Zimbabwe Deputy Prime Minister Khupe Says Poverty Biggest Challenge in Stopping HIV

Speaking Monday at a UNAIDS conference on halting the HIV epidemic among women and girls, Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe said poverty presents the biggest challenge to anti-AIDS efforts in Zimbabwe.

"Poverty undermines the ability of young girls and women to protect themselves from the epidemic, as most adopt coping strategies that expose them to the risk of HIV/AIDS," she said. "Gender inequality and unequal power relations between women and men continue to influence the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And a number of socioeconomic and religious related gender issues also predispose women and girls to HIV infections."

Khupe said she intends to seek additional funds to bolster Zimbabwe's own inadequate AIDS-fighting resources. Organizers said the conference seeks to create a new and sustainable network of female African lawmakers and ministers to fight HIV and develop plans to implement UNAIDS' agenda for accelerated progress at the county and regional levels.


The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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World Failing to Meet 2010 HIV/AIDS Care Target

The world will not achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and prevention by the end of this year, though the goal is within "clear reach" in a number of countries, according to a new joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS and UNICEF. UN member states pledged four years ago to reach universal access targets of 80 percent coverage for the global HIV population, which in 2008 stood at more than 33 million people.

Worldwide, just one-third of those in need of antiretroviral therapy have access to it, the report said. In low- and middle-income countries, 5.2 million people received ARVs last year, 30 percent more than in 2008 and a 13-fold increase from six years ago. However, an estimated 10 million people still lack treatment access. Just eight low- and middle-income countries achieved universal access by 2009, including Cambodia, Cuba, and Rwanda.

The scale of prevention measures is still inadequate, the report noted. Population surveys in 10 low- and middle-income countries found that 60 percent of those infected did not know it, said Yves Souteyrand, WHO's HIV/AIDS coordinator. Stigma and discrimination against at-risk populations - sex workers, drug users, migrants, and men who have sex with men - add to their marginalization from treatment and care, the report said.

In 15 sub-Saharan countries, more than 80 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women received services and ARVs to prevent mother-to-child transmission, the report found. Botswana and South Africa were among them. Fourteen low- and middle-income countries provide pediatric ARVs for children with HIV.

"At the same time, the financial crisis and resulting economic recession have prompted some countries to reassess their commitments to HIV programs," noted the report, which urged nations to come through with pledges and funding. Otherwise, the world "risks undoing the gains of the past years," said the agency heads.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Institute of Medicine Recommends Changes for People with HIV/AIDS to Qualify for Disability

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently provided guidance to the Social Security Administration on updating its Listings of Impairments - a tool that helps SSA quickly assess whether someone with HIV or another condition qualifies for benefits. The HIV/AIDS listings were last updated in 1993.

The following are the new recommendations to qualify someone as eligible for SSA disability payments:

*A CD4 cell count at or below 50 cells per microliter of blood. "Because CD4 counts can change in response to antiretroviral therapy, claimants allowed disability in this way should be regularly reevaluated," IOM's report states.

*Several rare but fatal or severely disabling HIV-associated conditions, including dementia and certain types of AIDS-related cancers. Benefits for these diseases should be permanent, IOM said.

*Severe HIV-associated conditions such as hepatitis or heart disease, which are already covered by another section of SSA's full listing. These claimants should be regularly reevaluated, according to IOM.

*HIV-associated conditions such as wasting syndrome that are not included in another section of the listing. These conditions must be severe and limit function. "Claimants allowed in this way should be regularly reevaluated," IOM suggested.

The biggest change would be that HIV-positive applicants seeking disability would have to reapply to SSA every three years. That policy pertains only to new applicants, not to those already receiving disability through SSA.

Raeline Nobles, executive director of the Dallas-based non-profit AIDS Arms, said SSA currently allows disability for people with a CD4 count of 200. She said she sees many clients who get along fine with a CD4 count of 100. "But politically, it might be a way to cut some expensive corners," she said, adding, "50 seems awfully low to me."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Program Offers Free HIV Drugs for ADAP Waitlisted

A nonprofit group has formed a partnership with three pharmaceutical companies and a mail order pharmacy to offer free antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs to people in states that have instituted waiting lists for their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs).

The great recession has hit people with HIV particularly hard. Lower tax revenues have decimated state budgets and have kept the federal government from offering enough dollars to meet the shortfall. As a result, programs like ADAP—which offer free HIV medications (and sometimes other drugs) through a combination of federal and state dollars—are suffering financial crises. As of September 2010, nine states have frozen new ADAP enrollments and 3,214 people are on waiting list. Thirteen other states are considering new cost-containment measures. Though Congress approved a recent one-time infusion of additional cash, activists say it falls far short of what is needed.

The pharmaceutical industry does offer an alternative: The companies provide free medication through their patient assistance programs (PAPs) to people with low to moderate incomes who don’t have health insurance. Activists have expressed concern, however, that some people who’ve been wait-listed for ADAP will fall through the cracks. “The effort to obtain free drugs from programs run by the pharmaceutical manufacturers can be overwhelming, due to complicated paperwork processes, different income-eligibility determinations by each manufacturer, lack of a single entry point and other hurdles,” wrote Jeffrey R. Lewis—the president of the Heinz Family Philanthropies—in an opinion piece in the Boston Herald.

Lewis’s foundation is working jointly with a mail-order pharmacy called Welvista and three ARV-producing pharmaceutical companies—Abbott, Merck and Tibotec—to offer free medications to people who’ve been put on ADAP waiting lists. What’s unique about this partnership is that people don’t even have to fill out any paperwork. It makes enrollment in the program automatic as soon as a person is placed on an ADAP waiting list. Free drugs are then shipped within a day to someone’s home or to his or her provider’s office. “Unfortunately, Abbott, Merck and Tibotec are the only three pharmaceutical manufacturers that produce HIV/AIDS medications that currently participate in this program,” Lewis said. “The entry of all the other pharmaceutical manufacturers [notably Gilead, ViiV Healthcare, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim] would be greatly encouraged and welcomed.” These companies’ participation will be necessary to help streamline access to ARVs not produced by Abbott, Merck and Tibotec.

HIV activist groups, such as the Fair Pricing Coalition, have urged these other companies to consider joining this partnership, and several are actively considering it.“We are driven by a simple belief that the forces of the marketplace can drive the kind of instrumental change that government cannot or will not accomplish on its own,” Lewis concluded.

