ‘horrified’ at HIV levels in gay men today, granddaughter says
March 23 2015 - Elizabeth Taylor’s granddaughter has said that the late actress and AIDS campaigner would be “horrified” if she saw the modern levels of HIV.
“If she were to hear that the highest rate of infection is still in young people aged between 24-35, and in particular amongst young gay men, even in this country, she would be horrified.
Read more...
Along with antiretroviral medications, doctors may prescribe exercise for people with HIV
23-Mar-2015 - In addition to antiretroviral medications, people with HIV may soon begin receiving a home exercise plan from their doctors, according to a researcher at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.
"People with HIV are developing secondary chronic illnesses earlier and more frequently than their non-HIV counterparts," said Allison Webel, PhD, RN, assistant
professor of nursing. "And heart disease is one for which they are especially at risk."
GIV Mobile Announces New Partnership With The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
CHICAGO, March 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - GIV Mobile Subscribers Can Now Help Accelerate the Development of a Vaccine to Help Prevent HIV Infection and AIDS
GIV Mobile has teamed up with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) to accelerate the research and development of an accessible vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS. As the first consumer-conscious wireless service
dedicated to giving back, GIV Mobile now allows subscribers to donate 8 percent of their monthly plan amount to IAVI to advance innovative vaccine approaches that generate broad protection against HIV.
Launch of the LGBT End-of-Life Conversations Website
March 23, 2015 - The Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre and its academic and community partners from across Canada are pleased to announce the launch today of the LGBT End-of-Life Conversations Website at www.sfu.ca/lgbteol.
The website reports findings from focus groups conducted in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal
and Halifax with LGBT older adults and people who provide service to them.
For most children with HIV and low immune cell count, cells rebound after treatment
March 23, 2015 - NIH-funded study finds T-cell level returns to normal with time
Most children with HIV who have low levels of a key immune cell eventually recover levels of this cell after beginning treatment, according to a study by researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.
“The comparatively few children whose CD4+ cells failed to rebound did not appear to be at any greater risk for serious infection than children with higher CD4+ counts.”
New co-chairs named for 2016 Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards
PALM SPRINGS, CA, March 23, 2015 - D.A.P. grateful for Barbara Keller and Jim Casey’s seven years of service and almost $10 Million raised!
“We have had an unprecedented seven years with our signature fundraising event, thanks to the strategic and creative direction of the wonderful Barbara Keller and Jim Casey,” said David Brinkman,
CEO of Desert AIDS Project. “We wouldn’t have raised the millions that we have for client services at D.A.P. without them. Achieving that financial success has been due, in no small part, to Jim’s company,
Integrated Wealth Management, serving as presenting sponsor for each of those seven years.”
Uganda: Why Do People Behave As If HIV Has Got a Cure?
March 23, 2015 - Lately, it has become common to hear people speak casually of sexual escapades as if they are unaware of HIV/Aids that nearly wiped out our society.
Such talk is a reflection of high rates of complacency and negligence in our society, which only promotes this disease
Read more...
Nelson Joins Province Wide Program to Bring HIV Under Control
March 22, 2015 - STOP is a province-wide initiative that aims to reduce HIV transmission by encouraging routine testing for all adults.
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Living with HIV: six very different stories
March 22, 2015 - Since HIV was first diagnosed in Britain 30 years ago, the reality of having the virus has changed dramatically. From a survivor of the 1980s epidemic to a recently diagnosed mother in her 60s,
Eleanor Tucker hears six life-affirming stories
Read more...
Julio Montaner and Ryan Meili: B.C. strategy could end AIDS in Canada
March 21, 2015 - Canadians are rightly proud of the universal coverage provided by our national health care system.
Sadly, there are gaps in access with very grave consequences. In regions across the country, care and treatment is failing to reach those living with HIV.
Read more...
Geriatric syndromes found to be common in some HIV-positive people
March 20, 2015 - As people with HIV enter their later years, changes will be needed in the care that they receive; they and their care providers will have to be more
attentive to issues of aging. For the average HIV-positive young adult starting ART today, goals would likely include a simple regimen with minimal side effects so that a low viral load in the blood can be achieved and maintained. As people age,
goals may increase or shift to include maintaining a good quality of life as well as physical, mental and emotional health. To enable successful aging, elements of geriatric care will have to be incorporated into regular medical visits.
REACH 2.0
COLLABORATIONS AND SOLUTIONS IN HIV.HCV AND STI RESEARCH
03/20/2015 - REACH 2.0 is a nation-wide, innovative, virtual laboratory for intervention research, participatory evaluation, and applied program science in HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections.
This research centre is a partnership that includes people living with HIV/AIDS, community based organizations, front-line service providers, health researchers, and federal, provincial, and regional policy makers.
Read more...
Today in Lab History: FDA Approved AZT
03/20/2015 - On March 20, 1987, the FDA approved AZT, the first government sanctioned HIV drug. AZT reduces the replication of the HIV virus in patients and has led to clinical and immunologic improvements.
Read more...
