MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'The AIDS Pandemic' source. Sat, 25 Dec 2010 04:30:31 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119521&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fwhat-does-hivaids-cost-answer-to-this.html Ask the UN and you’ll get the staggering sum of $10 billion. A year . The annual per capita cost of treating infected Africans, where much of the UN money goes, is around $1,100. One of the major problems facing HIV/AIDS advocates is their inability to lower this number. An estimated $600 is spent on anti-retroviral drugs, while the remaining $500 is spent on other AIDS associated conditions. Even $10 billion wouldn’t cover treatment for the more than 20 million Africans with HIV/AIDS. A considerable portion of the proposed UN budget is directed not towards treatment but towards prevention. A major problem is that no one can seem to agree on the actual cost. Although the UN has held firm to their estimate, other groups have presented vastly different figures. The World Health Organiza... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119521 Mon, 25 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4119521 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082275&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fpicture-of-life-with-hiv-in-africa.html Africa. The seed of the world. One of the most beautiful and most scintillating places on earth. From the deserts of the Sahara and the rainforests of the Congo to the bright and bustling metropolis of Cape Town, life is rich everywhere. Yet amidst all this beauty and splendor, a deadly scourge threatens the people of this continent. AIDS.Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV/AIDS than is any other region in the world. Somewhere around 22.4 million people in the region are currently living with HIV. This makes up a whopping two-thirds of the global number of HIV-infected individuals. Whereas in other areas of the world the disease affects only certain groups, here, HIV/AIDS affects everyone. This affliction picks apart whole extended families one by one. Schools are gradually ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082275 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4082275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074341&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fcompulsory-hiv-testing.html No one can argue that HIV testing is a bad thing. Knowing one’s status allows a person to access treatment earlier, change risky behaviors, or rest assured that he/she is indeed HIV negative. With that said, why not make HIV testing mandatory for everyone? Hello, I am Katie Morris and this is The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. Dave Wessner, associate professor of biology, and his students at Davidson College. Compulsory HIV testing—which requires that the entire population, or at least certain high-risk groups, is tested for HIV—has gotten a bad reputation in recent years from human rights activists who argue for a person’s right to choose to know whether or not they have HIV. However, studies have shown that usually, once a person knows he/she is HIV positive he/she will c... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074341 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0100 4074341 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3786241&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Faids-2010-day-6.html The XVIII International AIDS Conference has come to a close. During the final day, summaries of the meeting were presented and the organizers of the next meeting were introduced.In 2012, the XIX International AIDS Conference will be held in Washington, DC. The meeting is being held in the US for the first time sonic 1990 because the US recently lifted it's ban on the entry of HIV positive people.I'll write more about this meeting in the next couple weeks. Right now, though, it's time to pack. (Source: The AIDS Pandemic) The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3786241 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3786241 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784450&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Faids-2010-day-5.html At this meeting, the official sessions - plenary talks, poster presentations, panel discussions - are only half of the story. For the week of he International AIDS Conference, the city of Vienna has been awash with other events, all related to the conference. It's hard to make time for everything, but I've tried my best!One day this week, I visited a counseling center for female sex workers in Vienna. The visit was one of several local engagement tours organized by the conference to give participants a closer look at programs related to HIV/AIDS in Vienna. On my tour, I visited Sophie (http://www.sophie.or.at). The director talked to us about the legality of sex work in Austria and the issues faced by sex workers in Vienna.On another day, I visited a exhibition kf works by Keith Haring, th... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784450 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3784450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3780518&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Faids-2010-day-3-4.html The big news at the conference on Tuesday was the announcement of an effective vaginal microbicide. Dr. Abdool Karim and colleagues from South Africa made the announcement to a very enthusiastic crowd. For the first time in the 30 year battle against AIDS, there now is some hope that women may some day be able to control their risk of infection.In thus study, the researchers provided women in both an urban and a rural area with capsules of a gel containing 1% tenofovir. Other women received capsules containing a placebo. This antiretroviral drug is a nucleoside analog that has been well studies and shown to effectively reduce viral replication. Women were told to apply the gel intra-vaginally no more than 12 hours before having sex, and again no more than 12 hours after having sex. Partici... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3780518 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3780518 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767262&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Faids-2010-day-2.html Today was the first full day of activities at the XVIII International AIDS Conference. And what a day it was. Again, I'm amazed by the energy and excitement associated with this meeting. And at this year's conference, unlike previous AIDS conferences that I have attended, there seems to be a legitimate sense of optimism.As we have heard from several speakers, remarkable progress has been made over the past few years. More drugs have been developed and these drugs are available to more people. Thanks to programs like PEPFAR, The Global Fund, and the Clinton Foundation, more people in developing countries are receiving antiretroviral treatment. The progress has been amazing.But, as former president Clinton noted, this is only the end of the beginning.treatment alone is not the answer. Dr. Sh... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767262 Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3767262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3764267&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Frights-here-right-now-aids-2010.html Today marked the opening of the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. What strikes me most about this biennial conference is the energy and excitement. People from all over the world gather with a single goal - the end of the AIDS pandemic. Everyone here, from scientists to politicians to educators to activists are passionate about their work and united in their desire.After being here for only a day, a few themes seem to be emerging. First, this conference feels very much like a conference about and for Eastern Europe. As we heard from several speakers already, Eastern European and Central Asian countries are seeing the fastest growing HIV epidemic. Another theme that has emerged is the need for harm reduction policies. Finally, we have heard about the need for policy ba... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3764267 Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3764267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733245&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fborn-hiv-free-campaign-to-end-mother-to.html “By 2015, let us end the transmission of HIV from mother to child. This is not a dream: we can do it.”Carla Bruni-Sarkozy,The Global Fund AmbassadorWith that simple statement from Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy as its guiding principle, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has launched Born HIV Free. The goal of this new initiative is straightforward – stop the mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy notes, this goal is achievable. We have at our disposal the means of protecting our children from infection.When an HIV+ woman becomes pregnant and gives birth, the virus can be transmitted to the infant during gestation, during delivery, or through subsequent breast-feeding. These types of transmission collectively are referred to as mother-to-child transmission... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733245 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3733245 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699663&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fnational-hiv-testing-day.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic. June 27, 2010 is National HIV Testing Day. For many people, this news probably is met with ambivalence. We have a day for everything, it seems. So here it is - another day with another name. We shouldn't, though, link National HIV Testing Day with the made-by-Hallmark days. This day should be different.On National HIV Testing Day, we all should remind ourselves of the vital role testing plays in our continuing efforts to rid the world of HIV/AIDS. According to the CDC, 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV. Approximately 1 in 5, however, do not know they are infected. This needs to change. When one knows his or her HIV status, he or she is less likely to transmit the virus. Knowing one's status can lead to earlier treatment, and earli... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699663 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:00:00 +0100 3699663 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3015433&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Ftaking-lessons-from-ccr532-mutation-for.html I’m Lindsay Sween, and welcome to this installment of the AIDS Pandemic blog and podcast.Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) invades a CD4+ (T4) cell through the attachment of the viral protein gp120 to its primary cellular receptor, CD4, and to a transmembrane chemokine coreceptor, usually CCR5 or CXCR4. Agrawal et al. (2007) explain that the removal of 32 base pairs from the CCR5 gene results in the CCR5Δ32 mutation, which produces a shortened, nonfunctional protein that cannot act as a coreceptor due to the fact that it is no longer expressed on the cell membrane. Thus, individuals homozygous for the CCR5 mutation (also known as CCR5 -/- individuals) are extremely resistant to contracting HIV-1, while heterozygous people (aka CCR5+/- people) express fewer CCR5 proteins on the... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3015433 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 3015433 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984980&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fsearch-for-hiv-vaccine.html I'm Paige Bates and this is The AIDS PandemicThe RV144 study was a phase III HIV vaccine trial conducted by the US Army and Thai government over seven years on 16,402 volunteers—all HIV negative men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 in parts of Thailand. For ethical reasons, all participants were taught HIV prevention behaviors, given condoms, and promised lifelong antiretroviral treatment if they contracted HIV. Half of the volunteers were given a prime-boost vaccine regimen and half received placebo vaccinations. The prime-boost approach utilizes Sanofi Pasteur’s ALVAC-HIV vaccine as a prime and AIDSVAX (originally made by Genentech) as a boost. ALVAC-HIV is comprised of a canarypox virus with three HIV genes grafted onto it. AIDSVAX contains a recombinant gp120 protein found o... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984980 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100 2984980 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2902930&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fintersecting-epidemics-hivaids-and.html Hi, I’m Justin Eusebio.While tuberculosis is one of the world’s oldest surviving plagues and HIV-1 infection is one of medicine’s newest challenges, there is an undeniable relationship between HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Independently, Mycobacteria tuberculosis and HIV are formidable pathogens but in concert, the prospects for controlling either epidemic are jeopardized. TB-HIV coinfection and interaction complicate all aspects of each disease: pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and even social and economic issues. Not only are individuals more likely to undergo tuberculosis infection if living with HIV, depending on their geographic location, people living with HIV infection are 6-50 times more likely to develop active TB than people ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2902930 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2902930 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2855795&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fpreventing-mother-to-child-transmission.html Welcome to this installment of the AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dave Wessner of the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I am Sarah Bertram. This past summer, I traveled to Mwandi, Zambia through a Davidson biology and pre-medical program. Mwandi is a predominantly Lozi village of about 7,000 people and the catchment area totals about 25,000 people. We spent 5 weeks in Africa, 3 of which were spent working in the Mwandi Mission Hospital, the Mwandi AIDS clinic, the Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s center, and the Mother and Child Health Center. We all went with a research topic to study that was based on some aspect of Mwandian life. I looked at Mwandi’s Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, otherwise known as the PMTCT program, and its effectiveness over the ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2855795 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2855795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2298736&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fcase-for-thai-msm-and-msw.html The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in certain high risk groups is on the rise today as government funding for prevention campaigns nears an all-time low in Thailand, a country once touted the ‘poster-child’ for HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Hello, I am Devynn Birx-Raybuck and this is The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. Dave Wessner, associate professor of biology, and his students at Davidson College. Though Thailand’s initial response to the AIDS epidemic was weak in its early years, in 1991, the new Prime Minister made HIV prevention and treatment a national priority. However, the country’s grip on the disease seems to be slipping recently, as evidenced by decreased funding in important sectors, increases in infection rates among MSM (men who have sex with men) and injection drug u... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2298736 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0100 2298736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232766&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fdissidents-views-of-hiv-tests.html Momentum for the alternate HIV/AIDS explanation started in 1987 when Dr. Peter Duesberg, a professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California at Berkeley and initial demonstrator that the influenza virus has a segmented genome, published a paper claiming that HIV cannot be the cause of AIDS. Four years later, a number of scientists formed “The Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis” which later established itself as an official non-profit organization. Within another four years, 32 scientists with advanced medical degrees published a statement in Science asking for the reconsideration of the current HIV/AIDS theory. Since this publishing, over 2,100 people have signed this statement. Should institutions acknowledge any concerns from this s... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232766 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2232766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2200621&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Fhivaids-orphans-in-sub-saharan-africa.html More than twenty-five million people have died from AIDS since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in history. It is undeniable however, that sub-Saharan Africa is the hardest hit and most affected area in the world. Of the global 2.9 million AIDS related deaths in 2007, 72% occurred in this area. AIDS has devastated the social and economic framework of societies in sub-Saharan Africa by mostly infecting people in the age group of 15-49, while 63% of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS today live in Sub-Saharan Africa. What is also startling is that, of the 2.9 million people who died from AIDS in 2007 one in seven was children. HIV/AIDS also has many indirect effects. Children of HIV positive parents compose the largest group of secondar... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2200621 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2200621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2173004&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Fus-travel-ban-on-hiv-infected.html This study not only shows the inefficacy of the travel ban, but shows the harm presented to HIV positive individuals who desire to visit the United States. The study showed that patients on anti-retroviral therapy (212 patients) were more likely to go off their medication, increasing their chances of developing drug-resistant HIV strains or developing AIDS. The study concluded that people do so “with insufficient planning and advice.”Only about a dozen countries around the world maintain a travel ban on people living with HIV. These countries are: Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Sudan, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Moldova, Russia, Armenia, and South Korea. Should the United States still include itself amongst these countries in discriminating against people living with HIV?Thanks for listeni... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2173004 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2173004 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2092619&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fryan-white-care-act.html I'm Utsha Khatri. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, was the first piece of comprehensive AIDS legislation created to provide funding for people living with AIDS (PWAs) to access care and treatment. Ryan White was a young, Caucasian hemophiliac who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion. He was diagnosed with AIDS at age thirteen and died six years later. Prior to the media’s coverage of the Ryan White story, it was widely held that HIV/AIDS only affected marginalized sectors of society namely homosexuals, intravenous drug users, and racial minorities. However, because of the widespread media attention given to the Ryan White story, the American people soon realized that this was not the case and that it could potentially infect anyone. When Ryan White�... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2092619 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100 2092619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2046897&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Ftime-to-prepare-for-prep.html It all began with a 1994 study that showed antiretrovirals given to HIV-positive pregnant women before and during childbirth – as well as to the child upon delivery – reduced the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission by 50%. Next were the post-exposure prophylaxis guidelines issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 1998, recommending an antiretroviral regimen for healthcare workers after unintended HIV exposure. Then, 2006 brought exciting data gleaned from a study of monkeys who remained uninfected after repeated exposure to a HIV-like virus as a result of taking the antiretroviral drugs tenofovir and emtrictabine. These studies raised the question: Can drugs prevent HIV? After recent unimpressive results in vaccine and microbicide tests, scientists’ leading hop... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2046897 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2046897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2027151&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fnew-leadership-in-south-africa-brings.html 72% of the 5.5 million South Africans who are HIV-positive are in need of antiretroviral (ARV) drug treatment. In leading the movement against ARV drugs, recently removed South African President Thabo Mbeki denied millions of his people HIV treatment. He believes that the AIDS pandemic was created by Western pharmaceutical companies to take advantage of Africans and maximize their profits. Mbeki also sides with dissident scientists in denying that the HIV virus causes AIDS and in 2003 he was quoted as saying, “Personally, I don’t know anybody who has died of AIDS” and when asked if he knew anyone infected with HIV he responded, “I really, honestly don’t”. Mbeki’s views opposing antiretroviral drugs were echoed by his Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, more commonly kn... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2027151 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2027151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005883&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fworld-aids-day-power-of-one.html Today is the 20th annual World AIDS Day, a day set aside to remember those who have died of HIV/AIDS and those who are living with HIV/AIDS. It’s also a day to remind ourselves that we all are affected by this disease. Today, many of us are wearing red ribbon pins. Many of us have placed red ribbon photos on social networking sites. Many of us will be attending HIV/AIDS breakfasts or seminars. Many of us are blogging about HIV/AIDS.Do any of these events really matter? Roughly 35 million people worldwide are infected. 