The Friends of AIDS Foundation Community Journal: September 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

Video Implicates Michigan Police Officer in HIV Discrimination

A dashboard video shows a Dearborn, Michigan, police officer issuing a traffic ticket to a man and a ticket for marijuana possession to a woman with HIV because he was “aggravated” she didn’t disclose her status before he searched her car, The American Independent reports.

Shalandra Jones and her boyfriend Mark Scott were pulled over by David Lacey because he noticed a burnt out brake light. After Lacey smelled marijuana, Jones eventually confessed to possession and handed it to him. She initially didn’t confess because she was worried her medical marijuana card might be expired, which it was.

Lacey then found HIV medications and asked Jones what they were. She told him in response that she was HIV positive. Lacey later told the couple he issued them tickets because he was “pissed” Jones did not disclose she had HIV before he searched their car. Experts say there is no legal obligation for people with HIV in Michigan to disclose their status to a police officer.

To watch the video and read the article, visit: http://americanindependent.com/217450/exclusive-police-video-prompts-allegations-of-hiv-discrimination.

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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$538M in Cuts to Federal HIV/AIDS Funds Could Occur Jan. 2

The AIDS Institute has sent a letter to congressional leaders outlining $538 million in cuts to HIV/AIDS funding that could occur on January 2 unless Congress and the president find another option.

The cuts would be part of what is known as sequestration, which Congress agreed to in 2011. Automatic across-the-board cuts of more than $1 trillion to both mandatory and discretionary federal spending to bring down the deficit will start in 2013 unless an alternative plan is passed to accomplish the same goal.

To read the letter, visit: http://www.theaidsinstitute.org/sites/default/files/attachments/taisequestrationltr.pdf.

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KwaZulu Scientists 'Hold Key' to HIV

The University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Maryland, United States, has constructed the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for TB and HIV (K-Rith), a $40 million research institute to find better treatments for HIV and TB.

South Africa has the third-highest TB burden in the world and the fifth-highest number of patients with drug-resistant TB. Also, the province of KwaZulu-Natal was hit worst by HIV, and the Eastern Cape has also been struggling with drug-resistant TB.

K-Rith, located on the grounds of the university’s Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, is outfitted with state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. According to professor Phil Bishai, founding director of K-Rith, eight investigating scientists out of 10 were recruited to work in the institute and would be supported by clinical-studies support groups specializing in microbiology, immunology, and pharmacology.

Dennis McKearin, Howard Hughes Medical Institute science officer, commented that the project was important as there was less research funding for TB than for many other diseases. Bishai noted that TB diagnostic methods are over 100 years old and the vaccines over 90 years old, so new tools and diagnostic measures are needed. He believed that the scientists and new technology at K-Rith hold the keys to new discoveries.

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Kyrgyz Use New TB Diagnosis Method

On September 26, Anvar Beisembayev, co-ordinator of the TB Reach project under the National Centre for Tuberculosis Research of Kyrgyzstan, said that Kyrgyz medics are using a new method that allows for quicker diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB).

Previously, the standard test entailed injecting PPD tuberculin and waiting for a skin reaction. The new method is a blood test in which a person’s blood sample is mixed with an agent to gauge reaction.

Comparing the methods, Beisembayev notes that the new method enables diagnosis of TB within two hours; whereas, the older method used to take three days.

The new method gained worldwide application only last year. In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), only Kyrgyzstan and Moldova are using this new method. Kyrgyzstan has installed six devices nationwide: one in Osh city, one in Chui Oblast, two in Bishkek, and two in prisons. He added that medics have used the devices to test 1,000 Kyrgyz and confirmed 115 TB cases.

According to the Republic Medical Information Centre, Kyrgyzstan has registered 5,243 cases of TB so far in 2012. There are high case numbers in Bishkek and in Chui and Talas oblasts [regions]. Gulmira Aitmurzayeva, director of the Republic Centre for Strengthening Health, said that authorities have begun a public awareness campaign about TB in those areas.

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Cherokee County Public Health Offers Reduced-Rate HPV Vaccines

The Department of Public Health in Cherokee County, Texas, is working to change its residents’ negative perception of the HPV vaccine through education. According to Cheryl Hill, health clinic coordinator, the Texas Vaccines for Children program, which is endorsed by Cherokee County Public Health, is offering the three-dose HPV vaccine series free to eligible Cherokee County residents aged 11-18 years. The program’s guidelines require proof of children’s Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment at each vaccine appointment. Clients without insurance coverage pay a $7 administrative fee for the series and youth who turn 19 during the course of the immunization pay $10 throughout the program.

The vaccine is not mandated, but is being made available to those who want it. Hill explained that the health department distributes English- and Spanish-language pamphlets with information about HPV and offers the vaccine when parents take their 11- or 12-year-old child to the clinic for school immunizations. She noted that many parents ask if the child needs it for school. The staff explains the purpose of the vaccine and suggests that the parents think about. Hill said that so far, parents seem surprised to learn how the virus can affect their child. She states that parents don’t think about their child’s sexuality in relation to health because the child is still so young. She observed that the surprise is seen more often with young male clients, whose parents say that the child does not need the vaccine because they think HPV is related to cervical cancer only. Chris Taylor, a parent, cited figures from the county website showing that so far this year, Cherokee County has reported 337 cases of sexually transmitted infections, fewer than the state average of 435, but four times the rate of the national benchmark of 84 cases.