For more information, please visit: http://www.welvista.org/adap_how.php

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Study Dates HIV Ancestor to at Least 32,000 Years Ago

New research suggests that the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) lineage was already circulating in monkeys and apes at least 32,000 years ago. During the millennia since, humans would have been exposed to it countless times as they butchered monkeys for food. However, only between the 1800s and 1959 did a human infection from a chimpanzee virus spread widely enough to eventually evolve into the present HIV epidemic.

Previously, it had been thought SIV was a much younger virus, perhaps only a few hundred years old. In the current study, researchers examined SIV in monkey species that had developed in isolation on Bioko, a land mass that was separated from West Africa some 10,000 years ago as sea levels rose.

Four species on Bioko had SIV, but each strain was genetically very distinct, suggesting they did not come from a recently imported monkey with SIV in the last few centuries. Each virus also was close to the strain infecting monkeys of the same four genuses on the mainland, suggesting the SIV strains existed before Bioko was cut off.

Given that 10,000-year window, recalculating SIV's "molecular clock" by how fast it mutates places the common ancestor to all SIV strains at between 32,000 and 78,000 years old. That ancestor virus may have existed for millions of years.

If HIV had been in humans before the 20th century, it would have arrived in the Americas via the slave trade, said Dr. Preston A. Marx, a virologist at the Tulane primate center and co-author of the study. The immediate ancestor to HIV came from chimpanzees, and SIV still causes illness and death in chimps, but not quickly, suggesting a relatively recent adaptation.

Marx believes the introduction into Africa of millions of inexpensive, mass-produced syringes in the 1950s allowed a human infection by chimpanzee virus to spread more widely. Campaigns to eradicate yaws, syphilis, malaria, smallpox, and polio required many syringes, and their re-use was often officially approved. The devices also became status symbols in non-medical settings.

However, University of Arizona virologist Michael Worobey, who co-authored the study, and University of Alabama virologist Dr. Beatrice Hahn suspect the growth of colonial cities helped spark the epidemic. Before 1910, no central African city had more than 10,000 people, and syringes were handmade, expensive and rare. Later urban migrations fueled sexual contacts and prostitution. The earliest confirmed HIV infection in a human to date was traced to blood drawn from a man in Kinshasa in 1959.

The full study, "Island Biogeography Reveals the Deep History of SIV," was published in Science (2010;329(5998):1487).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Brian Bond on AIDS Awareness Day

The White House liaison to the LGBT community marked Monday, National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, with a commentary calling for a renewed commitment to fight the disease among men who have sex with men. According to CDC estimates, MSM account for just 4 percent of the US male population over age 13, "but we account for 53 percent of new HIV infections," Brian Bond, deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, wrote in a blog for the Office of National AIDS Policy.

"I am worried about the kids out there and the generation that hasn't seen the devastating impact of this epidemic the way my generation has," said Bond, noting that he has been HIV-positive since 2001.

"Just a few days ago, [CDC] published new heartbreaking data showing that one in five gay and bisexual men in 21 major US cities are living with HIV," Bond said. The data are from the 2008 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System, which surveys cities with a high level of AIDS incidence among at-risk populations.

"These statistics are shocking and they demand a stronger, more focused national response that includes federal leadership, combined with new levels of commitment and focus at the state and local levels," Bond said. "These data also demand a reinvigorated commitment to ending HIV/AIDS from the LGBT community. We all have a responsibility to reverse that trend."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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San Diego County HIV Consumer Participation Task Force

The next Consumer Participation Task Force meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 1, 2010 10:30am - 11:30 am, County Health Services Complex, 3851 Rosecrans St. in the HSHB Conference Room. The October 1st agenda and September 17th meeting minutes in English can be downloaded from the Planning Council Website, http://www.sdplanning.org/.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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HIV Testing: Why Aren't More People Doing It?

Stigma still makes people reluctant, even afraid, to get screened for HIV, health officials say. And yet an HIV diagnosis is the first step to care, treatment, and learning how to avoid transmitting the virus to others.

"We have to bring it out in the open, make it not a fearful thing to get a test," said Terri Ford of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "HIV testing should be streamlined to be as convenient and accessible as possible for the person that is getting the courage up to get an HIV test," she added.

Thanks to a mobile testing unit deployed by San Diego County's Health and Human Services Department, free HIV screening and counseling are quick and convenient, officials say. The discreetly marked unit sets up once a week in Balboa Park and periodically at other locations.

"We do rapid testing, so clients get their test results within 20 minutes," said Heidi Aiem, who manages county testing and counseling services. "And we have two exam rooms that are set up to do HIV counseling and blood draws."

"We're not getting people who are just concerned about the risks they're taking," said Terry Cunningham, chief of the county's HIV, STD and hepatitis branch. "They're waiting until they physically get ill, and that means that they're well along in the disease process."

That is especially true of African-American residents, who have the county's highest AIDS rate. Besides a fear of testing, some people would "rather not know" their status, said Acintia Wright, founder of Woman 2 Woman, a support group for African-American women with HIV. "The stigma is still very attached to HIV, and they would rather not be associated with the stigma."

"I think many, many people just do not perceive that they have any HIV risk at all," Aiem said.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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HIV Research Lacks Women in Trials

Researchers need to find ways to make clinical trials more inclusive of women, according to Judith Feinberg, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Cincinnati. Jobs, child care, and transportation often affect whether women complete clinical trials, which can last for a year or longer and require multiple doctor visits, Feinberg said.

Feinberg headed up the local arm of the national Gender, Race and Clinical Experience (GRACE) trial, which enrolled 287 women and 142 men at 65 centers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Phase IIIb clinical trial was designed to assess how well women and minorities who had failed on other HIV drugs responded to Prezista.

Women are the fastest-growing group to be newly diagnosed with HIV, so it is key that scientists learn what drugs are most effective for them. New infection rates are highest among African-American women. "The reality is we prescribe drugs to women all the time that have only or primarily been tested on men," said Feinberg.

Of the study's female participants, 84 percent were African-American or Hispanic. While the researchers were able to recruit the right number of women and the correct demographic mix, retaining females during the trial proved difficult.

Almost one-third of women dropped out of the 48-week study for reasons unrelated to Prezista's side effects, compared to just one-fourth of men. The drug was equally effective in men and women, but failure rates were higher in black women because they left the trial early and thus had to be counted as treatment failures, said Feinberg.

