News headlines

A selection of news stories which have appeared since 13 March 2003.

'Inspirational' Nkosi Johnson honoured by London HIV clinic

At a special naming and dedication ceremony held this morning the HIV clinic at the West London Centre for Sexual Health was relaunched as the Nkosi Johnson unit.

Adherence the factor most associated with HIV suppression in semen

Poor adherence was the single factor most likely to result in HIV being detectable in the semen of men taking anti-HIV drugs in a Brazilian study published in the April 2003 edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

Investment funds tell drug companies to improve treatment access for

poorest countries

A coalition of UK and European investment funds with $943 billion under management are calling on pharmaceutical companies to take swift steps to ensure that poor countries have access to essential medicines.

Is a liver biopsy really needed in an HIV/HCV patient?

Liver biopsies, the "gold standard" for reaching treatment decisions for people coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) may be unnecessary in the majority of cases as tests on biochemical markers can, in most cases, give an indication of liver damage according to two recent studies.

Pakistani and Afghani drug users at high HIV risk

The majority of Pakistani and Afghani male drug injectors lack basic knowledge of HIV and the risk factors that lead to infection, according to a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers found that only 16 percent of the study participants were aware of the existence of HIV or AIDS.

Testing and conselling increases condom use in HIV-discordant couples, but unsafe sex under-reported

Voluntary HIV testing and counselling was associated with a substantial increase in self-reported condom use amongst HIV-discordant heterosexual couples in a study conducted by the University of Alabama and University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia. However, the study, which is published in the 28th March 2003 edition of AIDS, also showed that biological markers were able to detect widespread under-reporting of unprotected sex.

Women do just as well as men on HAART, major cohort reports

Men and women do equally well on HAART according to data from the EuroSIDA cohort published in the 1st April 2003 edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (now available online).

South African HIV treatment activists start civil disobedience programme

HIV treatment activists in South Africa are using the civil disobedience tactics employed by the governing ANC to bring down the apartheid regime to highlight the refusal of the ruling party to provide anti-HIV drugs.

AIDS in Africa: WHO & UNAIDS reaffirm unsafe sex as main mode of transmission

Last Friday (14th March) the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) hosted an expert consultation which addressed issues related to unsafe injection practices and HIV in healthcare contexts and evaluated the relative contribution of unsafe injections to HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa.

Alcohol increases SIV 64-fold in monkeys: implications for HIV transmission

Both HIV and alcohol suppress the immune system, but little is known about the interaction between the two, and how drinking large amounts of alcohol affects HIV replication, particularly in primary infection.

HIV main infectious cause of death amongst pregnant South African women

HIV is the leading infectious cause of death amongst pregnant women in South Africa, according to a report recently released by the country's health ministry.