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|  PNU is a prevention and treatment news summary service. NPIN redistributes summaries as a public service. Inclusion of an article does not constitute CDC endorsement of the content. More details in footer. |  11/15/2013 | National News  | Walgreen Unveils HIV Study Results UNITED STATES :: HIV/AIDS
Yahoo! Finance (11.13.2013) :: By Zachs Equity Research | | | Yahoo! Finance recently reported that the Walgreen Company released results of two retrospective cohort studies that indicated HIV-infected people who used Walgreens HIV-specialized pharmacies had higher HIV treatment adherence than HIV-infected people who used other Walgreens pharmacies. Study authors released the data during the Cell-Lancet conference “What Will it Take to Achieve an AIDS-Free World?” in San Francisco.
Walgreens HIV-specialized pharmacies had more than 2,000 HIV-trained pharmacists, who supplied education, counseling, testing, and treatment at 700 stores. Walgreens’ HIV patient support programs aimed to increase treatment adherence, since poor adherence often resulted in treatment failure, resistance to treatment, and increased mortality.
HIV-infected people with comorbidities who used HIV-specialized Walgreens pharmacies also demonstrated better adherence to statins (high cholesterol medication) and angiotensin (hypertension medication) than those who used other Walgreens pharmacies. Patients taking angiotensin who used HIV-specialized Walgreens had a mean proportion of days of 82.6 percent compared with 79.6 percent for those using other Walgreens. Patients taking statins who used HIV-specialized Walgreens had a mean proportion of days of 83.7 percent compared with 81.3 percent for those using other Walgreens.
A second retrospective data analysis showed that approximately 30 percent of HIV-infected people with severe mental illness had better adherence to HIV medications when using a specialty Walgreens. Only 19 percent of HIV patients with severe mental illness who used other Walgreens responded well to antiretroviral therapy, compared with 32.7 percent of those using HIV-specialized Walgreens.
CDC estimated that 207,600 of the 1.4 million HIV-infected US residents remain undiagnosed.
The full report, “Two Retrospective Cohort Studies Exploring HIV Medication and Overall Adherence at HIV-Specialised Pharmacies: Implications for HIV Patients with Comorbid Conditions and Serious Mental Illness,” was published online by the journal The Lancet (2013; doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62251-5). |  Read Full Article | Share this Article     | | Back to Top  |  | | International News  | HIV Transmission: Over 50 Per Cent of Scots Don't Know All the Ways It Can Be Passed On UNITED KINGDOM :: HIV/AIDS
The Mirror (London) (11.11.2013) :: By Chris Richards | | | The Mirror reported that a new study showed that stigma and untrue myths about HIV still exist in Scotland. The study, conducted by YouGov and released by Scottish HIV service organization Waverley Care, found more than one-fourth of Scots did not know that an HIV-positive person can live 20 or more years after diagnosis, or that an HIV-positive woman can give birth to an HIV-negative baby.
Annie Lennox, a famed British pop star, has joined Waverley Care’s new campaign “Always Hear” to promote HIV awareness and education. "Stigma is one of the biggest challenges facing the diagnosis and treatment of HIV in Scotland and around the world today. HIV stigma fuels people's fear to test, which in turn leads to new infections as people don't know whether they have HIV or not,” Lennox said.
The online study surveyed 1,083 adults and found that more than 50 percent of Scots did not know all the facts about HIV transmission and that 11 percent thought the disease could be spread by kissing. Two percent thought it could be transmitted by touching a public toilet seat. Conversely, the study found that 87 percent of Scotland residents have empathy for HIV-positive persons and 74 percent believe there needs to be more education to combat stigma and prejudice against HIV.
"It's hugely positive to see that the majority of Scots have supportive attitudes towards people living with HIV, and feel that more needs to be done to get rid of the stigma and discrimination that prevails in our society,” said Grant Sugden, chief executive of Waverley Care. Sugden added that because nearly 6,000 Scots are HIV-positive, the Always Hear campaign, which is funded by the Scottish government, hopes to eradicate the fear of testing and living with the disease. "We hope these new findings today, and Annie's support make the public think about their own attitudes so that we can move closer to achieving a Scottish society free from HIV stigma," Sugden said. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Medical News  | Pregnancy Could Help Hepatitis C Develop Into Hardier Strain: Viruses Able to Replicate Faster Could be Passed Down UNITED STATES :: Viral Hepatitis
Medical Daily (10.29.2013) :: By Anthony Rivas | | | An article in Medical Daily reported on research indicating that pregnancy could result in a faster-replicating strain of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Pregnant HCV-infected women face a 25-percent risk of passing the disease to their infants. Researchers from the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, followed two HCV-positive women for five years, during which time both women had two children.
