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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - August 2016
VIDEO: Advances in ART reduce drug resistance
August 31, 2016 - The role of ART in treating and preventing HIV was the focus of several presentations at ASM Microbe 2016. The use of these regimens among older patients and individuals with renal impairment was highlighted, as well as the ways in which the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment trial has impacted initiation of therapy for all patients with HIV.
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Grandmother of African art finds unlikely partner in war on Aids
28 August 2016 - South Africa’s leading tribal painter Esther Mahlangu has joined a luxury vodka brand to raise money for HIV prevention
Along with art, the battle against Aids is Mahlangu’s passion now and the two obsessions have led her into an extraordinary collaboration. As part of a campaign promoted by John Legend, she has just created a classic Ndebele design for a special-edition bottle of Belvedere vodka (Red). Half of the profits will be donated to the Global Fund to be used in tackling HIV/Aids, malaria and TB.
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Haiti launches programme to deal with HIV/AIDS among young population
August 27, 2016 - PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) - aiti has launched a programme aimed at sensitising young people about the HIV/AIDS virus.
The project is being co-funded by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and UNAIDS and will target young people between the ages 15 to 30 mainly from the west, center and south Haiti where the epidemic is most widespread.
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HIV vaccine cure: Scientists using neutralised HIV antibodies to develop effective vaccine
August 27 2016 - Scientists from Scripps Research Institute are using neutralised HIV antibodies to develop a HIV vaccine cure. The study has outlined a streamlined path to priming immune system to resist HIV. The approach used by the
scientists yielded powerful antibodies modelled after those found in rare individuals infected with HIV.
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Common HIV Drugs Can Hit the Wrong Target, Cause Adverse Effects
Aug 26, 2016 - Adverse side effects are a potential risk with nearly every medication, so scientists from the University of Oxford in England looked at if this phenomenon occurs in common drugs that are used to treat the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
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Dormant HIV Copies Are Mostly Defective
August 26, 2016 - A recent study published in Nature Medicine showed that more than 90% of latent proviruses are damaged and no longer function, indicating the need for new ways to count only non-damaged proviruses.
Since the introduction of antiretroviral therapies (ART), the treatment has been an effective way to treat HIV. However, the virus is only able to be completely cleared because it’s able to successfully hide inside certain immune system cells, and become active when ART is stopped.
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HIV Patients With Kaposi’s Sarcoma Healthier at Cancer Diagnosis in ART Era
AUGUST 26, 2016 - More patients with HIV and Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) are being diagnosed with KS in the presence of high CD4 counts and low viral loads, researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2016 Aug 9. [Epub ahead of print], PMID: 27507879).
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HIV increases risk of age-related diseases
August 26, 2016 - [MELBOURNE] - While combination antiretroviral therapy has meant that people with HIV can live longer lives, research shows that the virus makes fundamental changes to the immune system by increasing the risk of developing age-related conditions.
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Expanding HIV Research to the Transgender Community
August 26, 2016 - The transgender community includes a plethora of patients who can benefit from HIV/AIDS research. However, clinical trials rarely include transgender participants.
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Mobile Mural Looks to Bring Attention to HIV/AIDS
August 26, 2016 - Who says a canvas has to be stationary? HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention will soon be mobile in South Florida.
On Aug. 31, ArtServe and the Florida Department of Health are presenting Art to End AIDS at The Pride Center at Equality Park where a mural by local artist Georgeta Fondos will debut. The mural isn’t a building or wall. It’s on a semi-trailer.
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Why do marital partners of people living with HIV not test for HIV? A qualitative study in Lusaka, Zambia
August 2016 - Knowledge of HIV status is crucial for HIV prevention and management in marital relationships. Yet some marital partners of people living with HIV decline HIV testing despite knowing the HIV-positive
status of their partners. To date, little research has explored the reasons for this.
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Vaccine Institute tackles new roadblock in developing HIV vaccine
August 26, 2016 - A discovery made by Duke researchers is shedding light on a potential new strategy for producing an effective HIV vaccine.
The human body is capable under certain conditions of creating broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies, or bNAbs, to fight the virus. Led by Dr. Barton Haynes, director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, a team of researchers have studied 100 people infected with HIV—half of
whom naturally produced bNAbs and another half that did not. This was done with the goal of inducing bNAbs in people without HIV as a potential vaccine, Haynes said.
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This billboard I saw in Uganda is a stark reminder of the reality of the AIDS crisis
Aug 26, 2016 - “Do you know your child’s HIV status?” the billboard asked, advising parents to bring their children in for HIV testing.
Driving around the city of Kampala during my week long trip to Uganda, I saw countless signs and billboards advising men and women to get tested for HIV.
But one day, I saw a billboard next to a cell phone advertisement that I just couldn’t get out of my head. The shocking sign served as a stark reminder of just how real the AIDS crisis is in Uganda.
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Simplifying access to treatment is essential in fight against HIV/AIDS says Kirby Institute Director
August 25 2016 - Educating community workers and nurses, not only doctors, could help relieve the strain on health systems in low and middle-income countries treating HIV/AIDS patients, said Professor David A Cooper AO, Director of The Kirby Institute for infection and immunity in society, in a major speech delivered in Sydney and hosted by The George Institute for Global Health.
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PrEP Summit and NCAAN HIV/AIDS Advocacy Conference
August 25 2016 - The North Carolina AIDS Action Network is holding their annual Advocacy Conference on September 10, 2016. This year, NCATEC is kicking off the weekend by co-hosting a PrEP summit the day before.
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How sex became unsafe again
Aug 25, 2016 - These days, it’s a begrudgingly accepted fact that fewer young people, straight and gay, are using condoms. The CDC estimates condom adoption among
high school students peaked around 2003, when 63% of teens self-reported using condoms the last time they had sex. By 2015, the same methods revealed a 20% drop in that number. Among gay men it’s suggested condom usage has been in longterm decline since around 2005.
The latest research to make the rounds earlier this month implied that when drinking was involved, a little over two-thirds of college-aged American women engaged in unprotected sex.
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U.S. researchers look at chronic conditions in HIV-positive people over the age of 65
25 August 2016 - Independently of HIV, aging is associated with the development of an increased risk for other health conditions as key organs and systems gradually degrade.
According to a team of U.S. researchers who have reviewed scientific publications about aging and HIV, there are reports that some HIV-positive people experience an earlier onset of age-related health issues or may
experience them in a more severe form than HIV-negative people do. The same researchers note that although there are more and more studies that assess the health of HIV-positive people over the age of 50, relatively few seek to address the health of the subset of HIV-positive people aged 65 and older.
2016 Elisse Zack Award for Excellence in HIV and Rehabilitation: Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation
Toronto, Ontario, August 25, 2016 - Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation Annual Forum and AGM
CWGHR is pleased to announce the recipient of the Elisse Zack Award for Excellence in HIV and Rehabilitation: Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation.
The award ceremony will be held at a reception on September 23 rd in conjunction with the launch of our new identity!
Charlize Theron: People have become complacent about AIDS
Aug 25, 2016 - Charlize Theron believes people have become "complacent" in the fight against HIV and Aids.
The 41-year-old actress launched The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) in 2007 and became a UN Messenger of Peace in a bid to help raise awareness and prevent the spread of the virus, which is "100 per cent preventable".
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Music in Pickering, Port Hope to support AIDS Durham
August 25, 2016 - DURHAM/NORTHUMBERLAND - Musicians are singing out in benefit concerts for AIDS Durham.
The AIDS Committee of Durham Region presents Sound Positive, An Evening of Music in Support of Life.
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As critical AIDS conference approaches, Trudeau writes: “Poverty is Sexist”
25 August 2016 - OTTAWA - Responding to open letter from nearly 100 high-profile signers and more than 200,000 activists around the world, Prime Minister Trudeau pledges to make girls and women focus of aid policy
Continuing, and noting Canada’s increased pledge to the fight against the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, the Prime Minister wrote: “Canada’s commitment to the Global Fund is the first step on a path toward a new global policy that prioritizes equal treatment of girls and women. Investing in health will enable girls and women to survive and flourish, including by making key contributions to ending extreme poverty for everyone.”
