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October 12, 2008 2:51:08 AM CDT

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The War on HIV track this thread

Started by R McCartney; Last updated Feb 14, 08 1:11 PM CST by Imperator | View history

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The War on HIV

In the fight to stop a pandemic, prevention is still the best cure

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has killed over 25 million people and still no cure has been found, and no vaccine developed. Researchers attribute these difficulties to the disease’s adaptive nature: it transforms rapidly, making it impossible to pin down one strain of the virus to immunize for or eradicate. Finding treatments for the infected has been more successful, however; a person diagnosed at age 20 will in most cases have an average life expectancy. But experts still stress that the best way to handle HIV is not to get it: practicing abstinence or using condoms, not sharing needles and avoiding needle sticks are all crucial in preventing infection.

Stories

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  • October 2008

    • 3 Virologists Share Medicine Nobel Prize

      Associated Press  |  Oct 6, 08 8:52 AM CDT

      3 Virologists Share Medicine Nobel Prize

      (Newser) - The Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded today to three scientists who discovered two of the world's deadliest sexually transmitted viruses. Half the prize goes to Harald zur Hausen, a German who discovered the human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer in women. The other half goes to Françoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, the two French virologists who discovered HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. More »

    • HIV/AIDS May Be 100 Years Old

      Nature  |  Oct 2, 08 3:03 AM CDT

      HIV/AIDS May Be 100 Years Old

      (Newser) - The HIV/AIDS epidemic exploded in the 1980s, but new research shows HIV was plaguing the human population in Africa for a century before that. Old collections of human tissue samples from the Congo have produced evidence of old strains of HIV that may have emerged in 1908, reports Nature . More »

  • September 2008

    • College Kids Take Global Outlook to Class

      Washington Post  |  Sep 19, 08 3:22 PM CDT

      College Kids Take Global Outlook to Class

      (Newser) - In less than a generation, college students' international perspective has transformed many colleges' public health-related programs and courses. The AIDS epidemic served as a catalyst by opening young people’s eyes to the global character of disease, and the ease of worldwide travel and communication is spurring involvement abroad. The Washington Post looks at the transformation. More »

    • New HIV Study Shows Disease Accelerating

      New York Times  |  Sep 12, 08 7:58 AM CDT

      New HIV Study Shows Disease Accelerating

      (Newser) - A new CDC study of Americans with HIV conducted with new technology shows that the virus is spreading faster than previously thought, reports the New York Times . In 2006, more than 56,000 were newly infected with the virus that causes AIDS—40% more than anticipated. The study also showed that whites and blacks tend to contract the virus at different times in their lives. More »

    • Romans Left Conquered Peoples More Prone to HIV

      BBC  |  Sep 4, 08 6:06 PM CDT

      Romans Left Conquered Peoples More Prone to HIV

      (Newser) - The Roman conquest of Europe may explain why populations living in the former empire are more vulnerable to HIV, French researchers say. A genetic variant that protects against the AIDS-causing virus is less prevalent in former Roman colonies such as England, France, Greece, and Spain, though some argue that a larger event like the bubonic plague caused the variation, the BBC reports. More »

    • HIV Adoptions From Abroad on Rise

      Associated Press  |  Sep 2, 08 1:16 PM CDT

      HIV Adoptions From Abroad on Rise

      (Newser) - More US families are adopting HIV-infected children from overseas, primarily in Ethiopia, the AP reports. Stats from one international agency show 38 adoptions of infected Ethiopian children this year, up from 13 in 2007 and four in 2006. HIV adoptions have also increased in China, Ghana, Haiti, and Russia, say US adoption agencies, though at significantly lower numbers. More »

  • August 2008

    • A Pill a Day Could Keep HIV Away

      New York Times  |  Aug 4, 08 7:24 AM CDT

      A Pill a Day Could Keep HIV Away

      (Newser) - With 2.7 million people contracting HIV every year, the race is on to test the efficacy of a daily pill meant to prevent the virus, the New York Times reports. After recent unimpressive results in tests of vaccines and microbicides, the PrEP drugs are now some scientists’ leading hope for stopping infection before it starts. More »

    • CDC Sharply Raises Estimate of HIV Cases in US

      New York Times  |  Aug 2, 08 1:13 PM CDT

      CDC Sharply Raises Estimate of HIV Cases in US

      (Newser) - A lot more people in the US have HIV than previously thought. A new CDC study suggests that the US has undercounted by about 15,000 cases a year for 15 years or so, the New York Times reports. That would add 225,000 cases to the current estimate of about 1 million. The new figures are likely to have a big impact on decisions about AIDS policy in the US and fuel criticism about prevention measures, the Times notes. More »

  • July 2008

    • AIDS Infection Rate Steady, But Deaths Decline

      Bloomberg  |  Jul 29, 08 3:21 PM CDT

      AIDS Infection Rate Steady, But Deaths Decline

      (Newser) - Although global AIDS infection rates have remained constant, deaths from the disease dropped by 10% last year as more patients got access to drugs, the United Nations finds. The UN attributes the drop in deaths—from 2.7 million to 2 million—to better help for HIV-positive mothers, increased condom use, and fewer teens having sex before age 15, Bloomberg reports. More »

    • Drug Revolution Boosts HIV Survival Rates

      Independent (UK)  |  Jul 25, 08 3:20 AM CDT

      Drug Revolution Boosts HIV Survival Rates

      (Newser) - A revolution in drug treatments for people with HIV has dramatically increased survival rates in the West, reports the Independent . A patient diagnosed today at the age of 20 can expect to live to nearly 70 by taking cocktails of drugs. Life expectancy improved by an average of 13 years between 1996 and 2005, and has continued to rise. More »

    • Journo 'Ecstatic' Over Demise of HIV Travel Ban

      Daily Dish (The Atlantic)  |  Jul 17, 08 3:29 PM CDT

      Journo 'Ecstatic' Over Demise of HIV Travel Ban

      (Newser) - HIV-positive journalist Andrew Sullivan is “ecstatic” over yesterday's passage by the Senate of a bill that would lift a US ban on visitors and immigrants with the virus that causes AIDS, he writes in his Atlantic blog. "I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's one of the happiest days of my whole life," writes the openly gay, British Sullivan, who plans to pursue citizenship.