HIV patients easy prey to tuberculosis

KANPUR: Due to lack of co-ordination among various government hospitals in both urban and rural areas, the objective of the district health authorities to detect and identify new tuberculosis patient and to put them on treatment under Revise National Tuberculosis Programme (RNTCP) was unable to reach the target of 70 percent detection of TB, in the year 2009.

On the basis of the quarterly report provided by the District Tuberculosis hospital, only 63 percent new cases of TB came into light during the month of September-November, comparatively less than the previous months which varied from 68-69 percent. The situation can be gauged from the fact that there are only 39 microscopic centres in the district against the requirement of 48 centres, where the sputum or the smear of the infected person is collected and tested. It is to be mentioned that one microscopic centre must be present per one lakh populace. In contrast, there is only one centre per five lakh people.

While the doctors at the TB hospital claim that hospitals under Nagar Nigam, Railway and other private organisations are not cooperating to eradicate the disease entirely from the district. The nodal officer District Tuberculosis programme said: "The main aim of the programme is to detect those suffering early pulmonary tuberculosis. An untreated positive patient has the potential to affect 10-15 persons per year." Therefore, under RNTCP it is important to bring out more patients into notice so that they can be cured so the disease is not further spread, he added.

The representative of World Health Organisation who is also associated with RNTCP in the district Dr Lalit Mahendroo pointed out that TB is one of the leading causes of mortality in India. He said: "Nearly 433 patients in the district are reported as positive every month, out of which 219 are put on Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS)."

On the basis of the RNTCP report, only 79 percent were cured in the last three months against the set target of 85 percent for the confirmed cases in the laboratory. Generally, the medication process remains for six to eight months which, however, people continue only for two to three months, thereby affecting the percentage cure rate.

However, Tuberculosis is prevalent in HIV patients as well. Claiming HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) as the strongest risk factor for tuberculosis, head of Murari Lal Chest Hospital, associated hospital of Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi Memorial Dr Sudhir Chaudhary said, "Tuberculosis is one of the early opportunistic disease to develop amongst the persons infected with HIV. HIV affects the immune system and increases the vulnerability to TB, further increasing the risk of progression from TB infection to TB disease."

He then added, "An HIV positive person is six times (50-60% life time risk) more likely to develop TB disease once infected with TB bacilli as compared to an HIV negative person, who has a 10% life-time risk."

World AIDS Day!

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection; it's a time to reflect on the daunting challenges we face in the battle against this tenacious killer. For each World AIDS Day from 2005 through 2010, the theme will be "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise."

AIDS watch

Today is World’s AIDS day and according to a 2009 report released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), HIV infections have been reduced by 17% over the past eight years globally. And it’s largely due to HIV prevention programmes and campaigns, AIDS awareness movies and documentaries which are helping make a difference.

We couldn’t agree more. Movies and media is one of the biggest and powerful mediums through which one can spread awareness. Whether it’s Richard Gere spending his money and lending his support for AIDS awareness campaigns or its Vishal Bhardwaj’s short documentary Blood Brothers which dismantles myths and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, people SIT UP and TAKE NOTICE.

Priyadarshan too has announced to make a movie on AIDS starring Aamir Khan. Taking this into account we list movies with the AIDS-related theme:

1. My Brother Nikhil
2. Phir Milenge
3. Philadelphia
4. Yesterday
5. Longtime Companion

Source: http://www.idiva.com/bin/idiva/AIDS-watch

HIV has killed 25m and infected 60m so far: UN report

Almost 60 million people have been infected by HIV and 25 million killed by causes related to the virus since the epidemic started, according to new data published by UNAIDS.

While prevention programmes have helped to cut the infection rate by 17% over past eight years,the total number of people living with HIV continued to rise in 2008. By the end of 2008, a total of 33.4 million people or 20 percent more people were living with the epidemic compared to in 2000, The UN figures say.

"The continuing rise in the population of people living with HIV reflects the combined effects of continued high rates of new HIV infections and the beneficial impact of anti-retroviral therapy." said UNAIDS in its report.

Sub-Saharan African remains the most affected region, as it is home to 67% of those living with the human immunodeficiency virus. In south and South-east Asia, 3.8 million people are living with the Infection, added UNAIDS.

Universal Children's Day- 20th November 2009

Every child has the right to
play with colors
sing rhymes
read stories
wear school uniforms
sit in front of a blackboard
experience childhood.

On the occasion of
Universal Children's Day
let's say no to child labour.

Report child labour. Call :1098

Donate Blood Win Hearts

Ist October , 2009 is voluntary Blood donation day ... many hearts will beat for you

• It's safe because of the use of sterile needles.
• You get preliminary health check-up.
• Knowledge of your Blood Group.
• Decreases probabilities of heart ailments.
• It takes just few minutes to donate blood.

