Joey's War on HIV

Christmas Hard on Most PLWHA -Life N Loss,but Keep the Faith~

2008-12-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!So it has come upon us with alot of snow & cold tempsChristmas this yr. will be hard for me as i have lost mom,cory,dad,bro,gramps,aunt marg,rob woodbury,& many friends & aqaintences along my travels,& its at this time of yr when i seem to miss them the most.Christmas is NOT aboot getting presents & gifts.Its about Jesus Christ being born this day (born on a dif day)& christians are supposed to remember that he died for us.As adam brang death to men,so Jesus will bring Life to men,AMEN!!!I went to the x-mas meal at the salvation army,& met & said merry Christmas & thanks for all of his family's help.He smiled when i mentioned my mom,a good memory mayhap?I was in a good mood walkin down-i got to see a couple pf friends & wished them a happy x-mas.I thought i would cancel xmas as i have no where to go really.oh,we are going to go to the Toronto PHA Christmas Party & i am going to get my card to buy from cannibis clubs,&,May even get my legal med weed application filled~!To be able to be legal is something i have been working on for a very long time now!!!I also met Anne from Cameroon,& she seems like a very nice girl.K folks PEACE N LOVE NOT WARS N WALLS EH!!!

Raided By Police-Living in Fear Now+ Stress of Trial Comeing UP!

2008-09-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!So ya,"get out of this city"was the first thing my lawyer Mr Buttazoni told me after my aquittal on my Murder 2 Charges in 98.But,Stupid me don't listen!& last week i was raided & terrorized by sudbury's finest!Trashing my place after i showed them where everything i had was at is abuse of power.Telling me that i would get out on a form 19 was an outright lie,knew it wouldn't happen & i prayed that GOD could get me out somehow,as i hadn't had the chance to call a lawyer from the night before.duty council represented me & i managed to make bail on a 1,200 no deposit surety & my own signature.WOOT!WOOT!Being HIV+ & an epileptic that has been seizure free for 4 yrs now with the help of weed,i find it offencive that i am being treated like a criminal for useing something that makes my living standard alot better & more bearable.Helps to eat or i just wouldnt eat at all!helps me to relax,=less stress = long life!much stress=short life!SIMPLE enough eh folks?Goverment needs to make this legal & easier access to this as well for those of us that R sick n slowly living to the change,passing,doorway,tunnel or DEATH,as most folks say it.But its not a death at all,but a transition,a step up,closer to our GOD!GOD loves us all,& his will be done i pray this day eh!PEACE,LOVE &HAPPINESS FOLKS!!!

Rapeing Virgens Will NOT CURE ANYTHING!!!

2008-08-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Virgin cleansing—the belief that people who have a sexually transmitted disease can rid themselves of the condition by transferring the infective organism by having sexual intercourse with a virgin—has been discussed in The Lancet in relation to HIV/AIDS. The practice was first reported in the 16th century in relation to syphilis and gonorrhoea in Europe. Although the prevalence of virgin cleansing is unclear, accounts of the belief are reported from sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. We have identified a variation of this practice in our Global Survey on HIV/AIDS and Disability that warrants attention—“virgin rape” of individuals with disability, by people who believe themselves positive for HIV. Although the evidence for virgin rape of infants and young children has been debated, we have identified numerous reports of rape of individuals who are blind, deaf, physically impaired, intellectually disabled, or who have mental-health disabilities. The belief that sex with an individual who is disabled can rid one of a sexually transmitted disease is an old one. According to Smith, brothels in Victorian England were “stocked with intellectually disabled ‘virgins’ because it was believed that a syphilitic man could lose the infection by having sex with them”. Individuals with disability are presumably at risk both because they are, incorrectly, often assumed to be sexually inactive, hence virgins, and because they might be easy targets. Even before the advent of AIDS, women and men with disability suffered an equal, or up to three times greater, risk of rape by a stranger or acquaintance, than their non-disabled peers. Many individuals with disability are physically vulnerable. Some must relegate part or all of their care to attendants, family members, or others, or live in institutions; situations in which abuse is rife worldwide. Additionally some researchers argue that individuals with disability are often psychologically vulnerable. Nosek et al, for example, suggest that overprotection and internalised societal expectations make women with disability more vulnerable to psychological pressure for sex and intimacy. Womendez and Schneiderman note that young disabled individuals have few opportunities to learn to set boundaries for physical contact. Studies from the UK report that men with intellectual disabilities who live in the community are often pressured into having sex with non-disabled men whom they meet in public toilets; participating because they are lonely and anxious to please their new supposed friends. A variation of this practice has been reported by six women with disabilities from southern Europe and North America who responded to our survey with reports that they had slept with men from Africa and south Asia. These women believed they were in long-term relationships, but stated they later learned that the relationships had been started because their partners assumed them to be virgins, capable of ridding them of their infection. The men did not inform the women of their HIV status and abandoned them once these women began to show symptoms of infection with the virus. Individuals with disability are also at increased risk of virgin rape because of a lack of legal protection. Police, lawyers, judges, and even rape-crisis counsellors often have no knowledge of how to help people with a disability. Officials often dismiss individuals with disability who report rape, assuming them to be confused or victims of a misunderstanding. In many countries, people with disability are not allowed to submit police reports, take oaths, or give testimony in court. Police stations and courts are often inaccessible, lacking sign-language interpreters, ramps, and support systems for individuals with intellectual impairments or mental-health disabilities. Because of these barriers, reporting of sexual abuse by individuals with disability is infrequent, and perpetrators can expect to go unpunished. Low rates of reporting not only have legal implications but can mean that potential antiretroviral prophylaxis is not made available to disabled men and women. Although no epidemiological data are available, interviews with disability advocates and service providers, as well as a review of published reports, found reports of virgin rape of disabled individuals in association with HIV/AIDS in 14 of the 21 countries reviewed. Moreover, in 12 of those 14 countries, from sub-Saharan Africa, south and southeast Asia, North America, and Europe, more and more such rapes have been reported over the past 5 years. For example, the Downs Syndrome Association of South Africa reports this problem as now being a serious concern among the young people with whom they work. Additionally, field studies in conjunction with our survey elicited many personal accounts of this practice. A wheelchair user from southern Africa, for instance, reported being raped three times within a month by men in her neighbourhood who believed themselves HIV positive. The woman interviewed stated that several disabled women in her township had experienced similar assaults. Research is needed to ascertain how widespread the problem of virgin rape is among people with disabilities, and what legal, social, and medical interventions can be implemented. Training is needed for medical personnel, police, and judges to make them aware of the issue and more knowledgeable about how to serve individuals with disabilities. Educational campaigns are also needed to inform individuals with disabilities and their families about the risk, and to debunk the myth of virgin cleansing within the general population. Authors:1. Nora Ellen Groce 2. Reshma Trasi

while i sit & type-Legal WEED= no debt!=+healthcare & education for all!

2008-08-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!As i sit here typing i am also watching the olympic games,& wish that this spirit would be worldwide.Peoples gathering to be at their best,while the war's just continue with all their unrest,Y does man act this way?Money & greed the answer today,killing his brother come wat may,while the oil bubbles n spurts away,like so many soldiers killed today,how can we stop this madness U cry?IS IT ALL A BIG LIE?PEACE N LOVE THE ANSWER'S B,WILL WE STOP THIS INSANITY?TO love one another was the comand,that Jesus gave to all in the land,so WTF?Ya ok so this is my try at being a poet guy,while i sit & type all of this hype,death has come & gone,taken those to the beyound.All while i sit & type how many will die?will die tonight?Shitty buzz & this is not right!ok well practice safe sex fellow PHA warrior's!WEED needs to be legalized & taxed,monies going to healthcare ,education & defence offence & any other fence that needs fixin!

Brothers Still NOT talking,Missin Mom,Life Goes ON.

2008-07-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!so ya the weather this summer hasnt gone above 30c so far-July23 today,& we have got alot of rain!My A/C hasnt been on too much.Looks like i paid 40 bucks for naught.I miss mom,dad & cory & doug.Death is never easy to deal with.They should try & prepare u for that kind of event in your life.On & on a blog,never really knowing where its going to take me.\\\\\\\\\\\\\too a far-off p[lanet run by female warrior's!Or just a normal woman .Nways i am evertired & not making sence anymorezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,k folks PEACE,LOVE & HAPOPINESS TO YOU & yours eh!PEACE OUT!

KADR FACING JUSTICE?=TORTURE & REPEATEDLY INTEROGATED!!

2008-07-17T19:15:00.001-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!So ya we have gotten alot of rain & this has put behind the berry season by 2 weeks!tHE OTHER day My KADR is still awaiting trial & has been incarcerated for 6 yrs already!He was a young teen when he first arived at guantanamo,now he is a man.ME thinks MR HARPER has allowed this to go on for wat far too long!This KADR has recieved the SHIT end of the stick!Is this what we are fighting for?the freedom to be tortured,arrested & held without bail,or a trial!SHAME ON THE USA FOR THIS & MANY OTHER TERRORISTS ACTS!THE US HAS BECOME WHAT THEY FIGHT-TERRORISTS!\aSK ANY Iraqi person that has lost a son,home,everything what do they think of the USA now?The look upon the USA as occupyers,holding the Iraqi peoples under thumb n fist!watever happened to all the rebuilding efforts & the billions sent for that>?k folks ttyl,GODBLESS U ALL & KEEP SAFE N GO WITH GOD!!!!

OAN LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM for PHA's in ONT. Facing CUTS!!!

2008-05-23T01:04:00.005-07:00

So ya we must not allow the HARPER GOV to proceed with his proposed funding cuts to Aids Service org. Across Canada!Break your silence now!Create your Front Lines of ATTACK on HIV-AIDs TODAY,BY BLOGS,VLOGS,& VIDEO'S 2!OR START A DAILY DIARY TELLING FOLKS WHAT ITS LIKE TO LIVE WITH THIS VIRUS ON A DAILY BASIS~!!!

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!SO START YOUR ATTACKS TODAY WITH BLOGS-VLOGS-VIDEO'S-WEBPAGES-WEBSITES-PICTURES-POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS -SCREAM N YELL IF U HAVE TO!!!BUT GET THE WORD OUT TO GET TESTED FOR STD'S TODAY!!!KNOW YOUR STATUS!!!!

Att:ALL PHA'S ,START YOUR ATTACK TODAY!!!

2008-05-23T01:04:00.004-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Create your "front line of attack"on HIV-AIDs by starting websites,joining public sites such as facebook,blogging at blogger,& theres many other great sites for HIV+ peoples such as HIVTRIBE.COM .Tribe is a group of stuff like depression,addiction,& welcomes all who suffer from any of the aforementioned symptoms.My son is heartbroken as his GF left him & got preggers with his bud.Kinda makes me worry as i have been there before & know how it feels i am hoping he wont turn to the same shit i did to escape reality.I spent too long in the world of addiction,& dont want to go back to that ever again thanks!So today is overcast yet again,with only 1 day this week rising above 20c !Been a cool spring i would say.It certanly was one of the harshest winters i can remember in awhile.Well thats all for today except that i miss my family alot.i bid thee farewell & GODBLESS U & Keep U safe in your Journey's folks!!!

Att:ALL PHA'S ,START YOUR ATTACK TODAY!!!

2008-05-23T01:04:00.003-07:00

O.A.N. Leadership Training Right Direction -PHA's

2008-05-23T01:04:00.002-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Talking about Ontario Aids Network's Leadership training Program-Steps in Right Direction=PHA's Say!!!
I AM REPUBLISHING THIS BECAUSE THE OAN NEEDS YOUR HELP IN THEIR MAILING CAMPAIGNE-GET INVOLVED TODAY!ANY & ALL DONATIONS TO THE ONTARIO AIDS NETWORK or ANY AIDS SERVICE ORG IS GREATLY APRECIATED & NEEDED BADLY!!!THOMAS EGDORF REMAINS TO BE MY HERO-HIS SELFLESSNESS & CONCERN FOR PHA'S in ONT REMAINED UNDEMINISHED-PLEASE HELP TOM TO HELP US HIV+ HUMAN BEINGS LEARN & GROW!JAMES JC GOUGH,SUDBURY ONT CANADA pha hiv-aids EDUCATION & awareness Speaker for Access Aids Sudbury!

Wat to do if your DR WILL NOT SIGN yer Medical Weed Card!!!!

2008-05-23T01:04:00.001-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!PLEASE FORWARD:http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/no-doctors.htmlWhat to do when your doctor won't sign your Health Canada medical cannabisaccess formsDon't have the physician support you need to be legal?Lawyer Paul Lewin in Toronto is now looking for individuals in Canada who'sdoctors won't sign their Health Canada government access forms for themedical cannabis access program. He wants to hear from you today!Please contact:Lawyer Paul Lewin:Phone: 416-499-7945Fax: 416-756-3663Email: paullewin@on.aibn.comLINK:http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/no-doctors.html

Ontario Aids Networks Leadership Training Program a Success=PHA's STATE!

2008-05-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!The O.A.N. Leadership Training Program is a step in the right direction for PHA's & has done alot of good for alot of peoples.We keep seeing the dividends within our communities.As PHA's R all over the country & r in many area's where there is no service org. to help those with HIV-AIDs.This Leadership Training Program teaches many aspects of becoming a better person & thereby a better leader.You learn to expand your horizens to beyound what U R used to .Thomas Egdorf & ED ? have done such a great job!I think their program should be expanded all across canada to empower even more PHA's to become Leaders within their own communitys ,many start support groups ,meetings,fundraising events & the list goes on & keepos getting bigger!Funding needs to be increased for this program so it can keep doing the great work it has started.james jc gough,sudbury ont can

Motreal Research Conf OK-Beautifull City=Basilica du Notre Dame is Breathtaking!

2008-05-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!So ya i am just back from this conf.& i did find the woman of my dreams but i didnt get her email or anything else as i was too nervous & not confident enbough yet.Being poz isnt the hard part=its the other peoples reactions to you thats the hardest part to deal with.Most will apoligize & say they have to do one thing or another-then theres a few that want to be infected=bug chasers & gift givers!Now i hear theres even parties in the USA called poz party's,where NO condoms R worn & HIV is given out for free!Crazy world we live in eh folks?I just found out that a young girl is HIV poz & she doesnt know what to do =except more drugs!I asked if she wanted me to go with her to access aids \& she said sure so i will bring her in next week,as its friday tomorrow!I am still missing my mom.STILL NOT EXACTLY SURE WHATS HAPPENING WITH THE FUNERAL COST.LEADERSHIP TRAINING BY TOMAS EGDORF & ED IS A GREAT PROGRAM.I ADVISE ALL PHA\S TO ASK ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AT THEIR LOCAL ASO\S,asap!PEACE,LOVE & HAPPINESS TO YOU ALL. PS.IF YOUR A SINGLE FEMALE TIRED OF THE SAME OLD GUYS WELL EMAIL ME AS I AM VERY DIFFERENT FROM OTHER MEN.i Am HIV+ but am in great health!Have a great day eh!

Has a CURE 4 hiv ALREADY BEEN FOUND?YES according to this paper!!!

2008-02-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!

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US Patents for HIV AIDS and Patent for CURE
by Daniel J Towsey Saturday, Feb. 02, 2008 at 3:11 AM

Here it is the proof... along with this there is thirty years of documentation of the developement and distribution of AIDS as will as who worked on the project..just google the patents...

Below you will find the US Patents for HIV AIDS [1984] AND The Patent for the Cure [1997]
-----------------------------------------------------
The U.S. Cure for AIDS-Patent 5676977(Tetrasil/Imusil)

By Boyd E. Graves

The U.S. Cure for AIDS-Patent # 5676977 (Tetrasil/Imusil)

Keywords: News, elsewhere,

The U.S. Cure for AIDS-Patent # 5676977 (Tetrasil/Imusil) Date : Mon, 29 Jul 2002 21:27:06 -0700 (PDT)

United States Patent 5,676,977 Antelman October 14, 1997

Method of curing AIDS with tetrasilver tetroxide molecular crystal devices Abstract The diamagnetic semiconducting molecular crystal tetrasilver tetroxide (Ag.sub.4 O.sub.4) is utilized for destroying the AIDS virus, destroying AIDS synergistic pathogens and immunity suppressing moieties (ISM) in humans. A single intravenous injection of the devices is all that is required for efficacy at levels of about 40 PPM of human blood. The device molecular crystal contains two mono and two trivalent silver ions capable of "firing" electrons capable of electrocuting the AIDS virus, pathogens and ISM. When administered into the bloodstream, the device electrons will be triggered by pathogens, a proliferating virus and ISM, and when fired will simultaneously trigger a redox chelation mechanism resulting in divalent silver moieties which chelate and bind active sites of the entities destroying them. The devices are completely non-toxic. However, they put stress on the liver causing hepatomegaly, but there is no loss of liver function. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inventors: Antelman; Marvin S. (Rehovot, IL) Assignee: Antelman Technologies Ltd. (Providence, RI) Appl. No.: 658955 Filed: May 31, 1996 Boyd E. Graves, J.D. US Supreme Court Case No. 00-9587 http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/00-9587.htm Cell - 619-204-5683 Fax - 785-263-1568 Email - boyded2002@yahoo.com Web - http://www.boydgraves.com http://www.boydgraves.com
By Boyd E. Graves boyded@yahoo.com Fax - 785-263-1568

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Browse by: INVENTOR PATENT HOLDER PATENT NUMBER DATE

Method of continuous production of retroviruses (HTLV-III) from patients with AIDS and pre-AIDS
4647773 Method of continuous production of retroviruses (HTLV-III) from patients with AIDS and pre-AIDS

Inventor: Gallo, et al.
Date Issued: March 3, 1987
Application: 06/602,946
Filed: April 23, 1984
Inventors: Gallo; Robert C. (Bethesda, MD)
Popovic; Mikulas (Bethesda, MD)

Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health (Washington, DC)
Primary Examiner: Warren; Charles F.
Assistant Examiner: Tarcza; John Edward
Attorney Or Agent: Roberts, Jr.; John S.
U.S. Class: 424/208.1; 435/235.1; 435/239; 435/372.3; 435/948
Field Of Search: 435/235; 435/239; 435/240; 435/948; 435/5; 435/29; 424/89; 128/1T
International Class:
U.S Patent Documents: 4464465; 4520113
Foreign Patent Documents:
Other References: Popovic et al, Science, 224(4648):497-500, May 4, 1984..
Gallo et al, "Isolation of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)", Science, 220, pp. 865-867 (5-1983)..
Barre-Sinoussi et al, "Isolation of a T-Lymphotropic Retrovirus from a Patient at Risk for AIDS", Science, 220, pp. 868-871 (5-1983)..
Marx, "Strong New Candidate for AIDS Agent", Science, 224, pp. 475-477 (5-1984)..

Abstract: A cell system is disclosed for the reproducible detection and isolation of human T-lymphotropic retroviruses (HTLV-family) with cytopathic effects (HTLV-III) from patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), pre-AIDS and in healthy carriers. One neoplastic aneuploid T-cell line derived from an adult with lymphoid leukemia, and termed HT, was susceptible to infection with the new variants of HTLV, which are transformed and providing T-cell populations which are highly susceptible and permissive from HTLV-III, and convenience for large scale production, isolation and biological detection of the virus.
Claim: We claim:

1. A method for continuous production of HTLV-III virus which comprises infecting in cell culture highly susceptible, permissive cells consisting of a neoplastic aneuploid HT-cell linewith said virus, said cells preserve the capacity for permanent growth after the infection with said virus, growing said cells under conditions suitable for cell growth and recovering said virus produced by said cells.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said virus consists of cytopathic variants of HTLV.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said infecting comprises cocultivating said virus with said cells to produce a cell line and recovering said cell line.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said infecting comprises cell-free infection of said cells with said virus.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said cells are neoplastic aneuploid T-cells derived from an adult with lymphoid leukemia.

6. A process for the continuous production of HTLV-III virus which comprises cocultivating said virus with a target HT-cell to produce an infected cell line, growing said cell line and recovering said virus from supernatants produced by saidcell line.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein said target T-cell is a neoplastic aneuploid T-cell susceptible to infection with HTLV-III.

8. A process for the continual production of HTLV-III by infecting T-cells in cultures which comprises cocultivating HTLV-III virus with an HT-clone to produce an infected cell line, said clone being an aneuploid T-cell line derived fromlymphoid leukemia, growing said cell line and recovering said virus from supernatants produced by said cell line.

9. The process in claim 8 wherein said clone is a mature T-cell phenotype of OKT3.sup.+ (62%), OKT4.sup.+ (39%) and OKT8.sup.-.

10. A method of producing a cell line containing an antigen of HTLV-III which comprises infecting an HT-cell line derived from lymphoid leukemia and susceptible to infection with HTLV-III, said cell line is capable of continuous large-scaleproduction of HTLV-III, and growing the infected cell line under conditions suitable for growth.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said cell line is a neoplastic aneuploid T-cell line.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein said HTLV-III are variants of human T-lymphotropic retrovirus, exhibit cytopathic effects and are non-transforming.

13. A cell line containing HTLV-III designated H9/HTLV-III.sub.B, ATCC Accession CRL 8543.

14. A process for producing a cell line H9/HTLV-III.sub.B which comprises infecting a target T-cell with HTLV-III virus to produce a cell line and recovering same, said infecting process overcomes the normal cytopathic effect of HTLV-III andpreserves the immortal growth capacity of the target cell.

15. An HT cell line permanently infected with HTLV-III virus, wherein said cell line continually produces said virus.
Description: The present invention describes a cell system for the reproducibledetection and isolation of human T-lymphotropic retroviruses (HTLV-family) with cytopathic or cell killing effects (HTLV-III) from patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), pre-AIDS and in healthy carriers. One neoplastic aneuploidT-cell line derived from an adult with lymphoid leukemia, and termed HT, was susceptible to infection with the new variants of HTLV, providing T-cell populations which are highly susceptible and permissive for HTLV-III, and convenience for large scaleproduction, isolation, and biological detection of the virus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The disclosure of this invention is contained in the following journal articles: Gallo et al., "Detection, Isolation, and Continuous Production of Cytopathic Human T-Lymphotropic Retroviruses (HTLV-III) from Patients with AIDS and pre-AIDS,"Science, in press; and Gallo et al., "Human T-Lymphotropic Retrovirus, HTLV-III, Isolated from AIDS Patients and Donors at Risk for AIDS," in press.

