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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. | |  11/13/2013
| National News  | Uneven Gains in AIDS/HIV in Different Populations CALIFORNIA :: HIV/AIDS
SFGate.com (San Francisco) (11.12.2013) :: By Kathryn Roethel | | | The San Francisco Gate recently reported that the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit health research organization, published a US AIDS analysis based on 2010 data. According to the report, blacks, Latinos, and Hispanics had higher HIV incidence than whites and were less likely to receive recommended treatment. The foundation stated that HIV incidence was eight times higher among blacks than among whites, and three times higher among Latinos and Hispanics than among whites. Twenty percent of new HIV infections in 2010 occurred among women; approximately two-thirds of female HIV infections occurred among black women.
The foundation reported that approximately 25 years ago, AIDS was the number one mortality cause for Americans ages 25–44. With new treatment options, AIDS had dropped to the number six mortality cause among this same age group, and new diagnoses had decreased to less than half of peak rates.
The report stated that 82 percent of HIV-infected Americans had received a formal HIV diagnosis, but only one in four HIV-infected people adhered closely enough to recommended treatment regimens to suppress the virus. Viral suppression requires HIV-infected patients to take multiple pills at precise times daily and receive regular medical care.
The first US AIDS diagnosis occurred in 1981, and the number of HIV diagnoses reached 130,000 annually in the late 1980s. US incidence rates have remained stable at approximately 50,000 per year for the last decade. The foundation estimated that in 2010, 63 percent of new infections resulted from male-to-male sexual contact, and 25 percent resulted from heterosexual contact.
California had more HIV diagnoses in 2010 than any other state (5,965), but was not among the 10 states with highest incidence per 100,000 people. Washington, D.C., had the highest HIV rate (177.9 per 100,000 people), and southern states held seven spots on the list of top 10 states. |  Read Full Article | Share this Article     | | Back to Top  |  | | International News  | Surge in Gonorrhea Infections in Ireland IRELAND :: STDs
Independent.ie (Dublin) (11.13.2013) :: By Caitlin McBride | | | The Independent.ie reported that Ireland has seen a 33-percent increase in gonorrhea since 2010, according to Health Service Executive (HSE), Ireland’s national health agency. Dr. Margaret Fitzgerald, director of public health in HSE East, warned that untreated or improperly treated gonorrhea can cause complications, such as infertility in both men and women. She urged sexually active individuals to use protection and get regular sexual health screenings.
A study completed by HSE South East showed that homosexual men and young heterosexuals are the two highest risk groups. Gonorrhea also has seen a recent increase in other countries, and the United Kingdom has seen a 21-percent rise since 2010. Dublin, in particular, has reported 1,077 cases this year alone.
HSE is concerned that higher gonorrhea rates may translate to multidrug-resistant gonorrhea as well as higher HIV incidence. Gonorrhea can be present without symptoms, which leaves individuals unaware of their risk of transmission. Better testing methods may have contributed to the increase in the STD cases, Fitzgerald noted, but she added that the driving factor is the number of people engaging in unsafe sexual activities. "…[E]merging antimicrobial resistance is a major concern with gonorrhea and it is possible that multidrug-resistant gonorrhea may become untreatable in the near future,” Fitzgerald said.
HSE is working with several other Irish health organizations, including Spunout.ie, Union of Students of Ireland, THINK Contraception, and the Dublin AIDS Alliance, on campaigns to raise sexual health awareness.
| | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Medical News  | SSRIs May Reduce Treatment-Associated Depression in HCV patients CHINA :: Viral Hepatitis
Healio (11.12.2013) | | | An article in Healio presents a study on the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat depression resulting from the use of pegylated interferon alfa-2a or -2b (Peg-IFN a-2a or a-2b) with ribavirin combination treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Peg-IFN a-2a or a-2b with ribavirin treatment is considered a very effective HCV treatment. However, this treatment is associated with a 70-percent incidence of mild to moderate depression and a 20- to 40-percent incidence of major depression in chronic HCV patients.
Researchers, including Yan-Yan Yu, MD, of the department of infectious diseases at China’s Peking University, performed a meta-analysis of six randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with 522 chronic HCV patients who had received Peg-IFN a-2a or a-2b with ribavirin. Those participants who were treated with SSRIs received escitalopram, citalopram, or paroxetine.
Results showed that rates of depression and rescue therapy in patients who received SSRIs were significantly lower than rates for the control groups. Sustained virological response and treatment discontinuation did not differ significantly between groups. Patients treated with SSRIs had lower incidence of muscle and joint pain and respiratory problems, but significantly more dizziness.
The researchers concluded that treatment with SSRIs can reduce depression associated with Peg-IFN a-2a or a-2b with ribavirin treatment significantly for chronic HCV patients without reducing sustained virological response. The researchers noted study limitations such as unavailable data and small sample sizes.
The full report, “Can Antidepressants Prevent Pegylated Interferon-a/Ribavirin-Associated Depression in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C: Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trials?” was published online in the journal PLoS One (2013; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076799). | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Local and Community News  | Broward Health Department Drops Rapid HIV Testing at Jails FLORIDA :: HIV/AIDS
Sun Sentinel (11.11.2013) :: By Nicole Brochu | | | The Sun-Sentinel recently reported that Broward County Health Department discontinued HIV rapid testing for county jail inmates because the positivity rate was not high enough to warrant the program’s expense. Spokesperson Candy Sims stated that for 10 years, the department sent testers to county jails one to four days weekly to offer inmates HIV screenings. Between 2010 and 2012, health department testers provided voluntary HIV rapid screening to 20,402 inmates; results indicated a positivity rate of 0.4 percent to 0.56 percent per year. The health department spent $83,748 on the program from 2012 to 2013.
According to Ron Gunzburger, general counsel for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, jail officials discovered in mid-October that the health department would not renew its annual contract to provide rapid testing in the jails. The jails’ health services contractor, Armor Correctional Health Services, would provide conventional screening to inmates who requested HIV testing. Results from conventional testing were available typically within 24–48 hours.
Anne Spaulding, assistant professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, argued that conventional testing was not enough because 50 percent of inmates left the jail within 48 hours. Broward officials noted that the average jail stay was 35 days, but that included people with yearlong sentences. Spaulding noted that testing inmates affected community health because 95 percent of inmates returned to the community. According to Spaulding, public health authorities recommended continuing prison testing programs that yielded a .4 percent to .5 percent positivity rate.
Michael Kahane, chief of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s southern bureau, noted that jail-based screening was the best chance to test the many inmates who had a history of mental illness, were transient, and lacked access to medical care. AIDS Healthcare Foundation would provide rapid testing for inmates if no other organization agreed to do so. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | News Briefs | | | 35 in Minot Area Test Positive for Hepatitis C NORTH DAKOTA :: Viral Hepatitis
Bismarck Tribune (11.12.2013) :: By Carson Walker, Associated Press | | | The Bismarck Tribune reported that on November 12, the North Dakota Health Department said an additional eight individuals tested positive for hepatitis C in an ongoing investigation for which they have not yet identified the virus outbreak’s source. According to State Epidemiologist Tracy Miller, the additional positive tests, which bring the total of individuals infected to 35, are not new infections. Investigators have tested approximately 500 individuals associated with the nursing home ManorCare Health Services–Minot thus far, and they could test more as they continue to look for the source of the outbreak, which began in August. So far, they have eliminated drug use, pain management treatments, and emergency room visits, but are looking at the possibility of a common source of medical treatment. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | |
