Happy Condom Day!! Might as well Celebrate it in a "fitting" way

Research Triangle Park, NC - February 14th is National Condom Day, and the American Social Health Association (ASHA) urges Americans to Get Passionate About Prevention! "Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain one of nation's biggest public health threats, and it is high time that we as a nation we get serious, get passionate about addressing the problem," says James R. Allen, MD, MPH, ASHA's President & CEO.

Here are the facts:

• Every year, there are approximately 15 million new cases of STDs

• More than 65 million people in the US are living with a chronic STD such as herpes or HPV.

• Two-thirds of all STDs occur in people 25 years of age or younger.

• One in four new STD infections occur in teenagers.

• At least one in four Americans will contract an STD at some point in their lives.

• At least 15 percent of all infertile American women are infertile because of tubal damage resulting from an untreated STD.

• Each year it costs more than $8 billion to diagnose and treat STDs and their complications.

"Research continues to demonstrate that condoms, used consistently and correctly, are one of the best tools in the prevention of STDs, including HIV," asserts Allen.  Despite this fact, many suggest that abstinence and monogamy are the only responsible messages. "Too often, arguments of morality get in the way of sound public health practice.  With more than 15 million new cases of STD infections each year, we must access every available option to stem the tide of this epidemic.  Humans are sexual beings.  Abstinence and monogamy are important public health messages, but to think that messages of abstinence and monogamy alone will fix the problem is shortsighted at best, and dangerous at worst," states Allen.

Much of the debate centers on whether condoms are protective against genital human papillomavirus (HPV), an infection that in some cases can lead to cervical cancer.  ASHA and several leading public health organizations recently joined forces in support of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that called for reducing cervical cancer incidence and deaths by increasing Pap test screening among women.  The report suggested that there is sound evidence that condom use may actually reduce the risk of cervical cancer.

Get Passionate About Prevention! reflects ASHA's commitment to continued education and health policy efforts. On National Condom Day ASHA encourages everyone to learn more about their risk of STD infection and to get the facts on condom use.  Information about condoms and their role in reducing the risk of STDs (including HIV), preventing pregnancy, and the facts about STDs are available on several web sites, including those of the ASHA,  and www.iwannaknow.org (for teens); the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, , and the National Coalition of STD Directors.

ASHA has been dedicated to improving the health of individuals, families, and communities, with a focus on preventing sexually transmitted diseases and their harmful consequences for 90 years.  ASHA delivers accurate, reliable health information to millions of people worldwide via hotlines, state-of-the-art web sites, responsive e-mail services and a variety of education programs.

What is the price of HIV prevention?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

A US citizen cured of HIV?

Seems too good to be true.  I've been flooded with emails at work and on Facebook the last few days about this story, how the cure for HIV has been found.  Well sort of.

I first heard this story 2 years ago when it first happened.  There was some discussion on HIV activists blogs and even then Scientists were skeptical on whether the virus actually was eradicated from this person's body, or was it hiding somewhere just waiting to start replicating again.  So they held off for 2 years before publishing the study this year, and now becoming one of the top medical research stories of the year.  And that's how I found out that this topic is becoming headline news now.

Timothy Ray Brown is a 44 year old American citizen who was living in Berlin, Germany when he had his surgery.  Besides being diagnosed with HIV, Mr. Brown also was fighting acute myeloid leukemia.  The leukemia was of more concern, and he was told he needed to get a bone marrow transplant immediately.  German doctors knowing that they would have to kill off his current bone marrow and replace it with a donor's, and that he had HIV, they knew his body would be severly susceptible to all infections without an immune system to fight them off.  In a fortunate, but very rare situation, they were able to find a Bone Marrow donor who also had a genetic mutation that made the donor resistant in getting HIV.  This genetic mutation has only been found in caucasian men and less then 1% of the total caucasian population has this mutation.  Taking into consideration the amount of bone marrow donors there are and the rarity of this mutation, you can see how this was similar to winning not only the lottery, but winning the lottery in every state.

So after getting this transplant, is Mr. Brown now cured of HIV?  Doctors are still hesitant to say, but after 2 years of yet showing any HIV in his system, the answer is quite possibly yes.  Does this mean that we now have a cure for HIV?  No.  Why?

CNN gives 3 good reasons why this procedure cannot be used to cure the over 30 million people who are living with HIV.

1. The chances of finding a bone marrow donor with two copies of this genetic mutation for every one of the 33 million people worldwide living with HIV or AIDS is not realistic because only one percent of Caucasians and zero percent of African Americans or Asians have this particular genetic mutation.


2. Bone marrow transplants are dangerous for patients. Before they can get the donated stem cells that will replace their own, they have to take strong chemotherapy to destroy their own bone marrow – leaving them without an immune system to fight off any disease – until the transplanted bone marrow can make new blood cells. Plus patients run the risk of rejecting the new cells, which means they have to take immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of their life.