Epidemiologic data strongly suggest that acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by an infectious agent which is apparently horizontally transmitted by intimate contact or blood products. Though the disease is manifested byopportunistic infections, predominantly Pneumocystis carcinii pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma, the underlying disorder affects the patient's cell-mediated immunity with absolute lymphopenia and reduced helper T-lymphocyte (OKT4.sup.+) subpopulation(s). Moreover, before a complete clinical manifestation of the disease occurs, its prodrome, pre-AIDS, is frequently characterized by unexplained chronical lymphadenopathy and/or leukopenia involving a helper T cell subset. This leads to the severe immunedeficiency of the patient, suggesting that a specific subset of T-cells is the primary target for an infectious agent. Although patients with AIDS or pre-AIDS are often chronically infected with cytomegalovirus or hepatitis B virus, for various reasonsthese appear to be opportunistic or coincidental infections apparently not linked to the immunological response deficiency. It is believed that the cause of AIDS may be a virus from the family of human T-cell lymphotropic retroviruses (HTLV) which,prior to the present invention, comprised two major well characterized subgroups of human retroviruses, called human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma viruses, HTLV-I and HTLV-II. The most common isolate, HTLV-I, is mainly obtained from patients with matureT-cell malignancies. Seroepidemiological studies, in vitro biological effects, and nucleic acid hybridization data indicate that HTLV-I is etiologically associated with these malignancies, affecting adults primarily in the south of Japan, the Caribbeanand Africa. HTLV of subgroup II (HTLV-II) was first isolated from a patient with a T-cell variant of hairy cell leukemia. To date, this is the only reported isolate of HTLV-II from a patient with a neoplastic disease. Virus isolation andseroepidemiological data show that HTLV of both subgroups can sometimes be found in patients with AIDS.

Evidence suggests that the retrovirus(es) of the HTLV family is an etiological agent of AIDS based on the following: (1) there is precedence for an animal retrovirus cause of immune deficiency (feline leukemia virus in cats); (2) retroviruses ofthe HTLV family are T-cell tropic; (3) they preferentially infect "helper" T-cells (OKT4.sup.+); (4) they have cytopathic effects on various human and mammalian cells as demonstrated by their induction of cell syncytia formation; (5) they can alter someT-cell functions; (6) in some cases infection may result in selective T-cell killing; and (7) they are transmitted by intimate contact or through blood products. The presence of antibodies directed to cell membrane antigens of HTLV infected cells hasbeen shown in sera of more than 40% of patients with AIDS [Essex et al., Science, 220:859 (1983)]. This antigen has since been defined as part of the envelope of HTLV [Schupbach, et al., Science, in press; and Lee, et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., in press].

The original detection and isolation of the various HTLV isolates were made possible by two earlier developments: the discovery of T-cell growth factor (TCGF), also called Interleukin 2 (Il-2), which enabled the routine selective growth ofdifferent subsets of normal and neoplastic mature T-cells [Ruscetti, et al., J. Immunol., 119:131 (1977); and Poiesz, et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A, 77:6134 (1980)] and the development of sensitive assays for detection of retroviruses based onreverse transcriptase assays. The methods of HTLV isolation and transmission involved a cocultivation procedure using permissive T-cells for the virus. The use of normal human T-cells in cocultivation experiments preferentially yielded HTLV of bothsubgroups with immortalizing (transforming) capability for some of the target T-cells.

However, HTLV variants (now termed HTLV-III), lack immortalizing properties for normal T-cells and mainly exhibit cytopathic effects on the T-cells and is now believed to be the cause of AIDS. In fact, such variants were frequently but onlytransiently detected using these normal T-cells as targets in cocultivation or cell-free transmission experiments. The cytopathic effect was overcome by finding a highly susceptible, permissive cell for cytopathic variants of HTLV, thus preserving thecapacity for permanent growth after infection with the virus. The present invention discloses the identification and characterization of this new immortalized T-cell population and its use in the isolation and continuous high- level production of suchviruses from patients with AIDS and pre-AIDS.

Early experiments identified one neoplastic aneuploid T-cell line, termed HT, derived from an adult with lymphoid leukemia, that was susceptible to infection with the new cytopathic virus isolates.

This cell line is a sensitive target for transmission of these virus isolates (HTLV-III) and it allows continuous large-scale virus production and development of specific immunologic reagents and nucleic acid probes useful for comparison of thesenew isolates among themselves and with HTLV-I and HTLV-II. In addition to their differences in biological effects that distinguish them from HTLV-I and HTLV-II, HTLV-III also differs from these known HTLV subgroups in several immunological assays and inmorphology. However, these new retroviruses are T4 lymphotropic and exhibit many properties similar to HTLV-I and II, including similar properties of the reverse transcriptase, cross reactivity of structural proteins as determined by heterologouscompetition radioimmune assays with patients' sera and with animal hyperimmune sera, and induction of syncytia. These new retrovirus isolates are collectively designated HTLV-III, together with detectable differences in some of their proteins andgenetic information, HTLV-III's ability to kill T-cells clearly separates these variants from other members of the HTLV family.

STATEMENT OF DEPOSIT

A cell line corresponding to the present invention, and denoted H9/HTLV-III.sub.B, has been deposited in the ATCC (under ATCC No. CRL 8543) on April 19, 1984, prior to the filing of this patent application. This deposit assures permanence of thedeposit and ready accessibility thereto by the public. H9 is a representative and preferred cell line in accordance with the invention.

UTILITY STATEMENT

The cell line which is a product of the present invention (H9/HTLV-III.sub.B) is presently useful for the production of vaccines for the relief of AIDS and for the detection of antibodies to the virus in blood samples.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

A susceptible cell line HT was tested for HTLV before in vitro infection and it was negative by all criteria, including lack of proviral sequences. Continuous production of HTLV-III is obtained after repeated exposure of parental HT cells(3.times.10.sup.6 cells pretreated with polybrene) to concentrated culture fluids containing HTLV-III harvested from short term cultured T-cells (grown with TCGF) which originated from patients with pre-AIDS or AIDS. The concentrated fluids were firstshown to contain particle associated reverse transcriptase (RT). When cell proliferation declined, usually 10 to 20 days after exposure to the culture fluids, the fresh (uninfected) HT parental cells are added to cultures. Culture fluids from theinfected parental cell line was positive for particulate RT activity and about 20% of the infected cell population was positive in an indirect immune fluorescent assay (IFA) using serum from a hemophilia patient with pre-AIDS (patient E.T.). Serum fromE.T. also contained antibodies to proteins of disrupted HTLV-III but did not react with proteins of HTLV-I or HTLV-II infected cells.

SPECIFIC DISCLOSURE

As has been mentioned above, an aneuploid HT-cell line exhibited the desired prerequisites for the continuous propagation of HTLV-III. This cell line is a neoplastic aneuploid T-cell line derived from an adult patient with lymphoid leukemia,selected for its mature T-cell phenotype [OKT3.sup.+ (62%), OKT.sup.4 + (39%) and OKT8.sup.- ], as determined by cytofluorometry using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. Cultures of these cells are routinely maintained in RPMI/1640 with 20% fetalcalf serum and antibiotics. These cultures are shown in Example 1, Table 1. Clone H9 is preferred, with Clone H4 being secondarily preferred.

HTLV-III culture fluids are isolated from cultured cells of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Peripheral blood leukocytes from these patients are banded in Ficoll-Hypaque, incubated in growth media (RPMI 1640, 20% fetalbovine serum 0.29 mg/ml glutamine) containing 5 .mu.g/ml phytohemagglutinin (PHA-P) for 48 hours, at 37.degree. C. in a 5% CO.sub.2 atmosphere. The leukocytes are then refed with growth medium containing 10% purified T cell growth factor (TCGF);optionally, some of the cells also received rabbit antibody to alpha interferon. Cells and growth media from these lymphocytes are then assayed for the presence of HTLV subgroups I-III. Samples exhibiting more than one of the following were consideredpositive: repeated detection of a Mg.sup.++ dependent reverse transcriptase activity in supernatant fluids; virus observed by electron microscopy; intracellular expression of virus-related antigens detected with antibodies from sero-positive donors orwith hyperimmune serum; or transmission of particles, detected by reverse transcriptase assays or by electron microscopic observation, to fresh human cord blood, bone marrow, or peripheral blood T-lymphocytes. All isolates not classified as eitherHTLV-I or HTLV-II by immunological or nucleic acid analysis were classified as HTLV-III. The cells in the HTLV-III producing cell cultures, characterized using established immunological procedures, are predominantly T-lymphocytes (E rosette receptor,OKT/3 and Leu/1 positive, with a T4 phenotype (OKT4, leu 3a positive). This process is also described by Gallo, et al., in Science, 220:865-867 (1983).

The infection of parental HT cells as well as other cloned cell populations occurs by exposure of these cells to concentrated or nonconcentrated culture fluids (cell-free infection) from T-cell cultures from AIDS or pre-AIDS patients, or bycocultivation; that is, HT cells are infected by exposure to HTLV-III containing cultures. The usual cell-free infection procedure is as follows: 2 to 5.times.10.sup.6 cells are treated with polybrene (2 .mu.g/ml) or DEAE dextran for 30 minutes inCO.sub.2 incubator at 37.degree. C., and then exposed to the virus inoculum (0.1 to 1 ml) for one hour in the incubator (CO.sub.2 /37.degree. C.). The cells are kept in suspension by shaking at regular intervals. After one hour of incubation aregular growth medium is added. The positivity of infected cultures for HTLV-III is assessed after one, two, and three weeks of cultivation.

The infection of HT cells (clones) is also obtained by cocultivation procedure--HT cells are mixed in various proportions (usually 1:5) with short- term cultured T-cells (about 5 to 20 days) from AIDS or pre-AIDS patients. The positivity forHTLV-III was scored by the detection of viral antigens or viral nucleic acid sequences in the infected recipient cells at various intervals (7, 14, 21 days, etc.) after cocultivation. The mixed cultures are maintained in growth medium for severalmonths.

EXAMPLE 1

As shown in Table 1 below, single cell HT clones were isolated as described by Popovic, et al., in Neoplasma, 18:257 (1971), and Bach, et al., Immunol. Rev., 54:5 (1981) from a long-term cultured aneuploid HT-cell line exhibiting mature T-cellphenotype (OKT3.sup.+ [62%], OKT4.sup.+ [39%] and OKT8.sup.-) as determined by cytofluorometry using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The cultures were routinely maintained in RPMI/1640 with 20% fetal calf serum and antibiotics. The terminal celldensity of the parental cell culture, seeded at a concentration of 2.times.10.sup.5 cells/milliliter of culture media, was in the range 10.sup.6 -1.5.times.10.sup.6 cells/ml after 5 days of culture.

For detection of multinucleated cells, cell smears were prepared from cultures 6 and 14 days after infection and stained with Wright-Giemsa. Cells having more than 5 nuclei were considered as multi-nucleated cells. Cloned cells from uninfectedcultures also contained some multi-nucleated giant cells as well; however, the arrangement of multiple nuclei in a characteristic ring formation was lacking and the number of these cells was much less (0.7% to 10%).

Immunofluorescence positive cells were washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and resuspended in the same buffer at concentration 10.sup.6 cells per milliliter. Approximately 50 .lambda. of cell suspension were spotted on slides, airdried, and fixed in acetone for 10 min. at room temperature. Slides were stored at -20.degree. C. until use. Twenty microliters of either hyperimmune rabbit antiserum to HTLV-III (diluted 1/2000 in PBS) or serum from the patient (E.T.) diluted 1/8 inPBS was applied to cells and incubated for 50 min. at 37.degree. C. The fluorescein-conjugated antiserum to rabbit or human immunogloblin G was diluted and applied to the fixed cells for 30 min. at room temperature. Slides then were washed extensivelybefore microscopic examinations. The uninfected parental cell line as well as the clones were consistently negative in these assays.

To determine reverse transcriptase activity, virus particles were precipitated from cell-free supernatant as follows: 0.4 ml of 4M NaCl and 3.6 ml of 30% (wt/vol.) polyethylene glycol (Carbowax 6000) were added to 8 ml of harvested culture fluidsand the suspension was placed on ice overnight. The suspension was centrifuged in a Sorvall RC-3 centrifuge at 2000 rpm at 4.degree. C. for 30 min. The precipitate was resuspended in 300 .mu.l at 50% (vol/vol) glycerol (25 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5/5 mMdithiothreitol/150 mM KCl/0.025% Triton X-100. Particles were disrupted by addition of 100 .mu.l of 0.9% Triton X-100/1.5M KCl. Reverse transcriptase (RT) assays were performed as described by Poiesz, et al., Proc Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 77:7415(1980) and expressed in cpm per milliliter culture medium.

TABLE 1 __________________________________________________________________________ Response of Cloned T-Cell Populations to HTLV-III Infection Clones Characteristics H3 H4 H6 H9 H17 H31 H35 H38 __________________________________________________________________________ Total cell number (.times. 10.sup.6) 6 days after infection 1 1.5 1.5 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.5 1.8 14 days after infection 2.2 7.3 7.5 10.0 4.7 5.0 4.5 3.2 Multinucleatedcells (%) 6 days after infection 24 42 32 7 13 14 30 45 14 days after infection 45 48 45 30 22 45 60 60 Immunofluorescence positive cells (%) 6 days after infection Rabbit antiserum to HTLV-III 55 56 32 32 39 21 10 87 Patient serum (E.T.) 56 2921 ND ND ND ND 73 14 days after infection Rabbit antiserum to HTLV-III 50 74 60 97 71 40 20 80 Patient serum 45 47 56 78 61 43 22 89 Reverse transcriptase activity (.times. 10.sup.4 cpm/ml) 6 days after infection 2.4 1.8 2.1 4.1 2.6 1.4 1.7 2.5 14 days after infection 16.2 18.1 16.1 20.2 17.1 13.4 15.1 18.2 __________________________________________________________________________ ND = not done

EXAMPLE 2

As shown in Table 2 below, cocultivation with H4 recipient T-cell clone was performed with fresh mononuclear cells from peripheral blood of patients RF and SN, respectively. In the case of patients BK and LS cocultivation was performed withT-cells grown in the presence of exogenous TCGF (10% V/V) for 10 days. The ratio recipient/donor (patients') cells was 1:5. The mixed cultures were maintained in RPMI/1640 (20% FCS and antibiotics) in the absence of exogenous TCGF. Cell-free infectionof H9 T-cell clone was performed using concentrated culture fluids harvested from T-cell cultures of the patient WT. The T-cell cultures were grown in the presence of exogenous TCGF for two weeks before the culture fluids were harvested and concentrated. Cells of H9 clones were pretreated with polybrene (2 .mu.g/ml) for 20 min. and 2.times.10.sup.6 cells were exposed for one hr. to 0.5 ml of 100-fold concentrated culture fluids positive for particulate RT activity.

HTLV-III virus expression in both cocultured and cell-free infected cell cultures were assayed approximately one month after in vitro cultivation. There was considerable fluctuation in HTLV-III expression (see Table 2). For details of bothreverse transcriptase (RT) assays and indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFA) see Example 1.

TABLE 2 __________________________________________________________________________ Isolation of HTLV-III from Patients with Pre-AIDS and AIDS Virus Expression IFA with RT Activity Rabbit Serum Human Serum (ET) Patient Diagnosis Origin (.times. 10 cpm) (% Positive) (% Positive) EM __________________________________________________________________________ RF AIDS Haiti 0.25 80 33 ND (heterosexual) SN Hemophiliac U.S. 6.3 10 ND + (lymphadenopathy) BK AIDS U.S. 0.24 44 5 + (homosexual) LS AIDS U.S. 0.13 64 19 + (homosexual) WT Hemophiliac U.S. 3.2 69 ND ND (lymphadenopathy) __________________________________________________________________________ RT = reverse transcriptase IFA = immunofluorescence assays EM =electron microscopy ND = not done

EXAMPLE 3

To select for high permissiveness for HTLV-III and to preserve permanent growth and continuous production of virus, extensive cloning of the HT parental T-cell population was performed. A total of 51 single-cell clones was obtained by bothcapillary and limited dilution techniques using irradiated mononuclear cells from peripheral blood of a healthy donor as a feeder. The growth of these cell clones was compared after HTLV-III infection. A representative example of response to virusinfection of 8 T-cell clones which are susceptible to and permissive for HTLV-III is shown in Table 1. In parallel experiments, 2.times.10.sup.6 cells of each T-cell clone were exposed to 0.1 ml of concentrated virus. Then cell growth and morphology,expression of cellular viral antigen(s), and RT activity in culture fluids were assessed 6 and 14 days after infection. Although all 8 clones were susceptible to and permissive for the virus, there were considerable differences in their ability toproliferate after infection. The cell number decreased by 10% to 90% from the initial cell count within 6 days after infection, and a high proportion of multinucleated (giant) cells were consistently found in all 8 infected clones. The percentage ofT-cells positive for viral antigen(s) determined by immunofluorescent assays with serum from AIDS patient (E.T.) and with hyperimmune rabbit serum raised against the whole disrupted HTLV-III ranged from 10% to over 80%. Fourteen days after infection,the total cell number and the proportion of HTLV-III positive cells increased in all 8 clones. The virus positive cultures consistently showed round giant cells which contained numerous nuclei. These multinucleataed giant cells are similar to thoseinduced by HTLV-I and HTLV-II except that the nuclei exhibit a characteristic ring formation. Electron microscopic examinations showed that the cells released considerable amounts of virus.

EXAMPLE 4

To determine whether HTLV-III is continuously produced by the infected T-cells in long-term cultures, both virus production and cell viability of the infected clone, H4, were followed for several months. Although the virus production fluctuated,culture fluids harvested from the H4/HTLV-III cell cultures at approximately 14-day intervals consistently exhibited particulate RT activity which has been followed for over 5 months. The viability of the cells ranged from 65% to 85% and doubling timeof the cell population, which is called H4/HTLV-III, was approximately 30-40 hours. Thus, this permanently growing T-cell population can continuously produce HTLV-III.

The yield of virus produced by H4/HTLV-III cells was assessed by purification of concentrated culture fluids through a sucrose density gradient and assays of particulate RT activity in each fraction collected from the gradient. The highest RTactivity was found at density 1.16 g/ml, similar to other retroviruses.

* * * * *

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HIV-AIDS Education & Awareness Talk -Was All Over The Place-=Not Good!

2008-01-31T17:24:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!OF course i am disappointed in myself as i was all over the place -seems i jump from memory to memory-not explaining stuff the right way -I have so many stories that its often hard to know what ones u should or shouldnt talk about-memories just come into my mind so i share that one-then the next ect...I must learn to get it in order-of course it depends on who your audience is made up of...some stories u cant tell...Nways my moms tumor is back-its small though-but it means alot of shit is gonna happen in the next little while.I pray to Jehova GOD & His Son Jesus Christ.My faith & hope R with them & is well placed~~!!PEACE N LOVE NOT WARS N WALLS EH FOLKS!~~

COURT STRIKES DOWN REG ON POT GROWERS-ABOOT TIME EH FOLKS?

2008-01-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!strikes down regulation limiting growers of medical marijuana
Last Updated: Friday, January 11, 2008 | 12:45 AM ET
CBC News
Canadians who are prescribed marijuana to treat their illnesses will no longer be forced to rely on the federal government as a supplier following a Federal Court ruling that struck down a key restriction in Ottawa's controversial medical marijuana program.

The decision by Judge Barry Strayer, released late Thursday, essentially grants medical marijuana users more freedom in picking their own grower and allows growers to supply the drug to more than one patient.

It's also another blow to the federal government, whose attempts to tightly control access to medical marijuana have prompted numerous court challenges.

Currently, medical users can grow their own pot but growers can't supply the drug to more than one user at a time.

Lawyers for medical users argued that restriction effectively established Health Canada as the country's sole legal provider of medical marijuana.

They also said the restriction was unfair, and that it prevented seriously ill Canadians from obtaining the drug they needed to treat their debilitating illnesses.

In his decision, Strayer called the provision unconstitutional and arbitrary, as it "caused individuals a major difficulty with access…"

Ottawa must also reconsider requests made by a group of medical users who brought the matter to court to have a single outside supplier as their designated producer, Strayer said in his 23-page decision.

While the government has argued that medical users who can't grow their own marijuana can obtain it from its contract manufacturer, fewer than 20 per cent of patients actually use the government's supply, Strayer wrote.

"In my view it is not tenable for the government, consistently with the right established in other courts for qualified medical users to have reasonable access to marijuana, to force them either to buy from the government contractor, grow their own or be limited to the unnecessarily restrictive system of designated producers," he wrote.

Ron Marzel, a Toronto lawyer representing the group of medical users who brought the matter before the Federal Court, called the decision a "great remedy" for his clients.

"All this means is that the limit — the one-to-one ratio — it's the last nail in the coffin for that ratio," he said in an interview.

"The court has said, 'Look, unequivocally, this is unconstitutional, it's arbitrary. All the reasons you've provided us with so far for this one-to-one ratio, they don't pass muster. We don't buy it, we don't accept it."'

The provision had been struck down by the courts before, but was reinstated by the government who contracted Prairie Plant Systems Inc. in Flin Flon, Man., to provide the drug to patients

HIV DEPENDS ON HUMAN GENES=WEAKNESS-SCIENTISTS SAY!

2008-01-11T15:20:00.001-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!HIV's Dependence on Human Genes May Be Weakness, Scientists Say

By John Lauerman

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, depends on more than 250 human genes to grow, a finding that reveals the lethal virus's weakness and may lead to new ways to attack it, scientists said.

By blocking genes in infected cells, scientists tied the virus's survival to processes of protein transport, entry to the nucleus, and cellular self-destruction, Harvard University scientists said in a study released today by the journal Science.

With just nine genes that make 15 proteins, HIV must assume control of the protein-making machinery of infected cells to reproduce itself. Drugs that stop cells from cooperating with the lethal virus might be valuable alternatives to those that attack the ever-changing virus directly, said David Baltimore, a California Institute of Technology biologist and HIV researcher.

``This provides a very important class of leads for the synthesis of new drugs that can prevent HIV growth,'' said Baltimore, who wasn't involved in the study, in a telephone interview Jan. 9. ``The nice thing is that these cellular targets mutate at a much slower rate than viral targets, so resistance is less likely to arise.''

HIV attaches itself to proteins on the surfaces of immune cells, enters them, and hijacks their protein-making machinery to produce more viruses. In the process, it destroys the body's defenses, leaving patients vulnerable to infections, such a tuberculosis and cancer.

To be successful, it must commandeer the services of a wide variety of cellular genes, said Stephen Elledge, a Harvard Medical School geneticist who helped write the study.

``It's as if a small terrorist group attacks a town with a tank, and then converts the town into a tank factory,'' Elledge said in a telephone interview. ``They would have to take over the existing infrastructure to get these things replicated.''

Gene-Blockers

He and Abraham Brass, another Harvard geneticist, used gene- blocking technology called RNA interference to see which cellular functions are most important in the viral attack. After screening about 21,000 genes this way, the researchers found clues as to how the virus takes over transport within the cell and gains entry to the DNA stronghold in the nucleus.

The virus also requires the services of genes that make a variety of proteins on the cell surface that weren't known to be involved in infection, Elledge said. Genes involved in a cellular self-disposal process, called autophagy, were also used by HIV. Blocking or inhibiting any of these may offer better ways to treat the disease.

While some of these genes and proteins may be too important to cell survival to be blocked or altered, others may be targets for drugs, researchers said.

``It's an open book,'' said Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland, in a telephone interview. ``We need to methodically go down each and every one of them and track down how they're involved.''

HIV infects about 33.2 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization in Geneva, including about 1 million in the U.S. There is no vaccine against HIV, which mutates constantly to evade drugs, keeping researchers on a constant quest for new treatments.

Two drugs that attack the virus in previously unseen ways, Pfizer Inc.'s Selzentry and Merck & Co.'s Isentress, gained market clearance last year, while Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc. is developing drugs that work by yet another mechanism. These new medications can save the lives of patients who no longer respond to existing treatments.

