воскресенье, 29 января 2012 г.

HIV status and responsibility

Доктор Хулио Монтанье, канадский ученый с мировым именем, сделавший ряд фундаментальных открытий в области ВИЧ/СПИДа, заявил, что нельзя требовать, чтобы ВИЧ-положительные люди раскрывали свой ВИЧ-статус сексуальным партнерам.

"Научные данные не подтверждают, что человек с ВИЧ с неопределяемой вирусной нагрузкой или постоянно практикующий безопасный секс, может представлять для кого-либо риск", - заявил Монтанье, который был одним из разработчиков высокоактивной антиретровирусной терапии (ВААРТ) - основного метода лечения ВИЧ-инфекции с 1996 года. Об этом со ссылкой на CTV News пишет проект "Парни+".

В своей статье Монтанье говорит о том, что клинические исследования показали, что при приеме антиретровирусной терапии риск передачи ВИЧ партнеру уменьшается на 96%.

"Пора уже признать научные доказательства, признать, что ВААРТ способна свести риск передачи ВИЧ практически к нулю, и пора отказаться от уголовного преследования за отказ раскрывать ВИЧ-статус", - говорится в статье Монтанье.

...Однако широкая публика вряд ли воспримет его призыв с готовностью. В последнее время канадские СМИ много писали о нескольких громких уголовных делах, когда произошла передача ВИЧ или даже смерть партнера.

...Монтанье подчеркивает, что ВИЧ-положительные люди и так сталкиваются с предрассудками общества, и они не должны страдать от "драконовских" законов, которые еще больше дискриминируют их из-за их заболевания. "Такая ситуация создает несправедливое бремя для людей, затронутых ВИЧ... людей, чье единственное преступление в том, что они ВИЧ-положительные, - говорит Монтанье. - Это лишено логики".


источник

пятница, 27 января 2012 г.

Study Compares HIV Saliva Self-Test To Blood Test

A saliva test used to diagnose the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is comparable in accuracy to the traditional blood test, according to a new study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University. The meta-analysis, which compared studies worldwide, showed that the saliva HIV test, OraQuick HIV1/2, had the same accuracy as the blood test for high-risk populations. The test sensitivity was slightly reduced for low risk populations. The study, published in this week's issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, has major implications for countries that wish to adopt self-testing strategies for HIV.

"Testing is the cornerstone of prevention, treatment and care strategies," says the study's lead author, Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, a medical scientist at the RI-MUHC and assistant professor of Medicine at McGill University. "Although previous studies have shown that the oral fluid-based OraQuick HIV1/2 test has great promise, ours is the first to evaluate its potential at a global level."

Dr. Pant Pai and her colleagues analyzed and synthesized real-life field research data from five worldwide databases. Their findings showed that the saliva test is 99 percent accurate for HIV in high risk populations, and about 97 percent in low risk populations.

The oral HIV test has become one of the most popular tests because of its acceptability and ease of use. It is non-invasive, pain-free, and convenient and produces results in 20 minutes. "Getting people to show up for HIV testing at public clinics has been difficult because of visibility, stigma, lack of privacy and discrimination. A confidential testing option such as self-testing could bring an end to the stigmatization associated with HIV testing," says Dr. Pant Pai, whose work is supported by a Grand Challenges Canada's Rising Star in Global Health Award. "There is a huge global momentum for alternate HIV self-testing strategies that can inform people know of their status."

High risk populations fuel the expansion of HIV epidemics but they face widespread discrimination, violence and social marginalization from healthcare services. UNAIDS estimates that globally, 90% of men who have sex with men lack access to the most basic sexual health services. "Oral HIV tests can be a powerful tool for high risk populations, but self-testing must be accompanied by linkage to care to achieve good health outcomes," says the study's co-author Dr. Rosanna Peeling, Professor and Chair of Diagnostics Research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

References:
About this study: The study, Head-to-head comparison of accuracy of a rapid point-of-care HIV test with oral versus whole-blood specimens: a systematic review and meta-analysis, was coauthored by Nitika Pant Pai (RI-MUHC/McGill), Bhairavi Balram (McGill), Sushmita Shivkumar (McGill), Jorge M Cajas (Queen's University, Kingston), Christiane Claessens (Institut National de santé publique du Québec), Gilles Lambert (Direction de santé publique de l'agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal, INSPQ), Rosanna W Peeling (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK), and Lawrence Joseph (RI-MUHC/McGill).
Partners in research: This work has been made possible by a Knowledge Syntheses Grant from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
McGill University Health Centre

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McGill University Health Centre. "Study Compares HIV Saliva Self-Test To Blood Test." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 26 Jan. 2012. Web.
27 Jan. 2012.
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McGill University Health Centre. (2012, January 26). "Study Compares HIV Saliva Self-Test To Blood Test." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240748.php.

четверг, 26 января 2012 г.

Women Cope Better With HIV/AIDS When They Have The Love Of A Dog Or Cat

A spoonful of medicine goes down a lot easier if there is a dog or cat around. Having pets is helpful for women living with HIV/AIDS and managing their chronic illness, according to a new study from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.

"We think this finding about pets can apply to women managing other chronic illnesses," said Allison R. Webel, instructor of nursing and lead author of the article, "The Relationship Between Social Roles and Self-Management Behavior in Women Living with HIV/AIDS," which appears in the online journal Women's Health Issues.

Webel set out to better understand how women manage their HIV/AIDS and stay on track to take their medications, follow doctors' orders and live healthy lifestyles. She conducted 12 focus groups with 48 women to find out what they did to stay healthy. The women had an average age of 42, about 90 percent had children, and more than half were single.

During the focus groups, six predominant social roles emerged that helped and hindered these women in managing their illness: pet owner, mother/grandmother, faith believer, advocate, stigmatized patient, and employee. All roles had a positive impact except stigmatized patient, which prevented women from revealing their illness and seeking out appropriate supports.

"Much information is available about the impact of work and family roles, but little is known about other social roles that women assume," Webel said.

Being a pet owner was an important surprise, added Webel, who collaborated with co-author Patricia Higgins, a professor of nursing at Case Western Reserve University.

"Pets - primarily dogs - gave these women a sense of support and pleasure," Webel said.

When discussing the effect their pets have on their lives, the women weighed in. "She's going to be right there when I'm hurting," a cat owner said. Another said: "Dogs know when you're in a bad mood...she knows that I'm sick, and everywhere I go, she goes. She wants to protect me."

The human and animal bond in healing and therapy is being recognized, Webel said, as more animals are visiting nursing homes to connect to people with dementia or hospitals to visit children with long hospital stays.

Being a pet owner is just one social aspect of these women's lives. "We found the social context in which this self-management happens is important," Webel said.

Another strong role to emerge was advocate. Participants wanted to give back and help stop others from engaging in activities that might make them sick, the researchers report.

While roles as mothers and workers are well documented, "less-defined social roles also have a positive impact on self-management of their chronic illness," Webel said.

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