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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - May 2016
Analysis: Psychological Implications of HIV Prevention Drug PrEP
May 31, 2016 - Among the many things that we, health professionals, have to consider when prescribing PrEP for our patients are the psychological implications of the medication. This was a topic of conversation at a presentation given by Marshall Forstein, M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, at the American Psychiatric Association's annual conference in Atlanta last month.
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Very high levels of drug resistance seen in people experiencing first-line antiretroviral therapy failure in Kenya
31 May 2016 - Future treatment options severely limited in the quarter who fail therapy
A cross-sectional survey of viral load in patients attending the largest HIV clinic in Kenya has shown that after an average of nearly two years on first-line, tenofovir-based antiretroviral therapy (ART), 76% maintained a viral load under 40 copies/ml and 85% under 1000 copies/ml, which is the World Health Organization threshold for significant clinical and transmission consequences.
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Obama Proclamation: Gay, Bisexual Men, Transgender Women at 'High Risk for HIV'
May 31, 2016 - President Barack Obama issued a proclamation on Tuesday declaring June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, and in the proclamation noted that "gay and bisexual men and transgender women of color are at particularly high riks of HIV," the virus that causes AIDS.
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How the Bernie Sanders Campaign Alienated HIV/AIDS Activists
May 31, 2016 - The implication of the Sanders press release -- that those advocates who attended the meeting agreed with the Senator's stance on the Act -- was not well received, especially by HIV/AIDS activist Peter Staley, who made his feelings on the matter known in a series of tersely worded Facebook posts.
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HIV In India: Infected Blood Transfusions Caused 2,234 Cases In 17 Months
05/31/16 - India registered 2,234 new cases of HIV infection since the beginning of 2015 through instances of blood transfusions that used infected blood, data from the country’s National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) showed Monday. The agency, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, released the data in response to an information query by an activist.
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UNAIDS announces 2 million more people living with HIV on treatment in 2015, bringing new total to 17 million
GENEVA/NAIROBI, 31 May 2016 - New report from UNAIDS shows that the number of people accessing antiretroviral medicines has more than doubled since 2010
An estimated 17 million people were accessing life-saving antiretroviral medicines at the end of 2015, with an additional 2 million people gaining access over a 12-month period. The
announcement, made in a new UNAIDS report entitled Global AIDS update 2016, comes as world leaders prepare to gather for the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, to take place in New York, United States of America, from 8 to 10 June 2016.
New UN treatment targets for HIV/AIDS would be 'expensive but worth every penny'
30-May-2016 - Study estimates return on investment of '90-90-90' program in South Africa
A new study finds that implementing the United Nations targets for HIV testing and treatment would be an expensive but ultimately very cost-effective way
to increase survival, reduce the number of children orphaned by HIV, and contain the global AIDS epidemic. That is the conclusion of researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH),
the University of Cape Town and the Yale School of Public Health, who estimated the likely impact of the so-called "90-90-90" program.
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90-90-90 HIV initiative would yield 'extraordinary returns' in South Africa
30-May-2016 - An expensive and ambitious initiative to end the AIDS epidemic in South Africa by 2020 would be both extraordinarily effective and cost-effective,
according to a modeling study published in Annals of Internal Medicine . The Joint Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS, 90-90-90 initiative calls for 90 percent of people living with HIV in South Africa
to know their status, 90 percent of those diagnosed with HIV to access antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90 percent of people on ART to achieve viral suppression by 2020. Achieving these targets would
produce virologic suppression in 73 percent of patients worldwide, a marked increase over current estimates of 29 percent.
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Dying of shame and AIDS in the Philippines
May 30, 2016 - HIV/AIDS is killing ever more young gay men in the Philippines, making Manila in 2016 start to look like San Francisco in the 1980s. Ana P. Santos reports on an epidemic partly driven by shame.
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Sanders attacks top AIDS activist, partners with anti-PrEP group
5/29/16 - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is facing yet another outcry from the LGBT community after one of his top campaign aides viciously criticized longtime AIDS activist Peter Staley.
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A question of timing: A lawsuit claims Gilead Sciences could have developed a less-harmful version of its HIV treatment sooner
May 29, 2016 - Looking back, Tim Horn of the Treatment Action Group, which advocates for AIDS patients, said: “That’s a decade of potentially avoidable kidney and bone toxicity.”
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Two-hour test kit hailed as boon to HIV care in Africa
28 May 2016 - Cambridge scientist Helen Lee’s simple, mobile device will speed up detection and treatment rates
A revolutionary device developed by a team of Cambridge scientists is transforming the diagnosis of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. The machine – known as Samba (simple amplification-based assay) – can tell whether a person is infected with the virus within two hours of them giving a tiny blood sample. Virus carriers can then be offered immediate treatment and advice.
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Every Major UK HIV Organisation Calls On NHS To Provide HIV Prevention Drug
May 28 2016 - “This could be a critical turning point in the fight against HIV — it must not pass us by.”
Thousands of men took part in Australia's HIV drug trial. The fight to eradicate HIV may be a long way, but several volunteers including the Australian Health Minister, Jillian Skinner volunteered themselves.
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Thousand of Participants in Australia Signed Up for the Latest HIV Drug Trial
May 28 2016 - Thousands of men took part in Australia's HIV drug trial. The fight to eradicate HIV may be a long way, but several volunteers including the Australian Health Minister, Jillian Skinner volunteered themselves
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Unsafe Sex Is Now The Biggest Health Risk Among Women Worldwide
May 28 2016 - The report, which was published in the Lancet and is the result of a commission to look at health challenges facing young people worldwide, found that today's teens are growing up in a world where preventable and treatable health issues, such as HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancy, abound. Among the most shocking findings of the report: For women between the ages of 10 and 24, unsafe sex is the fastest-growing risk factor for illness and death worldwide.
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California Governor Signs Historic HIV Bill
May 28 2016 - California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill that could save the lives of some people living with HIV.
California Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA) has signed a bill allowing organ transplants between HIV-positive individuals. Senate Bill SB 1408 was authored by Senators Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), and co-sponsored by organizations including Equality California, AIDS Project Los Angeles, The Los Angeles LGBT Center, and Positive Women's Network-USA. The bill passed California legislature unanimously, and now places California in line with federal law regarding HIV-positive organ transplants.
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Russian activists struggle to raise HIV awareness as epidemic grows
May 28, 2016 - Despite the efforts of activists like Pokrovsky, the total number of registered HIV cases in Russia exceeded one million in late 2015, with authorities struggling to contain an epidemic that experts say could be curbed by increased funding and more awareness campaigns.
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Vietnam seeks international assistance to avoid AIDS resurgence
May 27, 2016 - Vietnam is seeking international assistance with HIV/AIDS prevention and control to avoid a resurgence of the disease.
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COHESION: Fighting diseases affecting the world's most vulnerable population
27-May-2016 - The COHESION project will take place in two steps. First, the researchers will use multiple research methods (literature reviews, global and national policies analysis, health systems assessment, qualitative interviews, quantitative surveys, etc.)
to understand success of and barriers to the management of NTDs and NCDs. Then, building on the results of the studies conducted in three representative contexts, Mozambique, Nepal and Peru, they will develop interventions adapted to the local communities and to these countries primary health care structures, in partnership with local stakeholders and taking into account socio-cultural specificities.
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Global HIV/AIDS Overview
May 2016 - 36.9 Million people worldwide are currently living with HIV/AIDS.
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is one of the world’s most serious health and development challenges
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Clinical care co-ordinator says time to upgrade HIV education
May 27, 2016 - Clinical Care Co-ordinator Dr Maria Pereira said, in light of the new HIV statistics, it’s time to upgrade the public education programme geared at reducing the number of HIV cases and providing adequate treatment and care for those already infected.