Scientists Discover Over 200 ways to Attack HIV-AIDS!

2008-01-11T09:12:00.001-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!discover more than 200 new anti-HIV strategies
Front page / Science
01/11/2008 03:05 Source:

By Margarita Snegireva. A research team announced yesterday that it has identified about 270 human proteins that the AIDS virus apparently needs to infect a person, instantly providing researchers with dozens of new strategies for blocking or aborting HIV infection.

Scientists discover more than 200 new anti-HIV strategies

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The vast majority - more than 200 - were not previously known to play a role in the complicated choreography by which the virus attaches to a cell, enters it, gets copied and establishes permanent residence.

The discovery was made with a technique called a "genome-wide scan," which is only a few years old.

HIV is different in structure from other retroviruses. It is about 120 nm in diameter (120 billionths of a meter; around 60 times smaller than a red blood cell) and roughly spherical. It is composed of two copies of positive single-stranded RNA that codes for the virus's nine genes enclosed by a conical capsid composed of 2,000 copies of the viral protein p24. The single-stranded RNA is tightly bound to nucleocapsid proteins, p7 and enzymes needed for the development of the virion such as reverse transcriptase, proteases, ribonuclease and integrase. A matrix composed of the viral protein p17 surrounds the capsid ensuring the integrity of the virion particle. This is, in turn, surrounded by the viral envelope which is composed of two layers of fatty molecules called phospholipids taken from the membrane of a human cell when a newly formed virus particle buds from the cell. Embedded in the viral envelope are proteins from the host cell and about 70 copies of a complex HIV protein that protrudes through the surface of the virus particle. This protein, known as Env, consists of a cap made of three molecules called glycoprotein (gp) 120, and a stem consisting of three gp41 molecules that anchor the structure into the viral envelope. This glycoprotein complex enables the virus to attach to and fuse with target cells to initiate the infectious cycle. Both these surface proteins, especially gp120, have been considered as targets of future treatments or vaccines against HIV.

just for today,I thank GOD for all he has given me!

2008-01-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!MY TRUST & FAITH IS IN JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD & SAVIOUR!~& IN JEHOVA GOD HIS FATHER!I PRAY THAT GOD'S WILL BE DONE & NOT MAN'S!!!PEACE N LOVE NOT WARS N WALLS EH FOLKS!!!

my start look alike?

2008-01-03T12:21:00.001-08:00

Which Hero Are You?

My Result: Isaac Mendez

What a work of art! Talented and insightful, you've got drive and vision to spare, even if you do have a few bad habits. While you may struggle to do the right thing from time to time, you always follow your instincts and try your hardest — and you usually succeed!

Take this test >

SYPHILIS INFECTIONS INCREASE-alert issued, by lisa Rathke: reposted by james jc gough

2008-01-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!
Vt. issues alert on syphilis infections
State had 9 cases reported last year Increase reflects national trend
By Lisa Rathke

MONTPELIER - The Vermont Health Department issued a warning yesterday about a resurgence of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis, which is being spread mostly among men.

Vermont had nine reported cases last year, up from three in 2006 and one in 2005.

The main reason is a rise in the disease among men who have sex with men, reflecting a national trend, Health Department officials said.

"The key here is that this infection has found its way into Vermont and it's being spread among sexually active men who have sex with men here in Vermont," said Dr. Cortland Lohff, the state's epidemiologist.

In past cases, people have acquired the infection outside Vermont, Lohff said.

Syphilis, a potentially deadly disease that first shows up as a painless genital sore, can be spread to others during sex. Because the sores may go unnoticed, the disease is often spread unknowingly.

If caught early, syphilis is easily treated with antibiotics. But if the infection is left untreated, syphilis can cause severe complications, infecting the brain, nervous system, and heart, Lohff said.

The infection also increases the risk of contracting HIV, he said.

Hannah Hauser, codirector of health and wellness for the R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center in Burlington, said the rising numbers in Vermont show that people are reporting the disease and getting help.

But Dr. Stuart Berman, head of epidemiology and the surveillance branch of the Division of STD Prevention at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called the national syphilis trend "a significant public health concern."

The number of US cases increased for the sixth consecutive year in 2006, from 2.9 cases per 100,000 people a year earlier to 3.3 per 100,000, a nearly 14 percent increase, according to the CDC.

About 9,800 cases of the most contagious forms of syphilis were reported in 2006, up from about 8,700 in 2005.

The CDC estimates that men who have sex with men accounted for 64 percent of the syphilis cases in the United States in 2006.

Data suggest an increase in sexual risk taking among some groups of men who have sex with men, which can help contribute to the spread of syphilis, Berman said.

Risk taking may be driven by "prevention fatigue, substance abuse, and the use of the Internet to find sex partners," he said.

tag

2007-12-30T21:49:00.001-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!meta name="verify-v1" content="8ktdbbGAdb3n4jHjRYLPczPlimTSL9scbG6CfQId8+w=" />

Back to the soo,To see what i can do

2007-12-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!So i went up too the soo for xmas to visit mom & claude.I never seen her take a bath or shower & when i tried to talk to claude about it he just brushed me off.My mom wont say when she has peed herself & so sits in a pissy diaper all day.zShe can no longer walk since being diagnoces with diabetis & her health has gone downhill fast.Claude says he is doing his best & he is trying ,but it isnt good enough as my mom has to have a bath or shower at least 1 week!!& she isnt even getting this,I asume she is just washed down with a cloth & water as she is laying on the bed.i am heading back up in 2 weeks to help claude out.All my rtelatives are freaking out & its pissing claude off so he rants & raves to my mom who can only sit & feel herself slip away,pride & dignity erased long ago.the whole situation is depressing but must be addressed,so i am trying to arrange dr. apt for my methadone ecti dont mind sleeping on the couch to help my mom out at a tinme when shge needs all her boys,only myself is rising to meet this challenge.Oh my Aunt wants me to go up as well,but she would also like to see my mom in a home down in kingston,At least she would be looked after in a proper manner-baths & showers are the two things that stand out most in my mind.I do not understand why claude hasnt taken mom out to the mall as its only down the street.she need sfresh air now & then as well.her mind needs to be working ,to tyry & regain all she has lost yet again for the 4 time!!!My mom has been through a life time of pain & suffering,& she deserves to be treated with alot more respect then what she is getting now,claude is trying but i do not think he can do it alone & therefore i am going back to the soo to see what i can do.I wish all my fellow HIV-AIDS WARRIORS ALL THE LOVE & HAPPINESS WITH PEACE !THANKS TO JEHOVA GOD & HIS SON JESUS CHRIST MY LORD & SAVIOUR & THE KING OF MAN, AMEN~!

Buried Aborted Fetis's Found in India states

2007-12-20T14:11:00.001-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Female foetuses found buried in Indian states
Aborted female foetuses continue to be unearthed in Orissa’s Nayagarh district and near Buldana in Maharashtra, displaying utter disregard for the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Tests Act, 1992, aimed at criminalising sex-selective abortions

Less than a fortnight after the remains of seven female foetuses were first discovered in Orissa’s Nayagarh district, a full-scale search conducted by local police has unearthed over 132 polythene bags with medical waste, aborted foetuses and newborns. Three foetuses were also found in a drain in Golanthara village in Ganjam district.

“We have dug the pit (used by a nursing home to dump medical waste) and recovered small bones and other body parts that had mixed with the soil. We will be sending those for forensic tests to Bhubaneswar,” Nayagarh Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar said.

The forensic analysis will be done at the MKCG Medical College Hospital; the results are expected later this week.

A day earlier, on July 22, a search by local authorities led to the discovery of 30 female foetuses at the same site near Nabaghanpur village. In all, more than 30 female foetuses have been recovered so far in Nayagarh district.

The police have taken two people into custody and detained one in connection with the incident. Sabita Sahu (48), wife of a government doctor who runs Krishna Clinic, was also arrested.

The district police carried out raids on six nursing homes that have ultrasound facilities that are often used to determine the gender of the foetus. Waste sites are also being examined.

Orissa’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a crime branch inquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, the Indian government has sought a report from the Orissa government over these shocking discoveries and asked the state to ensure strict implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Tests (PCPNDT) Act, 1992.

Women and Child Development Secretary Deepa Jain Singh has written to the chief secretary of Orissa asking that those found guilty of foeticide or infanticide in Nayagarh be booked and strict action taken against them.

The letter stresses the need to create awareness about female foeticide and inform people about its illegality.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has also initiated an inquiry into the issue. A three-member committee, headed by commission member Manju Hembrom, will visit Nayagarh on July 26 to investigate the matter. “We will visit the clinic near where the foetuses were found. We will also talk to the state administration and the police,” says Hembrom.

The initial discovery of seven female foetuses in Nayagarh, on July 14, is what tipped the authorities off to the larger horror that has now been unearthed in the area. A 12-year-old boy stumbled upon some blood-stained polythene bags near Duburi hills close to Ramachandiprasad village, a few kilometres from the district headquarter town of Nayagarh.

After the incident was widely reported on television and in the newspapers, the Nayagarh police took action and conducted raids at several nursing homes in the town.

A fact-finding team from Bhubaneswar that visited Nayagarh on July 16 observed that, according to local people, foeticide was a regular phenomenon in the area. The team has demanded that unlicensed nursing homes and ultrasound clinics be closed down and relevant action be taken against them.

The fact-finding team that comprised child rights and health activists also demanded a crime branch probe into the episode alleging that female foeticide in Nayagarh appeared to be the outcome of an alleged nexus between health officials, nursing homes and the local administration.

People point out that there are 12 nursing homes with sex-determination facilities in the area, but only one of them is registered. According to the 2001 census, the sex ratio in Orissa is 972 females per 1,000 males. But in Nayagarh, it is 939 females per 1,000 males -- the lowest in the state. Nayagarh also has the lowest child sex (0-6 years) ratio in Orissa, with 901 girls for every 1,000 boys.

However, surveys indicate that the number of girl-children is on the decline in other parts of the state as well. A study by the School of Women’s Studies, Utkal University, reveals that 13 out of the state’s 30 districts have witnessed a declining sex ratio over the past century. Most districts like Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Khurda and Puri are in the highly literate and economically prosperous coastal belt. By contrast, tribal districts like Nabarangpur (1,002), Koraput (993), Kalahandi and Malkangiri (990 each) have a high number of girl-children.

In a related development, 15 foetuses were found at a dumping site 15 km from Buldana town in Maharashtra. The discovery was made after locals called the police complaining of a foul smell emanating from a dustbin. Five female foetuses were found in the bin, while others were unearthed elsewhere in the area.

Although a case has been registered, no arrests have been made so far.

sudbury media neglects World Aids Day in SUDBURY

2007-12-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!
To Whom It May Concern:

Re: World Aids Day

I have recently returned to Sudbury after over 35 years in the big ugly city. For the most part it has been a positive experience. Sudburians have a lot to be proud. The reclamation of the environment and a thriving arts community to name a couple but that is not the reason for this letter.
Recently World AIDS Day was celebrated and it was my first in Sudbury. I was diagnosed with HIV almost 20 years ago and have been probably living with the virus for over 30 years so I am quite familiar with the issues concerning AIDS. AIDS was covered in the national media quite well and even some of the TV programming included AIDS movies. The local media chose to ignore it. Why and how this occurred is beyond me. How could you not cover the number one health issue of this century. This decision whether made consciously or not is negligent to say the least and bordering on criminal. Ignorance, fear and hatred have fueled the spread of this disease and your decision to ignore it locally contributes to this.
Recently I had the honour to participate in a local AIDS vigil. For those who are not familiar with these types of ceremonies they are a gathering of people to celebrate the lives of those who have died and those who are affected by the disease. People gather and share there stories. One story that I found rather poignant was a man like myself who had returned to Sudbury from New York and he related many stories of his advocacy work in New York. Part of his stories included one of Sudbury. He related how the Handi Transit bus drivers were reluctant to drive him because of the HIV. I could not believe this kind of ignorance still existed . This one story only demonstrates the need for education and how the media has to play an important role in the education of our community. We have come a long way from when dentists, funeral homes and home care wouldn’t accept HIV clients but really how far when this kind of ignorance still exists.

I would just like to close with this thought during the Holiday Season and when we are sitting down with our families and enjoying our meals perhaps we could give a prayer or two for the millions of people who still suffer from stigma and discrimination due to this insidious disease.

Perplexed PHA

David DuBois
CRAZY WORLD WE LIVE IN-MILLIONS DIEING IN AFRICA BECAUSE THEY CANNOT ACCESS HAART MEDS-THE USA INVADING COUNTRY'S BASED ON LIE'S & FALSEHOODS?END TIMES FER SURE!!!

Strategy in Controlling HIV-AIDS-

2007-12-20T07:27:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Strategy in controlling HIV infection
LAST weekend, prominent figures commented on the theme of leadership in the fight against HIV/ AIDS. Apart from discussing leadership in institutions such as family, community and state, these people gave absolutely no consideration to the area of personal leadership.
Indeed, the stalemate in the strategies used to minimise the spread of HIV infection is the failure to deal with the issue at the personal level. Personal leadership gives the motivation for behaviour change – the ability of the person to decide changes.
Behaviour change deals with the realm of psychology, and less to do with sociology and medicine. And if the AIDS Council is serious about dealing with the issue of leadership in preventing the spread, it should employ psychologists, and not only sociologists and medical experts, to deal with aspect of personal leadership.
Personal leadership is intrinsic to the idea of lust management. In any strategy that we devise, the creation of a mindset is significant. Likewise, in dealing with HIV prevention, the creation of an appropriate mindset is imperative – a more positive message than the one propagated that raises fear, discrimination and ostracising, and destroys long-held social and moral values.
Hence, I have found the description of AIDS given by an African nurse very helpful for this discussion. Her view that AIDS is a “chronic but a manageable disease” should be propagated as a new mindset rather than that it is “contagious and deadly”.
The mindset itself would create a shift in paradigm, from understanding the spread as behavioural rather than medicinal. There are many chronic diseases affecting human beings, however, the ability for the HIV to register high infection rate depends heavily on people’s attitude and behaviour their own sexuality.
There are two areas where personal leadership and management are needed in dealing with the epidemic that is chronic but manageable.
First, the manner of dealing with prevention of the spread is through lust management. Thus far, the strategies used in AIDS prevention is appropriate but it only deals with the surface levels.
The ABC method will have no impact if lust management is not considered as a strategy dealing with the issue at the deeper level. At the outset, however, we should also admit that despite the attempts of the ABC method in reducing the rate of infections, statistics speak otherwise.
This was the very concern raised by Romanus Pakure, the acting director of the National AIDS Council secretariat, who feels that despite the efforts put in place, the infection rate never decreases. We can infer that HIV/AIDS advocates only deal with the surface levels, using propaganda mindset that has been predominantly negative.
Despite the intervention of the ABC method, other exterior factors may have contributed to its ineffectiveness. There are no statistics available to the public on how effective the ABC methods are.
However, if there is still an increase in the level of infection, we may then look at other factors that may overpower and render those approach ineffective.
The issue of poverty, urban migration, the collapse of authority and social order, delinquent behaviours, consumer attraction and a host of other things may devastate the HIV response. The Government and donor agencies should employ sociologists to look at the bigger social issues, rather than the narrow concentration on the ABC method.
Lust management will be able to deal with both the interior motivation and the exterior attraction regarding the use and abuse of one’s sexuality. To do that, we need personal empowerment and leadership.
Human sexuality is such a torrent and wild force that at times, it blinds or overwhelms any good human sense. Sexual energy is just like aggressive energy; once finding its prey, common sense evaporates.
The management of these wild and blind forces is necessary in the strategies dealing the HIV prevention. People need to deal with sexual energy at its roots. Just like anger management, it is imperative that sexually-active people should undergo training and therapy on personal leadership and lust management. It is not only content knowledge, but a process leading to a change in sexual behaviour.
People in position of authority think that HIV infection can be controlled by doing awareness and knowledge dissemination are far from right. Producing school syllabus and information pamphlet will make no difference, be-cause they deal with content knowledge.
Without giving the people the tools to work with and manage the forces of lust, there is no way of reducing the infection rate. The concept we are advocating is not only content information on prevention, but the process towards prevention itself.
Traditionally, our tumbunas were smarter than all the minds in the AIDS business. With less content knowledge, the tumbunas knew how to deal with and direct powerful energies such as aggression and sexuality into outlets and where able to channel those forces.
Those channels were ritual outlets, powerful myths and prohibition that formed a formidable unit in unleashing and directing sexual energies for the good of society. Those tumbunas will be laughing at all the follies and blunders that prevailed in HIV prevention strategies.
Getting a little knowledge and experience from the tumbunas and reading into depth psychology would be a real starting-point to develop a strategy in lust management. It is not only a programme or strategy to combat AIDS, but a strategy to control rape, incest, child sexual abuse, prostitution and pornography.
The second area deals with managing the chronic disease caused by this virus. Medically, with the availability of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, the disease could be controlled and help people live longer, with the resolution that they be faithful in taking the drug.
Despite the side effects, ARV drugs are the only means of giving hope to people living with HIV/ AIDS. Also another useful manner of managing that chronic illness is for those contacted to cultivate a positive attitude to life which has shown to prolong life – 20 years the most.
We can also affirm that love, beauty, good and truth, if cultivated to its true essence can unleash super-conscious energies that can aid the chronic management of AIDS. Those energies can work along with ARV drugs for supporting our conviction that AIDS is no longer contagious and deadly but rather chronic and manageable.
We can all work and support each other knowing that AIDS is just like any other disease confronting us. A sympathetic understanding with patience, as well as employing the right strategies will eventually lead to total eradication of this virus.

CRYSTAL METH & HIV=THE PERFECT STORM-REPOSTED DUE TO AVELANCH!

2007-12-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness! still wait for a useful marker of drug effectiveness for smoking cessation.

By Steven Dubovsky, MD

November 19, 2007

Covering: Lee AM et al. Biol Psychiatry 2007 Sep 15; 62:635

Free Full-Text Article

Feature

Crystal Meth and HIV/AIDS: The Perfect Storm?
Methamphetamine use is already influencing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. and could have an even greater impact in coming years.

Crystal methamphetamine (CM) is an extremely addictive stimulant that increases sexual arousal while reducing inhibition and judgment. Its use is associated with a range of high-risk sexual behaviors that increase the likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV. Given the relatively high prevalence of CM use among people living with HIV and among men who have sex with men (MSM), there is great concern that this drug is fueling the HIV epidemic. Equally worrisome are the effects that CM use can have on the prognosis and overall health of HIV-infected patients.

Background
Known by various street names (most commonly, "ice" and "glass"), CM can be smoked, snorted, injected, swallowed, or inserted into the rectum. Compared with other illegal drugs, CM is inexpensive, readily available, and provides a stronger, longer-lasting "high" (8–24 hours).1 Prevalence of use in the U.S. is difficult to pinpoint, but estimates of past-year use from national cross-sectional surveys range from 1.5% to 2.8% among young adults.2 Estimates of past-year use are even higher among MSM — 9.7%, according to one San Francisco study (ACC Sep 28 2005)3 — in part because the drug is now deeply embedded in the MSM "circuit party"culture.4

Commonly cited reasons for using CM, aside from peer pressure, are increased sexual sensitization, mood enhancement, and disinhibition. However, the drug is also used to provide an escape from stress, depression, alienation, and loneliness, all of which are common among people living with HIV. Furthermore, many HIV-infected MSM report using CM as a way to deal with their illness or with homophobia or prejudice.4,5 Consequently, CM use is highly prevalent among people living with HIV. In a San Francisco study, 19% to 39% of HIV-infected people reported using CM during the previous year.6 This high prevalence is alarming because CM use can increase the risk for HIV transmission and also contribute to poorer health outcomes in HIV-infected users.

Methamphetamine Use and HIV Transmission
CM use increases the risk for HIV transmission and acquisition in a number of ways.

First, the drug lowers sexual inhibitions, impairs judgment, and provides the necessary energy and confidence to engage in sexual activity for long periods of time. As a result, methamphetamine users are more likely than nonusers to engage in unprotected anal sex and to have sex with injection drug users, HIV-positive partners, and those of unknown HIV status; they also tend to report a greater number of sex partners and to have a history of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).3,7,8

Second, CM use is a well-documented cause of erectile dysfunction, which can lead users to engage in even higher-risk sexual activities. For example, users who cannot sustain an erection may switch to receptive anal sex ("bottoming"), which carries a higher risk of HIV acquisition than does insertive anal sex. Alternatively, users may take erectile-dysfunction drugs, and the combination of these with CM can lead to longer, more-aggressive periods of sex, potentially resulting in condom breaks or mucosal tears, which can cause bleeding and increased risk of HIV transmission.

Third, CM causes mucosal dryness, which increases the risk for tissue tears. Additional damage to rectal tissues can occur when CM is inserted into the rectum ("keistering," "booty bumping").

Finally, when CM is injected, needle sharing can greatly enhance transmission of HIV and hepatitis viruses.

Numerous cross-sectional studies have demonstrated an association between CM use and increased risk for HIV infection, but only a few studies have prospectively assessed seroincidence. In the largest of these, the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, the relative risk for HIV seroconversion was 1.5 among CM users compared with nonusers and was even higher (3.1) among men who used both methamphetamine and poppers (ACC Apr 13 2007).9

Methamphetamine Use and Progression of HIV Disease
In addition to facilitating HIV transmission, CM use is associated with detrimental behavior changes that can affect the prognosis and overall health of people living with HIV. For instance, current methamphetamine use decreases adherence to HIV treatment and medical follow-up.10 Frequent CM use has also been associated with increased risk for antiretroviral resistance, particularly to NNRTIs, with the obvious implications for treatment and transmission risk.11 For example, CM use is thought to have contributed to the acquisition of triple-class–resistant virus by the New York City patient described in 2005 (ACC Sep 1 2006).12 In addition, some patients use CM to treat HIV-associated symptoms, such as fatigue, instead of seeing a physician. Such self-medication may lead to underdiagnosis and undertreatme nt of HIV and to important complications such as anemia and hypogonadism.5,10

CM use may also influence progression and complications of HIV disease more directly. For example, animal studies have shown that CM can impair the immune system13 and increase HIV replication,14 and human studies suggests that it can accelerate the progress of HIV-related dementia.15

Other Consequences of Methamphetamine Use
Other consequences of CM use that are particularly harmful to HIV-infected patients include deterioration of the teeth and gums (a result of dry mouth and grinding of the teeth), reduced appetite, poor eating habits, and weight loss. Furthermore, many users "crash" after using CM for several days straight and are left with little energy and the very feelings they were trying to avoid — depression and isolation.

Other adverse effects of CM use include intense cravings for CM when not taking it; tachyphylaxis; increased risk for heart attack and stroke (because of increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature); impaired memory, reasoning, and ability to process information; and psychological problems, such as depression, psychosis, aggressive behavior, hallucinations, and paranoia. Chronic use can also cause skin lesions and damage the cardiovascular system, lungs, liver, muscles, and nerve cells in the brain.