Living With AIDS Is Not the End
03/20/2015 - Isadore Boni, San Carlos Apache, is an AIDS survivor who now educates people about the virus.
National Native American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is today, Friday, March 20. It’s a day to educate, remember those who passed on, and to know our status. Like many, I’ve attended conferences and workshops on this issue for many years prior to my own diagnosis in 2002.
This message is not merely for those who need more training, education, or testing. I personally know many Natives living with HIV/AIDS who have given up hope. I know that feeling—you are not alone.
Read more...
HONORING THE 8TH ANNUAL NATIONAL NATIVE HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAY
March 2015 - On March 20, 2015, the 8th annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Native people across the U.S. challenge individuals, health providers, and government agencies to increase both
education efforts and HIV testing in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities in accordance with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations.
Gala to raise funds to stop new HIV infections among children
GENEVA, 19 March 2015 - UNAIDS, in partnership with the hotel InterContinental Genève, Cartier and Etihad Airways, is holding its first fundraising gala, in Geneva, Switzerland. The event is part of UNAIDS’ efforts
to ensure that children everywhere are free from HIV and that mothers have access to antiretroviral medicines to ensure that they stay alive and well.
Vatican adopts HIV/AIDS treatment model developed in B.C.
Mar. 19 2015 - Julio Montaner has garnered a slew of awards and honorary degrees from around the world as his quest to destroy HIV/AIDS gains traction with more political leaders. But shaking the Pope’s hand last
week and meeting with Vatican officials about starting up a massive pilot program using the treatment he developed might have been the greatest honour yet for the Vancouver-based doctor who was raised a Catholic in the pontiff’s hometown of Buenos Aires.
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S.Africa HIV+ women forced to sterilise: rights groups
March 19, 2015 - INDIANAPOLIS - Doctors at some public hospitals in South Africa have allegedly coerced dozens of HIV-positive women to undergo sterilisation over the past three decades, rights groups said Thursday.
Read more...
Southern Indiana HIV outbreak worsens
March 19, 2015 - INDIANAPOLIS - Clark County health officer heading up response calls situation a ‘crisis’
New HIV cases have more than doubled in Scott County in recent weeks, and health officials fear the virus is still spreading as they struggle to identify those who are infected.
Read more...
HIV/AIDS Denialism - What Causes Hiv And Aids
3/18/2015 - The scientific consensus is that the evidence showing HIV to be the cause of AIDS is conclusive and that AIDS-denialist claims are pseudoscience based on conspiracy theories,
faulty reasoning, cherry picking, and misrepresentation of mainly outdated scientific data. With the rejection of these arguments by the scientific community, AIDS-denialist material is now targeted at less scientifically sophisticated audiences and spread mainly through the Internet.
MSM Blood Ban is Outdated and Discriminatory
March 18, 2015 - A proposed one-year waiting period is still stigmatising, but at least public thinking has changed
HIV/AIDS is a phenomenon on which there is still a significant deficit in public understanding. Matthew Mulligan of Trinity News wrote an editorial recently in which he urged the MSM Blood Donation Ban to be abolished, and urged greater
awareness of sexual health and STI prevention – a sentiment which has the potential to save lives.
Read more...
FRAX fracture prediction tool underestimates fracture risk in people with HIV
18 March 2015 - The Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX), an online tool developed by the World Health Organization and used to help guide decisions about who to screen or treat in order to prevent bone fractures, underestimates overall
risk of fracture in people living with HIV – even with an adjustment experts have recommended to improve its accuracy for people with HIV – according to an analysis of the Veterans Aging Cohort Study Virtual Cohort (VACS-VC) reported at the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2015) in Seattle, USA.
Read more...
Use of daily Truvada as PrEP is highly effective for gay men in PROUD demonstration project
March 17, 2015 - Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an HIV prevention strategy that involves HIV-negative individuals taking anti-HIV drugs on an ongoing basis to reduce their risk of HIV infection. Several randomized, placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) have found that the daily use of a pill
containing the anti-HIV drugs tenofovir and FTC (sold under the brand name Truvada) can reduce the risk of HIV infection in several populations, including heterosexual men and women, gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), and people who use injection drugs.
Syphilis outbreak and linked HIV cases worry Eastern Health
March 17, 2015 - A shocking rise in the number of syphilis cases in eastern Newfoundland has Eastern Health taking steps to get a handle on the outbreak.
Read more...
Dining Out For Life 2015 bigger than ever for Desert AIDS Project
PALM SPRINGS, CA, March 17, 2015 - 50 participating restaurants and counting – Thursday, April 30
Dining Out For Life is that one day each year when supporting Desert AIDS Project is as simple as having breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, dessert, coffee, a cocktail, or all of the above (is your mouth watering yet?) at your favorite participating business.
CROI 2015: Does HIV Make You Fat? Study Connects Viral Load with Fat Gains
17 March 2015 - Inflammatory changes and damage to the gut begin very soon after initial HIV infection, and may not return to normal even when people start antiretroviral therapy (ART) very early, researchers reported at the recent 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle.