Hill explained that many times people don’t know they have HPV. Someone can have the infection and it clears on its own, but some strains hang around and women don’t know they have it since it goes undetected. For more information, contact Cherokee County Public Health at 903-586-6191.

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Short North Center Offers HIV Care Under One Roof

The AIDS Resource Center Ohio, a nonprofit organization, recently opened the ARC Ohio Medical Center and Pharmacy for HIV-infected adults.

The new center is the first in Ohio to provide all-inclusive health care and social services for persons living with HIV. It provides on-site testing, a pharmacy, mental-health counseling, individualized case management, housing assistance, and primary and specialized HIV care from doctors through a partnership with the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University. The center, which is located in the Short North, was modeled after similar health facilities in Wisconsin.

According to Peggy Anderson, chief operating officer of ARC Ohio, Wisconsin has the lowest HIV death rate in the nation, and this may be due to its comprehensive health services.

Bill Hardy, president and CEO of ARC Ohio, notes that Columbus, Ohio, ranks 21st in new infections among U.S. cities. The Ohio Department of Health statistics show that the number of Ohioans living with HIV increased 32 percent (i.e., 16,329) from 2005 to 2009. About 3,500 Franklin County residents are living with HIV.

The center will have a sliding-fee scale. Although the services are not free, no one will be turned away for lack of ability to pay. ARC Ohio will also continue its services of free testing at its other offices and partner locations about the city and state.

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Taiwan Health Agency Warns of Growing Cost of HIV Therapy

Chen Chang-hsun, a division director at Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated at a public hearing on the agency’s HIV therapy program, that the cost of free HIV treatment is putting pressure on the budget. Chen explained that the funding for HIV treatment rose from New Taiwan (NT) $1.37 billion (approximately US $47 million) and 23 percent of the overall budget in 2007 to NT $2.69 billion (approximately US $92 million), or 45 percent of its budget in 2011. Expenses for HIV treatment in 2011 is expected to reach NT $2.9 billion (approximately US $99 million), or 53 percent of the budget. Chou Jih-haw, deputy director-general, noted that the increase in spending on HIV has limited the funding available for other programs, such as TB treatment or flu vaccines.

Taiwan has provided Azidothymidine (AZT) free to HIV patients since 1988 and began offering highly active antiretroviral therapy free in 1997. The HIV death rate has fallen from 40 percent in 1995 to under 4 percent in 2012, but the cost of therapy is straining the finances of the country’s health care system. Before 2007, treatment was covered by the national health insurance program, Taiwan’s universal health care system, but in 2007, the health insurance program stopped covering HIV therapy and medication because of the cost and CDC taking on the responsibility.

In 2011, CDC proposed to share the burden by having patients pay part of the cost of their treatment, but the proposal drew strong opposition from patients and activists who fear that having to pay may make some patients stop treatment. Lin Yi-hui, secretary-general of the Persons with HIV/AIDS Rights Advocacy Association, suggested that the government invest in prevention and education. She argued that a national campaign to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and increase the high-risk person’s willingness to be screened is as important as treatment. Lin urged coverage for HIV therapy be returned to the national health insurance program. According to CDC statistics, from 2007 to 2011, there were 9,079 new cases reported, with 1,967 in 2011 alone. There are 22,020 known HIV cases in Taiwan and a total of 3,360 patients have died of the disease.

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Secretary's Minority AIDS Initiative Fund Supports $14.2 Million in Awards to 8 States to Improve HIV Testing and Engagement in Care

In this blog, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, and Director, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, US Department of Health and Human Services, Ronald Valdiserri, MD, MPH, discusses CDC’s award of a total of $14.2 million in first-year funding to eight state health departments.

These health departments received this award for a new, innovative, three-year cross-HHS demonstration project aligned with the National HIV/AIDS strategy (NHAS). The eight states are Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The Care and Prevention in the United States (CAPUS) demonstration project was open to 18 states/territorial health departments in the United States with disproportionately high burdens of HIV/AIDS among minority communities. The project is funded by the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund, which is administered by the Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy (OHAIDP).

Leadership for the activities will be provided by CDC as the lead agency with participation from OHAIDP, Office of Minority Health, Office on Women’s Health, HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau and Bureau of Primary Health Care, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

To read this blog visit: http://blog.aids.gov/2012/09/secretarys-minority-aids-initiative-fund-supports-14-2-million-in-awards-to-8-states-to-improve-hiv-testing-and-engagement-in-care.html.

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Sleeping Around at 60 Triggers STDs: Study Reveals

The Croydon Borough Council in London, England, has produced a sex-advice pamphlet for the elderly to raise awareness about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and prevent STD transmission.

