Using Antiretroviral Drugs Early May Curb HIV/AIDS Spread
Antiretroviral drugs that are being used to prolong the lives of patients infected with HIV/AIDS could also be greatly effective in slowing its spread, epidemiologist Brian Williams said.
"We could effectively stop transmission within five years," Williams said.
About 33 million people are living with HIV, according to 2008 estimates by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS. That year, 2 million people died of AIDS and 2.7 became newly infected.
Because people who have HIV are living longer, and because in some parts of the world behaviors that facilitate transmission have not decreased, there are more new infections every year than deaths, and the epidemic continues to grow, said Dr. Kenneth Mayer, professor of medicine and community health at Brown University.
In a 2009 article in The Lancet, Williams and his colleagues at the World Health Organization advocated for broader use of antiretroviral drugs, proposing that everyone over age 15 should be tested annually for HIV, and that anyone who tests positive should begin antiretroviral treatment immediately.
These ideas have been gaining support worldwide, Williams said. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases plans to start a pilot study in New York and Washington, he said. The International Aid Society is doing something similar in British Columbia, and another trial in South Africa will be funded by the French AIDS Research Agency.
Using antiretroviral drugs early to curb transmission is "an important goal" but will take many years to get right in different settings, Mayer said. Beyond the expanded use of medicine, the details of how to get enough people tested and to change their behaviors is "a whole package that needs to be worked out," he said.
Williams agreed that much operational research still needs to be done to determine if people agree to take the drugs and comply with them, and to see if it leads to the predicted stemming of transmission, Williams said.
In the United States, 20 to 25 percent of Americans living with HIV are unaware of their status, Mayer said. When people are unaware, there are more likely to have unprotected sex and engage in other risky behaviors, increasing the risk of transmission, he said. About 1 million Americans have HIV, he said.
Some people are at high risk for getting AIDS by virtue of where they live, he said. A black male in Washington has about a 1 in 15 or 1 in 16 chance of being infected with HIV, and the probability for a black woman is 1 in 30, Mayer said. This is similar to Detroit, Michigan, and other urban centers. Transmission also is relatively high in gay communities where people who do not engage in risky behavior have risky partners.
"The need [for treatment] will continue to go up over the next few years, and the question is, can we keep up with the pace of the need?" Mayer said. –CNN Health
Pediatrician Faces First-degree Rape of A Child
A pediatrician who parents trust with their kids is now accused of molesting more than 100 children. Cops seized disgusting videos from his home. The victims are kids 13-years-old to just 3 months. The doctor is now facing first-degree rape and sexual exploitation of a child. This case could be the worst our nation has ever seen.
New revelations about a trusted pediatrician accused of raping little kids … We’re now finding out that parents reported this doctor years ago for excessive kissing and inappropriate touching. Other doctors and nurses were suspicious… his own sister went to a medical society with her fears, five years ago … but nothing was done. –CNN
Antiretroviral drugs that are being used to prolong the lives of patients infected with HIV/AIDS could also be greatly effective in slowing its spread, epidemiologist Brian Williams said.
"We could effectively stop transmission within five years," Williams said.
About 33 million people are living with HIV, according to 2008 estimates by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS. That year, 2 million people died of AIDS and 2.7 became newly infected.
Because people who have HIV are living longer, and because in some parts of the world behaviors that facilitate transmission have not decreased, there are more new infections every year than deaths, and the epidemic continues to grow, said Dr. Kenneth Mayer, professor of medicine and community health at Brown University.
In a 2009 article in The Lancet, Williams and his colleagues at the World Health Organization advocated for broader use of antiretroviral drugs, proposing that everyone over age 15 should be tested annually for HIV, and that anyone who tests positive should begin antiretroviral treatment immediately.
These ideas have been gaining support worldwide, Williams said. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases plans to start a pilot study in New York and Washington, he said. The International Aid Society is doing something similar in British Columbia, and another trial in South Africa will be funded by the French AIDS Research Agency.
Using antiretroviral drugs early to curb transmission is "an important goal" but will take many years to get right in different settings, Mayer said. Beyond the expanded use of medicine, the details of how to get enough people tested and to change their behaviors is "a whole package that needs to be worked out," he said.
Williams agreed that much operational research still needs to be done to determine if people agree to take the drugs and comply with them, and to see if it leads to the predicted stemming of transmission, Williams said.
In the United States, 20 to 25 percent of Americans living with HIV are unaware of their status, Mayer said. When people are unaware, there are more likely to have unprotected sex and engage in other risky behaviors, increasing the risk of transmission, he said. About 1 million Americans have HIV, he said.
Some people are at high risk for getting AIDS by virtue of where they live, he said. A black male in Washington has about a 1 in 15 or 1 in 16 chance of being infected with HIV, and the probability for a black woman is 1 in 30, Mayer said. This is similar to Detroit, Michigan, and other urban centers. Transmission also is relatively high in gay communities where people who do not engage in risky behavior have risky partners.
"The need [for treatment] will continue to go up over the next few years, and the question is, can we keep up with the pace of the need?" Mayer said. –CNN Health
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Pediatrician Faces First-degree Rape of A Child
A pediatrician who parents trust with their kids is now accused of molesting more than 100 children. Cops seized disgusting videos from his home. The victims are kids 13-years-old to just 3 months. The doctor is now facing first-degree rape and sexual exploitation of a child. This case could be the worst our nation has ever seen.
New revelations about a trusted pediatrician accused of raping little kids … We’re now finding out that parents reported this doctor years ago for excessive kissing and inappropriate touching. Other doctors and nurses were suspicious… his own sister went to a medical society with her fears, five years ago … but nothing was done. –CNN
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