3. Bone marrow transplants are very expensive and not an option for many people living with this disease around the world.

Just how dangerous are bone marrow transplants? About one-third of patients die during them, Dr. Jay Levy told Health.com last year.

Bottom line: It's exciting news, but not likely to cure the global AIDS pandemic.

Controversy around HIV photo exhibit at Overture Center

via Channel 27

MADISON (WKOW) -- There's a blank spot on the wall amid a striking collection of photos at the Overture Center's latest exhibit, "Living with HIV/AIDS: Perspectives Through the Lens."


The gallery, which runs through Sunday, features work done by people who have HIV/AIDS. These photos are their stories.

Project coordinators hope to bring about awareness of the disease and lessen the stigma surrounding it. But on the day before the exhibit opened, one photo was pulled from the wall, with a small card in its place explaining the photo removed "may not be suitable for all viewing audiences."

The photo depicts a naked man sitting with several pill bottles hiding his genitals. Titled "Stripped," it was meant to send the message that while everything else can be stripped away, the fatal HIV/AIDS virus remains.

The Overture Center says the picture is too graphic to be featured in the main rotunda entrance to the building, through which hundreds of young children pass every day on field trips and family outings.

"If a little kid sees medicine on the genitals, it's going to cause some confusion, without question," said Overture spokesperson Robert Chappell.

Chappell says it's not so much the photo as it is the location.

"If this exhibit were in a location anywhere else in the building, where a kid might see it but 7,500 kids aren't going to see it, it would probably still be there. If it was in a spot where we could put up a sign saying 'for mature audiences,' it would probably still be there. It's all about appropriateness and a certain amount of discretion," said Chappell.

But Heidi Nass, who coordinated the gallery and also took part as a woman living with HIV, says Overture's decision further stigmatizes and silences the HIV/AIDS community.

"The further you squash the story, the more silence you create. That's my big concern. And for those of us living with HIV, it doesn't get any easier when an art center chooses not to defend art. They didn't give the community a chance to applaud the art, to criticize the art, or to see the art. They - and I don't know who 'they' are - just decided that it wasn't okay," said Nass.

The Overture Center did give the artist a chance to replace the photo with a different one, but Heidi Nass says it's not that easy, because these photos are really a part of each artist's intimate story and they were chosen carefully.

There are two other photos by the same artist that also include naked men, but Overture officials did not find those to be inappropriate.

When asked whether Overture could simply relocate the gallery, Chappell said that was not an option, given the fact that other exhibits currently inhabit the rest of the space.

This is the first time in its six-year history that the arts center has removed a piece of art

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day happens every year on December 1st.  On this day, the entire world makes a large effort to remind everyone on this planet that there is still a preventable disease infecting large numbers of people.  That this disease has further been spread through ignorance, discrimination, stigma, poverty, incarceration, alcohol and drugs and many other social and psychological issues.  That HIV/AIDS activism still is needed today because every year, individuals on the national, state and local level have to explain to politicians newly elected why providing funding for HIV medication will help stop the spread of HIV and keep thousands of people healthy.  Every year, small organizations have to fight for the small amount of money they get each year to provide the necessary services for their community.  And every year, individuals living with HIV/AIDS know that another year has passed and because of them and other individuals, are healthier now then they were 10 years ago.  And all of us come together and take a moment to remember those who have left us this year.  and in years pass.   We take a moment and light a candle, wear a ribbon, or approach one of our friends and say " Let me tell you about a friend/partner/family member I had who taught me a lot about not only HIV but about loving life."

So please join AIDS Network, UW Clinics, Madison/Dane County Public Health and the University of Wisconsin as we recognize World AIDS Day.

I am HIV Positive and I Don't Blame Anyone - including myself

This is a reposting of an amazing article done by Kirk Grisham.
To view the original post, please go HERE.

 I am HIV positive, and I don’t blame anybody for it—not myself or anybody else.




He didn’t rape me and he did not trick me. It was through our unprotected sex that I became HIV positive. Since seroconverting, I have been very conscious of the language I use to discuss transmission, particularly my own. To say “he gave me HIV” obscures the truth, it was through a mutual act, consensual sex, that I became HIV positive. When speaking to him a couple months after my diagnosis I gathered that he knew he was positive when we had sex. But that is beside the point; my sexual health is mine to control, not his.

We are encouraged to think about prevention and transmission in terms of responsibility. Someone must be at fault. Culturally, we hunt for secret villains. Today’s “down low” black man is but the latest boogeyman at which we’ve pointed our fingers—the latest of the so-often racialized monsters at which we can direct HIV blame rather than have honest conversations about sex and relationships.

In recent weeks, another recurring villain has re-emerged: the HIV-positive criminal who callously infects others. Last month, long-standing accusations that baseball legend Roberto Alomar hid an alleged HIV infection from his wife and girlfriends returned to the news. This summer, German pop star Nadja Benaissa made international headlines as she was tried for failing to disclose her HIV status to sex partners. These stories rarely fail to steal the news spotlight, and often throw local communities into HIV panics.