The campaign resulted from the results of a study, which indicated that casual sexual relationships among pensioners aged 45 to 64 years are creating an increase in STDs. According to Labour Councillor Maggie Mansell, pensioners are “fitter” and “more active” than previous generations.

Also, they started their sex lives “after the pill and before AIDS” and had not been accustomed to using condoms. She stated that although the older citizens did not need contraception, they needed modern advice. Mansell said that, in London, cases of syphilis in 45–64 year olds increased tenfold—from 52 in the year 2000 to 503 in 2009. For individuals older than 65 years the number quadrupled—from 7 in 2000 to 32 in 2009.

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Free HIV Tests Available Oct. 13

As part of the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day, the Latino HIV Task Force will provide free HIV tests on October 13.

The task force will offer the tests at the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, 6001 Gulf Freeway, Houston, during the hours of 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

According to the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS), Hispanics in Houston and Harris County represent 23 percent of the 20,699 HIV infections reported to the department since 1999. HDHHS also notes that Hispanics comprise 19 percent of the 28,659 local AIDS cases reported to HDHHS since the beginning of the epidemic in 1981.

The task force is made up of various community-based organizations and health agencies that administer HIV and AIDS prevention programs or medical treatment. HDHHS convened the task force in 2002 to educate and raise awareness of HIV, AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases among Hispanics. For more information, call (713) 987-4740 or e-mail latinohtf@hotmail.com.

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Local Group Raises HIV/AIDS Awareness

The West Tennessee Consortium and Community Planning Group hopes to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and stop “an epidemic that does not discriminate.” Members spoke at a roundtable discussion held at the Jackson-Madison County Health Department on September 24. The theme of the discussion was “Getting to Zero in Our Neighborhoods. HIV/AIDS Is Here; What Can We Do?”

Fisher Smith from the Lane College Health Ambassadors stated that the health clinic provides services for people in the community with HIV/AIDS, but more people are needed to help with outreach. According to Shelia Ward, one of the major difficulties is combating the stigma people associate with HIV/AIDS. The health department sent at least 100 invitations to beauty shops, barbers, and local churches asking them to the roundtable discussion, but only a dozen attended. Ward said that supporters for education are faced with the stigma and misinformation about HIV/AIDS, and they cannot talk about it in the school system because of the abstinence-only sex education curriculum.

Janice Brown with the county health department shared statistics on the disease. From 2005–2010, there were 730 cases of HIV/AIDS in West Tennessee, excluding Shelby and Madison Counties, Brown stated. Of those cases, 133 were persons ages 15 to 34. In Madison County, there are 304 reported cases of HIV/AIDS; most are people 25–34 years old. Brown said those numbers are why it is important for young people to get tested for the disease. She emphasized that “the most important thing we can do is to get people to care.” She noted that testing won’t hurt people and that there is an oral test in which the health department swipes people’s gums for those who do not want to do a blood test.

Brown went on to say that more than 160 cases of HIV/AIDS in West Tennessee were from male-to-male sexual exchanges. Almost the same number—150—were from male-to-female sexual exchanges. She noted that this highlights that the disease does not just affect one group of people. Fisher Smith said despite the bad news, there is hope. “Gay white men have the least amount of contracting cases because they’ve educated themselves on safe practices,” Smith added. “Others can do the same. Things are getting better; they’re just getting better at a slow pace.”

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Study Looks at Risk Factors for HIV in U.S. Navy and Marines During ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Researchers led by Shilpa Hakre DrPH, MPH, of the US Military HIV Research Program, Rockville, Maryland, found that same-sex partners and inconsistent condom use were some of the major risk factors for HIV infection among US Navy and Marines during the era of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). The study found that male-to-male sexual contact was a much more common mode of infection than previously reported. From 2005–2010, the researchers conducted an anonymous online survey of newly diagnosed HIV-infected US Navy and Marine personnel during the period of DADT. Of the 250 HIV-infected sailors and marines surveyed, 64 responded.

The most frequent risk factor reported by 84 percent of respondents was same-sex contact. Fifty-five percent reported only having male sex partners in the three years before being infected. About half had concurrent relationships with different partners. Sex with non-service members seemed to be another risk factor for HIV infection. Most of the HIV-infected respondents reported using condoms rarely or inconsistently, and practiced other risky sexual behaviors, including meeting new casual or temporary partners at bars, clubs, or on the Internet. Alcohol use also appeared to contribute to risky behaviors.

More than 75 percent of the respondents were surprised at testing positive; many reported low condom use because they knew or trusted their partner and the partner’s HIV status. They underestimated their risk of acquiring the disease. Men who had sex with men accounted for most of the new cases of HIV, and the survey showed a higher rate of male-to-male sexual contact than in previous studies. The researchers note that the findings help clarify the risk factors for military personnel with HIV and provide opportunities for prevention efforts, particularly in promoting condom use and targeting social outlets such as Internet networking.

The study titled, “A Pilot Online Survey Assessing Risk Factors for HIV Acquisition in the Navy and Marine Corps, 2005–2010, was published in the journal, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS):(2012; 61 (2): 125–130).