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What Would Pedro Zamora Be Doing If He Was Alive?
August 25 2016 - Pedro Zamora was an openly gay AIDS activist of Cuban descent, who became a worldwide media phenomenon, particularly after his participation in The Real World television documentary series, set in San Francisco in 1994,
where he openly represented his life as a person living with AIDS, and was coupled with Sean Sasser (who was HIV-positive) as the series romance. Although Zamora died in the same year (at only just twenty-two years old) not long after that the last episode of the series was
broadcast, his life story is an important contribution to contemporary debates on AIDS education. At the same time Zamora was an icon for gay male sexuality, highly concerned for the respect and care of “queer” youth. Pedro had an innate ability to reach wide audiences through revealing his honesty, integrity and political vision.
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No, Donald Trump, The Clinton Foundation Should Not Shut Down
August 24, 2016 - Since Monday, Donald Trump and his campaign surrogates have issued a series of statements demanding that the Clinton Foundation close its doors, and return its donations. In addition to drawing blood
from his political rival, Trump's latest cry for attention perfectly fits into his narrative of a rigged political system shortchanging real Americans. To most Americans following this election cycle, the Clinton Foundation has represented an enigma onto which
pundits can express their love, hatred, or ambivalence towards Hillary Clinton. But as a medical student who has extensively researched global health issues, it is clear to me that this organization deserves a more meaningful conversation, weighing the impact
it has on the millions of lives it helps everyday against its tangible shortcomings.
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Marine Begins Nonprofit to Provide HIV/AIDS Support
August 24, 2016 - White started the nonprofit A Positive Tomorrow in November 2012 to educate the public on HIV transmission, testing and treatment, to provide a support system for anyone affected by the virus and to end the stigma surrounding HIV.
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Out of 437 babies whose mothers were tested positive for HIV, 405 were born HIV-negative
Aizawl, Aug 24 - Out of 437 babies whose mothers were tested positive for HIV, 405 were born HIV-negative, officials of the Prevention of Parents Child Transmission Centre (PPTCTC) said on Wednesday.
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Dr. Fauci Kicks Off Facebook Live at Ryan White 2016
August 24, 2016 - Following his plenary remarks at the opening of the 2016 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care and Treatment Exit Disclaimer on August 23, NIH’s Dr. Anthony Fauci joined us for
a Facebook Live session with HRSA’s Letitia Robinson. Dr. Fauci is Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Dr. Robinson is Senior Advisor at HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, which is hosting the conference.
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Two Scientists Just Figured Out How to Stop HIV From Progressing Into AIDS
August 24, 2016 - A closer look at the protein Nef has just changed the landscape of HIV research — and treatment.
A more sophisticated approach to antiretroviral therapy is in the works, one that focuses on Nef, a protein responsible in the progression from HIV to AIDS. Researcher Mike Kent from Sandia National Laboratories and Northeastern University bioanalytical chemistry professor
John Engan combined their scientific methods to find out how to stop Nef (Negative Regulatory Factor) from disrupting the immune system. What they discovered was mind blowing.
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Temple researchers explore effects of tobacco smoke, opiates on HIV patient tissue damage
24-Aug-2016 - (Philadelphia, PA) - t least a third of HIV-positive individuals in the United States are intravenous opiate abusers, and at least two-thirds are also tobacco abusers. Both opiates and tobacco smoke are known to either directly cause, or contribute to, tissue damage in the brain,
lungs and other organ systems. Moreover, opiate abuse is known to promote the damage in the brain which is caused by infection with HIV. Thanks to new funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) will explore the effects of the combination of
tobacco smoke and opiates on the tissue damage that occurs in many patients infected with HIV.
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HIV-infected adults with depression have increased risk for heart attack
August 24, 2016 - Among more than 26,000 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults, those with major depressive disorder (MDD) were more likely to experience a heart attack than those without MDD, according to a study published online by JAMA Cardiology.
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Couples HIV testing, counseling prevents more than 70 percent of new infections in Rwanda
August 24, 2016 - A 30-year HIV prevention and research initiative in Rwanda has resulted in the prevention of more than 70 percent of new HIV infections in that country. Rwanda is the first African country to implement Couples' Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (CVCT) as a nationwide intervention and a social norm. The program includes the Rwanda Ministry of Health, Emory University, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Fake AIDS cures plague the desperate
August 24, 2016 - AIDS LIFELINE again calls on our nations’ authorities to consider this: The vultures who prey on the final hopes of desperate people should face prosecution for fraud. It is simply too easy for anyone, particularly it seems for individuals arriving from foreign lands and with unverifiable claims to be experts in traditions medicines, to throw together some herbs, get testimonials from persons who say they feel better after drinking the stuff and claim they have cured AIDS.
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HIV effort let down by test shortages, says WHO
24 August 2016 - A shortage of HIV testing could undermine global efforts to diagnose and treat people with the infection, warn experts from the World Health Organization.
They looked at responses to annual surveys that the WHO had sent to 127 countries between 2012 and 2014 asking about capacity and usage of blood tests that check HIV status and health.
They found worrying gaps in provision.
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GMHC to Honor Broadway Star of "Hamilton: An American Musical," Javier Muñoz
August 23, 2016 - New York, New York - The award to be presented at the annual Howard Ashman Award & Cabaret benefiting Gay Men's Health Crisis, the world's first AIDS service organization
GMHC will honor Javier Muñoz, Broadway star in the lead role in "Hamilton: An American Musical," with the 2016 Howard Ashman Award, for his activism in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In 2002, Javier was diagnosed with HIV
and he continues to speak out about his status-particularly in the media-because of the stigma directed at people living with HIV/AIDS. Javier is also a recent survivor of cancer. Proceeds from the cabaret will support GMHC's programs, services, and advocacy, which benefit roughly 10,000 clients every year.
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A hidden epidemic in Ukraine
August 23, 2016 - CNN - On the 17th floor of a disused building in Kiev, Ukraine, is a secret spot where people from across the capital city congregate with one purpose: to shoot up.
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Test Confirms If People Are Actually Taking PrEP to Prevent HIV
Aug 23, 2016 - If used consistently, PrEP (branded under the name Truvada) can stop sexually transmitted HIV with 90% effectiveness. Lane Bushman, the lab manager at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy, developed an assay that
can identify traces of antiretroviral drugs in just a spot of dried blood in order to see how much PrEP someone has been taking. Therefore, healthcare providers would be able to see if patients are in fact using the medication consistently.
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Giving HIV medicine to both members of a couple reduces the risk of transmission
August 23, 2016 - When one member is HIV-positive, the other is less likely to become infected if both take HIV drugs.
Giving out HIV medication to both members of a couple when only one of them is HIV-positive could lower the risk of transmission, a new study has found. It serves to reiterate the benefits of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at risk of infection – in this case the HIV-negative partner.
PrEP is a preventive treatment that involves people who are at very high risk for HIV taking a combination of two HIV medicines, sold under the name Truvada, on a daily basis.
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Ottawa study finds nurse-led PEP clinic works
23 August 2016 - People who have been sexually exposed to HIV who initiate anti-HIV therapy within 72 hours of such an exposure and who continue to take these medicines every day for 28 consecutive days significantly reduce their risk of becoming infected.
The use of medicine to prevent HIV infection in this way is called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
New effort Thrive-ing to help black men with HIV
Aug 23, 2016 - A support group for gay HIV-positive men of color provides a modern twist on the classic support group model, offering 24/7 online support and an affirming community for its more than 500 members in metro Atlanta.