Although methamphetamine is not known to affect HIV medications, some PIs increase absorption and decrease metabolism of CM, leading to severe reactions or overdosing.16,17

Preventing and Treating Methamphetamine Addiction
Prevention of methamphetamine use is hampered by a relative paucity of epidemiologic data that would enable us to assess the magnitude of the current problem adequately and to evaluate the efficacy of various interventions. Despite federal efforts to restrict pseudoepinephrine imports and a nationwide decline in small methamphetamine laboratories, the drug continues to be widely available. A report from the National Drug Intelligence Center suggests that Mexican drug traders have relocated their labs from the U.S. to Mexico and have expanded distribution to the midwestern and eastern U.S., underscoring the difficulties of drug enforcement in the era of global trade.18 Developing methamphetamine prevention "task forces" (involving community members and representatives from at-risk groups, STD treatment centers, health departments, and law enforcement) is a reasonable approach, despite a lack of efficacy data.19 Educat ional campaigns should be tailored to specific target populations, and care should be taken to help ensure that such campaigns do not increase cravings in CM-addicted patients.20

Given the high prevalence and dire consequences of CM use among HIV-infected patients, clinicians should be sure to ask patients about past or current use. Drug testing is recommended for all patients who have a history of, or are suspected of, using CM.

Few data are available to recommend any one method of methamphetamine treatment over another.21 Cognitive behavior-based interventions (Matrix Model), 12-step programs, drug testing, and contingency management interventions have been used by different treatment centers, with varying degrees of success. Nevertheless, treatment of CM addiction can be successful in decreasing risky sexual behaviors and should be an integral part of any HIV prevention effort.21,22

Conclusion
All current data underscore the potential of methamphetamine to substantially worsen the current HIV epidemic, with some studies indicating that this potential is already being realized. Methamphetamine use is an important public health problem and is associated with risky sexual behavior; increased rates of transmission of HIV, other STDs, and hepatitis; serious adverse events; and poor adherence to antiretroviral treatment. Prevention efforts not only must encompass traditional education and awareness campaigns but also will require local, national, and international policy changes, including allocation of appropriate resources and funding. Comparative trials of different treatment approaches are needed, as are better evidence-based protocols for treatment.

ETHICAL CONCERNS HOLDING UP HIV EFFORTS

2007-12-16T18:28:00.001-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!HIV efforts in Africa stymied by ethics
NDORI, Kenya (UPI) -- Health officials praise contraceptives and anti-retroviral drugs in Africa as curtailing the spread of the disease, but ethical concerns are delaying funding.

Humanitarian health officials said programs distributing anti-retroviral drugs to pregnant women in African prevented more than 100,000 cases of pediatric HIV between 1999 and 2006, while contraception prevented 173,000 such cases, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Political and financial rhetoric aimed at addressing the HIV epidemic in Africa does not translate to actual funding as the issue is hung up over the debate over birth control.

Officials say improving the availability of birth control in Africa could save tens of thousands of lives more effectively and less expensive than anti-retroviral drugs.

The U.S. Agency for International Development noted a reversal in the once "spectacular decline" in fertility rates in Kenya due to international funding for contraceptives and education awareness.

The support for such measures began to drop in 1996 when the evangelical Christian movement gained influence in the Republican Party and again in 2003 when the Bush administration refused to support HIV programs that advocated birth control.

A United Nations estimate says 90 percent of the 2.5 million childhood cases of HIV infection are in sub-Saharan Africa.

I reposted this & didnt include the Answers-would U sleep with someone that was HIV+?

2007-12-12T18:37:00.001-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Would you sleep with someone who is HIV Positive?
By: Rootzgirl

Wow, you sure didn't pull any punches when it came to giving your opinions on the gay issue. Love that! Well, I have another hard question for you...well maybe it's not that hard but I still want to know your opinions on it.

This story I am about to tell you is true and it's what prompted me to throw it out to you. This guy met a woman who had HIV yet he became
involved with her, married her and she had a child for him. The baby wasn't infected because science has afforded HIV Positive people with solutions to the problem of mother to child transmission.

The man soon found out that he was carrying the disease too because he did not protect himself carefully.

The woman has since died and the man is left taking care of the baby, but it's just a matter of time before he too succumbs to the disease.

Now the question I want to through out to guys is, "could you love a woman/man like that? Knowing the condition of the person, could you just blindly say to hell with it and have unprotected sex?

Then again, why bring an innocent life into a mix like that?" Yeah, if you want to take the chance and gamble with your lives, do you think it is fair to bring an innocent life into a situation like this...leaving that child as an early orphan?

Yeah, I know I am throwing a bunch of questions at you, but to tell the truth, ever since the situation came to my attention I have been pondering it, wondering why in the world would someone do that.

Yup, I can understand if you were along with the person before you found out about the AIDS situation, if you chose to stay with that person still, more power to you. But to blindly see a pit and jump...well that one takes the cake.

So my peeps, talk to me, what would you do in a situation like this, and do you think that love truly conquers all? I am gonna be reading all your comments cause to tell the truth...I am still mystified.
I am a HIV+ male seeking female for friendship life & love.If your a special,smart,single & female...email me with your picture and a brief history of yerself too jamesgsud@hotmail.com or try joeniceguy2005@yahoo.ca GODBLESS ALL HIV+ WARRIORS WITH PEACE ,LOVE & HAPPINESS ALL OF THEIR DAYS!!!

MALE CANADIAN SEEKS FEMALE FOR FRIENDSHIP,LIFE ,LAUGHTER & LOVE@!

2007-12-12T16:59:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!YA SO I AM SEARCHING FOR A SPECIAL WOMAN,AS I HAVE HIV SINCE 2001 &
DRS SAY I AM STILL TOO HEALTHY TO START HAART & MY HEP-C HAS CURED
ITSELF!!!I AM 44 BUT LOOK 33 & WITH THE RIGHT WOMAN FEEL 22!!!SEND
PICTURE AND SHORT NOTE ON YOURSELF TO jamesg...@hotmail.com or try
joeniceguy2...@yahoo.ca hope to hear from U asap!!!like
sunsets,walks ,cuddleing,romance & safe sex!!!!!

COMBAT HIV STIGMA -HIV WARRIORS CREATE FRONT LINES TODAY!!

2007-12-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Combat HIV stigma
4 Dec 2007, 0001 hrs IST,Subhadra Menon
Print Save EMail Write to Editor
Global AIDS numbers have dropped dramatically, but that is only half the battle won. Stigma towards HIV-positive people needs to be countered if the threat of AIDS is to be overcome.

An Indian soldier discovers he is HIV-positive and is forced to deal with the termination of his services. He must now move the courts for justice - a burden in itself. An HIV-positive pregnant woman from West Bengal has a sticker plastered on her forehead by hospital staff, is isolated in the ward and refused the urgent medical attention she needed. A couple is stoned, branded outcast by the only community they know simply because they are HIV-positive. A HIV-positive woman in Kolkata aborts her own foetus because hospital staff refuse to assist her. This intense stigma can be painful to endure.

The good news is that the number of people contracting HIV infection is dropping, worldwide. A few days ago, UNAIDS, releasing its AIDS Epidemic Update for 2007, said new data show global HIV prevalence (the percentage of people living with HIV) has levelled off and the number of new infections has fallen, in part as a result of the impact of HIV programmes. The new estimate of 2.47 million persons in India living with HIV (0.36 per cent of the adult population) released through the National Family Health Survey-III (NFHS-III) is less than half the official estimate for the previous year.

India now comes third among nations with the largest number of people living with HIV. The optimistic arithmetic apart, the experiences of ordinary people living with HIV tell another story. Stigma and not surveillance, is the biggest problem.

A 15-year-old boy from Ahmedabad committed suicide to escape the stigma piled on because his parents, both vegetable sellers, were HIV-positive. Two little children in Kerala roused a nation’s feelings when their grandfather stood up and fought against their expulsion from school because they were HIV-positive. In the 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, an HIV-positive child’s mother was forced to accept a refund of his school fees.

Stigma is hard to track and its impact even harder to measure. NFHS-III has generated data on stigma by including surveys on HIV/AIDS know-ledge, attitudes and behaviour. Overall acceptance measured through indicators like willingness to care for a positive person or buy vegetables from a positive person, or have a teacher who is positive continue teaching in the school is low - 34 per cent for women and 37 per cent for men. This corroborates a study by International Labour Organisation which says that two-thirds of positive persons face discrimination. The World Bank points to a study in India that found how 34 per cent of students, faculty and technical staff of the public health services would not associate with people living with HIV and AIDS.

Those vulnerable to and experiencing social stigma and discrimination will be puzzled if they were told that awareness and knowledge about HIV/AIDS is higher than before. Between 1998-1999 and 2005-2006, knowledge of AIDS in women (earlier rounds of the NFHS did not interview men) went up by 17 per cent (from 40 per cent to 57 per cent). But NFHS-III has also found how only 30 per cent of women with no education have heard about HIV/AIDS. Almost two-thirds of women and half of men still believe that a mosquito bite can transmit HIV infection. Awareness is not translating into tolerance or a shedding of stigma.

Protection against HIV and preventing its spread is certainly a key message, but protection using stigma and alienation will go nowhere. It is always challenging to fight for legislation and better policy outcomes. Kerala has a law against discrimination of HIV-positive children in schools. But laws and policies cannot be substitutes for a humane approach

HIV & ME My attempt at Poetry bu james jc gough

2007-11-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!HIV & Me,My Attemp At Poetry!!!by james jc gough
ITS ALMOST IMPOSSABLE I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY,when will love come my way?I been poz since 2001,let me tell you it hasn't been fun!!At first i was angry,then depressed,i didnt know if i would regress,about HIV,i knew even less!!!So i read and researched on this Virus callede HIV,i wanted to know what was killing me,slowly but surely it killed my desire,but now i was off of that cokecaine highwire,and my head slowly cleared from its deep quagemire.I lost so many friends and loved ones too,HPV,HIV & hep-abc just to name a few,diseases and drugs go hand in hand like a spreading evil across this great land,Drs and scientists searching for cures,while pain and suffering are what we endure,money pours in from all kinds of places,the guilt and greed on rich mens faces,money money money,its all i hear,how shortfalls and cutbacks are always near,and of course its always the poor,that are hit that hardest and yet they endure and have no fear,could it be their faith and hope?thats brought them through the slippery slopes?of life and trials and tribulations,of the joy and love & constelations,of dreams unfulfilled & desires unmet,so many gone never to see the sunset,lost to us early ,no more to rise,Untill the end of days ,no more blue skies,this isnt the way,kindness and love are what we need,to practice and promote,love and not greed,Jesus & Bhudda & Alah too,all knew love would see them through,For isnt this what each one preached?So why the Wars,i cryed,i beseached,to stop this stigma & discrimination that has engulfed so many a nation,So wars & fighting are not the right way,to love our naybers now this we may,hope to win this end to fighting,Then this poem would need no writing,to try and change Mans love of War,into a war of love,why isnt this what He said from HIM above,that man should practice alot more LOVE,so this it it i got to go,i 'm off,I have HIV and my name is joe!JOE GOUGH!!!!typed today by james "joey"gough,sudbury ontario canada GODBLESS ALL MY FELLOW HIV-AIDS WARRIORS WITH PEACE,LOVE,AND HAPPINESS 4 EVER!

TEN THINGS U SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HIV-AIDS

2007-11-20T16:41:00.001-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & AWARENESS!

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). AIDS is a collection of specific illnesses and conditions which occur because the body’s immune system has been damaged by HIV.
1 Having a test to find out if you have HIV could save your life.
If you’re HIV-positive, the sooner you find out, the sooner you can receive medical care. Every year in the UK 200 people die because they found out they were HIV-positive so late that treatment couldn’t work. HIV tests are free to everyone via the National Health Service (NHS).
2 HIV testing and treatment is confidential.
Your HIV clinic won’t tell anybody that you have HIV without your permission.

3 The best HIV care will be at a specialist NHS HIV clinic.
HIV doctors at specialist clinics will regularly check your health to see how HIV is affecting your immune system and explain what treatment you need to take.
4 Taking HIV treatment can mean a longer, healthier life.
Even though there’s no cure for HIV, doctors are now hopeful that you can live a more or less normal lifespan if you take a combination of anti-HIV drugs.

5 You need to take all your anti-HIV drugs as instructed.
If you don’t, there’s a risk that the drugs you are currently taking, and any similar drugs,won’t work.
6 HIV treatment is there to protect and improve your health.
However anti-HIV drugs can cause side-effects. Make sure you tell your doctor, as there’s a good chance you’ll be able to do something about them.

7 HIV treatment is free.
If you are entitled to free NHS care, then all your HIV treatment and care will be free. If you are not entitled to free NHS care you may have to pay for your treatment and care.
8 You may still be able to pass on HIV to somebody else even if you are taking anti-HIV treatment.
Condoms effectively prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Clean needles and syringes are available if you inject drugs - never share needles or other injecting equipment.

9 Mother to baby transmission of HIV can be prevented in nearly all cases.
The use of anti-HIV treatment, having a caesarean delivery, and not breastfeeding can reduce the risk of a mother passing on HIV to her baby to less than 1%.
10 There’s a lot you can do to look after your own health.
You can help yourself by eating well, reducing stress, not smoking, and exercising. Make sure you get good quality, impartial information about HIV to help you make good decisions regarding your health and treatment.

Researchers Study HIV Transmission

2007-11-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

CATIE News – Montreal researchers study HIV transmission

In an attempt to reduce the spread of HIV, safer-sex techniques were developed by community groups in the mid-to-late 1980s. The diffusion of knowledge about safer sex around the world should, in theory, have helped stop the spread of HIV. However, HIV continues to be transmitted at a relatively high rate in many parts of the globe, particularly in low- and middle-income regions, where there are tens of millions of people with HIV/AIDS. By contrast, in the high-income regions of North America, Western Europe and Australia, HIV is spreading at lower rates and fewer people are becoming infected.

The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that there are about 58,000 HIV positive people living in Canada. It also estimates that there are at least 2,500 new HIV infections in this country every year. If this trend remains unchecked, that would mean that in 10 years there would be 25,000 additional people living with HIV in Canada.

Studying and engaging with populations at high risk for HIV infection is a first step toward reaching the goal of slowing the spread of this epidemic. The underlying factors that drive the continuing transmission of HIV in Canada in 2007 are not completely clear and are likely to be different in key populations affected by HIV, as follows:

* men who have sex with men (MSM)
* injection drug users
* Aboriginal people
* women
* immigrants from regions where HIV is common
* prisoners
* young people

To try to get a better understanding of HIV transmission, a research team in Montreal focused on the sexual behaviours of MSM in a project called the Omega Study Cohort. The team enrolled more than 1,800 HIV negative men and monitored them for up to seven years. Regular interviews and blood tests were part of this monitoring. They found that participating in unprotected receptive anal sex was the behaviour most associated with becoming HIV positive. Further details about other behaviours and transmission risks appear later in this article.

Study details
Between October 1996 and July 2003, researchers enrolled 1,846 HIV negative men who identified themselves as MSM. Their average profile was as follows:

* age – 30 years
* 75% were single
* 20% were unemployed
* 67% had continued their education beyond high school
* 50% had an annual income less than $20,000
* a history of sexually transmitted infections was common

Results—focus on behaviours
During the first six months of the study, about 40% of participants had more than two regular sex partners and one-third reported more than five sex partners.

About 40% of participants engaged in unprotected anal sex during the first six months of the study. This practice was most common among men who had sex with other HIV negative men.

HIV transmission
A total of 32 men became HIV positive (seroconverted) during the course of the study.

Based on information collected during interviews, the study team found that different practices were associated with a different risk for becoming HIV positive. Below are some of these practices as well as the risks of seroconversion associated with them.

Number of partners
Having unsafe sex with multiple sexual partners increases the risk that a person will be exposed to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. So, determining the number of sex partners is sometimes useful in calculating risks for acquiring HIV infection. The study team found the following:

* Having between six and 49 sexual partners in the six months prior to seroconversion doubled the risk of becoming HIV positive.
* Having 50 or more sex partners in the six months prior to seroconversion was associated with a five-fold risk of seroconversion.

Focus on anal sex
In the Montreal study, the main risk factor for HIV transmission was unprotected anal sex between men—one who was HIV negative and the other who was either HIV positive or whose HIV status was not known. Below are the risks associated with practicing anal receptive and anal insertive sex:

* The men at greatest risk for HIV infection were those who practiced receptive anal intercourse. Their risk for seroconversion was 12 times greater than that of men who did not practice anal sex at all or men who did not have anal sex with an HIV positive person.
* Men who engaged in both unprotected insertive and receptive anal sex were 8 times more likely to get HIV than men who did not practice anal sex with an HIV positive partner.
* Men who only practiced unprotected insertive anal sex had a five-fold risk of becoming HIV positive.

Hidden behaviour?
An interesting finding from the Montreal study: Some HIV negative men who claimed to always practice protected anal sex with partners who were HIV positive or whose serostatus was unknown eventually became HIV positive. The study team suggested several possibilities to explain this seemingly contradictory information:

* Condoms can break. Even among people who regularly use condoms, the risk of what the Montreal team called “condom failure” ranges between 5% and 10%.
* Condoms may not work at blocking HIV infection if they are used only to prevent exposure to ejaculation after first having brief, unprotected intercourse.
* Because of the stigma of engaging in unprotected intercourse, some study participants may not have correctly disclosed their sexual behaviours.

Oral sex
Based on a review of data from other studies, the Montreal team noted that HIV can be transmitted through oral sex but the risk of this is very low. In the Omega Study, engaging in unprotected oral receptive sex with an HIV positive partner doubled the risk of becoming HIV positive. However, the study team cautioned that some of the men who claimed to have been infected as a result of oral sex could have been infected because of unprotected anal sex that they neglected to disclose. Another point to consider is that because a relatively small number of seroconversions occurred in the Omega Study, the reliability of conclusions drawn about oral sex and HIV transmission is very limited.

Key points
In this study, researchers confirmed that “unprotected receptive anal sex was the most important risk factor” for transmitting HIV infection.

In general, researchers also noted that condoms are of “significant value in reducing HIV transmission.” However, the use of condoms for sex between serodiscordant partners (one is HIV negative and the other HIV positive) does not, according to their study results, provide complete protection against HIV infection.

The practice of having sex with people of the same HIV serostatus is called serosorting. The Montreal study team suggested that serosorting appears to be an “acceptable compromise between obtaining sexual fulfillment and the adoption of effective HIV prevention practices.”

Although the number of men who seroconverted in the Omega Study is relatively low, the study team stated that “this rate translates into several hundred new HIV infections each year.” This is outcome is disquieting.

Perhaps a useful outcome of the Omega Study might be to conduct further research that can strengthen HIV prevention programs, enable greater use of condoms and reduce “condom failure,” at least among MSM. Such efforts would be appreciated not just in Canada but in other high-income countries where HIV continues to spread.

The funding for the Omega Study Cohort was provided by the following agencies:

* Health Canada
* CIHR—Canadian Institutes of Health Research
* FRSQ—Fonds de la recherché en santé du Québec

—Sean R. Hosein

REFERENCES:

1. Public Health Agency of Canada. HIV/AIDS Epi Updates, August 2006, Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006.

2. Lavoie E, Alary M, Remis R, et al. Determinants of HIV seroconversion among men who have sex with men living in a low HIV incidence population in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapies. Sexually Transmitted Diseases 2007; in press.

3. Buchbinder SP, Vittinghoff E, Heagerty PJ, et al. Sexual risk, nitrite inhalant use, and lack of circumcision associated with HIV seroconversion in men who have sex with men in the United States. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2005 May 1;39(1):82-9.

4. Monno L, Carbonara S, Ciracì E, et al. Twenty years later: the recent trends of HIV-infection—evidence from an Italian region. Infection 2007; in press.

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CATIE News - Montreal researchers study HIV transmission‏
From: maiser@mercury.catie.ca on behalf of CATIE Info (info@catie.ca)
You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as unsafe
Sent: November 12, 2007 4:41:06 PM
To: catie-news (catie-news@mercury.catie.ca)

CATIE News – Montreal researchers study HIV transmission

In an attempt to reduce the spread of HIV, safer-sex techniques were developed by community groups in the mid-to-late 1980s. The diffusion of knowledge about safer sex around the world should, in theory, have helped stop the spread of HIV. However, HIV continues to be transmitted at a relatively high rate in many parts of the globe, particularly in low- and middle-income regions, where there are tens of millions of people with HIV/AIDS. By contrast, in the high-income regions of North America, Western Europe and Australia, HIV is spreading at lower rates and fewer people are becoming infected.

The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that there are about 58,000 HIV positive people living in Canada. It also estimates that there are at least 2,500 new HIV infections in this country every year. If this trend remains unchecked, that would mean that in 10 years there would be 25,000 additional people living with HIV in Canada.

Studying and engaging with populations at high risk for HIV infection is a first step toward reaching the goal of slowing the spread of this epidemic. The underlying factors that drive the continuing transmission of HIV in Canada in 2007 are not completely clear and are likely to be different in key populations affected by HIV, as follows:

* men who have sex with men (MSM)
* injection drug users
* Aboriginal people
* women
* immigrants from regions where HIV is common
* prisoners
* young people

To try to get a better understanding of HIV transmission, a research team in Montreal focused on the sexual behaviours of MSM in a project called the Omega Study Cohort. The team enrolled more than 1,800 HIV negative men and monitored them for up to seven years. Regular interviews and blood tests were part of this monitoring. They found that participating in unprotected receptive anal sex was the behaviour most associated with becoming HIV positive. Further details about other behaviours and transmission risks appear later in this article.

Study details
Between October 1996 and July 2003, researchers enrolled 1,846 HIV negative men who identified themselves as MSM. Their average profile was as follows:

* age – 30 years
* 75% were single
* 20% were unemployed
* 67% had continued their education beyond high school
* 50% had an annual income less than $20,000
* a history of sexually transmitted infections was common

Results—focus on behaviours
During the first six months of the study, about 40% of participants had more than two regular sex partners and one-third reported more than five sex partners.

About 40% of participants engaged in unprotected anal sex during the first six months of the study. This practice was most common among men who had sex with other HIV negative men.

HIV transmission
A total of 32 men became HIV positive (seroconverted) during the course of the study.

Based on information collected during interviews, the study team found that different practices were associated with a different risk for becoming HIV positive. Below are some of these practices as well as the risks of seroconversion associated with them.

Number of partners
Having unsafe sex with multiple sexual partners increases the risk that a person will be exposed to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. So, determining the number of sex partners is sometimes useful in calculating risks for acquiring HIV infection. The study team found the following:

* Having between six and 49 sexual partners in the six months prior to seroconversion doubled the risk of becoming HIV positive.
* Having 50 or more sex partners in the six months prior to seroconversion was associated with a five-fold risk of seroconversion.

Focus on anal sex
In the Montreal study, the main risk factor for HIV transmission was unprotected anal sex between men—one who was HIV negative and the other who was either HIV positive or whose HIV status was not known. Below are the risks associated with practicing anal receptive and anal insertive sex:

* The men at greatest risk for HIV infection were those who practiced receptive anal intercourse. Their risk for seroconversion was 12 times greater than that of men who did not practice anal sex at all or men who did not have anal sex with an HIV positive person.
* Men who engaged in both unprotected insertive and receptive anal sex were 8 times more likely to get HIV than men who did not practice anal sex with an HIV positive partner.
* Men who only practiced unprotected insertive anal sex had a five-fold risk of becoming HIV positive.