There must be a reason they are so resonant, right? They are evidence that HIV transmission from knowingly positive persons is rampant, right? Wrong. The reality is that the vast majority of HIV infections occur between two consenting people who believe they are doing nothing more risky than making love—or, at least getting laid.

People who know their HIV status are actually more likely to use condoms than not. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports one snapshot study that found 95 percent of those living with HIV infection in 2006 did not transmit the virus to others that year. Another CDC study, released in September, found that while one in five “men who have sex with men”—public health jargon for gay and bisexual men—in 21 major cities has HIV, nearly half of those men (44 percent) don’t know it. The agency estimates that the majority of new infections each year result from sexual contact in which the positive person does not know he or she has HIV.

HIV disproportionately affects African Americans, regardless of sexuality. They account for half of the people living with HIV/AIDS, but just 13 percent of the overall U.S. population. Studies also suggest African Americans are least likely to know their HIV status, with the younger being less aware. Similar patterns exist among men who have sex with men, of all races. No talking and no testing, just finger pointing.


The communication problems that help drive these trends don’t stop with finding monsters to blame. People I love and talk to about my status do not always have the language or tools to express their grief and worry. They ask things like, “How could you be so irresponsible?” Or, “How could you fuck up like this?”

This language hurts, but more importantly it shifts the discussion from meaningful conversation about risk and vulnerability to simplistic directives: if only people used condoms, transmission would cease. But this idea relies on a complicated array of misconceptions and idealistic assumptions of equality, equal access to information, and how to use that information to stay HIV negative.


It is irresponsible to just tell people to use condoms without acknowledging that conditions like poverty, patriarchy and homophobia play roles in the so-called risks we all take. Even with people who have seemingly escaped these broader contexts—say, a working-middle class white man such as myself—stigma can prevail. Stigma that is produced by homophobia and general ignorance, yes, but also by American society’s desperate need to discipline and punish, to affix blame on individuals rather than confront the systems in which individuals live. So the AIDS epidemic becomes a challenge of personal responsibility rather than a damning indictment of global public health. That personal responsibility, however, is tricky: I bore no responsibility for the epidemic, until I had HIV, when it became entirely my problem.


When I used to get tested at the city clinic, they would tell me that people stay negative by disclosing their negative status. Having a conversation is paramount—negotiating whether and how you want to use protection, talking about the last time you were tested and asking the same of your partner. This dialogue cannot be taken for granted, but for many, before these conversations can happen, we need the tools to do so. So here, we lead by example. Three people of varying HIV status offer their own testimonies on how they think about their sexual health, and what it means.

Project Inform creates booklets for those newly diagnosed with HIV

Source: Project Inform

Project Inform created this series of three publications to address commonly asked questions and issues that people face as they come to terms with their diagnosis of HIV or AIDS and begin to address their health needs, including making decisions about starting HIV meds.

After you’ve tested positive

(booklet 1 of 3)

This booklet helps guide individuals on basic things to do after finding out they’re HIV-positive, with an emphasis on understanding HIV infection, getting into care, and finding a support network.

Considering treatment & your health care

(booklet 2 of 3)

This booklet explores decision making about HIV health, from considering treatment to talking things out with a support network and doctors to thinking more broadly about personal health needs.

What you should know about when to start & what to use

(booklet 3 of 3)

This booklet focuses on the issues related to taking HIV medications, including deciding when to start and what to use, planning ahead, considering how treatment may affect one's life, and finding an HIV-experienced doctor.

HPV Vaccine Cost Effective for Men who have Sex with Men

Courtesy of Medpage Today

I hope that this information is legitimately considered by Public Health departments and vaccinations of men who have sex with men does happen.  The statistics regarding rates of Anal Carcinoma in men who have sex with men and even more so with men who are HIV + already proved the dire need for vaccinations to occur in this population.  I guess human life isn't as persuasive as cost analysis.  I'm glad someone was able to do that for those who see money over prevention.

Here's the article:

Vaccinating men who have sex with men (MSM) against human papillomavirus (HPV) may be a cost-effective approach to the prevention of anal cancer and genital warts, according to a study using decision-analysis models.


In a best-case scenario, when the vaccine is given to MSM at age 12 years, before any exposure to HPV has occurred, and assuming 50% vaccine coverage and 90% efficacy, the cost effectiveness ratio for each quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained was $15,290, according to Jane J. Kim, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Even if the vaccine was given later -- for instance at age 26 and exposure to HPV was assumed -- the cost-effectiveness ratio remained below the minimum benchmark of $50,000 per QALY gained, at $37,830, Kim reported online in Lancet Infectious Diseases.

In 2009 the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the use of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine to prevent genital warts for boys and men ages 9 to 26 years, but stopped short of making it a routine vaccination because cost-effectiveness data were lacking.

The vaccine subsequently was shown to be effective in preventing anal lesions in MSM, so the CDC and its advisory committee decided to reconsider the issue.

With the goal of providing guidance on the cost effectiveness of HPV immunization in MSM, Kim performed mathematical modeling in a variety of scenarios, assuming a cost per vaccination of $500, to estimate gains in QALY and expenses avoided for both anal cancer and genital warts.

Variables included age at the time of vaccination and exposure to HPV, incidence of anal cancer in a specific population, and whether the benefit included costs per case of anal cancer or also for genital herpes.

In most scenarios the cost-effectiveness ratios were below $50,000 per QALY

HIV transmitted through Blood Transfusion

Courtesy of NBC

DENVER, Colo. --


He thought he was getting a new lease on life: a new kidney.

Instead a Colorado transplant patient got HIV through a blood transfusion in August 2008.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Missouri man who donated the blood lied on the questionnaire about his sex life.

The CDC says it's the first known case of HIV transmission through a blood transfusion in eight years.

"I was horrified," Dr. Joe Chaffin, medical director at Bonfils Blood Center, said.

Bonfils has nothing to do with the incident and Chaffin agreed to speak to help us understand how the system works.

"I would bet that any blood banker that you talk to in the world is horrified. This is our worst nightmare. No one ever wants this to happen and this is what we work our lives for to try and keep this from happening," Chaffin said.

The CDC says that getting the virus from blood transfusions remains exceedingly rare, estimating the risk of it happening to be about 1 in 1.5 million.

Chaffin says every blood center in the country does extensive testing.

"Part of what we do, in addition to asking them the question, the questions about high-risk activity, is we also do a mini-physical exam. And the majority of people in early HIV infection will have cold symptoms basically, and we often will pick up we have the potential anyway to pick up someone HIV-infected," Chaffin said.

But he says you can't safeguard against lying and that's what the CDC says the Missouri donor did on his questionnaire.

Every blood center has donors fill out questionnaires every time they donate.

The FDA mandates 48 universal or standardized questions.

Some blood centers ask more.

According to the CDC, in June 2008, the donor who's only been identified as a man in his 40s, donated blood like he's done a number of times before.

The CDC says in his questionnaire, he didn't report any HIV risk factors and his blood tested negative for the disease.

In November 2008, when donating again, HIV was found.

In a later interview, the married man said he had sex outside his marriage with both men and women, including just before his June 2008 donation.

He admitted he was often drunk and it was often with people he didn't know.

The current testing can't detect HIV early, in the first 10 days of the disease.

"There are things that are being researched right now that there is potential in the future for the elimination of that window period," Chaffin said.

Experts say there is no cause for alarm.

This is very much an isolated incident.

There's never been a better time, a safer time to get a blood transfusion," Chaffin said.

The name of the patient has not been released and most of this case is covered by patient privacy laws.

The questioned donor's blood products were also given to an Arkansas patient who died of heart disease two days after getting a transfusion during a mid-2008 surgery.

The CDC says it's unknown if that patient contracted HIV.

Heinz Family and Welvista offer free HIV medications to people on ADAP Waitlists

From AIDSMed.com

Program Offers Free HIV Drugs for ADAP Waitlisted

A nonprofit group has formed a partnership with three pharmaceutical companies and a mail order pharmacy to offer free antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs to people in states that have instituted waiting lists for their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs).

The great recession has hit people with HIV particularly hard. Lower tax revenues have decimated state budgets and have kept the federal government from offering enough dollars to meet the shortfall. As a result, programs like ADAP—which offer free HIV medications (and sometimes other drugs) through a combination of federal and state dollars—are suffering financial crises.

As of September 2010, nine states have frozen new ADAP enrollments and 3,214 people are on waiting list. Thirteen other states are considering new cost-containment measures. Though Congress approved a recent one-time infusion of additional cash, activists say it falls far short of what is needed.


The pharmaceutical industry does offer an alternative: The companies provide free medication through their patient assistance programs (PAPs) to people with low to moderate incomes who don’t have health insurance. Activists have expressed concern, however, that some people who’ve been wait-listed for ADAP will fall through the cracks.

“The effort to obtain free drugs from programs run by the pharmaceutical manufacturers can be overwhelming, due to complicated paperwork processes, different income-eligibility determinations by each manufacturer, lack of a single entry point and other hurdles,” wrote Jeffrey R. Lewis—the president of the Heinz Family Philanthropies—in an opinion piece in the Boston Herald.

Lewis’s foundation is working jointly with a mail-order pharmacy called Welvista and three ARV-producing pharmaceutical companies—Abbott, Merck and Tibotec—to offer free medications to people who’ve been put on ADAP waiting lists. What’s unique about this partnership is that people don’t even have to fill out any paperwork. It makes enrollment in the program automatic as soon as a person is placed on an ADAP waiting list. Free drugs are then shipped within a day to someone’s home or to his or her provider’s office.