THRIVE SS – cofounded by Dwain Bridges, Larry Walker and Daniel Driffin – seems like a natural extension of the trio’s combined 30-year history working in public health, with much of that time focused on HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
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Campaign brings condoms, HIV testing and hugs to the Olympics
23 August, 2016 - RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - On 4 August, the #EuAbraço campaign began distributing over half a million male and female condoms, as well as leaflets on human rights, ending racism and gender-based violence,
preventing sexually transmitted infections including HIV, and preventing Zika. The official hotlines for reporting gender-based violence and sexual exploitation are also being disseminated.
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Why the Fight Against AIDS Still Matters, in One Chart
AUGUST 23, 2016 - Infection may no longer be a nearly certain death sentence, but HIV continues to spread globally, most notably in Asia and Africa. After plateauing in the early part of the 2000s, the number of people living with HIV has been rising again, reaching 36.7 million in 2015.
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Mutational tug of war over HIV's disease-inducing potential
23-Aug-2016 - Immune system invisibility vs. race to replicate
A study from Emory AIDS researchers shows how the expected disease severity when someone is newly infected by HIV reflects a balance between the virus' invisibility to the host's immune system and its ability to reproduce.
Patients Approach Two Years of Complete HIV Viral Load Suppression in Phase 2b PRO 140 Monotherapy Extension Study
Aug. 23, 2016 - VANCOUVER, Washington - CytoDyn Inc. (OTC.QB:CYDY), a biotechnology company focused on the development of new antibody therapies
for combating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, announces that the first of 11 HIV-1 patients receiving PRO 140 as a monotherapy in a Phase 2b extension study has reached two years
of complete virologic suppression. Four additional patients are expected to reach the two-year benchmark in the next three weeks and five more patients are expected to reach this benchmark in approximately two months.
PHCN – Victims of Canada’s Tainted Blood Scandal Win Court Battle
August 23, 2016 - The victims of Canada’s tainted blood scandal, those involved in the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement, have won their court case against the Attorney General of Canada.
The settlement claimants will now share the $207 million remaining compensation fund surplus.
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HIV/AIDS: Let’s beat the world to a cure
August 23, 2016 - An interview in this week’s Sunday Observer with Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, one of two scientists who discovered the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has given us further occasion to reflect on how Jamaica is dealing with this disease.
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'Art AIDS America' Keeps the Door Open on a Difficult, Inspired Chapter of Art History
AUGUST 23, 2016 - In "Art AIDS America," a traveling exhibition originally co-curated by Rock Hushka and Jonathan David Katz for the Tacoma Art Museum and currently at the Bronx Museum,
we are reminded of not only the silence of the Reagans, but the bigotry of others in elected office as well as many members of the clergy — and the deaths that came as a direct result of both. The exhibit description, printed high on a white wall in the lobby, specifies its intentions:
"For too long, we have considered art about AIDS as a tragic, closed chapter in the history of American art."
The message: The worst of the disease may have passed for most, but the story hasn't ended, and it's vital we continue to engage — honestly, thoughtfully.
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Livelihoods ‘key’ in HIV fight
23 August 2016 - The research branch of the NGO Khana has argued in a new peer-reviewed study that livelihood programs for people living with HIV – which address recipients’ economic rather than medical
needs – could be the key to significant improvements in quality of life for the estimated 74,000 Cambodians living with the disease.
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Nutrition may be as big a challenge today as HIV/Aids was 15 years ago
23 AUGUST 2016 - Many people in a large number of low and middle income countries now experience a 'double burden' of malnutrition.
Adequate nutrition is still a massive global problem despite research showing that it contributes significantly to both the economic and health benefits of a country. In Africa an estimated 220 million people are undernourished. As researchers, policy makers
and activists from public health, nutrition, food systems and dietetics head to South Africa to attend the second World Nutrition Congress, Professor David Sanders explains why the poor state of nutrition should be viewed with the same urgency as HIV/Aids was 15 years ago.
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Smartphone app may help improve antiretroviral therapy adherence among people living with HIV
August 23, 2016 - Would people living with HIV be willing to self-report on daily substance use and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence using a smartphone app?
That was a question researchers from the University at Buffalo set out to answer in a recent study. They were pleased to find that participants not only found the app easy and convenient to use—they were also willing to provide honest responses.
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HIV Australia: Brisbane witnesses 30% drop in HIV infections in 5 years; HIV drug Truvada still not on PBS
AUGUST 23, 2016 - The HIV drug that has led to a significant drop in the number of HIV cases in Australia’s Brisbane will not be included on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Queensland advocates believe that this omission is a big mistake. As per reports,
Brisbane HIV infections have fallen 30 percent in five years and this achievement is significant.
The HIV drug Truvada is used in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatments. It’s a preventive medicine and taken once per day. The medicine has proven to be highly effective in preventing new HIV transmissions.
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Did We Just Witness The Death of Colorado's Annual AIDS Walk?
August 22, 2016 - A decrease in donations over the last decade may spell the end for the state's three-decade old HIV fundraiser.
According to local organizers, the state of Colorado has seen a significant decrease of donations to HIV causes in the last decade. If it doesn’t turn around quickly, the chances of seeing another AIDS Walk in Colorado is slim.
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CT Shows Link Between Inflammatory Biomarkers, Heart Disease in HIV
August 22, 2016 - Noncontrast CT scans show a link between higher inflammatory biomarkers and increased prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in men infected with HIV, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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HIV Not Involved in Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Development
Lauren Santye, Assistant Editor
August 22, 2016 - Although the HIV pandemic heightens tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks, it does not drive the development and transmission of multidrug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), as was previously thought.
In a study published in eLife, researchers sought to investigate the impact of HIV co-infection on Mtb drug resistance.
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In South Africa, a welcoming home for HIV-positive mothers and their kids
August 22, 2016 - Nkosi’s Haven is one of South Africa’s best-known centers for mothers living with HIV and for orphans. And even though fear of and discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS have decreased over the years, there is still a need for such a refuge.
This report follows our coverage last month on the quest for an HIV vaccine in South Africa. We traveled to the global epicenter of HIV/AIDS to report on the critical partnership between residents of the country’s poorest townships and a Seattle-led collaboration of scientists.
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Advocates call for changes to Canada's HIV/AIDS disclosure law, call it 'unfair'
August 22, 2016 - TORONTO - The recent arrests of two men accused of failing to disclose their HIV status to their sexual partners have renewed calls for changes to the current legislation that advocates say contributes to the fear and stigma surrounding the disease.
Canadians with HIV are legally required to disclose their status to their partner before engaging in sexual activity. Those who fail to do so can be charged with aggravated sexual assault, whether the virus is transmitted or not.
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'That's criminal to me': How Canada is failing to end HIV/AIDS at home
AUG 22, 2016 - Stigma remains a major problem that discourages people from getting tested
Two studies released last month show the tools exist to potentially end the more than three-decades-old scourge of HIV/AIDS, but activists and front-line public health workers in Canada say we simply aren't using them effectively.
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'HIV-1 versus HIV-2: What’s the Difference?
August 22, 2016 - The human immunodeficiency virus is classified into two main types: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 was discovered first and is more prevalent worldwide, while HIV-2 is less pathogenic and is mostly confined to West Africa. So when we generally say HIV, we are referring to HIV-1.
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The District’s HIV clinic was failing. This ‘old, straight white guy’ managed to save it.
August 21, 2016 - A decade ago, the clinic and the community that held it afloat through the AIDS crisis made a difficult choice of their own. The clinic was so deep in the red, it could no longer pay its workers. To save itself, it reached outside its network of advocates and activists for someone who could untangle its finances and then some. It hired Blanchon.
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Signal Boosting: The Power of Radio for Latinx HIV/AIDS Outreach
August 21, 2016 - In recent years, social media campaigns have become the predominant way to raise awareness and spark change. Twitter, Facebook, Kickstarter and the like are now the vehicles of choice, and hashtags have replaced flyers. But one radio station in central Pennsylvania is using its traditional media platform to spread information about HIV/AIDS prevention, education and services to its Latinx community.
