 |  |
Find Us On Facebook
Follow Us On Twitter
| |
How many times have you started to have a conversation with someone about Hepatitis C only to have it blow up in your face? Have you ever heard someone say something about Hep C that didn't seem quite right to you? You were probably right something was amiss. A discussion about Hepatitis C can...
As per Wikipedia, the definition of a stigma is as follows: "Stigma is a word that originally means a "sign", "point", or "branding mark"." Wikipedia goes on to call stigma "A badge of shame, a physical mark of infamy or disgrace." Damn that w...
Recently, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) issued a statement that all Baby Boomers should be tested for Hepatitis C. The question often comes up as to why this particular segment of people is so vulnerable. What does being born between 1945 and 1965 have to do with Hepatitis C? What was di...
Buyer Beware! There are several snake oil salesmen out there who are claiming to have cured their own Hepatitis C with herbs, supplements and parking lot gravel. Okay, maybe not the parking lot gravel but it might as well be. What you need to remember is that there are two different types of...
Most every adult woman (and an occasional man) has enjoyed a manicure and a pedicure at a nail salon or spa. That 30 minute pedicure can be so relaxing but are you aware of the danger lurking in that nail salon? Although few individuals recognize the medical risks associated with this common pr...
September marks the 23rd annual observance of National Recovery Month (Recovery Month). Our colleagues at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) organize Recovery Month as an observance to educate Americans on the fact that addiction treatment and mental health services can enable people with a mental and/or substance use disorder to live healthy and rewarding lives. The main focus is to celebrate the gains made by those in recovery from these conditions, just as we would those who are successfully managing other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and asthma. Recovery Month spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.
Additionally, Recovery Month is a time to honor the service providers who help make prevention, treatment, and recovery available to millions of people across the nation. These providers are key partners in our efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat viral hepatitis associated with drug use behaviors, which is an important part of the Action Plan for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis.
Substance Abuse and Viral Hepatitis
Injection-drug use is a primary risk factor for exposure to bloodborne pathogens such as the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) because of the sharing of needles and drug preparation equipment. Among new cases of hepatitis C reported to CDC, injection-drug use is the most common risk factor. Alarmingly, CDC has recently reported that new hepatitis C infections are highest in people ages 20-29 and are occurring in suburban and rural areas rather than in urban areas where rates have historically been highest. Research shows that injection-drug users (IDUs) have high rates of viral hepatitis infection with an estimated 64% chronically infected with HCV and up to 11% chronically infected with HBV. IDUs are not only disproportionately affected by these viruses, but they are also more likely to have more severe hepatitis-related health outcomes compared to other infected populations—primarily because of additional, related health problems and inadequate access to and receipt of needed health care services.
The good news is that research funded through our colleagues at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that drug abuse prevention and treatment are effective at preventing the spread of infectious disease, including viral hepatitis. With proper drug treatment, individuals can change the behaviors that put them at risk for contracting infectious diseases like viral hepatitis. And, for those who may have chronic viral hepatitis, substance abuse treatment and recovery can enable them to take full advantage of effective treatments for viral hepatitis.
The Viral Hepatitis Action Plan
The fifth goal of the Action Plan for the Prevention, Care & Treatment of Viral Hepatitis calls on us to ensure that persons who use drugs have access to viral hepatitis prevention, care, and treatment services. Chief among the ways we can advance this goal is by integrating viral hepatitis prevention and care services as standard components of all substance abuse treatment programs.
During the first year of implementing the multi-year Action Plan, significant achievements toward this goal have included:
FDA’s approval of a new HCV rapid point-of-care test and CDC’s initiation of demonstration projects to study the use of these new diagnostics in activities targeting IDUs.
SAMHSA’s development and dissemination of Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) 53, entitled “Addressing Viral Hepatitis in People with Substance Use Disorders.” TIP 53 is a comprehensive resource for behavioral health staff in substance abuse treatment facilities on integrating drug treatment and hepatitis prevention, care, and treatment. Disseminated to all 432 SAMHSA substance abuse treatment grantees, the TIP is available online, was also promoted in a blog post, and shared with grantees of the Office on Women’s Health and the Indian Health Service, also partners in implementing the Action Plan.