The study's authors concluded: "Nonsignificant, sex-based differences in responses were found during the 48-week study; however, these differences were probably due to higher discontinuation rates in women, suggesting that additional efforts are needed to retain women in clinical trials."

The study, "Sex-Based Outcomes of Darunavir-Ritonavir Therapy: A Single-Group Trial," was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (2010;153(6):349-357).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Prime Minister Commits $540 Million to Disease Fight

In a speech at UN headquarters Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper enumerated Canada's contributions in the areas of food aid, child and maternal health, and aid accountability.

His office, meanwhile, announced that Canada will give $540 million (US $523 million) during a three-year period to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. This is in addition to almost $980 million (US $949 million) the nation already has committed to the Global Fund. "Together we must keep our promises and work towards practical, durable solutions," Harper told the world leaders who had gathered to assess progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.

Alex Neve, who leads Amnesty International Canada, said Harper's speech rightly noted Canada's commendable contributions, but he faulted its lack of emphasis on international human rights. "There was not one single word about human rights violations, and the need to protect rights," he said. "If Canada is still seen as an important voice on the world stage, it should speak out about the link between the [MDGs] and human rights."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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HIV Said to Differ in Blood, Semen

HIV in seminal plasma differs from HIV in blood plasma, according to a study led by researchers with the University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill. The study examined in detail the genetic population of HIV, specifically the env gene for HIV's envelope, in both blood and semen.

"If everything we know about HIV is based on the virus that is in the blood, when in fact the virus in the semen can evolve to be different, it may be we have an incomplete view of what is going on in the transmission of the virus," explained Dr. Ronald Swanstrom, the study's senior author and a professor at the UNC School of Medicine. Semen is the source of most HIV transmissions, the study notes.

The researchers mapped hundred of viruses in the 16 infected but therapy-naïve Malawian men, using single genome amplification. The results likely would not have changed with the inclusion of more men, said Dr. Stuart Shapiro of the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology. "It is an achievement they were able to do with 16 men," he said of the expensive, time-consuming SGA technique.

In two subjects, the genetic diversity of blood plasma HIV was fully represented in the semen HIV. The research team concluded that there had been no compartmentalization in the seminal tract; rather, the populations had equilibrated.

A different phylogenetic pattern was detected in six subjects. Among these, semen HIV populations fully represented blood populations. However, there "was an additional feature of the viral populations in the semen of these subjects that distinguished them from the virus in the blood. In these subjects, sampling of the viral population in semen resulted in examples where identical or nearly identical sequences were observed. We term this phenomenon clonal amplification."

In four of the 12 subjects with subtype C HIV-1, researchers found genetically distinct HIV populations in the seminal tract, indicating compartmentalization. The viral populations "indicated an autonomously replicating subpopulation that followed a distinct evolutionary pathway," the study noted.

"It compels us to ask the question, 'What is making this virus different?'" Swanstrom said. The researchers do not believe the genetic differences observed affect infectiousness or lethality.

The full report, "HIV-1 Populations in Semen Arise through Multiple Mechanisms," was published in Public Library of Science Pathogens (2010;6(8):e1001053).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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One in Four Youngsters 'Not Using Contraception'

A quarter of sexually active Britons under age 24 do not use any form of contraception with a new partner, according to results from a new worldwide survey by Marie Stopes International. That is an increase of 5 percent from 2009, suggesting that British authorities need to make sexual health and relationships education in schools a priority, said MSI, a sexual and reproductive health group.

The survey, released ahead of World Contraception Day (Sept. 26), included data from 5,223 respondents. British participants numbered 206 (100 male, 106 female) and answered online questions administered by market research firm GfK NOP.

Worldwide, 51 percent of males and 41 percent of females were not familiar with or were confused by contraceptive options, or said they did not know what form would be best for them. In Britain, the proportion was 32 percent, and 19 percent believed the "withdrawal method" is effective.

Personal hygiene was rated ahead of all other considerations, including contraception, when preparing for a date that could turn sexual.

Among UK youth who reported having unprotected sex with a new partner, 19 percent said they had been drunk; 16 percent said they had forgotten to use contraception; and 13 percent said their partner preferred not to use it. By age 18, 83 percent of Britons have had sex, according to government data, said Tracey McNeill, vice president of MSI's UK and Europe branch.

"We are calling on the Coalition government to put sex and relationships education back on the agenda and ensure that all schools, including faith schools, teach a standardized curriculum," McNeill said. "Where sex and relationships education is taught in conjunction with contraceptive information, more young people practice safe sex."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Anti-Circumcision Stance Must End to Fight HIV, Australian Researchers Say

In an opinion piece published this week, three researchers called on the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to reverse its policy recommending against routine circumcision of newborn boys.

"Circumcision of males is now referred to by many as a surgical vaccine against a wide variety of infections and adverse medical conditions over the lifetime," said the article by Dr. Alex D. Wodak, director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney; professor David Cooper, director of the National Center in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research; and Brian Morris, professor of Molecular Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney.

"A wealth of research has shown that the foreskin is the entry point that allows HIV to infect men during intercourse with an infected female partner," they wrote.

Referencing large studies conducted in Africa, the World Health Organization cites "compelling evidence" that male circumcision reduces the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission "by approximately 60 percent."

The procedure has not been shown to have a protective effect for men who have sex with men, the population that continues to account for most HIV cases in Australia. However, new infections among heterosexuals have been rising, according to the researchers, mirroring trends in North America and Western Europe.

In Australia, circumcision fell from favor in the mid-1970s as physicians concluded its risks outweighed its benefits. More recently, the proportion of Australian baby boys circumcised rose from 13 percent in 1998 to 19 percent in 2009, the study reported.

The authors called on Australia to resume paying for the procedure under the national health insurance program and to promote it across the region.

The article, "The Case for Boosting Infant Male Circumcision in the Face of Rising Heterosexual Transmission of HIV," was published in the Medical Journal of Australia (2010;193(6):318-319).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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UN: Progress Being Made on Combating HIV/AIDS

Some countries with the largest epidemics - including South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria - are leading the drop in HIV infections in Africa, UN officials say. Through Wednesday, UN member nations are meeting in New York to assess progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. For HIV, the goal is halting and reversing the epidemic.