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Genetically Diverse Viral Antigens Needed to Win the Fight Against Viral Pathogens
AUG 21, 2016 - Regarding the broader implications of the study’s results, Dr. Nourmohammad told Contagion, "Our model is not a prescription for a HIV vaccine, but provides a theoretical guidance for how a 'generalist' broadly neutralizing
antibody may dominate the immune response by outcompeting the 'specialist' neutralizing antibodies. While our analysis focused on HIV-immune co-evolution, our theoretical framework is general enough to apply to other out-of-equilibrium co-evolutionary scenarios, such as bacteria-phage interactions,
or co-evolution of influenza virus in the context of the evolving global immune system."
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33 years after discovering HIV
August 21, 2016 - The co-discoverer of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Barre-Sinoussi, while speaking to the Jamaica Observer at the recently
held International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, marvelled at the progress scientists have made in the fight against HIV/AIDS since she and her colleague Luc Montaigner discovered the virus.
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35-year history of AIDS told through works of art
08-21-2016 - How do you represent the worst disease of our time through art? That's the central question in a 'first-of-its-kind exhibition' in New York looking at the AIDS epidemic. Expressing rage and anguish, but also hope,
the exhibition aims to raise awareness of a disease that's greatly changed but still very prevalent in today's society.
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29th annual AIDS Walk Colorado may be Denver’s last
AUGUST 20, 2016 - Walk and run event may be replaced by smaller memorial event next year, organizer says
The streets of Cheesman Park swelled Saturday morning for what may be the last annual AIDS Walk Colorado.
Fundraising concerns have weighed heavy on organizers’ minds since the 2015 5K walk and run, but crowds came out in numbers similar to recent years.
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This man is abstaining from sex for a year so he can donate blood
AUGUST 20, 2016 - Jay Franzone is on a mission to bring attention to the country’s ban on blood donated from men who have sex with men.
As part of that mission, he is remaining celibate for a year in order to meet the requirement set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which prohibits men from donating blood if they have had sex with another man in the past year.
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Institute for Human Virology wins grant to help with HIV vaccine development
AUGUST 20, 2016 - The Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has received a $14.4 million federal grant to tackle a hurdle in the development of an HIV vaccine.
Scientists are unable to produce long-lasting antibodies that protect against HIV infection, said Dr. Robert C. Gallo, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor of Medicine and director of the institute.
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HIV/Aids patients still face rejection and discrimination in China’s leading hospitals
20 August, 2016 - Despite decade-old anti-discrimination rules, patients say doctors still fear treating them
The mainland’s decade-old Aids Prevention and Treatment Regulations are meant to stop hospitals turning away HIV-positive patients but activists say patients continue to face repeated rejection at medical facilities across the country.
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Anti-HIV drug Truvada will not be listed on PBS as preventative medication
2016-08-19 - Public health advocacy groups say they are dismayed a drug that can reduce the spread of HIV will not gain a federal subsidy as a preventative measure.
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HIV/AIDS Awareness Takes Second Place to 'Stability Maintenance' in Xinjiang
2016-08-19 - Authorities in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region are allowing HIV infection rates to spiral out of control by favoring “stability maintenance” education over efforts to promote a better understanding of the disease and its causes, sources say.
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Research-based online tool empowers Peace Corps work in Africa
19-Aug-2016 - LAWRENCE - Now, under the new agreement with the Peace Corps, the KU Work Group team will tailor resources from the Community Tool Box to fit the needs of volunteers working in Africa to combat HIV/AIDS and advance overall public health. The Peace Corps Community Tool Box also will include resources developed by the Peace Corps itself.
HIV/AIDS in 2016 and Beyond
August 19, 2016 - Overshadowed by the Zika epidemic, concerns about terrorism and security, and the US presidential election, the global HIV/AIDS pandemic persists, with 2.1 million new HIV infections and 1.1 million deaths worldwide in 2015. The 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, in July highlighted the remarkable progress since 2000, when the conference was last held in Durban and very few people in Africa received antiretroviral therapy.
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Uncovering the female body’s secret protection against HIV
8/19/2016 - CAPE TOWN, South Africa - From where Linda-Gail Bekker sits as director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre in Cape Town, science has been losing ground against HIV for years, especially when it comes to young women. After all, in some parts of the country, girls who are 15 today have an 80 percent chance of acquiring HIV in their lifetimes.
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HIV Update: Consistent Intake of Antiretroviral Drugs Could Prevent HIV Transmission
8/19/2016 - New York City Department of Health, led by assistant commissioner of the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Dr Demetre Daskalakis has signed a groundbreaking consensus declaring that the risk of HIV transmission could be removed by faithfully following antiretroviral treatments.
Dr. Daskalakis is the first major public health official in the United States signing the consensus, which were also signed by his counterparts in Denmark, Australia and Switzerland.
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Ryland Roane, 58, AIDS educator and HIV hotline supervisor dies
8/19/2016 - Ryland Restee Roane Jr. was a pioneer in HIV/AIDS education in Central Virginia.
After being diagnosed with HIV in 1987, the Richmond native devoted his life to providing information and assisting others through his work for the Richmond and state health departments. came just a little bit too late. It’s often a way of trying to relive as an adult the time of one’s childhood.”
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Mike Pence Put Ideology Before Science—And The People Of Indiana Suffered
8/19/2016 - But less than two hours away, the worst HIV outbreak in Indiana’s history was raging through Scott County. The outbreak surfaced in Austin, a rural town with a population just above 4,000. By March 2015, there were more than 80 confirmed cases of HIV in the county, nearly all of which were linked to shared needle
use of prescription drugs. The soaring HIV rates drew widespread media attention, and reporters descended upon the quiet community to cover the fallout.
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Review: Darren Greer’s Advocate and Elaine McCluskey’s The Most Heartless Town in Canada explore rural Nova
Aug. 19, 2016 - In an interview regarding his novel Hate: A Romance, about how “the Left became the Right” in France during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 90s, French novelist Tristan Garcia once told me:
“The novel is the art of the one who came just a little bit too late. It’s often a way of trying to relive as an adult the time of one’s childhood.”
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Walgreens would like to pay you to participate in their online commercial
August 19th, 2016 - Casting is currently being held for people living with HIV/AIDS.
Walgreens is casting for people to star in their new online campaign to bring awareness to individuals living with HIV/AIDS who also get their medications at the national drug store "Community, a Walgreens Pharmacy.”
The company believes that everyone with HIV has a story that might make a difference in other people’s lives.
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Diagnosed in 1981, Bob Katz Rides Every Year for Those Who Can't
August 19, 2016 - Bob Katz turned 65 years old this year. He's a long-term survivor, having been infected with HIV at the very end of 1980. Katz is one of the lucky ones, having stayed mostly healthy since his diagnosis. "I had little symptoms
and have been on medication since 1991," he said. Katz also just went on Medicare and said that, back in the '80s and '90s, he didn't know if he would be on disability all his life or actually retire, which he just did.
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NPPA cuts prices of malaria, HIV, cancer drugs by up to 45%
August 19, 2016 - Prices of 22 essential drugs used for treatment of cancer, HIV, bacterial infections and malaria among others, have been capped by the government, reducing the cost in the range of 10-45 per cent.
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Butterfly Project gets youth talking about HIV/AIDS
August 19, 2016 - Youth get engaged and creative around serious issues with Butterfly Project at the Denis Hurley Centre.
Lindsey’s We Come to Our Senses is a lauded short-story collection that details the return to civilian life for American soldiers of every race, gender, and sexual orientation—the difficulties they all share in returning from a life of war.
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Southern Author Includes LGBT, HIV-Positive Veterans Among Short Stories
2016-08-19 - Lindsey’s We Come to Our Senses is a lauded short-story collection that details the return to civilian life for American soldiers of every race, gender, and sexual orientation—the difficulties they all share in returning from a life of war.
