BROWSE IAS 2009 COVERAGE
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How Will Barack Obama Change the Global (and Domestic) Fight Against HIV?
End the U.S. HIV travel ban? Check. Get federal funding for needle exchange? Check. Continue the U.S. commitment to paying for HIV treatment and care overseas? Check. In a wide-ranging discussion at IAS 2009, Anthony Fauci, M.D., Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund, outlined some of the Obama administration's plans to address HIV/AIDS domestically and abroad. (IAS 2009 coverage from The Body PRO)
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IAS 2009 itself has officially ended, but our coverage has just begun!
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More Top Stories:
- IAS 2009 Conference News (PDF)
(From aidsmap.com)
- "We're Not Doing Enough," Say Global Leaders on HIV
In a wide-ranging, impassioned press conference at the opening of IAS 2009, Hoosen Coovadia, M.D., Vuyiseka Dubula, Stephen Lewis and Julio Montaner, M.D., discuss some of the overarching themes and priorities of this year's conference, many of which focus on a desperate need to renew attention (and funding) to the precarious state of efforts to prevent and treat HIV in resource-poor countries. (From The Body PRO)
- Female Patients' Stigma, Disclosure Concerns Reduce Their Access to HIV and TB Care in Africa, Study Shows
The lower social status of Ugandan women compared to men is largely to blame for their difficulty in accessing HIV or tuberculosis (TB) care, according to David Kaawa-Mafigiri, Ph.D., M.P.H. (From The Body PRO)
- Improving Response to HIV Goes Hand-in-Hand With Improving Overall Health Systems, Experts Say
The battle against HIV is not in competition with battles against other major diseases in the developing world, prominent researchers and experts asserted at IAS 2009. Quite the opposite: The lessons learned during the global response to HIV have led to improvements and innovations in health systems that can yield huge benefits in fighting many of the world's worst pandemics, argue Jacqueline Bataringaya, M.D., Wafaa El-Sadr, M.D., M.P.H., Michel Kazatchkine, M.D., and Alan Whiteside, Ph.D. (From The Body PRO)
- Treating HIV Earlier Could Save 76,000 Lives in South Africa
A new study finds that initiating antiretroviral therapy when a patient's CD4+ cell count drops below 350 cells/mm3 could save 76,000 lives in South Africa alone over the next five years. (From U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Speech by Stephen Lewis at the International AIDS Society Conference
"No one should underestimate the power and influence of science when it decides to take a stand. ... And never has the exercise of power and influence been more imperative than at this moment in the fight against the AIDS pandemic." (From the Stephen Lewis Foundation)
- Global AIDS Coordinator Addresses Obama's Global HIV/AIDS Policy Agenda
"Each government ultimately holds responsibility for the health of its citizens," and U.S. policies in the Obama era would seek to support country programs and encourage more national government buy-in and leadership, said U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby at IAS 2009. "The end goal is for each country to control its responses both strategically and, eventually, financially," he said. (From kaisernetwork.org)
- Report Says Economic Crisis Forcing Africans Living With HIV/AIDS Off Life-Saving Medications
Medecins Sans Frontieres said that a shortage of antiretrovirals in six African nations would cost the lives of thousands and reverse a decade of gains in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. Meanwhile, Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, excoriated leaders of the world's richest nations as IAS 2009 opened. "The silence of the G8 leaders [on HIV/AIDS] is not just pathetic, it is criminal," he said. (From kaisernetwork.org)
- HIV Treatment as Prevention: How Many Lives Could Be Saved?
