The same week that a city task force presented Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake with a plan to tackle HIV infections in Baltimore, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched its own campaign to increase HIV testing.

The campaign, called Testing Makes Us Stronger, targets black gay and bisexual men, one of the most affected populations. The federal agency worked with community leaders, doctors and others to develop the program that aims to increase awareness, increase access and boost testing. Once they know they are infected, they can be treated and take steps to prevent infection of others.

The campaign includes national print, online and transit ads, a website and Facebook page, promotion at events -- in six heavily impacts cities including Baltimore. The others are Atlanta. Houston. New York. Oakland, Calif., and Washington.

The CDC has also released data ahead of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, which shows nearly three out of four Americans infected with HIV don’t have it under control. That’s largely because one in five don’t know they are infected. Of those who do know, about half receive ongoing medical care.

There are about 1.2 million people living with HIV in the country and about 28 percent have a suppressed viral load, meaning they are healthy and a low risk of transmitting the virus.

Treatment, however, is effective. The CDC reports that of those in ongoing care, 77 percent have suppressed levels of virus.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

The Baltimore City Health Department is observing National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by offering free testing at city senior centers as more older people are contracting the deadly virus.

Those older than age 50 accounted for about 17 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The group is the fastest growing population segment to get the disease. The CDC estimates that one-half of Americans with HIV will be age 50 and older by 2015.

“By encouraging and promoting HIV testing among older Baltimoreans, we hope to break down the stigma that this is a young-peoples disease,” Commissioner of Health Dr. Oxiris Barbot, said in a statement. "Seniors who are or have been engaged in sexually high-risk behaviors should get tested regularly.

Testing will be held at the following senior centers.

Thursday, Sept. 15:

Sandtown-Winchester Senior Center, 1601 N. Baker St., 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 410-396-7724.

Friday, Sept. 16:

Cherry Hill Senior Life Center, 606 Cherry Hill Road, Suite 201, 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. 410-354-5101.

John Booth Senior Center, 229 ½ S. Eaton St., 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. 410-396-9202.

Allen Senior Center, 1404 S. Charles St., 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. 410-685-6224.

Waxter Center for Senior Citizens, 1000 Cathedral St., 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. 410- 396-1324.

Forest Park Senior Center, 4801 Liberty Heights Ave., 10 a.m. – noon.

Senior Network of North Baltimore, 5828 York Road, noon – 1:30 p.m. 410-323- 7131.

For more information about National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, visit http://www.theaidsinstitute.org/education/hivaids-and-aging-awareness.

For more information about confidential HIV and STD testing in Baltimore, visit our Website at http://www.baltimorehealth.org.

Posted by Andrea Walker at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

People with HIV in Baltimore  are aging.

A recent survey by the Greater Baltimore HIV Health Services Planning Council found that two-thirds of the HIV population were aged 45 to 64. The majority of the respondents were aged 25 to 44 the last time the survey was conducted in 2004.

There are about 18,000 people in the area with HIV or AIDS. The survey questioned 800 of them.

Researchers said the numbers show that drugs to treat the disease are allowing those infected to live longer lives.

The report also found that heterosexual sex is the main way the disease is being spread. For years, it was being spread mostly through intravenous drug use.

About 52.7 percent of those who responded were infected with HIV through heterosexual sex. About 22.8 percent were infected through drug use.

Posted by Andrea Walker at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new HIV data this week, and it appears as though the number of new infections is holding steady at about 50,000 new cases annually.

The data is for 2006-2009 and shows only an increase in new cases in young gay and bisexual men, particularly in young, black gay and bisexual men – which is a problem for Baltimore, which has already has been working to stem the new infections in this group.

There was a 48 percent jump in new cases in this group, from 4,400 in 2006 to 6,500 in 2009.
The CDC says men who have sex with men represent just 2 percent of the total population but accounted for 61 percent of all new HIV infections in 2009. Blacks comprise 14 percent of the population but accounted for 44 percent of new HIV cases; and Latinos make up 16 percent of the population but accounted for 20 percent of new HIV infections.

