World AIDS Day: Light To Unite
 

I just found this article on Yahoo regarding a possible AIDS Vaccine in 2005.

Prepare Now for Future Vaccine, AIDS Expert Says
Mon Jul 8,10:58 AM ET

BARCELONA (Reuters Health) - A vaccine that offers at least partial protection against HIV ( news - web sites) could be available within a decade, but poor countries will be left without access for years longer unless manufacturing and distribution capacity is built now, a leading researcher said on Saturday.

At a meeting ahead of the 14th International AIDS ( news - web sites) Conference here, Dr. Seth Berkley, founder and president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), said that an effective vaccine is the only way to end the pandemic, which threatens to kill more than 68 million people between 2000 and 2020.

"From our perspective, we now have a set of reasonable candidates," he told Reuters Health on the sidelines of the meeting. "I would say it's possible we could have a vaccine in as short as 6 months and as long as 5, 7, 10 years."

But the developing world could be left behind again, as it has been with expensive antiretroviral drugs, Berkley said. Ensuring quick global rollout of a vaccine requires the means of producing large amounts and having the facilities to distribute it.

"The critical issue is, if a vaccine turns out to look good but we don't have the manufacturing facilities, the delivery systems or the financing systems, what will happen is that we'll have 'Eureka! This great advance,' but we won't be able to use it for a very long time," Berkley explained.

"If you wait until the day we have a vaccine that works, it'll be 5 or more years before it gets to the places that need it," he added.

With 15,000 people a day contracting HIV, mostly in the developing world, each month equates to a quarter of a million people missing out on the protection a vaccine might offer, Berkley said.

"That's not a scientific problem, but a political problem--building the commitment to have what is a new paradigm, simultaneous North-South availability of an AIDS vaccine," Berkley stated.

"The challenge for politicians is that vaccines tend to have a longer timelines," he said. "The timeline of the average politician means they're not going to be around when these vaccines appear."

The results of studies with vaccines in early stages of clinical development are expected to be presented during the week-long conference. The most advanced candidate, AIDSVAX developed by US biotechnology company VaxGen, has been undergoing final Phase III tests in Thailand and results are expected by the beginning of 2003.

Another Phase III trial, of AIDSVAX combined with Aventis Pasteur's ALVAC vaccine, looks likely to go ahead within a year, also in Thailand. At the meeting, Supachai Rerks Ngarm from the Thai Department of Public Health ( news - web sites) said that results are expected by around 2006.

Other vaccines are in more preliminary phases, which means proof of their effectiveness is more distant.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ids_vaccine_dc

WRAP IT UP - EVEN YOU ADULTERS!!!
 

I read about this yesterday at work (I work for a hospital :) ) anyway, I just hope that some people DO Not interpret this to mean that it is safe OR ok to have unprotected sex (pre-marital or otherwise - for the adulters out there). :(

This is a virus, which means that it will mutate are it has become resistant to this current vaccine.

Re: WRAP IT UP - EVEN YOU ADULTERS!!!
 

You are so right! A vaccine protects against becoming infected. Right now there are no vaccines available to the public just treatments to manage the disease and it is those treatments that the virus is mutating to overcome. People resorted back to unsafe behaviors--unprotected sex with multiple partners, anonymous sex, sharing dirty needles, etc.-- because they think the treatments are a cure They are NOT.

If indeed a vaccine is developed (and noticed the article said "partial protection"), I fear that it will lead to a complete throwing of caution to the wind. HIV is a very smart virus and there is the chance that it mutates against even a vaccine.

Re: WRAP IT UP - EVEN YOU ADULTERS!!!
 

Honeykiss, I was thinking the same thing. I just know there are going to be idiots out there, who think this is the green light, for them to keep "spreading themselves" out. I don't understand how people can be so ignorant.

I don't see the difference between the access to the vaccine and the current cocktail medication in poorer countries. They are already struggling to get to some of the medication that we have readily available here in the US, and even some of the poorer people here that are dying from this virus are not getting it. If anything they should be the ones to get it first. But we all know how that is going to work out. The rich will get it first and the poor will get it last, that is how healthcare works in our society and it SUCKS!!!

I also agree that people will use this as the forcefiled against HIV. But we need to realize that there are other STD's that can stay with you for life.

People need to understand that there are two forms of vaccines that are being investigated right now. Preventative and therapeutic vaccines. For a successful preventive vaccine to be developed all the 9 subtypes of the virus must be incorporated and some how prevent the virus from mutating once it get inside the body. So far we have not been able to redress both of this issues consistantly.

Currently there are a few vaccines candidate that are in phase III clinical trials. One of those key trials that was schedule to ran parallel to the Thailand study here in the US was halted!

Any update
 

I remember that a couple of years ago a few researchers/AIDS docs injected themselves with a vaccine as part of a trial. Are they the ones in phase III now or have you heard any updates on them?

1st AIDS Vaccine in Large Test Found to Be Mostly Ineffective
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 24, 2003; Page A02

The first AIDS vaccine tested in a large population of people at high risk for the disease has proven to be largely ineffective, according to data released early today by the vaccine's manufacturer.

AIDSVAX reduced the rate of infection 3.8 percent in people receiving the vaccine, compared with those who received placebo injections, said VaxGen, based in Brisbane, Calif.. Vaccines generally need to be at least 70 percent effective in reducing infection from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to gain approval for widespread use. VaxGen officials had said that a real-world efficacy of 30 percent for AIDSVAX might be enough to make the product useful in some populations.

The vaccine appeared to be effective, however, in a subgroup of recipients, notably African Americans. Among them, 2 percent who received the vaccine became infected with HIV, compared with 8.1 percent who were given the placebo -- a statistically significant difference. When Asians and mixed-race volunteers were added to the group of blacks -- totaling, in all, about 500 of the 5,000 volunteers -- the protective effect was nearly as strong.

"It appears that blacks, Asians and the other non-white volunteers were able to induce a higher level of antibody than others. There appears to be a correlation between that and protection. We need to continue to do more analysis," VaxGen spokesman James Key said of that finding.
Company officials were not available to comment on what their next step will be. They scheduled two telephone conferences with reporters and investors today.