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5.7m Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS – Ex-African Presidents
May 27, 2016 - ABUJA - FORMER African Presidents, under the aegis of Champions for an AIDS-Free Generation in Africa, yesterday said over 3.4 per cent of Nigerians were currently living with the dreaded HIV/AIDS.
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Rare but severe liver side-effects reported among South African patients starting efavirenz-based ART
27 May 2016 - Treatment with efavirenz has been associated with rare but severe liver complications among patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in South Africa. Writing in AIDS, investigators report three patterns of efavirenz drug-induced liver injury (DILI), the most severe of which involved necrosis with severe elevations in transaminases (ALT/AST) and jaundice. Mortality rates were high.
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Special: "Surviving a Death Sentence" Calhoun woman lives with HIV for more than 30 years
May 26, 2016 - From the outside looking in , the Broussard family has it all - mom, dad, and two beautiful children. But 36-year-old Annie has lived with HIV most of her life and now she has AIDS
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Social media-based HIV testing finds new cases
May 26, 2016 - (Reuters Health) - Outreach on social media may help encourage men at high risk for HIV infection to get themselves tested, a new study from the U.K. suggests.
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HIV Activist Peter Staley Feels Used By Bernie Sanders Campaign
May 26, 2016 - Following a rescheduled meeting with HIV/AIDS activists, Bernie Sanders issues misleading press release, Peter Staley posts.
Staley writes: “Feeling used and abused by the Sanders campaign right now.
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AIDS patients have increased risk of death due to non-AIDS-related cancers
26 May 2016 - People diagnosed with AIDS have a very high risk of dying of a non-AIDS-defining cancer, Italian investigators report in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. Overall, people with an AIDS diagnosis had a sevenfold increase in their risk of dying from a non-AIDS-defining malignancy compared to HIV-negative patients. The risk of death due to certain cancers was remarkably high, including anal cancer. AIDS patients with a history of injecting drug use had especially high excess mortality due to non-AIDS-related cancers.
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Improving The Health Of Seniors Living With HIV
May 26, 2016 - HIV-positive seniors living with HIV live longer than ever before
More than three decades after the onslaught of the AIDS crisis, many long-term survivors are now entering their senior years. Due in large part to improvements in treatment and care, half of people living with HIV in the United States today are age 50 and over. The fact that HIV-positive people can now expect to live long, full lives is wonderful, but with longer life comes the challenges of aging.
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Prince Harry Is 'Carrying Princess Diana's Torch' in Fight to End HIV
05/26/2016 - Prince Harry is carrying "the torch that his mother Princess Diana lit" with his work on HIV in Africa, says a poet who's joining a star-studded concert to raise funds for the royal's charity.
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Togo to distribute over 10m condoms to fight disease
26.05.2016 - We want to encourage the targeted population to change their behaviour and promote use of condoms because this has two benefits.
Over ten million male and female condoms will be distributed between now and the end of June in ten Togolese towns, including the capital Lome, a media report said on Thursday.
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HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day
May 2016 - 35 years later
June 5 is HIV Long-Term Survivors Day. Every year people join together to celebrate and honor the Long-Term Survivors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Please join with us in raising awareness about the needs, issues and journeys of HIV Long-Term Survivors (HLTS) as we mark two significant milestones – it has been 35 years since HIV was identified on June 5, 1981. It is 20 years since Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) was introduced.
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Addressing Mental Health & HIV
May 25, 2016 - When we think of HIV prevention, the first thing that usually comes to mind is “safer sex.” But structural factors, including homelessness, education level, employment status, racism, and homophobia, are more often better predictors of one’s chances of being exposed to HIV. Combating these societal barriers is important work and a priority for Bailey House, one of the nation’s oldest housing and HIV and AIDS service organizations.
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SF surgeon seeks law fix to do transplant from HIV-infected donor
May 25, 2016 - SACRAMENTO - Dr. Peter Stock, a UCSF transplant surgeon, visits the state Capitol to press for passage of the bill.
A San Francisco surgeon preparing to perform a life-saving liver transplant from an HIV-positive donor to an HIV-positive patient ran up against an unexpected problem this month. The procedure, although allowed under federal law, is illegal in California.
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Muslim States Ban Gay and Trans Groups From U.N. AIDS Meeting
May 25, 2016 - Next month, the United Nations is holding a high-level meeting on ending the global AIDS epidemic. But a group of 51 Muslim states has blocked 11 gay and transgender groups from attending, reports Reuters. A U.S. ambassador and other Western leaders are protesting the ban.
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Antiretroviral therapy may not be enough to reduce HIV-associated arterial inflammation
25-May-2016 - Additional immune-system-modulatory approaches may help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
Initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) soon after diagnosis of an HIV infection did not prevent the progression of significant arterial inflammation in a small group of previously untreated patients. The findings from a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based
research team suggest that ART alone is not sufficient to reduce the elevated arterial inflammation that appears to contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected individuals.
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And the Band Plays On: A New Plague Met With Silence, Denial
May 24, 2016 - I’ve got a book in front of me: According to the cover, it’s the “20th Anniversary Edition of the Classic Bestseller.” The book is called And The Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic.
It was written by Randy Shilts, who in the book’s acknowledgments states, “I would not have been able to write this book if I had not been a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, the only daily newspaper in the United States that did not need a movie star to come down with AIDS before it considered the epidemic a legitimate news story deserving thorough coverage.”
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HRC Participates in HIV is Not a Crime II Conference; Advocates to End Bad HIV Laws
May 24, 2016 - Last week, I attended the HIV is Not a Crime II National Training Academy in Huntsville at the University of Alabama. Positive Women’s Network USA and the Sero Project, two groups leading the fight against HIV criminalization in the U.S., organized the conference. Co-sponsors included HRC, GMHC, the Southern AIDS Coalition, the Williams Institute and several others.
In a room of more than 300 advocates and activists, topics such as criminal justice reform, anti-Blackness and sex workers’ rights were discussed and debated in plenary sessions and workshops throughout the week. While everyone may not have agreed on every point or every issue, there was broad consensus that something had to be done to address the harmful effects of HIV criminalization laws, which run counter to public health and perpetuate stigma against people living with or affected by HIV.
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American gay men’s use of condoms has been falling for a decade, regardless of serosorting or PrEP
24 May 2016 - There has been a long-term decline in condom use by American gay men, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in AIDS. Similar declines have been seen in men whose sexual partners were of the same HIV status and in men who did not know their sexual partners’ HIV status – showing that the fall in condom use cannot be explained by serosorting or other seroadaptive behaviours.
Moreover condom use began to fall long before PrEP became available.
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HIV patients less likely to receive treatment for many cancers
May 23, 2016 - An analysis of more than 2 million U.S. cancer patients suggested that those with HIV are less likely to receive cancer treatment, regardless of insurance status or comorbidities.
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New method gives scientists a better look at how HIV infects and takes over its host cells
May 23, 2016 - Viruses attack cells and commandeer their machinery in a complex and carefully orchestrated invasion. Scientists have long probed this process for insights into biology and disease, but essential details still remain out of reach.
A new approach, developed by a team of researchers led by The Rockefeller University and The Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC), offers an unprecedented view of how a virus infects and appropriates a host cell, step by step. In research published May 23 in Nature Microbiology, they applied their method to HIV, a virus whose genome is less than 100,000 times the size of ours.
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‘The war on STIs has failed’: Reinventing the way we tackle sexual disease
May 23, 2016 - The Edmonton doctor and infectious disease specialist is seeing more people with more severe sexually transmitted infections — young men with chlamydia and hemorrhagic proctitis who say they’ve had 30-odd partners in the past six months and didn’t use condoms half the time; seemingly healthy people who’ve been on intensive HIV treatment for ages and have contracted syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatitis C from unprotected sex.