"For the first time we have a reduction [in new infections] by 25 percent in the 22 most affected and infected countries in Africa," said Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS. This proves that prevention efforts are working across all levels of society, he said.

To continue that progress, "It will take resources and that is a very difficult issue these days given the crisis, given the budget constraints for donors," said Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. "From a Global Fund perspective, we have talked to the donors and said for the next three years, we would need somewhere between $13 [billion] and $20 billion."

"You cannot really separate AIDS from sexual and reproductive health or maternal health," said Kazatchkine, referring to other MDGs. "Over 50 percent of deaths in women between the ages of 15-49 in Africa are from AIDS."


The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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S.C. Prisons Brace for Lawsuit over Inmates with HIV

Despite a Wednesday deadline from the US Justice Department to change the practice, South Carolina says it will continue to segregate HIV-positive inmates. More than 400 inmates with HIV/AIDS are housed together at maximum security prisons in Columbia, including some who otherwise would not be in high-security facilities. Infected prisoners participate with other inmates in activities such as work, school, and faith-based programs, but they eat and sleep separately.

All state prisons "are safer from a public health perspective and a security perspective as a direct result of this program," Corrections Department attorney David Tatarsky wrote in August, responding to the Justice Department.

Alabama, with 250 HIV-positive inmates, is the only other state to segregate prisoners living with the disease. Both states were criticized in a report released earlier this year by Human Rights Watch and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). That report called for all inmates to be housed together and for prisoners to be provided condoms and syringes to curb the spread of HIV. HIV-positive inmates lack access to the same programs and jobs as other prisoners and are wrongly stigmatized, the report argued. They also are prevented from participating in work-release programs, rendering them unable to shorten their sentences through credits.

"That inevitably means that they serve longer sentences and are essentially being warehoused for no reason other than a medical condition," said Margaret Winter, associate director of ACLU's National Prison Project.

"Many inmates with HIV suffer disparate treatment from other similarly situated inmates without HIV," the Justice Department noted in a June letter to South Carolina officials, giving them three months to make changes.

Alabama officials said they have not been threatened with a lawsuit. Neither South Carolina prison officials nor Department of Justice officials were available for comment Tuesday.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Group Offers HIV, STD Tests, Prevention Information

AIDS Community Alliance (ACA) of South Central Pennsylvania has partnered with eight other organizations to bring free HIV testing to gay bars, public housing complexes, and church breakfasts across the region. Statewide, the outreach has been a huge success, said Steve Kowelski, senior public health adviser for the state's STD program. Thousands of people have been tested, and many more have learned how to reduce risky sexual behaviors, he said.

ACA had some reservations about whether gay bar patrons in smaller towns would accept testing. Larger cities tend to have bigger, more cohesive gay populations, and being gay or lesbian is more commonplace, said Terry Kurtz, vice president and director of education services at ACA. Who would utilize the tests, he wondered - those most at risk, or the "worried well?"

Kurtz, who grew up in the mid-state, said he tries to strike a balance between professionalism and friendliness, putting patrons at ease. "I don't want to be off-putting," he said. "People are out to have a good time and socialize ... and see friends, and to date. I'm not there to disrupt that," he said. "Our role is to help people find the resources they need and help them make their own decision."

On a recent night at Stallions in Harrisburg, ACA was offering free HIV tests. Charlie Miller and several friends stood in line, waiting for the service. "I know my status, but my friends don't. So it was sort of the buddy system," he said.

Last year, ACA conducted 680 HIV tests, of which about 1 percent were positive. ACA has been involved in the testing partnership for 18 months.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Churches Screen for HIV

HIV awareness was a prominent feature of First Ladies Health Day, which more than two-dozen predominantly black Chicago churches celebrated on Sunday. The congregations, with a combined membership of about 35,000, participated as a way to remove the stigma associated with screening for the virus.

"We wanted to increase the awareness in other communities and in other churches," said Jamell Meeks, wife of the Rev. James Meeks and chair of the First Ladies Luncheon. At a luncheon meeting last summer, about 100 wives of Chicagoland black church pastors, as well as a few female ministers, conceived Sunday's awareness day.

About 75 percent of the participating churches included HIV testing for the first time ever in their health day activities, Meeks said. Blood pressure and diabetes screenings also were offered.

Tracey Alston, a spokesperson for the health promotion, said several people who tested learned they are HIV-positive.

Mirroring a trend seen across the nation, African Americans in Chicago are affected by HIV at far higher rates than other racial groups. Blacks represent 37 percent of the city's population but 56 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS, according to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

After worship services at Southlawn United Methodist Church in Avalon Park, about 40 people took advantage of the testing opportunity. Among them was a 32-year-old man who said he had just gotten out of a relationship. He said he is not promiscuous and uses condoms but, "You can never be too sure."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Florida HIV Patients Getting Help from Pharmaceutical Companies

Drug companies have stepped in to assist low-income Floridians needing HIV/AIDS medicines following reductions in the state-sponsored AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Florida's ADAP provides free treatment to more than 11,000 HIV/AIDS patients.

Millions of Floridians have lost their jobs and health insurance, and unemployment there now stands at 12.3 percent. Requests for ADAP's assistance have grown concurrently with the economy's decline. Exacerbating the problem: State officials halted ADAP enrollment in May following a $1 million cut to the program's budget. Now almost 1,800 HIV/AIDS patients are in line for help, the longest ADAP waiting list in the nation.

"I'm not shy about criticizing pharmaceutical companies. But I have to say they have helped us respond to this crisis so we don't have lapses in drug treatment," said Thomas Liberti, chief of the state department of health's Bureau of HIV/AIDS.

In an April open letter, the Fair Pricing Coalition, whose members range from the Miami-Dade Health Department to the Metropolitan Church in Topeka, Kansas, asked major US pharmaceutical firms for free drugs and easier application procedures for their existing Patient Assistance Programs. More than a half-dozen companies responded, said Liberti. "They have been very flexible and cooperative," he said, adding that the companies' assistance to date has amounted to nearly $15 million.

This summer, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a $25 million appropriation to help states like Florida deal with ADAP shortages. Florida will receive $6.9 million. "That's great," said Liberti, "But [the $6.9 million) amounts to three weeks worth of medications" for wait-listed patients.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

Working Group Develops Recommendations for National HIV/AIDS Strategy Operational Plans

With President Obama's release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) in July, the government is now focused on implementation. This includes a directive from President Obama to various federal agencies to develop operational plans by December 9, 2010, describing the steps they will take to fully implement the Strategy.