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Volunteers Sought for HIV Prevention Study

At a recent meeting of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation that took place at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Oscar Bacon led a discussion about a new AIDS prevention pill. Bacon is the lead clinician for the San Francisco Clinic that is now seeking volunteers for the first demonstration trial of Truvada, produced by Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Truvada is the first pill ever to block HIV before it strikes. Enrollment was opened on September 21 for 300 potential volunteers in the study. The study will examine how the drug will be received by people who are, so far, uninfected, but are at high risk. Recruiters are seeking study volunteers including transgender females and men who have sex with men (MSM). Participants will receive 48 weeks of the drug at no cost, in exchange for regular monitoring of their social habits and tests that will assess the pill’s effectiveness in preventing transmission of the virus.

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HIV/AIDS Awareness Walks Set for Rehoboth, Wilmington on Saturday

On September 29, there are two 5K walks to raise money to help fight the stigma, increase awareness, and help those affected by HIV/AIDS.

The 26th AIDS Walk Delaware will take place in two locations. One will be at Riverfront’s Dravo Plaza in Wilmington, and the other at Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach. Registration starts at 9:00 a.m., with the walk beginning at 10:00 a.m.

All money raised through these events will be given to local HIV testing and prevention efforts and support services for those living with HIV/AIDS. More than 3,700 people in Delaware live with HIV/AIDS, and the state has one of the highest HIV rates in the United States.

To register for the walk, visit: http://www.aidswalkdelaware.org . Call (302) 652-6776 for more information.

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Porn Stars Oppose Plan Requiring condoms on Adult-Film Sets

Some porn stars have rejected the proposed Safer Sex initiative, Measure B on the November 6 ballot, that condoms be required on adult film sets in Los Angeles County.

One porn actor compared the initiative to an infringement on his and other performers’ civil rights. The actor believes that the law is insulting by restricting an individual’s ability to make his/her own choices and called it unconstitutional. He has appeared in more than 900 adult movies and said that he has never contracted a sexually transmitted disease.

Representatives of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association commented that Measure B would cost millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs including film and DVD production and Web development. The measure was funded and placed on the ballot by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and would require the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to license and permit the adult-movie productions, require performers to wear condoms, and institute on-set inspections.

Opponents argue that if the measure becomes law, the adult-film production will move to other counties or states and this will negatively affect local entertainment industry. The actor and two female adult-film performers defended current rules that require HIV and STD testing every 14 to 28 days. The Association joins with the No on Government Waste Committee – a coalition of business organizations, chambers of commerce, and entertainment companies that oppose the measure.

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AIDS Walk L.A. Founder Sues Santa Monica Over Ban on Bus Ads

Craig Miller, the founder of AIDS Walk Los Angeles, has sued the city of Santa Monica regarding its decision to prohibit the organization’s paid ads on Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus system. Miller alleges that the barring of promotional ads for the group’s fundraiser in October was in violation of free speech. Santa Monica residents Paloma Bennett and Lisa Brisse are joining him in the suit. At issue is that the Big Blue Bus system stated last year that it could not continue to display the ads because only commercial advertising is allowed to be run. However, it had previously run the nonprofit group’s ads for several years.

The bus system’s chief administrative officer, Joe Stitcher, explained earlier in September that the prohibition had been on the books for a long time, and in the past, officials had mistakenly violated it when they allowed ads for AIDS Walk Los Angeles and other nonprofit groups. He stated that the ban was meant to shield the bus system from becoming a “public forum,” which is a legal designation meaning that city officials had little control over the content of ads.

The plaintiffs from AIDS Walk Los Angeles stated in their suit that without their advertising on the defendant’s buses, those who will benefit from their event will be negatively impacted in terms of the funds raised and distributed, the numbers of people participating, and the communication of the AIDS Walk Los Angeles’ message.

There were 30,000 volunteers participating in the event in 2011. AIDS Walk Los Angeles has raised more than $72 million for HIV programs and services in Los Angeles County since it began in 1985.

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Vertex Ends Work on One Hepatitis Drug, Continues Another

Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced the discontinuation of work on the experimental hepatitis C drug ALS-2158 and resumption of development on another hepatitis C drug, ALS-2200. ALS-2158, which was being developed with partner Alios BioPharma Inc., did not show enough efficacy. On the other hand, ALS2200 showed promise in an early trial. The company is planning a mid-stage or Phase II trial of ALS-2200 in combination with ribavirin and one trial to evaluate ALS-220 in combination with the existing drug Incivek. Incivek, which must be taken with interferon, was approved in 2011 and so far has doubled the cure rate of prior standard treatments.

Vertex acquired worldwide rights to ALS-2200 in a licensing agreement with Alios in June 2011. According to the company, the drug is designed to inhibit replication of the hepatitis C virus and the virus does not seem to become easily resistant to it. ALS-2200 is a nucleotide analogue or nuc, a class of drugs that has had problems with safety concerns.

