CDC cuts funding for advanced HIV monitoring system in eight states and Puerto Rico
Study finds HIV spreading in NYC at about three times the national rate
People living with HIV may be at increased risk of bone fractures, study finds
Study finds that HAART may increase the risk of asthma in young children
Ever experience Condom Induced Erectile Dysfunction??
CDC cuts funding for advanced HIV monitoring system in eight states and Puerto Rico
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that it will discontinue funding of a new advanced HIV/AIDS monitoring system in eight states and Puerto Rico.
This system, which uses an improved testing technology that is capable of distinguishing recent HIV infections from older ones, allows for a more accurate “real time” measure of the number of new infections that occur in the U.S. each year. Data from 22 of the 34 states using this system were analyzed to create the CDC’s most recent report on new HIV infections in the U.S., released at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City in August.
It is estimated that the eight states – Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee – and Puerto Rico will lose about $3 million in federal funding as a result of this announcement. Terry Butler, a spokesperson at the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, said that the 25 states that will continue using the advanced test have the most reliable HIV monitoring systems and could help CDC produce the most accurate estimate of HIV infections in the U.S., according to the Kaiser Network Daily HIV/AIDS Report.
Butler also points out that this change does not reflect a decrease in federal HIV surveillance funding, rather the remaining 25 states will receive a larger portion of funding for their efforts.
It should also be noted that data from Puerto Rico was not included in the recent CDC report, a fact that has Latino HIV/AIDS advocates in an uproar. According to Guillermo Chacon, vice president of the Latino Commission on AIDS, in New York City, if data from Puerto Rico were to be factored in, the rate of new infections represented by Latinos increases from 17.2% to 22% annually. The CDC has stated that it is working with health officials on the island to estimate HIV incidence.
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Study finds HIV spreading in NYC at about three times the national rate
A recent study from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene revealed that HIV is spreading in New York City at a rate of about three times the national average, with an incidence of 72 new infections per 100,000 people compared to 23 per 100,000 in the general population.
This estimate is based on the use of new testing technology that is capable of distinguishing newer infections from older ones. Sex between men was the primary mode of transmission reported, accounting for 50% of new infections. Twenty-two percent of new infections were attributed to high-risk heterosexual contact, and 8% to injection drug use. In 18% of new cases, the reported mode of transmission was unknown. In addition, the study also found that blacks living in NYC contracted HIV at three times the rate of whites, with blacks accounting for almost half of all new infections.
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People living with HIV may be at increased risk of bone fractures, study finds
A recent study conducted by researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) found that HIV-positive people, who are living longer as a result of antiretroviral therapy, might face an increased risk of bone fractures.
According to the study, which included more than 8,500 people living with HIV and more than 2 million control patients, the prevalence of bone fractures was 60% greater in HIV-positive people. Fracture rates associated with HIV were seen in both men and women, with older patients found to be at even greater risk of bone fractures.
MGH’s Steven Grinspoon said that data from this study suggests that as people living with HIV age they should be screened for bone density, and that researchers “need to learn more about the mechanisms of bone loss – whether [antiretroviral] drug, the virus itself or other metabolic factors are responsible.”
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Study finds that HAART may increase the risk of asthma in young children
According to a study that was recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the effect that highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) has on the immune system and T-cell levels might place young children at increased risk of asthma.
Researchers at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) examined the incidence and prevalence of asthma in 193 children born to HIV-positive women, 113 of whom were treated with HAART and 83 of whom had never been. They found 33.5% asthma medication use among the HAART-treated children, compared with 11.5% among the HIV-positive children who had never been treated with HAART. In addition, the study found a slightly higher percentage of asthma medication use among the HIV-negative children who had been treated with HAART, suggesting that not treating HIV may protect against asthma.
A Reuters report explains that in asthma, an excess of inflammatory and immune cells are produced in the lungs which, when bolstered by any condition or therapy, including HAART, could have an “unwanted effect.”
William Shearer [MD?] of TCH said that until further research is conducted to verify these findings, physicians should be aware that HAART could increase the risk of asthma among children, and that they should alert parents to the issue and provide children with asthma treatment if it occurs.
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Ever experience Condom Induced Erectile Dysfunction??
Researchers from Amsterdam presented a study at the AIDS Conference in Mexico City which found that a significant number of men were experiencing a condition that has been dubbed COINED (Condom Induced Erectile Dysfunction), which may be a unique predictor of sexual risk for some men (See Study at aids2008.org).
We’d like to know…have you or your partner ever experienced a loss of erection when using a condom? Give your answer at www.positivelyaware.com, it’s quick and anonymous!
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