Antiretroviral News and Research

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Program in Iran provides treatment for HIV-positive people

An HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention program in Iran founded by two local physicians is providing antiretroviral drugs and clean needles to HIV-positive people in the country, the Washington Post reports.

5 Dec 2006

Chinese province to require couples to receive HIV tests before marriage

China's Yunnan Province beginning Jan. 1, 2007, will require couples to receive HIV tests before getting married, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

5 Dec 2006

Governments, donors falling short of antiretroviral treatment goals

Governments and international donors are falling short of their goals of providing antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in developing countries who need them, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, the International Herald Tribune reports.

2 Dec 2006

New approaches to expanding HIV testing

Nearly 300 U.S. physicians, government health officials and HIV/AIDS advocates on Wednesday gathered in Washington, D.C., for a two-day meeting that focuses on new approaches to expanding HIV testing in the nation and its potential effect on the health system, Reuters Health reports.

2 Dec 2006

Interruptions in antiretroviral treatment increases risk of developing AIDS-related diseases

Interruptions in an HIV-positive person's antiretroviral treatment regimen can increase the risk of developing AIDS-related diseases and sometimes can be fatal, according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Los Angeles Times reports.

2 Dec 2006

Cipla, Ranbaxy to cut pediatric antiretroviral drug prices

Indian pharmaceutical companies Cipla and Ranbaxy under an agreement with the Clinton Foundation will reduce the prices of 19 different pediatric antiretroviral drugs in 62 developing countries to an average of 45% less than what treatments currently cost in the countries, former President Clinton announced on Thursday ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the AP/Forbes reports.

2 Dec 2006

Thai Health Ministry to issue compulsory license for Merck's HIV/AIDS drug Efavirenz

Thailand's Ministry Of Public Health on Wednesday announced plans to issue a compulsory license to produce a lower-cost version of Merck's antiretroviral drug Efavirenz, Reuters reports.

2 Dec 2006

In 25 years AIDS will be the number one killer disease

A study by World Health Organisation (WHO) researchers has predicted that by the year 2030 AIDS will claim as many as 6.5 million lives per year.

29 Nov 2006

TB drug isoniazid could reduce AIDS-related illnesses among children

The inexpensive tuberculosis drug isoniazid could help reduce by half the number of deaths from AIDS-related illnesses among children, according to a study published earlier this month in BMJ, the Pretoria News reports.

23 Nov 2006

40 million with HIV/AIDS

The number of people living with HIV/AIDS over the past two years has increased and the worldwide total now stands at nearly 40 million, according to a report released on Tuesday by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, Reuters UK reports.

23 Nov 2006

Number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in China increased 28% in 2006

The number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in China increased by 28% in the first 10 months of 2006, and the virus appears to be spreading to a broader population, China's Ministry of Health said Wednesday in a report posted on its Web site, Reuters reports.

23 Nov 2006

Africa is developing solutions for fighting disease and improving health

The signs are everywhere, across the continent: Africa is finding African approaches to solving its health problems.

20 Nov 2006

MSF, Oxfam call on wealthy nations to adhere to WTO guidelines to ensure drug access in developing countries

Medecins Sans Frontieres and Oxfam on Tuesday called on developed nations to adhere to the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to ensure universal access to antiretroviral drugs in developing countries, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (Higgins, AP/International Herald Tribune, 11/14).

14 Nov 2006

Starvation, malnutrition threatening fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic

Starvation and malnutrition are "fast becoming the twin perils" in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the need for food soon might surpass the need for antiretroviral drugs among many HIV-positive people in the developing world, the AP/ABC2 News reports.

13 Nov 2006

Malawi needs to develop plan addressing country's AIDS orphans

The number of AIDS orphans in Malawi is a "potential looming catastrophe," and the country needs to develop a comprehensive action plan to address the situation, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis said recently, the Chronicle/AllAfrica.com reports.

8 Nov 2006

Chembio receives large order for rapid HIV tests to screen pregnant women in Mexico

Medford, N.Y.-based Chembio Diagnostics on Monday announced that it has received an order from a Mexican distributor for 990,000 of its rapid HIV test Sure Check HIV 1/2 to screen pregnant women in Mexico, the Long Island Newsday reports (Bernstein, Long Island Newsday, 11/7).

8 Nov 2006

Phase I clinical trial of experimental gene therapy to treat HIV shows encouraging results

The results of a Phase I clinical trial of an experimental gene therapy aimed at treating HIV indicate that the therapy is safe and effective and also might sustain viral loads, according to a study published on Monday in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the AP/Washington Post reports.

8 Nov 2006

$70 million boost will help fight AIDS in Kenya

Kenya has been given $70 million from the Global Fund to fund programmes providing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to people living with HIV.

7 Nov 2006

The lifetime cost of current HIV care in the United States

"The Lifetime Cost of Current HIV Care in the United States," a major study appearing in the November 2006 issue of Medical Care, projects the cost of treatment for HIV-infected adults using current standards of care.

1 Nov 2006

HIV/AIDS and poverty in Zambia threatens economic growth

HIV/AIDS and poverty in Zambia "are threatening" economic growth the country has achieved since gaining its independence in 1964, President Levy Mwanawasa said last week in a speech on the eve of Zambia's 42nd anniversary of independence, Reuters reports.

30 Oct 2006