“Unfortunately, Abbott, Merck and Tibotec are the only three pharmaceutical manufacturers that produce HIV/AIDS medications that currently participate in this program,” Lewis said. “The entry of all the other pharmaceutical manufacturers [notably Gilead, ViiV Healthcare, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim] would be greatly encouraged and welcomed.” These companies’ participation will be necessary to help streamline access to ARVs not produced by Abbott, Merck and Tibotec.


HIV activist groups, such as the Fair Pricing Coalition, have urged these other companies to consider joining this partnership, and several are actively considering it.

“We are driven by a simple belief that the forces of the marketplace can drive the kind of instrumental change that government cannot or will not accomplish on its own,” Lewis concluded.



1 in 5 Men who have sex with Men is HIV, half of them are unaware of it.

From CDC: 


Study highlights urgent HIV prevention needs for men who have sex with men, especially young men and men of color


Approximately one in five (19 percent) men who have sex with men (MSM) in a study of 21 major U.S. cities is infected with HIV, and nearly half (44 percent) of those men are unaware of their infection, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the study, young MSM and MSM of color were least likely to know their HIV status. The findings were published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"This study's message is clear: HIV exacts a devastating toll on men who have sex with men in America's major cities, and yet far too many of those who are infected don't know it," said Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. "We need to increase access to HIV testing so that more MSM know their status, and we all must bring new energy, new approaches, and new champions to the fight against HIV among men who have sex with men."

The study's results bolster key themes in the President's National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States. The recently released strategy states that "the United States cannot reduce the number of HIV infections nationally without better addressing HIV among gay and bisexual men," and MSM are listed among a few priority populations to focus HIV prevention efforts. The President's strategy also sets targets for reducing the number of individuals living with HIV who are unaware of their HIV status.

The CDC study tested 8,153 MSM in 21 cities participating in the 2008 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System (NHBS), and examined HIV prevalence and awareness of HIV status among this group. NHBS monitors HIV testing, risk behaviors, and access to prevention services among at-risk populations in cities with high numbers of persons living with AIDS.

While MSM of all races and ethnicities were severely affected, black MSM were particularly impacted: 28 percent of black MSM were HIV-infected, compared to 18 percent of Hispanic and 16 percent of white MSM.

The study also found a strong link between socioeconomic status and HIV among MSM: prevalence increased as education and income decreased, and awareness of HIV status was higher among MSM with greater education and income. These findings echo similar disparities found in recent NHBS research among heterosexuals.

Low awareness of HIV infection a major concern, particularly for younger men

The study provided additional insight into the populations of MSM most in need of HIV testing and prevention:

Among racial/ethnic groups, black MSM with HIV were least likely to be aware of their infection (59 percent unaware, vs. 46 percent for Hispanic MSM and 26 percent for white MSM).

While young MSM (under age 30) had lower HIV prevalence than older men, they were far more likely to be unaware of their HIV infection. Among MSM aged 18-29 who had HIV, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) were unaware, versus 37 percent for men age 30 and older.

Among young MSM, young MSM of color were less likely than whites to know they were HIV-infected. Among HIV-infected black MSM under age 30, 71 percent were unaware of their infection; among HIV-infected Hispanic MSM under age 30, 63 percent were unaware. This compares to 40 percent of HIV-infected white MSM under age 30.

CDC officials note that low awareness of HIV status among young MSM likely reflects several factors: they may have been infected more recently, may underestimate their personal risk, may have had fewer opportunities to get tested, or may believe that advances in HIV treatment minimize the threat of HIV. For young MSM of color, discrimination and socioeconomic factors – such as poverty, homophobia, stigma, and limited health-care access – may be especially acute and pose particular challenges.

"For young men who have sex with men – including young men of color who are least likely to know they may be infected – the future is truly on the line," said Jonathan Mermin, M.D., director of CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. "It is critical that we reach these young men early in their lives with HIV prevention and testing services and continue to make these vital services available as they become older."

CDC estimates that the majority of new sexually transmitted infections are transmitted by individuals who are unaware of their infection, and studies show that once people learn they are HIV-infected, most take steps to protect their partners. Therefore, because undiagnosed infection likely plays a major role in HIV transmission, reaching younger MSM with regular HIV testing is critical.

CDC recommends that MSM of all ages get tested for HIV at least annually, or more often (every three to six months) if they are at increased risk (e.g., those with multiple or anonymous sex partners, or who use drugs during sex). Notably, only 45 percent of HIV-infected MSM who were unaware of their infection had been tested in the past year, underscoring the importance of more frequent testing among those at highest risk.

While HIV prevention for MSM remains a top CDC priority, agency officials note that a renewed national commitment to HIV prevention is needed to reduce the toll of HIV on MSM and increase access to prevention.