The vaccine was tested in 5,417 volunteers at high risk for HIV infection in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. The company is testing a similar vaccine in Thailand, but the results of that study will not be known until later this year.

More than a dozen vaccines have been tested in small numbers of people for their ability to stimulate immunity or, in some cases, slow the progression of HIV infection. The AIDSVAX trial, however, was the first one to test a vaccine's ability to protect against infection in a large and diverse population of volunteers.

The vaccine consists of a protein, called gp120, that is on the outer surface of the AIDS virus and is one of many viral structures that stimulate production by the immune system of disease-fighting antibodies. In this case, the gp120 was made by recombinant DNA technology, not by extraction from the virus itself.

About twice as many people were randomly assigned to be given the vaccine as to receive a placebo, or inactive, immunization. The vaccination schedule consisted of three initial shots spaced three months apart, and then booster shots every six months. Although slightly more than 5,400 people were enrolled in the study, only 5,009 received at least three shots. The results announced today were limited to them.

Over three years, 5.7 percent of the people receiving AIDSVAX became infected with HIV, compared with 5.8 percent of people receiving the placebo shots.

It is unclear what significance the finding of variable efficacy among different racial groups might mean in terms of the vaccine's possible usefulness. Although some racial and ethnic groups are at higher risk for certain infections -- and therefore are more urgent targets for a vaccine's use -- licensing vaccines for specific racial groups is without precedent.

The volunteers in this trial consisted of 5,108 gay or bisexual men, and 309 women at high risk of HIV infection because they are the sexual partners of those men, or of intravenous drug users. All of the volunteers were given frequent counseling to practice safer sex, and not to count on protection from the vaccine.


© 2003 The Washington Post Company

Some Docs are not surprised
 

From the StarTribune, 2/25/03

Minnesota AIDS experts who helped test an experimental vaccine say they are disappointed, but not surprised, that the vaccine didn't seem to work in a three-year study of more than 5,000 volunteers.

And they are skeptical about one of the findings disclosed this week: that blacks and Asians seemed to do better on the vaccine, known as AidsVax, than whites.

"You have to be very cautious," said Dr. Frank Rhame, an AIDS specialist at Minneapolis' Abbott Northwestern Hospital who led one of two AidsVax test sites in Minnesota. "Is there some reason that vaccines should work in African Americans and not in whites? I haven't seen an explanation."

Overall, "the effect of the vaccine was minimal," the vaccine's manufacturer, VaxGen Inc., said Monday. Its study -- the largest ever on an AIDS vaccine -- found no "significant reduction of HIV infection within the study population as a whole."

Yet two small groups did show a "statistically significant" drop in HIV infection, according to the company. After receiving the vaccine, black volunteers had 78 percent fewer infections, and non-Hispanic minorities had 67 percent fewer infections, than a control group, the study found. Subjects in the two groups also had higher levels of AIDS antibodies in their bloodstream than white subjects.

Experts say the racial gap may be a statistical fluke. At best, Rhame said, it calls for more study.

Dr. Keith Henry, who tested the vaccine at Hennepin County Medical Center, said "it's plausible" that genetic differences may explain the gap. But the evidence was marginal, and the overall results were "totally unimpressive," he said.

VaxGen, based in Brisbane, Calif., has spent $200 million developing the vaccine and said it hopes to someday help slow the spread of AIDS. On Monday, its stock price fell $6.16 a share, or 47 percent, to close at $6.86.

Henry said scientists were "lukewarm at best" about the vaccine all along. But he and others say it was worth testing because even a modest vaccine could help stem the epidemic.

"The major message to me is, there's not going to be any quick answer other than safe behavior," he said.

Another Interesting article
 

Feb 25, 3:50 PM EST

Blacks Seen Wary of AIDS Vaccine Testing

By DEBORAH KONG
AP Minority Issues Writer

Researchers trying to learn more about why an AIDS vaccine appeared to work well in a small number of black volunteers may have trouble finding people for further studies, advocates and educators warn.

Suspicion of medical research runs deep among many blacks, they say, and the reason can be summarized in one word: Tuskegee.

In the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, conducted by the federal government between 1932 and 1972, researchers withheld medical treatment from poor, black men in Macon County, Ala., for experimental purposes. The men were not told they had syphilis, and weren't treated for the disease even after penicillin became available. By the time the study was exposed, 128 men had died of syphilis or related complications.

More than 30 years later, the damage done by that study still lingers, black activists say - even hindering efforts to halt the AIDS epidemic.

"Many African-Americans are suspicious of the health care system and suspicious of doctors and scientists because there's a legacy of mistreatment," said Phill Wilson, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute.


"Even though people may or may not know the specifics of the Tuskegee trials, they know that there are health disparities and that blacks often get inferior treatment based on race."

J. Lawrence Miller, executive director of the Black Educational AIDS Project in Baltimore calls it the "Tuskegee mentality."

"That distrust has become cultural," Miller said. "How do you fight culture? You can't, except for education."

Blacks have been hit harder by AIDS than any other racial or ethnic group in America. They represented about half of new HIV cases reported in the United States in 2001 - the largest of any group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Given the disproportionate impact that the AIDS epidemic has on black people, we stand to gain the most by the development of an effective HIV/AIDS vaccine," Wilson said. "We need to do a better job of recruiting black volunteers for these clinical trials."

Blacks made up just 6 percent of the 5,009 volunteers who participated in VaxGen Inc.'s AIDS vaccine experiment.

The experiment showed that there were 78 percent fewer infections among black volunteers who took the vaccine than in those who received a placebo.

In whole numbers, that meant four of the 203 blacks who received the vaccine became infected while nine of the 111 who received the placebo were infected. The company said those results were statistically significant and showed that the vaccine has value. But some observers warned that the sample size was too small.

There were similar results among the small number of Asians involved in the study.

VaxGen spokesman Jim Key said it was difficult for the company to recruit minority participants.