“We are deeply concerned by the alarming rise in new HIV infections in young, black gay and bisexual men and the continued impact of HIV among young gay and bisexual men of all races, said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, in a statement.

“We cannot allow the health of a new generation of gay men to be lost to a preventable disease. It’s time to renew the focus on HIV among gay men and confront the homophobia and stigma that all too often accompany this disease.”

CDC graphic: MSM are men who have sex with men and IDU are drug users

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

Unsatisfied with controlling HIV, researchers at Johns Hopkins and other institutions say they aren’t giving up on a cure. They are beginning a five-year initiative to completely purge the virus from people already successfully suppressing it with antiretroviral drugs.

Hundreds of thousands of the estimated million Americans living with HIV are in relatively good health thanks to 20 years of advances in treatment. But the researchers want to rid the body of the virus still hiding in immune system cells.

The consortium working on the initiative includes nine universities and Merck Research Laboratories. It is called the Martin Delaney Collaboratory, after the well known AIDS activist.

Virologist Janice Clements, vice dean for faculty and a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Hopkins infectious disease specialist Dr. Robert Siliciano will serve as co-investigators. The group will be led by Dr. David Margolis at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will provide $32 million in funding for the group, which will pursue about a dozen projects to uncover how HIV remains hidden in the immune system’s T-cells and develop treatments.

“This group approach has me much more optimistic,” said Siliciano in a statement. He initially doubted a cure was possible after his initial discoveries about those small pockets of virus.
But, how he says, “After years of developing a better understanding of these HIV reservoirs, to the point where we can make and study latently infected T-cells in the laboratory, we are finally ready to go after them.”

Other partners on the project include Case Western Reserve University; the University of California, Davis; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, San Diego; the University of California, San Francisco; The Gladstone Institute; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Utah.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

A simpler and shorter course of antibiotic drugs could prevent tens of millions of people around the globe who have the bacteria that causes tuberculosis from getting full-blown TB, according to Johns Hopkins and South African scientists.

That may be particularly important to those who are HIV positive are at higher risk of catching the lung infections. The regiment could help 50,000 Americans and 22 million in sub-Saharan Africa.

The study, to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found the most streamlined combination worked. The does is 900 milligrams of the newer antibiotic rifapentine and the older isoniazid once a week for three months. The gold standard has been a daily dose of isoniazid for six months or longer.

“This new, simpler treatment regimen with rifapentine and isoniazid is highly effective and could transform therapy for latent tuberculosis in both those co-infected with HIV and those not,” said study senior author Dr. Richard Chaisson, a professor of infectious diseases at Hopkins and founding director of its Center for Tuberculosis Research.

“New treatment options are urgently needed to help control TB globally, and simpler regimens will substantially increase the number of people receiving therapy,” he said.

Not even 1 percent of those most likely to develop full-blown TB are getting drug treatment because of inconvenience, drug side effects and difficulty finding nearby health clinics, the scientists said. Yet, TB is the leading cause of death among people co-infected with HIV, which causes AIDS, leading to some half-million deaths annually among those co-infected.

But experts estimate that 2 billion people worldwide are infected with TB. Ten million become sick every year.

For more information, go to www.tbhiv-create.org.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS, Medical studies
        

UPDATED:

People’s Community Health Centers in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County are also having HIV testing until 4:30 p.m. at the following locations:

Greenmount Avenue Center
3028 Greenmount Avenue
Baltimore, 21218

Open Gates Center
1111 Washington Boulevard
Baltimore, 21230

Sandtown/New Song Center
1300 N. Fulton Street
Baltimore, 21217

Brooklyn Park Center
5517 Ritchie Highway
Baltimore, 21225

Pioneer Drive
8341 Pioneer Drive
Severn, 21144

Yorkwood Center
5225 York Road
Baltimore, 21212

HERO Center
1734 Maryland Avenue
Baltimore, 21201

Odenton Center
1370 Odenton Road
Odenton, 21113

Here is my original post:

Posted by Andrea Walker at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

It’s just about 30 years since the first case of AIDS was diagnosed, unleashing an epidemic. And while those with HIV can now have a relatively normal life span, thanks to effective medications, new cases are still cropping up at rates that frustrate public health officials.