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Survival after surgery with HIV
March 16 2015 - The researchers found that HIV-positive people had “relatively low rates” of death within the first 30 days after surgery. The CD4+ count of HIV-positive participants was a major factor that affected their survival—higher cell counts prior to surgery were associated with a decreased risk for death. The researchers also found that
other factors, including the amount of protein in the blood and a person's age, had an important impact on post-surgical survival. Taking all of their data into account, the researchers were able to propose several scenarios of the risks that HIV-positive patients might face after surgery in the future. Such information will be useful for both surgeons and patients.
We can beat AIDS in Canada. Here’s how.
March 16, 2015 - Canadians are rightly proud of the universal coverage provided by our national health care system. Sadly, there are gaps in our access that have very grave consequences. In regions across the country, care and treatment is failing to reach those living with HIV.
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DINING OUT FOR LIFE 2015
- Vancouver/Whistler
ON THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015, JOIN US AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS AS WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE, ONE BITE AT A TIME!
On Thursday, March 26, dine out for breakfast, lunch or dinner at participating restaurants and support people living with HIV/AIDS right here at home.
From Whistler to White Rock and across the Lower Mainland, our fantastic restaurant partners will contribute 25% of their food sales to registered not-for-profits Friends For Life and A Loving Spoonful.
World-class Escape Artist wins personal battle with mental illness, suicide, HIV. Returns to stage
PRLog - March 16, 2015 - NEW YORK - Daniel Bauer returns to the stage on May 30 with the revival of his Beyond Belief, featuring stories of personal struggles and triumphs with mental illness, suicide, HIV stigma, and addiction told through the arts of magic and death defying escape.
Daniel Bauer is a world-class escape artist whose career was derailed back in 2002 when sponsors of his anticipated tour ALIVE learned he was HIV+. For nearly a decade, Daniel Bauer was prisoner to dark echoes of hate and abandonment and is now ready to escape back to the stage to share a story of life that
many would only believe to be a miracle of impossibility. HX Magazine has described Daniel Bauer as "One of New York's most soul piercing performers."
Government putting every HIV Swazi on ART
16/03/2015 - THE government of Swaziland, through assistance from the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and Maximising ART for better health and zero new HIV infections (MAxART) has embarked on a new
approach to HIV care by providing ARVs to all willing individuals who test positive to HIV.
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Merck’s HIV patent agreement ignites criticism
March 16, 2015 - Pharma giant Merck has become the latest drug company to share intellectual property rights with a UN-backed patent pool for HIV medicines, but critics have told SciDev.Net it is “a false solution to a real problem”.
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End HIV campaign working, with tests on the rise
Mar 16, 2015 - The End HIV message appears to be getting through.
The number of people being tested for HIV in Brisbane jumped by 36 per cent in 2014, with a further 1992 people taking advantage of rapid HIV tests on offer in clinics across the city.
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Inflammation and gut leakage remains elevated in people with HIV despite early antiretroviral treatment
16 March 2015 - Inflammatory changes and damage to the gut begin very soon after initial HIV infection, and may not return to normal even when people start antiretroviral therapy (ART) very early, researchers reported at the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and
Opportunistic Infections (CROI) last month in Seattle. Biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation and fibrosis increased early on, and while they generally decreased after starting ART, they did not fall to levels seen in HIV-negative people.
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B.C. doctor delivers unusual foreign aid to Haiti by teaching surgeons to perform safer circumcisions
March 15, 2015 - It is hoped the operation will become a mainstay in the battle against the country’s HIV epidemic, with evidence suggesting the penis-snipping can cut spread of the disease by 60%.
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Gogos keep HIV/Aids affected families going
Published on Mar 14, 2015 - The co-ordinator of the Gogo Project at the Hillcrest Aids Centre says their efforts in assisting people living with HIV does not end with those infected with the disease.
NZAF defends condoms to stop HIV, STIs
14th March 2015 - The New Zealand AIDS Foundation has defended this country's long-standing adherence to condom use as the primarily promoted means of avoiding HIV infection, calling those who advocate more reliance on medications to
lower HIV transmission risk as a “ militant, noisy minority.”
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Suits - Poz Gay Working Men's Dinner Group
- Monday March 30, 2015
- Dark Table
March 30, 2015
5:30-8:00PM
Dark Table
2611 W4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
Join other working guys on March 30, 2015 at Dark Table restaurant, 2611 W4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC.
Already a hit in major cities like London, Paris, New York, L.A. and Montreal, blind dining is finally coming to Vancouver, offering a unique opportunity
to experience dining in a whole new way—in the dark. An evening at Dark table will take you on a culinary journey through uncharted territory, where the familiar—food, drink and friends becomes a wonder to be explored and discovered, as if for the first time.
Suits - Poz Gay Working Men's Dinner Group
- Thursday March 26, 2015
- Diva at the Met
March 26, 2015
5:30-8:00PM
Diva at the Met
645 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC
Suits next dinner date is in support of Dining Out for Life. On March 26 at 5:30 pm,
our dinner club for working men will be going to Diva at the Met to support this fundraiser. All money raised goes to A Loving Spoonful and The Vancouver Friends For Life Society, two Lower Mainland charities supporting local people living with AIDS.
