Science Looks Back at AIDS 2012 Conference

Science looks back at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012), which ended last week in Washington, D.C., writing, "The battle against HIV is having more success than ever. ... But several presentations made clear that a gulf separates aspirations from reality when it comes to 'ending AIDS,' which [Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton and many other prominent speakers at the conference emphasized was now possible." Though more people are on antiretrovirals (ARVs) now than ever, low- and middle-income countries are spending more on HIV/AIDS, and "attempts to find a cure -- long viewed as a fantasy -- now lead the scientific agenda," most "of the 34 million HIV-infected people in the world do not take ARVs, many receiving treatment have trouble staying on the medication, ... new infection rates continue to climb in key populations," "[n]o AIDS vaccine is on the horizon," and "funding shortfalls loom for global programs," Science writes, quoting several speakers at the conference and providing more detail on the successes and challenges in the response against HIV/AIDS (Cohen, 8/3).