To give the public an idea of the prevalence rates (the percentage of people with HIV at this time), the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University have created an interactive map. It can be found at www.AIDSVu.org and can break down the rates by state and county – and can show where the need for testing and treatment are most urgent.

Those who put up the map plan to update it regularly.

 “AIDSVu is an important new public health tool that makes data on the geography of HIV in the United States available to anyone with an Internet connection,” said Dr. James Curran, dean of the Rollins School, in a statement. “AIDSVu shows us that every area of the country is affected by HIV, and we hope that AIDSVu helps individuals better understand HIV in their communities and take charge of their health.”

The data come from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and were compiled by Rollins School researchers with help from a host of others.

Take a look at the map. The researchers note that the Northeast and South are most heavily impacted (and Maryland is right up there), as are black and Hispanic populations in the cities and rural areas. In total, more than a million Americans have HIV, and one in five doesn’t know it.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

Those infected with HIV are way less likely to pass on the virus to sexual partners if they take oral antiretroviral drugs before their immune systems are compromised, a series of studies supported by the National Institutes of Health shows.

The studies -- including two conducted in Thailand and Malawi by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers -- involved 1,700 mostly heterosexual couples where one partner was infected but realtively healthy.

“These data conclusively demonstrate that beginning HIV treatment early is a natural form of HIV prevention,” said David Celentano, principal investigator for the Thailand study site and the Charles Armstrong Chair and Professor of Epidemiology at the Bloomberg school, in a statement.
The data showed that the drugs reduced transmission by 96 percent, an unprecedented level of impact.

The studies were conducted at 13 sites around the globe. Only 39 infections were found among previously uninfected partners. There was only one case of HIV infection among couples where the HIV-infected partner had begun drug therapy immediately.

“Previous data about the potential value of antiretrovirals in making HIV-infected individuals less infectious to their sexual partners came largely from observational and epidemiological studies,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, in a statement. “This new finding convincingly demonstrates that treating the infected individual—and doing so sooner rather than later—can have a major impact on reducing HIV transmission.”

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is March 10, and state health officials plan to observe it this Saturday at a free conference among other health groups and community organizations. They aim to raise awareness and spread information about preventing, testing for and living with the disease.

Preliminary state data shows that by the end of 2009, nearly 30,000 people in Maryland were living with HIV/AIDS and 36 percent were women. The majority of women were ages 30 and 49 and the most common methods of contracting were through heterosexual sex and drug use.

The rates among women also are rising, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration, which is partnering with local and state public schools, community health groups and the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"The proportion of new HIV diagnoses among women in Maryland has more than doubled from 15 percent in 1985 to 35.3percent in 2008," said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the state health department, in a statement. “It is critical to advance strategies that help all women -- young and old -- to protect themselves."

The conference runs from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, 101 W. Fayette St. It targets public schools students and their parents.

For the latest Maryland HIV/AIDS data report, click here.

For information about HIV education, testing, treatment, support services and local National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day activities, 410-767-5132 or click here. National activities are here.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

African Americans make up about 14 percent of the U.S. population but account for half of new HIV diagnoses, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Maryland, some 78 percent of HIV/AIDS cases are African-Americans. At the end of 2009, 1 in 54 black men and 1 in 97 black women were living with HIV/AIDS.

With those sobering statistics in mind, health officials in Maryland and beyond are using today's National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day to urge people to get tested and treated for the illness.

"With HIV, knowledge is power," said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, state health secretary in a statement. "Getting tested and treated can save your life."

Raising awareness and combating the disparity in HIV cases is no small feat. Last year, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene provided testing, partner services and other interventions to more than 75,000 African Americans, but more work is needed to combat the epidemic, officials said.

