Three Big Developments Make AIDS Outlook More Hopeful

Three recent developments on the HIV/AIDS front have renewed hope among health experts and advocates. On the same day, Nov. 23, UN officials announced a dramatic drop in new HIV cases globally, the pope opened the way for condom use to prevent HIV, and study results showed that a daily AIDS treatment already on the market could help prevent new infections in gay men.

"I don't know of a day where so many pieces are beginning to align for HIV prevention and treatment, and frankly with a view to ending the epidemic. This is an incredibly opportune moment and we have to be sure we seize it," said Mitchell Warren, head of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to HIV prevention research.

According to the UN, new HIV cases declined almost 20 percent over the last decade and 33.3 million people worldwide are currently infected. Health officials attribute part of the drop to more widespread use of condoms. "We can say with confidence and conviction that we have broken the trajectory of the AIDS pandemic," UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe said in Geneva.

And in a historic shift, Pope Benedict XVI said using a condom is a lesser evil than spreading HIV.

Finally, in what scientists call a true breakthrough, a three-year global study found that daily doses of Gilead Science's Truvada cut the chances of HIV infection in gay and bisexual men by 44 percent, and by 73 percent or more among men who took the medicine more consistently.

The results are "a major advance" in curbing the epidemic in gay men, said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. But he warned that the results may not apply to people exposed through drug use, male-female sex or other ways.

Men who have sex with men account for nearly half of the more than 1 million Americans living with HIV. Worldwide, 5 percent to 10 percent of cases involve sex between men.

"The condom is still the first line of defense," since it protects against other STDs and unwanted pregnancies, said Dr. Robert M. Grant of the Gladstone Institutes and the study leader.

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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