Join other working guys on March 26, 2015 at Diva at the Met restaurant, 645 Howe, Vancouver, BC.
Health Gateway Survey
March 14, 2015 - Have you ever visited the Health Gateway website? If so, the Canadian Working
Group on HIV and Rehabilitation (CWGHR) hopes you'll complete a short survey
We would like to ensure that Health Gateway is meeting user needs and would greatly appreciate your feedback on your experience after visiting the website
Conversations from CROI 2015: Ambassador Deborah Birx
Published on March 13, 2015 - We continue our coverage of the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) with this conversation between AIDS.gov’s Miguel Gomez and Ambassador Deborah Birx, MD, Coordinator of the U.S. Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy.
PASSAGES Civil rights activist Willie Barrow passes away at 90
March 13, 2015 - Her commitment to the LGBT community was ignited after she lost her son Keith to AIDS in the early '80s.
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Use of Surveillance Data on HIV Diagnoses with HIV-Related Symptoms to Estimate the Number of People Living with Undiagnosed HIV in Need of Antiretroviral Therapy
March 13, 2015 - It is important to have methods available to estimate the number of people who have undiagnosed HIV and are in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART).
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Five gay NZ men contract rare STIr
March 13, 2015 - A study in the New Zealand Medical Journal reports five gay men have been infected with a rare STI since September 2013.
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Anti-herpes drug may help control HIV, NIH study finds
March 13, 2015 - Valacyclovir, a drug commonly used to control the virus that causes genital herpes, appears to reduce the levels of HIV in patients who do not have genital herpes, according to a study
by researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Emory University, Atlanta and Lima, Peru.
Canadian HCV guidelines updated for 2015
March 12 2015 - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects the liver and, if left untreated, eventually causes serious injury to this vital organ, leading to complications, liver failure and,
in some cases, liver cancer. In the past year, combinations of new and powerful oral medications to treat HCV have been licensed in Canada. To help doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals make decisions related
to the care and treatment of HCV, leading liver and infectious disease physician-researchers in Canada have collaborated to update existing guidelines— An update
on the management of chronic hepatitis C: 2015 Consensus guidelines from the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver .
15 HIV Advocates to Watch in 2015
March 12, 2015 - (Vatican Radio) - Meet the activists from around the globe who will be taking on HIV issues in unique ways this year.
They come from different cultures and regions of the world, but these fifteen HIV activists all share one important trait: a fierce devotion to HIV issues and a commitment to leave their mark on 2015.
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Pope Francis endorses pioneering work of HIV-AIDS researcher
March 12, 2015 - (Vatican Radio) - Pope Francis has given the ‘thumbs up’ to the ground-breaking work of a leading Argentinian-Canadian doctor who pioneered the use of Antiretroviral drugs to treat and prevent HIV infections.
Dr Julio Montaner, who is director of the British Colombia Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS and a special advisor to the UNAIDS programme, met with the Pope and other top Vatican officials on Wednesday to seek support for the goal of extending the life-saving treatments to as many HIV-infected people as possible over the next five years.
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Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for HIV-infected adults
March 2015 - British Columbia is expanding use of pneumococcal conjugate 13-valent vaccine (PCV13, Prev-nar 13) to HIV-infected adults starting in April 2015. Since June 2010, the vaccine has been in use for routine immunization
of infants and healthy children under age 5, replacing the pneumococcal conjugate 7-valent vaccine (PCV7).
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Calls for clean needles in West Australian prisons as one in ten inmates test positive for Hepatitis C
March 12, 2015 - Tests reveal that one in ten inmates in the Western Australia prison system have the infectious disease Hepatitis C.
But a support group says efforts to reduce its prevalence are doomed to fail unless prisoners are given access to clean needles.
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Nigeria records 54% reduction in HIV occurrence in five years
12 March 2015 - The Federal Ministry of Health has recorded a 54 per cent reduction in the estimated incidence of HIV in Nigeria, in the last five years.
This was the finding of an investigation conducted independently by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Health Systems Strengthening, Integrated Biological and Behavioural Sentinel Survey and Federal Ministry of Health between 2003 and 2013.
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Finding strengths—and weaknesses—in hepatitis C's armor
March 12, 2015 - Using a specially selected library of different hepatitis C viruses, a team of researchers led by Johns Hopkins scientists has identified tiny differences in the pathogens' outer shell proteins that underpin their resistance to antibodies.
The findings, reported in the January 2015 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest a reason why some patients' immune systems can't fend off hepatitis C infections, and they reveal distinct challenges for those trying to craft a successful vaccine to prevent them. Due to concerns
about the rising costs of newly available hepatitis C drugs, researchers are looking to a vaccine as a more viable and less costly option.
Read more...