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CALL FOR POSTERS -
Coming of Age: Exploring our Collective Response to HIV and Aging
August 2016 - Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation Annual Forum and AGM
The Canadian Working Group on HIV and Aging is seeking poster abstracts for its upcoming forum on Saturday September 24 th at the Courtyard Marriott Toronto. The topic of this year's forum is Coming of Age: Exploring our Collective Response to HIV and Aging . If you are a researcher, student, clinician, or frontline worker engaged in a project related to HIV and aging, consider sharing your work as part of this high-profile event!
Abstracts which address any aspect of HIV and aging – prevention, care, treatment, support, social determinants of health – are welcome. Submissions need not be limited to formal research. Authors are invited to describe and analyze policy responses, existing programs and services, in-progress research and significant partnerships and/or collaborations that contribute to the overall health of people aging with HIV.
 
9th Annual Celebrity Dim Sum
August 2016 - September 25, 2016 at 10am - 1pm
Get Your tickets Today!
Celebrity Dim Sum is the signature fundraising event for AIDS Vancouver, attracting supporters and donors as well as a variety of Vancouver and international celebrities. You will have an unforgettable day, filled with joy and pride!
This fantastic event is emceed every year by CBC Radio's and The Vancouver Courier's own Fred Lee and Global BC Morning News Co-Anchor Sophie Lui.
This event proves to be a delectable Dim Sum (ten course) brunch to remember, with all proceeds going towards AIDS Vancouver's programs and services.
US-funded grant to support Vietnam’s HIV/AIDS response
August 18, 2016 - PANO -The US Agency for International Development (USAID) recently handed over a five-year grant to the Center for Promotion of Quality of Life (LIFE), a Vietnamese organization, to promote community-based approachesto HIV prevention, care and treatment.
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HIV prevention drugs could halve new cases
18/08/16 - [DURBAN] - People at high risk of contracting a HIV infection could be protected by taking anti-retroviral medicines (ARV) regularly, a conference in Durban, South Africa, has heard.
The studies were presented at the 21st International AIDS Conference in South Africa last month (18-22 July).
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Peter Staley to Teach at Harvard About “the Impact and Joys of Activism”
August 18, 2016 - Harvard’s Institute of Politics selects the AIDS advocate as a resident fellow.
Prominent AIDS activist Peter Staley is one of six resident fellows selected to join Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government for the fall semester, according to an IOP announcement.
“Being welcomed by Harvard to teach about the impact and joys of activism is a true honor,” Staley said in the press release. “Today’s generation of college students realize there are multiple paths to making a difference in the world, and I can’t wait
to explore with them what I’ve witnessed and been inspired by through activism.”
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Poor kidney function associated with increased cardiovascular risk for people with HIV
18 August 2016 - Overgrowth of a certain species of vaginal bacteria was associated with a 13-fold higher likelihood of acquiring HIV, while another species was found to lower tenofovir levels and may contribute to
reduced efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivered in a vaginal gel, according to a set of presentations at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) last month in Durban, South Africa.
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OHTN Launches New Research Chairs Focused on HIV Health Services
18 August 2016 - Overgrowth of a certain species of vaginal bacteria was associated with a 13-fold higher likelihood of acquiring HIV, while another species was found to lower tenofovir levels and may contribute to
reduced efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivered in a vaginal gel, according to a set of presentations at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) last month in Durban, South Africa.
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Roadblocks to research: UNC bioethicist addresses lack of HIV studies in pregnant women
17-Aug-2016 - CHAPEL HILL, NC - With a $3 million NIH grant, Anne Lyerly, M.D., M.A., leads an interdisciplinary team of researchers to determine what barriers prevent investigators from studying the virus in pregnant women
UNC School of Medicine's Anne Lyerly is addressing the urgent need for effective HIV prevention and treatment for the estimated 1.5 million women worldwide with HIV who give birth each year.
VIDEO: Factors underlying HIV persistence impact search for cure
August 16, 2016 - There are several mechanisms that contribute to HIV persistence, all of which may influence the ability to develop a cure, according to Jonathan Z. Li, MD, MMSc, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and member of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
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It's time we get realistic about addressing HIV
August 16, 2016 - We are in crisis; if we do not mobilize resources for the HIV response right now, we will lose control of the HIV epidemic – these advocacy messages were loud and clear at the International AIDS Conference in Durban last month. But, what was less clear and less discussed at the conference was a realistic approach to how this can be done in the current global health and development climate.
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Music festival fun at first Scotiabank AIDS WALK to tHrIVe!
August 16, 2016 - BC's largest annual fundraiser for people living with HIV/AIDS has been re-imagined and revitalized. After 30 years and different incarnations, the Scotiabank AIDS WALK for LIFE has been rebranded as the Scotiabank AIDS WALK to tHrIVe.
Live music, a health and wellness fair, a licensed lounge area and food vendors are just some of the event's fresh features. With all the elements of a popular summer festival, expect an entertaining, up-beat day that does good in the local community.
Not your granny’s charity: Grandmas raise millions
Aug. 16, 2016 - The first grandmothers’ gathering was held in Toronto in 2006, with about 200 Canadian and 100 African gogos. This time around, in Durban, there were 300 African grannies and a couple of dozen Canadians.
The grannies have a powerful network: With 240 groups across Canada, they have raised about $25-million in the past decade.
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Columbia University School of Nursing awarded $7.9 million grant to develop mobile HIV intervention
(NEW YORK, NY, August 16, 2016) - Five-year multisite clinical trial will test intervention among diverse adolescent men
Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) comprise more than half the population living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. despite accounting for just 2 percent of the population. A research team led by Rebecca Schnall, PhD, assistant professor at Columbia University School of Nursing, was awarded a $7.9 million grant
from The National Institutes of Health to address this disparity by testing an HIV prevention mobile app specifically developed for high risk young men.
Vaginal bacteria increase HIV susceptibility and may reduce PrEP effectiveness
16 August 2016 - Overgrowth of a certain species of vaginal bacteria was associated with a 13-fold higher likelihood of acquiring HIV, while another species was found to lower tenofovir levels and may contribute to reduced efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivered in a vaginal gel,
according to a set of presentations at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) last month in Durban, South Africa.
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Einstein-Montefiore and CUNY research team receives $9.4 million to lead study of HIV/AIDS care in Central Africa
August 15, 2016 - (BRONX, NY) - Research collaboration seeks to improve clinical outcomes for patients with HIV
Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore , in collaboration with the City University of New York (CUNY), have received a $9.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lead research in Central Africa to improve clinical care
and health outcomes for patients with HIV. The ongoing, five-country observational study, called Central Africa International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS (CA-IeDEA), involves more than 50,000 HIV-positive children and adults taking anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
Most people taking second-line ART in sub-Saharan Africa achieve viral suppression but there's a need for third-line treatment options
12 August 2016 - Approximately 85% of people switched to protease inhibitor-based second-line antiretroviral (ART) in sub-Saharan Africa achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load with their new regimen, according to research in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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No new HIV infections seen in San Francisco's Strut PrEP programme
11 August 2016 - A community-based sexual health clinic in San Francisco has offered nurse-led pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services to more than 1200 clients and has seen no HIV infections to date, according to a presentation last month at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) in Durban, South Africa.
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Researchers find sex worker outreach linked with better health outcomes
10-Aug-2016 - Sex workers were more likely to regularly visit health clinics for testing and treatment of HIV, AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections after being approached by a peer outreach worker, according to research from the University of Houston.
Increased risk suicide death associated with hospitalization for infection
10-Aug-2016 - Being hospitalized with infection was associated with an increased risk of suicide death and the highest risk of suicide was among those individuals with hepatitis and HIV or AIDS, according to a study published online by JAMA Psychiatry .
