HIV Testing Blog

A fourth generation HIV testing assay detected almost two-thirds of individuals with acute HIV infection, investigators report in an article published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The researchers believe that their results show the ARCHITECT HIV Ag/AB Combo Assay to have significant advantages, including the time needed to obtain a result compared to the current pooled HIV RNA testing strategy used to diagnose acute HIV infection. Such assays are already routinely used in the United Kingdom.

Diagnosis of acute HIV infection relies on detection of HIV virus using viral load tests, or p24 antigen. Pooled HIV viral load testing has been shown to be an effective means of diagnosing acute infections. However, it is slow, it typically taking between seven and 21 days to obtain the results, cumbersome, and labourious. It is therefore not a realistic technology for resource-limited settings, nor for addressing the problem of ongoing transmission from people during acute infection.
The ARCHITECT Combo assay was positive for 13 of the 21 acute samples. The median viral load of individuals testing positive with this technology was significantly higher than that of individuals testing negative (662,ooo copies/ml vs. 3576 copies/ml).

“The failure to diagnose acute HIV infection represents an important public health problem”, note the investigators, “persons with primary infection may be up to 10 times more likely to transmit HIV per sexual act than are individuals with established infections”.

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/D9111996-68D9-4F3D-A499-C9559819B045.asp.

Babies who were born with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s have defied initial expectations. No one expected them to live long.

Since the mid-1990s in developed countries, antiretroviral drugs have largely prevented mothers from transmitting HIV/AIDS to their babies.

Nearly 30 young adults and teenagers who were born with HIV/AIDS meet every week at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. “We don’t want to talk about HIV every day,” said Eric Koumbou, 19. “If you talk about HIV and you don’t have it and I do, sometimes it makes me angry or makes me sad.”

For the complete article, please see http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/22/hiv.children.generation/index.html?eref=ib_topstories.

BOSTON — In an effort to reduce AIDS rates in Massachusetts, state public health officials recommended that everyone 13 and older get HIV-tested as part of their routine medical care.

The goal is to make HIV screening as common as cholesterol tests and blood pressure monitoring. That way, HIV infections could be treated immediately, before they progress to full-blown AIDS.

Currently, about a third of people in Massachusetts with HIV develop AIDS within two months of diagnosis. Lauren Smith, medical director at the state Department of Public Health, says that number is too high.

“That tells us that, in fact, they were infected with HIV probably for many years — possibly a decade,” says Smith, “and suggests that we lost many opportunities to intervene and provide them very effective care that can ensure that they live longer and healthier.”

Smith also says the state’s health care system could save money if HIV is detected and treated earlier. HIV testing remains voluntary in the state and is free at many doctors’ offices and health clinics.

“It would be rolled into routine clinical care,” says Smith. “That’s why we screen for cholesterol, that’s why we take people’s blood pressure — it’s because we can do something very effective about it. Similarly, we need to screen everyone for HIV because we have effective treatments that can make a big difference in this condition.”

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.wbur.org/2009/06/25/hiv-testing.

International migrant workers, foreign students and political refugees are often endangered by laws that discriminate against people with AIDS, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch reported last week.
The report describes how guest workers from poor countries like the Philippines and Sri Lanka working in wealthy ones like Saudi Arabia may be given mandatory H.I.V. testing — sometimes without their knowledge — and deported, often without being able to claim back wages and sometimes after imprisonment without treatment.
For the complete article, please see http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/health/23glob.html?_r=1.

With the new data, scientists may have new leads for innovative treatments for AIDS-HIV.

The American and Canadian researchers with Oregon State University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) of Florida and the University of Montreal, have found what they believe is a more effective treatment and potentially even cure for AIDS-HIV, based on the discovery of the virus’ hiding places.

According to study co-leader Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sekaly, “You have to target not the virus, but the cells in which the virus is hiding. And that I think it is a very different concept than what everybody has been pushing for. That clearly is a major finding that we have got to the table.” He added, “This would make it possible to destroy cells containing a virus while giving the immune system time to regenerate with healthy cells.”

Dr. Sekaly says, he is “very optimistic” that researchers will be able to develop new drugs to target the hiding spots identified with their new research.

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.healthnews.com/medical-updates/no-more-hiding-virus-causing-aids-hiv-3343.html.

For the press release, please refer to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090621143312.htm.

All too often, teenagers are going to their doctor’s office with flu-like symptoms, aches and pains, etc.- having some routine blood work done – and when everything comes back negative they are sent home with no-questions-asked. A few weeks later (symptoms still persistent) the teens return to have more blood work. This time the HIV test comes back positive. “What caused this,” or “how did this happen” are often the response that doctors get.

Most often the tests used to detect HIV are antibody tests. The antibodies they are trying to detect usually do not fully develop for several weeks in most people, so if someone were to try to take this test only a week or two after infection chances are they would receive a false negative.

