ITF and IMHA join to condemn HIV discrimination at sea

Through the statement and the position it lays out the ITF and IMHA aim to increase their support for international and national commitments to protect the rights and dignity of seafarers and all people living with HIV/AIDS. The IMHA and ITF consider HIV as a workplace issue that should be treated like any other serious illness/condition on board a vessel.

We believe that HIV/AIDS should not be considered to be a condition that poses a threat to public health in relation to shipping because, although infectious, HIV cannot be transmitted by casual contact or the mere presence of a person with HIV. HIV is transmitted through specific behaviour which is almost always private. The occupational exposure risks of HIV infection at sea are slight and limited to the treatment of injuries and to procedures undertaken by the small number of healthcare staff working on large vessels. There are well established precautions to avoid these risks. Sexual or blood borne transmission are not likely routes for transmission of infection in the normal course of work at sea.

There should be no discrimination against seafarers on the basis of real or perceived HIV status. HIV infection is not a cause for termination of employment at sea and persons with HIV related illness should be able to work for as long as medically fit in an available, appropriate workplace. Any travel or work related restriction should only be imposed on the basis of an individual interview/examination.read more

AIDS interferes with stem cells in brain

A prominent problem in AIDS is a form of dementia that robs one’s ability to concentrate and perform normal movements. Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered how HIV/AIDS disrupts the normal replication of stem cells in the adult brain, preventing new nerve cells from forming.

The Burnham team focused on the determining the effect of a protein associated with AIDS, called HIV/gp120, which plays a key role in the pathogenesis of AIDS dementia.
In initial work with cell cultures in Petri dishes, the researchers methodically ruled out the possibility that HIV/gp120 would be inducing the death of stem cells and determined instead that HIV/gp120 was acting by inhibiting stem cell proliferation. Next, they confirmed these results in a special mouse strain bred to express HIV/gp120 in its brain.

This mouse model for AIDS dementia mimics several features of the disease process found in humans. They observed a significant decrease in the number of proliferating stem cells in the brains of HIV/gp120-mice compared with similar tissue from normal, wild-type mice.read more

Namibia: Haingura Calls for Concerted Effort in HIV/Aids Fight

A workshop aimed at strengthening good governance and leadership skills of Aids service organisations in Southern Africa was held yesterday in the capital.

Research data on HIV/Aids indicate that there has been no sign of overall decline in any of the Southern African Network of Aids Services Organisations (SANASO) member countries.


"For this to happen, we need to have good governance structures and management systems in place so that we can demonstrate an acceptable level of accountability for the funds we received to implement our programmes."

"The workshop will ensure meaningful engagement of civil society organsations (NGOs) that have the capacity to make meaningful contribution to the fight against HIV and Aids," she said.read more

Novavax Announces Publication of HIV/AIDS Vaccine Research in Journal of Virology

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novavax, Inc. announced today the publication of research findings in the August 1, 2007 online issue of Journal of Virology demonstrating the potential of the company's proprietary virus-like particle (VLP) technology to create a vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS. The paper describes the discovery by Novavax scientists and colleagues from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Emory University and Duke University, with funding by the National Institutes of Health, that improved HIV-1 VLPs can be produced to create potential new AIDS vaccines.

In this paper, the authors describe a new way to maximize the incorporation of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp160 into VLPs. HIV-1 gp160 is the major surface protein of the virus and a principal immunogenic target against HIV.

This research represents a very important step forward in our VLP-based vaccine program and an exciting development in our collaboration with leaders in the field of HIV vaccines," said Dr. Gale Smith, Vice President of vaccine development at Novavax "We have produced VLPs which bind to CD4 and chemokine receptors. These VLP's have certain 'conserved' HIV-1 gene sequences which do not change; therefore these neutralizing antibodies may be very effective -- all important characteristics for development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine."read more

World Bank: Maintaining Low HIV and AIDS Prevalence in Sri Lanka

August 13, 2007 - As host country of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), Sri Lanka is gearing up to welcome more than 3,500 delegates from over 60 countries.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Dr. Nimal Edirisinghe, Program Director for the World Bank-funded National HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, said this the first time the conference is taking place in a low-prevalence developing country.

The World Bank has supported it since 1998. From 1998 to 2002, the Bank provided about US$1 million of support each year to the HIV/STD program through the Health Services Project. In 2002, the Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) provided a US$12.6 million grant to help finance the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Project.read more

Cipla will make AIDS drug for kids

HYDERABAD: Generics major Cipla Ltd will manufacture the first three-in-one cocktail anti-AIDS drug meant for children.

The problem is massive and children have been by far ignored till now as there were no right dosages available for supply,” Amar Lulla, managing director, Cipla, said.

This is the first pediatric dosage of the combination and given that only 50,000 children are under treatment currently, the goal is to reach 10 times the number, he told DNA Money.

The Pepfar programme is unique in the sense generics makers such as Cipla can make still-under-patent drugs for supply to countries mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, which are the worst affected by HIV/AIDS at highly subsdised prices.read more

59 NEW HIV CASES IN BULGARIA IN 2007

The number of HIV positive people registered in Bulgaria since the beginning of 2007 is 59.

Thus the total number of the HIV positive in the country reached 748, Focus news agency reported.

Most of the infected, 46, are men. Their number is 3.5 times larger than those of the infected women.

Of the infected men, 14 were homosexual, leading Tonka Vurleva, co-ordinator of the Ministry of Health’s programme Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS to pronounce them a new at-risk group.

Another 13 of the HIV infected were drug addicts.

The age of the HIV infected people varied from 16 to 61. The youngest was infected after unprotected sex.
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