National News
CDC Revises HIV Testing Guidelines to Better ID Early Cases
International News
ARV Shortages Hit Mozambique's HIV Treatment Programme
Medical News
HCV Is a Major Reason for Healthcare Utilisation in the United States
Local and Community News
New HIV Cases in Washtenaw County Hit 15-Year High
News Briefs
Private Doctors Report 1,305 TB Cases Over 2 Years
Medicare & Medicaid Will Pay to Screen At-Risk Groups for Hep C
| National News  | CDC Revises HIV Testing Guidelines to Better ID Early Cases UNITED STATES :: HIV/AIDS
AIDSmeds (06.26.2014) | | AIDSmeds reported that CDC announced a new laboratory recommendation for HIV testing protocols to use technology that will better identify acute cases of the infection. CDC made the announcement to use fourth-generation HIV tests this week to correspond with National HIV Testing Day. Previous tests detected HIV antibodies, which can take up to three months from infection and can produce false negatives in that window period. As well as searching for antibodies, the new tests also look for the HIV-1 p-24 antigen, which can be detected three weeks post-exposure. Viral loads are normally extremely high immediately following infection, which means it is more easily transmitted to someone else. Early detection can prevent further transmission of the virus. If the antigen test is positive, an immunoassay can determine whether the infected person has HIV-1 or HIV-2. If that test does not produce a definitive result, a nucleic acid test will be performed to determine whether the original test was a false positive. According to Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, "HIV testing is the linchpin for prevention and treatment. For people who test HIV positive, diagnosis opens the door to lifesaving treatment, which also reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to others. For those who test negative, knowing their status empowers them to remain HIV-free." Additional information can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2014/HIV-Testing-in-Laboratories-graphics.html. |  Read Full Article | Share this Article     | | Back to Top  |  | | International News  | ARV Shortages Hit Mozambique's HIV Treatment Programme MOZAMBIQUE :: HIV/AIDS
Inter Press Service (06.19.2014) :: By Amos Zacarias | | | According to the Inter Press Service, the chronic shortage of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in Mozambique creates a life-threatening situation for the country's HIV-positive individuals. Approximately 454,000 are receiving ARV therapy, which is equivalent to a little under one-third of the 1.6 million HIV-positive citizens according to government data. ARVs need to be taken daily to be effective. Jose Enrique Zelaya, head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Mozambique, explained that stopping treatment causes the viral load to increase, creates drug resistance, and allows opportunistic infections to take hold.
Periodically, the country experiences shortages of necessary drugs; but for the last 6 months, the lack of ARVs has been critical. Zelaya noted that rural patients are most affected as they travel long distances to the clinics and do not get their drugs. Because of armed rebel activity in the central province of Sofala, commercial traffic must move in convoys with military escort, thus making it more difficult to get medicines. Even in the capital of Maputo, there is a shortage. According to Zelaya, the problem is due to the health ministry's poor planning and the process of distribution. A 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) report noted problems in Mozambique's procurement, distribution, and storage due to poor infrastructure, including a deficit of health staff, particularly at the pharmaceutical level.
Foreign donors are alarmed as they make large contributions to Mozambique's AIDS budget. Dutch ambassador Fredrique de Man has urged the health ministry to listen to its citizens' and nongovernmental organizations' complaints and improve the drug supply. De Man suggested at a press conference that the public should buy drugs from informal vendors as the health units often do not have drugs or drugs have an old expiration date. In 2013, approximately 85,000 women received ARVs to prevent transmitting HIV to their babies, and 12,600 children were newly infected. Although the government aims to reduce HIV in children to less than 5 percent by 2015, Zelaya doubted they could be successful because of the frequent ARV shortages. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Medical News  | HCV Is a Major Reason for Healthcare Utilisation in the United States UNITED STATES :: Viral Hepatitis
NAM aidsmap (06.23.2014) :: By Michael Carter | | | NAM aidsmap reported on a study that investigated the impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on the use of health care resources in the United States. The researchers examined nationally representative datasets to determine HCV-infected adults' use of outpatient, emergency department, and inpatient resources between 2001 and 2010. Patients were divided into three age groups: older (born prior to 1945); baby boomer (born 1945-65); and younger (born after 1965).