AIDS Awareness 'Herstory': 3 Women Scientists That Changed The Fight Against HIV
March 12, 2015 - A trial of an HIV vaccine will begin in Zimbabwe this year, health officials announced Tuesday. Researchers in the southern African country, which has one of the highest incidences of the deadly virus
in the world, say the vaccine to be tested is based on a drug used in Thailand that was found to be at least moderately effective.
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CROI 2015: Inflammation and Gut Damage Persist in People with HIV Despite Early ART
11 March 2015 - Inflammatory changes and damage to the gut begin very soon after initial HIV infection, and may not return to normal even when people start antiretroviral therapy (ART) very early, researchers reported at the recent 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle.
Read more...
Positive Women Decry Lack of Consultation With White House for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Event
March 11, 2015 - Women living with HIV from around the United States spoke up on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, decrying the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) for holding an event that included no positive women in the planning.
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HIV Vaccine Trial To Begin In Zimbabwe, Where Rates Are Among The Highest In The World
11 March 2015 - A trial of an HIV vaccine will begin in Zimbabwe this year, health officials announced Tuesday. Researchers in the southern African country, which has one of the highest incidences of the deadly virus
in the world, say the vaccine to be tested is based on a drug used in Thailand that was found to be at least moderately effective.
Read more...
HRC Supports AIDSWatch 2015 Conference
March 10, 2015 - In just a few short weeks, hundreds of people will descend upon Capitol Hill to advocate for the needs and interests of people living with HIV and AIDS.
AIDSWatch, presented by the Elizabeth Taylor Foundation, is an opportunity for people living with, and affected by,
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Condoms essential for prevention amid rising rates of HIV
11 March 2015 - HIV infections are increasing, despite fewer deaths from AIDS, and the use of condoms during sex is necessary to fight the problem.
Rates of HIV infections are rising, but fewer people are dying from AIDS, data from the Kirby Institute for infection and immunity in society says.
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New approach to HIV management in Tanzania and Zambia reduces deaths by almost one-third
10-Mar-2015 - A new approach to care for patients with advanced HIV in Tanzania and Zambia, combining community support and screening for a type of meningitis, has reduced deaths by 28%.
The research, published in The Lancet, suggests that a simple low-cost intervention could be an effective approach to reducing HIV-related deaths in Africa.
Women and girls as collateral damage in the HIV/AIDS epidemic
March 10, 2015 - Thirty-four years into the epidemic, women and girls are still overlooked in almost every aspect of federal, state and local HIV/AIDS policy, funding and care. Yet we continue to be infected and we continue to die.
One in 5 new HIV infections in the US are among women. AIDS diagnoses among women in the US have tripled since the mid 1980s. In certain parts of the nation, like the South, where poverty and lack of access to healthcare fuel the epidemic, that number can rise to 30%. In Sub-Saharan Africa women comprise 58% of the epidemic.
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Functional HIV Cure Step Closer To Reality With FDA Approval Of Clinical Human Trials
March 10, 2015 - A possible “functional cure” for HIV has recently been granted FDA approval for further human testing. The method uses genetic modification to cause a specific mutation in the white blood cells of HIV patients which mirrors those found in the naturally immune.
It has so far shown to be both receptive and long-lasting.
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What It's Like to Be a Woman With HIV
March 10, 2015 - The disease is more manageable than ever, but for women in particular, there's more progress to be made.
The first time Michelle Anderson came out about her HIV-positive status, she stood in front of hundreds of Lone Star Riders, a biking group in her home state of Texas. The second time Anderson came out, she posted it on her Facebook wall on World AIDS Day.
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Women on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS pandemic
March 10, 2015 - Researchers, clinicians and advocates reflect on their roles at a free public panel at Fred Hutch
The role of women as researchers, clinicians, caregivers and advocates is a little-told story of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. So organizers of a panel for today’s 10th annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
decided to focus on the contribution that women have made to understanding, preventing, treating and — one day — ending HIV ever since the first reports in 1981 of an unusual illness among young gay men that was later determined to be AIDS.
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High Cancer Risk for Elderly with HIV in US
March 10, 2015 - HIV-infected people have higher risk of many cancers compared to HIV-uninfected people, but it is unclear if the magnitude of this elevated risk is consistent across age groups. As the proportion of HIV-infected people over age 65 is increasing over time and the elderly population is known to have high cancer risk, it is important to understand the relationship between HIV and cancer in this age group.
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Aging and HIV… Let’s Talk!
March 10, 2015 - The Canadian AIDS Society, with the Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation, and the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, invites people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS to be part of a national conversation on March 25, 2015 (by teleconference) from 2:00 to 4:00pm (EST).
Women and HIV: the urgent need for more research and policy attention in the Middle East and North Africa region
March 10, 2015 - HIV surveillance systems and research in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have improved markedly over the last decade but nevertheless are challenged by inadequate detection of new infections and under-reporting of known infections.
There are indications, however, that there may be a specific risk of under-detection of HIV among women. Given that sexual behaviour is deeply rooted in gender norms, it is critical to understand how these shape risk behaviour and vulnerability to HIV infection in specific contexts. Until recently, HIV
surveillance efforts internationally have not integrated gender considerations into their methods, sampling and tools, and this certainly applies in the MENA region.
Dealing with high Saskatchewan HIV rates
March 10, 2015 - Dr. Ryan Meili, co-creator of S.H.A.R.E., addresses the high rate of new HIV infections in Saskatchewan and what came out of a recent conference that was brainstorming solutions.
Op-ed: HIV-Positive LGBT Women Are Discounted, Miscounted, and Uncounted
March 10 2015 - A decade after the first National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, men remain the face of the disease.
Seldom are women’s voices featured among the resilient and powerful stories of LGBT people living with HIV. Rarely do public health messages speak to their disparities or risks. And scarcely do researchers study the impact of HIV on
women in the LGBT community. With today marking the 10th anniversary of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, there’s no better time to change this reality.
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Kramer on Kramer
March 09 2015 - On the publishing of his magnum opus, The American People, famed author Andrew Holleran asks our angriest activist all that he has learned.
Larry Kramer’s long awaited new novel, The American People: Volume I, subtitled Search for My Heart, is finally seeing the light of day this April.
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A live look at the AIDS virus
9 March 2015 - Show me the monkey.
Seeing is believing, and a study in rhesus macaques with a new imaging technique reveals for the first time a real-time map of an AIDS virus replicating in the entire body of a living animal. The results point to some unexpected hideouts of the simian
AIDS virus, or SIV. And the experiments also show that when the monkeys are given antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, the amount of virus that persists differs by location in the body. The innovative tool promises to clarify the still-murky details of the
initial infection process and may help guide drug, vaccine, and cure research in people.
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We may need to combine many approaches to achieve a cure, delegates hear
09 March 2015 - It is unlikely that one single approach will achieve a cure for HIV infection, delegates at a community cure workshop held the day before the CROI 2015 Conference heard last week.
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Marine: No More Double Identity. I have HIV.
March 9, 2015 - (Guest Post) Marines Are Brave. But This HIV Positive Marine Takes Courage To A New Level.
Being open about your HIV status is never an easy thing. You are always dealing with questions like “How did you get it?”, “Are you going to die?”, and my personal favorite “Can I get it by drinking or eating after you?”
It is these types of questions that lead people not to open up about their status. The constant ignorance and stigma can sometimes be too much to handle.
It took me quite a long time to be comfortable enough with my status to be able to discuss it with anyone, and at times it is still a difficult thing to do. I find it easier to tell my story to people I have never met, instead of my own friends and family.
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‘HIV a health, not moral, issue’
March 9, 2015 - HEALTH activists have launched a campaign to lobby churches and other institutions to view HIV as a health and not moral issue so as to eradicate stigma associated with the condition.
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UK gay students are not being taught about HIV
March 9, 2015 - One in five say they have been bullied by a teacher or another adult at the school
The National Aids Trust, who surveyed 1,000 teens, said the lack of proper education was likely fueling the rise in young men contracting HIV.
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Washington DC hosting community-based hepatitis C study
March 9, 2015 - The National Institutes of Health has partnered with the District of Columbia to begin a clinical trial of a new antiviral therapy for hepatitis C.
Co-sponsored by the NIH’s Clinical Center and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the ASCEND study will determine whether general doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other health care professionals can use a new antiviral therapy just as effectively as specialty physicians.
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Expanded PrEP use in San Francisco could reduce infection rate
March 9, 2015 - Seattle - A model predicting HIV transmission in San Francisco with expanded use of pre-exposure prophylaxis suggests that the number of new infections could decrease by 50% throughout the city, according to data presented at CROI 2015.
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Reflections on How Far Women with HIV Have Come in the Past 16 Years: A Personal View
March 9, 2015 - Seattle - Olga Irwin studied at Youngstown State University and became a licensed social worker in 2009. She was diagnosed with AIDS in 1999. Since her diagnosis she has become involved in the HIV community – starting with joining support groups, which were only offered for gay men in her area.
She found more support systems through the Internet, HIV clinics, and Ryan White case managers. Now Olga is a member of Ohio AIDS Coalition, Ohio Community Prevention Group, the Ryan White Care Advisory Board, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Campaign to End AIDS, and also the Co-Chair of Positive Women Network USA-Ohio.
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LOve events Community Star Award Announcement For Bradford McIntyre
March 8, 2015 - Love Events is pleased to announce this week’s ‘community star’ award. Every week we highlight a community member, who is working hard for all our benefit. This week, we recognize Bradford McIntyre, who for over 20 years, has devoted his time and energy to volunteer with many community organizations in Vancouver. We interviewed Bradford McIntyre below.
Half of all AIDS sufferers in some North East areas receiving late diagnosis
March 8, 2015 - The National Aids Trust say late diagnosis causes lower life expectancy, worse health and a greater chance of passing on the virus
Half of all AIDS sufferers get their diagnosis late across the majority of the North.
In Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, and Sunderland, 50% of people are diagnosed late - meaning they have had HIV for at least four years before they are told - while the figure is 52.9% in South Tyneside.