NIH awards $9 million grant for HIV prevention in gay, bisexual adolescent men
PHILADELPHIA (August 9, 2016) - Penn Nursing, University of Michigan School of Nursing & Emory's School of Public Health unite for national study on HIV prevention intervention for adolescent men
A research team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), the University of Michigan School of Nursing and Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health has been awarded a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to adapt and test a HIV prevention
intervention for adolescent men who have sex with men. The intervention, referred to as iCON ("I Connect"), builds on an Herb Ritts Foundation initiative and seeks to address the growing disparity in new HIV cases among young men by offering life skills training and community-based HIV prevention resources through an online app.
People shifting from paediatric to adult HIV care have a high risk of ART failure
09 August 2016 - HIV-positive adolescents and young adults are especially likely to experience the virological failure of their antiretroviral treatment when they move from paediatric to adult HIV care, according to Dutch research published in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The risk of virological failure was increased over four-fold at the time of care transition, 18 to 19 years of age. Risk factors associated with viral breakthrough were low educational attainment, poor knowledge of HIV and lack of independence regarding HIV treatment adherence.
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What is AIDS Survivor Syndrome?
Aug. 8, 2016 - By Tez Anderson - And Why You Need to Know (Revised June 2020)
HIV cure researchers and advocates met at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center last week to explore whether immunotherapy — treatments that harness the immune system to fight cancer — could play a role in bringing about a cure or a long-term remission for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
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Package of prophylaxis against infections reduces the risk of death for people starting HIV treatment very late
08 August 2016 - A package of enhanced prophylaxis against infections significantly reduced the risk of death in adults and children with advanced HIV disease after starting antiretroviral treatment in a randomised study, Professor James Hakim of the University of Zimbabwe told the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) in Durban, South Africa, last month.
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Can immunotherapy cure HIV?
Aug. 8, 2016 - HIV cure researchers and advocates met at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center last week to explore whether immunotherapy — treatments that harness the immune system to fight cancer — could play a role in bringing about a cure or a long-term remission for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
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Dormant copies of HIV mostly defective, new study shows
August 8, 2016 - Specifically, the investigators showed that more than 90 percent of latent proviruses are genetic duds, so mutated—even in early stages of disease—that they no longer function. The findings, described August 8 in Nature Medicine online, suggest a pressing need for new ways to count only non-damaged proviruses,
because an accurate count is key to guiding and gauging the effectiveness of experimental therapies directed at the latent HIV reservoir.
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Africa’s highways of heartbreak, where a deadly disease is just one truck stop away
AUGUST 8, 2016 - Africa’s main roads are highways for HIV. There is still no cure which means, left untreated, those with the virus will inevitably go on to develop, and die, from AIDS.
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A Guide to Support Individuals Transitioning Back Into the Community from Jail
August 2016 - Highlighting the work of ActionAIDS (now known as Action Wellness), this guide offers considerations and step-by-step program procedures for organizations looking to develop a linkage-to-care program with individuals transitioning out of correctional facilities and back into local communities.
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Targeting the youth crucial in HIV/AIDS battle
August 8, 2016 - Minister of Health and Social Services Bernhard Haufiku says HIV services need to be taken to key population groups. He noted that young people in Namibia last year constituted 20 percent of new HIV infections and an outreach programme is needed for them if the county is to meet its target of ending AIDS.
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Facts deflate Zimbabwe's claim to have highest condom use in the world
08/07/16 - Zimbabwe had 157 million male and female condoms available in 2015 and a relatively high self-reported use of condoms among adults who have multiple sexual partnerships.
But is their condom use per capita the highest in the world?
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Rhetoric meets reality: ending HIV and AIDS
8 August 2016 - Ending AIDS by 2030 is redundant rhetoric. It is meaningless without investment in community participation. Code red for action.
Sixteen years have passed since the International AIDS conference was held at Durban – that watershed moment when an eleven year old activist, Nkosi Johnson, stood in the main auditorium and asked for acceptance for people
living with HIV. It was a time when the South African government’s AIDS denialism prevented the country from accessing antiretrovirals (ARVs). I was living in Zimbabwe where there was also no national roll out of ARV treatment – the state
newspaper encouraged eating garlic and beetroot. My ex-boyfriends died, my friends died, my students’ families died. The cemeteries marched across hills, dotted with plastic flowers.
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San Antonio AIDS Foundation celebrates 30 years in Alamo City
August 07, 2016 - Brunch held at Hyatt Hill Country Resort and Sp
The brunch featured presentations from community leaders who reflected on the foundation’s three decades of service to South Texas communities.
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How Mike Pence's slow walk on needle exchange helped propel Indiana's health crisis
08/07/16 - The GOP vice presidential nominee's response to Indiana’s opioid scourge offers a window into his approach to handling a crisis.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a pledge last month, along with most of the nation’s governors, to combat the opioid crisis, calling it “one of the deadliest drug epidemics in our nation’s history.” But when confronted with a spiraling HIV
outbreak in his home state as a result of opioid addicts sharing contaminated needles, Pence dragged his feet before agreeing to lift a ban on programs that distribute sterile needles.
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New York's 'queer health warrior': city official funds grassroots fight against HIV
7 August 2016 - Demetre Daskalakis, the assistant health commissioner helming the HIV/Aids bureau, reaches out to the LGBT community to go beyond ending the epidemic
The health department in New York City, once the center of the country’s HIV/Aids epidemic, has made a point of directing funds to small, on-the-ground initiatives like the program that emerged from Daskalakis’s nights providing care in sex clubs.
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Highest number of new HIV cases reported in June
August 07, 2016 - According to the monthly HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines (HARP), the Department of Health (DOH) said they already have 4,643 new HIV cases reported in the country from January to June 2016.
And based on the latest HARP report, the 841 new HIV cases is now the highest figure reported inside a month.
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Ending AIDS by 2030 a distant prospect, global HIV incidence, prevalence, treatment coverage and mortality figures suggest
07 August 2016 - Remarkable progress has been made towards curbing the global HIV epidemic, but there is little chance of achieving the UNAIDS goal of “ending AIDS” by 2030, according to data published in The Lancet. Investigators found that global HIV incidence peaked in 1997 and fell steadily until 2005.
However, for the past ten years there have been only modest annual falls in the rate of new infections. Of the 195 countries included in the study, 102 experienced an increase in the annual number of new HIV infections between 2005 and 2015.
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AIDS Garden of Reflection for National Arboretum close to reaching funding goal
August 7 2016 - More than three quarters of the funds necessary for Canberra's planned AIDS memorial have been raised, only three months after the garden's position in the National Arboretum was secured.
About $95,000 of the necessary $125,000 has been raised for the AIDS Garden of Reflection, which will be based at the arboretum as a permanent place of peace and remembrance for family members, friends and supporters of people affected by the syndrome.
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Ten things you may not know about HIV today
August 2016 - If you blinked, you may have missed some of the ways HIV has changed.
The science of HIV is constantly evolving, and what we knew (or thought we knew) just a few years ago is either incorrect, incomplete or in need of an upgrade. Every year we learn more about the virus, and research keeps giving us new tools to prevent, test and treat it.
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HIV diagnosis reaches 15-year-high in Wales
Aug 6, 2016 - Health experts want more to be done to curb the number of people contracting HIV after figures showed diagnosis in Wales reached a 15-year high.
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Scientists are One Step Closer to a Vaccine for Chlamydia
AUG 05, 2016 - In the past, efforts to develop a safe and effective vaccine for chlamydia proved fruitless.
However, the findings of a team of Canadian researchers may be the first step in the formulation of a viable prophylactic strategy for the troubling sexually transmitted infection (STI). Using mice models, scientists
from McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare have identified a possible role for a multi-component vaccine consisting of the N-terminal 100 amino acids of chlamydia trachomatis (CopB, CopD, and full length CT584), although many questions about how it works remain unanswered. Their findings were published on July 25th in the journal Vaccine.
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A Record 9 Million Condoms Are Being Distributed At The Rio Olympics
Aug 5, 2016 - Argentine Olympians will be able to go for the gold in more ways than one, as the Brazilian Ministry of Health has given out a whopping 9 million condoms for the Rio Olympics.Greg The practice of giving out condoms at the Olympics began at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, when a mere 8,500 condoms were given out to the 8,391 athletes participating. That number has steadily increased through the years.
