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Scientists see new hope in fight against HIV and TB
Special issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases examines new scientific advances to curb HIV, TB epidemics; call for new policy advances to create breakthroughs
WASHINGTON, DC (20 May 2010) - As US policymakers consider scaling back on its historic initiative to fight AIDS around the world and downsizing goals
to combat tuberculosis, next-generation treatment and prevention strategies to significantly reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are now imminent. New science
can dramatically change the trajectory of both deadly epidemics, according to a special new issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Breakthroughs on the horizon, say the authors, include novel TB drugs in the pipeline that offer the hope of a safer, faster cure for both standard TB and drug-resistant
TB; TB diagnostic tests that shrink the time it takes to diagnose drug-resistant TB from six weeks to 90 minutes; and bold HIV prevention approaches that include using antiretroviral
agents as prophylactics to prevent against HIV infection, a method known as PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis.
At a Washington briefing today, the journal articles' authors and scientific leaders said that policymakers now need to find ways to capitalize on these promising
advances, and not retreat from an effort that already has saved countless lives. The briefing featured Anthony S. Fauci, director of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, and other leading physician-scientists from across the United States.
"Bold new policy, research, and programmatic approaches are needed to empower the scientific community to take on these twin diseases," said Wafaa
El-Sadr, MD, MPH, director of the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs and professor of medicine and epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of
Public Health. "These global health challenges are surmountable. With the right combination of financial resources, scientific innovation, and political will, the United
States can lead the effort to save millions of lives from HIV and TB."
Publication of the journal comes as U.S. policymakers prepare to make key decisions in the next few weeks about global health spending amid an unfolding crisis in inadequate HIV
treatment access in Africa, as well as the emerging threat of multidrug-resistant TB.
U.S. government officials are seeking to curb costs for treating AIDS patients overseas and have asked some AIDS treatment centers in recent months to stop enrolling new patients,
depriving them of life-saving medicines. Expressions of grave concern can be heard around the world that the United States is backing down from one of its most successful foreign
policy programs in decades. The HIV and TB epidemics-the world's two leading infectious disease killers-claim nearly 10,000 lives every day. The HIV and TB experts who authored
articles in the journal said the United States must redouble efforts to combat HIV and TB. Several said that funding for TB, in particular, was woefully inadequate.
"With new TB diagnostics and better drugs in the pipeline, we have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of tuberculosis," said William J. Burman, MD, a leading TB expert
and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado. "When it comes to the TB epidemic, and particularly the threat of drug-resistant TB, this is a time of great need-and also a
time of great opportunity." Tuberculosis is the number one killer of HIV-infected people. Preventing death from TB in HIV-infected patients is another clear priority and possible
with major scale-up of interventions known to be effective, according to Burman.
Similarly, nearly three decades after HIV was first recognized, AIDS remains an incurable, devastating disease, domestically and globally. But physician-scientists are
forging new prevention paths, from pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to the "test and treat" approach, which could make significant inroads in the epidemic, according to the authors.
"Novel scientific methods of fighting HIV are on the horizon, but this science must be funded if we want to turn the tide of the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Kenneth
Mayer, MD, FIDSA, co-chair of the Center for Global Health Policy's Scientific Advisory Committee and professor at Brown University, where he directs the AIDS program.
In this special issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, entitled "Synergistic Pandemics: Confronting the Global HIV and Tuberculosis Epidemics," leading physician-scientists
explore many facets of these dual epidemics. Highlights of the supplement include:
Dr. Lynne M. Mofenson, chief of NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Pediatric, Adolescent & Maternal AIDS Branch, examines the obstacles
and opportunities to achieving dramatic reductions in the number of infants and children who become infected with HIV-currently 1,000 every day.
The CDC's lead expert on drug-resistant TB, Dr. J. Peter Cegielski, details how complacency and neglect of TB led to the lethal emergence of drug-resistant TB, raising the risk of repeating
history with multidrug-resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB. Dr. William J. Burman and other leading TB experts describe exciting innovations in TB diagnostics, drugs, and a
vaccine, forging a new path for treatment and control of this disease.
In the face of lagging HIV prevention efforts and disappointments in the search for an HIV/AIDS vaccine, urgent new prevention strategies are needed. Harvard University's Dr. Victor DeGruttola
and co-authors examine the challenges of evaluating "test-and-treat strategies," and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, also of Harvard, describes the promise of scaling up voluntary HIV counseling and
testing in resource-poor countries.
Dr. Myron Cohen, MD, FIDSA, of the University of North Carolina, and other leading HIV experts take a hard look at the potential of antiretroviral therapy (ART) as prevention, discussing
concerns about adherence, drug-resistance, and the impact on sexual behavior in the search for a "magic bullet" of HIV prevention.
Dr. Gerald Friedland, of Yale University, and co-authors detail the longstanding "collective neglect" of TB prevention, including inadequate or nonexistent infection control measures
that put patients and health care workers at risk of TB infection, including MDR and XDR-TB. Mounting evidence indicates that a major portion of drug resistant TB is the result of
transmission in health care and other congregate settings, with resultant morbidity, mortality and ongoing transmission. These could be averted, even in resource limited
settings, by relatively minor improvements in facilities and the widespread provision of information, motivation and training in the use of low cost and
readily-available air borne infection control strategies, Dr. Friedland writes.
Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, of Columbia University, and her co-author outline simple, yet significant, mechanisms that will allow for better integration and treatment of TB and HIV in the developing
world, thus making a difference in the outcomes of patients with both conditions. "Lessons learned" from their first-hand experience in sub-Saharan Africa can inform the science and
implementation of scale-up of these efforts.
"Workers in the HIV and TB field are at the vanguard of health systems strengthening, which will be essential to achieve universal access and primary health care for
all persons," said Mark Harrington, executive director of the Treatment Action Group.
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About Clinical Infectious Diseases:
Clinical Infectious Diseases, one of the most heavily cited journals in the fields of infectious diseases and microbiology, publishes articles on diverse topics in infectious diseases,
with a focus on clinical practice. Every issue includes special sections focusing on key topics such as HIV/AIDS, antimicrobial resistance, aging and infectious diseases, and
biological weapons. Many articles are published with commentaries by prominent researchers, and current trends and best practices are regularly covered in review articles
and practice guidelines. Published under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), CID publishes numerous supplements devoted to single
topics in the field. This supplement was sponsored by the Center for Global Health Policy. For more information, visit: www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/cid/current
About the Center for Global Health Policy:
The Center for Global Health Policy is an organization of physicians and scientists dedicated to promoting the effective use of U.S. funding for addressing the global HIV/AIDS
and TB epidemics by providing scientific and policy information to policymakers, federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the media. The Center is a project of
the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA). For more information, visit: www.idsaglobalhealth.org
IDSA is a professional society representing more than 9,000 infectious diseases physicians and scientists devoted to patient care, education, research, prevention, and public health.
HIVMA is the professional home for more than 3,600 physicians, scientists and other health care professionals dedicated to the field of HIV/AIDS. Nested within IDSA, HIVMA promotes quality in
HIV care and advocates policies that ensure a comprehensive and humane response to the AIDS pandemic informed by science and social justice. All three organizations are based in Arlington, Va.
For more information, visit: www.idsociety.org
CONTACT:
Contact: Preeti Singh
psingh@burnesscommunications.com
301-280-5722
Burness Communications
Source: EurekAlert!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-05/bc-ssn051910.php
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