House passes Stop AIDS in Prison Act
HIV found in semen despite undetectable blood levels
Idaho man faces life in prison for knowingly spreading HIV
Washington, D.C. mayor and health officials tackle HIV epidemic
The Female Health Company recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its FC2 Female Condom as a measure of protection against unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmissible infections such as HIV. For more information about the FC2, check out the PA Online News Briefs, December 2008 #2.
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House passes Stop AIDS in Prison Act
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that requires the Bureau of Prisons to test all federal prison inmates for HIV upon entering prison and again prior to their release, unless he or she opts out of taking the test. Known as the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (HR 1429), the bill also mandates HIV prevention education for all inmates, and comprehensive treatment for those who test positive.
“The Stop AIDS in Prison Act will help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and will protect people in the general community from transmission,” said Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who first introduced the legislation into the 109th Congress. The bill was reintroduced in the 110th Congress and was passed by the House and the Senate Judiciary Committee, though the full Senate did not complete action on it prior to adjournment last week.
A 2005 report from the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that the rate of confirmed AIDS cases in prison was three times higher than in the general population.
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HIV found in semen despite undetectable blood levels
Data released from two recent studies found that significant levels of HIV were present in the semen of male participants whose virus was considered controlled by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), suggesting that transmission is possible even for those with undetectable viral loads.
For one study, paired blood and semen samples provided by HIV-positive men in the assisted reproductive technology program at Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, France, were analyzed. The results showed that 5% of the patients had detectable HIV in their semen, although HIV was undetectable in their blood while they were on HAART.
Another study conducted in Canada found HIV in the semen of 12 out of 25 participants (48%), despite effective suppression of the virus in the bloodstreams of all of the men using HAART. In addition, 4 out of 25 of the participants (16%) had viral loads greater than 5,000 copies per ml.
These results should be taken into account when developing public health messages regarding HIV prevention and treatment, which have previously minimized the potential for transmission during sex when a positive male partner’s viral load is undetectable.discuss this news in our new discussion forum
Idaho man faces life in prison for knowingly spreading HIV
An Ada County, Idaho grand jury recently charged a 45-year-old man with seven counts of knowingly transmitting HIV, according to Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Jean Fisher.
In 1990, Kerry Thomas was charged with four counts of HIV transmission and two counts of statutory rape, but pleaded guilty to only rape charges as a part of a plea agreement. He served three years of a 12-year sentence before being eligible for parole.
In 1996, however, Thomas was charged and convicted of one count of HIV transmission regarding a separate incident, receiving a 15-year sentence. The latest charges, resulting from actions while he was out on parole for those previous charges, could result in a life sentence because prosecutors are charging him as a “persistent violator.”
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Washington, D.C. mayor and health officials tackle HIV epidemic
Following the release of a report that found an HIV prevalence rate of 3% in the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. public health officials and Mayor Adrian Fenty announced a new initiative last week aimed at increasing HIV testing.
The report, from a 2008 study, which updates 2007 data, found a 22% increase in HIV/AIDS cases from the end of 2006. It is estimated that 2,984 in every 100,000 district residents older than 12 are HIV-positive, amounting to a total of approximately 15,120 people. And, while the report suggests epidemic levels of infection with HIV in all but one of the city’s wards, it cautions that the actual number of residents living with the virus may be higher than the data indicate.
Particularly alarming is the fact that the study found that more than 4% of black people in the district are living with HIV, and that a total of 76% of people living with the virus in the nation’s capitol are black. Black men carry the largest HIV burden, with a 7% prevalence rate, while 3% of black women were found to be HIV-positive. Heterosexual sex was the leading cause of transmission among blacks, accounting for 33% of cases, while homosexual sex accounted for the most cases among whites and Hispanics (78% and 49% respectively).
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