Canadian AIDS Researchers Oppose HIV-Exposure Prosecutions

The current CMAJ includes this letter from three researchers at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, arguing for an end to Canada's criminal prosecution of people who allegedly expose sexual partners to HIV. The letter points out that the actual risks of transmission to sexual partners are quite low for well-controlled HIV; that prosecutions have never been shown to reduce rates of infection: and that they may in fact discourage or interfere with HIV testing and treatment. In this interview, one of the co-authors also notes that while Canadian rates of prosecution for HIV exposure have been on the rise, there is no similar policy of prosecuting those who expose partners to other potentially serious viruses like HPV.

HIV (Lack of) Awareness

This CDC report says that of 1.2 million Americans with HIV, 240,000 don't know they're infected. Of every 100 people with HIV, 80 know they have it, 62 are linked to HIV care, 41 stay in care, 36 get antiretroviral therapy, and 28 have their viral loads well controlled. We're used to saying, glibly, that in the US HIV used to be a death sentence, but now it's only a chronic illness. But the fact is that we need to do a lot better on testing and treatment. 16,000 per year are still dying of AIDS--not a large number, as causes of death go (AIDS has been outside the top 15 causes of death since 1997); but AIDS is still a leading cause of death in certain sub-populations, e.g., among younger women and African-Americans. We can do better.

Global Health Fund Suspending New Grants

The Global Health Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which pays for about half of all AIDS treatment in developing countries, is in financial crisis and will not make any new grants for the next two years. This is a serious blow to global health. Details here and here.