Human trials for UWO HIV/AIDS vaccine possible in 2008

If all goes well, a vaccine for HIV/AIDS developed at the University of Western Ontario could be tested on humans in 2008.

“It’s possible we could begin human clinical trials by the middle of next year,” the project’s lead researcher said yesterday.

The vaccine uses a combination of killed HIV virus, plus a virus genetically altered in the lab to carry the harmless HIV cells through the body to prompt an immune response. read more

APA: Kids with HIV Infection Keep Up Academically

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 24 -- Children infected with HIV at birth appear to maintain normal behavior and academic performance after 10 years of follow-up, researchers reported here.

"It appears that the long-term prognosis for children infected at birth with HIV is good," said Suzie Franklin, Ph.D., assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. "There is little evidence of behavioral or academic deterioration over time that can be directly attributed to HIV infection itself."read more

HIV: Babies can be tested at 4 weeks

MULAGO Hospital and Uganda Virus Institute have acquired new machines that will enable babies as young as one month to be tested for HIV.

Previously, babies could only be tested at the age of 18 months.
This was revealed by Mildmay Centre director Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika, during a breakfast meeting at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala on Wednesday.

This will greatly reduce the infant mortality rate, which was partly caused by the failure to test the HIV virus early enough.
read more

US to increase HIV/Aids funding to 39tr/-

US President George Bush is keen to have the President`s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) extended for five more years and the partnership�s funding increased to 39tr/-.

Speaking during the inauguration of a new care and treatment centre for HIV/Aids at the Mwananyamala Hospital in Dar es Salaam yesterday, US Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the proposal would need Congress approval.

Leavitt, pointed out that the Mwananyamala centre would use modern technology that would lead to faster and more reliable service delivery while also being more confidential than the one previously in use.
read more

Guam caregivers partake of HIV workshop

The Guahan Project is helping to educate local caregivers through a basic HIV instruction workshop. Executive director Alex Silverio says the workshop addresses shame and stigma issues and cultural barriers, as well as testing information and statistics. "The numbers are going up very sharply," he said. "We have an official 185 people who have tested positive for HIV since 1985. However, that doesn't take into account numbers of people who tested out of Guam and we estimate that to be much higher than 185."

Anonymous, confidential and free HIV testing is available at both the Department of Public Health or the Guahan Project. read more

US yoga buffs to fund Dharavi AIDS centre

Yoga Journal, a magazine with a circulation of over 300,000, has asked the yoga community in the US to help raise $250,000 to build a voluntary counselling and AIDS testing centre in Mumbai's Dharavi slum by World AIDS Day Dec 1.

'That ($250,000) is just 25,000 people making a donation of $10 each,' said Seane Corn, a celebrated yoga instructor in California who has conceived the Dharavi campaign called 'Off the Mat, Into the World'.

Through this campaign, Corn wants yoga enthusiasts to engage their communities in reducing the fear, ignorance and discrimination often associated with HIV/AIDS.
read more

HIV positive baby on sale - but no takers

This is the story of an HIV positive woman in Chhattisgarh who has been driven by poverty to offer her newborn daughter for sale - and the little baby whom no one wants because she too is infected with the virus.

"She was holding a week-old baby in her arms and asking people to buy the child so that she could get money for food," RP Pandey, chief medical officer of Bastar district, told IANS on telephone.

"Some people who showed initial interest in adopting the baby refused to do so after a test conducted in the government hospital confirmed that both the mother and the child are HIV positive," Pandey said.read more

St. Lucie County superintendent recommends adding AIDS, condom talk to sex education

Opponents of a proposed St. Lucie County sex education curriculum that includes some grades discussing condoms say the proposal teaches misleading information to teens.

But supporters say students need to know more about sex education than just abstinence.

"High school is the age where people decide to have sex," Dominque Cain said. "It's a life issue. It will help people understand more facts about HIV and AIDS."read more

XIMB holds out a LAMP for HIV+ people

BHUBANESWAR: About 91 HIV-positive persons have received certificates in ‘leadership and managerial proficiency’ (LAMP) from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB).

The infected persons were given a six-month training by the institute under a joint initiative with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched seven months ago. The programme aims to empower HIV-positive persons by imparting managerial skills to both earn a living and advocate the cause of other infected people.
read more

HIV in Rwanda drops to 3%

The number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda dropped from seven percent in 2004 to three percent today, new statistics have revealed.

The Rwandan Health Minister, Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo, said the success in the fight against AIDS was due to the increased awareness and reliable preventive mechanisms. read more

Vical Announces Results of Multiple NIH Phase II HIV Vaccine Trials

Results from a series of HIV vaccine Phase IIa clinical trials, using a plasmid DNA vaccine developed by the NIH Vaccine Research Center and manufactured by Vical, reinforced Phase I conclusions that a DNA prime-adenoviral vector boost vaccine regimen was safe and well-tolerated, and effective in inducing T-cell immune responses in up to 70 percent of the vaccine recipients, Vical reported.

According to Vical, the trials involved priming an immune response with three doses of a plasmid DNA vaccine over a two-month period and boosting the response with a single dose of adenoviral vector vaccine at six months.
read more

Delhi-based AIDS group fails to sensitize sex workers

New Delhi, Aug 25: An AIDS awareness group here has said that it has had a tough time sensitizing sex workers about the dangers of HIV and the importance of safe sex.

'Mission,' an NGO, staged a street play and organised a mobile testing camp at G.B. Road, a locality with the city's biggest concentration of brothels.

The aim was to sensitize sex workers and customers alike about the importance of using condoms and getting themselves periodically tested for HIV.read more