If every person in sub-Saharan Africa received voluntary, annual HIV testing and started antiretroviral therapy immediately after diagnosis, HIV incidence would drop 95% in 10 years and more than seven million deaths would be averted, according to a theoretical model presented by Reuben Granich, M.D., M.P.H. (From The Body PRO)
- Africa Stands at a Threshold in HIV Response
Focus on the epicenter of the HIV epidemic in South Africa highlights both significant increases in access to treatment and the millions still in need. (From the International AIDS Society)
- IAS Conference: Low-Cost CD4 Tests; HIV Prevalence Among Pregnant Zimbabweans; Treating HIV-TB With ARVs; Vaccine Trials
A brief recap of selected mainstream media coverage of research presented at IAS 2009. (From kaisernetwork.org)
- The Treatment Timebomb (PDF)
"We can predict many of the changing treatment needs of people living with HIV in the coming decade and they are not compatible with treatments and prices available today," warns this report created for the United Kingdom Parliament. "Maintaining HIV treatment to keep people alive will cripple developing economies, or place unbearable strains on richer countries trying to support them. Action is needed now, to avert crisis later." (From The All-Party Parlimentary Group on AIDS)
- Opening Session Remarks by Dr. Julio Montaner, President, International AIDS Society and IAS 2009 International Chair
Since the IAS 2000 conference in Durban, South Africa, "we have seen dramatic progress in access to treatment, care and prevention in resource-limited countries," Montaner said. However, "Despite such progress, we must not be complacent. Major concerns remain." (From The Body PRO)
- If We Can't Overcome HIV Stigma and Discrimination, Access to Care Won't Improve in Africa, Advocate Says
"Right now, we're standing in a sinkhole, with regards to HIV and TB [tuberculosis] treatment" in Africa, said HIV/AIDS advocate Paula Akugizibwe in an eloquent, passionate speech at IAS 2009. "Until we do some serious work, and invest money and time on creating human rights sensitization ... and the imperative of governments to fund this right, then everything else we're doing is essentially self-defeating." (From The Body PRO)
- Advocates for Health Millennium Development Goals Unite to Demand World Leaders Honor Funding Commitments
Found: hundreds of billions of dollars to save the wealthiest corporations; lost: billions of dollars of G8 commitments to save millions of human lives. (From the Center for Health and Gender Equity)
- Getting People Onto Treatment, Not Earlier Treatment, Must Be Priority, Conference Warned
Debates about whether to start treatment at a CD4 count of 350 in developing countries ignore the fact that current programs are doing very badly at retaining patients in care after diagnosis or starting people on treatment before they become seriously ill, said Dr. Francois Venter, President of the South African HIV Clinicians. (From aidsmap.com)
- AIDS Exceptionalism a Defensible Concept, Says Stephen Lewis
The idea that AIDS is an exceptional disease requiring an exceptional response is a perfectly defensible concept, Stephen Lewis, the former United Nations Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, told the opening session of IAS 2009. (From aidsmap.com)
- WHO to Consult People With HIV on Treatment Guidelines
People living with HIV are to be consulted on the development of new World Health Organization treatment guidelines for low- and middle-income settings, due to be released in November 2009. (From aidsmap.com)
- Large-Scale Pediatric Treatment Shows Success in Southeast Asia
Long-term treatment success in children in both Thailand and Cambodia demonstrates the sustainability of pediatric antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings at clinic, district and provincial levels as reported in studies by Michelle McConnell and Petros Isaakidis, respectively. (From aidsmap.com)
- Risk Factors for Treatment Failure in Children: Ritonavir and Advanced Disease Strong Predictors
Ritonavir used alone as a third drug is a strong predictor of virologic failure in children receiving antiretroviral treatment, according to an analysis of data from the International Epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS (leDEA) Southern Africa pediatric antiretroviral cohorts, presented by Mary Ann Davies. (From aidsmap.com)
- Innovative, Cost-Effective and Patient-Friendly Methods for Delivery of HIV Care Feasible in Resource-Limited Settings
Innovative methods of delivery of HIV care using home based care and nurse initiated antiretroviral treatment are feasible and can have good treatment outcomes in resource-limited settings such as Uganda and Lesotho, delegates heard on Monday at the 5th International AIDS Society Conference in Cape Town. (From aidsmap.com)
- Health Systems Are Benefiting From AIDS Spending, Experts Say