The agency operational plans are the next critical test of the government's determination to deliver on the Strategy's goals and objectives. The plans must be detailed, comprehensive, and ambitious to have their intended impact galvanizing needed actions implementing the Strategy.

To inform agency operational plans, a working group of individuals who have been advocating for an effective Strategy over the last several years developed recommendations to set the Strategy on a ready course to meet its goals. The working group recommends that operational plans address at least three critical aspects to ensure success:

1. Funding: Estimates of needed resources, more strategic allocation of current resources, and a commitment to marshal new resources.

2. Impact: High-yield activities capable of delivering tangible results.

3. Management: System changes that improve coordination, transparency, and accountability

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy represents a significant step forward in the response to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. To accomplish the Strategy's worthy goals, federal officials must signal a serious commitment to improve outcomes with specific and ambitious implementation plans. The full paper may be viewed by visiting: http://www.friendsofaids.org/additionaltopics.html

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!

Líderes Latinos hacen Llamado a Incrementar la Concientización sobre el SIDA / Mejores Recursos para Combatir la Epidemia del VIH

Washington, DC, 23 de Septiembre del 2010 – Miembros del Congreso y líderes de la comunidad Latina hicieron un llamado por mas y mejores esfuerzos para combatir la creciente epidemia del VIH en sus comunidades, así como recursos adecuados para la implementación de la nueva Estrategia Nacional sobre el VIH/SIDA, presentada por la presente Administración en el marco de la sesión informativa Congresional en el Capitolio de la Nación.

Este llamado se presenta como respuesta a la presentación de la Estrategia sobre el VIH/SIDA de la Casa Blanca, la cual responde a la creciente epidemia del VIH/SIDA en comunidades en todo el país, incluyendo a Puerto Rico, Las Islas Vírgenes estadounidenses y el Distrito de Columbia, identificando las áreas mas afectadas que muestran un incremento en la incidencia del VIH/SIDA. Los líderes Hispanos también expresaron su preocupación, debido a la presente crisis fiscal en Estados y territorios con los mas altos números de casos de VIH/SIDA, los programas de prevención y tratamiento del VIH se encuentran sufriendo recortes presupuestarios devastadores.

“Reconocer que nuestras comunidades han enfrentado barreras persistentes para el acceso a servicios de VIH, felicito al Presidente por haber presentado la estrategia sobre el VIH/SIDA, con la meta de reducir nuevas infecciones del VIH en un 25 por ciento en los próximos 5 años,” expresó la Congresista Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-34th-CA), quien preside el Grupo de trabajo de salud, del Comité Congresional Hispano. “Sin embargo, es de vital importancia que permanezcamos vigilantes para asegurar que las promesas de la reforma al cuidado de salud y de la estrategia nacional sobre el VIH/SIDA, provean, de hecho, mejorías que podamos medir y que sean integrales en cuanto al acceso, prevención y resultados en nuestras comunidades Latinas.”

Soraya Galeas, representante de la Coalición Metropolitana Latina sobre el SIDA, afirmo que “Con una cantidad desproporcionada de casos de VIH/SIDA en las comunidades Latinas y Puerto Rico, debemos incrementar nuestros esfuerzos de movilización comunitaria para poder así salvar vidas. El VIH se puede prevenir.”

La Congresista Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18th/FL) anuncio que “Necesitamos unirnos para reafirmar nuestro compromiso de incrementar la concientización sobre el VIH/SIDA en todas las comunidades Hispanas, tanto en Ingles como en español. No podemos excluir a nadie, ya que el VIH no discrimina.”

La sesión Congresional informativa en el Capitolio marco el lanzamiento oficial de los eventos relacionados al Día Nacional Latino para la Concientización del SIDA (NLAAD por sus siglas en Ingles) los cuales son organizados el 15 de octubre en mas de 300 ciudades y 45 estados a lo largo de la nación y sus territorios. NLAAD fue establecido en el 2003 como catalizador a la movilización comunitaria que ayuda a prevenir la infección al VIH en las comunidades Latinas, promover oportunidades para hacerse la prueba de detección del VIH, poner a la comunidad en contacto con servicios para el cuidado de salud y para levantar conciencia sobre el SIDA y otras condiciones de salud que afectan a los Hispanos a niveles nacional, estatal, local.

“Los Latinos viviendo con el VIH/SIDA, sus familias, seres queridos y amistades se encuentran unidos alrededor del país con organizaciones comunitarias, departamentos de salud, oficiales electos y lideres cívicos para organizar el Día Nacional Latino para la Concientización del SIDA,” destaco Melissa Faith Ramírez, Directora del Día Nacional Latino para la Concientización del SIDA.

“Organizaciones comunitarias han renovado su compromiso a promover la prueba de detección del VIH, la prevención y servicios de atención medica a Latinos, sin importar su estatus migratorio, ya sea en español o ingles. Mi esperanza es que el Congreso destine fondos federales para la implementación de la nueva Estrategia sobre el VIH/SIDA para las comunidades mas afectadas, incluyendo los estados del sur, Puerto Rico y el Distrito de Columbia, así como programas que son críticos para estas comunidades, como es el caso del Programa de Asistencia con Medicamentos del SIDA (ADAP siglas en Ingles), el cual enfrenta serios recortes presupuestarios en toda la nación,” declaro Guillermo Chacon, Presidente de la Comisión Latina sobre el SIDA.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation se dedica a mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con VIH y a capacitar a las personas a tomar decisiones saludables para prevenir la propagación del virus del VIH. Para saber más acerca de The Friends of AIDS foundation, visitar la pagina: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

Juntos Seguimos Siendo Fuertes!

Latino Leaders Call for Increased AIDS Awareness / Enhanced Resources to Combat HIV Epidemic in Their Communities

Washington, DC, September 23, 2010 – Congressional and Latino community leaders called for enhanced efforts to combat the growing HIV epidemic in their communities and adequate resources to implement the Administration’s new HIV/AIDS Strategy during a Capitol Hill congressional briefing.

The calls came in response to the recent release of the White House HIV/AIDS Strategy, which addresses the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic among communities of color nationwide and in Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia by identifying the most heavily impacted jurisdictions with rising incidences of HIV/AIDS. Hispanic leaders also expressed their fears that, due to ongoing financial crises in jurisdictions with the highest number of Latino HIV and AIDS cases, HIV prevention and treatment programs were suffering devastating cuts.