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AIDS and Homelessness Activists Convene Town Hall to Combat Youth Homelessness and HIV
May 23, 2016 - New York, NY - On Tuesday, May 24, 2016, ACT UP NY, homeless youth, and over 15 NGOs will convene a Town Hall at the LGBT Community Center (from 6-8pm) to address the overlapping HIV and homelessness epidemics in New York City and around the State.
The Town Hall will confront several drivers of the HIV epidemic among homeless youth, including housing instability (particularly among youth aged 21-24), discontinuity in health care, employment instability, limited education and skill development opportunities, and inadequate coordination among service providers.
Single-Dose Drug Decreases Bone Loss in Newly Treated HIV
May 23, 2016 - Just one dose of zoledronic acid given at the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) may prevent ART-associated bone loss during the first 48 weeks of therapy, according to a study published online.
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Thousands of men sign up to trial HIV drug in NSW
May 22, 2016 - More than 1,100 men in New South Wales have signed up to trial a new HIV drug, which doctors have said may help dramatically decrease the number of infections.
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The Nearly Naked AIDS Advocate
May 22nd, 2016 - When Benjamin “Ben” Ryan began taking dance classes ten years ago, the personal venture was a complete whim. After all, he was in his late twenties at the
time – ancient for a beginning dancer – and by his own admission, was “just awful” for the first few years of classes. And nothing about his vocation as a writer specializing in the science of HIV suggested that Gene Kelly was trapped inside.
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Candlelight memorial in Vancouver to remember those lost to HIV/AIDS
May 22, 2016 - VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) - Although there have been huge medical strides in treating HIV and AIDS over the last few decades, tens of millions of people around the world are still dealing with the illness.
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UB faculty members partnering with Zimbabwe university in research training for HIV fight
May 22, 2016 - University at Buffalo faculty members will help train doctoral candidates and postdoctoral fellows in Zimbabwe in clinical pharmacology research aimed at prevention and improved treatment of HIV.
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HIV/AIDS cases on the rise in Palawan
May 22, 2016 - PUERTO PRINCESA CITY - Ocampo said 88 HIV cases have been recorded in the province, and the number is increasing.
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GMHC Statement on Secretary Hillary Clinton Meeting with HIV and AIDS Activists
May 13, 2016 - New York, New York - GMHC released the following statement after joining other HIV and AIDS activists and meeting with Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to
have an in-depth policy conversation around the epidemic - in America and abroad.
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US colleges cut ties with scholarships that ban HIV-positive applicants
21 May 2016 - Princeton University and Boston University have taken down postings for scholarship programs in South Korea that require HIV testing
Two prominent American colleges have removed advertisements for South Korean government scholarships that bar people with HIV, following the intervention of human rights activists.
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Remembering Daniel Berrigan, a Forgotten AIDS Hero
05/20/2016 - When Daniel Berrigan died many tributes to his remarkable life swiftly appeared in the media . Rightly, there was a great deal of focus on his life of resistance and non-violence. But to my sorrow, I read almost nothing
of his work with people with AIDS. At most a single sentence: Berrigan volunteered with those dying of AIDS in the 1980’s and 90’s. Such work required much of one’s heart and soul, and yielded much suffering and sorrow. Dan’s heroic care giving throughout the plague years deserved far more recognition that a sentence.
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New HIV vaccine trial aims to build on earlier modest success
May 20, 2016 - (Reuters Health) - A late-stage trial will begin later this year in South Africa to test the effectiveness of an HIV vaccine that has shown promise in earlier trials, according to the National Institutes of Health.
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Prompt ART improves HIV patient outcomes
May 20, 2016 - A single-visit ART initiation and care program appeared to offer improved rates of viral suppression among African HIV patients, according to a recently published study.
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The Future of HIV/AIDS Is Decided Next Week - Is Anyone Listening?
May 20, 2016 - In sum, the progress seen in the HIV/AIDS response of the last 15 years could easily be unravelled without a strong strategy that can galvanise political will of the member states.
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6 Men Who Changed the Face of HIV/AIDS
May 20, 2016 - Here are six men who changed the face of HIV/AIDS helping us all to understand it's indiscriminate impact.
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10 Things I Learned from HIV is Not a Crime II
May 20, 2016 - Shocking details about HIV criminalization cases, sex worker intersectionality, and how activists are fighting back.
Co-organized by SERO Project and Positive Women’s Network-USA, the HIV Is Not a Crime II National Training Academy has been taking place this week in Huntsville, Alabama. When people living with HIV
gather to teach each other best practices for fighting criminalization laws, you know you're going to learn something meaningful. Here are some of the highlights from Wednesday's plenaries, breakout sessions, and workshops:
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People With HIV Are Less Likely To Get Needed Cancer Treatment
May 20, 2016 - Researchers examined treatment for a variety of cancers, including upper gastrointestinal tract, colorectal, prostate, lung, head and neck, cervix, breast, anal and two blood cancers.
With the exception of anal cancer, treatment rates differed significantly between HIV-infected people and those who weren't infected, according to the study published online Tuesday by the journal Cancer.
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New HIV-Mimicking Particles That Trigger Immune Response Could Advance AIDS Vaccine Design
May 19, 2016 - New York - Call it a sheep in wolf's clothing. Researchers with the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have built tiny particles that resemble HIV on
their outside and used them to provoke an immune response in animals.
Their work, which was published today in the journal Cell Reports, could advance the design of an effective AIDS vaccine.
The researchers successfully produced synthetic nanoparticles (liposomes) that they decorated with protein components (trimer spikes), that protrude from HIV-1's outer membrane (the viral envelope). These protein components are normally used by the virus to grab onto the human cells it then goes on to infect.
AIDS Graphics, Selections
May 20, 2016 - In 1987, during the early years of the AIDS crisis, a group of New York artists and activists formed ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) to raise awareness about the growing epidemic.
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LGBT groups' exclusion from Aids summit risks human rights, west says
May 19, 2016 - The US, EU and Canada have all complained after 22 non-government organisations were excluded from the high-level UN meeting for no stated reason
Human rights activists have condemned more than 50 countries – including Russia and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – for blocking numerous gay and drug user groups from a global Aids summit at the UN next month.
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Nursing Students Design 3D Printed Pill Boxes for HIV/AIDS Patients
May 19, 2016 - . For those looking to keep their treatment discrete, the necessity of taking a large number of pills throughout the day, sometimes as many as 30, can lead to unwanted questions or awkward conversations.
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U.S. protests as Russia joins Islamic countries in banning pro-Gay groups from UN AIDS meeting
May 19, 2016 - Russia has joined several dozen Islamic countries in barring 22 LGBT-rights groups from participating in a major United Nations meeting on HIV/AIDS next month.
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HIV protein manipulates hundreds of human genes to advance progression into AIDS, UT Southwestern study shows
DALLAS – May 19, 2016 - UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have deciphered how a small protein made by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS manipulates human genes to further its deadly agenda.
The findings, published in the online journal eLife, could aid in the search for new or improved treatments for patients with AIDS, or to the development of preventive strategies.
UB partners with University of Zimbabwe to launch $1.3 million HIV research program
19-May-2016 - BUFFALO, N.Y. - o train future HIV researchers, the University at Buffalo and University of Zimbabwe have partnered to form the HIV Research Training Program, supported by a $1.3 million grant from the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) John E. Fogarty International Center.
The five-year grant will support doctoral candidates and postdoctoral fellows completing clinical pharmacology research at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Center of Excellence in Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
AIDS 2016 Media Registration Is Open
May 19, 2016 - Media registration is now open for the
21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) and attendance is free for registered media.