"There was still considerable skepticism among people of color regarding medical research and specifically regarding HIV vaccine research. There are so many myths and fears and conspiracy theories regarding HIV," Key said. "My hope is that this will be a catalyst."

Pernessa Seele, founder of The Balm in Gilead, a nonprofit that works with black churches to stop the spread of AIDS, agreed that the "small numbers of blacks in the study clearly indicates how reluctant African-Americans are" to participate in trials.

"Because of our history, we really believe it's another opportunity to take advantage of black people," she said.

That suspicion is so pervasive that some blacks believe HIV was designed to kill them - either by the government or other white institutions, Seele said. Medical professionals and AIDS activists try to dispel such ideas.

Steve Wakefield, of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, worries that if too few blacks participate in research, scientists won't have enough information to help people, both here and in Africa.

Wakefield, the network's associate director for community relations, said he is always asked about Tuskegee when he makes presentations to minority groups in this country.

In Africa, "the one question I get asked from country to country is 'How many black Americans have already taken this product or been in research with this?'" said Wakefield, who is black.

While studies continue to document disparities in health care between American blacks and whites, much has changed since the Tuskegee study, he said. In government-sponsored trials, there are now volunteer community advisory boards that monitor safety - and informed consent is required.

But Seele believes that vaccine research also must include more black scientists.

"It is very important," she said, "to have black folks in research who understand black culture - who understand some of the fundamental beliefs we have in our community."

---

Irish Scientist Discover a New Strain of HIV
 

Irish Scientist Discovers New Strain of AIDS Virus
34 minutes ago Add Science - Reuters to My Yahoo!


DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish scientist has discovered a new strain of the HIV virus (news - web sites) that may provide vital clues in the hunt for a vaccine.


University researcher Grace McCormack came upon the previously unknown virus type while researching blood samples from Malawi, dating back from the early years of the AIDS (news - web sites) epidemic in the 1980s.

"It is very interesting because while we have found people infected with it in the 1980s, we haven't found any examples of it in the 1990s yet," said McCormack, a lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.


"As a result, it might be a strain of the virus that has failed. Because of that it may give us information on how to defeat the virus."

There are nine known strains of HIV (news - web sites), the virus that causes AIDS and infects 15,000 people a day worldwide.


AIDS has killed 25 million people around the world and is forecast to kill 80 million by 2010. The only real hope of fighting the disease is a vaccine, but efforts to date have failed although dozens are being tested.


The university publicized McCormack's findings Monday after they were published in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, the official journal of the International Retrovirology Association.


The hope is that the discovery, the result of three years of research, could help with the prevention and control of the epidemic and even with the development of a vaccine to combat the deadly virus.


"We haven't called it anything yet and we can't name it until we look at the full genome sequence," McCormack said.


"We've applied for funding and we hope to have concluded the research in the next three years, if not sooner."


McCormack's research was carried out with help from the Central Public Health Laboratory and School of Tropical Medicine, both based in London.

Another interesting article......
 

HIV/AIDS Made In America? - Graves Gets His Day In Court
>Ian Gurney
>June 23, 2003
>
> _____
>
>This week in California a lawyer is suing the U.S. government, claiming
>that the HIV-AIDS virus is a man made virus developed and manufactured
>in the United States with the knowledge of the U.S. government. On June
>27th. prominent lawyer and AIDS researcher, Dr. Boyd E Graves JD* will
>finally present his case, number 02 CV 02396**, before Judge Jeffrey T.
>Miller in a San Diego court, claiming that the HIV virus, the virus that
>causes AIDS, is a virus that was manufactured in American laboratories
>between 1962 and 1978. On November 27th. last year the Office of the
>Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
>granted Dr. Graves sixty days to file suit in the United States federal
>court against the U.S. government. Graves claims he has hundreds of
>government documents proving HIV-AIDS was designed as biological
>terrorism against African-Americans. His action was initially brought in
>the U.S. Supreme Court, Case No. 00-9587.***
>Researchers have long suspected that HIV arose as a result of a viral
>"cross-species jump" from primates to humans. The theory is that,
>through contact with chimpanzee blood, possibly through hunting them and
>eating the meat, humans were exposed to Simian Immunodeficiency Virus
>(SIV) which mutated into Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Not
>everyone agrees with this theory, and recently it has been challenged by
>Dr. Graves, who believes he has discovered the most terrifying inference
>about HIV-AIDS. Graves claims it is becoming increasingly clear that
>this virus was not, as scientists at first thought, passed from
>chimpanzees to mankind, but was probably knowingly developed by doctors
>and scientists working for the United States government. Graves says
>that in April 1984, Dr. Robert Gallo filed a United States patent
>application for his invention, the HIV-AIDS Virus. The Patent number for
>the invention is 4647773, details of which can be found at the US Patent
>Office website.****
>According to Graves, the scientific evidence is compelling. He says:
>"The HIV-AIDS Virus was manufactured as a designer bi-product of the US
>Special Virus programme. The Special Virus programme was a federal virus
>development programme that persisted in the United States from 1962
>until 1978. Dr. Robert Gallo's 1971 Special Virus paper reveals that the
>United States was seeking a "virus particle" that would negatively
>impact the defence mechanisms of the immune system. The programme sought
>to modify the genome of the virus particle in which to splice in an
>animal wasting disease called Visna." Graves says Dr. Gallo's 1971
>Special Virus paper is identical to his 1984 announcement of AIDS, and
>in 2001 Dr. Gallo conceded his role as "Project Officer" for the federal
>virus development programme, the Special Virus.
>Graves claims the US Special Virus was added as a "compliment" by
>vaccine manufacturer Merck to experimental hepatitis B vaccines given to
>gay men in New York City, Los Angeles and San Fransisco; and smallpox
>vaccines given to blacks in central Africa, during the late 1970's and
>early 1980's. Shortly thereafter the world was overwhelmed with mass
>infections of a human retrovirus that differed from any known human
>disease, it was highly contagious and it could kill. Boyd Graves now
>believes that HIV-AIDS is probably an evolutionary, laboratory
>development of the peculiar Visna Virus, first detected in Icelandic
>sheep. Graves himself is a graduate of Annapolis US Naval Academy and
>law school who, in 1992 tested positive for HIV.
>"Today I am hailed as "the Man Who Solved AIDS", he says. "What many
>people do not understand is that HIV contains particles of an Icelandic
>sheep disease, VISNA. Visna is from nazi Germany. It too is man made.
>The Supreme Court case was brought from a lower court which dismissed
>the origin of AIDS as a frivolous issue. I do not believe anyone in the
>world considers the origin of AIDS frivolous."
>He claims to have one piece of evidence he's convinced will force the
>judge to rule in his favour saying: "If that happens the government will
>be forced to release all sorts of previously-classified research which
>proves the real origins of HIV-AIDS. The United States must account to
>the American people and the people of the world for the U.S. Special
>Virus Program."
>In a new report, UNAIDS, the United Nation's joint program on HIV-AIDS,
>says that an estimated 45 million people worldwide are now living with
>HIV. UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot said: "Within the first 20
>years, 58 million people have become infected and 23 million have been
>killed by HIV-AIDS." So, if Boyd E Graves is to be believed, and on June
>27th. he can try to prove his case in the US federal court, it appears
>that HIV-AIDS may be a virus that has been manufactured and utilised by
>doctors and scientists with the knowledge and co-operation of the
>government of the United States of America. If this were to be proved
>true, two questions emerge. Firstly, for what reason was such a deadly
>virus invented? Secondly, according to all the laws governing the
>manufacture, development and deployment of biological and chemical
>weapons, was the invention and use of the HIV-AIDS virus by the United
>States the first act of mass bio-terrorism the world has witnessed?
>Links:

