New UN drug policy will undermine HIV prevention

A new United Nations declaration on drug control policy will significantly undermine harm reduction and HIV prevention, professional groups and human rights activists warned this week.

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High HIV prevalence amongst men who have sex with men in Laos

HIV prevalence is significantly higher amongst men who have sex with men in Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) than any other group in the country, according to a study published in the January 28^th edition of AIDS.

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European study confirms that HIV treatment within three months of birth improves outcome for HIV-positive infants

HIV infected infants who start HIV treatment within three months of birth have a significantly reduced risk of developing AIDS or dying, European investigators report in the March 13^th edition of AIDS. “Deferring treatment in infected infants is no longer an option”, write the investigators.

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Half million deaths from cryptococcal meningitis a year in people with HIV

Researchers have estimated that there were about one million infections and a half a million deaths from HIV-related cryptococcal meningitis worldwide in 2006. The findings published in the February 20^th edition of the journal AIDS also show that sub-Saharan Africa had the highest global burden of cryptococcal meningitis among people living with HIV.

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Screening for cryptococcal antigens in HIV-positive cohort shows benefits of targeted pre-emptive strategy

Screening for cryptococcal antigens in HIV-positive patients before the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a highly effective way of identifying those at risk of developing cryptococcal meningitis, researchers from South Africa have found.

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Drug resistance tests recommended for patients with suspected TB IRIS

Co-infected HIV-TB patients with suspected TB immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) should undergo TB drug susceptibility testing before corticosteroid treatment is considered. Furthermore, better TB IRIS diagnostic procedures are urgently needed to differentiate TB IRIS from other opportunistic infections.

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Endothelial dysfunction in Italian cohort caused by HIV, not antiretrovirals, researchers conclude

A retrospective cohort study has found evidence that HIV infection rather than HIV treatment triggers a condition that is a precursor of heart disease. The study, published in the March 13^th edition of AIDS, examined changes in markers of endothelial dysfunction, which is characterised by damage to the smooth layer of tissue lining the blood vessels.

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Africans and African-Americans progress to AIDS more slowly: strong association with hepatitis B

Two posters at the recent CROI conference, one from Europe and one from the USA, found that people with HIV of African descent have slower CD4 declines and progress more slowly to AIDS compared with people of European descent.

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Protease inhibitor levels in hair can predict success of HIV treatment

In a study published in the February 20^th edition of AIDS, US researchers report that levels of some antiretroviral drugs in head hair samples are a strong predictor of the success of HIV treatment.

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HIV cure needs to be scientific, funding priority, researchers and advocates warn

A long-term public-private partnership should be developed to overcome barriers to a cure for HIV infection, a group of leading HIV researchers from academia and industry declare today in the journal Science.

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ARV roll-out in Ethiopia has reduced adult AIDS deaths by 50% in capital

The roll-out of antiretroviral therapy has led to a decline of about 50% in adult AIDS deaths in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, over a period of five years, according the findings of a study published in the February 20^th edition of the journal AIDS.

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Poorer responses to lipid-lowering drugs in people with HIV

People with HIV had poorer responses to lipid-lowering drugs than the HIV-negative population, but these responses varied according to antiretroviral regimen and lipid-lowering drug, according to a major review of patients receiving treatment through California’s Kaiser Permanente managed care system in the San Francisco area. The findings were published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Injections, alcohol, major risk factors for HIV infection in women in Tanzania prevention trial

Receiving injections outside clinic settings and increased alcohol use emerged as major risk factors for HIV infection among women taking part in an HIV prevention trial in Tanzania, according to the findings of a study published in the January 28^th edition of AIDS.

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'Disco funerals' are a potential risk factor for high HIV incidence among youth in Kisumu, Kenya.

A study has found that 'disco funerals' provide numerous opportunities for high-risk behaviour and could be a contributing factor to high HIV prevalence among young people in Kisumu, Kenya. The findings have been published in the February 20^th edition of the journal AIDS.

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Breakthrough in XDR-TB research could lead to two-drug treatment

A combination of two antiobiotics already in use to treat other bacterial infections could potentially treat extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), scientists from New York’s Yeshiva University report today in the February 27 edition of Science.

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Pioneers in AIDS research say treatment-as-prevention strategy deserves test

One of the pioneers of AIDS research, former Harvard retrovirology professor William Haseltine, said today that universal testing and treatment now offers the best hope of controlling the HIV pandemic.

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Swiss court accepts that criminal HIV exposure is only 'hypothetical' on successful treatment, quashes conviction

In the first ruling of its kind in the world, the Geneva Court of Justice has quashed an 18-month prison sentence given to a 34-year-old HIV-positive African migrant who was convicted of HIV exposure by a lower court in December 2008, after accepting expert testimony from Professor Bernard Hirschel – one of the authors of the Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS consensus statement on the effect of treatment on transmission – that the risk of sexual HIV transmission during unprotected sex on successful treatment is 1 in 100,000.

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Botswana: bleak outlook for future AIDS funding

Botswana's government has warned that it may have to cut or completely withdraw its HIV/AIDS funding, despite the rising number of people needing treatment, as the global economic crisis takes a toll on the vitally important diamond-mining sector.

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Universal access to antiretroviral therapy has not eradicated HIV-related stigma in Tanzania

The roll-out of antiretroviral therapy may paradoxically increase stigma, reduce counselling and testing, and increase sexual risk-taking, according to the findings of a Tanzania-based study published in the online edition of the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

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Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, has made universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support the corporate priority for UNAIDS and promised to make all possible efforts to enable countries to achieve universal access targets by 2010 and reach all MDGs.  

UNAIDS cannot take on this alone, neither as a Secretariat nor through the family of cosponsors. The HIV and AIDS response has always been driven and nurtured through partnerships, networks and movements. This is the reason why Michel Sidibé would like to invite you to take part in the e-Dialogue on universal accesswhich is now opened for your participation and accessible on the UNAIDS website.

This is an opportunity for UNAIDS to hear the voices of all partners in this response, including the civil society and people living with HIV, on where progress is lagging behind and how we can together accelerate the response to universal access by 2010.  

Please join these exciting discussions and register today at: http://forums.unaids.org.

We thank you in advance for your participation and we are looking forward to hear from you!

Sigrun Mogedal, Adviser to the EXD
Lead facilitator for the dialogue on universal access and consultation process