Increasing access to testing and counseling services and reducing stigma are all needed to confront the problem, officials said.

The CDC's data show just how wide the racial disparity is: Black men are diagnosed with HIV at eight times the rate for white men and black women get diagnosed with the illness 19 times the rate for white women, according to the CDC's report, which comes from 2008 statistics from 37 states. 

Here are more details on HIV/AIDS among blacks from the CDC. 

And here's more information on events and resources for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

Jhpiego, the international health nonprofit and affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, will expand on its work in eastern Kenya thanks to a $100 million award from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Jhpiego has been working on health projects in Kenya for four years.  The group will lead the “APHIAplus Health Service Delivery” project over the next five years with the new award that will ensured easier access to care for the impoverished and underserved in community and hospital settings. Services will include family planning and HIV.

“Jhpiego is thrilled to be chosen for this project and join our Kenyan partners in providing innovative health strategies to improve health care services for those most in need and support Kenyans in carrying out this most important, life-changing work,” said Leslie Mancuso, Jhpiego president and chief executive, in a statement.

For the past four years, Jhpiego has led the $33.9 million, USAID-funded AIDS, Population and Health Integrated Assistance (APHIA II) project in Eastern Kenya. In that time, the program has counseled and tested over 1.1 million Kenyans. More than 8,000 of those who tested positive have begun antiretroviral treatment in the last two years.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

Today is World AIDS Day and there are many events planned to show support for human rights, access to medication and education.

Officials at the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene say they are using the day to focus on reducing stigma and increasing prevention activities.

Activities will be held throughout the state “to encourage residents, stakeholders, and partners to embrace the vision of a Maryland with no new cases of HIV, experience local talent, show support for people living with HIV/AIDS, and reflect upon the lives of those that have been lost to HIV/AIDS.”

Several state health officials and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will be discussing the incidence of the disease in the state, current public health prevention and treatment programs, the impact of Health Care Reform, and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 3rd Floor Auditorium, 400 Cathedral St. For more information, call 410-767-5252.

Other events can be found here.

In the meantime, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that the number of adults tested for HIV reached a record high in 2009. Last year, 82.9 million adults were tested, an increase of 11.4 million people since 2006, when the CDC recommended that testing become a routine part of medical care.

Though, the CDC says, 55 percent of adults, and 28.3 percent of adults at higher risk for HIV, have not been tested. The agency also estimates that 1.1 million adults are living with HIV and that as many as one in five of these individuals does not know that they are infected.

Have you been tested?

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

Waiting to get care for HIV is costly – in terms of health and dollars, according to a new Johns Hopkins University study.

Infected patients becomes sicker and require tens of thousands of dollars more in care during the first few years of treatment, and study authors say the findings means much more has to be done to get at-risk people tested and to the clinic for care.

 “We know that it's important clinically to get people into care early because they will stay healthier and do better over the long run,” says Dr. Kelly Gebo, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Hopkins’ School of Medicine and the study's senior author, in a statement. “But now we know it's also more costly to the health care system for potentially decades and a serious drain on our limited health care dollars.”

With antiretroviral therapy, patients are living a lot longer. But they have to actually get the care. Study authors say some people wait too long for care because they don’t know they’re infected, don’t know how to access care or have other problems such as mental health issue or an addiction.

For the study, researchers looked at 8,348 medical records at nine HIV clinics across the country between 2000 and 2007. More than 43 percent got care late and head weakened immune systems. Their CD4 counts, a measure of those systems, were below 200. A healthy person has a count between 800 and 1,000. Low counts mean the patient can more easily become infected or develop cancer.

It’s harder to recover to normal levels, even with the therapy. And the costs go way up when patients are sicker because of the high cost of hospitalization and medications for other diseases made worse by a weakened immune system. The researchers found in the first seven to eight years of treatment that the average difference in cost for treatment between early and late presenters were $27,275 to $61,615 higher.