450,000 of these will be sent to the Olympic Village, with an estimated 42 condoms available for each athlete during the 17 days of the events. To understand the bump in this colossal number, let’s look at some previous figures: In London, the number of condoms that were given out came to about 150,000 for 10,768 athletes. During Carnival this past year, 5 million condoms were given out. Now, although the number of athletes remains more or less the same, the number has tripled.
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Greg Louganis: Champion, survivor, activist, mentor
Aug 5, 2016 - Greg Louganis inspired the world first as a champion diver, and then as an activist for LGBT rights and HIV awareness.
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Major treatment expansion could essentially eliminate hepatitis C in R.I. by 2030
5-Aug-2016 - PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - A new Brown University study projects that increasing the number of Rhode Islanders treated every year for hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) to about 2,000 by 2020 would reduce cases by 90 percent and prevent more than 70 percent of expected liver-related deaths in the state by 2030.
Masks send message of acceptance of AIDS affected
Aug 5, 2016 - More than 100 outstanding masks designed and handmade by local secondary school students and the public will be on display at the "Say No to Discrimination! Masks Exhibition” from August 27 to 28 (Saturday and Sunday) at 5/F, Cityplaza I, Tai Koo Shing.
Organized by The Society for AIDS Care, the exhibition showcases the thoughts of younger generation towards the issue of discriminating people living with HIV/AIDS. Through these creative masks, it aims to eliminate stigma and discrimination and to promote the messages of accepting and supporting them.
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Man cured, then uncured, of HIV speaks on Fred Hutch panel
August 4 2016 - SEATTLE - Finding the cure for HIV has had its peaks and valleys, and Gary Steinkohl experienced both.
Beyond the hype and celebrities—Prince Harry, Elton John, Bill Gates and Charlize Theron among them—the 21st International AIDS Conference was recently held in Durban, South Africa, on July 18-22. AIDS 2016 was an
opportunity for healthcare professionals and AIDS activists to meet, strategize and reveal new treatments in the struggle against the most prominent global plague of our era. As one who has worked part time in medical ethics education for over 10 years, a number of findings struck me as significant.
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AIDS 2016 Reveals New Treatment in Fight Against Plague
Aug 4 2016 - Beyond the hype and celebrities—Prince Harry, Elton John, Bill Gates and Charlize Theron among them—the 21st International AIDS Conference was recently held in Durban, South Africa, on July 18-22. AIDS 2016 was an
opportunity for healthcare professionals and AIDS activists to meet, strategize and reveal new treatments in the struggle against the most prominent global plague of our era. As one who has worked part time in medical ethics education for over 10 years, a number of findings struck me as significant.
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Osteoporosis in HIV and Aging
August 4, 2016 - This case is part of a case-study series on common diseases in aging HIV-infected patients.
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Canadian HIV-HCV Co-infection Guidelines
August 2016 - The HIV and HCV epidemics represent important health and social crises in Canada. These two viruses are similar in a number of ways and infection with both is a serious problem. Health Canada suggests there are 250,000 HCV-infected Canadians and up to 30% of
those living with HIV are also co-infected with HCV. There has been rapid development of new HCV and HIV medications and evolution in the best way to use these treatments in HIV-HCV co-infection. As a result, uncertainty often guides treatment decisions.
To address this situation, CAHR has lent its support to an CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN) initiative led by Drs. Curtis Cooper (U Ottawa) and Mark Hull (BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS) to develop a new, updated Canadian consensus statement on HIV- HCV co-infection treatment.
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Why Owen Jones and others aren't helping when they call PrEP and HIV a 'gay lives matter' issue
August 4, 2016 - He might not mean to, but when Jones uses phrasing like that, he just perpetuates the idea that this is 'a drug for gays who won't use condoms'. Straight people with HIV actually far outnumber gay men with HIV in the UK
When Owen Jones wrote in the Guardian this week that the ruling of the High Court showed “gay lives matter”, he was wrong and misguided. He, like the Daily Mail when it writes of the gay men who will now be encouraged to have promiscuous sex without protection (as opposed to the “blameless sick” who
could have been spent on instead) – or Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff when it decided to run with the terse description of PrEP as a “drug for gays who won’t use condoms” – is missing the bigger picture. And by missing the bigger picture, he’s distorted the issue entirely.
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A Wearable HIV 'Trap' Is Helping Women In Africa Guard Against Infection
August 4, 2016 - A monthly vaginal ring developed by the nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) has been shown to protect significantly against HIV infection when used consistently, according to Phase III study results described in a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Similar in design
to NuvaRing and other hormone-dispensing products, the small, flexible ring can be worn inside the vagina to release steady doses of the HIV-fighting microbicide dapivirine and prevent infection with success rates of up to 70 percent.
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Yes, the fight for anti-HIV drugs is a fight against discrimination
August 4, 2016 - The struggle against HIV/AIDS has always been a fight against the discrimination faced by affected groups – sex workers, men who have sex with men, children. Gay and bisexual men not only face traditional discrimination but are particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS,
and any responsible public health approach demands that we prioritise their needs as a means of addressing this structural inequality.
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Scotiabank AIDS WALK to THRIVE PSA
Published on Aug 3, 2016 - Join us for the Inaugural AIDS WALK to THRIVE
Big step towards cure for lifelong viral infections
3-Aug-2016 - An international team of scientists, led by Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute researcher Dr Di Yu, and Dr Axel Kallies from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute,
have discovered that killer T cells, a specialised type of white blood cells, can find these "hidden" infected cells in tissue and destroy them. This discovery, published today in Nature Immunology, could provide new insights into finding a lifelong cure for chronic infections such as HIV.
GMHC Responds to Secretary Clinton
August 3, 2016 - New York, New York - GMHC released the following statement after joining other HIV and AIDS activists and meeting with Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to
have an in-depth policy conversation around the epidemic - in America and abroad.
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HIV/AIDS: Filarial worm infections double the risk of infection
3-Aug-2016 - Scientists from the German Center for Infection Research have discovered that an infection with the filarial nematode Wuchereria bancrofti increases the risk of HIV infection by two to three fold
Since the start of the HIV epidemic, there have been speculations as to why HIV and the immunodeficiency syndrome it causes have spread so much more in Africa than in other countries around the world. Scientists from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have now, for the first time, confirmed one
reason for this: in a cohort study conducted in Tanzania, they discovered that an infection with the filarial nematode Wuchereria bancrofti increases the risk of HIV infection by two to three fold. The study has recently been published in the Lancet.
Here’s What Was Missing From Hillary’s HIV Plan
August 3, 2016 - Hillary Clinton has an updated plan to end the AIDS epidemic both nationally and internationally.
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Can WHO’s new ‘test and treat’ HIV policy reach those who need it most?
August 3, 2016 - There are currently 20 million people in the world with HIV who do not receive treatment – many don’t even realise they are infected. So what can be done to increase access to antiretroviral drugs?
With the development of effective antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in the 90s, an HIV diagnosis does not have to be a death sentence anymore. Correctly medicated, people living with HIV can now live into their old age thanks to the drugs that stop the virus
destroying the immune system. However, getting lifesaving treatment to those who need it remains a global challenge. In 2015, more than a million people died from Aids-related illnesses. While this is a 45% drop since the peak in 2005, it leaves a lot of room for improvement
in global Aids programmes.
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When AIDS Activists Hijacked the Olympic Rings
August 2, 2016 - Before there was social media, there was a group of clever activists who came up with a way to promote HIV education in the middle of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. It was risky, and fabulous.
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Can Timothy Ray Brown’s HIV cure be repeated?
