Welcome to the 75th issue of HIV This Week ! In this issue we cover blood safety (how far away are we from the goal of quality assured HIV screening of every unit of blood?), national responses – injecting drug use (urgent need for scaled-up harm reduction in South-East Asian countries – everyone knows what [...]
Progress in Global Blood Safety for HIV
Takei T, Abu Amin N, Schmid G, Dhingra-Kumar N, and Rugg D, J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 2009;52(S2)
The aim of the report was to assess progress towards ensuring a globally safe blood supply. The authors examined 2 global databases for blood safety: that of the United Nations [...]
A situation update on HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs and national responses in South-East Asia Region.
Sharma M, Oppenheimer E, Saidel T, Loo V, Garg R. AIDS. 2009;23:1405-13.
The authors explore the magnitude of and current trends in HIV infection among people who inject drugs and estimate the reach of harm reduction interventions [...]
Gender asymmetry in healthcare-facility attendance of people living with HIV/AIDS in Burkina Faso.
Bila B, Egrot M. Soc Sci Med. 2009; 69:854-61
Anthropological research in Burkina Faso indicates that more HIV-positive women than HIV-positive men are attending care facilities for people living with HIV and accessing antiretroviral medicine. This article, situated in the field of [...]
Foreskin surface area and HIV acquisition in Rakai, Uganda (size matters).
Kigozi G, Wawer M, Ssettuba A, Kagaayi J, Nalugoda F, Watya S, Mangen FW, Kiwanuka N, Bacon MC, Lutalo T, Serwadda D, Gray RH. AIDS. 2009; 23:2209-13.
Male circumcision reduces HIV acquisition in men. The authors assessed whether foreskin surface area was associated with HIV [...]
Are We on Course for Reporting on the Millennium Development Goals in 2015?
Rugg D, Marais H, Law BA, Carael M, De Lay P, and, Warner-Smith M. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2009;52(S2)
At the 2001 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS), Member States agreed to regularly review progress made in national responses [...]
“Just like fever”: a qualitative study on the impact of antiretroviral provision on the normalisation of HIV in rural Tanzania and its implications for prevention.
Roura M, Wringe A, Busza J, Nhandi B, Mbata D, Zaba B, Urassa M. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2009;9:22.
Once effective therapy for a previously untreatable condition is made [...]
Maraviroc Concentrates in the Cervicovaginal Fluid and Vaginal Tissue of HIV-Negative Women.
Dumond JB, Patterson KB, Pecha AL, Werner RE, Andrews E, Damle B, Tressler R, Worsley J, Kashuba AD. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2009; 51:546-53.
The authors compared single- and multiple-dose maraviroc exposures in cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) and vaginal tissue (VT) with blood [...]
Rethinking the conceptual terrain of AIDS scholarship: lessons from comparing 27 years of AIDS and climate change research.
Chazan M, Brklacich M, Whiteside A. Global Health. 2009;5:12.
While there has recently been significant medical advance in understanding and treating HIV, limitations in understanding the complex social dimensions of HIV epidemics continue to restrict a host of [...]
Evaluation of a dried blood spot HIV-1 RNA program for early infant diagnosis and viral load monitoring at rural and remote healthcare facilities.
Lofgren SM, Morrissey AB, Chevallier CC, Malabeja AI, Edmonds S, Amos B, Sifuna DJ, von Seidlein L, Schimana W, Stevens WS, Bartlett JA, Crump JA. AIDS. 2009 23(18):2459-66.
Lofgren and colleagues set [...]
Effective, low-titre antibody protection against low-dose repeated mucosal SHIV challenge in macaques.
Hessell AJ, Poignard P, Hunter M, Hangartner L, Tehrani DM, Bleeker WK, Parren PW, Marx PA, Burton DR. Nat Med. 2009 15(8):951-4.
Neutralizing antibodies are thought to be crucial for HIV vaccine protection, but studies in animal models suggest that high antibody concentrations [...]
Polyclonal B cell differentiation and loss of gastrointestinal tract germinal centers in the earliest stages of HIV-1 infection.
Levesque MC, Moody MA, Hwang KK, Marshall DJ, Whitesides JF, Amos JD, Gurley TC, Allgood S, Haynes BB, Vandergrift NA, Plonk S, Parker DC, Cohen MS, Tomaras GD, Goepfert PA, Shaw GM, Schmitz JE, Eron JJ, Shaheen [...]
Improvement in Healing and Reduction in HIV Shedding with Episodic Acyclovir Therapy as Part of Syndromic Management among Men: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.
Paz-Bailey G, Sternberg M, Puren AJ, Markowitz LE, Ballard R, Delany S, Hawkes S, Nwanyanwu O, Ryan C, Lewis DA. J Infect Dis. 2009;200:1039-49.
It is uncertain whether episodic acyclovir will enhance [...]
Isoniazid preventive therapy for people living with HIV: public health challenges and implementation issues.
Aït-Khaled N, Alarcon E, Bissell K, Boillot F, Caminero JA, Chiang CY, Clevenbergh P, Dlodlo R, Enarson DA, Enarson P, Ferroussier O, Fujiwara PI, Harries AD, Heldal E, Hinderaker SG, Kim SJ, Lienhardt C, Rieder HL, Rusen ID, Trébucq A, Van [...]
Welcome to the 74th issue of HIV This Week ! In this issue we cover biomedical interventions: vaccines (a proof-of-concept breakthrough in Thailand invigorates HIV vaccine scientists and activists around the world; why investing in vaccine research holds promise in the United States), paediatric HIV testing (Kwazulu Natal points the way forward to universal access [...]