For more information, please visit www.cdc.gov/hiv or www.actagainstaids.org

Young Adults in their 20's who have lived with HIV their whole life.

From The Philadelphia Inquirer

Young adults who have lived their whole lives with HIV

Sanders, of West Philadelphia, belongs to a rare group; he was born HIV-positive when he was perinatally infected via his mother either during pregnancy and delivery or breastfeeding.


At the time, HIV was a death sentence. Sanders and several thousand other infected babies weren't expected to live very long.

But thanks to more than two dozen drugs, the oldest babies are now reaching 30, and living into uncharted territory.

Their challenges are daunting. Along with homework, puberty, and just surviving the rough streets of Philadelphia, they've dealt with losing sick parents and friends, disclosing their status, engaging in sex with uninfected partners, and enduring medical side effects with unknown consequences.

Sanders, now 24, has experienced it all. "My main goal is to get people to talk about HIV," said Sanders, a brand rep for a clothing line and peer educator for iChoose2live, a Philadelphia-based youth program that encourages HIV awareness and career building. "I want to destigmatize it."

More than a million people are living with HIV in the United States, mostly contracted from sex or drugs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just 1 percent got HIV perinatally or through the bleeding disease hemophilia and blood transfusions.

In 2007, an estimated 7,757 people were living in the 37 states reporting to the CDC who had been diagnosed with perinatally transmitted HIV before age 13.

In Philadelphia, where the overall HIV infection rate is five times the national average, at least 272 current residents were perinatally infected, though officials say the figure could be far higher.

Great news on research for Vaginal Microbicides

From Health News Digest.com



Pitt Gets $11.8 Million to Develop Microbicide Films for HIV Prevention


 
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - PITTSBURGH, Sept. 15 – With the support of an $11.8 million, five-year federal grant, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and their collaborators are developing a quick-dissolving vaginal film containing a powerful drug that reduces the risk of HIV infection, and they plan to begin testing it locally within a year.


A small film, like those used to deliver breath fresheners, could have several advantages over vaginal microbicide gels that are already being tested overseas, said Sharon Hillier, Ph.D., professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, senior investigator at Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI), and co-principal investigator of the new project, which is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

“Multiple films could be packaged in discrete cartridges without the need for refrigeration, making them portable and easier to store and distribute, and therefore probably cheaper than a gel,” she noted. “And, because they aren’t likely to be as messy as a gel, women might be willing to use them routinely, perhaps on a daily basis.”

The film would provide an alternative dosage form that preclinical testing suggests can release the drug faster and more efficiently than the gel version.


“An effective microbicide strategy should include different forms of the product,” Dr. Rohan said. “Women will have preferences, and having options to meet those needs will lead to greater use and therefore better protection from infection.”

In addition to tenofovir, the researchers will develop and test a second film containing another anti-HIV agent that has yet to be determined.

and from KTIV

University of Nebraska-Lincoln getting $3.8 Million for Vaginal Microbicide.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - With help from $3.8 million in new funding, Nebraska researchers are working on production of a cream that would help women resist transmission of HIV, the AIDS virus.


The money for the work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Biological Process Development Facility comes from the Mintaka Foundation of Medical Research, which is supported by the Wellcome Trust.


The UNL researchers are developing a process to manufacture a stable and affordable microbicide called 5P12-RANTES.


UNL says in a news release that the Biological Process Development Facility is using a molecule discovered by Mintaka researchers. The work will lead to a protein suitable for human testing as a vaginal cream.

Prison Systems in South Carolina and Alabama segregate HIV/AIDS patients

From The Post and Courier

COLUMBIA — Jon Ozmint, director of the state prison system, told Gov. Mark Sanford today that he is expecting a lawsuit from the Obama administration about the policy to test and segregate inmates who have HIV and AIDS.


Ozmint said the U.S. Justice Department sent the state Department of Corrections a letter within the past month that raises issues with the agency's policies.

South Carolina and Alabama are the only states that order inmates with HIV and AIDs to be placed in separate housing.

South Carolina inmates are tested for the virus and disease when they arrive at prison. Those who are infected — many of whom Ozmint said don't know they are infected — are sent to live at the Corrections Department main campus off Broad River Road in Columbia.

Ozmint said the president is doing the "bidding" of the American Civil Liberties Union and operating on "left wing politics" that will harm inmates and further the spread of HIV and AIDS in South Carolina.

The alternative is to go the way of some other states and not test the inmates, Ozmint said. That would increase the risk of spreading the virus and disease among other prisoners and inmates in the event of assaults and sex, he said. It also would put the prison staff at a greater risk, he said.

The policy means that HIV- and AIDS-positive inmates are getting treatment and education on how to manage their health, Ozmint said. The prison system couldn't afford to hire specialists to provide HIV and AIDS care throughout the entire state to cover all the facilities, he said.