Aug. 2, 2016 - 'Patient B' joined a Boston research study to find out: Gary Steinkohl’s story — and legacy
Steinkohl, along with Dr. Timothy Henrich, who led the Boston study, will appear at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Pelton Auditorium Wednesday to talk about what it was like to be “Patient B,” one of two so-called “Boston patients” who stopped taking antiretroviral medication
after transplants and what he — and science — learned from the experience. The 7 p.m. event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the defeatHIV Community Advisory Board on the eve of the third annual Conference on Cell and Gene Therapy for HIV Cure Thursday and Friday at Fred Hutch.
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High Court rules NHS England is responsible for funding PrEP
02 August 2016 - A judicial review in the High Court has ruled that NHS England is responsible for funding pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and decisively rebutted all the arguments used by NHS England to avoid paying for the use of PrEP.
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HIV AIDS still leading cause of death in Nam
August 3, 2016 - AIDS remains the leading cause of death among adults in Namibia and the sixth leading cause of death among children under the age of five.
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Roy Stevens, developer of HIV testing methods, dies
August 2, 2016 - State researcher at Wadsworth lab from Guilderland dies, 81
He was remembered by colleagues as an outstanding virologist and immunologist whose efforts helped New York respond to the 1980s epidemic of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
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HRC Welcomes Hillary Clinton’s Historic Commitment to End the HIV and AIDS Epidemic
August 2, 2016 - HRC welcomed Secretary Hillary Clinton’s announcement today detailing the plan she would embark on as president to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the U. S. and around the world.
Her blueprint includes enhancing the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, convening working groups to develop aggressive actions to combat the spread of HIV, and launching a campaign to combat stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.
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Antivirals Among Medicaid’s Most Costly Drugs
August 2, 2016 - The top five most costly drugs to Medicaid currently include three specialty medications, all antivirals and all manufactured by Gilead: the hepatitis C drugs sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) and ledipasvir-sofosbuvir (Harvoni), and
the HIV combination therapy tenofovir disoproxil-emtricitabine (Truvada), according to a new issue brief released by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Hillary Pledges 'An AIDS-Free Generation' With Plans to Back HIV-Preventative Drugs
August 2, 2016 - The Hillary Clinton campaign launched a comprehensive plan to tackle HIV/AIDS on its website today, laying the groundwork for extensive backing of Truvada in all its forms, as well as other strategies to help create the first AIDS-free generation since the epidemic began over 30 years ago.
Specifically, Clinton is pledging to tackle transmissions among at-risk minority groups, with special attention paid to gay black men, transgender individuals, black women, and injection drug users.
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Early ART reduces risk for HIV-1 transmission among serodiscordant couples
August 2, 2016 - Early ART initiation was associated with a 93% lower risk for HIV-1 transmission among serodiscordant couples from nine different countries, according to data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 trial.
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HIV campaigners win NHS drug battle
August 2, 2016 - The High Court has told the NHS in England it can fund a drug that can prevent HIV - after health bosses argued it was not their responsibility.
NHS England previously said councils should provide the pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) drug as they are in charge of preventative health.
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Critics cry foul after more than $1 billion in AIDS drug funding goes toward abstinence programs
Aug 1, 2016 - A program designed to provide life-saving AIDS drugs to Africa also spends millions on controversial abstinence programs.
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New anti-HIV medication provides protection for women and infants
1-Aug-2016 - Chapel Hill, NC - Drug prevents vaginal and oral transmission of HIV in pre-clinical models
HIV remains a major health concern for women and children globally. Worldwide, the majority of new HIV infections occur in
young women. Each year, 1.5 million women living with HIV become pregnant. Without effective treatment, up to 45 percent of HIV-infected mothers
will transmit the virus to their child, usually through breastfeeding. In an effort to prevent HIV transmission to women and their children,
researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill demonstrated the effectiveness of a new anti-HIV medication,
4'-Ethynyl-2-fluoro-2'deoxyadenosine or EFdA, in pre-clinical animal models. They found that EFdA can prevent vaginal
and oral transmission of HIV. These results were published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy on Monday, August 1.
HIV & AIDS: Let’s keep talking
Published on Aug 1, 2016 - GLAAD has released the latest in its series of public service announcements (PSA) in partnership with The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF), set to
begin airing this month in 72 cable markets across the nation through a generous contribution of airtime by Comcast NBCUniversal. The all-star PSA, produced by award-winning Martian Entertainment and was created to inspire,
inform, and reignite the passion needed to beat the HIV and AIDS epidemic once and for all. "GLAAD was founded in order to combat the sensationalized media coverage surrounding the HIV and AIDS crisis in the 80s, and we
have been committed to this cause ever since," said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO.
New study finds CD4 T-Cell and Blimp-1 protein critical to toxoplasmosis regulation
WASHINGTON (Aug. 1, 2016) - GW researchers publish new study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine finding a way to regulate chronic toxoplasmosis, one of the most common parasitic diseases worldwide
New research critical to treatment for chronic toxoplasmosis, one of the most common parasitic diseases worldwide, was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Researchers from the
George Washington University (GW) uncovered a connection between CD8 T-cell exhaustion and CD4 T-cell exhaustion, not found before.
They also discovered that CD4 T-cells can be regulated by Blimp-1 protein expression. Through regulating CD4 T-cells, CD8 T-cells can be regulated, which could lead to new therapeutic possibilities.
All-star HIV and AIDS awareness PSA set to begin airing across the nation this month
August 1, 2016 - Today, GLAAD is releasing the latest in its series of public service announcements (PSA) in partnership with The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF), set to begin airing this month
in seventy-two cable markets across the nation through a generous contribution of airtime by Comcast NBCUniversal. The all-star PSA, produced by award-winning Martian Entertainment, was created to inspire, inform, and reignite the passion needed to beat the HIV and AIDS epidemic once and for all.
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Why Obama's ambition of an Aids-free generation is a pipe dream – podcast
1 August 2016 - Sarah Boseley is joined by experts and campaigners including Charlize Theron as she looks at progress on treating and preventing Aids and ponders the road ahead
The global community is committed to ending Aids by 2030, and at the recent White House summit on global development, President Barack Obama said the vision of an Aids-free generation was within reach.
But not many of the experts, scientists and campaigners present at the 2016 international Aids conference in Durban were talking in such terms.
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Should you demand STD tests before marriage?
August 01, 2016 - GETTING married is an exciting time for most people. You’ve found the love of your life and you’re about to commit to a lifetime with the individual.
But in the midst of all the planning and preparation for the big day, many couples will go through counselling without knowing the health status of their partners, and may become disappointed and frustrated with marriage because of medical conditions
that could have been identified and tackled before this lifelong commitment.
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Searching for the next ‘Berlin patient’: doctors document bone-marrow recipients with HIV
01 August 2016 - The ‘Berlin patient’, Timothy Ray Brown, has now survived seven years off antiretroviral therapy with no sign of HIV reappearing in his body, and as time passes his position as ‘the person cured of HIV’ becomes more secure.
The 2016 Towards a Cure Symposium held in advance of the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), however, heard about the work of a consortium of physicians and researchers who are searching for, and documenting, the fates of patients with HIV who, like Timothy Brown, have been given stem-cell transplants,
in an effort to abolish Brown’s distinction as the only person to be cured of HIV.
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Study finds ‘alarming’ HIV rate among transgender women in Cambodia
1 August 2016 - A new survey has revealed that the HIV prevalence rate among transgender women in Cambodia stands at a 5.9 per cent – a rate NGO leaders working on the issue called “alarming”.
The findings of the first-of-its-kind comprehensive survey were released on Friday by the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD Control (NCHADS) and the health NGO KHANA.
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Rural counties across the US becoming a powder keg for HIV outbreak
1 August 2016 - The CDC has determined a county’s vulnerability with a recipe that includes high rates of fatal overdoses, prescription opioid sales and searing poverty
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between social support and fatigue on people living with HIV/AIDS stage 3 and 4, Harare Central Hospital in Harare. The study sought to answer whether social support mitigates fatigue in people living with HIV.
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