The belief that global health initiatives such as PEPFAR and the Global Fund are not strengthening health systems is a myth, Global Fund executive director Michel Kazatchkine told reporters. (From aidsmap.com)
- Nevirapine-Based Treatment Regimen for Children Exposed to Single-Dose Nevirapine Shown to Be Effective
Switching to nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy as a treatment strategy for HIV-infected children previously exposed to single-dose nevirapine has the potential to maintain viral suppression in children, according to the data of the NEVEREST study presented by Dr. Ashraf Coovadia. (From aidsmap.com)
- G8 Leaders Must Keep Their AIDS Promises, IAS Conference Told
G8 leaders must meet their commitments to finance universal access to treatment and prevention despite the economic crisis, activists and scientists told the opening session of IAS 2009. (From aidsmap.com)
- Scientists Warn Against Retrenchment on AIDS
Amidst a lingering global recession and indications that world leaders are retreating on previous commitments to universal access to HIV prevention and treatment, researchers, implementers and community leaders at IAS 2009 warned of dire public health consequences resulting from a retrenchment on the global fight against AIDS. (From International AIDS Society)
- Benefit of HIV Treatment as Prevention Underscores Need to Avert Treatment Disruptions and Expand Access to Reach Universal Targets
Researchers speaking in the first plenary session of IAS 2009 offered insights into current and future HIV prevention research and examined genetics and HIV-related inflammation as avenues for new treatments. (From International AIDS Society)
- DART Study Shows HIV Treatment Without Lab Monitoring Safe, Effective in Africa
Antiretroviral treatment can be delivered safely without laboratory monitoring in sub-Saharan Africa, say the investigators of the DART study. (From aidsmap.com)
- U.S. Officials Outline Obama Administration's AIDS Policy
The U.S. government will continue to fund HIV/AIDS research, prevention and treatment efforts as part of a more comprehensive global health strategy, U.S. officials said at IAS 2009. (From aidsmap.com)
- "Treatment as Prevention" Must Not Violate Human Rights, Conference Told
The expansion of HIV testing programs and the advocacy of universal testing and treatment of those who test positive as a means of prevention must not violate the human rights of target populations, said representatives from Human Rights Watch and the AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa. (From aidsmap.com)
- Research Finds Resurgence of TB, Diarrhea and Malnutrition in Zimbabwe Due to Hyperinflation and Economic Collapse
The economic crisis since 2000 in Zimbabwe has led to a rapid rise in tuberculosis (TB) cases and rising rates of malnutrition, reported Michael Silverman, M.D. However, he also noted that it appears HIV prevalence in pregnant women is decreasing in the country. (From aidsmap.com)
- HIV Infection Not Found to be Associated With Drug-Resistant TB in Khayelitsha, South Africa
An extremely high prevalence of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (TB) -- 72 cases per 100,000 people per year -- has been found in a cross-sectional study of individuals with suspected TB conducted in Khayelitsha township, situated 40 km outside of Cape Town. (From aidsmap.com)
- Lopinavir/Ritonavir Found to Be a Cost-Effective First-Line Treatment After Single-Dose Nevirapine in South Africa
First-line lopinivar/ritonavir is more cost-effective than first-line nevirapine in women previously exposed to single-dose nevirapine, reported Andrea Ciaranello. (From aidsmap.com)
- Cost of ART Delivery in Malawi Possible Within WHO-Recommended Health Budget
Total additional costs for sustaining universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) access in a high-prevalence, extremely poor rural area of Malawi are well within budget guidelines set by the World Health Organization for a minimal basic health package, reported Mary Bemelmans. (From aidsmap.com)
- ART for Mothers Leading to Decline in Child Deaths, KwaZulu Natal Study Finds
A major decrease in the childhood mortality rate in children under the age of two, observed between 2001 and 2006 in northern rural KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, was associated with the rollout of antiretroviral therapy in that region. (From aidsmap.com)
- Antiretrovirals and Condoms Will Have More Effect on HIV in South Africa Than Circumcision, Model Finds
In preliminary results from a mathematical model set up by researchers from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, male circumcision was found to have a considerably lower impact than condom use or antiretroviral therapy coverage on new HIV infection rates and on death rates in men in South Africa. (From aidsmap.com)
- Delays in Starting Treatment Common in ART Programs