Hidden behaviour?
An interesting finding from the Montreal study: Some HIV negative men who claimed to always practice protected anal sex with partners who were HIV positive or whose serostatus was unknown eventually became HIV positive. The study team suggested several possibilities to explain this seemingly contradictory information:

* Condoms can break. Even among people who regularly use condoms, the risk of what the Montreal team called “condom failure” ranges between 5% and 10%.
* Condoms may not work at blocking HIV infection if they are used only to prevent exposure to ejaculation after first having brief, unprotected intercourse.
* Because of the stigma of engaging in unprotected intercourse, some study participants may not have correctly disclosed their sexual behaviours.

Oral sex
Based on a review of data from other studies, the Montreal team noted that HIV can be transmitted through oral sex but the risk of this is very low. In the Omega Study, engaging in unprotected oral receptive sex with an HIV positive partner doubled the risk of becoming HIV positive. However, the study team cautioned that some of the men who claimed to have been infected as a result of oral sex could have been infected because of unprotected anal sex that they neglected to disclose. Another point to consider is that because a relatively small number of seroconversions occurred in the Omega Study, the reliability of conclusions drawn about oral sex and HIV transmission is very limited.

Key points
In this study, researchers confirmed that “unprotected receptive anal sex was the most important risk factor” for transmitting HIV infection.

In general, researchers also noted that condoms are of “significant value in reducing HIV transmission.” However, the use of condoms for sex between serodiscordant partners (one is HIV negative and the other HIV positive) does not, according to their study results, provide complete protection against HIV infection.

The practice of having sex with people of the same HIV serostatus is called serosorting. The Montreal study team suggested that serosorting appears to be an “acceptable compromise between obtaining sexual fulfillment and the adoption of effective HIV prevention practices.”

Although the number of men who seroconverted in the Omega Study is relatively low, the study team stated that “this rate translates into several hundred new HIV infections each year.” This is outcome is disquieting.

Perhaps a useful outcome of the Omega Study might be to conduct further research that can strengthen HIV prevention programs, enable greater use of condoms and reduce “condom failure,” at least among MSM. Such efforts would be appreciated not just in Canada but in other high-income countries where HIV continues to spread.

The funding for the Omega Study Cohort was provided by the following agencies:

* Health Canada
* CIHR—Canadian Institutes of Health Research
* FRSQ—Fonds de la recherché en santé du Québec

—Sean R. Hosein

REFERENCES:

1. Public Health Agency of Canada. HIV/AIDS Epi Updates, August 2006, Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006.

2. Lavoie E, Alary M, Remis R, et al. Determinants of HIV seroconversion among men who have sex with men living in a low HIV incidence population in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapies. Sexually Transmitted Diseases 2007; in press.

3. Buchbinder SP, Vittinghoff E, Heagerty PJ, et al. Sexual risk, nitrite inhalant use, and lack of circumcision associated with HIV seroconversion in men who have sex with men in the United States. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2005 May 1;39(1):82-9.

4. Monno L, Carbonara S, Ciracì E, et al. Twenty years later: the recent trends of HIV-infection—evidence from an Italian region. Infection 2007; in press.

To see a directory of archived messages, visit CATIE's Web site at http://www.catie.ca/catienews.nsf

CATIE-News is written by Sean Hosein, with the collaboration of other members of the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange, in Toronto. Your comments are welcome.

Permission to Reproduce:
This document is copyrighted by the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE). All CATIE materials may be reprinted and/or distributed without prior permission. However, reprints may not be edited and must include the following text:

From Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE). For more information visit CATIE's Information Network at http://www.catie.ca

2007-11-12T23:40:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!HIV Replication 3D Animation copy and paste this code into your browser & it should take you to the site where it will show you exactly what hiv looks like & how it replicates

Computer Model of HOW HIV INFECTS Cells

2007-11-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!HIV Replication 3D Animation

MOM NOT DOING WELL

2007-11-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!YA SHE WAS BROUGHT INTO THE HOSP LAST NIGHT.i COULD TELL SHE WAS REALLY SICK RIGHT AWAY AS HER FACE HAD A ASHEN TONE TO IT.fROMN WHAT I HEAR SHE IS IN ISOLATION WITH SOME KIND OF BUG.ITS ALMOST 7 AM AND I AM STILL AWAKE!GUESS I SHPULD HEAD TO BED EH FOLKS?CANT BE WORRYING ALL THE TIME RIGHT?I PRAY THAT GOD BLESSES U ALL WITH PEACE,HAPPINESS & LOVE all of your long daYS & MAY GODS WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!AMEN !!

JACK LEIGHTON SAYS HE WANTS TO LEGALIZE WEED,I SAY I AM VOTING NDP~JOIN ME & VOTE NDP

2007-11-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!AS A PHA SPEAKER THAT GOES OUT INTO LOCAL SCHOOLS & PLACES OF LEARNING I AM ALWAYS ASKED IF POT LEAD TOO MY COKE ADDDICTION.I WAS 27 WHEN I TOOK MY FIRST HIT, SO NO,IT DID NOT.NOW THAT I AM HIV+ I SMOKE WEED TO HELP WITH MY EATING,NASEA,& TO RELAX ME.IT WORKS FOR ME.I THINK SUDBURY NEEDS A COMPASSION CLUB BIGTIME~!WE DO HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE OF CANCER AS WELL AS THE CANMCER CENTRE NOT TO MENTION THE NUMEROUS OTHER AILMENTS THAT WEED HELPS.JAC LEIGHTON WAS THE ONLY PO;LITICIAN TO ANSWER MY LETTERS & GETS MY VOTE THIS YEAR,HE WROTE THAT HE WANTS TO LEGALIZE WEED HERE IN CANADA~ SO JOIN ME IF YOUR HIV,CANCER+ OR CANCER FREE,JOIN ME & VOTE NDP & LETS GET THIS STUFF LEGALIZED ONCE & FOR ALL EH FOLKS!PEACE N LOVE EH!THINK GREEN & VOTE NDP=THINGS THAT ARE COOL IN 07!!

HIV+ PERSONS SHOULD BE INVOLVED

2007-11-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Namibian (Windhoek)

5 November 2007
Posted to the web 5 November 2007

Christof Maletsky
Windhoek

People living with HIV and AIDS have called on Government to review the effectiveness of its prevention from mother to child treatment (PMTCT) programme through involving those infected by the disease.

In that way, Government will be able to identify the gaps where women may be missing out on the programme, a treatment survey released on Friday said.

The survey was conducted among HIV-positive Lironga Eparu members, healthcare workers and HIV-positive members of the Rainbow Project - an organisation for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Katima Mulilo, Grootfontein, Tsumeb, Ondangwa, Oshakati, Khorixas, Keetmanshoop, Luederitz and Windhoek were visited in November 2005 for the survey. The study found that there was a need to assess the user-friendliness of healthcare facilities to people living with the disease.

It called on the Ministry of Health and non-governmental organisations to pilot the training and use of infected people as "expert patients" as part of the anti-retroviral treatment (ART) treatment team. Such people could provide counselling, ART support and information, help patients to overcome adherence problems and act as a bridge between healthcare workers and patients. A significant number (21 per cent) of Lironga Eparu members interviewed said they had been "treated badly or unfairly" by hospital staff or healthcare workers.

"A third of those who felt they had been maltreated by a health worker linked this with stigma-related behaviour and specified that a healthcare worker was afraid to touch them," the report said. It said the findings where based on the perceptions of people living with the disease.

"Nonetheless, perceptions are powerful, and shape behaviour and rumours," it said. The report said people living with the disease must be involved in the review of the country's prevention and treatment guidelines, as a way of moving towards a more proactive and holistic approach. It suggested that the Ministry of Health consider offering viral load tests - which checks the CD4 count of infected people - after six months of ART treatment and then annually, for everyone while health workers need to be trained in interpersonal communication.

Launching the report, Dr Marcus !Goraseb of the Ministry of Health said the recommendations were excellent

"This is testimony that Namibians have taken a firm stand alongside the Government's efforts," he said.

!Goraseb said the country's national development agenda was in jeopardy because of the impact of HIV-AIDS. He said thorough planning with evidence-based information, dedication to challenges, sharing of experience and accountability were among the most important elements for a strategy to overcome the disease.

"Our destiny is no longer a matter of chance, it is something to be achieved. We have to strive for greater heights for the sake of our nation," he said.

STRESS CAN KILL FASTER IF YOUR HIV+!

2007-11-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Chapel Hill, N.C. -- Evidence indicates psychological factors play a role in disease progression of HIV, say researchers led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lead author Jane Leserman, a professor of psychiatry and medicine, says traumatic life events, such as physical or sexual abuse, are associated with faster mortality.

"Trauma and depression are common among people with HIV, and trauma and depression seem to have an effect on disease progression and mortality in HIV," Leserman said in a statement. "Given that, it is critical that clinicians treating people infected with HIV recognize depression and trauma as risk factors for poor health outcomes, and thus screen and refer patients for psychological and psychiatric treatment when these problems are present."

The researchers interviewed a group of 490 HIV infected patients and those who reported a greater number of categories of traumatic life events had faster death from all causes and from AIDS.

The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, found more than half of the patients in the study experienced three or more lifetime traumas, and half had experienced physical or sexual abuse.

© 2007 United Press International.

HIV & FISH-OIL?RESEARCHERS CHECKING OUT MEDICAL BENEFITS

2007-11-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Buyers’ Club Blog

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fish oil, inflammation and metabolic complications in HIV: a clinical trial and related research
November 2, 2007

We noticed with interest that Dr. Todd T Brown, a Johns Hopkins researcher who has studied body fat changes in people with HIV, has recently started a wide-ranging investigation of fish oil / omega-3 fatty acid supplementation as a way of preventing/treating metabolic complications associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Metabolic complications, including fat wasting, central body fat build-up, insulin resistance, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and bone loss, have been some of the major side effects experienced by people with HIV on medication, so it’s quite interesting to see research that may “connect the dots” and find links between these various problems.

Furthermore, this is a study that focuses on fish oil / omega-3 fatty acids, which have quite recently gained more respect in US medical circles, especially as a means of preventing/treating cardiovascular disease, but also for a surprising effect on depression. (You can read more about this aspect of fish oil supplementation in the “depression” category on this blog.)

Here’s the description of Dr. Brown’s research, as provided on the website of NCCAM/NIH, one of the major sponsors of the study:

Abstract: DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this proposal is to understand the role of inflammatory cytokines in the metabolic and skeletal abnormalities in HIV disease and to determine whether omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, in the form of fish oil, will alter the pathophysiology of these clinical disorders. Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are used widely among HIV-infected patients, often with the hope of preventing or treating complications associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Metabolic abnormalities, including peripheral fat wasting, central adiposity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia, and skeletal abnormalities (reduced bone mineral density and high bone turnover), are common in HIV-infected patients on HAART, yet their relationship is unclear. We hypothesize that these metabolic and skeletal abnormalities are related by abnormal inflammatory cytokine expression and that these conditions can be improved with fish oil, a widely-used CAM agent with anti-inflammatory properties. We have the following specific aims: 1) To understand the association between the metabolic and skeletal abnormalities in HIV-infected subjects and their relationship to inflammation, 2) To determine whether treatment with omega-3 fatty acids will have hypotriglyeridemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bone resorptive effects in a randomized trial of HIV-infected patients, and 3) To clarify the mechanisms of action of omega-3 fatty acids, namely the effect on lipolysis and bone turnover using stable isotope infusion techniques. To accomplish our specific aims, I intend to do a secondary analysis of data from two cohorts of HIV-infected subjects, and to then perform a randomized trial using a standardized fish oil product. These results will help to define the pathophysiology of the metabolic and skeletal abnormalities in HIV and evaluate the efficacy and potential mechanisms of action of an important complementary treatment […]

(According to the published information, the clinical trial of fish oil is scheduled to run from 2006-2010.)

Note: An interview with Dr. Brown on body fat changes in people with HIV can be found on the website of our friends at www.thebody.com.

Entry Filed under: cholesterol, diabetes, hiv, insulin resistance. Tags: cholesterol, fish oil, HAART, HAART side effects, hiv, lipodystrophy, lipodystrophy and HIV, metabolic syndrome, Omega-3 fatty acids, triglycerides.

HIV EXPLAINED

2007-10-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 1 June 2005
Answers to questions from Sections 1-7 of Treatment training for advocates.
This manual is available online in English and Russian from:
HIV i-Base
http://www.i-Base.info
Section 1
1. AIDS stands for:
- Acquired
- Immune
- Deficiency
- Syndrome
2. A CD4 cell is a white blood cell (lymphocyte) that signals CD8 cells to destroy a virus.
HIV uses CD4 cells as factories to reproduce in.
3. A CD8 cell is a white blood cell (lymphocyte) that kills cells that are infected with
viruses (i.e. HIV).
4. The ‘normal’ range for CD4 count in an HIV-negative adult is between 600 and 1600
5. CD4 cell is also called a helper cell, a CD4+ T-lymphocyte, CD4+ T-cell, and
sometimes just T4 cell); CD8 is also called a killer cell
6. CD4% is the percentage of total lymphocytes that are CD4 cells. It is used as a more
stable indication of whether there has been a change in the immune system. Children
are monitored using CD4%.
7. Cellular immune responses are based on CD4 and CD8 responses. Humoral immune
responses are based on antibodies.
8. A surrogate marker is an indirect measure for something else that cannot be easily
measured directly (i.e. the CD4 count is a measure for the disease progression).
9. US and UK treatment guidelines recommend routine CD4 and viral load monitoring
every three months, whether on treatment or not on treatment. These tests should also
be done before any treatment change, and 2-4 weeks after any treatment change. i.e.
4 weeks after starting treatment. Is any one test result produces an unexpectedly high
or low results, it should be repeated. In some countries with limited access to these
tests, they are performed less frequently – perhaps every 6 months.
10. Some guidelines (WHO, UK) would recommend starting treatment before the CD4
count has fallen below 200, while others (US) would recommend before 350.
11. A few weeks after the infection, the CD4 count usually falls, then the immune system
fights back and the count goes back again but not to the levels that it was before HIV
infection. From then on the CD4 count goes down gradually and it takes from 2 to 10
years usually to drop down to 200.
12. Please see graph on page 15.
13. The following OIs become more common below these CD4 levels:
CD4<300 - diarrhoea from microsporidia and cryptosporidia
- skin problems-candida (thrush), dry skin, etc.
<200 - PCP (pneumonia) and chest infection
- toxoplasmosis-a parasitic infection that commonly causes brain
lesions
Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 2 June 2005
<100 - MAI/MAC-bacterial infection similar to TB
- Cryptococcus infection-fungal infection that can cause meningitis in the
brain and PCP-like symptoms in the lungs
<50 - CMV (cytomegalovirus)-a viral infection that can cause permanent
vision loss or blindness
14. Children have much higher CD4 counts than adults. Babies have higher CD4 counts
than children. Over time and as the people age their CD4 count drops gradually.
15. An antigen is the term for infectious material produced by a virus or bacteria.
16. Antibodies are cells in the immune system that recognise antigens.
Section 2
1. HIV is a virus. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
2. Only 2% of HIV or HIV-infected CD4 cells are in blood.
3. HIV and HIV-infected CD4 cells are mostly in the lymph system and lymph nodes.
4. Blood is the most accessible compartment for regular monitoring.
5. A sanctuary site is the term for a compartment of the body that has barriers that limit
both HIV and HIV drugs from moving freely. The main compartments are the genital
tract, the cerebral spinal fluid and the brain.
6. Viral load levels can be different to blood in each compartment. For example someone
can have undetectable viral load in blood but detectable viral load in semen.
Resistance can also develop independently in different sites.
7. Four main causes of illness include
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Viruses
- Parasites/protozoa
8. During the first few days and weeks after the infection, the viral load (VL) goes very
high, very quickly. Its levels can reach over 1,000,000 copies. Then, during the
seroconversion, the immune system starts producing antibodies in order to fight back.
As a result the viral load goes down (sometimes to below 50 copies). During the
chronic infection the viral load progressively and consistently goes up to the point when
the person starts ARV therapy. After that, with proper treatment regimen the VL
becomes ‘undetectable’ (below 50 copies).
9. Please see the graph on page 26.
10. The viral load test was developed as a research tool during the 1990s. The first test in
1995 could only measure down to 10’000 copies/mL. By 1996-7 the tests were able to
measure down to 400-500 copies/mL. Since 1998 the most routinely used test
measure down to 50 copies/mL, although some tests are even more sensitive and can
measure down to 5 copies/mL.
11. i) PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) – the most widely used test
ii) bDNA (branched DNA)
iii) NASBA (Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification)
12. All tests have an approximately 3-fold margin of error (i.e. a test result of 30’000 means
that the real number could potentially be anywhere between 10,000 and 90,000)
13. Firstly, the viral load test shows whether the drugs work in a combination are initially
working. You need to see a minimum –1log reduction in the first month and aim to be
Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 3 June 2005
<50 by 3-6 months. In someone who is on treatment with an undetectable viral load,
continued monitoring confirms that the drugs are still working.
14. If the levels are very high (>100,000), then this might be seen as a reason to start
treatment at a higher CD4 count than 200, even though the VL is not as important at
predicting the risk of opportunistic infections as the CD4 count.
15. HIV makes mistakes when replicating. Those mistakes are called mutations. When on
treatment, some mutations will not be affected by the drugs. If these mutations
develop, they will continue to reproduce. The ‘selective pressure’ from the drugs will
force the resistant virus to eventually become the major type of HIV in the individual.
He/she then becomes is said to be resistant to those drugs and cross=resistant to
similar drugs that have the same resistance pathway.
Section 3
1. ARV stands for ‘Antiretroviral’
2. A minimum of three drugs, but can be more
3. i) NRTI-Nucleoside Reverse transcriptase Inhibitors (‘nucleosides’ or ‘nukes’)
ii) NNRTI-Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
iii) PI-Protease Inhibitors
iv) EI-Entry Inhibitors
4. Entry inhibitors
5. In June 2005 22 including co-formulated drugs (ie AZT+3TC; tenofovir+FTC etc)
6. In June 2005 there were four combinations recommended by the WHO for first-line
treatment
7. 3TC + d4T + nevirapine
3TC + d4T + efavirenz
3TC + AZT + nevirapine
3TC + AZT + efavirenz
8. – If the person is not ready or does not want to start treatment – delaying
treatment may give more time for them to become more psychologically prepared so
that they adhere to treatment better when they do start
- If the person has an opportunistic infection like TB where starting two different
treatments at the same time will increase side effects. With TB someone with a CD4
count <100 will delay ARVs for 1-2 weeks, and someone with a CD4 count 100-200 will
delay ARVs until after the first 2-months of TB treatment
- If they do not fulfil the guidelines recommended for starting treatment i.e. if their
CD4 count is still much higher than 200.
9. – How regularly a drug is taken and the time it is taken
- Speed of metabolism – how quickly an individual processes drugs – the are
wide ranges of individual differences in the drugs levels absorbed by different people.
Sometimes this can relate to body weight – i.e. larger people need a larger dose – but
more usually it is because of biological differences – i.e. different people have different
levels of the enzymes that the liver uses to process drugs.
- Diet – many drugs are absorbed more quickly or more slowly depending on
whether they are taken with food or on an empty stomach
Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 4 June 2005
- Drug interaction (including some recreational drugs) – one drug can speed up
the metabolism of another drug (therefore reducing those levels) or can slow down the
metabolism (increasing the drug levels).
- Pre-existing liver damage (or kidney damage for some drugs) - ie someone with
liver damage is likely to process drugs much more slowly.
10. Adherence refers to taking the drugs exactly as they are prescribed-at the right time
and following any special diet restriction.
11. Six things that could help adherence include: (there are many others)
– Keeping a daily chart
- Using a pillbox
- Using a Pill beeper or alarm watch
- Having medications for the side effects
- Asking a friend to remind you
- Keep a small supply of drugs at an easy to reach place
12. Drug resistance refers to changes in the structure of an individuals HIV which means
that the drugs no longer work as well or even at all
13. Clinical failure refers to a when an HIV-positive person feels ill and gets symptoms (i.e.
other illnesses), which means that the drugs are not preventing him/her from getting ill.
14. Virological failure relates to the results of viral load blood tests – i.e. if viral load levels
never reach undetectable, or if they rebound and become detectable again.
15. The consensus from many studies seems to show that getting to <50 copies/mL stops
HIV from developing as a virus. After 5 years on treatment with a viral load <50 copies,
the virus will be the same as at the start of treatment. Viral load above 50 copies/mL
continues to evolve, and allows resistance to develop.
16. Please imagine that you are a counsellor and need to explain to your client what is
adherence, why adherence is important and how to improve adherence.
Section 4
1. Side effects are secondary effects of a drug other than the reason it is prescribed. Side
effects are also called adverse events or drug toxicity.
2. In some cases they are, but generally there is not a big difference. One of the most
important differences is with nevirapine and liver toxicity. Women should not start
treatment with nevirapine if their CD4 count is over 250, compared to men who should
not start if it their count is over 400.
3. Both of these options are possible but not without a discussion with the doctor. Quality
of life is very important and any drug that causes side effects can usually be changed
to an alternative that may be easier to tolerate.
4. Grade 1-mildest; grade 4-most serious.
5. Lipodystrophy has to do with the way the body processes fats and sugars. Symptoms
of lipodystrophy include lipoatrophy, fat accumulation and increased blood cholesterol
and triglycerides. Lipoatrophy is a state where the person has a reduced subcutaneous
fat on the arm; legs or face.
6. Peripheral neuropathy refers to damage to the nerves in the hands or feet It starts in
the fingers and/or toes but can spread into the arms and legs (‘peripheral to the central
body), usually with tingling, numbness, or increased sensitivity.
Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 5 June 2005
7. d4T, ddI and very rarely 3TC. Hydroxyurea increases the risk of neuropathy with ddrugs.
ddC is now discontinued by had a high incidence of neuropathy.
8. AZT is associated with anaemia,
9. Nevirapine, efavirenz are both associated with liver toxicity
10. Symptoms of liver toxicity include; Feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting), Poor
appetite, If your eyes or skin looks more yellow, Light coloured stool or dark coloured
urine, Tenderness or swelling in your liver - your liver is just below your stomach.
11. Nevirapine, efavirenz, abacavir, fosamprenavir and T-20 can all be associated with
severe rash
12. A severe rash s defined as if the rash covers more than 10% of the body or if it breaks
the skin. However you would show any rash to a doctor or health advisor as soon as
you notice it, if you have recently started a drug associated with this as a side effect.
13. Two examples of Grade 4 side effects are: Diarrhoea requiring hospitalisation, liver
toxicity with AST or ALT levels above 7.5 ULN. Any side effect that requires
hospitalisation is classified as Grade 4.
14. The risk of lactic acidosis increases when d4T is used with ddI. These two drugs
should not be used together by pregnant women as the risk increases even higher.
15. Efavirenz (Sustiva) causes mood changes and vivid dreams in at least 50% people
when they first start treatment.
Section 5
1. Protozoa are tiny parasites. Giardia, cryptosporidia, and microsporidia.
2. A CD4 count fewer than 300 cellls/mm3 increases the risk of gastric infections.
3. - Drink bottled water sourced from underground sources
- Wash vegetables and salads thoroughly
- Cook meet thoroughly
4. Candida (thrush) is a fungal yeast infection that commonly affects the mouth and
throat, gullet, sinuses, genital organs, and much more rarely the brain.
5. Symptoms of candida include white or red patches (especially in the mouth),
sometimes cracks at the corners of the mouth, headaches and possible vomiting,
difficulty eating, and tast changes.
6. - Ketoconazole
- Itraconazole
- Fluconazole
7. PCP stands for Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia
8. Risk for PCP increases when CD4 counts is below 200 cells/mm3
9. Prophylaxis treatment against PCP includes co-trimoxazole or dapsone or aerosolised
pentamidine, etc.
10. First line PCP treatment is co-trimoxazole by continuous drip or injection for 3-4 days
and then switch to tablets.
11. Alternative PCP treatments include trimethoprim plus dapsone, pentamidine,
trimetrexate, atovaquone and clindamycin plus primaquine.
12. TB stands for Tuberculosis – it is a microbacterial infection that commonly affects the
lungs but can also affect many other organs
13. A person with active TB is infectious, while a person with inactive TB is not.
Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 6 June 2005
14. First line TB treatment is a 2-month course of a combination of four antibiotics (I.e.
isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol), followed by a 4-month course of a
combination of 2 antibiotics (i.e. isoniazid and ethambutol)
15. Any PI or nevirapine.
16. TB prophylaxis is recommended for people who share the same confined living or
working place as someone with active TB.
17. Mycobacterium avium /Mycobacterium intracellulare-bacterial organisms closely
related to mycobacterium tuberculosis.
18. A combination of two or more antibiotics; usually clarithromycin or azithromycin plus
ethambutol.
19. Hepatitis is an infection that causes liver inflammation or damage.
20. Hepatitis C takes approximately 20-25 years to progress to in HIV-negative people but
progresses more quickly in people coinfected with HIV.
21. Drugs that are active against hepatitis B include adefovir, 3TC, tenofovir, FTC and
interferon-alpha. Drugs that are also active against HIV can only be used in a
combination with other HIV drugs. Please refer to current HBV treatment guidelines for
recommendations for treatment in HIV coinfected people, (i.e. www,bhiva.org)
22. When CD4 count drops below 50 cells/mm3 the risk of CMV retinitis increase to 30-
40% over 3 years.
23. Active CMV retinitis is diagnosed by eye examination, and anyone with a CD4 count
below 50 whether on or off treatment should have monthly eye checks. CMV while in
other organs is usually by biopsy sample. Viral load tests for CMV are generally only
used in research.
24. Toxoplasmosis is transmitted by eating raw or undercooked meat. Exposure to cat
faeces that is over 1 day old also is infectious and is a source of toxoplasmosis.
25. Toxoplasmosis treatment has to continue until CD4 count rises above 200.
26. Main AIDS-defining cancers include NHL (Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma), KS (Kaposi’s
Sarcoma) and cervical cancer.
27. It depends on the cancer. Some improve dramatically and go into remission (ie KS) but
others do not dramatically improve.
28. Liver cancer is associated with hepatitis C.
29. AIDS wasting is symptom of different diseases including HIV infection and OIs that
results in weight loss, principally loss of lean muscle mass.
Section 6
1. Without treatment for either the mother or baby, about 25% babies would be born HIVpositive
2. The mothers viral load at delivery is the most predictive of whether the baby with be
born HIV-positive. The lower the viral load, the lower the risk, and risk becomes less
than 1% when viral load is undetectable.
3. No, the fathers HIV status does not directly affect the status of the baby. An HIVnegative
mother cannot have an HIV-positive baby.
4. Pregnancy may cause a drop in a woman’s CD4 count. This is usually about 50
cells/mm3 but it can vary a lot.
5. There is a risk of resistance from using AZT monotherapy (that is not very high), and
the mother might be strongly advised to have a C-section as a mode of delivery.
Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 7 June 2005
6. Less than 1% babies are born HIV-positive in mothers that use combination ARV
therapy with three or more ARVs.
7. A short course of triple combination therapy after the second trimester at 24 to 28
weeks is recommended for mothers who do not need ARV treatment for their own
health
8. Cons for C-section include:
- More probable complications like infections
- Having a natural birth after a C-section is more complicated and difficult
- Babies delivered by C-section are more likely to receive ventilatory support
Pros for C-section include:
- Reduced risk of HIV transmission when the pregnant woman receives only AZT
9. ARV drugs not recommended in pregnancy are efavirenz-generally in pregnancy and
the caution is strongest during the first trimester (12 weeks); nevirapine is not
recommended for women with a high CD4 count (above 250) because of risk of liver
toxicity; ‘ d‘ drugs together as they can cause fatal side effect in pregnant women
10. ARV drunks can contribute to morning sickness, nausea, anaemia, diabetes, lactic
acidosis.
11. A HIV positive woman who is pregnant should avoid amniocentesis, chorionicvillus
sampling, foetal scalp sampling, cordocentis, percutaneous umbilical cord sampling,
and internal foetal labour monitoring.
12. Acyclovir prophylaxis during labour will reduce the risk of transmitting herpes to the
baby.
13. The day the baby is born, one month after that and three months after that, using HIV
PCR DNA test.
14. HIV-positive mothers should not breastfeed. The risk of transmitting HIV from motherto-
baby can be as high as 28%.
15. The baby should take ARV prophylaxis for four to six weeks after birth.
16. After the birth, the mother has to be especially careful of her own adherence and
health.
Section 7
1. IDUs were frequently excluded form ARV treatment due to the wrong but widespread
belief that they are less likely to be adherent to treatment and less likely to have a good
response to treatment.
2. Excluding IDUs form treatment is not based on scientific evidence. Several studies
showed that drug users could achieve high levels of adherence and benefit from
treatment just like any other group of people with HIV.
3. Access to treatment, access to substitution therapy, OI prophylaxis and treatment,
accessible, non-judgemental healthcare team, needle exchange, adherence support
and counselling, strong link with community based programmes, food programmes and
public transport, outreach strategies.
4. Yes. 2 to 3 fold increase in ecstasy levels because of an interaction with ritonavir.
5. Yes. About 50% decrease in blood levels of heroin because of an interaction with
ritonavir.
Treatment training for advocates: Answers to questions in Sections 1-7 www.i-Base.org.uk
HIV i-Base 8 June 2005
6. Yes. People using methadone and efavirenz will have a reduced dose of methadone
(of up to 60 % in blood concentration) and may need to increase the dose of their
methadone.
7. Yes. AZT concentrations are increased by approximately 2-fold.
8. A dose reduction of 50% of the drug is recommended when used with methadone.
9. Those symptoms that develop within 2-3 days are more likely to be a result of ARV
toxicity, and those that develop after 6 days are more likely to be associated with drug
withdrawal.