14,000 people become newly infected every day. Will wearing a red ribbon or attending a breakfast change that? Sometimes, the pessimist in me says no. But then I look around at the various activities going on and think differently. Never underestimate the power of small act... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005883 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2005883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980878&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Frole-of-concurrent-relationships-in.html I'm Courtney Sanders.According to the 2008 UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to bear a disproportionate share of the global HIV/AIDS burden. In all, an estimated 67% of people living with HIV reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2007, three-quarters of all deaths resulting from AIDS occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though the first HIV cases in the United States were noted in 1981, HIV was not seen in African countries until the late 80s. From its first appearance, the infection rate has soared with unequivocal momentum. Currently, the infection rate in Sub-Saharan Africa falls in the range of 15-28%. Just to give you a point of comparison in understanding the magnitude of this statistic, the HIV infection rate in the United States has never exc... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980878 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1980878 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1951964&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Freality-of-hivaids-it-hasnt-gone-away.html In a recent episode of the television show South Park, one of the main characters is infected with HIV. In an attempt to find a cure, he must continually deal with the public opinion that AIDS is no longer a threatening condition. He is told that his disease is “a disease of the 80s and 90s” and even that he is “retro” for being infected with HIV. But has this retrovirus truly become retro to Americans? If we take South Park as a social barometer, then it seems that the disease has been marginalized in the public eye. Public interest on the Internet regarding AIDS is declining as well. A recent government blog about Google search hits for the terms “HIV” or “AIDS” shows a declining trend over the past four years. Each year, fewer people searched for the terms “HIV” or �... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1951964 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1951964 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1911381&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fhivaids-in-south-africa-past-present.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I’m Kara Earle.Since the diagnosis of the first case of HIV in 1982, infection rates in South Africa have skyrocketed. It is currently estimated that one in five South Africans, or approximately 5.7 million people, are living with HIV. In addition, there are nearly 1,000 AIDS-related deaths occurring daily. Many AIDS experts around the world blame the South African government for their lack of appropriate response to this nationwide epidemic. Until 2003, South Africans using the public health system could only receive treatment for the opportunistic infections acquired as a result of being HIV positive, but not the antiretroviral drugs that fight the... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1911381 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1911381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1879920&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fblog-action-day-2008-poverty-and.html Today is Blog Action Day 2008, a day in which bloggers throughout the world are blogging about a single issue - poverty. It is the hope of the organizers that this concerted effort will raise awareness about this important issue, lead to increased donations to groups combating poverty, and, ultimately, lead to some real changes. I am happy to be a part of this year’s effort.While many of us this week are concerned about our shrinking 401(k) accounts, the situation is much more dire for millions of people throughout the world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 37.3 million Americans were living in poverty in 2007 and over 45 million Americans lacked health insurance. Nearly 1 in 4 African Americans are living in poverty.According to Global Issues, over 3 billion people worldwide live o... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1879920 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1879920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1809811&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Faids-related-dementia.html I’m Bevin EnglishSince the early stages of the AIDS pandemic, doctors have known about an important neurological complication of HIV infection. This condition, known as AIDS-related dementia, AIDS dementia complex (ADC), or HIV-associated dementia (HAD), is a complex and poorly understood disease, and has the potential to greatly impact many people’s lives, including HIV-positive individuals and their families and close friends. In the United States, HIV-1 is the most common cause of dementia in adults under the age of 40. Also, neurological impairment affects roughly 60% of HIV-positive patients throughout the world. The major causes of neurological impairment include opportunistic infections, such the parasite toxoplasmosis, and AIDS-related dementia.The primary symptoms of AIDS-rela... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1809811 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1809811 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1785998&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fpresence-of-hivaids-in-prison.html Welcome to The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I'm Ali Cundari.U.S. prison populations are at a record high today, with barely enough room to house incarcerated individuals. Due to the close proximity and high-risk behaviors of inmates, as well as a lack of intervention from authorities, the transmission of HIV in prisons is a major problem today. A combination of both pre-existing and new infections plague prison populations, making them one of UNAIDS’ four major at-risk groups for HIV/AIDS.In 2005, 1.8% of all state inmates and 1.0% of all federal prison inmates in the U.S. were believed to be HIV positive, leading to a total of 22,480 infected individuals behind bars. These percentages are disproportionate to the... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1785998 Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1785998 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1742783&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fimpacts-of-hivaids-on-economic.html In 2000, the United Nations created a list of 8 Millennium Development Goals to help promote economic growth and development among developing countries. One of these goals is to combat HIV/AIDS by stopping and reversing its spread and providing universal access to drugs for those infected. While this is definitely a worthwhile goal, why is it included among a list of targets to support growth? Well it turns out, that the impact of HIV/AIDS on the economy can be substantial.The first immediate effect of HIV is a drop in household productivity as the working members of the household succumb to the disease. One study by UNAIDS estimated that household production could drop anywhere between 30%-60% due to an AIDS death in the family. Another study from the Ivory Coast examined what implication... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1742783 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1742783 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1726398&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fhivaids-role-of-abstinence-only.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I’m Amy Jendrek.In fiscal year 2005, President Bush requested $270 million to fund abstinence-only education programs in the U.S. While Congress did not appropriate the full amount requested, they did allocate $167 million to support these programs. There are three principal programs that use federal funds to support abstinence-only education.The first of these is SPRANS, Special Programs of Regional and National Significance, which has a sub-program devoted to Community-Based Abstinence Education. In 2001, its first year of funding, 33 SPRANS recipients received $20 million in grants. By 2004, the program had over 100 grantees and a budget of $75 mi... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1726398 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1726398 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1723494&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fhivaids-and-abstinence-only-education.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I’m Amy Jendrek.In fiscal year 2005, President Bush requested $270 million to fund abstinence-only education programs in the U.S. While Congress did not appropriate the full amount requested, they did allocate $167 million to support these programs. There are three principal programs that use federal funds to support abstinence-only education.The first of these is SPRANS, Special Programs of Regional and National Significance, which has a sub-program devoted to Community-Based Abstinence Education. In 2001, its first year of funding, 33 SPRANS recipients received $20 million in grants. By 2004, the program had over 100 grantees and a budget of $75 mi... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1723494 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1723494 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709233&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fopportunistic-infections-in-developing.html In the United States and other developed nations, for many people, AIDS has become a manageable disease. With adequate care and lots of medication, HIV positive individuals can live with relatively few serious complications for a long time. In the US, 71% of HIV-infected individuals have at least started HAART therapy, decreasing deaths per infected individuals per year from 30/100 to 5/100 since the 1980’s. In developed nations, however, HIV positive individuals do not have the luxury of adequate care. In areas like Africa where the ‘burden of disease’ is highest, HIV positive individuals must face an array of opportunistic infections as their CD4 counts dip lower and lower. Because these opportunistic infections are generally localized to areas where HAART is not available, it is b... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709233 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1709233 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1692199&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fthemes-from-international-aids.html Today marks the end of the 17th International AIDS Conference. 