Results show that of the 824 million outpatient visits in 2001–2010, 2.29 million were from HCV patients. Baby boomers made three-quarters of the HCV visits, and 4 percent, 8 percent, and 10 percent of younger, baby boomer, and older patients, respectively, experienced liver-related complications. Patients with HCV made 72,000 of the 90 million emergency room visits, and baby boomers made 68 percent of those visits. Of the 32 million inpatient admissions, 475,000 involved HCV patients, and baby boomers made 71 percent of those HCV admissions. The proportion of admissions for liver-related complications was 41, 35, and 14 percent for older, baby boomer, and younger HCV-infected patients, respectively. Total annual cost of inpatient care for HCV patients was more than $15 billion.
The researchers concluded that "individuals with HCV infection are large users of health care resources," and health care utilization was highest and increasing among baby boomers. The researchers contend that the findings illustrate the need to increase HCV testing and treatment.
The full report, "National Estimates of Healthcare Utilization by Individuals with Hepatitis C Virus Infection in the United States," was published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (2014; doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu427). | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | Local and Community News  | New HIV Cases in Washtenaw County Hit 15-Year High MICHIGAN :: HIV/AIDS
MLIve Michigan (06.26.2014) :: By Ben Freed | | | MLive reported that last year's increase in HIV cases in Michigan's Washtenaw County has reached a rate not seen since 1999. Thirty-three new HIV cases were reported in 2013, compared to 24 cases reported in 2012. The increase is being seen mainly in young men who have sex with men (MSM) and minority populations. A recently released epidemiological report showed that three-quarters of new cases were found in people younger than 30 years old and nearly 80 percent were among MSMs.
Washtenaw County mirrors regional and national trends. "Here in America it's in the MSM community that's where we're seeing the burden of the infection, particularly MSMs of color," said Leon Golson, director of prevention programs for HIV/AIDS Resource Center (HARC). "If you look at the stats by race, you would definitely see the African American community carrying the bulk of that infection," he added. Approximately two-thirds of new infections were among black residents, even though they make up only 12.7 percent of the county population.
Golson will travel the region on National HIV Testing Day, June 27, offering free HIV testing in HARC's new mobile testing van. A local theater will provide a room in the evening to test patrons of a nearby night club. Golson said that stigma still keeps people from getting tested. A survey by the University of Michigan showed that a quarter of gay, bisexual, and trans youth who were surveyed said they did not feel comfortable talking about their sexual activity with a medical provider. "There are a number of internal or external barriers that make it challenging for people to get tested or to take actions to protect themselves." Golson said, adding that health agencies and professionals are working on ways to address these challenges. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | News Briefs  | Private Doctors Report 1,305 TB Cases Over 2 Years INDIA :: TB
Times of India (06.23.2014) :: By Umesh Isalkar | | | According to the Times of India, an improvement in the reporting of TB cases by private physicians in the city of Pune, located in Maharshtra, India, is assisting the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in better understanding the impact of the disease, which will lead to a stronger healthcare system for the state. The Union health ministry issued a mandate on May 7, 2012, requiring healthcare providers to report all TB cases, and Pune physicians began reporting cases by the end of May 2012. An increase in reported cases can be seen, with 643 cases reported for 2013 compared with 432 cases for 2012. Private physicians continue to increase their reporting, with a total of 230 cases reported this year between January and April, in addition to an average of approximately 300 cases reported each month in civic hospitals. | | Read Full Article | Share this Article | | Back to Top | | | | | |
| The CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention provides the above information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, other sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. The above summaries were prepared without conducting any additional research or investigation into the facts and statements made in the articles being summarized, and therefore readers are expressly cautioned against relying on the validity or invalidity of any statements made in these summaries. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted above for full texts of the articles. The Prevention News Update electronic mailing list is maintained by the National Prevention Information Network (NPIN), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. Regular postings include the Prevention News Update, select articles from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report series, and announcements about new NPIN products and services. |
6/27/2014
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