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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...
Introduction.
Significant advances in HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) has substantially decreased Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) associated mortality and morbidity [1], [2]. The increase in survival has meant that a growing proportion of people living with HIV (PLHIV) are elderly [3]. In Australia, the HIV epidemic remains highly concentrated among men who have sex with men (MSM), a well-educated and informed population with high access to publicly funded and freely available combination ART.
The nature of medical treatment required by PLHIV will change as they age. There is an increased risk of many health conditions associated with increased greater age; these include stroke and cardiovascular disease, cancers, frailty, kidney disease and liver disease [4].
However, there is strong evidence that HIV infection further increases the risk of many of these conditions [5]–[9]. The increasing numbers of PLHIV, and ageing nature of the population, means that there will be a greater number of people requiring complex clinical care including management of these chronic diseases along with HIV treatments with complicated antiretroviral regimens. The changing demographics of PLHIV require health systems to accommodate for the increased numbers of people with these complex healthcare requirements. Specialised and experienced clinicians are required to care for the needs of these patients but they are in relatively scarce supply [10]. Therefore, there is a need to plan for the health requirements of this important population, not only in magnitude but also according to demographic profiles, including specific geographical settings. By understanding the age structure of the population of PLHIV, necessary health care provisions can be made for those living with HIV ahead of time. Knowledge of the geographical distribution of people living with HIV can help us determine if the provisions made for PLHIV are appropriate for the area. Knowledge of both location and age of individuals allows for precise allocation of resources to maximise effective treatment and prevention on limited budgets.
HIV surveillance in Australia is based on routine case reporting of diagnoses of HIV being notified to local health authorities and then centrally collated at a national level. However, national registries do not monitor linkage into clinical care or other post HIV diagnosis events. Therefore, obtaining estimates of the profiles of populations of all PLHIV require mechanisms outside normal surveillance activities, such as the use of mathematical modelling.
While it can be helpful to discuss an epidemic in terms of averages and the largest affected population group, the finer elements of an epidemic need to be understood to fully grasp the nature of the epidemic and the most effective responses to it. In this study, we aim to project a detailed profile of the demographic characteristics of the population of PLHIV in Australia, based on Australia's National HIV Registry, migration patterns, geographical region-specific survival rates, and HIV/AIDS mortality ratios. These projections are carried out with the development of a detailed agent-based mathematical model. This approach has been applied in other settings, such as predictions of the HIV epidemic in Zimbabwe [11]. A previous model has produced estimations of the age of PLHIV in Australia who identify as MSM [12]. The current study advances previous work by utilising more sources of information, and incorporating greater demographic detail (such as geographical location and migration) to project several important characteristics about the future population of PLHIV in Australia.
Abstract.
Background.
Advances in HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) has reduced mortality in people living with HIV (PLHIV), resulting in an ageing population of PLHIV. Knowledge of demographic details such as age, geographical location and sex, will aid in the planning of training and resource allocation to effectively care for the future complex health needs of PLHIV.
Methods.
An agent-based, stochastic, geographical model was developed to determine the current and future demographic of PLHIV in Australia. Data and parameters were sourced from Australia's National HIV Registry and peer reviewed literature. Processes that were simulated include progression to AIDS, mortality and internal migration.
Findings.
The model estimates the mean age of PLHIV in Australia is increasing at a rate of 0.49 years each year. The expected proportion of PLHIV in over 55 years is estimated to increase from 25.3% in 2010 to 44.2% in 2020. Median age is lower in inner-city areas of the capital cities than in rural areas. The areas with the highest prevalence of HIV will continue to be capital cities; however, other areas will have greater percentage growth from 2010 to 2020.
Conclusions.
The age of the population of people living with HIV is expected to increase considerably in the future. As the population of PLHIV ages, specialist clinical training and resource provision in the aged care sector will also need to be addressed.
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.
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