News (Updated
July 11, 2010)
[Home]
[Previous
news]
July 11, 2010
"I am not a drug
addict!" insisted Andri, 32, staring desperately at the walls of a clinic
for people with HIV in
The young father
contracted HIV through a casual sexual relationship, like alarming numbers of
others in a country where heterosexual transmission has overtaken drug abuse as
the main cause of AIDS.
The trend has alarmed
researchers, showing that the HIV epidemic in
With an HIV prevalence
rate of 1.11 percent among
For years, the virus has
been spread mainly in
Since 2008, more
Ukrainians have been contracting HIV through heterosexual sex than through drug
abuse. In 2009, 43 percent of Ukrainians infected with HIV caught the virus
through heterosexual sex and 35 percent by drug injection.
Experts have warned that
this means the epidemic risks no longer affecting mainly high-risk groups like
drug users, prostitutes and homosexuals but the general population as a whole.
"There are already
signs of a generalisation" with the HIV infection rate of pregnant women
now standing at more than one percent in some regions, said Svitlana Antonyak,
an official from the national HIV clinic.
"Two thirds of cases
of sexual transmission are linked to intravenous drug use," said Tetyana
Deshko of the Ukrainian branch of the NGO International HIV/AIDS alliance.
She described the typical
path of transmission in today's
Andri was infected with
HIV during an adulterous relationship with a former lover who he suspects now is
a drug addict.
"I saw the traces of
injections on her arms but she said it was because she had just been to
hospital," said Andri, who learned of his diagnosis at the start of the
year.
He insists that he used a
condom, but it broke. "I put another one on, and thought that it would do.
It was stupid. Stupid!"
Almost half of Ukrainians
between 25-49 who say they had more than one sexual partner in a year do not use
condoms, said a national report compiled by the Ukrainian ministry of health for
UNAIDS.
"A condom is often
seen (in
"There's lack of
information campaigns of good quality, capable of changing young people's
behaviour," Antonyak said.
"My 20-year old son
told me he always uses a condom because he was here, at the hospital, helped me
and saw people suffering here. Probably that's what we need to do", she
added.
Alarmingly "only one
HIV victim in four" in
As of January, 101,000
Ukrainians were infected with HIV according to official figures but the real
number is estimated at 360,000. The number of deaths from AIDS was 19,000
between 1987 and April.
However in a ray of hope,
the use of antiretroviral therapy resulted in the first cut in the mortality
rate from AIDS, of 2.6 percent, last year. Antiretrovirals were introduced to
But funds are limited and
at least 7,500 patients who need the drugs are not receiving them.
"We really need help
from donors," said Svitlana Cherenko, head of the state committee for the
fight against AIDS.
11 Jul 2010
HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is launching an all
day 'STI Testival' in
THT is running the event in an effort to bring down high levels of undiagnosed
HIV and STIs in the city and surrounding areas. In 2008, there were an estimated
3,440 people living with HIV in the South West, of who around a quarter were
unaware they were infected. Young people aged 18-25 are particularly encouraged
to attend, as currently one in fourteen of those in this age bracket currently
have undiagnosed chlamydia.
At the 'Fastest' service, testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea involves taking a
urine sample which is then posted off to the lab, with results available within
a week. THT will direct those who test positive to a local treatment centre, who
will provide treatment for the infection.
The clinic also uses a finger-prick blood test to check for HIV, with the
results provided within fifteen minutes. Those who attend the clinic will be
given information and advice before and after the test, and anyone who tests HIV
positive will be fast tracked into a treatment centre.
THT clinics and workers also offer information on STIs and safer sex, as well as
giving out free condoms.
Steve Jones, Regional Manager for THT in
Those who are unable to attend the 'STI Testival' are encouraged to attend one
of THT's two regular Fastest clinics in
Source:
Terrence Higgins Trust
11 Jul 2010
In light of recent developments at the Missouri VA Medical Center in
The
The
Patients who have questions about infection control in the dental setting should
talk with their dentists, who will be glad to explain their procedures.
Source:
American Dental Association
10 Jul 2010
In a policy report published in Science, an internationally recognized
peer-reviewed journal, leading experts in HIV/AIDS research have warned that
failure to meet a pledge for universal access to HIV therapy and funding cuts to
prevention and treatment programs are poised to deliver a major setback in the
fight against HIV/AIDS.
In 2006, all United Nations member states committed to achieving universal
access to HIV prevention, treatment and care by 2010. As the deadline nears,
it's clear that the global community has failed to deliver on this pledge. In
2009, UNAIDS estimated that $25 billion will be required in 2010 for the AIDS
response in low- and middle-income countries - $11.3 billion more than is
available today.
The report notes that the impacts of these budget cuts are already evident. Many
African countries are facing depleting stocks of antiretriovirals, reduced
treatment coverage goals and an increasing risk of HIV drug resistance as a
result of treatment interruptions. A moratorium on new enrollees in the U.S.
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has already caused an
estimated 3,000 deaths.
"If governments globally don't do more in terms of the quality and quantity
of care for people with HIV, this will result in dire human and economic costs
in the short and long term," said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC
Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), president of the International AIDS
Society (IAS), and one of the authors of the policy report.
"Many patients in the developing world access treatment late, in
contravention of the World Health Organization's guidelines. Early treatment
reduces transmissions, mortality and hospitalizations. According to a recent
modelling study, early treatment yields an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio
of U.S. $1,200 per year of life saved."
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is recognized around the world as
the gold standard treatment for HIV. HAART has proven to be highly beneficial in
stopping HIV from progressing to AIDS, extending life expectancy, significantly
reducing HIV-related deaths and cutting transmissions. Well-documented evidence
shows a strong preventive role of HAART among serodiscordant heterosexual
couples (where one partner is HIV-positive) and injection drug users.
Furthermore, HAART has virtually eliminated mother-to-child HIV transmission.
Several countries in sub-Saharan
"Despite these advances, HIV is still the leading killer of women of
reproductive age worldwide," said Dr. Pedro Cahn, director of the Huésped
Foundation, a major Argentine AIDS organization, and one of the authors of the
policy report. "And, according to a recent study, HIV accounts for one in
five pregnancy-related deaths worldwide. It is totally unacceptable that
governments around the world are letting women die when this can be easily and
effectively avoided by increased access to HAART."
The report, Universal Access in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS, was also written by
Françoise Girard, director of public health program, Open Society Institute;
Nathan Ford of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders); and Dr.
Elly Katabira, president-elect, IAS.
Source:
Mahafrine Petigara
BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
July 8, 2004
Top of Form
A court in
The man, an editor
identified by his pen name Wang Zizheng, filed the lawsuit last month at a court
in Haidian in northwest
But according to the
state-run Beijing Times, an official at the court told Wang on Wednesday that
his case had been rejected, without giving him a reason.
When he went to donate
blood in early June, Wang said he was gay in a health questionnaire and was then
told he could not be a donor, previous reports said.
According to regulations
issued by
Wang, who said he had been
the victim of discrimination, was seeking an apology from the blood centre and
permission to become a donor.
Huang Yizhi -- his lawyer
-- and court officials were not immediately available for comment.
Homosexuality was
considered a mental disorder in
Experts estimate there are
about 30 million gays and lesbians in
In December last year, the
government warned that homosexual transmission of HIV/AIDS was gaining pace.
According to the Beijing
Times, Wang said that despite this setback, he will "not give up on his
duties" and would seek justice through other means.