Classes for HIV AIDS Programme of IGNOU at New Horizon School

Dear Learner ,

Welcome to the CAFE/DAFE Programme of IGNOU.Your Study Centre is 0742 D (AL-Ameen). Your Classes begins from Sunday 4th October 2009 at 2:o0 pm. The detailed schedule along with you batch code has being displayed on the notice board of the Study Centre. Please visit your Study Centre, note your schedule from the notice board.

Dr. Lal babu Singh will be conducting the classes in this session .

The Schedule of counseling session is given below:

Sunday, 04th Oct 2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Sunday, 04th Oct 2009 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Sunday, 11th Oct 2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Sunday, 11th Oct 2009 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Sunday, 18th Oct 2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Sunday, 18th Oct 2009 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Sunday, 25th Oct 2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Sunday, 25th Oct 2009 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm
Sunday, 01st Nov2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Sunday, 01st Nov 2009 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm

Finally, AIDS vaccine shows success in trials

NEW DELHI: For the first time ever, a trial vaccine has successfully cut the risk of HIV infection by 31% in humans. In the largest human trial of an AIDS vaccine till date, involving more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, scientists found that HIV infections were prevented in over a third of the 8,000 people who received the vaccine. For the past 20 years, scientists have been testing experimental vaccines against HIV on human subjects. But all of them, including two large trials in 2007, failed. Not only did those candidate vaccines fail to stop infection but in some cases it actually helped the virus to infect. However, this latest vaccine - a combination of two genetically engineered vaccines ALVAC-HIV and AIDSVAX B/E, neither of which had worked before in humans - is the first to have even partly succeeded in a human trial. This has given hope that the global dream of an effective vaccine against HIV - the virus known to be a master in evading and fooling the human immune system - could end up being a reality in the near future. This is how the Thai Phase III HIV vaccine clinical trial, also known as RV 144 took place - 16,402 non-infected volunteers (18-30 years old) at average risk of HIV infection were enrolled for the study. While half of them received six doses of the vaccine combo made from the virus that commonly circulates in southeast Asia, the other half received a placebo or a dud. Vaccinations ended in July 2006 and volunteers underwent an HIV test every six months for three years. An international Data and Safety Monitoring Board met eight times since trial initiation and did not report any safety concerns. The study vaccines did not cause HIV infection because they were not made from and did not contain the entire virus, either live or killed. Of those who got placebos, 74 became infected, while only 51 of those who got the vaccines did. Although the difference was small, the team said it was statistically significant and meant the vaccine was 31.2% effective. Details of the $105 million study will be given at an HIV vaccine conference in Paris in October. Scientists say RV 144 - conducted jointly by the United States Army, the Thai ministry of public health and the patent-holders of the vaccines Sanofi-Pasteur - was designed to test the vaccine strategy's ability to prevent HIV infection, as well as its ability to reduce the amount of HIV in the blood (viral load) of those who became infected after they enrolled in the study. "There's no doubt that this is a very important result. Conceptually, we now know a vaccine is possible," said Dr Anthony S Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The most confusing aspect of the trial, according to Dr Fauci, is that everyone who did become infected developed roughly the same amount of virus in their blood whether they got the vaccine or a placebo. Normally, any vaccine that gives only partial protection lowers the viral load. "If we knew what immune response protected these people in the trials, we'd be able to be a lot more efficient in targeting it," scientists said. Meanwhile, the road to an effective vaccine continues to be a long one. An HIV vaccine would get licensing approval only when it has an efficacy level of 80% and above. The scientists will therefore have to build on the findings and further develop this vaccine to produce a stronger response. The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) greeted with excitement this new development. "The outcome is very exciting and a significant scientific achievement. It is the first demonstration that a candidate AIDS vaccine provides benefit in humans," said IAVI president Seth Berkley. The World Health Organisation and UNAIDS said the results "instilled new hope" in the fight against HIV.

BIHAR STATE AIDS CONTROL SOCIETY

Inviting Application for the various Positions in Bihar State Aids Control Society

Bihar State Aids Control Society, Patna is inviting application from the suitable candidates for the various positions under NACP III program implementation at State level. The positions are at patna and various district head quarters of the State. All the Post ions include travel at sate and national level. The Details of the different vacancies, its qualifications, required experiences and application format can be obtained from the Bihar State Health society website http://www.statehealthsocietybihar.org/. the int rested candidates may apply through ordinary post or through email to bsacsjobs@gmail.com with all credentials on or before 30Th September 2009 .