SMOKEING POT GOOD FOR TREATING PAIN-STUDY FINDS

2007-10-28T12:58:00.001-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Smoked Cannabis Proven Effective In Treating Neuropathic Pain
ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2007) — Smoked cannabis eased pain induced in healthy volunteers, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR.) However, the researchers found that less may be more.
In the placebo controlled study of 15 subjects, a low dose of cannabis showed no effect, a medium dose provided moderate pain relief, and a high dose increased the pain response. The results suggest a "therapeutic window" for cannabis analgesia, according to lead researcher Mark Wallace, M.D., professor of anesthesiology at UCSD School of Medicine and Program Director for the UCSD Center for Pain Medicine.

The study used capsaicin, an alkaloid derived from hot chili peppers that is an irritant to the skin, to mimic the type of neuropathic pain experienced by patients with HIV/AIDS, diabetes or shingles -- brief, intense pain following by a longer-lasting secondary pain. The subjects were healthy volunteers who inhaled either medical cannabis or a placebo after pain was induced. The marijuana cigarettes were formulated under NIH supervision to contain either zero, two, four or eight percent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC.)

"Subjects reported a decrease in pain at the medium dose, and there was also a significant correlation between plasma levels of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, and decreased pain," said Igor Grant, M.D., F.R.C.P.(C), professor and Executive Vice-Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, the director of the CMCR. "Interestingly, the analgesic effect wasn't immediate; it took about 45 minutes for the cannabis to have an impact on the pain," he said.

The results, showing a medium-dose (4% THC by weight) of cannabis to be an effective analgesic, converged with results from the CMCR's first published study, a paper by UCSF researcher Donald Abrams, M.D. published in the journal Neurology in February 2007. In that randomized placebo-controlled trial, patients smoking the same dose of cannabis experienced a 34% reduction in HIV-associated sensory neuropathy pain--twice the rate experienced by patients receiving a placebo.

"This study helps to build a case that cannabis does have therapeutic value at a medium-dose level," said Grant. "It also suggests that higher doses aren't necessarily better in certain situations -- something also observed with other medications, such as antidepressants."

The researchers stated that more and larger studies need to be conducted to measure the efficacy of cannabis, noting that medical marijuana could play an important role in treating patients who don't respond well to the usual pain relievers or can't tolerate drugs such as ibuprofen or opioids used for severe pain.

"The results of this study might help guide others doing clinical research into pain management," said Wallace

Keep the PROMISE~~!!!!!

2007-10-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Harper NEEDS to be REPLACED BY THE NDP PARTY ASAP PEOPLES OF CANADA!!RISE & UNITE IN THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA=VOTE JACK IN & VOTE IN LEGAL WEED!!

2007-10-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

Got fone & digi cable now,Finally

2007-10-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Cool so This week i have to pick a movie fer group on wed.VOTE NDP & LETS LEGALIZE WEED ASAP!!!!

Jack says LEGALIZE POT,I SAY I AM VOTING NDP!!

2007-10-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness! Dear James, Thank you for writing. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. The federal NDP has long advocated for the decriminalization ofmarijuana. We are the only national party that actually has a resolutionand a policy for decriminalization. And, in advocating that position, weunderstand that we need a drug policy that does not rely primarily onour legal system. This policy must be part of a broader drug strategythat focuses on a health based approach, as recommended by a 2002Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs on which NDP MP LibbyDavies played an important role. We want Canada to take steps that reflect a more intelligent andcompassionate direction on marijuana use. Not only have our courts ruleddifferently on medical marijuana and our government respondedaccordingly but also there is a growing chorus of established opinionfor a different approach to the possession of marijuana for personaluse. Decriminalization, we believe, is a first step, but it is not the onlystep. It is a first step to what needs to be an open debate about thefailure of the current practices and the need to focus on the realissues such as: avoiding needless criminalization of citizens; andworking with youth on health and social effects - particularly impaireddriving. Once again, James, thank you for contacting me this matter. Sincerely, Jack Layton MP (Toronto-Danforth)Leader, New Democratic Party of Canada

SAFE SEX SAVES LIVES!!!SO,SAVE A LIFE TODAY!!

2007-10-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

THE LIFE YOU SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN IF YOUR SMART AND WEAR A CONDOM!!!PEACE N LOVE NOT WARS N WALLS FOLKS!!!

Missed out this Weekend-Volunteer Apreciation ,Next Year i guess

2007-10-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

I did say i was going to go & had every intention of going but then my brother dropped by & Franco soon after so we ended up renting movies & just watchin TV on a saturday night.Sat night live is on shortly i will most ;likrly be watching that as it is funny stuff .Being single does have advantages,i can come & go as i please,no wait i cant either as i am out on bail!loljk!really though i am & it sucks as all i did was ask for a cheque to be checked.Turns out it was a forged one~some pr ck mailed this to me & would i like to talk to this person/s that are involved in scamming peoples that a) are poor to begin with!b)on disability c)HIV+ Issues arent enough to deal with i had hep-c but thats been cured thank GOD,& his son Jesus Christ ,as the faith n hope i have in them is all i really have when u want to get down to it.Sure i have a stereo,tv,couch,computer...but its all just stuff...worldly goods will do me no good when i am gone.I have a fruad trial comin up in dec 6 that i am hoping will be dismissed but these things have a way of biting u in the ass.& thats just wats going to happen for me signing that stupid Fckn cheque is going to do,although i must say i was under duress,i was so nervous i had trouble signing,& i should be looking this stuff up in the law books to see just where it is i stand.I will be getting my phone number this monday so that should be a bonus,as it will be a number where my lawyer can reach me at finally~!!So,i will know this week just whats going on with me & my trial.Things seldom get to trial before they are decided this much i have learned about the Can.legal system.Only 2 % make it too trial.I am at a point in my life where i am trying to change for the better & to make wiser decisions on my time,& how i spend it.I dont have alot of it left & want to live & do everything i can.I want to love again,make love again,boy its been awhile !~lol,true enough i guess as i am a human being with feelings & i have a brain left .I would like to do postive stuff for the sudbury cvommunity as a whole.WE NEED TO VOTE NDP FOLKS~!~

Back from Leadership Training Part Deux!!

2007-10-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Of course the free hotel & free food helped,but it was mostly alot of hard work on how to conduct meetings,faciliation & communication,a\most theory but there was a practical excersise i blew!I was already 7 i just drew a blank,slowly went on to talk about my life in short form.I have to keep practiceing more & more & get better n better at telling my story.I am so thankfull to GOD the i am clean from coke & heroin& speed!!!PEACE N LOVE NOT WARS N ALLS EH FOLKS!!~!!

Just fer Today,TGIF~~~~

2007-09-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness! So ya today was friday & it was 22c & partly cloudy.I went & signed in again & as i picked up my carries yesterday,am already to go,only i have no place to go.Home ,thats iy.I wish i could find a woman to enter my life .It would make a big difference i think.Haveing only jerry comin over just doesn't cut it.I got a letter from franco & of course he asks for cash,nice guy that i am i helped out as i know how it is to be broke in there,=sucks large!So i mailed him 25.He could use it i'm sure.I talked with sylvie today about makin out a calender ahead of time for events for the group.Crafts & movies will be there fer sure.Not sure what else yet,but i'm sure we could arrange some tours at local places.& maybe even pay $$ & check out horse riding or go-cart riding among other fun group things=bolr\wling as well.Well thats all from mefer now,GODBLESS & have a great fall all~~!

Pill boxes Should Be WIDELY USED,Study Says

2007-09-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!
Pillboxes should be standard issue for HIV patients, study concludes printer friendly version send to friend glossary comment
Keith Alcorn, Monday, September 10, 2007
Using a pill box to organise daily doses of antiretrovirals significantly improves adherence and is associated with a greater reduction in viral load and a higher probability of having an undetectable viral load, researchers from the University of California San Francisco report in the October 1st edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

In an accompanying editorial Canadian adherence experts say that pillboxes should be widely used, but warn that in patients with very poor adherence, they may not provide enough reinforcement of adherence to show any benefit.

Pillbox organisers, which may contain separate compartments for each dose or each day of the week, are widely available in North America and Europe, and are distributed free of charge by some pharmaceutical companies.

Pillboxes may help patients to spot when they have missed doses, and are also easily portable, releasing people from the need to carry multiple bottles of medicines when they are away from home.

The San Francisco study looked at the effect of pillbox use on adherence in a cohort of 245 HIV-positive patients largely recruited between 1996 and 2000 from homeless shelters and services targeting the downtown `street` population of the city.

The study was a non-randomised analysis of adherence levels, during which participants underwent unannounced pill counts every three to six weeks at their residence over a twelve-month period. Unannounced pill counts reduced the risk that participants with poor adherence would get rid of pills in order to disguise poor adherence, the authors note.

Adherence in patients not using a pillbox was assessed using an electronic medication monitor on the pill bottle of the most frequently dosed drug in their antiretroviral combination.

The analysis controlled for a wide range of confounding factors, including substance abuse, homelessness, prior adherence, viral load, CD4 count, sex, age, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

During the follow-up period 163 participants used a pillbox for at least one month, and pillboxes were used for 43% of the total person-months of observation accumulated during the study.

Sixty-three per cent were taking protease inhibitor-based combinations, often with high pill numbers, and 42% had a previous history of single or dual nucleoside analogue exposure prior to starting triple combination therapy, indicating a high vulnerability to viral rebound and the development of drug resistance.

The mean adherence rate was 73% during the study. Pillbox use was associated with an improvement in adherence of 4.1% - 4.5% compared to non-users.

Pillbox use was more likely in people with a prior history of good adherence and in women, and became more frequent as the study went on.

Three different statistical methods were used to calculate the impact of pillbox use on adherence, and arrived at an estimate that pillbox use was associated with a 0.34 – 0.37log10 greater reduction in viral load. Pillbox use increased the probability of a viral load below 400 copies/ml by 14.2 - 15.7%.

Multivariable linear regression of the adherence percentage (the difference between current and previous pill counts, divided by the prescribed number of doses for the same period) showed that use of a pillbox organiser had a much greater effect on adherence than once-daily therapy (coefficient of 4.47, compared to 0.78 for once-daily therapy).

In an accompanying editorial Edward Mills of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Curtis Cooper of Ottawa Hospital note that “for the occasionally non-adherent patient (e.g. one who takes 90% of the prescribed medications, with a missed dose every 1-2 weeks) the pillbox intervention may have a fundamentally beneficial impact on preventing the development of antiretroviral drug resistance.”

But they warn that for patients with a low level of adherence, “a 5% improvement in adherence may shift a patient from maintaining drug levels that are too low to generate drug resistance to a sub therapeutic plasma antiretroviral level that is insufficient to fully suppress HIV but is high enough to provide sufficient pressure to produce drug resistance.”

Despite this, they conclude that pillboxes are “a simple and effective intervention and should be widely used.”

New Evidence on How Anti-bodies Fight HIV

2007-09-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

How Antibodies Fight HIV: New Evidence
— By furthering scientists' understanding of the molecular mechanisms that separate the minority of successful HIV antibodies from the majority of ineffective antibodies, the work may have implications for future attempts to design an HIV vaccine. The study was published on September 6, 2007,
"This study is part of the effort to understand how protection against HIV occurs," says Dennis Burton, a professor at The Scripps Research Institute. "If we really understand this, then we can design tailor-made vaccines in a way that has never been done before."

Although vaccines have long been used with great success to prevent diseases, scientists are still learning about the exact mechanisms of how vaccines work and how the antibodies that vaccines prompt the body to create can neutralize a pathogen. The spread of HIV, which is resistant to most antibodies the body produces against it, has made fully understanding this method of action more urgent.

With this in mind, Burton and colleagues sought to tease apart the action of the b12 antibody-one of the rare antibodies that protects against the HIV virus. The antibody, first identified by Burton, Scripps Research Professor Carlos Barbas III, and colleagues in 1992, originally came from the bone marrow of a 31-year-old male who had been HIV positive without symptoms for six years.

In the current study, researchers created mutated versions of b12 to see what effect various changes would have on the antibody's effectiveness.

"Hopefully, we can work backwards towards a vaccine, using b12 and the very few other really great, broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV that have been found," says Scripps Research Senior Research Associate Ann Hessell, who was first author of the Nature paper jointly with Lars Hangartner, a Scripps Research postdoctoral fellow.

Results from the new study suggest the importance of antibody activity against both infected cells and free virus for effective protection. As well as simply binding to HIV, protection was dependent upon the ability of antibodies to interact with immune cell Fc receptors.

Fc receptors are found on the surface of immune cells, such as natural killer cells. The Fc receptor binds to the Fc region of an antibody after an antibody binds to a pathogen, targeting the pathogen for attack by the immune system. Although Fc receptor function was known to be important for the function of antibodies against other diseases, a role in protecting against HIV had never before been demonstrated.

Burton's team examined the ability of two antibodies mutated from b12, dubbed KA and LALA, to prevent infection using the SHIV/macaque model, in which macaques are challenged with a hybrid human-simian virus that infects the model but is recognized by human antibodies. The KA antibody contained a mutation that prevented it from interacting with the complement cascade, a major component of the immune system responsible for destroying invading pathogens. The LALA antibody contained a mutation that rendered it unable to interact with either the complement pathway or the Fc receptor.

In both mutants, the site where the antibody binds to free-floating virus was unaltered, allowing the researchers specifically to investigate the importance of the complement cascade and Fc receptor system for preventing infection.

"We saw that the KA antibody, which could still bind to the Fc receptors on the immune cells but not to the complement cascade, protected the animals from becoming infected just as the wild type b12 antibody," says Hessell. "In contrast, the LALA group became infected much like the controls."

The results provide the first evidence that the Fc receptor, but not the complement cascade, is important to the function of the b12 antibody in preventing HIV infection.

Additional in vitro experiments revealed that the wild type and KA antibodies, but not the LALA antibody, blocked infection more efficiently in the presence of other effector cells of the immune system.

"Our results are fully consistent with the antibody doing two jobs," says Burton, "job one, stick to the virus; job two, recruit immune cells to come and kill infected cells."

In addition to Burton, Hessell, and Hangartner, authors of the study, "Fc Receptor But Not Complement Binding Is Important in Antibody Protection Against HIV," are Meredith Hunter and Preston A. Marx of Tulane University; Carin E.G. Havenith, Frank J. Beurskens, Joost M. Bakker, and Paul W.H.I. Parren of Genmab (Utrecht, The Netherlands); Gary Landucci and Donald N. Forthal of University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine; and Caroline Lanigan of The Scripps Research Institute.

HIV EDUCATION & AWARENESS!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~

2007-09-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!ef="http://im.Live.com/Messenger/IM/TakeAction/Waitlist/Tracking.aspx?Source=founding_2&UserGuid=ff443f93-f7e7-4f93-8d26-31ebe1841678&Mode=ClickThrough">----IF YOU WOULD LIKE SOMEONE TO TALK OR GIVE A PRESENTATION ON HIV-AIDS CALL ACCESS AIDS SUDBURY 688-0500 OR GO TO 111 ELM ST SUITE 205 & JUST SAY U NEED A SPEAKER ON HIV-HEP-C,LIVING WITH HIV,HIV 101, OR OTHER SUBJECTS OF INTEREST.PEACE N LOVE NOT WARS N WALLS!!ONE DAY AT A TIME,1 LIFE AT A TIME,1 SCHOOL AT A TIME,=CHANGING PEOPLES VIEWS!!

cool pics!

2007-09-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

Edwina's Story-18 yr African empowered To do,To Be

2007-09-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!
Edwina's Story: Celebrating the Empowerment of woman

Africare (Washington, DC)

SPONSOR WIRE
31 August 2007
Posted to the web 31 August 2007

Washington, D.C.

In the village of Nyanga, in Ntungamo District, Uganda, 18-year-old Edwina gazes out the window of her family’s small house, lost in big thoughts. Edwina, the third of nine children, is determined to become a doctor. Her surname, Atusingwire, is a Banyankore name meaning “she has overcome or succeeded” – Edwina thinks of this not merely as a name, but as a prophecy to be fulfilled.

She points to the trees outside her window and breaks her silence. “All these banana plants used to be ours,” she says. Edwina’s soft-spoken voice conveys a warm spirit and sharp intellect. Her large eyes, yellowed from a lingering case of malaria, tell a story of their own.