I don't know....
 

I "read" the patent. It is full of jargon that only doctors or those skilled in the area can understand. I saw that the article said something about the virus being started to kill African-Americans, but it really didn't support that statement with evidence. I need more proof than this little article. Maybe I'll follow the case to see how it turns out....

December 1st is World AIDS Day. . .when were you last tested? Commit to getting tested ASAP!!

~~~~~~
HIV Infection in Minority Populations

Provided by National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases

Overview

Racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States, primarily African Americans and Hispanics, constitute 61 percent of the more than 830,000 cases of AIDS reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since the epidemic began in 1981. African Americans make up 41 percent of all AIDS cases reported in the United States, yet according to the U.S. Census Bureau, they comprise only 12 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanics represent 19 percent of all AIDS cases and are approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population. Injection drug use is a major factor in the spread of HIV in minority communities. Other factors contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS in these communities include men who have sex with men (MSM) and increasingly, heterosexual transmission.

According to CDC

As of December 2002, African Americans and Hispanics represented 57 percent of males living with AIDS and 78 percent of those in females.
As of December 2002, 59 percent of all women reported with AIDS are African American and 19 percent are Hispanic.
African American children represent almost 59 percent of all pediatric AIDS cases.
Of the 92 pediatric AIDS cases reported in 2002, 82 (89 percent) were in African Americans and Hispanics.
AIDS is the leading cause of death among African-American men ages 25-44.



Get tested and wrap it up!!!

I still am floored when i hear the stats regarding HIV/AIDS and the African American community. I can't believe that people are still having unprotected sex in this day and age. A lot of folks say its because of the switch-hitters (Bisexual men in the closet)..but who knows...it all boils down to the brothas not wrapping it up and the women allowing it.

Another statistic: Every hour 2 youths/teens contract HIV.

WHOOOOAAAA! :eek:

I must say, I watched the MTV special over the weekend, and it kinda made me depressed. I'm like dag...you are NEVER safe, even when you are married! *SMH*

my prayers go out to all my friends that have unfortunately died of this dreaded disease.

Michael Carter

African-Americans, Latinos and gay men bear the brunt of new US HIV infections

HIV continued to spread in the US in 2002, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in advance of World AIDS Day.

Data gathered from 29 US states with confidential name-based HIV case reporting revealed that new diagnoses rose by over 5% between 1999 and 2002, a total of 102,590 new cases, with African Americans, Latinos, and gay men being the communities most affected by increases.

It is not possible to say exactly how many people in the US are HIV-positive as not all US states collect appropriate data (unlike the United Kingdom), but it is estimated that between 950,000 and 850,00 people in the US are HIV-positive.

African Americans
In 2002 the rate of HIV cases for African Americans (58.7 per 100,000) was the times greater than that seen in whites (5.9 per 100,000), and three times greater than that seen in Latinos (19.2 per 100,000).

Figures from the CDC also revealed that HIV was the third leading cause of death amongst African Americans aged 24 – 44, and although African Americans comprise only 12% of the total US population, they accounted for 55% of new HIV diagnoses seen in 2002.

Latinos
Latinos provided just under 12% of new HIV diagnoses between 1999 and 2002. However, the CDC believe that the extent to which Latinos are affected by HIV is underestimated as several states with large Latino populations were not included in the current analysis.

Late diagnosis of HIV was more common amongst Latinos than either African Americans or whites, with studies suggesting that Latinos are the group most likely to have an AIDS defining condition at the time of their diagnosis or to develop one within a year of their HIV infection being detected.

Gay men
Between 1999 and 2002, over 43,000 new HIV infections were diagnosed in gay men in the 29 states contributing data. These new data support findings from 25 states issued earlier this year which showed an increase in syphilis amongst gay men. The investigators believe the rise in syphilis cases signals an increase in the amount of unprotected anal sex gay men are having. “Such increases in risky behavior may be the result of complex prevention challenges such as treatment efficacy – the belief that HIV is no longer a deadly disease because of improvements in treatment – and prevention burnout – the difficulty of maintaining safer sex behaviors for a lifetime” comments the CDC.

”Even with this still-incomplete picture of HIV infection in America, it’s clear that we still face enormous challenges in continuing to confront the AIDS epidemic” said Harold Jaffe, director of the CDC’s HIV prevention programmes. He added that greater efforts must be made to encourage people who were unaware of their HIV infection to test and receive appropriate treatment. It’s estimated that of the 850,000 – 950,000 Americans living with HIV, approximately 180,000 – 280,000 don’t know that they are infected.

Reference
Source. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly. Volume 52, November 28th, 2003.

My people PLEASE wrap it up!!!
 

AIDS Infection Upsurge Seen in Black Male College Students
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Author: DANIEL Q. HANEY, AP Medical Editor

SAN FRANCISCO (February 10, 2004 6:08 p.m. EST) - A sudden, surprising increase in HIV infections has been discovered among male black college students in North Carolina, and officials fear the same is probably happening across the South.


The upsurge is driven by young men having risky sexual encounters with other men. Typically they do not consider themselves to be gay or bisexual and may even have girlfriends, as well.

"It's a public health emergency. I don't know any other way to put it," said Dr. Peter Leone, HIV medical director at the state Health Department.

The increase was first noticed in late 2002, and officials now believe it began in mid-2001 and is still continuing.

The high rate of AIDS infection among U.S. blacks has been one of the most striking difficulties of AIDS prevention.

Blacks are 11 times more likely than white Americans to get AIDS. Even though they make up 12 percent of the population, they account for 39 percent of AIDS cases and 54 percent of new HIV infections.

Among black men, like whites, the leading cause of infection is sex with other men. Experts have long lamented the high rate of risky sex among gay black men. Poverty is often listed as a strong contributor, so the new findings among relatively well-off college students were unexpected.

"We are very concerned about it," said Dr. Ron Valdiserri, deputy HIV chief at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Most Americans would not think about college students as a high-risk group."

Indeed, a CDC study on 10 campuses in the 1990s found a very low infection rate.

The North Carolina data were presented Tuesday in San Francisco at the 11th Annual Retrovirus Conference.

Also at the conference, officials presented newly gathered data on HIV infections in New York City. Overall, 1 percent of the city's population carries the virus, including 4 percent of men in their 40s.

Nationwide, an estimated 900,000 people have HIV. The CDC says that in recent years infections have risen somewhat among gay men of all races and fallen slightly among women.

The North Carolina researchers found 84 newly infected male college students over the past three years, 73 of them black. Only one black student admitted using injected drugs, and just two said they had sex only with women. The rest apparently were infected through sex with men.

"The concern is this is our best and brightest within the minority population who are coming down with a lifelong and potentially lethal infection," Leone said.

The researchers said they suspect a similar upsurge may be occurring among black male college students across the South.

"We have no reason to think this is limited to North Carolina," said the CDC's Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick.

Leone said HIV appears to have been recently introduced among black college students. People are much more likely than usual to pass on the virus through sex during their first weeks of infection, and this might explain why so many students have caught it.

When the students were questioned, three-quarters said they thought they were not at high risk of HIV, despite frequent anal intercourse without condoms with different male partners.

"Part of it is message fatigue," Leone said. "They've grown up hearing this thing. It's old stuff to them. They just ignore it."

Another possible factor may be an especially intense stigma against HIV and homosexuality in the South, making the students less likely to discuss their sexual identity or consider themselves gay.

"We have a very marginalized group," he said. "They don't identify with the messages targeted to gay white men."

Medical Editor Daniel Q. Haney is a special correspondent for The Associated Press.


Copyright © 2004 AP Online

I'd like to add to the statistics that HIV/AIDS is seriously on the rise AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. We have one high school here in Chicago that has a significant population of HIV/AIDS students. These students are not just getting it from adults; they are getting it from other teenagers too.

SC

<<After receiving the vaccine, black volunteers had 78 percent fewer infections, and non-Hispanic minorities had 67 percent fewer infections, than a control group, the study found.>>

Can someone explain to me how you can have a group get 78 % fewer infections? How are these tests being done? Surely the "volunteers" are not people w/out HIV/AIDS that are being exposed to see if they become HIV positive.

I can't understand. Can someone help me out on how these tests are done?

SC

I'm not a scientist, but I saw a documentary on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) about gay men and AIDS activists who volunteered to test the vaccine, and this is exactly what they did. Some received the vaccine, some received a placebo, and they all went "out to play". At the time the documentary was done, only something like 30% of those tested - placebo AND vaccine - remained HIV negative.

These people were brave and deeply committed to seeing an end to this pandemic. Talk about a truly heroic and selfless gesture.

More on the College Student cases of AIDS
 

CROI: HIV RNA Screening Uncovers HIV Outbreak Among Black College Students
By Charlene Laino

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- February 12, 2004 -- A North Carolina HIV RNA screening program is credited with uncovering an outbreak of HIV among black male college students -- and the researchers say they fear the same may be happening elsewhere.

Lisa B. Hightow, MD, MPH, an infectious diseases fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presented the findings here on February 10th at the 11th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).

Beginning in November 2002, North Carolina's Screening and Tracing Active Transmission (STAT) Program added HIV RNA screening of blood samples from STD and HIV clinics and to all public voluntary counseling and testing for detection of HIV antibody-negative acute HIV infections, Dr. Hightow said.

In December 2002 and January 2003, five acute infections were detected -- two in male students at the same college. Their initial antibody tests were negative, but both students were found to be positive using the HIV RNA test, she reported.

Further RNA testing led to the detection of a total of 84 cases in male college students ages 18 to 30 years, she said. Of the total, 88% of the students were black, and 91% were men who have sex with men or men who have sex with both men and women.

Most of the 84 students had initially tested negative on the HIV antibody test, according to Dr. Hightow.

Compared with other newly HIV-infected individuals, college men were three times more likely to be actively bisexual, nearly twice as likely to meet sex partners at gay clubs, four times as likely to meet partners over the Internet, and nearly six times more likely to use ecstasy or other club drugs, the study showed. But they were about 80% less likely to have exchanged sex for drugs or money.

While the study involved only males, women are probably at risk too, Dr. Hightow said. The findings "are a wake-up call" to step-up preventive efforts among young people, she added.


[Study title: Transmission on Campus: Insights From Tracking HIV Incidence in North Carolina. Abstract 84]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@Summer Child, AIDS is definitely a big factor in high schools. Those kids sleep around a lot. In the next 5 years, I can see the age demographic dipping drastically down into the junior high and middle school groups. :(

Half of Young Americans to Get Sex Diseases -Study
Tue Feb 24, 2:53 PM ET Add U.S. National - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Half of all young Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease by the age of 25, perhaps because they are ignorant about protection or embarrassed to ask for it, according to several reports issued on Tuesday.



The reports, publicized by two nonprofit sexual and youth health groups, said there were 9 million new cases of STD among teens and young adults aged 15 to 24 in 2000.


They said the U.S. government's policy of preferring abstinence-only education would only increase those rates.


"For the 27 million young Americans under the age of 25 who have had sex, the stakes are simply too high to talk only about abstinence," James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said in a statement.


"Given the prevalence of STDs, young people need all the facts -- including medically accurate information on condoms."


The reports, released jointly by Advocates for Youth -- a nonprofit group advocating for sex education, and the sexual health-oriented Alan Guttmacher Institute, pull together information from several different publications.


They include a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) report in the latest issue of the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, and a University of North Carolina report based on interviews with teens and young adults.


"Approximately 18.9 million new cases of STD occurred in 2000, of which 9.1 million (48 percent) were among persons aged 15 to 24," the CDC report reads.


It said three diseases -- human papillomavirus or genital wart virus, a parasitic infection called trichomoniasis and chlamydia -- accounted for 88 percent of all new cases of STDs in 15- to 24-year-olds. Wart virus is the major cause of cervical cancer while chlamydia can cause infertility.


POTENTIAL CAUSES


The CDC report did not comment on potential causes, but the Guttmacher Institute did.


"It is not surprising that teens and young adults contract a disproportionate number of infections," said Guttmacher's Sharon Camp. "Most young people are sexually active, and many are ill equipped to prevent STDs or seek testing and treatment."


She said sex education that includes information on condoms is vital to preventing STDs.


"Although abstaining from sexual activity is guaranteed to prevent STDs, some adolescents and virtually all young adults will eventually choose to have sex," Camp said.


"Before they do, they need realistic sex education that teaches them how to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies. It is essential to have medically accurate information about condoms and other contraceptive methods, and guidance on how to access appropriate prevention, testing and treatment services."


Teens 15 and older who have had sex have the highest STD rates of any age group in the country, and the United States has the highest STD rate of any industrialized country, according to CDC and World Health Organization (news - web sites) figures.


The University of North Carolina report attacked federal policies that encourage abstinence-only education.





"Abstinence is, of course, the only 100 percent effective prevention strategy," Shawn Carney, a 17-year-old member of the UNC youth panel, said in a statement.

"But with 70 percent of young people having sex by the age of 18, we need to hear about more than abstinence. We need to know how to prevent STDs when we do have sex later in life."

There was a very good Lifetime movie that came on Sunday called "She's Too Young." It was about a 14 year old girl and her two friends who experiment with sex with older guys and they all wind up contracting syphillis (I don't know if I spelled that right) from these guys. It was kinda shocking to see how cavalier their attitudes were. One girl was like, "Oh, I had it but I got a shot so I'm all cured." But she goes right on having unprotected sex. I wanted to scream, "YOU IDIOT!!"

I read that same article in the paper about the infection rates of STD's of young people. It was scary. Even the kids I work with have this same cavalier attitude. "Oh, if I get it, I can get a shot or take some pills and I'll be OK." I wish I could take some of those kids to the AIDS hospice here and let them see firsthand that there are some things that Ajax can't get rid of, to borrow a phrase from Grandmama.

Top Story:Inaccurate Claim of High HIV/AIDS in Black Girls
Date: Thursday, March 04, 2004
By: CHRISTINA ROYSTER-HEMBY BlackAmericaWeb.com

An article in the Flint, Mich. Journal last week caused a stir in the HIV/AIDS community when it reported that "the group with the highest rate of new [HIV] infections is African-American girls between 11-14."

But in fact, the only thing that may be true about this article is that it is fictitious.

The article, published on Sunday, Feb. 29, also reported that these girls are mostly infected by boys ages 14 to 19. But according to a White House spokesman, the White House, which was cited as the source for the article, "has no record of these new stats."

Extensive efforts on the part of BlackAmericaWeb.com to corroborate the statistics through other sources proved fruitless.

The reporter who broke the story said that the information came from a press release dated December that was found online. When pressed, however, he could not produce the document.

Another health care insider, who did not wish to be quoted, said that typically the White House does not send out press releases. Such statements generally are issued from specific agencies and departments.

"I don't know where this information came from," Tony Jewell, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

In fact, "We [HHS] would like to know," said Jewell. "But the Centers for Disease Control and Information does indicate that HIV/AIDS is serious concern for the African-American community, at all age levels.

"It is a concern that we at the department and Centers for Disease Control take seriously."

Karlie Stanton, spokeswoman for the CDC, said most children under 13 with HIV would have contracted it immediately before or after birth.

While the CDC does not report HIV cases, this information can be examined from the number of AIDS diagnoses reported in all children in two categories: children less than age 13 and children between the ages of 13 and 14.

"In children less than 13 years old, there were 92 people diagnosed with AIDS in 2002. And that number has gone down for the last five years," Stanton said. It is down from 238 cases in 1998.

Furthermore, according to the CDC, of the 92 new diagnoses in 2002, 58 were black. But, of the total, no diagnosis is attributed to contracting the disease through sexual activity.

Among children ages 13-14, AIDS diagnoses did, in fact, increase from 54 in 1998 to 76 in 2002. However, those statistics include all children, male and female, of all races and ethnicities, not just black girls ages 11-14. The CDC does have statistics on that particular group.

According to Stanton, the total number of AIDS cases reported in 2002 for black females was 7,353, with less than half of that number attributed to infection through heterosexual sex.

CDC records show that the overall number of female adult and adolescent AIDS diagnoses due to heterosexual contact has increased from 6,300 cases in 1998 to 7,476 cases in 2002.

But if the CDC does not track new HIV infections, and the Flint Journal article lists a rising rate of HIV infections among black girls ages 11 to 14, where did this information come from?

Further inquiry uncovered that the Flint Journal reporter's source is YOUR Center, a Flint, Mich. agency focused on HIV prevention. A YOUR Center employee sent Flint Journal reporter Marlon Vaughn an e-mail asking Vaughn to cover the center's basketball tournament held to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Flint and Genesee County, Mich.

The e-mail included the tournament's press release, which began with the alleged White House statistic. The employee said the release was an article published by the CPSA Courier, a small, community-based publication in Flint.

But according to Barbara Richmond, an advertising saleswoman for the CPSA Courier, the article was not published in the CPSA Courier. She said the information came from YOUR Center.

Betina Campbell, the executive director of YOUR Center, said that the statistics given to the Flint Journal were based on information she received from the White House Faith- Based and Community Initiative Conference that was held in Memphis last October.

Campbell also said that she verified these facts with the CDC, although she could not remember who she spoke to there.

A representative for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives said the information in the article is incorrect.

Vaughn later explained that the YOUR Center employee who sent the e-mail to the Flint Journal might have reported incorrect information.

"It appears that there was a big mix-up with YOUR Center -- the AIDS resource group -- about those stats," Vaughn said. "The spokesman who sent me the e-mail might not have had his information correct."

Danielle Perry, an Outreach Specialist for Women's Collective in Washington, D.C., said the statistics recorded in the Flint Journal article didn't quite add up.

"[It] could be right, I'm not sure. But to me, [the increase in HIV cases] would be that age and up: 14 to 40,” Perry said. “There are a few girls here who are infected, but not that many.

"The youngest client that we have with HIV contracted the disease perinatally."

Debbie Rock, executive director of the Baltimore Pediatric HIV Program and member of the President's Advisory Council for HIV and AIDS, said frightening misinformation about HIV and AIDS can be detrimental to efforts to educate people and ultimately slow the epidemic.

"I would hope folks would really check their sources before they put information out," said Rock. "Stigma still exists in 2004. It's the reason why people are not getting tested. We're just now getting to the point where we're having dialogue about good choices.

"All 11- to 14-year-olds are not having sex or are infected with HIV. That's a fragile age group -- they don't deserve that. We're trying so hard to get people to feel comfortable. We just don't want to scare people."

Want free tickets for Beyonce? Alicia? Just take this HIV test . . .
Program focuses on high-risk groups like young blacks

Lynette Clemetson, New York Times

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- Nicole and Chalome Bergan had given up any hope of attending the hottest concert around, a show featuring Grammy winners Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott. But five hours before the concert began on Friday night, the sisters learned that they were getting in. Free.

All they had to do was brush a salty cotton swab around in their mouths and answer some very personal questions about sex.

The sisters were winners in a program called Rhythms for Health, which doles out concert tickets to fans willing to be tested for HIV. The testing, being conducted along with the Ladies First tour in 14 cities in the next month, is one of several programs nationwide that are taking HIV testing to places like amusement parks, church parking lots and neighborhood fairs to reach people who might not otherwise be tested.

"We're strongly encouraging people to think very creatively about outreach," said Dr. Robert Janssen, the director of the Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It's a real opportunity to get to people who may be at high risk and not know they are infected."

Organizers of the promotion believe that linking testing to the Ladies First concerts -- shows that are heavy on girl power and that draw young, predominantly black hip-hop fans -- is a sure way to reach a few major at- risk groups.

Though blacks make up only 12 percent of the U.S. population, they make up roughly 54 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases, a recent study by the disease centers showed. And blacks account for 72 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases among women. In a separate agency study of teenagers infected with AIDS, roughly 51 percent were black.

To reduce the numbers, the Black AIDS Institute, a national education organization and sponsor of Rhythms for Health, in the last year has offered HIV screening at Six Flags amusement park in Dallas and conducted HIV testing at the annual conventions of the National Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

"What this is about is integrating HIV awareness into the fabric of our social, cultural and political lives," said Phill Wilson, director of the Black AIDS Institute. "It's about reaching black people where they are, as opposed to asking them to go somewhere else."

For most of those who trickled in to the Rev. Samuel Delevoe Community Center on Friday, it was all about seeing the performers.

"I like Beyonce, she likes Alicia," said Nicole Bergan, 23, pointing to her sister, who is 22. "We wanted to get the tickets."

As for the HIV testing, the sisters, who were being tested for the first time, were somewhat blase. "I didn't think I had it," said Nicole, a preschool teacher. "So I figured why not. Everyone should get tested. And I knew all the information anyway."

But when the sisters sat for a chat with Wilson and he started rattling off statistics -- such as the fact that AIDS is now the No. 1 killer of black women between the ages of 24 and 44 -- they conceded that they might not know as much as they had thought.

"I thought it was breast cancer," Nicole said, perplexed.

"No, it's AIDS," Wilson answered.

The testing session also attracted others who assumed they had nothing to worry about. Bryant Germain, 18, of Fort Lauderdale, who agreed to let a reporter sit in during his confidential testing session, looked a little embarrassed at some of the questions a counselor asked him, but he said he felt good about his answers.

"How much have you engaged in unprotected sex in the past year?"

None.

"Have you ever used a needle to take drugs?"

No.

"Are you bisexual?"

No.

Having gotten all that out of the way, Germain had a question of his own. "Can you get it from mosquitoes?"

Though the 15-minute testing session was painless, Germain left without a ticket. Because winners were selected by lottery, not all of the roughly 50 people who showed up for testing by midafternoon got tickets.

Those tested here on Friday are to pick up their test results on April 2. In other cities, tests that can provide results in as little as 20 minutes will be given. The tests are all conducted by local health officials, and those tested must give their names, addresses and telephone numbers so the health workers can follow up if the result is positive.

Rhythms for Health is modeled after a program started in 2001 called Fighting HIV Through R&B. Tony Wafford, a community activist based in Los Angeles who started the program, estimates that he has helped as many as 12, 000 blacks get tested.