This July, the International AIDS Conference will return to Durban for the first time since 2000. The 13th International AIDS Conference in 2000
was a catalyst for historic change, ushering in a global movement to bring lifesaving HIV treatment to South Africa and other developing countries, and paving the way for the creation of The Global Fund and PEPFAR.
Meet the Woman Who Cared for Hundreds of Abandoned Gay Men Dying of AIDS
May 19, 2016 - Between 1984 and the mid-1990s, before better HIV drugs effectively rendered her obsolete, Ruth Coker Burks cared for hundreds of dying people, many of them gay men who had been abandoned by their families. She buried more than
three dozen of them herself, after their families refused to claim their bodies. For many of those people, she is now the only person who knows the location of their graves.
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Temple researchers successfully excise HIV DNA from animals
19-May-2016 (Philadelphia, PA) - Using gene editing technology, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University have, for the first time, successfully excised a segment of HIV-1 DNA - the virus responsible for
AIDS - from the genomes of living animals. The breakthrough, described online this month in the journal Gene Therapy, is a critical step in the development of a potentially curative strategy for HIV infection.
Identifying Patients With Acute HIV-1 Infection May Be a Challenge
May 18, 2016 - HealthDay News - Few symptoms and signs are observed during acute HIV-1 infection, and these are most common before peak viremia, according to a study published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Pursuing the destruction of HIV-infected cells
GENEVA, 18 May 2016 - Rutgers University and Dartmouth College researchers find promise of a new treatment approach in drug that kills HIV-infected cells in the lab and suppresses the virus in patients in a limited clinical trial
An oral drug used to treat an illness unrelated to HIV eradicated infectious HIV-producing cells in lab cultures while sparing uninfected cells - and suppressed the virus in patients during treatment and for at least eight weeks after the drug was stopped, according
to results of a clinical pilot trial and researchers at Rutgers University and Dartmouth College.
OHTN Research Leadership Series 2016
May 18, 2016 - There will be three lectures this spring
The Ontario HIV Treatment Network is proud to announce the OHTN Research Leadership Series 2016: For Research with Real Life Impact.
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Did the HIV Leaders' Meeting With Hillary Clinton Shortchange Young People and Movement-Building?
May 18, 2016 - As a member of ACT UP New York, I was involved in planning discussions before and after the meeting. And, regrettably, I saw a unique opportunity to refocus HIV/AIDS activism squandered. Those most in danger of contracting the
disease -- young gay and trans people -- were not visible as equal partners in the process, which seemed to prioritize insider advocacy work rather than the dynamic, open organizing and social media use favored by today's social change movements.
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National data reveal prevalence of HIV among MSM on local level
May 18, 2016 - HIV infection was confirmed to be hyperendemic among men who have sex with men in many parts of the United States, particularly in the South, an analysis in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance reported.
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Group from Jamaica among NGOs barred from AIDS meeting
May 18, 2016 - UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) - The United States and the European Union are protesting a UN decision to bar at least 20 non-governmental groups from taking part in a major AIDS conference next month.
US Ambassador Samantha Power said the NGOs taken off the list of participants "appear to have been chosen for their involvement in LGBTI, transgender or youth advocacy."
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Denmark shows first clear evidence of the success of treatment as prevention in gay men in a high income country
18 May 2016 - Very high diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression rates needed, say researchers
A study by the University of California, Los Angeles, and Copenhagen University Hospital provides the first unambiguous evidence of a link between high rates of viral suppression in gay men and falling HIV incidence (the proportion of men who catch HIV each year).
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We will lose the battle against HIV without LGBT decriminalisation
18 May 2016 - With the International Aids Conference just two months away, there is no better time to talk about access, equity and rights in the fight against HIV
We have made huge progress in the fight against HIV/Aids in the last few decades, but there are still significant challenges. Communities most affected by the virus – sex workers, transgender people, men who have sex with men (MSM), and gay men – still face stigma and discrimination. Global infection
rates have not fallen as much for these people as they have for the general population.
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Older men record increase in HIV/AIDS
May 18, 2016 - The head of the country’s national AIDS programme has expressed alarm over the increasing trend of older men across Antigua & Barbuda becoming infected with HIV/AIDs.
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‘Goal to end AIDS by 2021 unrealistic’
May 18, 2016 - KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry's projection of ending AIDS by 2021, ahead of its 2030 deadline, is an unrealistic goal, said former Malaysian AIDS Council president Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir.
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2016 Spring HIV/ARV Update - Videos
May 2016 - Vancouver, BC - Videos of the presentations are now available for viewing
Watch Videos...
What is the Risk of Disease Related to Substance Use Disorders?
May 2016 - Substance abuse drastically increases a drug user’s odds of contracting life-changing diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and other STDs. Once a habitual drug abuser is infected, diseases progress quickly and can lead to severe illness and death.
Drug users are not only at risk of short-term harm, but also possible long-term health consequences that can be completely life changing. Drug abuse weakens the body’s immune system and makes users more likely to engage in risky behavior, either to attain drugs or while under the influence of them.
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LGBT groups barred from attending UN aids conference
May 18, 2016 - A group of 51 Muslim countries has blocked LGBT rights organisations from attending a United Nations conference on Aids next month.
Egypt, representing the Organization for Islamic Co-operation, wrote to the General Assembly president to object to the participation of 11 groups.
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‘HIV/AIDS and Discrimination; Spotting the Stigma of the Stigma’ Conference to be Held May 23
May 18, 2016 - The general secretariat of transparency and human rights of the ministry of justice and the Hellenic Association of Seropositive People named “Positive voice” are organizing a one-day conference titled “HIV/AIDS and discrimination; spotting the stigma of the stigma,” on May 23.
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UNAIDS calls for sustained investment and increased collaboration to develop an HIV vaccine
GENEVA, 18 May 2016 - On HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, UNAIDS calls for greater resources and increased collaboration among governments, the scientific community
and the private sector to advance research towards finding an effective HIV vaccine.
Hillary Clinton talks HIV Criminalization
Published on May 18, 2016 - Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses HIV is Not a Crime II - National Training Academy
United Nations bans African LGBT groups from AIDS conference after veto from member states
18th May 2016 - A number of LGBT groups have been blocked from attending a United Nations AIDS conference after ‘objections’ from a number of states
The UN is set to hold a “high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS” next month from June 8 to June 10, with countries and organisations from around the world attending to formulate new action plans.
However, after objections from Egypt on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation group, a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with links to LGBT rights have been blocked from attending.
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Gay and Bisexual Men Living in the South Have Greatest Risk Of HIV Infection
May 17, 2016 - Gay and bisexual men having sex with men (MSM) are at greatest risk of HIV infection in southern states, researchers from Emory University, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), amfAR and the Louisiana Office of Public Health noted in a study published online today in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance.
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Why Are Women and Trans People Absent from HIV Prevention Campaigns?
May 17, 2016 - "I've been HIV-positive for 25 years," says Juno Roche. "But as far as statistics go, I'm invisible. A few years ago, I noticed one of my prescriptions still had "male" on it. They still had me down as a man who sleeps with men."
UK-specific data on HIV positive trans women like Roche simply doesn't exist. "No data is presented for transgender people," reads the last Public Health England report into HIV transmission. Given that, globally, trans people are an estimated 49 times more likely to have HIV, the emission is serious.
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Infection cases nearly double in Russia's Far East region
May 17, 2016 - "The official number of HIV/AIDS carriers in the Sakhalin region has grown to 1,051 since 1993,’’ the statement said.