At 15, Edwina was an excellent student, but her family had no money left to pay for her education. Her parents sold almost everything – house furnishings, cows, land, and most of their banana farm – with the hope of getting at least one of their children through secondary school. Their resources became depleted, yet the family still banked its hopes on Edwina, perhaps due to her sheer determination to succeed. Her dad took up a job as a night watchman at Rwentobo High School, where Edwina was schooling. But his salary was insufficient to keep her in school, let alone meet the basic family needs.

“We had almost nothing left,” recalled Edwina. She wouldn’t let her parents sell their last piece of farmland, an act that would have left her siblings without any means of sustenance.

The Headmaster of Rwentobo High School, Justus Gumisiriza, realized the desperate situation in Edwina’s household. “There was no future left for her,” he said.

Edwina’s case was reported to Africare as preparations were being made to conduct interviews for Africare’s Orphan and Needy Child Scholarship Program in the district. Edwina was included among the candidates, and she later emerged among the 70 successful recipients of the program’s educational scholarships.

Today, after three years on this program, Edwina is an illustrious graduate of Rwentobo High. She is now a first year student studying environmental health at Makerere University. She is the pride of her family.

“Africare is a parent to me,” says Edwina. “They took me up and made me a success.”

The Africare educational support activity in Ntungamo was started in 2001 by the founder and former President of Africare, Mr. C. Payne Lucas, after his visit to the district. Since then, Africare/Washington has continued to raise funds from private sponsors to pay for educational materials and school fees for disadvantaged children like Edwina at Rwentobo High.

“We are indeed very grateful to Africare for helping our school support these orphans and poor children,” said Headmaster Gumisiriza.

This activity has been a seed project from which larger and more comprehensive support has been provided for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Uganda. Africare now provides clean water sources, nutritional support, scholastic grants, peer education and psycho-social support in HIV/AIDS, vocational skills training (to out-of-school OVC), and income generation opportunities to caregivers, as well as organizational capacity strengthening to local governments, NGO partners, and community coordination structures in OVC service delivery.

“It has been well established that economic empowerment of women and their free participation in economic activity are essential to achieving sustainable growth in Africa,” noted Africare Senior Vice President Jeannine B. Scott. “Improvements in the key areas of education and training, agricultural productivity, health and nutrition, and access to water and sanitation are necessary to bring about these changes.”

On Thursday, October 18, 2007, Africare will celebrate the stories like Edwina’s and the empowerment of women in Africa at the seventeenth annual Bishop John T. Walker Memorial Dinner, the largest annual event for Africa in the United States. The Africare Dinner was first held in October 1990 in memory of the late John T. Walker, the first African-American Episcopal bishop of Washington and the longtime chairman of Africare's Board, who passed away on September 30, 1989.

This year’s theme of “women’s empowerment Africa-wide” will be exemplified by a salute to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Africa’s first elected female head of state. At the event, the Africare Board of Directors will present President Johnson-Sirleaf with the 2007 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award. Given each year at the Bishop Walker Dinner, the award recognizes those whose work has made a significant impact on raising the standard of living in Africa.

Prior recipients include former Presidents Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and other distinguished persons such as Andrew Young, Dorothy I. Height, Graca Machel, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates.

Proceeds from the event help support Africare's mission of assistance to the people of Africa in the areas of food security and agriculture, health and HIV/AIDS, water resource development, environmental management, literacy and vocational training, microenterprise development, governance, and emergency humanitarian aid. The Africare Dinner is a top multicultural affair as well, embracing all races and a wide array of cultures and nationalities from around the world.

SIDE EFFECTS,GLOBAL WARMING vs GLOBAL DIMMING

2007-09-04T17:58:00.001-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Entry for September 04, 2007/Living With HIV Isn't All Bad,
Entry for September 04, 2007/Living With HIV Isn't All Bad, magnify
If you can get passed the side effects from meds,well,you have it made!As i have been on meds before but had to stop as i was just sick & tired of being sick & tired...U C ...i am on methadone & haart meds metabilize the methadone 50% faster,& the result was me going into withdrawels over a 2 month period.I would like to see the guy that can handle 2 days of DT's never mind 2 months!!& so now i am seeing the HIV specialist for the first time,& i know i will be starting something,either pega-interferone,or HAART meds,both of which are going to make joe a very sick lad fer abit...frankly i am terrified of going through that experience again,it was that bad folks!!I shit U NoT!!I have gone through many different types of suffering & pain,& this one ranks right up at the top!I am finally stable,& have my life almost back in order(dec 6 trial)except for that,& never mind i wont bother getting into that here.untill its overwith anyways.K so group tomorrow,maybe if its nice enough we can go to the beach,or we can watch a movie.but i want to do something more productive with the group,not sure but i will bring it up for discussion tomorrow.Well NOVA is on & its about GLOBAL DIMMING!!!Now whats this??Altering the worlds rainfall,global dimming has resulted in changes in rainfall,with disasterous effects.Polluted clouds kept the heat of the sun from getting through,thus the life giving rainbelt never moved northwards due to air pollution.50 million peoples R effected directly & alot of suffering will be the obvious result.We must stop useing gas powered cars & trucks & switch to hydrogen as the pollution from that is pure water,thats what we need more of eh folks!!!!Lets PUSH HYDRYGEN FOLKS!!!wanna buy some hydro man??lloljk!so global warming has been slowed by global dimming!!which force will win out in the end??Well,we really need to switch types of cars we drive,i wish i did drive i would try hydro -powered.if i could afford it that is.wow,if the artic ice sheet melts,it could release carbons frozen on the bottem,billions of tons of tonnes!!!GOD help us all eh folks!Well i am happy today anyways,& am not going to let this destroy my good mood i am in.& I hope it gets better for all peoples everywheres!Peace n love not wars n walls eh folks!!

-Switch from Dollar to Euro=-America's Archilles Heel

2007-08-31T21:35:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!One of the dirty little secrets of today's international order is that the rest of the globe could topple the United States from its hegemonic status whenever they so choose with a concerted abandonment of the dollar standard. This is America's preeminent, inescapable Achilles Heel for now and the foreseeable future.

Deaths by Nations-Operation endureing Freedom

2007-08-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!
Home
Fatality Details
Fatalities by Nationality
US Casualties
Iraq

Period Australia Canada Czech Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania South Korea Spain Sweden United Kingdom United States Total
2001 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 12
2002 1 4 0 3 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 48 68
2003 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 48 57
2004 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 52 58
2005 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 18 2 1 99 130
2006 0 36 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 39 98 191
2007 0 26 1 1 2 1 2 6 0 6 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 30 81 161
1 70 1 4 2 1 11 24 9 10 2 1 1 4 1 21 2 74 438

Copyright 2003-2006 by iCasualties.org

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Fatalities By State and City

Wounded by Branch and Year

Deaths by Year and Nationality

Deaths by Nationality

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LIFE HISTORY-STARTIN MEDS..KEEP THE FAITH!

2007-08-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!I have hope that humanity will come to it's sences,& stop this pollution & wasteing sooner rather then later.Green movement is growing more & more everyday,as more peoples realize we must do something & change ourselves & behaviours, & to be more productive & try to find ways to help our fellow man.I do mine by HIV-AIDS Education & awareness ,Harm Reduction safe sex condom promo,methadone & basicly i tell my story,or parts of my story ,depending on where i am speaking.As a recovering coke,heroin & speed addict,i have seen & done alot .I was aquitted of murder 2 in 1998 & was released in time to bury my grandfather.I had already lossed my dad in 77 & my bro in 88..& in 04 my ex brenda,,friend dave,both died of aids related complications & then my daughter cory to HPV.I was clean 2 weeks & was in detox ,when i found out she was in hospital.I was at her side for most of the time,& i think that helped me to stay clean.My kid needed me with her,& I wasn't going to let her down again,ever!I told myself if i could stay clean through this ,i could stay clean through anything!That was 3 yrs ago & and i am still clean..& she is no longer in pain..as she died 1 month after her 22 Birthday..& she's at peace..i am starting meds soon,& i am scared because i don't want to go into withdrawels..u c HIV meds metabilize the ,methadone up too 50%!Last time i tried meds,i was sick for 2 months & finaly quit the meds as i couldn't handle the withdrawels.I guess i will have to go through all that again eh,as its a part of being HIV+,a part that sucks ,but ,it will help me to live for 24 more yrs .at least i'm hoping for 25.GODBLESS ALL MY FELLOW HIV WARRIORS!

Just For Today,Rich or Poor? Happy anyways!

2007-08-31T18:42:00.001-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Entry for August 31, 2007/Canadians Living in Poverty- Surprising?Not to Me
Entry for August 31, 2007/Canadians Living in Poverty- Surprising?Not to Me magnify
As i sit here typing this,i'm watching a doc on tvo about poverty in canada.It's about a single mother raising her 6 kids in ontario,& as i came from that same no in my family,i began to notice many of the same things that happened in their family,was very familier territory,as we had done many of the exact same things & gone through the same emotions.The thing is we were always happy,we were together,& that was the main thing.I didnt know growing up that we were poor.It wasn't untill i was out on my own at 15,that it really hit me,as i had to live in rundown places to afford the rent.I know what its like to go with-out a mean & have eating alot of pasta in my time.But we were happy when we were together,& didnt notice the run down places that were always too small for the six of us.When one spring morning we woke up & our place had 2 feet of water we made a game out of it & had a grand ol time!!Floating on different things,Avast ye sailers,man the life boats" capn,we canna fin da leeeek sur!loljk!!so ,here i am today,living in housing,not were i grew up,but still,they all have that same type of build eh!Rent is geared to income,so i pay 150/month.I make 1,000/month.so now i have 850- 200,food=650- 300=meds=350-200-oz-pot=150 -cabble,web=50-phone=0.!!!!So as you can see,i just manage to get by.Its hard to buy fresh vegs & fruit as its more expensive,but i do the best i can with what i have,& i am happy & gratefull for everything the Lord has given me.ii have lived on 10,000/yr for along time.Food has gone up many times & yet my checks havent.but i am ok,i know that compared to the rest of the world,I am a very Rich man!in canadian standards i am a very poor man.By my own standards,i think i am an average joe canadian guy,just trying to do the best he can with what he's got,keeping hope & faith that things will be ok,just for today!

With So Many Relgeons,Why So Much War?Love Has Gone?

2007-08-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!

Well i am single once again as the girl i was seeing decided she wanted too sell crack to make some quick cash!That was last week,& i havent bothered to call & see how's she's doing,i know how she's doing & what she's doing=crack heads don't change overnight.I knew she would go back to useing because she was getting very bitchy & trying to start a fight so she could justify her useing-i didn't buy into that & told her to go ahead if thats what she wanted & sure enough,it was.I am a coke,heroin & speed addict with 3 yrs clean time in & cannot allow ANYONE or ANYTHING put my sobriety in jepardy.I am HIV+ & so i smoke pot to help with my eating & nasea,as well as to help me relax & it puts me into a better frame of mind.If injesting alittle weed now & then raises my quality of life,well,i'm in like flynn!& it does,just ask any cancer patient,or anyone that is sick & dyeing a slow & painfull death can attest that weed does indeed,ease side effects of toxic drugs we have to take to kill cancer or HIV virus.Its also used alot to aid peoples eating,as when U R on toxic meds,you often have nasea & simply dont feel like eating.Smoke a J & wait 1/2hr & then you might be able to keep something down,u hope.sometimes i have to smoke a couple of them to kick in the munchies.Guess it depends on how good your product is eh? Living with HIV can be hard at the best of times.You have to change your whole lifestyle if yu expect to live for awhile.Eating healthy is a must.Complimentry therapies are also good to help you win the war against cancer or HIV.At this time the ave life expectency is 24 urs after diagnoses,with some advancing alot faster then others. I find that dateing is almost impossable when your poz.You have to change so much,lifestyle,diet,your outlook on life changes as well.I have learned to apreciate the smaller things in life & don't sweat the bigger stuff,i give all my problems over to the lord & just trust in him & his son.Your faith is tested bigtime.You keep hoping that maybe they will find a cure in time,or another pill that will extend your life for another day,month,year! You try & keep up to date on the newest treatments,newest meds that are under developement,& anything else that might help you in your battle with cancer or hiv or whatever disease it is that is putting your life at risk.Then there's all those "green tea cures" or cures of some type or other.For along time the south african Gov. told their peoples to eat beetroot & lemons to keep the HIV virus at bay.Another president says he has the cure,& its only available on certain days of the week.You have to wade through all the garbage information,of which their are TONS,& just trying to find the stuff thats legit is aq battle initself!Theres so many websites out there now,all trying & vieing for your $$$$ & most have charges to join or will hit you with some sort of bill sooner or later. Another thing that happens is you begin to question your religeon.As your slowly dyeing you want to make sure that your in the right one eh?But just which of the religeons is right?I have studied with Jehova Wittnes's,&Mormons, in the last 2 yrs.I have also read alittle of the Koran & have read about Buddism.I still don't know what one is the right one.I think they all have some good points as well as bad points.I think i am a christian,as i really think that the bible is an accurate picture of history.It seems as time goes on more & more findings reveal the truth,& that the bible is history of man.& GOD.The thing is this...who decided just what scriptures to add?what about the ones that were NOT included??where are they?what ones are they by?We have 4 books out of a possable 12.Where are the other apostles writings?& just what religeons where around at the time of Christ?I know he read from the Old testament,at least i think he did.Did he NOT quote from the old testament when he was tested by satan?Yeppers 3 times he did. So ,with the hundreds of religeons,cults,sects,& other organizations ,what ones are good & what ones are not so good?Wiccan is another one,i know someone that is a wiccan & they are one of the nicest persons i have ever had the honour & privilidge to meet,& if all these profess Love & kindness,why then are there so many conflicts in so many places?there are aprox 120 wars going on right now in the world.Thats far too many!& nation shall rise against nation comes to mind outta the revelation i think it is.Its almost certain that we are living in what the Bible calls=End Times!!Floods,famines,locusts,wars & rumours of wars,earthquakes,sunami's,hurricanes,tornadoes.Its all there & we are going through everyone of them.& its only supposed to get worse as it gets closer to that final war,Armeggeddon.The war to end all wars!God himself is supposed to be in this one!Well,today looks nice & sunny out & i think i'm going for a stroll.My blogging has gotten way too serious lately with all this talk of End times stuff.I think about this stuff so thats why is blog about it all.I dont hold much back as you are probably already aware of eh folks?Well i wish you all a very good day,& respect yourselves enough that you will pass on stickin a needle into your arm,or taking the drink to help you calm your nerves.Ahh i'll just do 1!!I have heard that so many times!!OK well Peace n Love NOT Wars n Walls eh folks!!

Jesus said to love one another eh!

2007-08-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!

Great News For India-Only 1/2 of est, are HIV+

2007-08-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Experts originally said India had the most HIV cases in the world -- 5.7 million -- and that number could rise unless aggressive measures were adopted.

Yesterday, that consensus changed dramatically when international AIDS experts and Indian health officials revealed new data showing India to have less than half of that number -- 2.5 million people -- infected with HIV.

The government and the international community are paying more attention and spending more money to fight AIDS in India. Yesterday, the Indian health minister announced a new phase of the federal AIDS control program, with the Indian government pledging $1.95 billion -- nearly 40 times what it spent in the last round.

The plan has an expected budget of $2.8 billion and has attracted high-profile donors. The previous plan, announced in 1999, had a budget of less than $350 million.

Expanded surveys and an improved methodology provided a far more accurate -- and more encouraging -- portrait of India's HIV epidemic, said Health Minister Anubani Ramadoss.OK waycool,so only 2,000,00 r HIV+!!!How many of these peoples are on HIV MEDS???& Just how many more havent been tested yet??I wouldn't start celebrating yet folks!!Peace n love not wars n walls eh folks!!

HIV & hep-c ,Treating Hep-c first & then treating HIV

2007-08-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!The Benefits of Treating HCV Infection in HIV-Infected Patients
Among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients, risk for ART-associated hepatotoxicity was lower among those who had responded to HCV therapy than among those who had not.

Many antiretroviral agents are associated with hepatotoxicity, which can limit treatment options for HIV-infected patients. Although the risk for drug-related hepatotoxicity is known to be higher among patients coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) than among those with HIV monoinfection, whether effective treatment of chronic HCV infection reduces this risk remains unclear. Now, investigators report results of a retrospective study of 132 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients in Spain who had completed a full course of interferon-based anti-HCV therapy before they received antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Forty-three patients (33%) achieved a sustained virologic response (SVR), defined as an undetectable HCV RNA for 6 months after treatment withdrawal and thereafter. The rate of hepatotoxicity during ART was 9.3% among the 43 patients with an SVR, versus 37.5% among the 89 patients without an SVR (P<0.001). Likewise, the proportion of patients with grade 3 or 4 alanine-transaminase elevations was greater among those without an SVR (27.3% vs. 6.9%; P=0.007). In logistic regression analysis, the only variables independently associated with hepatotoxicity were lack of an SVR (odds ratio, 6.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.8–37.5) and receipt of a dideoxynucleoside (didanosine or stavudine) (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.2–10.4).

Comment: The prospect of reducing ART-associated hepatotoxicity argues in favor of treating HCV prior to HIV in coinfected patients with high CD4-cell counts for whom delaying ART initiation is safe. As an editorialist points out, many patients present late in their disease, with low CD4-cell counts and their first AIDS-defining opportunistic infection. For such patients, HIV treatment must come first. More data are needed to determine whether preemptive HCV therapy is appropriate for patients who fall in between these two extremes (e.g., CD4 counts of 200–350 cells/mm3). For now, the fact that only a minority of patients achieve an SVR after HCV therapy suggests that ART should not be delayed for patients in this "gray zone."

— Daniel J. Diekema, MD, MS

Treatment of Hep-c Before HIV Recommended

2007-08-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Many antiretroviral agents are associated with hepatotoxicity, which can limit treatment options for HIV-infected patients. Although the risk for drug-related hepatotoxicity is known to be higher among patients coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) than among those with HIV monoinfection, whether effective treatment of chronic HCV infection reduces this risk remains unclear. Now, investigators report results of a retrospective study of 132 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients in Spain who had completed a full course of interferon-based anti-HCV therapy before they received antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Forty-three patients (33%) achieved a sustained virologic response (SVR), defined as an undetectable HCV RNA for 6 months after treatment withdrawal and thereafter. The rate of hepatotoxicity during ART was 9.3% among the 43 patients with an SVR, versus 37.5% among the 89 patients without an SVR (P<0.001). Likewise, the proportion of patients with grade 3 or 4 alanine-transaminase elevations was greater among those without an SVR (27.3% vs. 6.9%; P=0.007). In logistic regression analysis, the only variables independently associated with hepatotoxicity were lack of an SVR (odds ratio, 6.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.8–37.5) and receipt of a dideoxynucleoside (didanosine or stavudine) (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.2–10.4).

Comment: The prospect of reducing ART-associated hepatotoxicity argues in favor of treating HCV prior to HIV in coinfected patients with high CD4-cell counts for whom delaying ART initiation is safe. As an editorialist points out, many patients present late in their disease, with low CD4-cell counts and their first AIDS-defining opportunistic infection. For such patients, HIV treatment must come first. More data are needed to determine whether preemptive HCV therapy is appropriate for patients who fall in between these two extremes (e.g., CD4 counts of 200–350 cells/mm3). For now, the fact that only a minority of patients achieve an SVR after HCV therapy suggests that ART should not be delayed for patients in this "gray zone."

— Daniel J. Diekema, MD, MS

where have all the ribbons gone?

2007-08-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

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Body Positive
Where Have All the Ribbons Gone?
AIDS Symbols -- Compassion or Fashion?

by Laura Engle

January/February 2000

James is a waiter in a pub in New York City's theatre district.His dress is typical of that worn by the staff in many of the casual restaurants in the area: black pants, white cotton shirt, pocketed apron at the waist. In the collar of his shirt James wears a red ribbon -- one of the small metal enameled ones. He's been wearing it since 1992.

James, to some people, is hopelessly out of date.

On a recent evening, a young woman from California and her mother were seated at one of James's tables. As he served their water, brought their menus, and prepared to take their drink and food orders, James chatted with the women, answering their questions about the restaurant's menu and the shows they might like to catch on Broadway.

Then the younger woman noticed the pin in James's lapel. "Is that one of those AIDS red ribbons?" she asked. When James said that it was, the woman seemed puzzled. "I didn't think those were still in fashion," she said.

The red AIDS ribbon certainly did not start out as a fashion accessory. I remember once, in the early 'nineties, a counter woman in a bakery asking me why I was wearing one. When I told her it stood for AIDS awareness, as an expression of support for those living with the virus and in memory of those who had died, she started yelling and refused to serve me, because "I don't want no AIDS!"

The Birth of a Symbol

The red ribbon as a symbol of AIDS awareness was conceived in the spring of 1991 at the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus. Painter Frank Moore lived in upstate New York, where a neighboring family were displaying yellow ribbons in support of their soldier-daughter's safe return from the Persian Gulf. "It convinced me that it could be a metaphor for AIDS as well," he said. "It just seemed there were a lot more people ready to support action against AIDS than were publicly identified." (Ribbon symbols didn't start with the Gulf War, either. I remember green inverted-V ribbons being worn as symbols of concern about the Atlanta child murders twenty years ago.)

The idea was adopted by Visual AIDS, which, as an organization made up of artists and art professionals, quite naturally promoted the use of visible symbols of the fight against AIDS. It started simply enough. From an early Visual AIDS handout: "Cut red ribbon 6" in length, then fold at the top into an inverted 'V' shape. Use a safety pin to attach to clothing."

The Ribbon Project was officially launched at the 45th Annual Tony Awards ceremony on June 2 of that year. All of the nominees and presenters were encouraged -- with a good bit of success -- to wear the ribbons. According to the Visual AIDS press release announcing The Ribbon Project, "The red ribbon (an inverted 'V' without a bow) will act as a symbol of our sympathy, support and hope for a day without AIDS. All involved with this project hope that by December 1st, World AIDS Day, these ribbons will be worn across the world."

And it caught on bigtime. Even though AIDS-phobia was at its height, red ribbons began sprouting from lapels, hat brims, purse flaps -- anything that could take a safety pin. Over the next few years, the ribbons became part of the dress code for the glitterati at not only the Tonys but the Oscars and the Emmys too.

From Acceptance to Cliché

Then came the non-ribbon ribbons. The small enameled metal pins, like the ones James wears, didn't get dirty and didn't unravel and leave red threads on people's clothes. Pictures of red ribbons appeared on T-shirts. Ribbons were embroidered on baseball caps, windbreakers, backpacks, and all manner of other casual clothing. Red-ribbon pins got bigger and fancier, becoming less symbol than jewelry. Some were set with garnets and other red stones; even a pin covered with rubies was advertised.

The ribbon's progeny moved off of clothing and onto practically everything else. China candy dishes. Christmas tree ornaments. Briefly (until a rate increase made it obsolete) a first-class postage stamp. Champion figure skater Rudy Galindo, who had lost a brother and two coaches to AIDS, performed a program in which he was dressed as a red ribbon.