“Recognizing that our communities have faced persistent barriers to accessing HIV services, I commend the President for unveiling the HIV/AIDS strategy, with a goal to reduce the number of new cases by 25 percent in the next 5 years,” said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-34th/CA), who is chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Care Task Force. “However, it is critical that we stay vigilant to ensure the promises of health care reform and the national HIV/AIDS strategy do in fact provide comprehensive, measurable improvements in access, prevention, and HIV/AIDS outcomes in our Latino communities.”

Soraya Galeas, the Metropolitan Latino AIDS Coalition stated that, "With a disproportionate share of HIV/AIDS cases in Latino communities and Puerto Rico, we must increase our community mobilization to save lives. HIV is preventable."

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18th/FL) announced that, “We need to come together to reaffirm our commitment to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in all Hispanic communities in both Spanish and English. We cannot miss anybody; HIV does not discriminate.”

The Capitol Hill congressional briefing officially kicked off the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) events, which are organized annually on October 15th in more than 300 cities and 45 states across the country and territories. NLAAD was established in 2003 to act as a community mobilization catalyst to prevent the spread of HIV infection in Latino communities, to promote HIV testing opportunities, to connect people to care and to activities that raise AIDS awareness and other health conditions impacting Hispanics in national, state and local communities.

“Latinos living with HIV/AIDS, their families, loved ones and friends are uniting around the country with community based organizations, health departments, elected officials, religious leaders and civic leaders to organize the upcoming National Latino AIDS Awareness Day,” said Melissa Faith Ramirez, Director of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.

“Community partners are renewing their commitment to HIV testing, prevention and care for all Latinos, regardless of immigration status or language ability. I can only hope that Congress will appropriate federal funding for the implementation of the new HIV/AIDS strategy for the most impacted communities, including the southern states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and critical programs such as the AIDS Drugs Assistance Program (ADAP) that has been facing severe cuts throughout the nation” stated Guillermo Chacon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

Michigan Health Department Imposter Giving HIV Info

The Kent County Health Department is warning that someone impersonating a KCHD employee has been calling residents at random and providing false and misleading information about their HIV status.

At least six such calls have been reported, KCHD said in a statement. "All of the staff at the Health Department takes patient confidentiality very seriously," said Cathy Raevsky, administrative health officer. "Health Department staff would never call a client and provide their HIV status over the phone. We have several safety checks in place to ensure that the correct HIV information is provided to our clients."

Anyone who has received such a call is urged to telephone KCHD, 616-632-7171, and their local police. For information on free HIV testing, telephone 616-632-7171.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

National Quality Forum Performance Measures for HIV/AIDS Care

"Information technology promises to improve health care through reporting of standardized quality-of-care measures. In 2008, the National Quality Forum (NQF) first endorsed performance measures for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS care. Little is known about performance on these measures in routine medical practice," the authors wrote in introducing the current study.

The team assessed performance using available electronic data for the large, diverse population with HIV in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and evaluated the influence of patient and resource factors.

In a retrospective analysis of observational data for 21,564 HIV patients receiving care through the VA in 2008, the investigators determined performance rates for 10 NQF measures for HIV/AIDS care for the VA nationwide and for 73 facilities with caseloads of 100 or more HIV patients.

"National rates for six measures were greater than 80 percent; the remaining measures and their rates were as follows: annual syphilis screening (54 percent), tuberculosis screening (65 percent), pnuemocystis pneumonia prophylaxis (72 percent), and HIV RNA control (73 percent)," according to the results. Rates varied for all measures across facilities. Multivariate logistic regression models showed African Americans and hard-drug users were less likely to access care and less likely to receive HIV-specific care but more likely to receive indicated general medical treatment. Resource factors - number of primary care/infectious disease outpatient visits, duration of care, and larger facility caseload - were associated with greater likelihood of receipt of indicated general and HIV-specific care.

"National performance rates were generally high, but variations in rates across facilities revealed room for improvement," concluded the investigators. "Both patient and resource factors had an impact on the likelihood of receipt of indicated care."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

Prototype Vaginal Gel Fails to Block HIV: Study

Hopes for an effective anti-HIV microbicide were dealt a setback when Phase III results of a major clinical trial found a vaginal gel candidate was safe but ineffective.

The PRO 2000 formula uses a large charged polymer to disrupt HIV interaction with targeted cells. PRO 2000 was tested at two levels of concentration - 2 percent and 0.5 percent - at 13 clinics in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The study was closely monitored for ethical standards.

The study's subjects were more than 9,000 women age 18 and older who were sexually active and HIV-negative. They were given PRO 2000 at either concentration or a placebo cream. All participants were given safe-sex counseling and access to condoms. Their HIV status was tested at 12 weeks, 24 weeks, 40 weeks, and 52 weeks after study initiation.

According to the study, "Safety-related events were rare and at similar rates in all three groups [but] HIV-1 incidence was much the same between groups at study end."

However, the study did find use of the gel was high, with 89 percent of participants reporting use prior to intercourse - encouraging news, given that consistent use has posed a challenge to product developers.

An effective microbicide would revolutionize the global fight against HIV/AIDS by empowering women, particularly in African countries where coercive sex is common.

In July at the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, researchers reported on a Phase IIb trial in South Africa in which the CAPRISA 004 cream reduced HIV infection risk by 39 percent overall and by 54 percent among the most consistent users. But this level of protection may not be enough to gain approval for CAPRISA, which contains the HIV drug tenofovir.

The study results, "PRO 2000 Vaginal Gel for Prevention of HIV-1 Infection (Microbicides Development Program 301): A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group Trial," was published early online in The Lancet (doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61086-0).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

Still Fighting HIV Stigma After 30 Years

At a recent two-day symposium on HIV/AIDS and human rights in the Caribbean, health officials expressed frustration that societies as small and highly personalized as those in the region continue to struggle with AIDS stigma and discrimination. The symposium was organized by the University of the West Indies in collaboration with the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS.

HIV-associated stigma is linked to long-held prejudices and the rejection of what is considered "abnormal sexual behavior and wrongful sexual orientation," said Dr. Ernest Massiah, director of UNAIDS' Caribbean Regional Support Team. "It is precisely these stigmas that threaten the public's health. They prevent people from getting tested, getting and sharing their test result with others, and from seeking treatment, if needed," he said.