BIHAR STATE AIDS CONTROL SOCIETY

State Institute of health & family Welfare Building,

Shiekhpura, Patna -800 014

PH no. 0612 -2290278

email : biharsacs@gmail.com

Know About HIV/AIDS For No HIV/AIDS

http://www.nos.org/hiv.htm#hiv

BSF units in Punjab hit by AIDS attack

Ferozepur : Apart from Pakistani bullets, Border Security force (BSF) Jawans in Punjab are facing new threat -----AIDS. Each of the seven units posted in the Ferozepur sector along the Indo-Pak border has at-least two full blown cases of the deadly virus ---- most probably passed on by sex workers.

"The last few years have seen an alarming rise in AIDS Cases in the Border force," said Shailnder Kaur, medical officer, BSF Ferozepur sector. "A couple of Jawans in each BSF unit in the area have contracted the deadly virus and are undergoing treatment," she added.

The officer, however, denied that the virus ha spread widely. The 14 personnel, she said, are being treated in jalandhar with some even having been referred to Delhi. But another officer, who did not want o be named, contested her claim saying the virus has spread alarming within BSF.

Working for he force entails long field deployments with few domestic breaks. "The Jawans usually visit brothels in the areas, which is where the AIDS virus is spreading from," he said.

Endorsing this view, a jawan being treated for AIDS, said "we should be granted leave and allowed to stay with our families on BSF campuses."

TOI

Gates' gift: $80m to fight AIDS

Kounteya Singh/ TNN

NEW DELHI: India`s fight against HIV just got an $80 millions push. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on Thursday increased its funding commitment to Avahan -- its initiative to reduce the spread of HIV in India --to $338 million or Rs 1,652crore.

Prior to the announcement, the foundation had committed $258 million to the programme .

The announcement by Microsoft founder and one of the world's richest men Bill Gates, who is in India, comes at a time when the foundation has been facing allegation that it failed to make a lasting impact in India`s HIV fight.

It has also faced criticism for deciding to "shut down" Avahan and hand over the programme to government national AIDS Control Organization (NACO),which does not want to bear the burden.

However, officials of the foundation told TOI." BMGF does not believe in continuous funding". Avahan's whole purpose was to equip India in its fight against HIV. We were to build the programme, help scale it up, make it sustainable and give it to its natural holders like members of the community or the government. The foundation lunched Avahan in 2003 to help fight HIV in India for a decade.

The foundation said it was inaccurate to suggest that Avahan was about to wind down. Gates told TOI, "In fact,we have already awarded grants that extend into 2014.It's not that the foundation is leaving India. The amount we spend in India on health and development will actually go up but will focus on other things like nutrition, maternal and child health and vaccines."

HIV's "Mising link" in chimps

Source TOI July 24 , 2009

Scientists believe they have found a "missing link" in the evolution of the virus that causes AIDS. It bridges the gap between the infection that does no harm to most monkeys and one that kills millions of people. That link is a virus that is killing chimpanzees in the wild a disturbingly high rate, according to a study in Nature.

Chimpanzees are the first primates besides man shown to get sick in the wild in significant numbers from a virus related to HIV. The discovery of disease killing chimps may help doctors come up with a workable vaccine for humans.

The monkey version of the virus that causes AIDS is called simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), but most apes and monkeys that have it show no symptoms or illness. So "if we could figure out why the monkeys don't get sick, perhaps we could apply that to people", said lead author BEAtrice Hahn, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The study found chimps infected with SIV had death rate 10 to 16 time higher than uninfected chimps. Necropsies of dead infected shows low counts of T-cell white blodd protiens that are just like the levels found in humans with AIDS. And when experts looked at a particular strain, they found that it wa closest relative possible to the virus that first infected humans.

AIDS virus weakening, says a study

LONDON: The HIV virus that causes AIDS, the fatal disease of the immune system, is becoming less aggressive, researchers have said in a landmark new study, amid surging speculation about the implications for the global fight against a pandemic that has killed an estimated 30 million people worldwide.

Researchers at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, compared HIV-1 samples from 1986-89 and 2002-03 and found that 75 per cent of the newer samples appeared less fit than those of 15 years ago both in terms of spread within individuals and transmission to others.

Speaking to TOI from Antwerp, Dr Kevin Arien, who wrote the paper and is one of the lead researchers said: "From our study, based on 24 patient HIV-1 isolates, we have observed that historical viruses were more fit than recent HIV-1 isolates".

In layman's terms, explained Keith Alcorn, Senior Editor of National AIDS Manual, the UK's best scientific reference on HIV, that means "the virus is weakening and may be in 50 or a 100 years, it will adapt to living with its human host but cause less disease".

The study, titled 'Replicative fitness of historical and recent HIV-1 isolates suggests HIV-1 attenuation over time', is published in AIDS the official Journal of the International AIDS Society.

Source: Times of India (New Delhi)

Diploma In Family Education & HIV AIDS

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