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U.S. drug for AIDS prevention to be reviewed for use in Korea
May 17, 2016 - A Food and Drug Administration-approved HIV drug developed in the U.S. will be submitted for review in Korea to be used as a preventive medicine for people at high risk of infection, its developer Gilead Sciences said on Tuesday
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Local Men’s Clinic Honours Canadian AIDS Society
May 17, 2016 - A group of 51 Muslim states has blocked 11 gay and transgender organizations from attending a high-level meeting at the United Nations next month on ending AIDS, sparking a protest by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
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Use of “tranquilizer” medications associated with highest risk of death and increased risk of HCV infection in Downtown Eastside
May 17, 2016 - Vancouver, BC - Use of medication class a higher risk of death than illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine
In a new study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Public Health Reports, researchers from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and the University of British Columbia’s Department of Medicine,
studied the impact of BZD use on mortality rates in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
The study found Downtown Eastside drug users who use BZDs had a mortality rate almost twice that of drug users who did not use BZDs.
Muslim states block gay groups from U.N. AIDS meeting; U.S. protests
May 17, 2016 - A group of 51 Muslim states has blocked 11 gay and transgender organizations from attending a high-level meeting at the United Nations next month on ending AIDS, sparking a protest by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
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UNAIDS Executive Director's Message on IDAHOT 2016
Published on May 17, 2016 - Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, and Daniel Franzese are all part of a new Public Service Announcement that focuses on the fight against HIV/ AIDS not being over.
UNAIDS calls for full and complete access to quality health care, including mental health care, for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people
GENEVA, 17 May 2016 - UNAIDS stands with people and organizations around the world in commemorating the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) on 17 May, the day 26 years ago when the
World Health Organization declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder. The IDAHOT theme for 2016 is mental health and well-being.
Nigerian laws give conflicting message on HIV and homophobia
17 May 2016 - In Nigeria since the introduction of an anti-homosexuality law in 2014 which criminalises LGBT people, increasing homophobia has been having a negative impact on the HIV response.
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International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia: Bill C-16 promises crucial protections for transgender rights in Canada
May 17, 2016 - The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network applauds the federal government’s introduction today of Bill C-16, which will update the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to recognition of the rights of transgender people.
As Canada’s leading organization working on human rights issues related to HIV, we have previously called for federal legislative measures to ensure full legal protection against discrimination and hate crimes based on gender identity or expression (and on intersex status).
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North Carolina governor's ignorance of trans identity
May 17, 2016 - By Sir Elton John
Transgender women are 49 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population. That statistic on its face is startling, but when you consider the societal barriers these women face, it’s hardly surprising.
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HIV rapidly develops resistance to gene-editing cure technology
17 May 2016 - Resistance may be Achilles heel of genetic-engineering approach
In a setback for a novel approach to curing HIV, researchers involved in a technique that uses enzymes to remove viral genes from the DNA of infected cells have found that HIV rapidly develops resistance to the guide molecules that target the correct part of the DNA sequence.
The resistant viruses that develop can in some cases replicate even faster than viruses not exposed to the gene therapy (though they are still susceptible to conventional antiretroviral (ARV) drugs).
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Vancouver International AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2016
May 2016 - Please join us at this year's Vancouver International AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2016
WHEN: May 22, 2016 at 8pm - 9pm
WHERE: Alexandra Park, Vancouver, BC
With at least 500 events being held worldwide in 115 countries, AIDS Vancouver is honoured to be the host community organizer of the Vancouver International AIDS Candlelight Memorial presented by Joytv BC.
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Want to invest in a social network? How about a condom company? Now's your chance
May 16, 2016 - Like so many entrepreneurs these days, Adam Glickman believes his company is making the world a better place. In his case, it's doing so one funny condom at a time.
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AIDS Education Month
May 16, 2016 - FIGHT for a World Without AIDS
Truth is that catch-phrases like “AIDS free generation” or “getting to zero” capture a promising vision of a world free of AIDS, by instilling the hope and dedication needed to eradicate this disease, but, at the end of the day,
especially looking at the rising numbers of newly diagnosed individuals, especially among the youth, these nicely packaged messages can become just sound bites that, well, sound good and mean well…and nothing more. And that alone can stand in the way of truly putting an end to the epidemic.
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Positive on PrEP
May 16, 2016 - Meet three guys who got HIV after starting Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis. How does this happen, and how are they doing today?
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5 Ways to Make HIV Infection Rare: How States, Cities, People Living With HIV and Communities Can End the Epidemic
May 16, 2016 - In the United States, national, state and local HIV organizations are in various stages of mobilizing campaigns to make reducing new HIV infections and achieving viral
suppression among people living with HIV (PLWH) the highest priority in order to accelerate the end of the HIV epidemic. NASTAD, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, is coordinating with many of these
efforts and believes that U.S. communities and government must work synergistically toward one common goal: transitioning to an era in which new HIV infections are epidemiologically rare among all populations in every zip code in America.
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Does having HIV affect response to hepatitis C treatment?
16 May 2016 - A study from the US Veterans Health Administration found that HIV-positive people responded as well as those without HIV to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C, while a Spanish study showed
that people with HIV/HCV co-infection were less likely to be cured. These conflicting findings, presented at the recent International Liver Congress in Barcelona, indicate that the interactions between HIV and hepatitis C are still not fully understood.
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California May Allow Transplants Among Those With HIV
May 16, 2016 - SACRAMENTO (AP) - California lawmakers are moving to allow organ transplants between donors and recipients if they both have the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
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HIV vaccine design should adapt as HIV virus mutates
May 2016 - Human immunodeficiency virus is known to be a highly variable virus that adapts to a person's immune response during the lifetime infection, and a new study published in Nature Medicine shows that viral adaptation
in HIV can predict a person's current disease status, as well as the degree to which newly transmitted HIV-1 is adapted to their new host.
By using a novel method to measure the extent of adaptation of a virus to a person's cellular immune response, the investigators were able to predict how rapidly the disease will progress in that person.
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4th Annual PRIDE Legacy Awards
May 2016 - The PRIDE Legacy Awards Gala is an awards night to acknowledge individuals who have contributed to the LGBTQ2+ community in Vancouver over the years. There are a series of eight awards all corresponding to the symbolism associated with each colour in the original rainbow flag.
This year we are also excited to announce a new Trans Activist Award in honour of Kimberly Nixon sponsored by barbara findlay QC and Sheila Gilhooly.
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Academician links spread of HIV/Aids to poverty in Malawi
May 16, 2016 - A Canada based Malawian academician has blamed the spread of HIV and AIDS in Malawi and other African countries to poverty and inequalities between the halves and halve nots.
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HIV/AIDS patients getting younger
ILOILO CITY, May 16 (PIA6) - People diagnosed with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are getting younger and increasing in number in the country.
Department of Health (DOH) 6 Director Dr. Marlyn Convocar said statistics show that almost half of patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in the country numbering to about 32, 647 belong to the 25 to 34 years old age group.
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Stigma blamed for defaulting on HIV medication
16 May 2016 - Hunger and stigma are two of the biggest challenges faced by people living with HIV and Aids in rural areas.
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Beatrice Richardson receives Elton Jones Memorial Award
16 May 2016 - AIDS Foundation President Dr. Gerard van Osch presented the Elton Jones Memorial Award to Beatrice “Betty” Richardson. The award is centred around someone in the community who has showed dedication and exemplary service in the field of HIV/AIDS.
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Governor Cuomo Announces New Legislation to End the AIDS Epidemic in New York State
May 15, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he is advancing legislation that would help achieve his goal of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York State through several new initiatives. These proposals will build on steps already taken that have made New York State a national leader in providing high quality treatment and support services to individuals infected with HIV/AIDS.
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Philippines marks world’s first AIDS Hour
May 15, 2016 - “The launch of the first ever AIDS Hour in the world is a concrete example of the Philippines doing our part in the global effort against HIV and AIDS,” Garin was quoted as saying.
“We need to create awareness because many people living with HIV do not know what health services are available to them. Others are afraid to consult, or are socially stigmatized for being HIV-positive. We hope the AIDS Hour movement will spread not just in our country but globally.”
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Clinton promises to expand PrEP to combat HIV
May 13, 2016 - Clinton also pledged greater funding for HIV/AIDS research and an end to discriminatory laws“
Hillary Clinton has met with HIV and AIDS experts to discuss ways to achieve an “AIDS-free generation.”
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AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2016: Engage, Educate, Empower!
May 2016 - Engage, educate, empower is the theme of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2016 which takes place this Sunday, the 15th of May, for the 33rd time. Communities in at least thirty countries worldwide have organized over 70 memorials. The AIDS Candlelight Memorial raises HIV awareness and provides a much needed opportunity to commemorate the loved ones we have lost to HIV and AIDS.
“Engage, educate, empower are three important steps towards a better HIV response. We need to engage people, communities, governments and donors in ending the epidemic,” says Cecilia Chung, co-chair of the Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+). “In engaged communities there is a greater HIV awareness, which results in better HIV prevention, treatment and less discrimination against people living with HIV.”
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Using Antibodies to Block Mother-to-Infant Transmission of HIV … and Develop a Cure?
May 13, 2016 - “The launch of the first ever AIDS Hour in the world is a concrete example of the Philippines doing our part in the global effort against HIV and AIDS,” Garin was quoted as saying.
“We need to create awareness because many people living with HIV do not know what health services are available to them. Others are afraid to consult, or are socially stigmatized for being HIV-positive. We hope the AIDS Hour movement will spread not just in our country but globally.”
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GMHC Statement on United Nations Blocking Organizations that Represent Transgender People and Drug Users
May 20, 2016 - New York, New York - GMHC released the following statement after a shocking story in The New York Times this week that details the exclusion of 22 nongovernmental organizations from a United Nations global meeting to stop the AIDS epidemic.
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Nursing students create pillbox for HIV/AIDS patients with university 3-D printer
May 13, 2016 - Graduating nursing students completed a clinical rotation with a sense of pride and gratitude as they gave HIV/AIDS patients brand-new pillboxes that they had created with the university’s 3-D printer.
Kemi Gbadamosi, also claimed that Nigeria has the second highest burden of HIV, after South Africa.
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Hypertension in patients with HIV associated with obesity, fat loss and previous treatment with stavudine
13 May 2016 - Patients with HIV have a higher prevalence of hypertension than closely matched HIV-negative controls, investigators from the Netherlands report in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Moreover,
hypertension in patients with HIV was associated with changes in body composition, including both abdominal obesity and fat wasting associated with the stavudine, an older nucleoside reverse transcriptase (NRTI) inhibitor, which although now little used in richer countries was until recently a mainstay
of antiretroviral regimens in resource-limited settings
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Only 45% Nigerians are aware of their status
13.05.2016 - In addition to HIV testing, individuals will also have an opportunity to check their blood pressure, receive health and wellness talks among other services.
The AIDS Health Care Foundation (AHF) says only about 45 percent of Nigerians are aware of their HIV status.
A statement issued on Friday in Abuja by AHF Senior Manager, Communication, Miss Kemi Gbadamosi, also claimed that Nigeria has the second highest burden of HIV, after South Africa.
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NIH-Led Team Discovers New HIV Vaccine Target
May 12, 2016 - A team led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has reported a research trifecta. They discovered a new vulnerable site on HIV for a vaccine
to target, a broadly neutralizing antibody that binds to that target site, and how the antibody stops the virus from infecting a cell. The study was led by scientists at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of NIH.
HIV testing during early infection may reduce new cases in high-risk communities
12-May-2016 - Detecting HIV earlier, through screening programs that can identify the virus shortly after infection, may lead to lower rates of HIV transmission in local epidemics, suggest findings from a new study published
in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. After an acute infection screening program was implemented in San Diego, there were fewer new HIV diagnoses than would have been expected without such testing.
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Syphilis prevalence increases among pregnant women, infants
May 11, 2016 - Reports of syphilis among pregnant women have increased from 2012 to 2014 and accompany rises in congenital syphilis and syphilitic stillbirths, according to data presented at the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference.
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Clinton calls for end to HIV/AIDS ‘once and for all’
May 11, 2016 - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called for an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic “once and for all” in remarks before meeting with a group of HIV/AIDS activists on Thursday.
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CAHR Conference to examine local, global battles against HIV/AIDS
May 11, 2016 - The 25th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research will draw some of the top researchers from across the country to Winnipeg.
The theme of this year’s conference is: “Realizing Our Potential: Local to Global and Back.”
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Positive Plus One: A research study of relationships where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative
May 11, 2016 - This study, named Positive Plus One, is unique, because we want to hear from both the HIV-positive and HIV-negative partner in a serodiscordant relationship. Each partner will complete the survey on their own, and not in the presence of each other.
However, if only one of the two partners wants to participate, they can also be involved. If a person has recently (in the last 2 years) been in a serodiscordant relationship, they can also participate, but we will not ask them to invite their partner.
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HIV Survivors Need Support, Not Jail Cells
May 11, 2016 - My name is Monique Howell-Moree. As a survivor of HIV criminalization myself, I believe laws criminalizing HIV definitely need to be changed. I would have had to serve 8 to 12 years if I had been convicted, because my state, like most states, does not
take into consideration current science of the risk transmission. Nobody wants to take the time to educate themselves and update themselves on what we now know about transmission risks– especially when someone is in care and taking care of themselves–and the result is unjust laws and prosecutions.
Transmission rates when in care are so low compared to how things were in the ’80s and early ’90s, yet laws have not kept up with medical advances.
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M’sia all set to wipe out AIDS
11 May 2016 - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is well on track to putting an end to AIDS infections as early as 2021, ahead of its 2030 deadline, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.
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Graphic Armor Introduces FDA-Cleared Custom Printed Condoms
Published on May10, 2016 - Research has shown us that condoms are the most effective tool against the transmission of STIs, including HIV, but the negative stigma around condoms inhibits people around the world from using them. Creating safe, entertaining and personalized FDA approved condoms adorned with fun and familiar graphics is changing how condoms are perceived while removing social barriers surrounding their use. Graphic Armor is the first company in the world to offer FDA-approved condoms with custom printing right on the latex, and anyone can use Graphic Armor's online Design Studio to create whatever custom look they want, with a minimum order of just 33 condoms.
Guess How Many Countries Have Laws Allowing HIV Criminalization?
May 10, 2016 - “HIV criminalization is a growing, global phenomenon that is seldom given the attention it deserves considering its impact on both public health and human rights, undermining the HIV response.” That’s the conclusion of a new report by the HIV Justice Network and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+).
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Olympic Legend Greg Louganis Heads to the Emmys
05/10/2016 - He’s a four-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, and well known LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS activist.
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Challenges in Managing Inflammatory Arthritis in Patients With Comorbid HIV Infection
May 10, 2016 - Psoriatic arthritis in patients infected with HIV is associated with more severe, erosive, and deforming arthropathy that may be resistant to treatment. Further, psoriatic skin lesions tend to be more persistent and severe in these patients.
New-onset PsA in patients with HIV typically presents as an abrupt, lower extremity asymmetrically poly- or oligoarthritis with rapid development of erosions and progression to other joints over time.
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Broad coalition takes on Missouri’s HIV criminalization law
May 10, 2016 - On April 19, 22 organizations representing social justice, LGBTQ, HIV, medical and social service organizations and one individual filed an amicus brief, a document that is prepared by representatives, interested parties and experts.
The brief addresses the topic of HIV and social justice and opposes Missouri’s unjust HIV criminalization laws. They are doing so in the interest of invalidating
Michael Johnson’s 2015 conviction and 30.5 year sentence for allegedly intentionally transmitting the virus to a sex partner.
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State's HIV-infection rate edged slightly higher in 2015
May 10, 2016 - Last year, 225 new cases of HIV infection were diagnosed in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin HIV/AIDS Surveillance Annual Review for 2015.
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South Africa faces uphill battle to reduce HIV infection rates among young women
May 10, 2016 - South Africa recorded half of the 5,000 new infections a week among young women out of 14 southern and Eastern African countries, the health minister said on Tuesday.
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The Normal Heart to hold 2nd run after Gawad Buhay wins
May 10, 2016 - AFTER LAST year’s successful staging of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, The Necessary Theater (TNT) is mounting the play one again, this time hosted by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) with three play dates this June.
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HIV in children is a symptom of the failures of the AIDS response
May 10, 2016 - As high level officials convene today in Abidjan to discuss increased access to HIV care for children, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) welcomes this initiative confirming what its medical teams see
on the ground, but warns that the dramatically low coverage of pediatric antiretroviral (ARV) in West and Central Africa is but a tragic example of a much wider problem of a lack of action on the HIV/AIDS front in regions left behind. The organization
urges leaders to adopt and implement a catch up plan to increase access to ARVs for all in countries with low access to treatment.
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Small risk of sexual transmission of HIV persists through first six months of ART
10 May 2016 - Fall in new infections only achieves half of 2010 target
A risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners persists for six months after the initiation of antiretroviral therapy, investigators from a large prospective prevention study confirm in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
Over 1,500 serodiscordant heterosexual couples were included in the analysis.
Initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) was accompanied by a fall in the risk of transmission, but the risk persisted during the first six months of treatment. No transmissions were observed once patients had been taking treatment for over six months.
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Common Questions About HIV/AIDS
May 10, 2016 - HIV InSite - Comprehensive, up-to-date information on HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and policy from the University of California, San Francisco.
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Eliminating HIV is possible; UCLA, Danish researchers explain how
May 10, 2016 - “The Danes have done what nobody else in the world has been able to do,” said Sally Blower, the study’s senior author and the director of the Center for Biomedical Modeling at UCLA. “They have almost eliminated their HIV epidemic,
and they have achieved this simply by providing treatment.”
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New report shows HIV criminalisation is a growing, global concern but advocates are fighting back
May 10, 2016 - A new report released today shows that HIV criminalisation is a growing, global phenomenon. However, advocates around the world are working hard to ensure that the criminal law’s approach to people living with HIV fits with up-to-date science, as well as key legal and human rights principles.
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Canada to host Global Fund Replenishment Conference to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
Ottawa, Ontario 9 May 2016 - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that Canada will host the Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in Montréal, Quebec on September 16, 2016.
The Global Fund initiative is a true expression of Canada's core values – to care for each other, to support those in need, and to prioritize the health and wellness of our global community.
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Understanding HIV Today
9 May 2016 - Many people think that they know HIV – but through misinformation and fear, the facts often become cloudy – and misrepresent modern reality. HIV is transmitted exclusively through either bodily fluids or inherited from biological parents, and any
sexually active individual – straight or gay – could be at risk and should be tested accordingly based on risk behaviour. There is a lot of innovative research being done, and those who are diagnosed are living full lives with this virus.
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NYC Landmarks Light Up in Red for AIDS Awareness
9 May 2016 - As New York City prepares for AIDS Walk New York on Sunday, May 15, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) will "Light Up New York" from May 12-15. Beginning May 12, many of New York City's landmarks will light up red,
marked by a special ceremony at the Empire State Building held that day, to raise awareness for HIV and AIDS and build momentum toward the AIDS Walk on Sunday, May 15 in Central Park.
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HIV prematurely ages humans by an average of 5 years
9 May 2016 - Recent epigenetic findings published in Molecular Cell showed that HIV infection prematurely ages people by an average of 5 years, even while being treated with ART.
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US on course to end its HIV epidemic – eventually
09 May 2016 - Fall in new infections only achieves half of 2010 target
If current trends continue, the US may eventually end its HIV epidemic, a mathematical model recently published in AIDS & Behaviour shows. In 2009, the average number of people each person with HIV would infect during their lifetime fell below one, and has now declined to 0.75,
the model shows. This means the number of people with HIV will eventually start to shrink, as more in the ageing HIV-positive population start to die than get infected. For the moment, however, since mortality in people with HIV also continues to fall, the number of people with the virus in the US continues to grow slowly.
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New Antibody Therapy May Provide Long-Term HIV Treatment
9 May 2016 - Now, scientists from the Rockefeller University and University of Cologne are developing a new kind of treatment that may provide long-term control of the virus - a therapy based on antibodies.
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Dear Mbeki, now is the time to apologise for Aids denialism
May 8, 2016 - Thabo Mbeki’s renewed defence of his Aids denialism has moved former health MEC Zweli Mkhize to speak out about the hurtful memories from a time he thought had long since been buried...
President Mbeki has forced us to re-open issues we tried to permanently deposit in the deepest archives of our memories. He has forced us to again walk the sad journey we would have preferred to leave to researchers and historians to revisit.
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Fight against AIDS threatened, UN leader says
May 07, 2016 - Some 22 million HIV-positive people do not have access to treatment
Global progress fighting AIDS could be lost because prevention programs are suffering from a lack of leadership, accountability and funding, the head of the United Nations warned on Friday.
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Atlanta's HIV epidemic
Published on May 6, 2016 - 1 in 51 Georgians will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime, according to the CDC.
Antibody therapy opens door to potential new treatment for HIV
6-May-2016 - Researchers from The Rockefeller University, along with collaborators from the University of Cologne, are developing a new kind of treatment, an antibody-based drug that may provide a better strategy for long-term control of HIV. Recent findings
from a Phase 1 clinical trial, published on May 5 in Science, offer new insights about how the antibody functions.
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New report shows that urgent action is needed to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030
NEW YORK, 06 May 2016 - New report from the United Nations Secretary-General warns that major gains could be lost if action does not accelerate over the next five years and urges countries to react by front-loading investments and increasing action
A new report released by the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, warns that the AIDS epidemic could be prolonged indefinitely if urgent action is not implemented within the next five years. The report, On the Fast-Track to e nd the AIDS epidemic , reveals that the
extraordinary acceleration of progress made over the past 15 years could be lost and urges all partners to concentrate their efforts to increase and front-load investments to ensure that the global AIDS epidemic is ended as a public health threat by 2030.
Dublin Aids Alliance: ‘HIV is now a spiralling crisis’
May 6, 2016 - HIV Ireland, formerly the Dublin Aids Alliance, has asked Ireland’s incoming new government to act now to tackle what it says is a “spiralling HIV crisis” in the country.
At least ten people are being newly-diagnosed with the virus in Ireland every week. Diagnoses in Ireland reached their highest level on record in 2015, and concerned campaigners have called on the incoming administration to address the issue immediately.
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Insurer stops covering HIV prevention drug
May 6, 2016 - Health insurer Pacific Blue Cross is no longer covering a controversial medication that can prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS.
Critics of Truvada and PrEP in general say it can encourage unsafe sexual practices such as not using condoms.
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Spirituality May Help HIV Patients Survive Longer
May 6, 2016 - A new study suggests certain coping techniques are associated with longer life spans in sick patients.
A new paper, published this week in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, takes these findings one step further: Over 17 years, researchers followed HIV-positive men and women who were already in the mid-stage of their disease by the time the study began. They found
that people who engaged in spiritual practices and thinking had a greater rate of survival than people who did not—two to four times greater, in fact.
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How Do I Tell My Kids I Have HIV?
May 5, 2016 - Finding out you’re positive is tough; figuring out how to tell your children is even harder. A noted child therapist talks to several experts about doing it right.
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How a female sex hormone may protect against STIs: Study
Hamilton, ON (May 5, 2016) - Estradiol protects women against STIs
A team of researchers led by McMaster University's Charu Kaushic has revealed for the first time how estradiol, a female sex hormone present during the menstrual cycle and found in oral contraceptives, may work to protect women against sexually transmitted viral infections.
In a study published in the scientific journal PLOS Pathogens , Kaushic and colleagues describe the underlying mechanism by which estradiol enhances anti-viral responses in mice infected with the herpes simplex virus, type 2 (HSV-2) -- one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections.
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Can We Say Goodbye to the Word AIDS?
May 5, 2016 - What do we lose by freeing ourselves from the word AIDS—or, what might we have to gain?
It’s a question provoked by advances in HIV treatment and care and changes in the way that people live with and experience HIV and AIDS.
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Rapid-response immune cells are fully prepared before invasion strikes
5-May-2016 - Through the use of powerful genomic techniques, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) have found that the development of immune cells, called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), gradually prepares
these cells for rapid response to infection. This work, which appeared online today in Cell , sheds light on the development and function of a cell type that is increasingly recognized as having an important role in the body's immune defense. NIAMS is part of the National Institutes of Health.
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Tobacco firms pushed AIDS agenda to protect profits
May 5, 2016 - Tobacco firms used the fight against HIV/AIDS as a smokescreen to hinder tobacco control efforts in developing countries, researchers have revealed.
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Raising the Next Generation of HIV Warriors
May 5, 2016 - HIV rates among queer black men remain shockingly high. Marvell Terry tells us about a plan to finally turn this ship around.
Like so many other young nonprofit leaders, I often struggle with the question “Am I good enough?” I thought a lot about that question recently, using my 30th birthday as an opportunity to to do some critical, self-reflective work around what it means to be a leader in the
fight to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the United States.
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High prevalence of geriatric conditions in HIV-positive patients aged over 50 in San Francisco
05 May 2016 - Older HIV-positive patients have a high prevalence of multiple age-related problems, investigators from the United States report in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The research involved
patients aged 50 years and older receiving outpatient care in San Francisco. Overall, 40% reported difficulties with daily activities, most reported loneliness, many had mild cognitive impairment and 30% had only poor to fair quality of life.
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Hepatitis C Kills More Americans than Any Other Infectious Disease
May 4, 2016 - New CDC studies underscore urgency of hepatitis C testing and treatment, especially for baby boomers
Deaths associated with hepatitis C reached an all-time high of 19,659 in 2014, according to new surveillance data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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HIV Cure Inject Possible to Kick Virus Out of Body
May 04, 2016 - A team of scientists from University of North Carolina, University of Oxford and University College London has done a remarkable research on HIV/AIDS that the result would get them closer to find HIV cure.
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Elton John AIDS Foundation Calls for End to HIV Criminalization
May 3, 2016 - In a statement released earlier today, the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) called on “federal, state, and local governments to put an end to the use of criminal law to target the conduct of people living with HIV and other diseases.” EJAF Chairman David Furnish pointed to the negative impact these laws have on public health and the real and lasting harm done to people living with and affected by HIV.
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U.N. hails landmark ruling by Sri Lanka's top court to outlaw HIV discrimination
May 3, 2016 - NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United Nations has welcomed a landmark ruling by Sri Lanka's highest court prohibiting the discrimination of people living with HIV in education, saying the judgment would set a precedent and help victims seek justice for other forms of prejudice.
Ruling on a case involving a five-year-old boy who was denied admission to school because he was believed to be HIV positive, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court last week said children living with or affected by HIV have the full right to education.
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HIV infections drop, but US falls short of national goals
3-May-2016 - PHILADELPHIA - Better prevention, care will help cut more infections, said researchers from Penn Medicine and Johns Hopkins
The number of new HIV infections and the transmission rate in the United States dropped by 11 and 17 percent, respectively, between 2010 and 2015, but fell short of the goals put forth by
President Obama's U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reported this week in the journal AIDS and Behavior.
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Hypertension increases among HIV patients from 1996-2013
April 2, 2016 - A recent analysis of hypertension rates suggested that incidence among HIV patients has more than tripled from 1996 through 2013 and are accompanied by an increase in several hypertension risk determinants such as obesity or diabetes.
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10 Keys to Living Well With HIV
May 2, 2016 - For most people who have reliable access to modern treatment and health care, managing HIV is not just about survival; it's about living well. But what does "living well" actually mean, and what specific steps can you take to maximize your health and happiness if you're HIV positive?
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It’s Tough to Stop Sex, Study of U.S. AIDS Effort Shows
May 2, 2016 - Researchers find no benefits from a decade-long attempt to curb the spread of HIV in Africa by promoting abstinence and monogamy.
The U.S. has spent more than $1.4 billion since 2004 telling young people in Africa to abstain from sex before marriage and then commit to a single partner. That funding didn’t influence the number of sex partners people had, the age at which they started having sex, or teen pregnancy rates, according to a study published on Monday in the journal Health Affairs by researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine.
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Promoting abstinence, fidelity for HIV prevention is ineffective, Stanford study finds
2-May-2016 - The U.S. government has invested $1.4 billion in HIV prevention programs that promote sexual abstinence and marital fidelity, but there is no evidence
that these programs have been effective at changing sexual behavior and reducing HIV risk, according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study.
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Funding decline for a U.S. government HIV/AIDS initiative raises concerns
2-May-2016 - Most PEPFAR spending is directed toward sub-Saharan Africa, which has been particularly hard hit by the AIDS pandemic.
The U.S. government has invested A U.S. government agency whose mission is to help save the lives of people around the world living with HIV and AIDS has seen a steep drop in funding for an important part of its budget.
The finding, from a UCLA study, could be a cause for concern because many countries rely on the agency to help pay for vital health care services for people with the disease.
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How do gay men diagnosed with HIV change their risk behaviour?
02 May 2016 - Australian surveys highlight importance of support from other men with HIV
To what extent do gay men modify their sexual risk behaviour after testing HIV positive? Two Australian surveys conducted over the last few years have found that in the immediate aftermath of diagnosis, gay men considerably reduce the number
of partners they have sex with – many stopping sexual activity altogether – and also reduce the amount of condomless sex they have with partners of unknown HIV status. There was also an increase in HIV status disclosure.
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The Perfect Storm Facing Black Men on HIV
May 02, 2016 - Government neglect, unemployment, health and socioeconomic disparities, racism, homophobia, and stigma are all contributing to an escalating catastrophe.
This month marks the 35th year since the first cases of the human immunodeficiency virus were reported in June 1981.
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Anti-LGBTQ laws increase risk of HIV, drug use, and violence
May 02, 2016 - Recently enacted laws in North Carolina and Mississippi and their impact on the rights of the LGBTQ community have brought to light a serious public health issue: an increased risk of HIV and gender-based violence.
Laws such as these, as well as in other states, specifically exclude communities from protections against discrimination and create environments with gender inequality, stigmatization, and differential access to services. Together, this can lead to increased risk of violence.
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Crisis over syphilis treatment as Canada running out of drug used to treat potentially deadly infection
May 2, 2016 - With syphilis spreading in Canada at rates unseen in decades, doctors are struggling to cope with a shortage of the main drug used to treat the potentially deadly infection.
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This Emotional Dance Showcase Remembers The Generation We Lost To AIDS
05/01/2016 - “We must revisit our grief in order to begin to heal from it.”
A powerful piece of dance theater currently headed across the United States on a 20-city tour is honoring the lives and stories of those lost to HIV/AIDS epidemic.
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