"Unrecognized and untreated HIV can spread. In 2010, stigma and prejudice should have no place in Caribbean societies," said Massiah.

Across the region, women comprise half of all HIV cases, and in some countries they account for nearly 60 percent of cases. HIV now disproportionately affects young women, men who have sex with men, transgendered persons, and sex workers, and it crosses all ethnic, racial, and class boundaries, said Massiah.

"And, there are still British colonial laws in place that criminalize sexual behaviors, reinforcing stigmas and making it difficult to respond comprehensively to HIV," Massiah noted.

Barbados acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said a better understanding of HIV/AIDS could lead to more sympathetic treatment of persons living with the disease. In addition, he called for continued public HIV/AIDS education programs.

"The fact that infected persons are not only living longer but also seem to be leading normal lives raises necessarily and understandably the issue of the rights to the enjoyment of which these persons are entitled," said Stuart.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Texas Forums Planned to Gather Ideas from Community Will Focus on Strategies to Prevent HIV Infection

Dallas County has experienced a 30 percent increase in HIV cases over the last six years, and 14,000 residents now are living with the disease. In response, county Health and Human Services Department officials announced Thursday they are forming a new partnership with AIDS Arms and Resource Center Dallas (RCD) to devise strategies to combat the problem. Sixty-seven percent of cases are among men who have sex with men.

According to the partnership, community involvement is essential. "The key is resident input," said Zachary Thompson, county health department director.

Dr. Steve Wilson, Dallas County's STD/HIV medical director, said the areas with the highest increase in rates are Oak Lawn, Oak Cliff, and North Dallas. The county plans to open a new testing clinic in North Dallas, an area that lacks HIV services. AIDS Arms will open a clinic in Oak Cliff due to increased need, said Ed Jones, a behavioral intervention specialist with the group.

On Oct. 12 at 6 p.m., RCD will host the first community forum on prevention strategies. A second forum, sponsored by AIDS Arms, will be held on Oct. 28 in South Dallas at the Urban League, 4315 Lancaster Rd.

Among the groups with increased infection rates are people age 50 and older. Saturday, Sept. 18, is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, and AIDS Arms has coordinated a number of testing locations across the county. For a list, visit http://www.dallasvoice.com/hiv-testing-national-hivaids-aging-awareness-day-1044301.html.

Young people in the county also are seeing a significant rise in HIV infections. The county's rate for 13- to 24-year-olds is 54 cases per 100,000, said county Chief Epidemiologist Wendy Chung. That represents a 30 percent rise in recent years.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

Spectrum of Cancer Risk Late After AIDS Onset in the United States

"Persons living with AIDS today remain at elevated cancer risk. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), widely available since 1996, prolongs life, but immune function is not fully restored," noted the study authors, who assessed long-term cancer risk among persons with AIDS relative to the general population and the impact of HAART on cancer incidence.

The records of 263,254 adults and adolescents with AIDS (1980-2004) living in 15 US regions were matched to cancer registries to capture incident cancers during years three through five and six through 10 following AIDS onset. Risks relative to the general population were assessed using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). Rate ratios (RRs) were employed to compare cancer incidence before and after 1996 to assess the impact of HAART availability.

Risk was elevated for the two main AIDS-defining cancers: Kaposi sarcoma (SIRs, 5,321 and 1,347 in years three through five and six through 10, respectively) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIRs, 32 and 15). Incidence of both cancers declined in the HAART era (1996-2006). Risk was elevated for all non-AIDS-defining cancers combined (SIRs, 1.7 and 1.6 in years three through five and six through 10, respectively), and for the following specific non-AIDS-defining cancers: Hodgkin lymphoma and cancers of the oral cavity and/or pharynx, tongue, anus, liver, larynx, lung and/or bronchus, and penis. Anal cancer incidence increased between 1990-1995 and 1996-2006 (RR, 2.9; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 2.1-4.0), as did incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma (RR, 2.0; 95 percent CI, 1.3-2.9).

"Among people who survived for several years or more after an AIDS diagnosis, we observed high risks of AIDS-defining cancers and increasing incidence of anal cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma," the authors concluded.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

New HIV Testing Practices Will Improve Screening and Early Diagnosis in New York

A state law that took effect this month will make HIV testing more accessible and improve the linkage of HIV-positive people to care and treatment, health officials say. An estimated 20 percent of state residents with HIV do not know they are infected, and 33 percent of patients newly diagnosed with HIV progress to AIDS within one year.

"HIV/AIDS continues to be a major health concern for New Yorkers, and this important change in the law will make HIV testing more routine, while maintaining key patient privacy protections," said Dr. Richard F. Daines, state health commissioner.

Under the law:
*Consent for HIV testing can be incorporated in general consent to medical care, although opt-out language for HIV testing must be included.
*Consent can be given verbally and noted by the provider in the medical record.
*Prior to testing consent, patients must be provided with information about HIV.
*Providers who offer HIV testing must arrange an appointment for the care and treatment of patients with confirmed HIV-positive results, provided they consent.

In accordance with CDC's recommendations, New York's new law requires that voluntary opt-out testing be offered to all persons ages 13-64 who receive hospital or primary care services, with limited exceptions.

"We need to be working aggressively with all health care providers to ensure people who are infected are found early and offered the lifesaving treatments that are available," said Humberto Cruz, director of the state Department of Health's AIDS Institute.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

The Impact of Community-Based Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening Results on Sexual Risk Behaviors of African-American Adolescents

The authors examined the effect of a community-based STI screening program on sexual risk behavior among African-Americans ages 14-17. They hypothesized that adolescents testing positive for an STI and receiving post-test counseling would reduce risky sexual practices, whereas STI-negative adolescents would show little or no change in protective sexual behavior after screening.

From August 2006 to January 2008, 636 sexually active African-American adolescents were recruited from community-based organizations in two mid-size US cities with high STI prevalence. The youths were screened for three STIs (gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis), and they completed an audio computer-assisted self-interview. Those who tested STI-positive (6.6 percent) received treatment and counseling. Youths who tested negative received no additional intervention. Approximately 85 percent of participants completed three- and six-month follow-up assessments. The effects of STI screening on participants' number of sexual partners and occurrence of unprotected sex were determined using generalized estimating equations.

