Key AIDS Conference Slated for Miami

The National HIV/AIDS Update Conference debuts in Miami this week. Normally held in San Francisco, the conference began on March 30 and continues through Wednesday at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Miami, with more than 1,500 people expected to attend.

The conference is sponsored each year by the American Foundation for AIDS Research, the group co-founded in 1985 by actress Elizabeth Taylor after longtime friend Rock Hudson died of AIDS. Since its inception, amfAR has raised $207 million to underwrite research, education and prevention projects.

Miami-Dade County ranks second and Broward County fifth nationally in HIV infection rates among major U.S. metropolitan areas, according to CDC. "Bringing that venue to Miami to help our community be on the cutting edge of the knowledge about AIDS is wonderful," said Ana Garcia, a pediatric coordinator for the pediatric infectious disease and immunology department at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "For a conference of this size to be in a city like Miami with such a high incidence of AIDS is important," Garcia said.

The four-day conference will include roundtable discussions and seminars on emerging drugs, HIV prevention in black women, seniors with HIV, up-to-date treatment and research, hepatitis C, AIDS policy, and prenatal testing in mothers with HIV. The conference will feature a keynote address from one of the creators of the KNOW AIDS campaign, Carl Folta, head of the multimedia campaign aimed at the audiences of MTV, VH1 and BET.

The event is open to the public. Organizers hope the Miami venue will attract more East Coast, Latin American and Caribbean presenters and participants. The Florida HIV Conference, sponsored by the Florida/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center, is being held jointly with the amfAR meeting.

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