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China Detains Women’s Rights Activists in Several Cities
March 8, 2015 - BEIJING - China detained at least 10 women’s rights activists over the weekend to forestall a nationwide campaign against sexual harassment on public transportation that would overlap with International Women’s Day,
according to human rights advocates and associates of the detained activists.
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Explained: Why is the AIDS epidemic so severe in America?
Published on March 7, 2015 - Every year, more than 13,000 people die of AIDS in the United States. In Britain, Germany and France, it's less than 250. What explains the difference?
International Women’s Day 2015 Call To Action
February 7, 2015 - ICW calls on global policy makers to 'Make it Happen' for women and girls living with HIV.
International Women's Day is a time for women living with HIV to celebrate individual and shared acts of courage and determination by ICW members worldwide who play an extraordinary role every day in securing the rights of women living with HIV. It also a day to collectively reflect on the progress we have made together and the work left to be done to achieve equality and improve the lives of women living with HIV.
Breaking barriers: HIV, AIDS no more hushed words
March 7, 2015 - ISLAMABAD: Going against existing odds and breaking all prevalent taboos, around 600 women are gearing up to openly talk about the disease.
The Association of People Living with HIV-Pakistan (APLHIV), with the support of UNAIDS country office for Pakistan and Afghanistan, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, has launched the Positive Female Network (Pofen) for women affected by HIV/AIDS.
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Diving legend, HIV survivor says kindness goes a long way
March 7, 2015 - Olympian Greg Louganis shares story at FoundCare’s 30th Comprehensive AIDS Program luncheon.
Four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis — considered the greatest male diver in history — has lived with HIV for 27 years.
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People with HIV launch anti-stigma campaign
7 March 2015 - Several people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have launched a campaign to counter the stigma around the illness still prevalent in parts of the Kingdom.
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Make HIV prevention happen for young women
March 6, 2015 - Over the past 15 years, the world has seen a change in the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic. Through enormous global prevention and treatment efforts, new infections have fallen by nearly 40 percent, and
increased access to treatment has enabled millions more with HIV to live productively.
But the advances we have made have not benefited everyone equally. We are still failing in one crucial area: preventing HIV infections in young women.
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Sask. could eradicate HIV: B.C. doctor
March 6, 2015 - REGINA - When Dr. Julio Montaner discovered a cocktail of drugs to treat HIV in the early 1990s, British Columbia was experiencing the “worst epidemic in the country.”
The B.C. government made the treatment free and available to all HIV patients; as a result, the number of new cases have since decreased by two-thirds.
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New Study: Zero HIV Transmissions
March 6, 2015 - ‘Treatment As Prevention’ Works According to New Study: ‘Opposites Attract’ when one partner is HIV positive and undetectable and the other is negative.
News out of an Australian study, Opposites Attract, which is studying the transmission risk between gay couples in which one partner is HIV positive, on treatment and undetectable and the other partner is HIV negative is extremely promising–showing the benefit of current HIV treatment in preventing new infections.
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AHF concerned with HIV report
March 5, 2015 - Officials from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) last week expressed concern over a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article reporting results of a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study that found over 90 percent of new HIV infections identified in the U.S. were attributed to, or passed on from HIV-positive individuals who were not in medical care or treatment.
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“The DOCK – For Your Sexual Health” New Clinic Opens March 16 At Desert AIDS Project
PALM SPRINGS, CA, March 5, 2015 - Treating sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) while expanding access to HIV testing
A handicapped-access ramp on the south side of the Desert AIDS Project building at 1695 N. Sunrise Way at Vista Chino in Palm Springs will help ensure that everyone will have access to The DOCK, a new sexual health clinic opening Monday, March 16.
Justin Trudeau tells UBC students he wants supervised injection sites across Canada
March 5, 2015 - Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau has reaffirmed his support for an expansion of supervised injection services across Canada.
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Co-discoverer of HIV to speak at Tulane
March 5, 2015 - Dr. Robert Gallo, most widely known as a co-discoverer of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, will speak on “Journey with Blood Cells and Viruses” at Freeman Auditorium in Woldenberg Art Center at 7 p.m., March 12.
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HIV on rise among elderly
March 5, 2015 - China - Deputy urges free condoms, testing for seniors
In the wake of increasing numbers of seniors contracting HIV/AIDS, a national lawmaker proposed on Thursday establishing a national intervention system in communities and distributing condoms to elderly people for free.
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Sister Warriors
March 4, 2015 - As we approach National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10, 2015, my mind is taking a magical mystery journey...
Start Date 1981, the beginning of what would be my 20 years as a Registered Nurse. There was a disease formerly known as GRID, now given a new name, HIV, Human ImmunoDeficiency Virus, and in the advanced stages called AIDS. I worked at North Carolina Baptist Hospital (Now Wake Health) a #1 rated
Medical Center in my area. Even given that we were supposedly gifted with some of the medical community's greatest minds...people admitted with this virus were dying.