Treatment of an inmate with full-blown AIDS could cost as much as $2,000 a month, so reversing the policy could mean an immediate savings for the state. But Ozmint said the savings isn't worth the price.

"This is about whether you want more AIDS or less AIDS," Ozmint said.

Ozmint said the Corrections Department is prepared for a court challenge.

Sanford said the threat of a lawsuit over the policy is "crazy."

Victoria Middleton, executive director of the ACLU of South Carolina, said she applauds the Justice Department's apparent position.

“We are glad to hear that the Department of Justice appears to recognize the importance of dismantling this illegal, discriminatory and unnecessary policy. HIV prevention can and should be managed with information and risk-reduction programs – not with illegal stigma and isolation," Middleton said in a statement.

The U.S. Justice Department has not yet provided a response.

Josh Gelinas, communications director for the Corrections Department, said the agency is not releasing the letter from the Justice Department until the agency has completed its response and sent it to the federal government. The Post and Courier has requested a copy from the Justice Department as well.


Gelinas said the prison system created dormitories specifically for HIV-positive inmates in 1998, a decision that has been upheld by the courts. In the past, inmates have brought cases against the prisons over the policy.

"To be clear, inmates in these dormitories are allowed to attend activities with other inmates, including work, school and faith-based programs," Gelinas said in an e-mail.

Gelinas said that since the prisons began housing HIV-positive inmates together, only one instance of the disease being transmitted from one inmate to another was recorded. That happened last year, he said.

The number of HIV-positive inmates has dropped from 582 in 2000 to 420 as of Jan. 1, according to Gelinas. During that same time, the total prison population increased from 22,053 to 24,734.

ACT Ride Begins this Thursday!!

Thursday July 29th- Sunday August 1st

Starting off this Thursday at 6:30am at Olin Park, come cheer out all those who are riding in AIDS Network's ACT 8 Ride.  These individuals will be riding over 300 miles over 4 days to raise money for AIDS Network.  For more information on how YOU can help volunteer or donate to a rider or cheer a rider on, go to here ACT 8 RIDE.

International AIDS Conference XVIII in Vienna, Austria

2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria

Right Here, Right Now

July 18-23

This is the 18th year that there has been a gathering of scientists, doctors, activists, people living with HIV and researchers coming together to talk about not only new research that has come out, but also discuss on a global level, what needs to be done to stop the spread of HIV and to provide access to treatment to those living with HIV.

This year the International AIDS Conference is being held in Vienna, which was chosen because of the role “Vienna has played in bridging Eastern and Western Europe, and {it} will allow for an examination of the epidemic’s impact in Eastern Europe.”

Next year, the International AIDS Conference will be held in Washington D.C. Start planning now to be a part of the world’s largest HIV/AIDS Conference.

Here’s some articles/issues that have come up at this year’s conference that I want to share.

Tenofovir Vaginal Microbicide Gel in South African Woman Results

This is probably the biggest news that has come out of the entire conference so far. It has been many years that scientists and researchers have pushed forth to try and find a microbicide gel that could be used to stop the spread of HIV. This has been very important, as it presents a way for women and men to protect themselves from HIV infection in countries where sexual intercourse is not always consensual.

The results were good, in that there is a 39% success rate for blocking HIV infection which is the best results that a microbicide has ever gotten. This has cause a great amount of excitement and the knowledge that research in microbicides will increase.


Bill Gates and Bill Clinton call for cost effective strategies in the fight against HIV/AIDS

From the Article:

In speeches Monday, at the XVIII International AIDS Conference here, the founder of Microsoft Corp. and the former U.S. president said the current economic crisis putting pressure on donations doesn't change the need to reach more patients with treatment and prevention.

But they said finding efficiencies in delivering treatment and prevention programs would help get services to more patients even if funding remains flat. "Right now, there isn't enough money to simply treat our way out of this epidemic," Mr. Gates told conference attendees. "If we keep spending our resources in exactly the same way we do today, we will fall further behind in our ability to treat everyone."

Mr. Gates and Mr. Clinton are now major global health philanthropists who head foundations that fund a variety of research, treatment and prevention programs in HIV/AIDS and other diseases.



France ACT UP takes over briefly a session of HIV ambassadors to talk about France’s inability to provide more money for HIV treatment and also the lack of effort of the ambassadors to do anything.



At 16 minutes in, ACT UP France among other AIDS Activists take over the session for a few minutes to try and bring up topics that are not being discussed. The ambassadors for HIV within this group are put on the spot when activists demand why there is inaction among them to push government bodies to do more for HIV treatment and prevention. I have to say that the rest of the session is quite boring and really doesn’t do anything to progress discussion on what is being done when it comes to advocacy of HIV. There is discussion of organizations that do HIV research, there’s half hearted talks around whether diplomacy is still active around HIV/AIDS.