Late initiation of antiretroviral treatment following diagnosis is contributing to the continuing high death rate among people who present with low CD4+ cell counts in eight sub-Saharan African countries. (From aidsmap.com)
- Antiretroviral Roll-Out Results in Major TB Decline in South African Study
The roll-out of antiretroviral treatment to cover 90% of eligible people has resulted in a significant decline in new cases of tuberculosis (TB) in a South African township, demonstrating for the first time the potential of antiretroviral treatment to make major inroads into the burden of TB in high prevalence countries. (From aidsmap.com)
- IPS Examines How Funding Cuts Might Affect HIV/AIDS Treatment Programs Worldwide
"Failure to sustain funding for HIV/AIDS treatment programmes could lead to a rising number of deaths, particularly in Africa," Inter Press Service reports. (From kaisernetwork.org)
- Mma Bana Study: Mother-to-Child Transmission Reduced Below 1% in Breastfeeding Mothers Who Receive ART
Antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy and breastfeeding resulted in a mother-to-child transmission rate of less than 1% in a large randomized comparison of two triple-drug combinations in women with CD4 counts above 200 cells/mm3, according to data from the Mma Bana study. (From aidsmap.com)
- DREAM Study: Extended Prenatal Antiretroviral Therapy Protects Against Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV at Low and High CD4 Levels
Antiretroviral therapy administered during pregnancy and breastfeeding reduces the risk of a woman transmitting HIV to her infant to just 2% by the time the child is six months of age -- even without a Cesarean section or formula feeding, according to a retrospective analysis of participants in the Drug Resource Enhancement Against AIDS and Malnutrition (DREAM) program in sub-Saharan Africa. (From aidsmap.com)
- Low Bone Mineral Density in Botswana PrEP Trial Participants Raises Concerns
Researchers conducting a trial of tenofovir and emtricitabine as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Botswana have found low bone mineral density levels in HIV-uninfected volunteers at enrollment. (From aidsmap.com)
- Nurse Management of Antiretroviral Therapy Matches Doctor Care in South African Trial
Monitoring of antiretroviral treatment by nurses resulted in outcomes just as good as those seen when patients are monitored by doctors in South Africa, a large randomized trial has shown. (From aidsmap.com)
- Malaria Cases Fall With Each Year of HIV Treatment in Ugandan Patients
Antiretroviral treatment was associated with a 75% decline in the incidence of malaria over four years in DART study participants, Ugandan and UK-based researchers reported. (From aidsmap.com)
- Older Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy in West Africa Have Higher Risk of Death
Patients over the age of 50 on antiretroviral treatment in West Africa are at increased risk for death compared to younger age groups, reported Didier Koumani Ekouevi. (From aidsmap.com)
- BAN Study: Giving Antiretroviral Therapy to Mothers or Antiretroviral Prophylaxis to Infants During Breastfeeding Equally Effective at Reducing HIV Transmission
Either of two approaches -- maternal antiretroviral therapy or infant prophylaxis during the time of breastfeeding -- is equally safe and effective in reducing post-natal mother-to-child transmission of HIV, reports Charles Chasela of the University of North Carolina Project in Lilongwe, Malawi. (From aidsmap.com)
- Kesho Bora Study: Maternal Antiretroviral Therapy During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Prevents More Infections Than Short-Course Prophylaxis
Antiretroviral therapy for mothers that is initiated during pregnancy and continued throughout the breastfeeding period resulted in a significantly lower rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission when compared with the standard short-course regimen, investigators on the Kesho Bora study reported. (From aidsmap.com)
- Everything Antiretroviral: 5th IAS Conference, Cape Town, South Africa
A series of brief, down-to-earth summaries of studies on the "when to start" question; pre-exposure prophylaxis; complications of HAART; aging and HIV; and the latest developments in the search for a cure. (From Project Inform)
- Fighting HIV, One Grandmother at a Time
Necessity is the grandmother of invention in Khayelitsha. (From Test Positive Aware Network)
- More Coming Soon!
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Please note: Knowledge about HIV changes rapidly. Note the date of this summary's publication, and before treating patients or employing any therapies described in these materials, verify all information independently. If you are a patient, please consult a doctor or other medical professional before acting on any of the information presented in this summary. For a complete listing of our most recent conference coverage, click here.
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