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The search for a cure: how stem cells could eradicate the AIDS virus
March 3, 2015 - It’s hoped the re-engineered stem cells, when returned to the body, will help create a new blood and immune system that is resistant to the virus. And if the virus can’t infect any new immune cells it could, theoretically, die off.
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FACT SHEET: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama Announce New Whole of Government Initiative, Let Girls Learn
March 3, 2015 - Today, the Obama Administration announced that it is expanding its efforts to help adolescent girls worldwide attend and complete school through an initiative called Let Girls Learn.
How wearing red shoes can help educate a community on HIV prevention
March 2, 2015 - BlogHer15 advisory board member explains what inspired her to start #RockTheRedPump
Thirty years ago today, on March 2, 1985, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new HIV test. It was the result of nine months of round-the-clock labor by dozens of scientists. Immediately adopted by the American Red Cross and other institutions, the blood test marked the beginning of a new era in HIV medicine.
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Love, Behavior, and Incentives in the Time of HIV/AIDS
March 2, 2015 - Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the disease has infected 78 million people, and 39 million have died of AIDS-related illnesses. In 2013 alone, 2.1 million people were newly infected and 1.5 million died from AIDS.
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So much has changed since the first HIV test was approved 30 years ago
March 2, 2015 - Thirty years ago today, on March 2, 1985, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new HIV test. It was the result of nine months of round-the-clock labor by dozens of scientists. Immediately adopted by the American Red Cross and other institutions, the blood test marked the beginning of a new era in HIV medicine.
Read more...
The HIV care cascade: models, measures and moving forward
March 2, 2015 - This article seeks to identify where delays occur along the adult HIV care cascade (“the cascade”), to improve understanding of what constitutes “delay” at
each stage of the cascade and how this can be measured across a range of settings and to inform service delivery efforts. Current metrics are reviewed, measures informed by global guidelines are suggested and areas for further clarification are underscored.
Changing the Narrative: Why HIV prevention work in Canada needs to embrace HIV treatment
Spring 2015 - Prevention in Focus
In 2014, UNAIDS proposed an ambitious set of targets for the global scale-up of HIV treatment.1 This approach to the HIV response is based on research showing that early, life-long HIV treatment can dramatically improve the health of people living with HIV and can also dramatically reduce HIV transmission.
The new UNAIDS strategy emphasizes that the tremendous potential of HIV treatment is not being realized, not even in developed countries like Canada. This must change to bring the HIV epidemic under control.
In this article we will explore the crucial role HIV prevention work can play in the UNAIDS call for a “new narrative on HIV treatment.”
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Sex crime prevention program cut by Ottawa
March 2, 2015 - Government evaluation of Circles of Support and Accountability found it boosts public safety, saves money
The federal government is cutting funds for a program designed to prevent the most dangerous, high-risk sex offenders from repeating their crimes, just as its own five-year study has found the program dramatically improves public safety and saves money.
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Gorilla origins of the last two AIDS virus lineages confirmed
March 2, 2015 - PHILADELPHIA - Penn Study Has Implications for Understanding Genesis of Emerging Diseases
Two of the four known groups of human AIDS viruses (HIV-1 groups O and P) have originated in western lowland gorillas, according to an international team
of scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Montpellier, the University of Edinburgh, and others. The scientists, led by Martine Peeters from Montpellier, conducted a comprehensive survey of simian
immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in African gorillas. Beatrice Hahn, MD, a professor of Medicine and Microbiology, and others from Penn were part of the team, whose findings appear online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
On Zero Discrimination Day, UN urges tolerance for diversity
1 March 2015 - The United Nations agency leading the world's HIV/AIDS response has kicked off the 2015 global edition of Zero Discrimination Day as part of the Organization's wider effort to spur solidarity towards ending discrimination.
“Discrimination is a violation of human rights and must not go unchallenged,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared in a press release issued for the Day. “Everyone has the right to live with respect and dignity.”
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1,076 cases of HIV-infected children detected in Malaysia between 1986 and December 2013
1 March 2015 - Some 1,076 cases of HIV-infected children aged below 13 years have been identified in Malaysia between 1986 and December 2013, said Malaysia AIDS Foundation executive director Jasmin Jalil.
According to the Health Ministry statistics, she said, new cases of HIV infection among children for the year 2013 was 50 cases or 1% of the overall 101,672 infections over the 27 years.
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The Fostering End-of-Life Conversations, Community Care Among LGBT Older Adults - Town Hall Meeting
February/March 2015 - The Vancouver town hall meeting occurred on the evening of January 28, 2015, at the Harbour Centre Campus of Simon Fraser University and the audience filled the room beyond capacity. Dr. de Vries and I presented the preliminary findings from the Vancouver focus groups.
Three focus group participants, including Mr. Bradford McIntyre, spoke about their personal experiences in making plans for end-of-life care. Research assistant Robert Beringer (MA, SFU Gerontology) another member of the team, presented the Resource Inventory.
Finally, several service providers, including a lawyer whose speciality is end-of-life documentation, spoke to the audience. The town hall
ended on a high note once again demonstrating that people have a desire to talk about these issues and will readily do so when presented
the opportunity.
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