Here is the speech that one of the spokespersons gave:

Today activists from organizations of people living with HIV including ACT UP Paris are interrupting this symposium because Patrice Debre the French AIDS ambassador of AIDS in this position for 40 months now. In that time, more than two million people died of AIDS because they did not have access to medicine.

The activists demand today that the French AIDS ambassador answer to the following question. How will it be possible to enroll new people in treatment with no additional money and why fight here against policies to lower the price of drugs?

2010 was supposed to be the year of the universal access to treatment against HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria.

2010 will be the year of G8 countries broken promises. 2010 is the year of funding group initiative for the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

To this date, French has not given any single sign showing that it would improve significantly its contribution to the global fund. Without an increase of at least 40-percent of its contributions, it is not possible to apply new WHO guidelines to begin treatment earlier and to ensure access to second line and third line drugs for all who need it.

2010 is the year of the war against generics.

Indeed 2010 is the year of ACT UP and fighting toward agreements in FTAs, free trade agreements, between India and European Union. These agreements if signed will hinder dramatically the prediction and the expectations of cheap, generic drugs.

So we still ask today for France to triple its contribution to global funds to fight AIDS, TB and malaria and to renounce with the UN to free trade agreements with India, to US, France and Europe to jointly ACT UP. Thank you very much.

National HIV/AIDS Strategy released today!

U.S. 's Strategy to Fight HIV/AIDS

It has been close to thirty years since HIV impacted the United States.  In that time, there was never a concise, National HIV/AIDS strategy in addressing HIV.  There are currently many governmental organizations that all have some part in trying to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.  Centers for Disease Control is on the forefront in providing Evidence Based Interventions for HIV Prevention.  The National Institute for Health (NIH) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have been on the forefront in doing HIV/AIDS treatment clinical trials, dispersing Ryan White and ADAP funds to individuals states and overall trying to help ease the burden of HIV/AIDS for thousands of people.  But there was nothing that ever tied these government agencies and the white house together into a comprehensive strategy in fighting HIV/AIDS.  Untill today.

At 1pm today, the WHITEHOUSE will issue statements concerning the release of the HIV/AIDS Strategy.  While listening into this livestream, make sure to also join the conversation that will be happening at HIV Prevention Justice's website. This is a big day for HIV/AIDS activists all over the country.  Here's hoping we won't be disappointed. 

To get a copy of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, you can go  HERE and download one.

Presidential Advisory Committee voting on a Resolution concerning ADAP

Dr. Deborah Parham

Dr. Parham Hopson is responsible for managing the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 (Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program).

PACHA (Presidential Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS) voted to pass a resolution today that "advised" President Obama to

1. Provide adequate emergency federal ADAP funding in FY2010 ($126,000,000) to eliminate wait lists, reverse cost containment measures, and meet anticipated increased demand for live-saving treatment in FY 2010.

    2.  Provide adequate federal Ryan White Program funding in FY2011 and beyond to meet
         growing demand for Ryan White Program provided care, treatment and essential support  
         services.

     3.  Provide states with the ability to immediately expand access to Medicaid for people living
          with HIV and AIDS through the enactment of the Early Treatment for HIV Act.

For a copy of the rest of the Resolution, go here: http://www.aids.gov/federal-resources/policies/pacha/meetings/june-2010-resolution.pdf

For a copy of the discussion that happened and subsequent comments from those listening in, go here: http://www.preventionjustice.org/

National HIV Testing Day!!! June 27th

AIDS Network is continuing our excellence in HIV Prevention efforts by Acknowledging National HIV Testing Day with a Week of Activities.  Here is a listing of places we will be doing FREE HIV Testing!

June 22
1 - 4 p.m.

Joining Forces for Families
818 W Badger Road

June 24

8 - 11 a.m.

Madison Health Services
3113 E Washington Avenue

and

1 - 4 p.m.

Allied Drive Wellness Center
2225 Allied Drive

June 25

Noon - 4 p.m.

Harambee Center
2202 S Park Street

July 1st
10:30pm - 1:30am

Plan B
924 Williamson St.


And like always, we will be offering Free HIV testing here at AIDS Network every Weekday.  Check the bar to the right for times. 

And here are some statistics from the National Institute of Heath during a presentation they did about National HIV Testing Day.

1 our of 5 people who are living with HIV do NOT know their Status

Last year, 82.6 million adults 18-64 years of age reported they had been tested for HIV.

75% of people who tested positive for HIV were linked to medical care.

Is Lube increasing your risk for STD's and HIV?

The short answer:  Maybe.

A report was presented at a conference in Pennsylvania on Rectal Microbicides that stated that doing tests on some lubricants have shown that they have a high toxicity rate that has increased the breakdown of the integrity of cells in the mucosal lining of both vaginal and anal walls.

The short of it.  Astroglide has been shown to be the most toxic lubrication and shown to be on the same degree of toxicity as the dreaded Spermicide, Nonoxynol-9. 

For a synopsis of the multiple articles that have been released on this as well as media reports, go to HERE.