Vertex is competing with other pharmaceutical companies including Gilead Sciences, Inc., and Abbott Laboratories to bring to market a hepatitis C drug that is not taken in combination with interferon, as interferon causes flu-like symptoms and may make patients discontinue treatment. For these reasons, the company is being tight-lipped about the structure of ALS-2200. However, more details are expected at a medical conference in November.

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FDA Urged to Speed Approval of Drugs

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology unveiled a plan to double the number of new prescription drugs available by expediting the approval process of drugs to treat high-risk patients. The council urged the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use faster drug approvals for a wider range of diseases, and suggested that the FDA begin to approve drugs that may benefit a limited high-risk patient group under what is termed “special medical use” approvals.

The report provided few details of new laws or regulations that might be necessary to limit a new drug’s use to special populations. The FDA does not police how doctors use drugs, but companies marketing the drugs are restricted to the conditions on the label. Since the 1990’s, the FDA has used its “accelerated approval” program for certain drugs such as drugs for the treatment of AIDS and cancer. The council suggested that the FDA could expand its use of accelerated approval to cover a greater variety of serious diseases with unmet medical need. The FDA shortened review or expedited approval for 16 of 35 drugs it considered “innovative, during fiscal 2011.

Top officials at the FDA have said they are working to reduce the red tape required for drug approvals.

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Appeals Court Reverses Conviction in HIV Case

In a split decision September 24, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of an HIV-positive man who was accused of passing the virus to another man through unprotected sex. The court ruled that the statute was ambiguous.

In October of 2011, the man was convicted of attempted first-degree assault under a statute that makes it a crime to knowingly transfer a communicable disease by having sex with another person without having first informed the other person of one’s HIV-positive status. The second part of the statute makes it illegal to spread the disease by transferring blood, sperm, organs, or tissue, except as deemed necessary for medical research, or if disclosed on donor screening forms.

The man was found not guilty of the first part of the statute because he had revealed his HIV-positive status before he had sex with the alleged victim in 2009, but was convicted of the second section of the statute. The appeals court has now reversed the conviction.

Judge Larry Collins was the lone dissenter of the appeals case, stating that the statute is clear, and a reasonable person would understand that an infected person may engage in unprotected sex, as long as the person discloses that he has a disease, but should not transfer sperm to the other person. However, the accused man’s attorney argued that the second section applies only to medical procedures, and “any other interpretation [of the statute] yields absurd results,” according to the appeals court decision.

The man’s attorney stated that he was pleased the court ruling showed that if a person with a communicable disease informs his or her partner, it is not a crime to engage in consensual sex.

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Bollywood's Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Named U.N. HIV/AIDS Envoy

On September 24, the United Nations (UN) appointed Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan a goodwill ambassador.

Her focus will be to help stop new HIV infections in children and promote increased access to treatment with anti-retroviral drugs. She will work with the UN program called UNAIDS, an HIV/AIDS global program advocating the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive.

Rai will be promoting a plan that emphasizes 22 countries, including India, which account for more than 90% of new HIV infections among children. Of those 22 countries, 21 are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the estimated number of newly HIV-infected children fell by 25% between 2009 and 2011, according to UNAIDS.

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NYCLU Finds Gaps in Sexual Education Curriculum

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) recently released a report highlighting problems with the sexual education curriculum of 82 public school districts in New York.

The report, titled “ Birds, Bees and Bias: How Absent Sex Ed Standards Fail New York’s Students, “ states that although 93 percent of school districts provided information on HIV and AIDS as required by a 1987 New York State Law, only 56 percent of the information was complete and scientifically accurate. According to Johanna Miller, assistant advocacy director of the NYCLU, the disparity is due to a lack of state-established standards for sexual education. Miller noted that the districts were using materials that were no longer accurate on HIV and relying on information pulled together from the Internet, because no one had said they should not.

Also, the report states that the school districts were using “value-laden materials when teaching controversial topics.” About 35 percent of districts used textbooks with antiabortion biases and some referred to fetuses and embryos as “babies.” The NYCLU recommends that the state decree a comprehensive sexual education program that teaches abstinence, pregnancy, and STD prevention methods such as condoms.

In response to the NYCLU’s report, Dennis Tompkins, chief of external affairs at New York State Education Department, stated that the department would carefully review the report and its recommendations as the goal of the department is to make sure that students get accurate and sound health information.

The NYCLU report can be found at: http://www.nyclu.org/files/publications/NYCLU_SexEd_report.pdf.

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University at Buffalo Partners with Zimbabwe Universities to Create International Nanotechnology Center

Zimbabwe has a high rate (14 percent) of its population co-infected with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), thus there is a great need for new drugs and treatments. With a view to developing new drugs to treat these diseases, the University at Buffalo’s Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics (ILPB), and the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences have come together to launch the Zimbabwe International Nanotechnology Center (ZINC) a national nanotechnology research program with the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), and the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT).

The collaborative program will focus initially on research in nanomedicine and biosensors at UZ and energy at CUT. ZINC will establish a long-term international research and training platform in the field of nanotechnology, focused in areas that promote Zimbabwe’s strength and advance the development of nanotechnology as an avenue for Zimbabwe’s commercial growth. Research teams will concentrate on emerging technologies, initially focused in nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine for health care.