With saturation came backlash. Many in the HIV/AIDS community found little of substance in this sea of symbolic concern. The perception was that people were wearing AIDS ribbons instead of working for a cure, a vaccine, and vital services. The charge was hypocrisy.

And not without some justification. Even as AIDS became, briefly, the charitable flavor of the month, ribbons on lapels didn't always translate into money in the banks of AIDS organizations, or the kind of real political action needed to budge the pols and the healthcare establishment off the status quo.

Visual AIDS had decided at the beginning not to trademark its red ribbon because, as Frank Moore said, "We didn't want to discourage people from using it." The down side of that is that among those "using it" were commercial enterprises cashing in on the latest fad. If you bought a ribbon product at, for example, Under One Roof, the San Francisco not-for-profit gift store for AIDS charities, you could be pretty sure that your purchase did more than make a visual statement to those who happened to pass you on the street. If you bought it at a big department store, though, it probably didn't. And if you bought it from a guy with a card table on the street, you could be underwriting child labor half a world away.

And then there are the aesthetic considerations. In conjunction with World AIDS Day 1997, Visual AIDS, originator of The Ribbon Project, published a booklet called Art. AIDS. Action. It contains an interview with essayist and critic Daniel Harris about what he calls "The Kitschification of AIDS." Harris describes a walk through "the epidemic's strip mall" in the Castro, past a ribbon-festooned Christmas tree, ribbon-wearing teddy bears, miracle-touting objets, and even "a line of AIDS-specific sympathy cards sporting inconsolable naked men sobbing on tombstone angels."

Harris, who is also the author of The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture (Hyperion, 1997), attributes the proliferation of this "AIDS product" to harsh political realities. "My thesis is this," he says. "In the early days of the epidemic, the Reagan and Bush administrations refused to allocate the money necessary to cover basic costs of research and treatment, with the result that movie stars, and not government officials, became the epidemic's statesmen, its panhandlers, the ones who were forced to seek alternative sources of funding out in the open market, in charity balls, rock concerts, and fashion benefits. Because of insufficient federal funds, activists were forced to turn the disease into a commodity and sell it to the public like any snack food. They compensated for lack of government support with private support, with charitable contributions, which they extorted from the public by arousing pity for the victims, by packaging the epidemic in sentimental clichés that reduced potential donors to a state of maximum susceptibility. The more money that was needed for the disease, the kitschier it became. Had the Republican administrations of the 1980s been more responsible, the epidemic would not have spawned nearly as many sentimental images which activists designed expressly to overcome consumer resistance and prime the pumps of private contributions. So I see kitsch in crudely economic terms, as a practical response to federal irresponsibility, which provoked a massive PR blitz as tacky as any advertising campaign for a new shampoo or a dish detergent."

And so, for whatever reason or combination of reasons, the red AIDS ribbon is less ubiquitous than in years past. To some, it remains a symbol of continued commitment, even in the face of AIDS apathy. To others, it has itself become a symbol of the fickleness of the self-proclaimed philanthropist. To yet others, it is just yesterday's accessory.

The Other Symbols

The ribbon, of course, is not the only symbol that was taken to the hearts of many in the HIV/AIDS community, and it is not the only one to generate controversy or the only one to outlive its own popularity.

Two of the most important early expressions of solidarity with people with AIDS were also initiated by The Ribbon Project's parent, Visual AIDS. Day Without Art and Night Without Light, both observed on World AIDS Day, December 1, began in 1988 in recognition of the devastating impact the epidemic was having on the art and theatre communities.

During its first few years, Day Without Art was symbolically just that. Art museums, galleries, and municipalities with public art displays across the country removed paintings and sculptures from public view or covered them with black drapes, as a demonstration that the loss of an artist is a universal loss. Day Without Art has metamorphosed in recent years into a Day With Art. Visual AIDS, as part of its program of support for HIV-infected artists, arranges countless exhibits of their work in venues large and small, and supplies information to assist art groups around the world commemorate World AIDS Day.

Night Without Light was conceived as a similar demonstration involving the theatrical world. In the Broadway theatre district -- the "Great White Way" of song and legend -- theatre marquees went dark for fifteen minutes on World AIDS Day, commemorating the loss of so many in the theatre world. Other city landmarks, including the Empire State Building, joined in the observance, transforming the Manhattan skyline into a visual reminder of the impact of AIDS.

By 1999, enthusiasm apparently had diminished. The Broadway lights were turned off, but only for one minute, and the gesture went almost unnoticed by the press.

Night Without Light did live on, however, albeit only after AIDS activists succeeded in making some noise. As the December spending season approached, plans were being made for record-breaking hoopla surrounding the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The people who decide these things scheduled the gala ceremony for December 1, apparently unaware or unconcerned that this was World AIDS Day. When the Christmas tree (the biggest ever!) was being delivered and set up before being decorated, a group of AIDS activists invaded Rockefeller Center and mounted a vocal protest against the insensitivity of throwing a big, nationally telecast, party on such a solemn day. The result was that Rockefeller Center officials capitulated in part, and, after the huge tree was lit, its lights were turned off for one minute in symbolic recognition of World AIDS Day. Ana Olivera, the newly minted Executive Director of Gay Men's Health Crisis, was allowed to deliver a World AIDS Day message -- still on that national telecast! -- before the microphone was turned back over to the carol singers and holiday cheerleaders.

The NAMES Project Quilt, probably the most familiar of the organized symbols, has also generated its share of controversy. With panels designed and sewn by the loved ones of people who have died from AIDS, the entire quilt made its final public appearance on the Washington Mall in the summer of 1996. It's grown too big to be displayed in its entirety anymore.

But not everyone loves the quilt. My friend Fred, for instance, hated it. I only found this out on the day in 1992 when a few of us were sitting at Fred's bedside waiting for the mortuary attendants to come and take away his body. Someone asked about making a quilt square in his memory, and his priest told us how Fred had felt about the quilt: "We've created this portable graveyard as a place to put all our grief and all our anger about this disease," he quoted Fred as saying. "But we're entitled to that grief and that anger, and we need to do something with it to help bring this thing to an end."

Daniel Harris also objects to the quilt: "Placing the epidemic within the context of this mythically pure colonial history is part of the way we sanitize the victims of AIDS," he says, "enshrining them within this cluttered museum of tacky folklore so resonant with wholesome patriotic feelings and nostalgia for a simpler agrarian America." He admits that he may be judging people's grief, but adds, "I can only say that I personally don't want consumerism and all of that 'homemade' and 'old-fashioned' crap at my graveside."

But those are, by far, minority views. To most people who have seen the quilt, even if they do not have loved ones memorialized in one of its panels, the experience is one of the most intensely moving of their lives.

And who isn't familiar with the pink triangle and "Silence = Death" slogan of ACT UP? In keeping with its in-your-face attitude, ACT UP borrowed the inverted pink triangle that gays had been forced to wear in Nazi Germany and literally turned it upside down. It symbolizes both the disproportionate toll of AIDS in the gay community and that community's refusal to lie down and die.

Next Symbol, Please?

So where does that leave us? Symbols continue to be created, some of them growing out of those that already exist. The Hispanic AIDS Forum, for example, through its Dialogue for Life Project, is "Latinizing" the AIDS epidemic through the use of a modified version of the red ribbon. This new, specialized symbol places a bright yellow sun -- a strong symbol for life in Latin culture -- in the middle of the ribbon. The symbol is accompanied by a legend showing an equation: a picture of the ribbon + a picture of the sun = Lucha Latina Contra el SIDA -- Latin Fight Against AIDS.

Similar efforts are taking place in Africa and in the African-American community, where the ribbon is being modified through the use of traditional colors. The Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, working with leaders of the black faith community, has created an electronic stained-glass window featuring the red ribbon. It can be seen on the Internet at www.sph.emory.edu/bshe/imhr and is being offered to black churches for use on their AIDS-related materials.

I still have a red ribbon tied to the zipper pull of my purse. Like James, I guess I may be judged passé. But I do see some value in symbols, as long as we recognize them as symbols, not as substitutes for action and not as transient fashion accessories.

Laura Engle is Editor of Body Positive.

Back to the January/February 2000 Issue of Body Positive Magazine

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LINKS for HIV-AIDS SITES!!160 site links folks!!!

2007-08-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!

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Organization Name
1 Ministry for HIV/AIDS - Office for Health and Wholeness Advocacy - United Church of Christ
2 HIV/AIDS Group - Bureau for Development Policy - United Nations Development Programme - United Nations
3 HIV/AIDS Ministry Network - General Board of Global Ministries/Health and Welfare Ministries - United Methodist Church
4 Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention - National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
5 HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report - Division of AIDS Prevention - National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
6 HIV/AIDS Department - World Health Organization
7 International Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Clinical Training in Nursing - School of Nursing - University of California, San Francisco
8 Project on Legal and Ethical Issues Raised by HIV/AIDS - Canadian AIDS Society - Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
9 National HIV/AIDS Program - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
10 HIV/AIDS Program - Department of Public Health - Seattle and King County Government
11 Regional Program on HIV/AIDS/STI - Division of Disease Prevention and Control - Pan American Health Organization
12 National AIDS Hotline - Technical Information and Communications Branch - Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NAH )
13 HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Unit - Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (ACTU )
14 Latino Families HIV/AIDS Prevention Project - Institute for Hispanic Health - National Council of La Raza
15 African American HIV/AIDS Speakers' Bureau - Present Day Ministries of Jesus Christ International
16 HIV Early Intervention Services Program - Division of Community Based Programs - HIV/AIDS Bureau - Health Resources and Services Administration - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
17 Civil-Military Alliance to Combat HIV and AIDS (CMA )
18 Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Centre - Canadian Public Health Association
19 Gary Lloyd HIV/AIDS Institute - School of Social Work - Tulane University
20 HIV/AIDS Policy Coordination and Program Division - Population and Public Health Branch - Health Canada - Center for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control - Government of Canada
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Organization Name
21 National HIV/AIDS Clinicians' Consultation Center - Department of Family and Community Medicine - San Francisco General Hospital - University of California, San Francisco (NCCC )
22 HIV/AIDS Dental Reimbursement Program - Division of Community Based Programs - Ryan White CARE Act - HIV/AIDS Bureau - Health Resources and Services Administration - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
23 Hispanic HIV/AIDS Program - American Red Cross
24 Pediatric HIV Working Group - HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch - National Cancer Institute - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (PHWG )
25 HIV/AIDS Surveillance Data Base - Health Studies Branch - International Programs Center - Population Division - U.S. Bureau of the Census
26 Intramural AIDS and HIV Related Research Program - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NIAID )
27 Hemophilia and AIDS/HIV Network for the Dissemination of Information - National Hemophilia Foundation (HANDI )
28 HIV/AIDS Bureau - Health Resources and Services Administration - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HAB )
29 HIV Psychosocial Support Team - HIV/AIDS Malignancy Branch - National Cancer Institute - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
30 Division of Community Based Programs - HIV/AIDS Bureau - Health Resources and Services Administration - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DCBP )
31 Children's HIV and AIDS Model Program - Children's Hospital - Children's National Medical Center (Project CHAMP )
32 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS )
33 HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Program - Division of Surveillance and Disease Control - Bureau for Public Health - West Virginia State Government (STD Program )
34 HIV/AIDS Project - American Association for Health Education - American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
35 Division of Service Systems - HIV/AIDS Bureau - Health Resources and Services Administration - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DSS )
36 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC )
37 Critical Path AIDS Project - Philadelphia Fight
38 AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families
39 HIV Clinical Investigation Core - Antiviral Research Center - Center for AIDS Research - University of California at San Diego
40 Office of HIV Psychiatry - American Psychiatric Association
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Organization Name
41 AIDS Coordination Project - American Bar Association
42 Lutheran AIDS Network - Lutheran Services in America (LANET )
43 National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA )
44 National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors - Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (NASTAD )
45 Office on AIDS - Public Interest Directorate - American Psychological Association
46 AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC )
47 AIDS Action Now
48 Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF )
49 Jerusalem AIDS Project (JAIP )
50 AIDS Clinical Trials Unit - School of Medicine - University of Washington
51 Tzvi Aryeh AIDS Foundation
52 Mother, Child, and Adolescent HIV Program - National Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Unit - Medical Center-Hillcrest - School of Medicine - University of California, San Diego
53 Office of AIDS and Special Health Issues - Food and Drug Administration - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OSHI )
54 American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR )
55 Mobilization Against AIDS (MAA )
56 AIDS Research Institute - University of California at San Francisco (ARI )
57 International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO )
58 AIDS Education and Global Information System (AEGiS )
59 Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD )
60 Mexicans United by Health Against AIDS (MUSSAC )
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Organization Name
61 AIDS Housing of Washington (AHW )
62 San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF )
63 Presbyterian AIDS Network - Presbyterian Church USA (PAN )
64 Harvard University Arts Committee on AIDS - Office for the Arts - Harvard University (HUACA )
65 AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta (ARCA )
66 Office of National AIDS Policy - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (ONAP )
67 National AIDS Fund (NAF )
68 Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organizations - International Council on AIDS Service Organizations (APCASO )
69 National Organizations Responding to AIDS (NORA )
70 Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN )
71 AIDS Clinical Trials Unit - Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education - School of Medicine - University of California, Los Angeles
72 Business Responds to AIDS and Labor Responds to AIDS Programs - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (BRTA/LRTA )
73 AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA )
74 AIDS and Substance Abuse Speakers Network (ASASN )
75 AIDS Clinical Research Unit - Department of Medicine - University of Miami School of Medicine (ACRU )
76 Teen AIDS Hotline - Community Outreach Committee - American Red Cross Club of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Orange County Chapter - American Red Cross
77 Canadian AIDS Society (CAS )
78 AIDS Clinical Trials Unit - Stanford University Medical Center (ACTU )
79 AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT )
80 National AIDS Committee (NAC )
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81 Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
82 Children's AIDS Fund (CAF )
83 World AIDS Foundation - Pasteur Institute - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
84 National Catholic AIDS Network (NCAN )
85 National Council for the Prevention and Control of AIDS - Government of Mexico (CONASIDA )
86 Hyacinth AIDS Foundation
87 AIDS Housing Coalition Houston (AHCH )
88 National Episcopal AIDS Coalition (NEAC )
89 National Native American AIDS Prevention Center (NNAAPC )
90 AIDS Materials Project (AMP )
91 Seattle Treatment Education Project - Lifelong AIDS Alliance (STEP )
92 American Run for the End of AIDS, Inc. (AREA )
93 AIDS Treatment News
94 HIV InSite - Center for HIV Information - University of California San Francisco
95 National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC )
96 Australian National Council on AIDS, Hepatitis C and Related Diseases (ANCAHRD )
97 AIDS.ORG, Inc. - Community Partners
98 Community Provider AIDS Training Project - AIDS Education and Training Center - Department of Family and Community Medicine - University of California, San Francisco (CPAT )
99 Citizen Action Against AIDS (ACCSI )
100 NO/AIDS Task Force
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101 Forum for Collaborative HIV Research - Center for Health Services Research and Policy - Department of Prevention and Community Health - School of Public Health and Health Services - George Washington University
102 International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC )
103 National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP )
104 Estate Project for Artists with AIDS - Alliance for the Arts
105 California AIDS Clearinghouse - L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center - Office of AIDS Programs and Policy - Department of Health Services - County of Los Angeles Government (CAC )
106 AIDS Action
107 Children With AIDS Project of America (CWA )
108 Mount Sinai AIDS Education Project - Faith, Hope and Love Ministries - Mount Sinai Baptist Church
109 AIDS Oral History Project - Dance Division - New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
110 U.S. Military HIV Research Program - Walter Reed Army Institute of Research - U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (USMHRP )
111 HIV Prevention Project - National Network for Youth
112 National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA )
113 National Association on HIV Over Fifty (NAHOF )
114 Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS - Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS - National Institute of Mental Health - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (CMHRA )
115 AIDS, Medicine and Miracles (AM and M )
116 Center for AIDS Prevention Studies - AIDS Research Institute - University of California, San Francisco (CAPS )
117 Teens Teaching AIDS Prevention - Good Samaritan Project (TEENS TAP )
118 Texas/Oklahoma AIDS Education and Training Center - Parkland Health and Hospital System - University of Texas Southwestern (TX/OK AETC )
119 National AIDS Council - Government of France (CNS )
120 AIDS Treatment Data Network (The Network )
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Organization Name
121 Deaf AIDS Support Services - University of California at San Francisco Center on Deafness (DASS )
122 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA )
123 Business and Labor Resource Service - Business and Labor Responds to AIDS - National Prevention Information Network - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Public Health Service - United States Department of Health and Human Services (BLRS )
124 Office of AIDS Research - Office of the Director - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OAR )
125 National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NCHSTP )
126 Bastyr University AIDS Research Center - Bastyr University (BUARC )
127 Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases (WORLD )
128 AIDS Clinical Trials Unit - Holmes Hospital Division - University of Cincinnati Medical Center - University of Cincinnati (ACTU )
129 Pacific Islands AIDS and STD Prevention Project - Community Health Program - South Pacific Commission (PIASPP )
130 International Association for Comparative Research on Leukemia and Related Diseases - Harvard AIDS Institute - Harvard University (IACRLRD )
131 Bureau of HIV and STD Prevention - Department of State Health Services - State of Texas
132 Committee on Pediatric AIDS - Division of Child and Adolescent Health - American Academy of Pediatrics
133 Students Teaching AIDS to Students Program - AIDS Advocacy Network - American Medical Student Association (STATS )
134 HIV Vaccine Trials Network - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HVTN )
135 AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource - University of California, San Francisco (ACSR )
136 HIV Database Group - Los Alamos National Laboratory - University of California - U.S. Department of Energy
137 AIDS Health Project - University of California at San Francisco - San Francisco General Hospital (AHP )
138 East Bay AIDS Center - Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Sutter Health (EBAC )
139 Oral AIDS Center - Department of Stomatology - School of Dentistry - University of California, San Francisco (OAC )
140 Endocrinology of AIDS Program - Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Items 141 through 160 of 365 Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
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Organization Name
141 AIDS Clinical Trials Center - Comprehensive Care Center - Vanderbilt University Medical Center - Vanderbilt University (ACTC )
142 AIDS Resource Foundation for Children, Inc. (ARFC )
143 AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP )
144 Laboratory of Viral Oncology and AIDS Research - Keck School of Medicine - University of Southern California
145 Center for AIDS Intervention Research - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine - Medical College of Wisconsin (CAIR )
146 Classical Action-Performing Arts Against AIDS - Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
147 HIV Treatment Hotline - Project Inform
148 National Agency for AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Research (ANRS )
149 TB/HIV Research Laboratory - Brown University
150 Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellowship - AIDS Action
151 ACT UP New York - AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP/NY )
152 AIDSinfo - National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
153 Global AIDS Action Network - Tides Center (GAAN )
154 Hellenic Association for the Study and Control of AIDS
155 Mothers of AIDS Patients (MAP )
156 Navy Central HIV Services - Infectious Disease Special Immunology Services - National Naval Medical Center - U.S. Navy - U.S. Department of Defense
157 HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center - University of California, San Diego (HNRC )
158 Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA )
159 HIV Databases - Division of AIDS - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - National Institutes of Health - Public Health Service - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
160 Harvard AIDS Institute - Harvard University (HAI )
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HOW Long -Compassion Club Needed in North

2007-08-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!
This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!AS a person living with HIV & Hep-C,I have found it diffficult to get a steady supply of marijuana & with different levels of THC,you never really know what you are getting.AS Sudbury has the cancer centre for Northern Ont area,as well as other centres that deal with terminal illmess's,like access aids sudbury,so why don't we have a compassion club up here in the northern part of Ont.We are people with terriable illness's & if smokin alittle pot now & THEN will increase the quality of life,why aren't we taking advantage of this instead of trying to bury our heads in the sand & hoping the drug problem will go away.Well its not.Drugs & there use will be around for along time to come.As long as theres pain,illness& death & dealing with all these issues will be the hard part i think /.I just wish the police would help or be onside in this,maybe even donate some of their captured weed!fat chance of that happining though eh folks?BUT Y NOT?Y not give it top those of us that are dyeing a slow & painfull death?Y not make our lives more bearable?Y not ease some of our pain?Y not help us with our lack of eating?Y not help us with our nasea & vomiting?WEED needs to be easier to access for those of us that are sick & dyeing.Those of us that are in pain everyday of our lives.Those of us who cannot help being sick all the time.Pot injesting brings me momentary breaks from most of these symptoms.I cannot see why we havent made this a legal drug in canada.We now have scientific data to back us up !How long must we continue to live in pain & anguish?How long must we suffer the indignity of being treated as criminals & not as the sick & dyeing family members that we are?HOW LONG MUST we continue being denied somtheing that has been scientificly proven already to help us.HOW LONG? ps.Peace n Love NOT Wars n walls eh folks!

6500 Peoples DIE Everyday in Africa~!

2007-08-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!

WE need a Compassion Club here in Sudbury !!

2007-08-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!

Great Cause to Support= HIV+Kids Need Meds ASAP!!!

2007-08-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!
AS a Canadian male living with HIV,i sometimes get guilty thoughts because i live in a country where healthcare is free & so my drugs are covered under ohip or trillium.However there are many countries in africa that do not have ANY healthcare at all!NO Meds,or not many & few are able to get them.6500 persons are dyeing everyday on the african continent.Those are mothers & fathers ,sisters & brothers,sons & daughters,grandmothers & grandfathers, & We can stop these Needless deaths by getting Meds to them .We know what to do,We now have the means to fly there with the recent purchase of 3 jet cargo carriers.We just need to get all the stuff togther & fly it over to them.The hard part would be up to them to distribute the goods.Who lives & who dies?

Need For Compassion Club Here In Sudbury

2007-08-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!AS a person living with HIV & Hep-C,I have found it diffficult to get a steady supply of marijuana & with different levels of THC,you never really know what you are getting.AS Sudbury has the cancer centre for Northern Ont area,as well as other centres that deal with terminal illmess's,like access aids sudbury,so why don't we have a compassion club up here in the northern part of Ont.We are people with terriable illness's & if smokin alittle pot now & THEN will increase the quality of life,why aren't we taking advantage of this instead of trying to bury our heads in the sand & hoping the drug problem will go away.Well its not.Drugs & there use will be around for along time to come.As long as theres pain,illness& death & dealing with all these issues will be the hard part i think /.I just wish the police would help or be onside in this,maybe even donate some of their captured weed!fat chance of that happining though eh folks?BUT Y NOT?Y not give it top those of us that are dyeing a slow & painfull death?Y not make our lives more bearable?Y not ease some of our pain?Y not help us with our lack of eating?Y not help us with our nasea & vomiting?WEED needs to be easier to access for those of us that are sick & dyeing.Those of us that are in pain everyday of our lives.Those of us who cannot help being sick all the time.Pot injesting brings me momentary breaks from most of these symptoms.I cannot see why we havent made this a legal drug in canada.We now have scientific data to back us up !How long must we continue to live in pain & anguish?How long must we suffer the indignity of being treated as criminals & not as the sick & dyeing family members that we are?HOW LONG MUST we continue being denied somtheing that has been scientificly proven already to help us.HOW LONG? ps.Peace n Love NOT Wars n walls eh folks!