Health Profession current awareness

Newsflashes

• Testing for STI’s can improve HIV prevention
  (2 June 2014)
  Researchers from the Brown University, USA, reviewed the medical records of 1 400 HIV-positive patients in clinics around Cape Town, South Africa, finding that these patients were much less likely to contract STI’s whilst on ARV treatment. Most of the patients contracted STI’s prior to the ARV treatment. As STI’s increase the risk of HIV transmission, the researchers suggested testing and treating both STI’s and HIV together to increase treatment efficacy. .

• Increase in viral load testing absolutely necessary to curb HIV epidemic
  (27 May 2014)
  The importance of routine viral load testing for HIV-positive people in curbing the HIV epidemic is vital. It allows healthcare workers to identify patients failing on treatment before they become resistant to antiretrovirals. Routine viral load testing is scarce and expensive in Africa, and HIV experts are calling government to overcome these critical challenges. Read more.

• New daily supplement may be in the pipeline for Ethiopian HIV patients
  (19 May 2014)
  Although antiretrovirals have decreased the mortality rate amongst HIV/AIDS infected individuals in Africa, the rates of mortality are still generally high. Researchers have attributed this to malnutrition amongst mant individuals specifically at the start of their ARV treatment regimen. Scientists from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and Jimma University, Ethiopia, have demonstrated that the use of a daily nutritional supplement given during the first few months of HiV treatment can significantly improve the overall health status of patients. .

• Communtiy-based programmes to improve care for HBV patients
  (12 May 2014)
  Community outreach programmes funded by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may improve the screening, treatment, and care of patients infected with the hepatitus B virus.  In the USA, an African Services Committee is a community-based organisation servicing West African immigrants reporting that although outreach, counselling require intenstive effort and human resources, the programme can increase the number of individuals who follow up on referrals and receive the care needed. Note: Log in to www.medscape.com is required. Read more.

• HIV affects sperm proteome level
  (6 May 2014)
  In a recent study at the Justus Liebig University (Giessen), German researchers tested semen quality of 116 HIV-positive male patients on antiretroviral therapy. They found that semen standards were impaired when compared to the World Health Organisation (2010) reference values and on the Spern Proteome Level, concluding that HIV surrogate parameters are not suitable for predicting semen quality. (Login to www.medscape.com required) Read more.

• Co-discoverer of HIV spoke about curing the virus
  (29 April 2014)
  Dr Robert Gallo, the scientist who in 1984 co-discovered HIV as the cause of AIDS, said in an interview with Time Magazine that the only way to eliminate HIV is through effective vaccination. ARVs are simply good functional cures since they suppress the viral load to undetectable limits. This article gives a brief history of the discovery and the controversy that surrounded the discovery of HIV. Read more.

• Workers unite in response to HIV/AIDS stigmatisation in the workplace
  (22 April 2014)
  In an act of solidarity, Cameroonian healthcare workers joined workers from the private and public sectors in a march to demonstrate unity with their HIV-infected co-workers who exposed to stigmatisation in the workplace. The 6 km march that took place on 18 April was organised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the International Labour Organisation Sub-regional office in Yaounde, Cameroon. VCT@Work, an HIV voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) initiative, launched at the same event, aims to test between 30000-35000 individuals from April 2014 to 2015. The march was the first of many events planned to celebrate the 128th International Labour Day (1 May). Read more.

• The art of HIV-prevention counseling explored
  (19 April 2014)
  A study by the University of Pennsylvania, in the Duval County, Florida, USA investigated the efficacy of HIV-prevention counseling in order to change the lives of young adults (18-35 year olds). In this limited-resourced county, there are high prevalence of HIV and STIs. They found no association between lost to follow-up counseling and HIV-related fear. However, efforts to pressurise young adults resulted in defensiveness and loss to follow-up of HIV-prevention counseling sessions. The researchers also found that loss to follow up occurred when the young adults thought the programme was ineffective. Read more.

Fast facts

• Although a lot has been done in the medical field to understand and treat neurological disorders, severe forms of HIV encephalitis and HIV-associated dementia, myelopathy and neuropathy are frequent in HIV-positive individuals where HIV treatment is limited. The 2013 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections which took place in Atlanta, USA, discussed the neurological complications of HIV infection in the form of a special contribution article.  Read more. (30 September 2013)

• Global situation and trends
  

News items on sexual violence

• Read more about the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)

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Last updated: 2 June, 2014