HIV therapy drugs reach one in five-study

	Tweet

Only one in five people with HIV in poor and middle-income countries receives the drugs that treat the virus, said a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

That is despite a 200 percent rise in the number of people receiving the drug treatment between 2003 and 2005 as individual countries worked to meet a target of treating 3 million people with the drugs by 2005, the government agency’s report said.

The dramatic increase in the number of people receiving the drugs means that globally there will be a rise in people living with HIV and thus a growing need to boost measures against HIV transmission, said the report.

In all, 4.1 million people were newly infected with HIV and 38.6 million were living with HIV and AIDS in 2005 in an epidemic focused on sub-Saharan Africa.

“Approximately 10 percent of the world population lives in sub-Saharan Africa but the region is home to approximately 64 percent of the world population living with HIV ... More women are HIV-infected than men,” said the report.

Some African countries including Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe have seen a decline in adult HIV prevalence but in southern Africa, the epicenter of the pandemic, only 17 percent of those infected with the virus received the drug treatment.

The drugs save lives by treating infections caused by retroviruses, including HIV.

The report was published ahead of the 16th International AIDS conference in Toronto, Canada, which starts Aug. 13.

There has been major progress in the drive to prevent HIV-positive mothers passing the virus on to their children but only 8 percent of the relevant women receive services such as health education, the report said.

Researchers in a separate study by the CDC and the Thailand Ministry of Health found an “alarming” 64 percent increase in sex between men in Bangkok between 2003 and 2005 and “low awareness” of HIV status among all men in the study.”

“The study ... underscores the need to reach (the group) with more effective behavioral and biomedical interventions, more frequent and increased access to HIV counseling and testing, improved STD diagnosis and treatment and community awareness and support,” said the report.

RELATED STORIES:
FDA Advisory Panel Approves Home HIV Test Kit   FDA Approves New In-Home HIV Test   Home HIV test advances   Survey Reveals Support for Over-the Counter HIV Testing   F.D.A. Panel Weighs Preventive Use of H.I.V. Drug   Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise in Fight Against HIV   Progress against HIV thwarted by patients’ unmet needs   California to test pill for HIV prevention   Mechanism of HIV spread has potential for future drug therapy   Seeking HIV treatment clues in the neem tree   HIV Prevention Pill’s Value Varies by Target   Using AIDS drugs to prevent infection: a bargain?

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]