Of those, roughly 400 tested positive for HIV. The youngest was a 14-year- old girl in Seattle, the oldest a 68-year-old woman in Philadelphia, said Wafford, who turned to the Black AIDS Institute to help expand the program.

"I'm no doctor or epidemiologist," Wafford said. "I'm not a homosexual, I don't have a brother or anyone who has died of AIDS. I'm not making quilts or burning candles. I'm just someone who gives a damn."

I am glad they did this and will continue to do this. . .

Quote:

"I'm no doctor or epidemiologist," Wafford said. "I'm not a homosexual, I don't have a brother or anyone who has died of AIDS. I'm not making quilts or burning candles. I'm just someone who gives a damn."

Thanks Kim for passing this story on. :)

I'm sorry but, WTH?? People in the study were given a placebo (which is normal) but they were subjected to the virus???? How much did they get paid for THAT??

No problem! I am happy to see a program that will help get young african american teens tested for a deadly disease.

They were only exposed to the virus through their own sexual activity. I think purposely infecting someone with HIV, study or otherwise, is subject to prosecution. I mean I know that people that don't disclose their status as HIV positive have and can be arrested and tried for that behavior. Anyway, I think they only recruited people that were engaging in risky behavior to begin with and that wouldn't stop doing so just because they were under study. As scary as it is there are still people who don't protect themselves when they are having sex so vaccine or not they will be acting up.

Teens get lesson in AIDS
By HANNAN ADELY
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: March 14, 2004)

Health class, television, newspapers — those are some of the places teen-agers said yesterday they get their information about HIV and AIDS. Still, some of the teens gathered in the auditorium of Woodlands High School in Greenburgh said more needed to be done to keep them and their peers informed.

"A lot of kids are having sex and don't use protection," said Jerrell Whittel, an 11th-grader at Woodlands High School. Whittel said some teens used marijuana or alcohol and as a result were at times less careful about protecting themselves.

Whittel and other teens from Woodlands and Ossining high schools gathered yesterday at "Steppin' on HIV — Stompin' Out AIDS," a conference sponsored by the Westchester chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a black women's service group.

All the sorority's chapters held HIV and AIDS awareness events yesterday, their International Day of Service, for adolescents and senior citizens.

Yesterday's event featured panelists from health groups and a speech by motivational speaker and former New York Giant Lee Rouson.

Rouson told stories from his life and advised the teens that their futures were up to them. "We have the ability to chose," he said. "Whatever we choose, that determines our life."

Three step teams from different high schools also stepped, clapped, stomped and performed other music-making moves on stage, drawing standing ovations. The teens each received a "goody bag" with magazines and CDs and pamphlets about preventing HIV and AIDS.

Traditionally, Delta Sigma Theta has a different theme each year on their day of service, but the past four years have focused on HIV and AIDS prevention because of the growing need for this type of education, said Kristina Newland, co-chair of the International Day of Service Committee.

"It's such a growing pandemic in the African diaspora that we wanted to address it on a large level," she said.

The sorority, Newland added, has tried to create events where "teen-agers could come out and express their feelings, whether through art or dance, with their peers." She said she hoped teens would share the knowledge with their peers.

Christian Mitchell, a 10th-grader at Ossining, said the program was a fun place to learn about an important subject.

"It's a good way to get the message out rather than read it," she said. "It's clearer if someone explains it to you."

Alyssa Robinson, a 10th-grader at Woodlands, agreed. "Statistics scare you," she said, "but when you hear from someone you can relate to, it seems a lot more realistic."

Kim #8000000000 :D

What city and state? I skimmed but could not tell. Kudos to the sorors for reaching our youth.


Oops I see Westchester but forget what state that is.

I was just skimming the news and came across the article and decided to post it to show the hard work of the org.

The story came from a New York news paper.

There are tons of articles about other chapters and there events for the awarness day. Just do a News search in Google.

I'm glad to see this posting. I'm co-chair of my Physical and Mental Health Committee and have worked on International Day of Service for the past three years. This has always been an important topic for me since my mother had AIDS and died in 1996. Keep up the good work sorors!!!!

Black colleges seeking to stem HIV cases
 

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) -- Many historically black colleges are stepping up safe-sex education in response to health researchers' finding of a spike in HIV infection rates among black students more than 20 years into the AIDS epidemic.



http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/03....ap/index.html

While doing a search for a homework assignment I saw two stories that sparked my attention. As a Peer Educator and one who is passionate about this cause I thought to share it...it was on msn.com's webpage.. Post your comments and share your concerns..



http://women.msn.com/779366.armx?GT1=4200

http://content.health.msn.com/conten...m?pagenumber=1

I hate to bring this thread back up to the top again but I am currently in Bangkok, Thailand (which is absolutely beautiful) for the International AIDS Conference.

This was recently released and I wanted to share it with my Sorors and GC brothahs and sistahs.

U.S. News
New York City: One in 14 Middle-Aged Black Men Have HIV or AIDS
Associated Press
07.13.04

New York City black men ages 40 to 54 are almost three times as likely as other city residents to have HIV/AIDS, according to a report from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released Monday at the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok. Across the city, one of every 14 middle-age black men are HIV-infected; in Manhattan, the rate is one in seven. According to the report, many middle-age black men are not being tested in the early stages of infection and do not know they need treatment.

Be careful y'all. Dang! I don't kow how much this is related to the DL, but I couldn't find a more appropriate thread to post it under. I think half of these men are infected through injecting drugs, while roughly 30% are MSM.

These mena re also being co-diagnosed with HIV and AIDS, which means they have been infected for a while and didn't know.

WE HAVE TO BE TESTED EVERYONE!!!

Deltabrat and Missam, thank you both for sharing these articles with us.


:(