Strengthening of technical assistance and training to help SAMHSA-supported prevention programs integrate both viral hepatitis and HIV prevention strategies.
VA has incorporated education around models of care delivery for Veterans with hepatitis C and ongoing substance use into their training programs including those on end-stage liver disease, treatment of HCV, and Liver Health Initiative trainings.
Both NIH and CDC are examining emerging evidence of HCV transmission of among young IDUs infected with HCV to inform the development of prevention interventions for this population.
Looking Forward
While these important actions have advanced our efforts, we know that there’s more work to be done. During Recovery Month, I invite you to consider how you can join our continued efforts to reduce the incidence and prevalence of viral hepatitis in this heavily impacted population. How might you or your organization strengthen the link between viral hepatitis prevention and care services in substance abuse treatment activities? Each of us, from family members, to providers, to local, state, and federal partners, can make a difference in reducing the spread of viral hepatitis and supporting and sustaining the far-reaching benefits that long-term recovery can have on individuals, families, and communities.
Please sign the ATC Salvage Therapy Petition Join us in asking Congressman Alcee Hastings and Congresswomen Maxine Waters to send a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter to Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID, asking for the federal facilitation of apricitabine (ATC). ATC is a phase III nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) that has been shown to be safe and effective in treating people with HIV. It works against viruses that are resistant to several other nukes and could ...
Researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School announced today at CROI2013 the discovery of the first infant functionally cured of HIV. The baby, a female now two and a half years old, received 3 HIV medications when brought to the hospital at 30 hours old. Viral load tests were performed during the first few weeks that showed a rapidly decreasing viral load which reached ...
At the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington D.C., the CDC reported that only 1 out of 4 HIV patients in the U.S. have HIV under control, which is defined as complete viral suppression. Warning bells should be ringing in the scientific and HIV advocacy communities. While much progress has been made in the last three decades in the treatment of HIV, tens of thousands of people living with HIV (PLWH) are currently struggling to construct viable treat...
Paige Rawl is 17 and HIV positive, but while her life has been shaped by HIV it isn't ruled by it. When Paige Rawl starts her senior year at Indianapolis’s Herron High School next month, she'll be cheer captain and a member of the student government and prom committee. This summer, the 17-year-old held down a part-time job at Hollister, hawking the popular Southern California-inspired clothing brand. The all-American girl — who happens to be HIV positive. Paige was in...
The HIV community has been abuzz with the August FDA approval of what had been termed “the Quad”, the second one-pill-once-a-day combination antiretroviral drug. Marketed by Gilead under the name Stribild, the drug contains two NRTIs (tenofovir and emtricitabine), an integrase inhibitor (elvitegravir) and an integrase booster (cobicistat) and is approved for use in treatment naïve patients with either drug resistant or wild type virus. In comparison to Atripla, the first...
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for SUSTIVA® (efavirenz), including dosing recommendations for...
California and other states would be pressured to amend or repeal criminal laws that single out HIV-positive people under a bipartisan bill co-authored and introduced this week by Rep. Barbara...
Mission Statement
At HIV Haven we wish to provide our readers with vital cutting edge information to help expand HIV knowledge and promote activism, particularly that which works towards an end to the HIV pandemic. It is our desire to bring to you the scientific, medical and social advances that given the appropriate attention and support, could change the course of the HIV pandemic, lessen the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS, better the quality and quantity of life for people living with HIV and even yield an eventual end to the HIV pandemic. We also provide the basics of HIV transmission and treatment.
We will focus on issues such as innovative drug development, strategic activist campaigns, HIV relationships and novel HIV and HIV cure research. We also will bring you advances in Hepatitis C (HCV), a common HIV co-infection. Whether you are living with HIV/AIDS, HIV and HCV, love someone who is, are an activist, advocate, researcher, physician or just an interested party, we hope here at HIV Haven we can help you find what you are looking for.
HIV Haven is kindly hosted by 
Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) is this July launching another third Phase I trial to develop an HIV vaccine since 1999 when the first trial was launched. Phase I is the first...