25,000 delegates were in Mexico City this week to discuss the current state of the pandemic. While I was not able to attend this year’s conference, I have been following the proceedings online. What were some of the major themes? The infection rate in the US is higher than previously thought. We need to do a better job reaching out to men who have sex with men. We need to develop an effective microbicide. We need to serve our children more effectively. New media – blogs, podcasts, twitter, mobile phones – may help us get the message out.Because of AIDS conference, there have been numerous reports about HIV/AIDS this week. Here are a few that I found interesting.At InsideBayArea.com, Josh Richman tells us that Representati... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1692199 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1692199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1660814&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fus-to-lift-hiv-travel-ban.html “This week, Congress voted to expand a vital program that is saving lives across the developing world — the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. I thank members of Congress from both sides of the aisle for working with my Administration to pass this important bill, and I will be honored to sign it into law next week.”With those words, President Bush on Saturday indicated his strong approval of the PEPFAR legislation passed last week by Congress. The bill provides an additional $48 billion over the next 5 years to fight HIV/AIDS, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. According to Pres. Bush: “When we first launched this program five-and-a-half years ago, the scourge of HIV/AIDS had cast a shadow over the continent of Africa. Only 50,000 people with AIDS in sub-Sahara Afr... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1660814 Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1660814 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551430&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fnational-hiv-testing-day.html Today, Friday, June 27th, is National HIV Testing Day. Many of us, I would guess, have become somewhat desensitized to these types of events. We are inundated by days or weeks or months dedicated to various causes. It would be easy to ignore National HIV Testing Day or view it as just another event on an already overcrowded calendar. But I encourage all of you to pay attention to this special day. Why? Because HIV/AIDS is preventable. It is only preventable, though, if all of us know our HIV status. Today, the CDC estimates that roughly a quarter million people in the US are HIV+ and do not know it. We need to decrease this number. If we are going to beat HIV/AIDS, it’s important that people know their status. Where can you get tested? If you don’t know of a local testing site, simp... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551430 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1551430 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1526288&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fkwame-dawes-reports-on-hivaids-in.html In a recent installment of The AIDS Pandemic, Tamar Odle described the stigmatization of homosexuals and people living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. As she reported, the discrimination against homosexuals stems from deep-rooted cultural beliefs and values. And this discrimination against homosexuals has increased the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in this country.Recently, Kwame Dawes, a poet and professor at the University of South Carolina, reported in The Washington Post on the current state of people living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. With funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, the Jamaican government has been able to supply free or low-cost antiretroviral drugs to many Jamaicans living with HIV/AIDS. But public perception of HIV/AIDS remains a problem. And b... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1526288 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1526288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1516570&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fhivaids-outreach-in-african-american_13.html Historically, barbershops and hair salons have served as hubs in the African American community where people go to discuss issues in the community, politics, family, and life issues. Within these establishments there is a sense of community, and it provides opportunities for African Americans to develop ideas and form a sense of identity. African Americans usually build relationships with their stylists where they are comfortable enough to gossip and share personal information. As a result, HIV/AIDS Outreach Programs have begun to use barbershops and hair salons to get through to the African American community. Such unconventional outreach locations are effective in providing prevention efforts that is culturally relevant, non-intrusive, and accommodating for sharing information and learni... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1516570 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1516570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1458586&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fsocial-components-of-hivaids.html I'm Dominique Maietta. Mwandi is a relatively rural village in the South-Western corner of Zambia. The town is home to the Mwandi Christian Hospital, which has a catchment area of approximately 25,000 individuals. During the summer of 2006, I traveled to Mwandi in order to study the psychological and social components associated with HIV/AIDS there. Here I will talk about some of my findings. The incidence of HIV in the village is around 30-40% and the percentage of HIV positive people is larger within the Mission Hospital patient population according to interviews with medical officers on the hospital staff. The majority of the interviewees expressed their feelings that economic hardship is a major social component of the spread of HIV in Mwandi, just as it is in the rest of Sub-Saharan ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1458586 Tue, 20 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1458586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1423263&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fhivaids-in-china.html In 2006, official estimates put the number of HIV-positive individuals in China at about 650,000. This figure – reached by the World Health Organization – means that China, holding roughly 1/6th of the world’s population, contributes to only 1/60th of the cases of HIV/AIDS globally. However, it has also been estimated that if rising infection rates are not curbed, the HIV-positive population could breach 10 million by 2010. This has sparked a more liberal attitude from Party leadership toward sex education, which until a year ago, made possession of a condom adequate evidence for prostitution charges. In developed nations, MSM can account for 70% of HIV infections, while in sub-Saharan Africa, which bears the brunt of HIV infections, heterosexual contact is a major route of transmiss... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1423263 Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1423263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1393760&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F04%2Fcancer-in-aids-patients.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I’m Mike Neri.In this episode, I will talk about a topic that is gaining increasing interest from the AIDS community: cancer. This podcast goes over why cancer is becoming more of an issue for AIDS patients, why some cancers occur more often in HIV-positive people, the complications of treating people with AIDS for cancer, and what needs to be done in the fight against cancer and AIDS. Most people following the evolution treatment of AIDS patients focus on the development of more effective drugs against HIV as the main battle in the war against this disease. Certainly, finding medicines that can lessen HIV’s ability to destroy the immune system and... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1393760 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1393760 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1370787&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F04%2Frethinking-aids-dissident-movement.html On October 25th, 2007, AIDS activist Ron Hudson posted an entry on his blog describing three apparently fraudulent e-mails he had received over the past month. Each of these messages appeared to come from a prominent member or group of the mainstream AIDS establishment (Dr. Robert Gallo, Dr. Luc Montagnier, and AIDSTruth.org), but each also supported the unconventional view that the HIV virus does not cause AIDS. This disputed notion is the primary tenet of a controversial group of activists who seek to overturn much of what is widely accepted about HIV and AIDS. Variously called the AIDS dissident movement, the AIDS reappraisal movement, and the AIDS denialist movement, this loosely affiliated community has various beliefs and goals but is united by the shared conviction that AIDS is not ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1370787 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1370787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1356169&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F04%2Fmyths-and-misconceptions-about-hivaids.html Myths and misconceptions about HIV and AIDS have been around since the very beginning of the pandemic. The first myths stemmed largely from the lack of information on this relatively new disease. One of the first myths, one that claimed that AIDS was a gay disease only, was strongly encouraged by the media. This exacerbated problems with prevention as misinformation was widely circulated. Since then, new myths have emerged. These myths have emerged despite the fact that there is now more accurate information on HIV. These new myths also create problems with prevention as people unknowingly put themselves at risk to contract the virus. Myths and Misconceptions about Prevention and Transmission There are many contemporary myths and misconceptions about HIV prevention and transmission and th... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1356169 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1356169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1250205&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Fstigmatization-of-homosexuals-and.html The HIV/AIDS epidemic hit the Caribbean in the early 1980s and was primarily transmitted by homosexual men. However, this trend was greatly reversed in the mid-1980s in which the main mode of transmission became heterosexual sexual contact. Despite the reversal of the mode of transmission from homosexual men to heterosexuals, there remains a large group of individuals in the Caribbean that still view HIV/AIDS as a “gay disease”. In the Caribbean, the most stigmatized groups that have HIV/AIDS are homosexuals (particularly men) and sex workers. As a result of this stigmatization, homosexuals and sex workers are denied health care and are victims of harassment and hate crimes in many Caribbean islands. Jamaica has the third largest population in the Caribbean of people living with HIV/AI... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1250205 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1250205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1131041&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Fplight-of-aids-orphans.html The objectives of the OVC are to provide nutritional support by utilizing the feeding a program that provides one meal a day for children ranging in ages from six months to fifteen years old. The Orphan and Vulnerable Children Center also provides children with a daily multivitamin, to keep them from becoming ill often. They also assist in the continuance of good health and hygiene, by conducting health checks as well as teeth cleaning. Children in the OVC who are HIV-positive are given extra food and must get monthly checkups at the local hospital, the UCZ Mission Hospital. Although the program is designed to feed well over one hundred children, there are still many children in Mwandi who go to work and school with little to eat. The director, Fiona Dixon, of the OVC in Mwandi has impleme... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1131041 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1131041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1106250&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F12%2Fhiv-research-funding.html It is often said that we know more about HIV than any other virus, and it’s likely to be true. In the 1980’s a staggering amount of scientific research regarding the genome, viral receptors, transmission of HIV, and drug development – including the FDA’s approval of AZT was accomplished. Scientists were hopeful that a vaccine could be developed within a few years, and it seemed that HIV might soon become a problem of the past. However, there is still much to be learned about the virus – and we have yet to see a successful vaccine. Since the 1980’s billions of dollars have been allocated for HIV/AIDS research and drug development. For 2007 alone, 2.6 billion dollars was allocated by the federal government for research on HIV. Funding for HIV research is higher than for any ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1106250 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1106250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1079749&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F12%2Fmerck-announces-failure-of-v520-hiv.html On September 21, 2007, Merck announced the disappointing news that the Phase IIb testing of it’s V520 as an HIV vaccine candidate would be cut short per recommendations of the study’s Data Safety and Monitoring Board. The National Institute of Health and the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases worked with Merck in a clinical trial that began in 2004 named the Step Study involving 3,000 HIV-negative, but “high-risk” individuals in North America, South America and Australia. During a preliminary review of data, the DSMB found 24 of the 751 volunteers who received one dose of V520, and 19 of the 672 who received two doses became infected with HIV. They found nearly identical rates of infection in those who had received placebo. Moreover, those who became infected af... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1079749 Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1079749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1062878&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fcognitive-dissonance-theory-hivaids.html Welcome to The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I'm Ali Cundari.Beyond the obvious physical symptoms associated with AIDS, there are many psychological and social implications surrounding this debilitating disease that we don’t often consider. Mass media efforts and expensive awareness campaigns have done a good job at spreading information to the general public, however, these programs have not been highly successful in reducing risky sexual behavior. Talking about sexuality and proper protection is a topic very uncomfortable to many people, even in today’s world, and this is the reason why many people fail to practice safe sex despite the vast knowledge about how this disease is transmitted. Additionally, a perpl... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1062878 Fri, 30 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1062878 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1017676&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Ftesting-and-treatment-of-hivaids-in.html According to a 2006 UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update, there are approximately 39.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world. Of those infected, 2.3 million are aged 15 or younger. Approximately 90% of children infected with HIV acquire the virus perinatally, meaning it is transmitted from a mother to her child during pregnancy, labor, delivery or through breastfeeding. According to the CDC, the prevalence of mother-to-child transmission of AIDS in the US has dropped significantly due to effective testing of pregnant women and treatment of those found to be infected; in resource poor settings, however, the testing and treatment of infected women is far less common. In 2005, the UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update found that only 9% of pregnant women in resource poor countries w... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1017676 Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1017676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1002283&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fproductred-philanthropy-or-exploitation.html Product(RED)An earlier installment of this podcast from a year ago called attention to the launch of PRODUCT(RED) in the United States. Since the brand’s introduction, (RED) watches, sunglasses, t-shirts, cell phones, and iPods have been extensively marketed and sold, with some of the revenues going to support the fight against AIDS in Africa. Nevertheless, the (RED) brand has been a target of criticism for its commercial approach to a philanthropic endeavor. In this installment, I intend to take a close look at PRODUCT(RED) and its impact on the AIDS pandemic.(RED)’s business model embodies the strategy of cause marketing, where for-profit companies and non-profit organizations collaborate in a joint initiative for their mutual benefit. (RED) currently has partnerships with several di... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1002283 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 04:00:00 +0100 1002283 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=982576&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fintegrase-inhibitor-isentress-provides.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I’m Mike Neri.In this podcast, I will talk about the optimism surrounding the recently FDA approved AIDS drug Isentress, including how it works, what step in the HIV replication cycle it affects, and what preliminary data show about the drug’s effectiveness and side effects. Ever since the discovery of HIV as the causative agent of AIDS, scientists have searched for weaknesses in its life cycle that they can exploit. As early as 1990, scientists had identified 13 pathways in the life cycle of HIV where the virus was susceptible to treatment. Unfortunately, due to the years of trial and error necessary to produce safe and effective drugs, new AIDS m... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=982576 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 982576 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=982575&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fintegrase-inhibitors-new-hope.html I’m Bevin English.On October 12th, the Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) announced that it had approved a New Drug Application for a completely new kind of medication in the fight against AIDS. This drug, called IsentressTM, is the first integrase inhibitor and comes in 400 mg tablets that are taken twice daily. Produced by Merck & Co., Inc., Isentress, whose generic name is raltegravir and whose in-development name was MK-0518, has impressed many leading AIDS researchers, including Dr. Amneris Luque, medical director of the AIDS Center at the University of Rochester, who called the new drug “the road to hope for people who have failed all other AIDS medications.”Before raltegravir’s approval, there were three oral anti-retroviral drug classes approved by the FDA: nucleoside r... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=982575 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 982575 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=966942&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fhivaids-brazilian-response.html In the arena of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, Brazil has become a beacon of hope, particularly among developing countries. Countries around the globe are now looking towards their system of universal AIDS care for guidance.In the early 90’s it was estimated that within a decade, the number of HIV+ people in Brazil would be near 1.2 million. Instead, recent estimates suggest that only half that amount (about 660,000 people) are infected. How have they been so successful in limiting the spread of this deadly disease? With a three pronged government program focusing on prevention, treatment, and reducing the stigma associated with AIDS patients.The first aspect of Brazil’s plan hopes to prevent the spread of HIV, particularly among the highest risk groups. After a brief stint of abst... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=966942 Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 966942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=767590&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F07%2Faids-pandemic-your-thoughts.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic. I’m Dave Wessner.Last week, I was invited to speak about this blog and podcast at the annual meeting of the American Society for Virology in Corvallis Oregon. Based on questions and comments I received, I’d like to try something a little different with this installment. I’d like to ask for your opinion of this project.Before getting your feedback, though, I’d like to remind everyone about the genesis of this podcast. I began it during the summer of 2006, just over a year ago. Throughout the fall, students enrolled in my course on HIV/AIDS at Davidson College developed and recorded installments, which we then posted throughout the academic year. Beginning in September, a new group of students will continue this project, recording and... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=767590 Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:00:00 +0100 767590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=691304&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F06%2Fnational-hiv-testing-day.html Welcome to this install of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner of Davidson College. I’m Dave Wessner.June 27 is the 15th annual National HIV Testing Day, an event sponsored by the National Association of People with AIDS to encourage people to get tested and learn their HIV status. Today, I had the pleasure of participating in a Webinar hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about this important event.During this Webinar, we were reminded of the CDC’s new recommendations about HIV testing – all individuals between the ages of 13 and 64 should be tested routinely on an opt-out basis. In other words, testing for HIV should be included in normal health care, unless a person specifically asks not to be... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=691304 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100 691304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=651113&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fbush-advocates-30b-for-pepfar.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from Davidson College. I’m Dave Wessner.Yesterday, President Bush implored Congress to extend PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, for an additional 5 years and allocate an additional $30 billion to the program. Initially proposed in the President’s 2003 State of the Union address, PEPFAR targets HIV/AIDS treatment in 15 countries with high HIV/AIDS burdens.As President Bush noted, the $15 billion allocated to PEPFAR thus far has resulted in antiretroviral drugs for 1.1 million people in these resource limited countries and the increased funding could result in treatment for as many as 2.5 million people. This drug therapy, obviously, will extend and improve the lives of these l... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=651113 Thu, 31 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 651113 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=623628&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Ftrue-colors-tour-for-human-rights.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from Davidson College. I’m Dave Wessner.We opened this installment with a short segment from True Colors, by Cyndi Lauper, the iconic voice of ‘80s pop. Long supported by and a supporter of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities, Lauper recently announced her plans for this summer’s True Colors tour in support of the Human Rights Campaign. Along with Debbie Harry, the Dresden Dolls, Erasure, and others, Cyndi Lauper will headline this tour that opens June 8th in Las Vegas. A portion of all tickets sales will go to the Human Rights Campaign.Throughout its 25-year history, HIV/AIDS has been inextricably linked to human rights issues. Sexual violence against women, stigma associated ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=623628 Fri, 18 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 623628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=592719&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fmicrobicides-empowering-women.html Current global AIDS statistics are staggering, to say the least. Approximately 40 million people worldwide are living with the disease, while 14,000 new infections occur each day. Women make up almost 50% of adult infections, but this figure is higher in sub-Saharan Africa, where women are 30% more likely to be HIV-positive than men. Due to physiological differences, women are twice as likely as men to contract HIV from an infected partner, but many lack the necessary tools for protection. Even if the tools are available, poverty and inequality can make it impossible for women to have control over their sexual interactions. The ABCs of prevention (abstain, be faithful, and use condoms) are useless without male cooperation. The ABCs are even more ineffective for married women with non-mono... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=592719 Sun, 06 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 592719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=557225&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fvirip-new-anti-hiv-compound.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic. I’m Dave Wessner.Could our own bodies be producing potent inhibitors of HIV? According to research published in today’s issue of Cell, the answer may be ‘Yes.’ And these interesting findings eventually may lead to the development of new anti-retroviral drugs.Since the isolation of HIV in 1983, numerous naturally occurring human factors have been postulated to have anti-HIV properties. Today, a group of researchers in Germany have added another factor to this list. By studying hundreds of small molecules isolated from human blood, the researchers identified a short peptide, or protein fragment, that effectively blocked HIV from infecting cells. Termed Virus-Inhibitory Peptide, or VIRIP, this peptide represents a small piece of a larg... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=557225 Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:00:00 +0100 557225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=544245&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fkiva-using-microfinancing-to-help.html Paul Farmer, one of the founders of Partners in Health, describes the ‘great epi divide,’ the epidemiological divide that exists between developed countries and developing countries, between affluent neighborhoods and less well-off neighborhoods, between the haves and the have-nots. Morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, Farmer notes, correlate well with economic disparities.HIV/AIDS is no exception. Certainly, HIV can, and does, infect people of all walks of life. Increasingly, though, the HIV burden is highest among developing countries and the poor within developed countries. The reasons for this correlation are many. In economically challenged areas, medical care and treatment often are unavailable or unaffordable. In these areas, access to education may be li... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=544245 Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:00:00 +0100 544245 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=511461&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Frefrigeration-and-hiv-meds-in-resource.html I'm Charlie Raver.One of the distinguishing characteristics between the AIDS epidemic in the developed world and that in Africa and the developing world is a simple lack of the infrastructure to deal with the disease. Infrastructure includes everything from roads to electricity to hospitals. One example that most of us rarely think of as a gift, couldn’t dream of walking into a home and not finding, and would be lost without is something to which many in the developing world do not have access. What am I talking about? Refrigeration. Without this amazing piece of technology we would not be able to easily enjoy fresh meats, fish, dairy, and many simple nutritional luxuries that we as Americans take for granted. In addition to problems with food preservation, hospitals and health clinics w... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=511461 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 511461 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=497769&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Faids-orphans-in-sub-saharan-africa.html I'm Christie Brough According to the AIDS Epidemic Update of December 2006, about 25 million people are living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, comprising 63 percent of all individuals with HIV globally. Approximately 13.3 million, or 59 percent, of these individuals are women, most of whom have children. Although considerable efforts have been made to provide these individuals increased access to antiretroviral therapy, 2.1 million Africans died in 2006, resulting in an increased number of AIDS orphans. In 2001, 14 million children had already lost one or both of their parents to AIDS. Because of the difficulty of obtaining antiretroviral therapy, many more children will be affected. In fact, one estimate projects that the number of AIDS orphans will increase by approximately 150 percent ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=497769 Fri, 23 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 497769 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493634&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fstigma-in-lives-of-hiv-healthcare.html I'm Pete Levandoski Advances in HIV related pharmacology have given HIV patients extended lifetimes, turning them from dead men walking to living individuals with a debilitating condition. In treating any patient, HIV status not withstanding, the American Dental Association states that dentists should practice, “high ethical standards which have the benefit of the patient as their primary goal” (Rhode Island Dental Association, 2006). If the maxim is adhered to, dentists should have no problems treating HIV positive individuals who come to them seeking care. The fear of exposure to the virus however, has led some dentists to refuse treatment. In these instances, the Supreme Court has stepped in, ordering treatment and protecting the rights of patients. However, in jumping to the aid o... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493634 Fri, 16 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 493634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493635&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Faids-dementia-current-findings.html Welcome to The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I'm Steve Halliday.One of my most striking memories from my time spent in the hospital in Mwandi was towards the end of my stay when I saw a woman suffering from AIDS dementia who was in the courtyard screaming at the top of her lungs. I asked one of the hospital employees what was going on, and he responded “oh, she is confused.” Since that moment I’ve been interested in this symptom of late stage AIDS, and in today’s installment I am going to look at a paper that examines one possible cause of AIDS dementia, titled HIV-1 Promotes Quiescence in Human Neural Progenitor Cells by Krathwohl and Kaiser.AIDS dementia is a purely clinical diagnosis, based on observation... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493635 Fri, 09 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493636&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fhivaids-in-prisons.html Welcome to this installment of the AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dave Wessner of the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I am Justin Fried.