The study findings were published in the December issue of the journal Medical Care.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

Kids who take antiretroviral therapy drugs to combat HIV infection may need to be revaccinated against other preventable diseases, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The researchers looked at 38 published studies to see the immune responses to vaccines. Most on the antiretrovirals remained susceptible to the diseases, but responded well to revaccination.

They published their finding in the latest issue of the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

“Because of the progressive effects of HIV infection on the ability of the immune system to mount an effective response, many infected children have poorer responses to vaccines than do uninfected children,” Dr. William Moss, senior author of the review and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Epidemiology said in a statement.

“In addition, fewer children infected with HIV achieve protective immunity, and those who do might experience greater and more rapid waning of immunity. These results suggest that children on [antiretrovirals] would benefit from revaccination, but levels of protective immunity might need to be monitored and some children may need additional vaccine doses to maintain protective immunity.”

The studies looked at the kids’ short-term immune response (less than 3 months) and long-term response (greater than 3 months) and found that those on antiretrovirals since infancy – before routine childhood vaccines – might have long lasting immunity to those diseases.

The information from this research may help develop polices and strategies for kids with HIV. The researchers note that more such kids are living into adolescence and adulthood and steps need to be taken to keep them from developing other preventable diseases.

Associated Press photo

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Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

Later today, President Obama will unveil his national strategy for fighting AIDS.

According to the Associated Press, the strategy calls for reducing the rate of new HIV infections by 25 percent over the next five years, and for getting treatment to 85 percent of patients within three months of their diagnosis.

This should benefit Baltimore, which ranks among the metropolitan areas with the highest rates of infection. Only the Miami, New Orleans, Baton Rough and Washington metro areas have higher rates.

The rate has been dropping in Baltimore in recent years, but the city still far outpaces the state and nation. In 2007, the latest year for which data is available, there were 145 new cases for every 100,000 people. That compares to the state as a whole, which had about 46 cases, and the nation, which has 12.5 cases.

About 86 percent of those with HIV are African American. About one in nine black men in Baltimore between 40 and 49 years old has a confirmed HIV diagnosis. Many more don't know they have the disease.

But there have been advances, said Richard W. Matens, assistant commissioner for chronic disease prevention at the Baltimore City Health Department.

A needle program now exchanges 400,000 needles annually, and the percentage of people exposed to the disease through infected needles has dropped from almost 53 percent of cases in 2000 to about 31 percent in 2008. An outreach program has identified more people with HIV diagnoses and gotten them into primary care.

The city receives about $22 million annually from the federal government for use on treatment and other services for those with HIV and AIDS, and gets another $4 or $5 million from the state. The city spends about $800,000 in city and state money for the needle exchange and other programs and gets more state money for medications and prevention.

City officials are optimistic that the announcement from President Obama will bring renewed attention to the problem.

"President Obama is demonstrating this is a priority focus for him by coming out with a report and that will help," Matens said. "Getting together and developing a plan that sets a clear agenda will help focus efforts locally as well as federal funding."

If you need assistance, or want a free HIV (or other STD) test, go to the Health Department website. Also, on July 19, additional sites around the city will offer rapid testing and referral for services. Go to www.togetherbaltimore.com for information.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

A group of scientists has made a breakthrough in what they say could lead to the creation of an HIV vaccine.

The team led by scientists from the National Institutes of Health have discovered two antibodies that can stop more than 90 percent of HIV strains from infecting human cells.

Articles about the findings appeared today in the online edition of Science.

The scientists found that antibodies called VRCO1 and VRCO2 neutralize more HIV strains with more strength than any other known antibodies to the virus. HIV is the virus that leads to the deadly AIDS disease.

The scientists have also discovered the atomic-level structure of the VRC01 antibody when it attaches to HIV. Knowing the structure has enabled the scientists to know exactly where the antibody attaches to the HIV virus. They are using this information to begin designing a candidate vaccine.

