World AIDS Day marks progress, but much work remains

Dec 2 2011

News reports detail emerging strategies to prevent infection, but also examine lagging treatments and the populations that continue to have the highest incidence rates.

Boston Globe: In 30 Years, Progress On HIV, But Many Are Still Untreated
A survey of HIV-infected individuals in Massachusetts suggests that fewer than 60 percent received treatments within the first month after their diagnosis and that 16 percent still had not received any treatment within a year of being diagnosed. The findings of the state Department of Public Health survey highlight some of the obstacles to further reducing the spread of HIV and deaths from AIDS, as World AIDS Day today marks 30 years since the disease was first described in a medical journal (Kotz, 12/1).

The Associated Press: Obama To Announce New Steps To Combat AIDS
President Barack Obama is renewing the U.S. commitment to ending AIDS Thursday, setting new goals for getting more people access to life-saving drugs and boosting spending on treatment in the U.S. by $50 million dollars. Obama planned to announce the new initiatives at an event in Washington marking World AIDS Day. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also were speaking at the event via satellite (Pace, 12/1).

NPR's SHOTS blog: HIV Treatment Lags In U.S., Guaranteeing More Infections
The United States is doing a pretty miserable job of treating people with HIV. The latest numbers from CDC show that only 28 percent of the nation's 1.2 million HIV-infected people are getting effective antiviral treatment; effective treatment rates are lowest among African-American men (Knox, 11/30). 

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Weighs Disclosure Of HIV Status
The Supreme Court gave a generally skeptical hearing to a recreational pilot from San Francisco who wants damages from the government for disclosing his HIV status to the Federal Aviation Administration. The case before the court Wednesday began in 2002, when the FAA heard a report of a pilot who had hidden his severe medical condition when he renewed his license to fly. Agents decided to check the records of 45,000 pilots in Northern California (Savage, 12/1).

The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore, U.S. Launch Campaigns For HIV Testing
The same week that a city task force presented Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake with a plan to tackle HIV infections in Baltimore, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched its own campaign to increase HIV testing. The campaign, called Testing Makes Us Stronger, targets black gay and bisexual men, one of the most affected populations. The federal agency worked with community leaders, doctors and others to develop the program that aims to increase awareness, increase access and boost testing. Once they know they are infected, they can be treated and take steps to prevent infection of others (Cohn, 11/30).

The Associated Press: NYC Recommends AIDS Drugs For Any Person With HIV
Health officials said Thursday they are recommending that any person living with HIV be offered AIDS drugs as soon as they are diagnosed with the virus, an aggressive move that has been shown to prolong life and stem the spread of the disease... City health officials said they anticipated that the cost for expanding the use of AIDS drugs would be covered by private insurance or by the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a $270 million program for the uninsured or underinsured that is partially funded through federal dollars (Salazar, 12/1).

California Watch: HIV, AIDs Rates Rise Sharply Among Blacks, Hispanics
The profile of HIV and AIDS patients in California has shifted significantly since the disease first made headlines 30 years ago, reflecting the success of drugs to extend patients' lives and the failures to stem the spread of the disease in diverse communities. A statewide analysis of health data ... [reveals] an increase in older patients and rising rates of infection among blacks and Hispanics (Jewett, 12/1).