Prisons have become a fertile ground for the HIV epidemic in the United States. In fact the Joint United Nation Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) listed prisoners as one of the four "major at-risk and neglected populations" in the HIV/AIDS pandemic (2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic). The other three categories included men who have sex with men, injection drug users, and sex workers (2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic). Recent figures show that 2.3 percent of state prison inmates, and 1.0 percent of federal prison inmates in the United States are HIV positive, and an estimated 20 to 26 percent of people living with HIV have spent tim... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493636 Fri, 02 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493637&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Fdual-epidemic-hivaids-and-injection.html I'm Meredith Prasse.Before 1995, the total number of HIV infections in the entire region of central and Eastern Europe, with over 450 million inhabitants, was less than 30,000. The World Health Organization reported an estimated 0.6-1.9% prevalence, between 420,000 and 1.4 million cases, of HIV/AIDS in Russia in 2003. Between 1996 and 1998 alone, Russia experienced a 100-fold increase in new HIV infections, demonstrating the rapid onset of the epidemic in this region. Well over 70% of all HIV cases in Russia occur in injection drug users (IDUs), demonstrating the widespread exercise of unsafe drug-using practices among the IDU population in Russia. Sadly, only 10% of HIV-infected Russian IDUs currently receive HIV combination therapy, and only 15% of HIV-positive Russians receiving the... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493637 Fri, 23 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493638&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Fmale-circumcision-and-hivaids.html “When is it appropriate for public health practice to be on the side of an intervention that causes bodily injury?” (Franco)I'm Erika Larson.That is the question McGill’s Professor of Epidemiology, Eduardo Franco, asked when addressing circumcision as a possible method of reducing HIV prevalence. Circumcision has historically caused a polarizing debate across sectors of society including the pious, and the hygienic. Health workers have generally abstained from taking a side. However, new evidence that circumcision reduces infectivity of HIV may alter this precedent.A recent study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Baeten et al. explore “Female to Male Infectivity of HIV-1 among Circumcised and Uncircumcised” in a cohort of Kenyan men. Unlike previous studies which did not is... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493638 Fri, 16 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493638 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493639&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Flinks-between-hivaids-and-national.html I'm Rebecca Jameson In July of 2000, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1308 stipulating that HIV poses a risk to the stability and security of the nations of the world. Since then, there has been considerable debate regarding the relationship between the AIDS pandemic and national security. According to expert analysts, the security implications of HIV’s rapid spread in Africa and other regions must be taken far more seriously by the industrialized West. One concern expressed by security analysts has been the impact of HIV on individuals critical to the maintenance of state and international security: namely, soldiers and peacekeepers. AIDS is now the leading cause of death in military and police forces in some African countries, accounting for more than half of in-service mortal... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493639 Fri, 09 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493639 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493640&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F02%2Fhistory-of-hivaids-in-united-states.html In a speech given on December 1, 2006, World AIDS Day, Kofi Annan declared HIV/AIDS to be the greatest challenge of our generation. This dreaded infectious disease has claimed the lives of over 25 million people worldwide and infected 40 million more. In the United States alone, 1.2 million are infected with the HIV virus and more than 500,000 have died. No virus has been as well studied or understood as the human immunodeficiency virus, yet we are far from controlling this pandemic.When the first reference to AIDS was published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on June 5, 1981, physicians were taken aback by the presence of pneumocystis pneumonia in five previously healthy young men. As more and more cases of unusual opportunistic infections were identified, the medic... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493640 Fri, 02 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493641&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F01%2Fpre-exposure-chemoprophylaxis.html Leaders from around the world in AIDS research and health policy gathered in Toronto in August 2006 for the XVI International AIDS Conference. A key theme of the conference was HIV prevention, including assessment of old standards as well as new strategies. Leigh Peterson of Family Health International presented preliminary data from a current AIDS prevention study of women in Ghana (2006). This new prevention strategy is called pre-exposure chemoprophylaxis, or PrEP. In the PrEP strategy, HIV-negative individuals with high risk behavior take a single daily dose of tenofovir, a widely prescribed anti-retroviral. Tenofovir is a nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor, meaning tenofovir’s unique shape blocks the reverse transcriptase protein in HIV from making new copies of the virus. T... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493641 Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493641 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493633&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F01%2Fconsiderations-for-real-world-use-of.html For more than ten years, the scientific community has been touting microbicides as the next big breakthrough in HIV/AIDS prevention. Microbicides are compounds that protect against sexually transmitted infections such as HIV and can be applied inside the vagina or rectum as a gel, cream, film, or suppository. Numerous strategies for microbicides are currently in development, including disruption of HIV’s viral envelope, maintenance of the normally acidic environment of the vagina, nonspecific inhibition of viral entry or fusion by creating a film over vaginal cells, and specific entry inhibition by providing competing ligands for receptors on CD4 cells. Despite the promise of various microbicides, results from efficacy trials will not be available for several more years. There are severa... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493633 Fri, 19 Jan 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493633 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493644&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F01%2Faids-pandemic-note-to-our-listeners.html Our podcast is now 6 months old. During this time, we have addressed many topics related to HIV/AIDS, including recent advances in treatment, the South African disability grant program, HIV in the Southeastern United States, and Bono’s Product (RED) campaign.If you are a regular listener, you probably know that many of the episodes have been conceived, developed, and produced by Davidson College undergraduate students. Rebecca Jameson, a senior at Davidson, discussed violence toward women and the spread of HIV. Wes Fiser, another senior, talked about his personal experiences in Mwandi, Zambia.Over the next several months, we will be posting additional episodes by these students on a weekly basis. I hope you stay tuned. If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at dawe... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493644 Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:00:00 +0100 493644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493642&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F12%2Fhivaids-stigma-in-rural-america_26.html One of the largest obstacles to proper care of patients early in the AIDS epidemic was and may still be stigma associated with the disease. A common question throughout any major crisis and especially the AIDS epidemic is how the reaction in urbanized America differs from the more rural parts of the United States. To gain some insight into these issues, I have asked my parents to share their first experiences with AIDS patients and their thoughts on these issues. My father, Dr. James Raver, is a respiratory and intensive care specialist in the private sector of health care and my mother, Dr. Sue Raver, is a pediatrician in public health. Both of them live and work in rural western Maryland. I'm Charles Raver. To listen to the interview, please listen to the podcast at: http://www.bio.david... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493642 Tue, 26 Dec 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493643&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F12%2Fside-effects-of-haart.html Welcome to this installment of the AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dave Wessner of the Department of Biology at Davidson College. I am Justin Fried.A study recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases credited AIDS treatment for saving 3,000,000 years of life in the United States (Walensky et al 2006). While effective treatment of common AIDS-related opportunistic infections has indeed benefited AIDS patients, the study cites treatments that decrease the virulence of the HIV virus as having the greatest impact on mortality rates of AIDS patients (Walensky et al. 2006). In the United States and countries that can afford it, the standard treatment for HIV is highly active antiretroviral treatment, HAART for short. HAART is composed of a combination of three or four drugs that ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493643 Wed, 13 Dec 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493643 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493651&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F12%2Fselective-pressures-on-ccr5-32-in.html I'm Pete Levandoski Recent research into the HIV pandemic has focused on the presence of individuals who do not become infected by HIV when exposed to the virus. So-called co receptors, which are essential for viral docking and infection, are thought to play a role in this immunity. One such co receptor is the protein CCR5, a chemokine receptor on the surface of T4 cells (Galvani et al.). Individuals who lack functional CCR5 protein do not become infected when exposed to HIV-1. A gene mutation, CCR5-Δ32, which causes a deletion of the allele for making CCR5, is present in about 10% of the European population (Galvani et al.). Homozygous individuals are completely immune to HIV-1 and heterozygotes while still susceptible to viral transmission, show slower progression of infection (Galvani ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493651 Mon, 11 Dec 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493649&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F12%2Fmother-to-child-transmission-of-hiv.html This study showed that zidovudine given during pregnancy and labor and given to the baby during the first six weeks of life decreased the risk of vertical transmission by 66%. Another drug called nevirapine, a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, is also effective in reducing vertical HIV transmission when given during pregnancy and after birth to the child. Aside from drug therapy, pregnant HIV positive women are also advised to have a cesarean section at 38 weeks to further reduce the risk of vertical transmission. Cesarean delivery reduces exposure of the infant to maternal fluids and tissues which is high during vaginal delivery. Finally, HIV positive women are encouraged to refrain from breastfeeding to reduce the risk of spreading HIV to their babies postnatally. While th... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493649 Mon, 04 Dec 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493653&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F11%2Fhivaids-and-south-african-disability.html I’m Erika Larson.I want to get sick so the doctor will give me a grant, and my children will have healthy food. Even if I die, my children will be better taken care of. These words were spoken by Zolile, one of over 4.8 million HIV-infected South Africans. Her story illustrates the perverse incentives of the South African disability grant program that offers $130 per month to those with a CD4 count of 200 or below. Because grants expire after six months, patients have stopped taking medicine to remain sick in order to receive the grant and feed their families. Selwyn Jehoma, Deputy Director-General of South Africa’s Social Security Department is investigating yet another possible problem the program has created. “There’s another area that we’ve investigated: we’re asking oursel... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493653 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493646&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F11%2Fperspectives-on-condom-use-in-zambia.html I’m Steve Halliday. During the month of July, 2006 I had the opportunity, along with several other Davidson students, to travel to Mwandi, Zambia with the Davidson Biology department. As a part of this trip I had to research and write a paper on the effectiveness of education in preventing HIV/AIDS. Through my experience in the local classrooms, and interviews with hospital workers and community members I realized that the level of HIV awareness and the general knowledge of the disease was very high, but for some reason seemed to have relatively little effect in preventing HIV transmission.While there are obviously many factors that contribute to this problem, such as abject poverty and lack of access to healthcare, I found that one factor that may play a very large role are the adverse ... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493646 Mon, 20 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493646 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493647&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F11%2Fevidence-that-hiv-2-can-infect-cd4_15.html Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2, also known as HIV-2, is prevalent in West Africa and has spread recently to the western coastal region of India and to Europe. Compared to HIV-1 HIV-2’s mortality rate is thought to be a third lower and appears to be closer to the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus or SIV. As of 1999 it is known that all three types of immunodeficiency virus interact in some fashion with the CD4 cell surface and a co-receptor triggered by contact with the viral protein gp120. It is known that HIV-1 uses CCR5 and CXCR4 as its major co-receptors, but SIV and HIV-2 can use other co-receptors besides CCR5 and CXCR4 for infection in CD4+ cells. Clapham, McKnight, and Weiss in 1992 showed that one strain of HIV-2 was able to successfully fuse cell to cell and have an efficient i... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493647 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493655&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F11%2Fhivaids-in-china.html Welcome to this installment of The AIDS Pandemic, a podcast hosted by Dr. David Wessner from the Department of Biology at Davidson College. This is Cara Maguire.With a population of 1.3 billion people, many of them poor and in heavily concentrated cities, China appears to be a country ripe for the easy spread of HIV/AIDS. In 2000, the estimated HIV-positive population exceeded 500,000, with a growth rate that could peak at 10 million people by 2010. However, today in 2006, the current estimate is 650,000 infected. In comparison, the United States has approximately 1 billion fewer people overall, but has 850,000 infected. How has the Chinese government managed to maintain such low numbers and prevent a healthcare disaster? Traditionally, China has avoided widespread STD epidemics because of... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493655 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493657&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F11%2Fwomen-and-hivaids-in-africa.html Globally, women now constitute 48% of the HIV positive population. 76% of these HIV positive women live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women account for 59% of adults living with HIV. The rising rates of HIV infection in women and young girls is directly related to their inferior social, economic, and legal status in this region of the world. Women’s autonomy relating to sexual decisions is rarely respected. Men tend to dominate women’s sexuality in Africa’s dramatic context of poverty. While women are account for half of the HIV burden, many responses to the epidemic have failed to address the social, economic, and cultural factors that put women at an increased risk for HIV infection. The ABC program, which emphasizes Abstinence, Be faithful, and Condom use, has been adopted by man... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493657 Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493659&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F11%2Finfluence-of-viral-factors-on-long.html The progression of HIV infection varies from one individual to another. Although “the median time from infection to development of AIDS is 8 to 10 years,” some individuals, known as long-term nonprogressors, fail to develop AIDS after infection with HIV (Hogan and Hammer, 2001). These individuals have been identified on various continents, and include persons with various types of exposure, such as commercial sex workers, hemophiliacs who have received HIV positive blood during transfusions, infants born to seropositive mothers, health care professionals accidentally infected by needlestick, intravenous drug users, and sexual partners of known HIV positive individuals (Zhu et al., 2002). Despite prolonged periods of HIV infection, long-term nonprogressors “remain asymptomatic and hav... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493659 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493661&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F11%2Fhivaids-in-southeastern-us.html The southern United States is a region both famous for fried chicken, sweet tea, and a slow pace of life, yet notorious for its religious conservatism and a history of slavery and segregation. The South has gained another reputation in the past few years, however, that is not so widely known: it is quickly becoming the center of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. One reason why AIDS prevalence in the south has gone unnoticed for so long is that the average southerner doesn’t think the epidemic can affect them. Most associate HIV with large urban cities, like New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, places that don’t have much in common with small southern towns. They also still see AIDS as a “gay disease” and are generally uneducated about HIV and what it means to be... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493661 Thu, 02 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493661 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493645&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F10%2Fcondom-controversy-religious.html It was my first time to visit rural Zambia. As our crowded SUV entered the dusty city limits of the fishing village Mwandi, we were greeted by a large black and white sign, reading: “Welcome to Mwandi, we are concerned about AIDS.” Below were listed the ABCs, “Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise,” and in red letters, “D – or you will die.” It was quite a sobering welcome banner; but it was descriptive of the ideologies about how to fight AIDS which I discovered during my stay in Mwandi. The incidence of AIDS in Zambia is staggering. According to the 2006 Global Report on the AIDS Epidemic, nearly twenty percent of the Zambian population has AIDS. It is a disease strongly associated with dire poverty, affecting more women than men across sub-Sahara Africa. Nearly half of the popul... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493645 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 05:00:00 +0100 493645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493663&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F10%2Fcorrelation-between-gender-based.html In sub-Saharan Africa, an average of three women are infected for every two men. Among young people aged 15-24, that ratio widens substantially to three women for every one man. This disproportionate impact of the AIDS epidemic on women reflects the conditions of social and economic inequality in which they live. Violence is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position in which it is difficult, if not impossible, to protect themselves from HIV. The correlation between gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS involves a combination of biological, social, and cultural conditions. Women are already at least twice as likely as men to contract HIV from unprotected sex, in part because semen carries more HIV than vaginal secretions. Violent sex and rape in... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493663 Sun, 29 Oct 2006 04:00:00 +0100 493663 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493665&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F10%2Fproductred-raising-funds-for-global.html What do Converse, Gap, Apple, and Motorola have in common? They all are partners in (RED), an initiative designed to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. And today, October 13, 2006, marks the official launch of (RED) in the United States.Founded by U2 lead singer Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA in early 2006, (RED) has enlisted several corporate sponsors, most notably the companies listed earlier. Each of these companies has designed one or more special (RED) products. A portion of the profits from the sales of these products will go to the Global Fund. More information about (RED) can be found at www.joinred.com.So as of today, you can purchase a Product (RED) t-shirt at the Gap, Product (RED) Chuck Taylors from Converse, a Product (RED) iPOD... The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493665 Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:00:00 +0100 493665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=493667&cid=s_35271_135_f&fid=35271&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com%2F2006%2F09%2Fhivaids-in-zambia-personal-account.html By now, many of us have heard some of the numbers: over 70% of the people worldwide with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa; 5.4 million people in South Africa are infected with HIV; over one third of the population of Swaziland is HIV positive. AIDS clearly has ravaged the continent of Africa.This summer, several students from Davidson College visited Zambia and experienced first-hand the effects of the pandemic on the people of this country. Jessica Hodge, a Davidson College student who went on this trip, shares her impressions of anti-retroviral drugs and HIV-related stigma in Zambia on the associated podcast. Please visit our podcast to hear more about her experiences. (Source: The AIDS Pandemic) The AIDS Pandemic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=493667 Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:00:00 +0100 493667