The researchers examined the evolution of the virus before, during, and after the pregnancies. They found that immune processes during pregnancy combined with natural viral processes, resulting in a faster-replicating virus strain that one woman passed on during childbirth. HCV spreads by mutating certain parts of its genome, making it difficult for CD8-positive T-cells to find and destroy them. This process, called immune escape mutations, makes it difficult for the virus to replicate. During pregnancy, a woman’s immune system withholds T-cells to prevent them from attacking the fetus. The virus then is able to replicate without being attacked by T-cells. The virus does not need to mutate and the result is a stronger virus that replicates faster and is passed to the infant.
Dr. Jonathan R. Honegger, an infectious disease specialist and lead researcher of the study, noted that the findings provided a unique view of the effect of pregnancy on the mothers’ control of viral infections and demonstration of HCV’s ability to adapt to changing environmental pressures. The researchers are not sure whether the stronger, faster-replicating virus would be more harmful to the child in the longer term.
The full report, “Loss of Immune Escape Mutations During Persistent HCV Infection in Pregnancy Enhances Replication of Vertically Transmitted Viruses,” was published online in the journal Nature Medicine (2013; doi:10.1038/nm.3351) | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Local and Community News  | STDs on Rise in Howard County INDIANA :: STDs
Kokomo Perspective (11.15.2013) | | | The Kokomo Perspective recently reported that gonorrhea and chlamydia were becoming more prevalent in Howard County, Ind., taxing the Howard County Health Department’s ability to provide required services. The number of reported gonorrhea cases rose from 14 in 2011 to 51 cases in 2012. Health department officials expected a higher number of diagnoses in 2013. Chlamydia diagnoses increased from 156 cases in 2011 to 182 cases in 2012.
Jennifer Sexton, public health nursing administrator, stated that although the Howard County Health Department could provide treatment for STDs, the department was unable to do screening. The county was eligible to participate in a state health department program that would supply free urine and vaginal or rectal swab collection kits for adults under age 29 who were uninsured or underinsured and had gonorrhea or chlamydia symptoms (burning, pain, and discharge). The self-collected tests would not call for an exam, but would require the local department to ship specimens to a state laboratory.
However, according to Sexton, the health department was not able to participate in this program because it currently did not have the clerical capacity to enter testing information in the database or the nursing capacity to provide counseling for people diagnosed with STDs. Sexton noted that the department averaged 20–25 calls weekly from people seeking STD testing. The department referred callers seeking testing to Indiana Health Center or the nonprofit organizations Clinic of Hope or Project: Access. Many people accessed STD testing through the hospital emergency room. Sexton estimated that the county’s actual STD prevalence was higher because exposure often occurred among those less likely to have access to healthcare.
The Howard County Council and Howard County Commissioners, which have cut the health department’s budget for the last three years, declined to add resources to cover the testing program costs. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | News Briefs | | | Two Local Art Exhibits in Honour of World AIDS Awareness Week CANADA :: HIV/AIDS
durhamregion.com (Ontario, Canada) (11.14.2013) | | | Durhamregion.com reported that two art exhibits will be on display in the Durham region of Ontario, Canada, in honor of World AIDS Awareness Week. The exhibits will showcase the work of local artists at two Durham galleries. “A Link in Time,” which includes a wall display of 100 photos and stories, will be on display November 23–December 5 at Robert McLaughlin Gallery at 72 Queen Street, Oshawa, Ontario. All are invited to a reception on November 30 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., which will feature a community service awards ceremony by the AIDS committee and a performance by Toronto’s Singing Out choir. “A Shift in Time,” made up of photographs focusing on individuals living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, will be on view November 30–January 5 at the Station Gallery at 1450 Henry Street, Whitby, Ontario. The gallery will hold an opening reception on November 30 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | |
