Kaisernetwork.org (Washington, DC)
19 March 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
Cuba had recorded 9,039 HIV/AIDS cases by late 2007, with men accounting for 81% of all cases, according to Inter Press Service. Among the HIV-positive men, 86.1% have reported engaging in sex with other men, according to the Ministry of Public Health. In Pinar del Rio, 68.7% of HIV-positive men report having sex with other men. Geidy Diaz of the provincial HIV prevention center said health workers in the region should begin to target HIV prevention messages at heterosexual men, as well as MSM (Acosta, Inter Press Service, 3/17).
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Across The Nation
AP/Montgomery Advertiser Examines Debate Over Segregating HIV-Positive Inmates From General Prison Population
[Mar 19, 2008]
The AP/Montgomery Advertiser on Monday examined issues surrounding the segregation of HIV-positive inmates from the general prison population. Regulations in two prisons in Alabama previously restricted HIV-positive inmates from participating in some activities -- such as eating, worshiping and visiting family members -- with other inmates. Prison officials in November 2007 announced that they planned to eliminate some of the restrictions.
However, space issues at one of the prisons have kept some of the regulations in place, according to Margaret Winter, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project. Winter said that inmates living with HIV/AIDS must visit with their families in a separate visiting area and sit in separate pews during chapel services. Alabama Prisons Commissioner Richard Allen said the segregation is a "security issue," adding, "One thing we don't want to do is put the [HIV-positive inmates] in a situation where other inmates want to retaliate against them."
Integration of HIV-positive people into the general prison population has "gone much more smoothly" at the second prison, according to the AP/Advertiser. In addition, Allen said the Department of Corrections has started classes to help educate prisoners about HIV/AIDS, as well as to address related stigma and misconceptions about the disease. Winter said ACLU is recommending that the department offer 90 days of "intensive HIV education," adding, "I think we feel strongly that without that, it could be another 20 years" of inmate segregation. ACLU is advocating for HIV-positive inmates in Alabama to be allowed to participate in work release programs. "It's going to take some time," Allen said, adding, "It may take several sessions. We're committed to getting the attitudes changed" (Hunter, AP/Montgomery Advertiser, 3/17).
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Science & Medicine
Researchers Discover Genetic Circuit in HIV That Controls Whether Virus Activates, Remains Dormant
[Mar 19, 2008]
Researchers from the University of California-San Diego and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered the genetic circuit in HIV that controls whether the virus is activated or remains dormant, according to a study published in the March 16 issue of the journal Nature Genetics, Xinhuanet reports (Xinhuanet, 3/18).
For the study, Leor Weinberger, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSD, and colleagues examined HIV's genetic master circuit, called the Tat circuit, by building upon previous research by Weinberger, IANS/Sify reports. The previous research found that the circuit is driven by "cellular noise," or random events, which activate the circuit for a limited amount of time before it shuts off, according to IANS/Sify (IANS/Sify, 3/17). In the current study, the researchers used the noise in the Tat circuit to measure how long HIV remained activated in cells. The researchers found that the time the virus spent in the active state determined if it destroyed a cell or not. The researchers then increased the levels of the cellular gene SirT1 -- a gene associated with aging -- to reduce the lifespan of HIV, which forced cells infected with the virus to become dormant, the Press Trust of India reports (Shourie, Press Trust of India, 3/17).
According to Weinberger, the findings are significant because "many researchers are interested in determining which cellular processes generate biological noise." He added that the researchers "asked if the cellular noise could tell us anything about HIV and the cell -- and it did. What it told us is how a developmental decision is made by HIV." Weinberger said the findings do not indicate "how developmental decisions are made at the single-cell level" and "whether noise can drive this decision." He added, "Surprisingly, viruses appear to be good models for understanding this type of cellular decision-making." Weinberger and colleagues are conducting further studies on the feasibility of using this approach for HIV treatment, Xinhuanet reports (Xinhuanet, 3/18).
An abstract of the study is available online.
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Opinion
'More Vigorous' Leadership by Black Public Officials Needed To Fight HIV/AIDS Within Black Community, Opinion Piece Says
[Mar 19, 2008]
Although the HIV/AIDS epidemic has "taken hold in black America," the disease "can be prevented and sent packing," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) writes in a Louisiana Weekly opinion piece. According to Norton, blacks comprise 12% of the U.S. population but account for 50% of HIV/AIDS cases. The "myths and stereotypes" that surround HIV "have fed the virus," she writes, adding that people "have allowed it to thrive in the shadows, with too little open discussion and leadership to conquer it."
For this reason, Norton dedicated last year to "breaking through the silence" on HIV/AIDS with a series of meetings in Washington, D.C., she writes. The meetings were "no-holds-barred" discussions, led by "well-known, popular" figures, according to Norton. She adds that the meetings highlighted the importance of practicing safer sex and "knowing your partner," as well as universal HIV testing.
HIV/AIDS has "gone mainstream" among blacks in the U.S., and the disease "can no longer be marginalized," Norton writes. She adds that the virus is a "human tragedy we can turn around." However, "it will take far more vigorous and visible leadership from African-American public officials and other leaders, and more candor, courage and care for one another by us all," she concludes (Norton, Louisiana Weekly, 3/17).
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