Gene D. Morse, PharmD, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, associate director of the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, and director of the Translational Pharmacy Research Core, stated that developing nanoformulations for HIV and TB diagnostics and therapeutics and new TB drug development are among the innovative strategies to address these co-infections that the research collaboration can provide. Morse continued that he hoped that an international program such as ZINC will attract pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology firms with similar interests to join the partnership and enhance the likelihood of economic success through research.

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Ottawa Sued Over 'Failure' to Provide Needle-Exchange Programs in Prisons

The federal government of Canada is being sued by a former prisoner and several advocacy groups for endangering prisoners’ health by not providing needle-exchange programs for inmates. The former prisoner, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Prisoners with HIV/AIDS Support Action Network, the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE), and the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network have launched the lawsuit, which will be filed in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice. The suit alleges that the federal government failed to protect the health of inmates because of its ongoing refusal to implement clean needle and syringe programs.

The inmate was incarcerated at Ontario’s Warkworth Institution from 1998 to 2010. He was infected with hepatitis C after sharing his drug injecting equipment with another prisoner. The former prisoner asserts that if the prison had a needle-exchange program he would not have had to use homemade, shared equipment, and may not have been infected.

The former prisoner stated that his motivation was to see that other drug-addicted prisoners are not forced to do the same and become infected. The lawsuit does not ask for financial compensation, but seeks a court injunction that would require the federal government to begin needle exchange programs in prisons across the country. It claims that prisoners are entitled to a needle exchange program under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some communities in Canada have needle-exchange programs in place for the population, but no Canadian prison offers a needle-exchange program.

Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety; Rob Nicholson, attorney general; and Don Head, commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada are specifically named in the lawsuit.

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OraQuick Rapid HIV Test Available Online

The OraQuick Rapid HIV test (OraQuick), developed by OraSure Technologies, has recently become available for purchase online at a cost of $39.99. The test can detect signs of the HIV virus in saliva. Also, OraQuick will soon be found on drugstore.

In July 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration approved OraQuick for over-the-counter sales. The test was approved for use in hospitals and clinics several years ago, but Federal regulators wanted to be sure that consumers would use it properly before approving over-the-counter sales, which required OraSure to change the packaging and instructions and create a 24-hour customer-service call center.

Federal regulators warned that a positive result with OraQuick does not mean that an individual is definitely infected with HIV. Those who have positive test results are advised to seek additional testing in a medical setting. According to Douglas Michels, chief executive officer of OraSure, the company plans a television, print, radio, and social media marketing campaign to promote the test.

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Monday, September 24, 2012

Awareness of NJ HIV Exposure Law is Not Associated with Reduced Sexual Risk Behavior

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) surveyed HIV-infected persons in New Jersey between March 22, 2010 and October 6, 2010 on the New Jersey law that requires HIV-positive individuals to disclose their status to sexual partners. Carol Galletly, JD and PhD, of the Center for AIDS Intervention Research at MCW and the principal investigator of the study together with her colleagues found that the law does not seem to be an effective deterrent that prevents HIV transmission. Although 51 percent of study participants reported knowledge of the law, those who knew and those who did not were just as likely reveal their status, engage in less risky sexual behaviors, and use condoms. Most of the participants, whether aware of the law or not, reported complying with the law for the previous year. Eighty-five percent of the participants stated that they were not willing to have unprotected sex with a seronegative partner who was unaware of their HIV-positive status.

Knowledge of the law was not associated with negative outcomes for HIV-infected study participants. Persons aware of the law did not report greater social hostility toward persons with HIV or experience more discomfort with HIV-status disclosure or more HIV-related stigma. On the other hand, those who were not aware of the law perceived more social hostility toward HIV-infected persons, experienced greater HIV-related stigma, and were less comfortable with HIV-status disclosure.

The 479 study participants, who were aged 19 to 66 years, were 45 percent female and were approximately 66 percent African American, 16 percent Hispanic, and 13 percent Caucasian. When the researchers questioned them about responsibility for HIV prevention, 90 percent believed that an HIV-infected person bore at least half of the responsibility for ensuring that their seronegative partners did not contract the disease through sex, and 34 percent felt the HIV-infected person had the full responsibility.

The article, “New Jersey’s HIV Exposure Law and the HIV-Related Attitudes, Beliefs, and Sexual and Seropositive Status Disclosure Behaviors of a Sample of Persons Living with HIV,” was published ahead of print in the American Journal of Public Health (doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300664). Public Health Law Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health funded the research.

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Clinical Care Options Announces Public/Private Partnership Targeting HIV Care in South Africa

Clinical Care Options (CCO) recently announced the creation of a new program to support South African nurses and doctors manage HIV-infected and HIV/TB-co-infected persons.

