Positive Life NSW

After 22-year absence the IAS returns to the USA

The removal of entry restrictions on people with HIV by the US allows for the return of the International AIDS Society (IAS) conference to the USA, this time in Washington DC, for the XIX International AIDS Conference in July 2012. This follows US President Barack Obama's October announcement that the nation would end its entry restrictions on people with HIV effective 4 January 2010.

The last time the conference was held in the USA was in 1990 in San Francisco, California. Because of the travel restrictions on people with HIV imposed by the then Reagan administration, the IAS had boycotted the conference taking place in the USA. In 1992 the IAS Governing Council instituted a policy banning it from holding conferences in countries that restrict short-term entry of people with HIV and/or require prospective HIV-positive visitors to declare their HIV status on visa application forms or other documentation required for entry into the country.

IAS President-Elect Dr Elly Katabira, Professor of Medicine at Makerere University in Uganda, said "The return of the conference to the United States is the result of years of dedicated advocacy to end a misguided policy based on fear, rather than science, and represents a significant victory for public health and human rights." Dr Katabira will serve as the International Chair of AIDS 2012.

The International AIDS Conference is the leading event for people working in HIV, policymakers, activists and people with HIV. The conference will be held 22–27 July 2012 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center.

According to current IAS president Dr Julio Montaner, "We are extremely pleased that the United States' new entry policy for people with HIV reflects its key role in global efforts to combat AIDS, and we urge other nations with similar discriminatory policies still in place to follow suit."

Source:
www.iasociety.org/Default.aspx?pageId=386
www.thebodypro.com/content/art54649.html?ic=700102

New WHO guidelines urge phase-out of major HIV drug

On 30 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) released Rapid advice: antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in adults and adolescents. These new treatment guidelines recommend earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy and the phasing out of stavudine/zerit, commonly known as (d4T), due to its side effects.

Long-term use of d4T has been associated with cumulative and irreversible side effects such as peripheral neuropathy and lipoatrophy. Although the use of d4T has declined globally from about 80% of people taking antiretrovirals in 2006, nearly 50% are still using a regimen with d4T, according to WHO. Because of its low cost and ease of use, d4T is widely prescribed as first-line therapy in low- and medium-income countries.

The new guidelines suggest that countries "progressively phase out the use of stavudine as a preferred first-line therapy option and move to less toxic alternatives such as zidovudine (AZT) and tenofovir (TDF)", which are equally effective. WHO indicated it would help countries to create plans to phase-out the drug without jeopardising treatment access or sustainability.

"[D4T] is the most widely used," said Dr Siobhan Crowley of WHO's HIV/AIDS department. "There is a trend moving away from it. We think it will take some time."

The new guidelines are available at www.who.int/hiv/pub/arv/advice/en/index.html

Source: www.thebodypro.com/content/art54658.html

Hédimo Santana