Scientists have in the past had trouble finding antibodies that neutralize HIV because the virus frequently changes its surface proteines making it hard to be recognized by the immune system.

Posted by Andrea Walker at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is jumping on the social media bandwagon and enlisting some help from celebrities Jamie Foxx and Ludacris to promote an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign targeting African Americans.

Called, "i know," the campaign uses a website, Twitter, Facebook, texting and a PSA from celebs (check out Jamie Foxx below) in an effort to increase dialogue and reduce the stigma of the disease among young African Americans -- a very vulnerable population. While blacks make up 14 percent of the population of 13- to 29-year-olds, they account for half of all new HIV infections of this group, according to the CDC. 

But concern about the epidemic appears to be fading. A Kaiser Family Foundation asked black 18- to 29-year-olds to rate their concern about HIV. In 1997, 54 percent said they were "very concerned." That figure sank to 40 percent last year.

The effort is part of the CDC's five-year $45 million Act Against AIDS campaign, to raise awareness, battle indifference about the disease and reach those most at risk.

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

A Johns Hopkins-affiliated international health organization received a $22.9 million grant today from the Gates Foundation to educate and increase contraceptive use in Kenya's slums. Jhpiego, a nonprofit that has worked for 35 years to improve public health for women and families around the globe, will use the grand money to expand its work with urban poor and reproductive health.

With Kenya's slums struggling with staggering rates of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, the goal if the project, called the Gates Kenya Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, is to increase contraceptive use by 20 percent.

Rates of contraception use are poor in Kenya's slums, even when public health clinics are within walking distance, Jhpiego reports. Lack of trust of public health workers and the high cost of health services keep many people away. Some 39 percent of poor urban Kenyans  are not using contraceptives, according to Jhpiego. 

Read more about Jhpiego's work and how it's linked schools in Baltimore with those in Africa to improve health.

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

On this World AIDS Day public health officials are reminding everyone that while tremendous progress has been made, the fight against HIV/AIDS is far from over.

More people are getting life-saving treatment for the disease and new AIDS infections are down 17 percent over the last eight years, according to UNAIDS.

Nevertheless, there is still no vaccine and the epidemic continues to rage across the globe. Even here in the states, more than 1 million people are infected by the virus and 1 in 5 of them don't know it, according to the CDC. In Maryland, an estimated 6,000 to 9,000 people have HIV and aren't aware of it, according to the state health department.

And so, the mantra among health officials: Get tested.

Locally, health departments across the state are offering free testing and other events to mark the occasion. In Baltimore, a city that has been hit hard by AIDS, a candlelight vigil is planned for 7 p.m. at the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. For more information and for testing sites see the health department website: www.baltimorehealth.org/worldaidsday. Anne Arundel County is offering free testing from noon to 6 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis. For more information on other events, visit the state health department site for details.

Said Maryland Health Secretary John M. Colmers: “By working together we can ensure that everyone knows their HIV status and routinely tests for HIV.  Knowledge is power.”

Continue reading "World AIDS Day" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: HIV/AIDS
        

When it comes to HIV/AIDS the mantra has always been: get tested.

But some doctors warn that not all tests are created equal. Sometimes a negative test can give a false sense of security to both doctors and patients, particularly for risk-taking teenagers, said Dr. Allison Agwu, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Rapid HIV tests are designed to pick up antibodies to the virus, not the virus itself. It can take weeks or months for someone to produce antibodies. So a rapid test can come up negative the first time, but positive some weeks or months later. False negatives often happen during the earliest and most contagious stages of the infection.

And with teens, those crucial months matter.

“The test is only as good as when you get the test,” said Agwu. “I can’t tell you the number of times I spoke to a patient, and they say, ‘Well I’m negative. And they go on to doing whatever risky behaviors they’ve been doing.”

Of the 53,000 new HIV infections diagnosed each year in the United States, 14 percent of those occurred in 13 to 25-year-olds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Continue reading "Keepings teens safe from HIV" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: HIV/AIDS, Pediatrics