CCO will develop an interactive, digital training and certification program, called InPractice®, in cooperation with the University of Witwatersrand and the Foundation for Professional Development, two South African companies involved in HIV/AIDS medical education. InPractice® can be used to train HIV doctors, nurses treating HIV patients, and other healthcare professionals in settings with limited resources, and it provides relevant practical training and certification to improve patient lives.

The program will be available in different formats: online, mobile (for smart phones and tablet computers), and a version for PCs with internet connection. InPractice® provides structured educational modules certified for South Africa’s continuing education professional credits with integrated, easy-to-search references that facilitate decision making at the point of care.

InPractice® also includes access to health information databases specific to South Africa, as well as providing practice guidelines and drug reference information. Additional information is available at inPractice.com or via e-mail at info@clincaloptions.com.

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

UCLA Researchers Gain Insight into Why HIV Progression Differs Among Individuals

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have discovered why some HIV positive individuals progress more rapidly than others to full-blown AIDS. The research was published in the Journal of Virology.

Slow progressors carry the gene called HLA-B*57 (B57) an immune gene variant found in less than five percent of the population, but in 40-85 percent of slow progressors. Among those with the B57 gene, the speed of disease progression also varies. The key to the variation is a killer T-cell immune response occurring early in the HIV infection. It targets a section or epitope of the HIV protein known as IW9.

The researchers compared only the killer T-cell responses among those with the B57 gene, using blood taken shortly after HIV infection from 14 HLA-B57 carriers with known infection dates and known long-term outcomes. It was found that those whose killer T-cell immune response targeted the IW9 epitope early in the infection had significantly longer times until onset of AIDS than those who did not.

The researchers note that the study sample was small - 14 subjects - and that the study should be repeated with a larger number of subjects. Also, the results point to a correlation with, rather than causation of slower disease progression among B57 carriers who target the IW9 epitope soon after infection. The full report was published in the Journal of Virology (October 2012; 86:10505-10516).

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Students to Deliver Sexual-Awareness Through Play-Writing

Students at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina, are creating a collection of short dramas to raise awareness of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

The collection, called “The Foreplays,” is the brainchild of Tracy Aniello, Manager of Health Services, who got the idea after attending the “Vagina Monologues.” Aniello thought that information coming from peers in their own words would make STDs more real for the students and help them understand that anyone can be infected by STDs.

The committee including Dr. Jon Tuttle, professor of English, set up specific requirements for the plays. All plays are to be submitted by Thanksgiving break, and selected works will be performed by students.

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Prominent Atlanta HIV Agencies Protest State Funding Decisions

Positive Impact, an agency in Georgia that provides culturally competent mental health, HIV prevention outreach, and other services to gay and bisexual men as well as individuals affected by HIV, received no funding from the state in 2012.

As a result, the agency will have to lay off five part-time staff, discontinue outreach projects in gay bars and sex clubs, cut a program that helped HIV-infected persons deal with relationship issues, and cut back on testing for straight men and African-American women.

The agency had requested $181,629 in a bid for a contract for testing and community mobilization to stop the spread of HIV. Positive Impact submitted a protest on August 20, which was denied by the state. Danny Sprouse, prevention director of the group, noted that after submitting the bid, the agency learned that the state’s focus was on prevention, as there was no money for community mobilization.

Other agencies that formerly received state funding also lost funding this year, including: SisterLove, Inc., an agency that works to prevent HIV among African American women and assists persons living with HIV; the AIS Research Consortium of Atlanta; and National AIDS Education & Service for Minorities (NAESM). NAESM serves gay and bisexual men, and African American women. Rudy Carn of NAESM questioned why the entire $800,000 of state funds has not been distributed. The total amount distributed was $647,380, leaving $152,620. NAESM also filed a protest with the state, but has not heard back.

Carn commented that the state is not following the epidemic with its funding. In Georgia, the groups hardest hit by HIV are black gay and bisexual men, white gay and bisexual men, and African–American women; however, many agencies that serve these groups received no state funding.

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Harrisburg School District Gets Grant to Screen Students for STDs

The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania School District has received a $40,000 grant to hire a nurse to screen and treat district students for STDs.

On September 17, the school board voted unanimously to approve a contract for a nurse/health educator. The new staff person will be located in the high school and will provide education, screening, treatment, and follow-up for district students with gonorrhea and chlamydia.

Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney stated that the rising number with STDs in Dauphin County rather than the district as a whole, prompted the hiring of a nurse. The superintendent said the grant was provided by the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization offering health care services in 28 counties for women’s health care, tobacco prevention and cessation, cancer screening and education, HIV/AIDS support services, and family planning.

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Pepfar Grant to Benefit HIV Positive Children

As part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), 62 grants were made to local organizations in Zambia. The grants were intended for prevention of new HIV infection and to support orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) at the community level.

Kasisi Orphanage, a Catholic facility in Lusaka, plans to use their award to provide medication and food, and promote good sanitation for more than 60 HIV-infected orphans from 0 to 20 years old. The project is being called Help Us Grow (HUG).

