Aids Conference highlights
Last week, I shared a story from the Aids conference on making HIV self-testing a reality. This week, I continue with a few highlights from the conference.
Rumphi-based Life Concern Organisation (LICO) won a Red Ribbon Award. LICO received a $10 000 award for their work which helps to empower and lead an engaged community that can make informed decisions. Congratulations LICO!
Waking up hidden HIV:
Scientists revealed a new approach to getting rid of the HIV virus called the “kick and kill” approach, using an anti-cancer drug to kick the virus out of where it is hiding in the body.
Promising bone marrow transplants
: Two HIV-positive patients treated in Australia were given a bone marrow transplant which appears to have cleared them of the virus. They now have undetectable levels of HIV but remain on antiretroviral therapy as a protective measure. Although the results were significant, experts stressed that bone marrow transplants were not a cure for HIV, as it remained a costly and a potentially dangerous procedure.
Improved TB drugs:
Tuberculosis kills one in five people with HIV and is the leading cause of death for people with Aids. Results of an international study showed a new combination of drugs cured drug resistant TB in as little as four months, instead of two years.
Malawian mothers on Option B plus lost to follow up
: Lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) to women living with HIV who are pregnant or breastfeeding resulted in a sevenfold increase in women receiving ART in 15 months but there are high rates of women who drop out of the programme.
HIV incidence decline but record numbers don’t know status
: A new UNAids report on the global HIV pandemic found significant drops in HIV incidence and Aids-related deaths in recent years. The estimated 2.1 million new HIV infections in 2013 represents a 13 percent decrease in HIV incidence in three years and is the lowest level found this century. Called the UNAids Gap Report, the document also highlights the concern that an estimated 19 million of the 35 million people living with HIV worldwide don’t know their status.
Economic incentives improve male circumcision rates
: Compensation in the form of food vouchers has led to a modest increase in male circumcision rates in Kenya.The results found that the higher the economic incentive, the higher the rate of circumcision.
Decriminalising sex work could significantly decrease HIV infections among female sex workers:
The study in India, Kenya and Canada found that making sex work a crime pushes sex workers to find isolated areas, increasing risk of violence, and due to fear of arrest, transactions are rushed, and sex workers are less likely to insist on limits and safeguards, including condom use.
Did you attend the conference? Do you have highlights, comments, inspirational stories?