Allison Agwu, M.D., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at John Hopkins Children’s Center, explains that these false negatives usually occur during the most contagious stage of HIV infection – the earliest one. If teenagers are engaging in risky sexual behavior, their need for more extensive testing is increased. Often doctors will ignore these possibilities because of the age of the patients.

If the teen is at high risk they should consider the use of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which detects genetic markers instead of antibodies. These tests have significantly smaller window periods than antibody tests. While they are more expensive than the standard antibody test, PCR tests allow us to get accurate results at around two or three weeks.

Doctors should consider using a PCR if the patient has used injectible drugs or has two or more of the following symptoms: enlarged lymph nodes, night sweats, malaise/fatigue/headaches or rash, fever/chills, or a persistent sore throat or cough.

* For the complete article, please visit http://hivtestingblog.com/original-articles/

The Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, reacting to a case disclosed last week, says it’s increasing database controls and urging producers to not accept paper test results from performers.

In an effort to prevent the possible spread of HIV in the adult film industry, the San Fernando Valley-based health clinic that serves the porn industry said Monday it is stepping up controls in its online database and urging producers not to accept paper copies of test results.

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-me-porn-hiv16-2009jun16,0,2659497.story.

An actress who works in Southern California’s pornography industry has tested positive for HIV, renewing county and state health officials’ concerns that the adult entertainment industry lacks sufficient safety measures to prevent the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, health officer for Los Angeles County, said Wednesday that his office was launching an investigation.

Los Angeles County has been receiving reports from the clinic of 60 to 80 new cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea a month among adult performers, Fielding said.

As the clinic downplayed the positive test, public health officials cited their ongoing battle with the porn industry over the use of condoms during filming. The two sides have been at odds for years, and despite the intense scrutiny, Fielding said he is concerned that condoms are still not being used.

For the complete article, please refer to http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-porn-hiv11-2009jun11,0,2783528.story.

The 2009 Global TB control report reveals that one out of four TB deaths is HIV-related, twice as many as previously recognized. In 2007, there were an estimated 1.37 million new cases of tuberculosis among HIV-infected people and 456 000 deaths.

“These findings point to an urgent need to find, prevent and treat tuberculosis in people living with HIV and to test for HIV in all patients with TB in order to provide prevention, treatment and care. Countries can only do that through stronger collaborative programmes and stronger health systems that address both diseases,” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO.

For the complete article, see http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2009/tuberculosis_report_20090324/en/index.html.

President Obama asked Congress on Tuesday to spend $63 billion over the next six years on a new, broader global health strategy that would reshape one of the signature foreign policy efforts of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Mr. Bush made combating global AIDS a centerpiece of his foreign agenda. The program he created — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar — is regarded as one of his most significant achievements. But the plan Mr. Obama outlined Tuesday envisions a more…

”We cannot simply confront individual preventable illnesses in isolation,” the president said in a statement released by the White House that cited the swine flu outbreak as an example. ”The world is interconnected, and that demands an integrated approach to global health.”

For the complete article, see http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E5D81538F935A35756C0A96F9C8B63

Mothers2Mothers program aims to prevent AIDS virus transmission to infants.

At the World Economic Forum on Africa, the impact of HIV/AIDS on African countries is being addressed. The forum has honored one program that helps prevent mother-to-child transmission and turns stigmatized women into role models.

By giving the Mothers2Mothers program the Schwab Award, Falk says the World Economic Forum recognizes its success as a socially conscious business – combining the best of the private and public sectors.

For the complete article, see http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-06-11-voa18.cfm.

Los Angeles County health officials say there have been 16 previously unpublicized confirmed cases of HIV in adult film industry performers since 2004 when an outbreak shut down porn production for a month.

The newly released data brings the number of known HIV cases in adult film performers to 22 since 2004, including a porn actress who tested positive late last week.

For the full article, see http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525929,00.html.

Schistosomiasis is a worm disease that primarily exists within rural Africa. The worms typically infect humans who are swimming or washing in snail-infested waters by leaving the snails and burrowing into the skin. The disease starts as a urinary tract infection, but if left untreated it can lead to genital sores. These sores provide an entrance for HIV during sexual intercourse; therefore, increasing the rates of transmission.

Thankfully there is an easy way to reduce the cases of Schistosomiasis. For only 32 cents a child can be treated with the drug praziquantel, which kills the worms and prevents any further infection. A pilot program was performed in Burkina Faso and it suggested that for $22 million we could treat all 70 million children who are infected, and carrying the plan out for a decade would cost only $112 million.

For a relatively low cost the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be significantly reduced in one of the most affected areas… there is no reason not to do it.

* For the complete article, please visit http://hivtestingblog.com/original-articles/