Kafue Child Development Agency plans to use their grant to eliminate all types of child poverty, particularly in children whose parents died from HIV/AIDS. Most groups mentioned educating the children. One group will focus on providing caregivers living in towns with skills to earn a living and supplying goats to those in rural areas. Another wants to focus on enhancing existing programs.

Stephen Schwartz, US Deputy Chief of Mission, promised that the US Mission in Zambia would work with the local organizations in support of their innovative ideas to prevent HIV. He emphasized that the US government through PEPFAR was confident that the joint efforts would result in limiting the spread of HIV. Schwartz also stated that the investment of Americans is of no value if it does not result in actions to prevent HIV and take care of the orphans.

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Red Tape Bars Access to TB Drug

South Africa Medicines Control Council (MCC), the regulatory authority of South Africa, is preventing patients dying from drug-resistant TB from access to a new drug that may be their only hope.

According to Medecins Sans Frontieres, the MCC has made no effort to register bedaquiline (TMC207), even though European and US drug regulators are already doing so. Countries such as France and the United Kingdom, with strict drug safety regulations, are currently providing bedaquiline under compassionate use regulations. Compassionate use allows for the dispensing of investigational drugs before they are registered and placed on the market.

Medecins Sans Frontieres had earlier sought a commitment from the MCC to allow expanded access to the drug and to expedite the review process, which would have resulted in the registration of the first new TB drug in more than 50 years in South Africa. The MCC initially approved the drug for compassionate access in 2011, but then withdrew their approval with no explanation.

South Africa has a serious epidemic of drug-resistant TB. Every year about 10,000 people are diagnosed with MDR TB, with a sizable proportion developing XDR TB. Treatment with current drugs is successful for only about 60 percent of MDR TB and 44 percent of XDR TB patients.

A few South African patients have been allowed access to bedaquiline through clinical trials. In April, the Southern African HIV Clinicians’ Society, the AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, the Global Tuberculosis Community Advisory Board, and the Treatment Action Campaign wrote a public letter to the ministers of health and the MCC highlighting the urgent need for compassionate use of bedaquiline. Other organizations, plus many concerned health care workers, also wrote to the MCC.

The MCC’s response was to ask the Health Department to submit a clinical trial protocol, thus further postponing access to the drug. In the US, the FDA is expediting the process by deciding whether to approve the drug within six months of the application of submission, rather than the standard 10 months, and the European Medicines Agency is considering conditional approval for its use.

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Thursday, September 20, 2012

HIV Drug Consortium Wins Over $5M in EU Funding

Mutabilis, the French biopharmaceutical company, has won a grant for €4 million (about US $5.3 million) in European Union (EU) Framework 7 funding as part of a collaborative project to develop new antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV.

Mutabilis is coordinating the research. The purpose of the research is to develop a class of antiretrovirals that focuses on the interaction between the virus and host.

Researchers involved in the work are the University College London; the Cancer Research Institute, United Kingdom; the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam; the AIDS Units Clinical Institute of the University of Barcelona; and researchers at the Institute Cochin, France, and the University Hematology Institute of the Saint Louis Hospital in Paris, France. The group can receive up to €6 million (about US $7.9 million) in funding over a three-year time frame.

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Houston-Area School Districts Adopt New Take on Sex Ed

Some school districts in the Houston area are moving away from long-established abstinence-only sex education classes this school year.

The Spring Branch and Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School Districts (ISD) are the most recent ones in the area to adopt an “abstinence-plus program.” Created by the University of Texas (UT) Prevention Research Center in Houston, the program consists of a 12-lesson curriculum that teaches about contraception, unplanned pregnancy, and condom use, in addition to abstinence.

In Harris County, ten school districts and the KIPP charter school system have adopted or are adopting similar programs, as are districts in San Antonio, Plano, Austin, and Corpus Christi. This is part of a statewide trend that has prompted alarm among certain parents that kids are learning too much, too soon about sex.

At a recent Cypress-Fairbanks ISD informational meeting, some parents expressed concern over the new content. However, Debra Hill, coordinator of secondary science at Cypress Fairbanks ISD, said that fewer than 10 parents out of more than 200 at the ISD meeting had doubts about the program. Parents have the choice of opting their children out of the class.

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Trial Begins on Isolation of HIV-Positive Inmates

Although the HIV virus is no longer the death sentence it once was considered to be, Alabama prisons continue to isolate inmates who have tested positive for it, said ACLU attorney Margaret Winter on September 17.

On behalf of the HIV-positive inmates, ACLU attorney Winter requested U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson to end the longstanding Alabama prison policy of isolating inmates who are HIV-positive. Attorney Bill Lunsford, representing Alabama prisons, stated that the HIV-positive prisoners are kept together in separate dormitories for men and women, but that they can participate in most of the programs available to other inmates.

The ACLU attorney argued, however, that the policy violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it prohibits HIV-positive inmates from participating in some programs that would help their rehabilitation, particularly in obtaining food service jobs. The lawyers are presenting their cases before Judge Thompson in a trial of a federal lawsuit challenging the Alabama prisons' policy of segregating HIV-positive prison inmates.

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