Rubaga Girls Primary School pupils had assembled to listen to an HIV awareness talk.The school always created an opportunity for the pupils and their parents to learn about different issues,...
AIDS will account for 32% of all deaths in South Africa in 2013, down from 48% in 2005, according to a midyear report by Statistics South Africa. But 1 in 10 South Africans has HIV infection,...
THE HIV/AIDS prevalence rate at the Coast has gone down to 4.2 per cent from 8.1 per cent, Coast provincial director of medical services, Dr. Khadija Shikelly has said. Dr. Shikelly attributed the...
Mr Dong, a 37-year-old man from Hanoi, has been living with HIV for a number of years. He is in good health thanks to the antiretroviral treatment that is provided free of charge in Viet Nam and...
Cambodia is on track to become one of the few countries in the world to successfully reverse its HIV epidemic and may eliminate new infections by 2020, the World Health Organization said Friday....
In recent years, the countries of Central Asia have experienced some of the fastest growing rates of HIV infection in the world. One of the key populations at risk is men who have sex with men...
Continuing analysis of an HIV vaccine trial undertaken in Thailand is yielding additional information about how immune responses were triggered and why the vaccine did not protect more people. In...
HIV patients who are forced to report to hospital every month for a prescription could be forced into a situation where they have to reveal their condition to an employer. HIV patients who are...
Seventy per cent of Italian HIV specialists who answered an online survey would prescribe pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to people in their care who ask for it, at least in some circumstances, a...
Liver transplants to treat a common type of liver cancer are a viable option for people infected with HIV, according to new research. The Italian study, published May 10 in the journal The...
Despite hepatitis B virus suppression provided by current drugs, many patients coinfected with hepatitis B and HIV have advanced liver fibrosis, according to new research. "Of the patients we had...
One day in late March, European finance and health ministry officials met at the OECD’s Paris office to discuss how healthcare systems are faring in times of austerity. On the second day of the...
"It's a revolution in diagnosis which is leading to a revolution in treatment," says Philippe Douste-Blazy of UNITAID. UNITAID means helping together, roughly translated from the French and it's a...
Not a single sailor diagnosed as HIV-positive has been assigned overseas since the U.S. Navy changed its policy toward such medical conditions, officials say. In instructions issued in August...
The decade-old law that transformed the battle against HIV and AIDS in developing countries is at a crossroads. The dream of future generations freed from epidemic is running up against an era of...
AUSTRALIA is way behind the US and Europe in protecting medical workers from sharp objects, says a former US nurse who contracted HIV and hepatitis C through a needle injury. Dr Karen Daley, in...
Background: The resurgence of infectious syphilis in men who have sex with men (MSM) has been documented worldwide; however, HIV coinfection and syphilis reinfections in MSM in inner Sydney have not...
'Your Body Blueprint', a new campaign for people living with HIV has just been launched by AFAO. Based around an interactive website, the campaign is designed to encourage and support people...
DESPACHO GERAL, a Santos-based custom clearance agency for over twenty years, has successfully navigated the protocols for shipping the Spirit of Malabo to New York. The vessel departs today on...
Venezuelan professionals are working in investigations to establish the molecular panorama of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, and hepatitis, specialized sources said.According...
Top AIDS scientists are in Paris to mark the 30th anniversary of the detection of HIV. One of them is Sharon Lewin. Her work on latent HIV cells could lead to a cure, but she warns it's a "tough...
There was no fanfare on May 20, 1983 when Science published what is undoubtedly among the most important medical papers of the 20th century. In the usual dry prose, researchers from the Institut...
“It will take 10 years.” That is what researchers usually say when asked how much longer it will take to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine.Some of the world’s brightest minds have been on...
Bottling up emotions is thought to harm both mind and body, but a new study suggests that the opposite extreme may be no better. In a study of thousands of heart attack patients, those who...
An explosion of cheap generic substitutes for widely used prescription drugs last year helped drive the first decline in pharmaceutical spending in the U.S. in nearly six decades. Drug makers...
An antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea—now considered a superbug—has some analysts saying that the bacteria's effects could match those of AIDS. "This might be a lot worse than AIDS in the...