STI-positive adolescents reduced their number of vaginal and oral sex partners and the probability of unprotected sex. Adolescents who tested negative for an STI demonstrated no change in number of partners or reports of unprotected sex, study results showed.

"Community-based STI screening can help to reduce sexual risk behavior in youth who test positive for STIs," the authors concluded. "Alternative approaches will be needed to reduce risk behavior in youths who test negative but who are nevertheless at risk for acquiring an STI."

Journal of Adolescent Health Vol. 47; No. 1: P. 12-19 (07..10):: Sharon R. Sznitman, PhD, and others

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!

Japan Good on HIV Globally but Not at Home: UN Executive

Japan is at the forefront in helping fight HIV/AIDS globally, the executive director of UNAIDS in Tokyo said earlier this month. Japan is the fourth-largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, noted Michel Sidibe, who was meeting with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and authorities on his first official visit to the country.

However, Japan could lend more support to local NGOs reaching at-risk populations domestically, such as sex workers, migrants, and men who have sex with men (MSM), said Sidibe.

"The data that we have are showing that the infection rate has been stabilized [in Japan]," Sidibe said. However, "In the US and in different parts of the world, we are seeing an increase of infections among gay men."

In 1999, 160 HIV cases were acquired through heterosexual intercourse, and 195 were homosexually acquired, according to health ministry data. Ten years later, the number infected through gay sex was 659, compared with 180 via heterosexual intercourse.

NGOs "know the people, they have a good mapping of hot spot areas, and their strategy to reach [people at risk of HIV/AIDS] is well established," Sidibe said.

In meetings with Sidibe, representatives of five NGOs said their efforts are being hampered by stigma about the disease and against homosexuals.

"In Japan, gay people are stigmatized, and probably 95 percent of the gay people are hidden away from society," said Hiroshi Hasegawa of the Japanese Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. "This stigmatization is the biggest barrier for [HIV] prevention."

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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AIDS Patients in Florida Have Longest Wait to Get Assistance for Drug Programs

Health care reform and the new National HIV/AIDS Strategy were two of the topics addressed by Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, in a luncheon address Tuesday to the US Conference on AIDS in Orlando, Fla.

State funding for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) is not growing, Sebelius said. According to the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), 3,423 low-income or uninsured people were on waiting lists for help as of Sept. 9.

About 50 protesters interrupted Sebelius' speech to demand more federal money for ADAPs.

Sebelius said the Obama administration recently added $25 million to support ADAPs and that she asked for another $30 million in the 2011 budget.

"It would be great to have our budget pass with the additional resources we've requested to make sure we can address the shortfall," Sebelius said. "We're looking for not only the increased federal dollars, but also working with our state partners to say this is a bad way to save dollars in state budgets."

Florida's contribution to its ADAP has dropped from $10.5 million in 2008 to $9.5 million in 2009. NASTAD reports that with 1,570 patients in need of help from ADAP, Florida's waiting list is the nation's longest.

High unemployment, state budget cuts, and increasing numbers of patients all have combined to overtax Florida's ADAP budget, according to Thomas Liberti, chief of the HIV/AIDS bureau for the state Department of Health.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Malawi Rules Out Circumcision for AIDS Prevention

The government of Malawi will not promote male circumcision to fight HIV because there is not enough evidence to show it protects against the virus, two officials said Wednesday.

Mary Shaba, the principal secretary for HIV and AIDS, said there is no scientific proof of circumcision's protective effect. Bernard Malango, a bishop emeritus in the Anglican Church, said HIV prevalence is high even in parts of the country where the practice is common. However, several studies in Africa have shown that male circumcision, when properly performed, reduces the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission by up to 60 percent.

Citing this research, the UN said last year that universal male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa could prevent 5.7 million new HIV infections and 3 million deaths over 20 years.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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Florida Health Care Conference Targets HIV/AIDS

County statistics show that nine out of 10 HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the Miami metropolitan area involve a patient who is black, Latino or Asian. The particular needs of this patient population are the subject of an educational initiative that will be presented on Sept. 18 in Coral Gables.

The program, "Optimizing Care for Minority Patients with HIV/AIDS," was developed by the Johns Hopkins Office of Continuing Medical Education and the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

"Ethnic minority patients face an array of challenges when it comes to diagnosing and managing HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Mary Catherine Beach of Hopkins, who is one of the effort's course directors. "There are societal and health system obstacles that preclude these patients from receiving optimal care. We designed this initiative to help providers in the Miami area address these challenges and improve the care they provide."

Workshops, lectures, and discussions are all part of the program, and attendees will have the opportunity to earn CME/CE credits. Also partnering to present the symposium are the Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education & Training Center and the University of Miami AIDS Program. The event will be held at the Westin Colonnade from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, telephone Daniel Guinee at 908-253-9001.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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HIV Spread 'Out of Control' Among French Gay Men

In France, HIV incidence decreased between 2003 and 2008 even as it remained high and stable among men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a new study. This suggests French officials need to revise and renew prevention strategies to ensure those most at risk of infection are targeted, said study authors with the French National Institute for Public Health Surveillance.

The findings are based in part on new diagnoses reported to the institute, with infections classified as recent or non-recent based on enzyme immunoassay for recent HIV-1 infections.

Overall, new HIV infections in France significantly declined from 8,930 in 2003 to an estimated 6,940 in 2008. Of the new infections in 2008, 3,320 (48 percent) were in MSM - an incidence 200 times higher than that for heterosexuals. Non-nationals, mostly immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, accounted for 45 percent of heterosexually transmitted infections, the study found. New infections among injection drug users were low and stable through the study, accounting for 1 percent to 2 percent annually.

"Our results provide a new perspective on the HIV epidemic in France," said study leader Stephanie le Vu. "HIV transmission disproportionately affects certain risk groups and seems to be out of control in the MSM population."

Data from France mirror the "unacceptably high" HIV incidence seen among MSM in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and elsewhere, according to a commentary by Robert Hogg, of the British Columbia Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, and colleagues. Governments should incorporate condom promotion among MSM and expanded treatment access into their comprehensive prevention strategies, Hogg said.

The full report and editorial, "Population-Based HIV-1 Incidence in France, 2003-08: A Modeling Analysis" and "Reduction of HIV Incidence in Men Who Have Sex with Men," were published in Lancet Infectious Diseases (doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(10)70167-5 and 10.1016/S1473-3099(10)70200-0).

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


Together We Remain Strong!